Book Review: The Search for Significance

As most of you know, I am book-a-holic. There are so many wonderful things about life that I want to know about, therefore I read. This year, one book in particular has had an exciting impact on me personally and my ministry. I studied The Search for Significance by Robert McGee for the Biblical Counseling 101 class at DTS over the Winterterm.

The Search for Significance is the perfect example of blending sound theology with another academic discipline. It is a counseling book, but based upon sound Christian truth. It deals with the psychological realties and hang-ups of our day.

I am so tired of the abuse of terms like “insecurity”. We tend to label people that whom we don’t like. Even the Christian community doesn’t answer the obvious question of “What are we to be secure in?” People foolishly find their identity and thus security in anything from the fact that they started on the high school football team, are the prettiest of the three girls they hang around, work 12 hour days, make more money than their neighbor, have kids who don’t cuss as much as the other parent’s kids at church, or simply that they think they are cool.

Here is the reality of my life. I am not super cool and in fact have arrived at a current state of dorkiness. If I was not a minister I would be a generic white business man. I pimp Polo and Banana Republic, roll in a 1996 Buick LeSabre, and my next major purchase will be a minivan for my wife. I don’t understand most of the “artistic” films and can’t really keep up with the deep post-modern talk that goes on at seminaries and pastor’s conferences. I am what I am. If my security in myself was found in something lame like my “inner self”, or my identity was defined by how good of a football player I was at Ryan High School in 94-95 (we went 3-7 and then 2-8, I was thrown two passes, caught one for 6 yards and dropped the other one which hit me in the hands with no one ten yards around me against the defending state champs) then I would be in trouble. I am not insecure because my identity is not connected to my performance.

The Search for Significance identifies the major psychological problems of our day and applies powerful Biblical truth to them in order to show the correct way to think. He first deals with “The Performance Trap” which is characterized by feeling good about ourselves only when we reach certain performance standards or applying those standards to others. Those who struggle with “The Performance Trap” have a fear of failure, a drive to succeed, and tend to manipulate others to achieve success, they can also cowardly withdrawal from healthy risks. God’s answer to “The Performance Trap” is His justification. God has forgiven my sins and given me the righteousness of Christ, therefore I am pleasing to the Father. At my very essence, as a son of God, I am good enough. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The second of four psychological problems is the “Approval Addict” who feels that he/she must be approved by certain others in order to feel good about themselves. This person fears rejection and is oversensitive to criticism; they will withdrawal in order to avoid disapproval. God’s answer to the “Approval Addict” is reconciliation, which means that even though I was hostile and alienated from God I am now forgiven because of the power of God’s grace through faith in Christ Jesus. I have a relationship with God and am accepted by God. God has accepted me; therefore I don’t have to do tricks to get people to approve of me. Colossians 1:21-22 says, “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”

The third psychological problem is “The Blame Game” which is when one fails or views one that fails as unworthy of love and instead deserving of punishment. These people fear punishment, they try to punish others, and their drive is to avoid failure. God’s answer to this problem is propitiation, which means that through the death of Christ God’s wrath has been satisfied, and thus we are deeply loved by God. Justice has been satisfied, therefore I don’t have to live in fear nor punish others to enact justice. I am loved therefore I am able to love and I don’t have to be the judge of others. I John 4:9-11 says, “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

The final psychological problem addressed by McGee is simply “Shame”. This is marked by feelings of hopelessness and an attitude that says, “I am what I am and I cannot change.” Shame is also marked by inferiority, passivity, and loss of creativity, isolation, and withdrawal from others. God’s answer for shame is regeneration, which means that when we place our faith in Christ we become a new creation. It does not make any sense to believe that you cannot change when you are changed! John 3:3-6 says, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

This book must be on the self of every Christian Counselor, Pastor, or Small Group Leader. At Grace Community Church we will call our Community Group leaders “Pastors”, because they will pastor the people in their group. The Search for Significance will be required reading for all our Community Group Pastors.

How God has Blessed Us (Ephesians 1:3-14)

Ephesians 1:3-14 is a beautiful and rich statement of praise to the Holy Trinity. Ephesians is about God’s ultimate plans for all of humanity and Paul opens this letter with a statement of praise for all the good works of God. This opening section is broken into three parts around the three persons of the Trinity. Verses 3-6 focus upon how God-the-Father has blessed us, then verses 7-12 focuses upon how God-the-Son has blessed us, and then the section closes with verses 13-14 and how God-the-Spirit has blessed us.

I have always heard Christians devalue the importance of the Trinity. Most roll their eyes thinking that discussions about the Trinity are worthless theological mumbo jumbo. Before you foolishly roll your eyes take into account that WHAT God is first and foremost is Trinity. God exists as three persons, yet God is one and Christianity is monotheistic. We believe in one God, but this one God exists as three persons. If you are wrong on this issue then you have countless problems in countless areas including your salvation. If Jesus was not fully God then your salvation is worthless because He was not a perfect sacrifice for your sins. You cannot be a Christian without having a right view of the Trinity.

We will see the different roles and works of the three persons as we go through, but I want to share a few brief passages about the Trinity. The ancient creedal statement of the Old Testament is Deuteronomy 6:4 which says, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” When talking about the creation of humanity, God says to Himself, “Let us make man in our image” in Genesis 1:26. Our very Great Commission says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). You cannot be obedient to the Great Commission if you don’t believe and generally understand the Trinity. The Bible is very clear that God is one, but that He exists as three distinct persons.
Over a few posts I will unpack some ways that God has blessed us based upon Ephesians 1:3-14. God is to be praised and in order to praise Him properly we must understand Him properly. May God be glorified in your life and may you embrace all of who He is, and not just the aspects of Him that you like.

Help the Poor: Our Society

I feel strongly that the debate over how the Church and Christianity are to react to the poor must be understood in context. The United States of America (due largely to a free market society) has the greatest economy this world has ever seen. What I mean by this is that we can take something like 9/11 and Katrina and continue to move forward economically. We are able to raise millions of dollars in mere hours to aid victims of catastrophes.

We have the broadest distribution of wealth that this world has ever seen. We are not one of the ancient empires where only the ruling class was able to be wealthy. The great American middle-class is what drives our economy. An immigrant can come to America today and work hard and smart and retire a millionaire and leave vast wealth to his children. As a seminary student, with my wife working as a school teacher, we have been able to own a home and drive two cars. Concerning education, the great American economy pays the bills of our great Christian educational institutions. The Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex alone allows for theological education at over ten institutions!

America is the wealthiest country on earth with a broad distribution of wealth. First, concerning the poor it is important that we provide ways out of poverty. Even if America is wealthy, if people are trapped in poverty then there is an injustice. This is one of the great debatable points of the poverty issue. After many conversations, much listening, and research I find that I fall in the camp that says, “America is a just society because it does provide a way out of poverty.” This has been one of my biggest concerns regarding this debate. Based upon our free market society, just laws, and numerous social services there are ways out of poverty in America today.

To give an example, I know a Mexican family who has immigrated to the United States. They are happy to be here and have a better life here than in Mexico. They have a better life because they have access to health care (they live less than a mile from one of two top-notch hospitals in our city and have used it in an emergency). I am currently dealing with the realities of a faulty healthcare system, but when one of their boy’s broke his arm this immigrant Mexican family was able to receive healthcare. They also don’t have to pay property taxes where they live. Their three children are receiving a quality free education (better than in Mexico and which gives themselves a chance to go to college), they have free transportation to and from school, and the school system provides two free meals a day if they need it. Both the parents have also been able to find steady jobs. Does this family work hard and struggle? Yes, but does America provide a better life and a way to advance up? Yes!

First, we need to provide a way out of poverty, which I believe America provides. Second, I believe that our society needs to provide temporary assistance in times of crisis. America provides for temporary moments of need. I know a number of people who had trouble getting health insurance and thus were able to have their children at the hospital with the aid of government funded temporary health insurance. I have also seen friends use food stamps to get them through the slim days. I do criticize the system for having too much red tape. This is the nature of the beast in many cases, but I have seen instances where people needed temporary assistance and they fell through the bureaucratic cracks in the system. Does our society provide for the temporary needs in times of crises? Yes, but the system needs improvement.

The third question I have asked is, “Do we provide aid for those who because of mental or physical disabilities cannot fully provide for themselves?” I first think of the great people I have met out at the Denton State School and the great work that they do. I also think of a friend who has limited mental capacity and simply has a hard time paying the bills. I my opinion, our society does provide for those with disabilities, but like the second question, improvements can be made.

America is the wealthiest society this world has ever seen, we provide a free market and a relatively fair society that allows for people to gain a better life, we provide for the immediate temporary needs of others, and we attempt to provide for those who have disabilities. I give our society a passing grade. Are there areas to improve? You bet, and we should work to improve our systems. However, we should not bankrupt our society to allow every American everything they think they need.

I want to end with some interesting statistics. Roughly, the top 5% of income earners in America pay for over 35% of the federal budget. Roughly, the bottom half of income earners in America pay only about 5% of the federal budget. Republicans give more money and at higher percentage of their wealth to charity every year. Church goers give more to charity than non-church goers. Dick Chaney made over 8 million dollars last year, but gave over 6 million dollars to charity!

Sorry for the Delay

Bloggers,

Sorry for not posting more over the past six weeks. Life with a four month old, Greek, working two part-time jobs, and trying to get a church plant off the ground has caused the blog to fall through the cracks. I am excited about getting back on the saddle. I want to continue the "Help the Poor" series, and want to remind you that this is blog. There are many things in this debate that I simply cannot address due to space. I have also not had many of the experiences that you have had, so please extend me grace in your comments. I am honestly seeking to deal with how the Church is to engage our society over the issue of poverty. I am also excited to share parts of a sermon I preached to the Singles Ministry at First Baptist Church of Denton two weeks ago.

In His Grace,