Let's Read

I try to be intentional about reading.  For most of my life, I couldn't really stand the thought of reading much of anything.  When I went back to school in 2005, I realized that I was doing considerable harm to myself and my congregation by taking a casual approach to the mental gymnastics that occur through reading. So, I now set a goal for reading each year.  This year, I plan to read at least 20 books of substance.  I'll use this space to reflect on some of them.

The first one (completed a couple of weeks ago) was the one pictured here.  It made it to the top of my list through the questions and suggestions of several church members.  I must say:  I really had to force myself to finish.  While I applaud Mr. Comfort for his passion in evangelism, I was thoroughly alienated by his frequent condescension of almost all modern evangelism techniques and (at best) questionable exegesis of key texts.  Interestingly, his entire premise (we should conduct evangelism the way Jesus did - by starting with the 10 Commandments) is unsustainable when you look at how Jesus reached people.  His consistent attack on "God has a plan for your life" as a valid "hook" for evangelism ignores key aspects of the gospel message.  Also, I found it interesting that he did not subject his own method to the long-term critical analysis (i.e., looking for "staying power" among so-called "converts") to which he so readily and frequently subjected other methods. A note to young believers:  Just because someone throws around Jesus' name and uses scripture in their presentation doesn't mean they're responsibly promoting Jesus' way or responsibly interpreting the text!

As negative as my perception  of this book is, I have to say that Mr. Comfort challenged me - and the Church - with the passion he carries for reaching lost people with a valid salvation message.  While I disagree with his ultimate conclusion as to the method one should employ, I wholeheartedly endorse his call to active involvement with people for the cause of Christ.  We all can take a lesson from him - and the Master - at that point!