For example, why did it take so long for someone to invent the ‘multi-position pillow’ to solve the thorny issue of what you do with the underneath arm when you are lying on your side? This particular work of genius is a contoured pillow with various cut-outs to allow you to lie on your arm, without cutting off the blood supply to your extremities. Although there’s now a slight problem: you also need a bed that’s about a foot longer to accommodate your outstretched arm, nestled snugly underneath your pillow.

Likewise, we can only shake our heads as to why it took so long for someone to invent the lockable biscuit jar, the treadmill desk, the remote control with built-in bottle opener, the soy-sauce dispensing chopsticks, and of course the Snuggie.

I guess sometimes the obvious takes a while to dawn on us.

That’s certainly how we’re thinking about You, Me and the Bible, a new resource from Matthias Media that we should have come up with years ago. It’s a very simple concept that came as a result of the following thought process:

• We know that Two Ways to Live is a brilliantly clear summary of the biblical gospel in six key points that is known and trusted all over the world.
• A growing number of people are finding that there’s no better way to share the gospel with someone than simply opening up the Bible and reading it with them one-to-one.
• So why not come up with a way for people to work through the six key ideas of Two ways to live by simply reading Bible passages with a friend?
• (Smacks forehead.)

That’s what You, Me and the Bible is and does. It’s Two Ways to Live meets One-to-one Bible Reading. As the subtitle says, it’s a ‘reading guide to the six central ideas of the Bible’.

Each of the six parts has two shortish passages from different parts of the Bible, with some discussion-starter questions for each one to get the conversation moving. There’s also an optional summary video for each part, that can be accessed online for free to help wrap up the conversation and tie the threads together.

And that’s about it—a simple, easy-to-use resource that you can use in a number of different ways. The two most obvious uses are:

• As a personal follow-up tool for newcomers or after a mission or evangelistic program of some kind—when someone would benefit from going through the basic points of the gospel and talking them through one-to-one.
• As a relatively easy way to take a first step with a friend or family member you’ve been talking with. “Look, we’ve talked a few times about God and stuff. I’m just wondering if you’ve ever had a chance to actually read the Bible for yourself. I’ve got this new thing called You, Me and the Bible that would help us do that together. You interested?”

In fact, to help break the ice and invite your friends to read the Bible with you, we’ve also produced some short light-hearted videos that you can share on social media or via email.

So what’s the next obvious thing to do? I guess it would be to check out the videos, take a look at some sample pages, and generally find out more by going to matthiasmedia.com/ymb.

Paul Mallard, Inter-Varsity Press, Nottingham, 2013, 192 pp.

Every writing pastor seems to put out a book on two themes. One is marriage. Another is suffering. Judging from the prologues, the process goes something like this: they give a sermon series; it’s popular (who isn’t interested in these topics?); they turn the series into a book.

It can be hard to know which book on suffering to read, since there are so many. If you were to look over the recently published books on the topic, which one would you choose? I’ve read a fair few,^[1] and my top pick would definitely be Paul Mallard’s unassuming little book Invest Your Suffering. This book is ideal both for those preparing for suffering and (a harder audience!) for those who are suffering.

I’d never heard of Invest Your Suffering, or of Paul Mallard, when I was asked to review it. I wasn’t sure if I had time. I read one chapter in the dentist’s waiting room (for me) and others between ongoing visits to the doctor (for my chronically ill son). I didn’t regret it. It came at a time when I needed it, and it met me in my need.

One of the things I love about Invest Your Suffering is that it doesn’t aim for great things. You won’t find some clever new theological perspective on suffering (thank goodness!). It’s not long and exhaustive (for that, turn to Don Carson or, more recently, Tim Keller). It’s readable, honest, and heartfelt. It’s really just an exploration of some of the ways God’s word meets us when we suffer, from the pen of a pastor long experienced in suffering.

In some ways, this book is a love story. It’s about Mallard’s wife, Edrie, who suffers from a painful and debilitating neurological condition, and the difficult stages of their journey. But it is less about their love—although that shines through the pages—than it is about God’s love. Mallard states his goal here:

In the course of this book, we will engage with some of the great Bible passages that have brought light into Edrie’s and my darkest moments. (p. 22)

Each chapter opens with a scene from their story and the hard questions it raised for them, then unpacks a truth about God that helped them at this time. This is not a systematic book, but a pastoral and exegetical one. As I read, I felt like I was sitting in Mallard’s congregation, listening to him speak; or in his living room, talking with him and his wife.

Invest Your Suffering opens by inviting us to choose how we will respond to suffering. Will it make us better or bitter? Mallard says, “The right response is a deliberate and reasoned decision to trust” (p. 22), and the rest of his book is an invitation to this ‘reasoned trust’.

The second chapter addresses how we think about our trials. Mallard shows how damaging false views of suffering can be, and how much more deeply a true understanding can help us. If you’re looking for a clear, brief, biblical summary of God’s sovereignty in suffering—the idea that he is the ‘first cause’ and what that means—you’ll find it here.

Then it’s into the body of the book, and the Bible passages and truths that helped Mallard and his wife. Open my copy of the book and you’ll find six chapters circled on the contents page. These are the topics that spoke most deeply to me:

• trusting God when we can’t understand his purposes
• learning to number our days
• turning to God when we run out of answers
• suffering prepares us to minister to others
• only the cross of Christ helps when we are in emotional or physical pain
• suffering moves us to long for heaven.

I hope I’ve whetted your appetite for more!

When I read books, I hunt for the ‘gold’: quotes that help me, or may help others. In this book, there were many sentences that made the book sparkle. Here are a few I collected along the way:

Praise God and keep taking the tablets. (p. 32)

We walk by faith, not by explanations. We don’t have to understand everything God is doing in order to trust him. (p. 38)

We come to God with our broken hearts, and, without pausing, he continues to conduct the symphony of the stars while sweeping us into his arms and whispering that he loves us and that all is well. (p. 44)

God loves us and is too wise to make mistakes and too kind to cause us unnecessary pain. (p. 48)

Please don’t tell me that Christians shouldn’t grieve. (p. 56)

God has crushed us so that we can minister out of our pain. (p. 87)

Suffering is the best commentary on God’s character, and pain is the finest exposition of his excellencies. We discover more about God’s grace when we come to the end of ourselves. You will never know that God is all you need, until God is all you have. (p. 136)

When Edrie wept in the darkness and I wept with her, the Saviour was near, carrying us both on his heart and presenting us to his Father. (p. 152)

The main question we needed to ask was not ‘why?’ but ‘how?’. How can we bring glory to God in the midst of ‘attacks’ which have all but robbed us of the day? (p. 156)

The book has a few faults. I was a little alienated by some of the language (that we can “choose to overcome” and “triumph in the midst” of our pain—although Mallard, if anyone, has a right to say this) and by a couple of the chapters (on giving thanks, and on the benefits of suffering—they felt a little glib to me). Yet the vast majority of the book was sympathetic, sensitive, and open about the agonizing questions aroused by suffering.

Here’s a typical passage that is worth the price of the book alone:

There was one truth that, for me, stood head and shoulders above the others. It was the fact of the love of God demonstrated in the sacrifice of his Son at Calvary. I lived in the Gospels, and particularly John’s Gospel. I read it on my knees. I prayed it. I preached it. As I did these things, Jesus became more and more precious for me. Looking at his love and the suffering he experienced for me helped me to look beyond the apparent meaninglessness of our suffering to see that, at the heart of the Godhead, is a Saviour who knows and feels and sympathizes with our suffering. (p. 149)

Would I recommend this book to those who suffer? Definitely. Not many books are helpful and readable when you’re in the furnace. But Mallard’s honesty about his pain and doubt, his clarity of thought, and his pastor’s heart, make this a good choice for someone who is suffering. By the end you will feel like you have travelled with this godly man and his wife on their hard journey, and drunk deeply with them of the life-giving water of God’s word.

^[1] With the notable exception of Tim Keller’s Walking with God through Pain and Suffering.

When the executive chairman of Google (Eric Schmidt) says this, it’s worth asking: what are we losing as Christians if we don’t read books any more?

Of course, many Christians are still reading. But a blog isn’t the same as a book. Let’s face it, generally a blog is a first draft of the first few pages of the first chapter of a book that would actually get your brain engaged on an issue. Matthias Media books flow out of years of biblical research and reflection by our authors. They then go through our careful assessment process and are read by half a dozen astute readers. Once accepted for publication, they go through theological editing, general editing, proofreading, and professional typographical design.

Now, you might think it a little self-serving for a book publisher to be promoting the cause of book reading. And you’d be right. But as Christians—seeking the renewal of our minds (Rom 12:2)—it’s vital that we continue to do the deeper thinking and reflection that books are so good at fostering.

So our ambition is to turn this July into Read-a-Christian-book month.

To help you read a book and help you encourage others to read a book in July…

(1) we’ve asked a bunch of Christian leaders which Matthias Media book they would recommend for any average Christian to read;
(2) we’ve made those books extremely cheap until 6 July;
(3) we’ve created a few downloadable posters you can put on your church noticeboard and/or Powerpoint slides you can show on a screen.

You can find all this at www.matthiasmedia.com.au/read-a-good-book (or www.matthiasmedia.com/read-a-good-book if you are in North America, Africa or Europe).

The recommended/discounted books are all quite short and easy-to-read, and cover a range of different topics and issues. But they have been chosen by our ‘recommenders’ because they are all suitable for any Christian.

So what can you do? Here are some suggestions:

• put the challenge to all your church members or Christian friends, point them to the web site mentioned above, and let them at it;
• put the challenge to your home group, and even take the initiative and buy enough books to dole out to all the members of your group;
• buy 10 books yourself (for less than $50), and offer them free to anyone who will commit to reading a book and sharing with you what they learn from it before the end of July (a great way to encourage the culture of reading);
• use your own imagination—this project has got to be worth a try, doesn’t it?

Thanks for anything you can do along these lines. Please pray with us that it will result in some real spiritual growth in your part of the world.

I found Claire Smith’s response clear and easy to read. But I thought it was just so helpful to start the book with the first article by Peter Tong, as it sets the response within the right framework for a thoughtful and thorough discussion… I now understand that a proposal to change the way a word had been understood by the church for two thousand years should be debated and tested in a more rigorous and academic manner than Facebook comments…

One question that a couple of people have raised with me is how WSB interacts with the two editions of Hearing Her Voice (HHV) that are in circulation. John Dickson himself has expressed disappointment on this issue in some public remarks, claiming that WSB is “deeply flawed” on account of it being “based on the 1st edition instead of the 2nd”. This is an unfortunate comment, not least because it gives the impression that WSB did not deal fairly with the most up-to-date version of John’s position, and so (presumably) has failed to come to terms with what he really thinks and argues.

This is by no means the case, and (for those who are interested) I’ve set out the facts below on exactly how WSB has dealt with the two editions of HHV. As readers of WSB will discover for themselves, the authors took quite some trouble to interact with John’s complete published argument about women and preaching, both in its first and second editions.

In the meantime, please keep praying that everyone involved in reading and discussing the book will be taught by the grace of God to live “self-controlled, upright and godly” lives (Titus 2:14-15).

A brief account of the two editions of HHV, and how WSB interacts with them.

1. The first edition of HHV was published worldwide by Zondervan as an ebook in Dec 2012 (alongside two other ebooks on women and ministry, by Michael Bird and Kathy Keller). HHV generated considerable discussion and controversy in the months immediately following. John Dickson sent a free black and white printout of the ebook to every rector in Sydney, and promoted the book extensively through social media, asking on numerous occasions for people to engage with his thesis and offer counter-arguments if such existed.

2. A few of us decided that this would be worth doing (the topic being of considerable importance) and set about writing. By June 2013 the essays were done. We then learnt of the imminent publication of a revised edition (the ‘second edition’) that John said did not change the argument in any significant way, but clarified and corrected at a few points, and added extra supportive material to the argument (about 30% more).

3. We asked John for a pre-publication copy so that we could deal fairly with any clarifications, corrections or new evidence presented in the second edition. He kindly sent us a printout of the second edition in the first week of August 2013.

4. A few weeks later, the second edition was released only in Australia and only as a print edition (with a full-colour cover). The second edition did not indicate that it was a second or revised edition, or that a first edition existed. This was somewhat confusing, especially since the first edition continued to be sold by Zondervan as an ebook in Australia and worldwide. (The first edition has recently been withdrawn from Amazon.com in advance of the release of the second edition as an ebook sometime in the coming weeks. However, as of today, the first edition is still for sale as an ebook through Koorong books.)

5. So the authors and editors of WSB had to consider the following:

• the first edition Zondervan ebook was a published work in its own right
• it had been widely distributed and discussed throughout Australia and the world
• it was the only edition of HHV that many Australian readers of WSB would ever read
• it was the only edition that readers outside Australia had access to (and that remains the case, as of today)
• it remained in circulation and for sale (and has remained so right up until today).

In response to these facts, we made what we still consider to be the only reasonable decision—that we would need to deal fairly with both editions of HHV in our response.

6. Accordingly, starting in August 2013, the WSB authors went back through all the essays and revised them, making sure that we noted and interacted with any significant points at which the second edition corrected or clarified the first, and interacted with additional arguments or evidence adduced in the second edition. (Readers of WSB will see for themselves that we have done this.) This procedure meant that the many readers of the first edition could read a critique of the edition they had in their hands, but also see any points of substance at which the second edition clarified or improved the argument. It also meant that readers of the second edition suffered no disadvantage (because new or clarified material in the second edition was carefully and clearly interacted with).

7. All of this of course took some months (it was painstaking, and we’re all busy people). The revised versions of essays were completed in late November. WSB then went through very thorough editing and checking to make sure everything was as accurate as possible, followed by design and ebook coding, and then further checking. In our process at Matthias Media, this all took slightly longer than the usual time (because of the size of the book, the nature of a multi-authored volume, the number of footnotes to be checked, the intervention of the Christmas holidays, and some staffing-related delays).

8. WSB was published as an ebook on 5 May 2014. For those who wish to read the arguments for themselves, you can purchase the WSB ebook from Matthias Media, Amazon and iTunes.

• in formats suitable for most computers and ebook readers at Matthias Media (purchase the ebook and access both the epub and mobi (kindle) files)
• on the Apple iBooks platform (by using the iBooks app on your iOS device)
• at Amazon.com for Kindle

You can download:

• the introduction to the volume, explaining how the collection came about, what its aims are, and what the different contributions are seeking to achieve;
• Peter Tong’s excellent opening essay ‘Doing theology in a digital culture’.

We hope you enjoy these two appetisers in advance of the main course.

I’ve run it three times now and it’s been excellent. The material has delivered on what it promised to do, which is essentially four things:

1. Help newcomers get to know God better through studying the Bible

Over the four weeks of GTK you look at:

• Who God is and how we should relate to him
• The problem of sin
• Jesus’ death on the cross
• The resurrection of Jesus and what that means for us now.

The studies are simple and well structured, and they also serve as a way of teasing out where people are at when it comes to their faith (which is very helpful with new people). For example, during the third study one lady asked, “Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Couldn’t God have dealt with our sins in some other way?” And this led to a worthwhile conversation in the group.

The material also serves as a basic theological foundation for why we do the things that we do as a church, and what newcomers should expect if they become partners in our ministry.

2. Help newcomers get to know other people as they meet during the course

The way we’ve structured our course is that we start with 30-45 minutes of afternoon tea on a Sunday afternoon, before sitting down to look at the material. This gives people a chance to chat, get to know each other and hear each other’s stories. Perhaps not surprisingly, the afternoon tea time gets longer week by week.

There’s also a chance to get to know each other better when it comes to the material, with a variety of introductory questions that have led to some very interesting stories. One of the most effective was the rather strange question: “How did you heat your home when you were growing up?” This led to a fascinating variety of responses and insight into where people have come from.

3. Help newcomers get to know your church as your talk through what you believe and what you do

Every church is different, and you want to able to tell newcomers what your particular congregation is like. While the Bible study is at the centre of the material, there are also useful opportunities to bounce off the study material into talking about your church.

• In the first study, I started off by telling my group a bit about the history of our church, its different congregations and how things are organized.
• In the second study, I was able to say that because we’re all sinners then you can’t expect our church to be perfect.
• In the third study, I was able to speak about the way the cross of Jesus shapes the things our church does and how we encourage people to live.
• In the final study, I was able to spend some time talking about what it means to join us and be a partner in ministry in terms of growth, service, mission and financial support.

4. Help newcomers get to know you better as you lead the course

Since I became the senior minister at our church this year, I’ve found that my attention has been divided across a whole host of areas (is it just me?). One of my worries is that I will get drawn away from the coalface and become detached from my people. The other thing that worries me is that new people might come to the congregation, and think that I’m too busy to be interested in them.

While I realize that there are limits to what I can do in my new role, I’ve found GTK to be a real blessing to me personally—not only because it’s an efficient way of spending time with a number of newcomers. It’s been a great blessing just in terms of being able to do the thing that I wanted to do when I first entered ministry—loving people by getting to know them, sharing my life with them and teaching them about Jesus through God’s word in the Bible.

I know the research that says that integrating newcomers is a critical factor when it comes to growing a church. But even if it wasn’t, the opportunity to meet new people, hear their stories and show them the difference the gospel makes—well I think, that’s reason enough to add GTK to your toolbox as well.

[GTK: Get to Know is a digital-only resource available exclusively to GoThereFor.com subscribers.]

Edited by Michael Jensen, Aquila Press, Sydney, 2013, 224 pp.

Every group has their own standards about who is ‘in’ or ‘out’. I went to an academically selective high school (i.e. you had to do well on a series of exams to get in) where, by definition, everyone was a nerd. Yet we still had a ‘cool group’, and we teased the nerds for being so clever, though I doubt most of the students at the local comprehensive school would have recognized our categorizations.

Similarly, while it might be one of the last things you would categorize as such, there’s a certain ‘trendiness’ in theological circles in talking about the Trinity. In Bible-nerd circles it’s been flavour-of-the-month for years now.

In my opinion, this fascination with the Trinity is great, but sometimes executed poorly. On the one hand, it’s wonderful that we’re recognizing and talking about how the very nature of God is crucially important, and it should thoroughly inform our lives and doctrine. If we’re on about loving and serving God, knowing who he is ought to be high up on our list of Important Things To Do.

Unfortunately, much of what passed for trinitarian reflection amongst my fellow students at theological college, and some of what we heard and read, fell into one of two common traps. Firstly, talking about the Trinity easily becomes so abstract that it is difficult to see how it relates to anything else. Secondly, implications or analogies to human situations can be drawn too quickly and directly and they become rather forced. (My theory, for what it’s worth, is that it is common in the New Testament to draw direct parallels from the actions and character of Jesus and the apostles to us: Jesus was a servant of others; go likewise with a servant heart. When we get to the Trinity, we want to do the same thing, but what is it for us to act ‘trinitarianly’? For the most part I think that’s a category error, and a failure to reckon with the differences between God and humanity.)

Given this background, I’m thankful for the recent Church of the Triune God: a book in celebration of the teaching and passion of Robert Doyle, a lecturer from Moore Theological College. Edited by Michael Jensen, it’s a collection of excellent essays on the themes he was so captivated by throughout his teaching career: the Trinity and the church.

This is a book in two parts. The first section is a collection of reflections on Doyle’s favourite theologians and their interactions with trinitarian thought. Chapters on Athansius, Augustine, Calvin, Barth, TF Torrance, the Anglican tradition, and DB Knox make up this first part of the book, with their authors writing on how the themes of the church and the Trinity were addressed by each theologian. The second section turns to a series of topics in the life of the church—preaching, prayer, living for others, mission—and reflects on what the doctrine of the Trinity has to say to each of these activities of God’s people. These two strands combine to make an interesting and varied read.

Books on the Trinity are rarely easy reads. This is a bit of a shame, although it’s easy to understand why. As soon as you get beyond a sentence or three about the Trinity (One God in three persons; the Father is not the Son; the Son is not the Spirit; the Spirit is not the Father; etc.) then the language and concepts quickly get rather involved. Describing the Trinity using any form of analogy is notoriously difficult. This book is almost an exception to that rule, but not quite. If you’ve never read about the Trinity before, this is not the book to start with. It’s written for those with some background—unsurprisingly, as it’s celebrating a theological lecturer, by his colleagues and students.

It is, however, down the more accessible end of the spectrum. Some essays are excellent starting points. Andrew Cameron’s chapter, in particular, explains not only how the persons of the Trinity relate to one another, but how that can be reflected in our lives as the church. In much the same style as his excellent Joined-Up Life, he explains himself abundantly along the way, defining terms clearly, warning the reader where it’s a little difficult, but encouraging perseverance because the result is worth it.

There’s lots to like about this book. I appreciated how the authors show the doctrine of the Trinity reflected in the life of the church, but avoid simple or direct equivalence from the life of God to our life. For example, Mark Baddeley writes:

For Athanasius, the Trinity is about how radically and fundamentally different the relationship of the Father and the Son and the Spirit is to anything like the relationships that exist between human beings (p. 15).

Direct application of the Trinity to the life of the Church is rare for Athanasius. He does, however, make some connections: humanity is made in the image of God, and the unity of the church reflects the unity of God in Trinity. More commonly, however, the trinitarian nature of God shapes how he acts towards us in revelation and redemption. It is then these acts of God toward us that shape our life:

God’s saving acts give the Church its nature and characteristics, not God’s own divine nature operating immediately upon the Church (pp. 19‑20).

So rather than observing and celebrating the nature of God as Trinity and then asking how we can be imitators of him directly, Athanasius’ method is to see how the Trinity acts in ways that affect us. We can’t properly understand revelation or salvation without the doctrine of the Trinity. This is echoed by John McLean as he writes about Calvin:

How then do we come to know the true God? Calvin’s general answer is ‘Scripture’. The substance of revelation conveyed by Scripture is God’s self-revelation in Christ by the Spirit. (p. 59)

But it’s not all about our understanding: the chapter on TF Torrance especially deals with our participation in the triune life of God. Benjamin Dean explains how Torrance understood the church as being constituted by relationship with Christ; the church is in communion with the Father through the Son, in the Spirit, as the persons of the Trinity are in communion.

The whole first section is bound to be encouraging: you’ll be reminded of biblical truths; you’ll be urged to delight in the love of the Father who redeemed you by the Son in the power of the Spirit; you’ll learn something new about these remarkable thinkers and writers God has graciously given to benefit his people.

However, I found the final section to be where this book really came into its own. As mentioned above, Andrew Cameron’s chapter is excellent. He paints a picture of how trinitarian theology is the much-needed antidote to our culture’s fascination with the myth of self-fulfilment. He starts with Robert Doyle’s own analysis of the current context, that “the greatest moral good has become to remove all barriers to an individual’s self-
fulfilment” (p. 142). Drawing on a clear explanation of how the Father, Son, and Spirit relate to one another in mutual, self-giving love, he critiques our evangelical culture in which we have largely abandoned the ‘one-another-ness’ that flows from being a church after the image of God (p. 158). It simultaneously taught me something, got me thinking further in ways I needed, and whipped me into shape.

Other chapters in this section are also fruitful, reflecting on how the Trinity shapes, explains, and enables various aspects of church life to happen. Activities such as preaching or prayer aren’t some kind of trinitarian imitation, they’re possible because of the Trinity:

Preaching is speaking God’s words concerning God’s Son in the power of God’s Spirit for the building of God’s people to the glory of God (p. 163).

The overwhelming evidence in the New Testament is that prayer steeped in the knowledge of God as Trinity is mainly prayer to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit (p. 182).

Prayer, preaching, and mission are therefore trinitarian activities in which we participate as faithful members of Christ.

The Trinity really is at the heart of all of theology, and affects how we engage with the rest of doctrine—although it’s not always easy to work out exactly how. This book helps to do a lot of that work, pointing out how Father, Son, and Spirit are at the centre of revelation, salvation, the nature of the church, prayer, preaching, evangelism, and so much more. It may not be a book for absolutely everyone, but I do recommend it: it will be good for your soul to be reminded of the God of the universe, present with us through his Son, in the power of the Spirit.

Dave McDonald, a Canberra-based church planter, pastor and sports chaplain to the ACT Brumbies Super Rugby Team, was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer in late 2011.

Friends, I read my copy of this book in just an hour on the train, between Central and Helensburgh. And that was with several pauses while I tried not to cry in front of everyone else in the packed carriage.

At just 90 pages, it was that clear and gripping.

He’s written a book to explain that there is hope beyond cure. In fact, that’s its title, Hope Beyond Cure.

It’s a superb book. Dave writes

I knew people who’d had cancer. I’d visited people at their bedsides and watched them waste away. I’d witnessed the brutality of the treatments. I’d prayed with people and seen some recover, but I’d seen others die. I’d lost friends and relatives to this cruel and indiscriminate disease. I’d conducted funerals and wept with those who mourned. I thought I knew something about cancer, but I couldn’t appreciate the multiple layers of pain and loss it creates until I began to experience these things myself. [p.26]

I can relate to everything Dave writes there, except the personal experience in the last line. But his book goes as close to anything I’ve read in helping us who’ve never been there understand those who have.

Indeed, one of the unexpected blessings of Dave’s diagnosis is that we discovered he had a real writing gift, firstly as he blogged his way through the terrible times of his treatment, when he had energy for nothing else, and now in this book.

It’s brutally honest. It’s short and realistic. It doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. But it delivers what it promises: hope beyond cure.

Perhaps it won’t surprise you to discover Dave points clearly, winsomely, compassionately, but uncompromisingly towards the gospel of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen as the only source of hope for life beyond death. And he explains the reasons why he found that hope to remain a true hope, both objectively and subjectively, when cancer threw everything he knew up in the air. His treatment of the resurrection basis for hope is brief though brilliant.

As one of the endorsers writes—basically outlining the contents—it starts with the words tumour and incurable. And eventually Dave transforms those first horrible words into new words: faith, hope and love. 

Actually, it’s got a wider range of endorsements than you’d normally see on a Matthias Media title: a book publisher from London, a New Testament professor from Chicago, the West Australian of the year (a professor of medicine), a Sydney oncologist, the head coach of one Super Rugby team, and the CEO of another.

It also includes the endorsement of one of my best friends at our church, who lost his wife from cancer in the last 12 months.

High praise indeed. And already I’ve given a second copy of the book away, and could think instantly of a couple more I’ll send it to. I reckon its mix of the personal biographical and the biblically spiritual will work appropriately not just for active Christians, but for fellow travellers, and any sufferers of incurable disease, along with their friends and carers. I’m certain it will be given away far more than many other evangelistic books.

Just so you know I’m not being an uncritical fan, here are two things I wished Dave had said something more about. Firstly, about how friends can be more helpful (and avoid being unhelpful) to someone suffering cancer. And secondly, about how sufferers should respond when well-meaning but misguided Christians tell them they’d be healed if only they had enough faith.

But maybe that’s for another book or a few blog posts.

To conclude, here are three extracts among the many I found helpful.

Explaining the parable of the healing of the paralysed man from Mark 2:3-12, Dave writes,

I assume that the forgiveness of this man’s sins was the last thing his four friends had on their minds. They had either seen Jesus healing serious illnesses and disabilities or heard about his ability to do so, so they did all they could to make sure their friend got a piece of the action. They must have been dismayed when all Jesus did was forgive his sins—what a let down! But Jesus had given him something far better. Forgiveness is the only gateway to deep healing that lasts forever. One action—healing the paralysis—lasted only a few years, until he died. The other—forgiveness—lasted beyond death for eternity. (p. 43)

What a sentence to treasure: “Forgiveness is the only gateway to deep healing that lasts forever.”

And try this when Dave explains how the Psalms have helped him when circumstances overwhelm him with questions…

I’m thankful for the friend who sent me a message and pointed me to Psalm 62: “power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love” (verses 11-12).

 

In these verses there are two things in particular about God that have strengthened my hope time and time again. First, God is powerful ; second his love is unfailing. If God were powerful but not loving, I could never approach him. If God were loving but weak, I’d have no guarantee that he could help me. Yet because God is both powerful and loving, he offers genuine hope to all who come to him for help. These words have warmed my heart and restored my confidence in God. (p. 76)

And I’m sure they’ll do the same for me and many others now too.

Lastly, listen to Dave’s closing and humble appeal:

 You might be thinking that I’m somehow different from you—that I have faith and you don’t. Perhaps you even wish you had my faith. But it’s not my faith that matters—it’s who and what I’ve put my faith in. There’s nothing remarkable about my faith. Sometimes it’s weak and sometimes it wavers. But Jesus is not weak and Jesus never wavers. He can be trusted. (p. 88)

[You can purchase Hope Beyond Cure as a print or ebook from Matthias Media here.]