For the past 20 years I have ranked every book I’ve read from one to four stars. The Contrarian’s Guide To Knowing God is definitely a four star book.
In his book, Larry Osborne writes, “Contrarian thinking at its best simply asks, Is this really true? It speaks up when the politically correct answer or conventional wisdom doesn’t match reality–when things simply don’t work the way everyone says they should.”
With that introduction, Larry examines most aspects of what many of us have been taught about growing in our relationship with God. I found his insights both troubling and encouraging.
Here are some gems:
“The best way to produce the kind of spiritual growth you are looking for is to hang around those who are already experiencing it. It’s a law of human nature. Over time, we start to think, act, and live like those we spend significant time with.”
“I pray the Prayer of Permission. ‘Lord, I know what you want me to do, but I don’t want to do it. I’m giving you full permission to change the way I feel and think about it.'”
“At the church I lead, we make every effort to avoid presenting cultural values, traditions, and extra-biblical rules and regulations as if they’re on par with Scripture.”
“Another problem with the quest to use all our gifts and fulfill all our promise, no matter what, is that it sets us up for the heartache known as Destination Sickness. There’s nothing worse than arriving where you wanted to go, only to realize you don’t want to be there. We’ve all experienced it at some level–having left something good for what we thought was much better; only to find that the greener grass was painted concrete. But perhaps the saddest part of the journey to bogus greener grass is that it almost always leaves behind broken relationships. Co-workers, family members, friends, and those who depend on us are devastated to discover that our deepest loyalty is not to them, but to ourselves and our potential.”
Pick this one up! It is well worth your time and energy.
Greg,
I’ll get the book, but can you clarify a bit what he meant about this:
“At the church I lead, we make every effort to avoid presenting cultural values, traditions, and extra-biblical rules and regulations as if they’re on par with Scripture.”
Thanks bro. Hey, don’t know if you’ve caught wind of Vince’s blog, but check it out: http://www.vinceantonucci.com , some pretty wild happenings at Forefront as of late, i.e., Church Service in a Pub every Tuesday night. It has been really cool! Anyway.., thanks for the insight on above.
Really good seeing you at SouthEast a few weeks ago. Blessings bro!
IHL,
Richie
T
Hey Richie,
Always good to hear from you.
I think what Larry is driving at with this statement is that far too often we equate traditions and preferences with Scripture. Most churches don’t get in trouble over Scriptural differences, they get into trouble over opinions.
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I just ordered the book. It should arrive tomorrow. I look forward to checking it out. Thanks for the recommendation!
Thanks for the response Greg. I ordered the book. Looking forward to the read. Blessings bro!
Go Birds! (Eagles!)
IHL,
Richie
The book sounded interesting until you made your own list.
Anonymous,
I didn’t understand your comment. The quotes are all from the book.
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