Bible Study Magazine and Mars Hill are giving away 20 copies of Mark Driscoll’s new book, Vintage Church. Not only that, but they are also giving away five subscriptions to Bible Study Magazine and a copy of their Bible Study Library software! Enter to win on the Bible Study Magazine Mark Driscoll page, then take a look at all the cool tools they have to take your Bible study to the next level!

This looks like a pretty neat magazine. Is anyone else familiar with this?

Author: David Benner

Pages: 114 pages

Publisher: IVP Books

Price: 10.40

Genre: Christian Spirituality


Quick Summary:

At the core of this book David Benner hopes that we understand the importance of knowing our true self. The self that God created and the self that God really knows. His hope is that we might reject the false self and embrace our true selves. This book is a book about self-discovery but it is also a book about discovering God. You cannot know yourself unless you truly know God. Benner hopes that this book will set us on a journey of doing both.

What I Liked:

I think the core point that Benner is getting at is pretty solid. We need to be real and part of the process of redemption is God stripping away our false self and transforming us into who He really has crafted us to be. The core I think is good; the layers, however, are muddy at best--unbiblical at worse.

Another positive aspect to this book is the Benner does make the principles practical. He offers practical suggestions for getting to know God better and our true self better.

What I Disliked:

I went through this book with a group of pastors and most of us shared the same dislike—the truth that Benner proclaims in this book is so clouded by psychobabble that it makes the book almost irrelevant. There are statements in this book that cause me to shake my head and wonder not only what Benner is talking about but why he said it the way that he did. There are quite a few statements in this book that tiptoe towards crossing the line of biblical theology. Here are some of the samples:

“No one is born with an identity, and Jesus was no exception…and being fully human meant that he, like all humans, had to discover who he was. Even Jesus had to find his way, his self.” (p.93)

“Jesus’ understanding of his vocation came out of wrestling with God, himself and the devil in the solitude of the wilderness.” (p.99)

And this quote, I think sums up the fundamental problem with Benner’s theology and this book. Speaking of the human capacity for self-deception Benner says this, “This is taught in Scripture and confirmed by psychology.” Since when does psychology have the right to “confirm” Scripture. As one fellow pastor said, “there is a difference between being a psychologist that is a Christian and a Christian that is a psychologist”. Benner seems to be the former and as another pastor said, “a little theology would have went a long way in this book”.

Should You Buy It?

If you have discernment and are able to sift through mud to find gold then it might be a good read. I would not suggest it for the new believer or a Christian that struggles with discernment. I think someone could be a deep sinner, read this book, and walk away from it very comfortable in his sin and comfortable with himself. That would not be Benner’s intent but his writing opens up the door for such things.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

This will certainly prove to be controversial: What will we be in the SBC? by Tom Ascol.

Taylor Buzzard gives us a helpful Algebra equation to mark our time left with our children under our care: x/18=y. According to this formula I already have spent 10% of time with Isaiah under our care. Read the article.

Both Nathan Finn and Alvin Reid write open letters to SBC Calvinists and Non-Calvinists. Read Finn's to the Non-Calvinists and Reid's to the Calvinist.

CJ Mahaney interviews Thabiti. Check out Part 1 and 2.

I love this question by Abraham Piper: How would the Bible be different if you'd been it's editor?

Great article by Matt Chandler on Legalism. He also has good thoughts on Seminary.

Bill Mounce considers Ephesians 4:29 and blogging.

Michael McKinley gives 95 Theses (give or take 85) on Christian humor.

Showing his continuing maturity Joshua Harris lets us know what he has learned since writing I Kissed Dating Goodbye.

This raises an interesting question......should a pastor wear a speedo?

(HT: Tim Ellsworth)

I've started using Twitter. Not sure if I like it. Not sure if I'll keep it. You can follow me (how arrogant does that sound???) here at

http://twitter.com/mikeleake

If you have Twitter I'd love to follow you (how humble does that sound???)

"If you believe the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God, you can not speak to them as if you were telling a story."

Last Wednesday it was 8:26 and I had 4 minutes left in the sermon. Suddenly a hand in the back raised. It was Freddie. Freddie is a neat young man. Just to give you a glimpse on that night he was wearing his tongue ring, sporting an orange tie, and wearing leather pants. Freddie can sometimes ask silly questions. But Freddie can also ask really good questions. So right before the conclusion to the sermon Freddie had a question, and it was a doozy. "If Jesus died for all of our sins, then why is he not in hell."

The implications of that question are huge. At first I thought about discussing it with him after the sermon. But there it was hanging out there and I could see a puzzled anxiousness on many of our students. So, how do you answer that question in 4 minutes and still get a conclusion to your sermon? I stuttered, I stumbled, I restarted and then I stumbled again. Still puzzled. I knew I could not give the long answer.

So how would you have answered that question in less than a minute? Would you have even tried? I'll tell you my answer either later today or tomorrow. But, think about it.

Because there is still at least one sinner yet to become a sheep and because God has decided to remain in a position of mercy for the time being.

While God is still showing mercy...perhaps I should.
While God is still withholding wrath...perhaps I should.
While God is still calling sinners to repent...perhaps I should.
While God is still radically, lovingly, doggedly, pursuing sinners...perhaps I should.