I could see that, for the first time, he had realized that the beach was not just fun, but dangerous as well.  After that, he has not been willing to stand in the ocean without holding my hand.  Eventually, I know that he will learn to play in the ocean without holding on to my hand but until then I’m happy standing there to make him more secure.

What’s interesting is that when I’m holding his hand the danger of the waves is exciting and thrilling.  When I’m not holding his hand, the waves are scary and threatening.

I wonder if this could be how it is with God.  Maybe the difference between a trial and an adventure is whether or not we are holding the Father’s hand or wrestling away from Him in self-reliance?

• Through Their Eyes
• What Not to Get Me for Christmas
• Okay, Who Forgot to Put Out the Campfire?
• Happy Father’s Day to Me
• Happy Father’s Day to Me… Again.

Let me explain.  I’m a pastor.  It’s who I am, but it’s also what I do.  This also means that there isn’t a clear line drawn between what I do, who I am, and my relationship with God.  They are all happening at the same time, most of the time.  That’s a great blessing, but it can also get a little weird at times.

It becomes easy to begin thinking that what I do (and how well I do it), and my relationship with God are the same.  That’s not good.  My approval rating with God begins to rise and fall based on how well I preached, counseled, or led this week.

But, I’m sitting here looking at the beach and not doing any ministry outside of loving my family.  And you know what?  I think that Jesus loves me the same.

I think one of the reasons that God ordained the need for rest from the moment of creation is, in part, to remind us that we are more than what we do. We are objects of mercy.  Objects of His relentless love.

When we forget that, we forget ourselves.

• Owen’s Birthday
• The Nature of the Love of God
• Enter the Story: The Gospel
• My Wife is my Key to a Happy Marriage
• What Are You Willing To Do?

First, let me say that many people have been touched by this book. Many of whom are grounded in orthodox Christianity and have a healthy respect for God and the Bible. I, too, was moved at the end of the book by the story of reconciliation and restoration. It’s a beautiful story. I want to be clear that I am not critiquing your private experience with God. I’m critiquing a book. I say this because often when I have questioned certain facets of the book in discussion with people who were moved by it, I have been met with various levels of defensiveness as though I were questioning the validity of something that happened between them and God. Please quit that. It’s silly and a waste of our time!

Here’s a telling question: “Did The Shack mediate an experience between you and God or did the Holy Spirit initiate the encounter?” Be careful with your answer. One answer leads you to idolatry. The other leads to Jesus.

If the book is not the mediator, then we should be able to talk about the book freely without your feelings getting hurt. Fair enough?

The Writing and General Literary Quality

William Paul Young is a good writer, though at times he forgets that in the book. There are moments where his storytelling and dialogue is natural and inviting. Other times it comes off like a Lifetime for Women movie showing late at night. It’s a mixed bag. There is an old addage about good writing that says that it’s always better to show than to tell. For example, you could say “Joe was really sad.” But it’s far more powerful to describe the expression on Joe’s face, his posture, and maybe some dialogue where the sadness is hidden between the lines as subtext. This way you let the reader feel things authentically instead of telling them what to feel.

When you start “telling” too much it’s easy to allow the dialogue to become really cliched and melodramatic. It loses its moorings in reality and starts to feel fake and stilted.

Very often The Shack tells more than it shows and some of the potential impact gets lost. Other times, Young gets in a groove and sucks you in with a beautiful sensitivity and subtlety. Like when Jesus takes Mack out onto the lake for a stroll on top of the water. Or when Papa leads Mack through the woods to find Missy. (trying to avoid spoilers here!)

The Shack isn’t poorly written, but it is inconsistent. I have a sneaking suspicion that this may be more due to over-editing than his writing prowess.

The Theology of The Shack

This is why you’re here right? There are some problems. I think everyone who has heard of the book knows there are some problems. The real question is whether or not those problems should be deal breakers for us or if we should simply pick out the bones and enjoy the rest.

You can’t talk about this constructively without speaking to some much larger issues first.

First, there’s the reader that says, “I know there are problems with the theology but the book really helped me get over some issues. God really healed me through that book so how can you say it’s bad?”

Listen to what you are saying. You are putting the false gospel of pragmatism in authority over Scripture. Pragmatism simply means that “if it works, it’s right and good. If it doesn’t produce the intended result, it’s bad and should be abandoned.”

Pragmatism relates to this because what you are saying is that because I was touched by God while reading The Shack, then The Shack is good and right. This is simply not a Biblical world view. A Biblical worldview would demand that everything that calls itself the truth must be measured and tested by The Truth of scripture. If something is in conflict with what is clearly taught in Scripture then it is, by definition, bad. Regardless of whether we perceive that it “works” as we intend it or not.

This is the only way to truthfully evaluate this book!

Second, there’s the reader that says, “I know there are problems with the theology but this is fiction and not a theology textbook.”

Sigh. I think this objection frustrates me most, so I may get a little cranky on this one.

What is “theology” then? Isn’t it the study of God? As soon as you start making assertions about the nature and activity of God you have begun theology. I don’t care if its in a book, around a coffee table, or in a sports bar. It’s theology. It matters not at all what literary form it is in. Children’s book, textbook, biography, drama, fiction, sci-fi, whatever. Theology is theology no matter where it’s found.

This is the same fallacy behind the attitude that many still espouse that says, “I don’t need no theology. Just gimme my NIV and Jesus. That’s all I need!” Seriously? Do you think you can read your Bible and even say the name of Jesus without it being “theology”? Sorry to break it to you, but if you know Jesus your are a theologian. Maybe a bad one, but you still qualify.

The real question we should be asking about ALL media that we consume is, what is the message? There is always a message, an assertion of some kind. Something we are to learn, or a world view being represented. Why are we so naive to think that if it’s fiction there’s no message? Fiction is perhaps the most powerful and effective means of communicating a message and getting the audience to adopt the message into their world view. Why do you think Jesus told so many parables? Was he just trying to help future children’s book writers?

Don’t devalue the quest to know God (and to understand Him rightly according to what He has revealed to us about Himself through the Bible) by relegating it to boring textbooks and old white dudes in liberal seminaries. Frankly, it’s foolish to do so.

I’m not saying the author of The Shack is trying to assimilate the world into believing that God the Father is a fat black woman who likes to bake. Sadly, that is where much of the debate over this book has landed. However, the author is making some truth claims whether he wants to admit it or not.

My issues with the book are not the same ones that everyone else is whipped up about. I agree that God the Father should not be portrayed as a woman. If he wanted us to call him a her He would have said so. I just think there is a bigger fish to fry here.

The Message of The Shack

What’s the message, then? I believe the primary message of the book is an attempt to answer the ancient question of how God can allow evil (and the resulting suffering) in the world. Especially when it comes to “good” people. Even His people.

The book tries to answer this question by making God nicer, more accessible, less glorious, and less scary. Case in point… When Papa (God the Father) explains why He is appearing to Mack as a woman, He explains that it’s because what Mack needed in that moment was a mother, not a father. So God presented Himself as a woman to make Mack feel more comfortable and to make Himself more easily acceptable to Mack.

Wait a second. Didn’t Copernicus teach us anything? We aren’t the center of the universe.

The problem here is that if you strip God of His majesty, His “otherness”, then you no longer have God. Of course, the same is true if you strip him of His “closeness”. It’s never either/or with God. It MUST be both/and. God doesn’t set aside His holiness when He loves us any more than a good father sets aside His love for His children when he disciplines them. Both are happening, in their fullness, at the same time. The idea that God must hide some part of His nature in order to cater to our brokeness creates an impotent gospel!

An example of this is found in Moses’ relationship with God. In Exodus 33, we see that when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak to God, God spoke to him “face to face”. This statement doesn’t mean much if we are talking about a God that is not holy, majestic, glorious, and jealous. It doesn’t mean much UNLESS we read about God speaking “I Am” from the burning bush, or only allowing Moses to see the outer edge of His glory in passing because if Moses glimpsed more he would be consumed by the site of God’s glory.

In other words, grace and forgiveness do not mean much to us until we see the fiercness of God’s hate for sin, the fierceness of His glory, and the magnitude of our iniquity. When we see those things clearly, and then we are confronted by the grace of the cross then we understand how God can be both holy and full of grace at the same time.

This dynamic is completely missing from The Shack. The triune God gets stripped of His fierce holiness in an attempt to make Him more approachable. His harder edges are softened so that we will not be put off by His sovereignty. When I am broken and suffering I don’t want a God that is like me. I need a God that I can worship because He is grand and He made a way for me to have relationship with Him.

Why isn’t the incarnation of Jesus enough for us to relate to? Why do we have to strip God of His greatness in order to approach Him?

We Dare Not.

Should You Read It?

You won’t go to hell if you read it. But there are better books that won’t try to feed you an impotent gospel presented by a God that is mysterious but not glorious.

RECOMMENDATION: Want to wrestle with the problem of suffering? Read “Suffering and the Sovereignty of God” by John Piper.

• Dealing with Disappointment and Suffering
• Where is Your Identity?
• Book Review: Jim and Casper Go to Church
• Predestination – Where do You Stand?
• How Can I Be Godly AND Wrong?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-zR3h2UsR4

• Billy Graham and Woody Allen
• Dancing Comedian – Funny Stuff
• Wooden Spoon Game – Some Guys Are Slow Learners
• Near Death Experiences Video
• Autistic Teenager Plays Basketball

• Wooden Spoon Game – Some Guys Are Slow Learners
• Funny Skittles Commercial
• Hilarious Olympic Swim Trial
• Billy Graham and Woody Allen
• Dancing Comedian – Funny Stuff

I’ve also noticed a general trend to sanitize some of the more intense areas of scripture for the kids.  Sin gets minimized.  The price paid for sin gets minimized.  Christ’s suffering on the cross, etc.  The result is that our kids get moralistic tales, sort of a Hebrew version of Aesop’s Fables.  We lose Jesus as the Hero, Rescuer and King of humanity.

And if you do find one that has decent content, it’s written like a textbook and the only thing your kids learn from it is that the Bible is boring and is for adults only.  That’s not exactly what we are going for here!

Recently Heather’s sister recommended a Bible they have been using with their kids.  It’s called, “The Jesus Storybook Bible“.  We picked it up and read some of it together in the Barnes & Noble and it nearly brought me to tears in the isle.  It’s written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and it is masterful.  She has a beautiful instinct for how “each story whispers His name” from Genesis to Revelation.  It is so doctrinally rich, I call it a commentary for kids.  I’m not kidding.  It really does read that way.  She has a whimsical way of focussing each story onto Jesus and bringing out the essential elements of the story that will build a solid doctrinal understanding.

But, don’t let the word “doctrinal” and “commentary” fool you.  Her writing is beautiful and captivating for both the kids and the parent.  It’s not sing songy like so many others, but it has a wonderful whimsy and rhythm to it that is a lot of fun.

The illustrations are increadible as well.  They were created by Jago, and they really match the playful and rich writing of Lloyd-Jones.

This is a real gem!  I recommend anyone getting it, even if only for yourself. You might have to read it in private for fear of what your friends will think of an adult reading a children’s Bible, but I think it’s a worthy price to pay.  ;-)  I find myself picking it up all the time and reading it.  I usually keep reading after my kids have gone to bed because it really is that well done.

“I would urge not just families with young children to get this book, but every Christian–from pew warmers, to ministry leaders, seminarians and even theologians! Sally Lloyd-Jones has captured the heart of what it means to find Christ in all the scriptures, and has made clear even to little children that all God’s revelation has been about Jesus from the beginning–a truth not all that commonly recognized even among the very learned.” ~ Dr. Timothy Keller

Here’s a link to an excerpt from the book along with the illustrations.

• Why Santa Won’t be Coming to my House… Ever.
• It’s the little things
• Let Kids Be Kids
• My Review of The Shack
• What Are You Willing To Do?

Have you ever noticed in Scripture that Jesus, even though He revolutionized the whole world with just 3 year’s worth of public ministry, never seemed liked He was in a hurry? He waited 30 years before He even revealed Himself publicly. Then, after His very public baptism and affirmation with an audible voice from heaven, He disappeared for another 40 days.

After Jesus’ incredible ascension into heaven, His disciples didn’t immediately run around telling everyone, they went to Jerusalem and waited like Jesus had told them to (finally they were listening). Then, after an extended time in which they “joined together constantly in prayer,” God moved, and just like that 3000 people got saved.

His timing, manner and method will be perfect, be it fast or slow. [We should] take things one step at a time with Jesus’ earthly ministry and the early church’s start as our pattern. They understood that prayer is the work and everything else is the result of the work.

What are you struggling to “take one step at a time” with right now?

• Missional Church
• Pet Peeve #27 – Jewish Prayer Shawls and Holy Land Anointing Oil
• Touching the Untouchables
• Stuff No One Told Me Before I Became a Pastor
• Living in Self-Forgetfulness