Monday, March 12, 2018

New Book Review

The Genius of One: God's Answer for Our Fractured World
by Greg Holder
NavPress 2017

Review by Diane Busch

Jesus prayed for his disciples and followers (for us).  What did he pray?  He prayed that they would be one.  He prayed for unity.  (John 17)  We are called to be ministers of reconciliation, not destroyers of oneness or unity.  (p. 24)  "Interdependence is very clearly Paul’s main point with this talking anatomy lesson [in 1 Corinthians 12].  But implicit in it is the need for every part to actually do what it is supposed to do, whether it be a prominent and highly visible part or not.” (p. 98)

"What if there were some aspects of the incarnation--God being in the world in a physical, flesh-and-blood way—that applied to us?” (p. 138)
"The Church is his body, it is the physical form of his presence on earth. Touch the church and you touch the body of Christ, which means you touch Christ. That also means that when the body of Christ touches the world, so too does Jesus. It is one of the ways he comforts people in troubles.” (p. 139)

2 Corinthians 1 - He is the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 
"One of the ways God comforts his people in their troubles is a flesh-and-blood presence. (p. 140) The genius of God is this: we are to share what we’ve gone through with one another. This is how we embody the very presence of the god of all comfort.  We are again in the mystery. But god will use the pain that left a scar on ones heart to now strengthen another. Hope flows ever so slowly from one to the other. And yet God points comfort in both directions. Now the one with older, partially heard wounds find meaning in what happened all those years ago. Not a reason—but now something redemptive is finally happening.” (p. 146)

“In a world splattered with hate, the body of Christ must now move—dripping with grace and veined with love.” ( p. 190)

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:27‬ ‭NIV‬‬ - Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.

We need this book at this time in America. We Christians in all of our churches need to be united and do ministry in oneness. It’s not a competition between Christians or churches. We are all on the same team. Backed by scripture for spiritual oneness, Greg gives many examples and possibilities of what this may look like. He encourages us to find creative ways to work in unity toward the common goal. 

Each chapter ends with questions for reflection and discussion so I recommend you read this with at least one other person to discuss and share and collaborate. 

I was tempted to skip the last chapter, but having pressed on I must now appeal DO NOT SKIP CHAPTER 12!  It is full of great content and real life stories!

A copy of this book was provided for review.

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