The continuing letters. If you are lost, read the first letter and the second to get caught up. Enjoy!

Tim,

I was reflecting today on Psalm 40 and verse 5 stood out. God gives us so many blessings. He multiplies His wondrous deeds and His thoughts toward us. David says that they are to be proclaimed, yet there are more than can be told. I think it is good for us to think on all the blessings He pours out on us, especially when we are experiencing great pain like you mentioned in your letter. We will pray for you, that God will remind you often of His wondrous deeds and that you will be able to rejoice with joy even now.

You were on my heart this morning. It is hard being away, but God knows what is best. We lean on Him alone. I am trying to pray when God puts you on my mind. What a generous gift of God when He causes us to think about our brothers! He is amazing.

I find that so often I have sought to escape pain and trials. I know personally what you are talking about with the days you are facing. I would simply encourage you by reminding you what James 1 says. Trials can be so helpful in causing us to trust in ourselves less and God more. Learn the lessons God has for you in them and don’t try to avoid all struggle. God knows what He is doing and He is trustworthy.

In this, 2 Corinthians1:9 has been so helpful personally. “That was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” I rely too much on myself and others friends. I can already see the fruit of your difficulty in you trusting and clinging to Him more. Praise God!

I don’t think it is bad that you want to read other books in addition to Scripture. As you know, they should never replace your time in the only book God inspired, but often they can point us to truths in Scripture that I wouldn’t immediately think of. In addition, I believe God has made us storytellers who enjoy creativity. It is wonderful to be pulled up into another world. This can even help heal and give clarity to our own world.

As you said, hang in there with the book. The beginning is slow, but soon you will not feel that way. Press on through those early chapters.

Great question about “Papa!” It does cause many of us to be uncomfortable. Is God meant to be so “close” to us? Isn’t He holy and separate? These are good things to think about. Again, Scripture helps us here. In Romans 8:15 we read that the Spirit works in us in such a way that we are close to God! He has brought us into His family. “Abba” is a close term of endearment for a father. Your friend in college was accurately reflecting this truth. He is our Father and Jesus is our Brother. How amazing is that?! I pray we would all grow in our understanding of this truth, knowing how much God loves those of us He has saved. Let me know if there is anything more you want to know concerning your question. I have more to say about it, but this letter is already getting long and this issue will come up again as we work through the book.

About our method… As you read each chapter, just ask what you are interested in. I will raise things I think we should talk about too. I know you will read it faster than we can discuss, but let’s talk about a chapter at a time. Sound good? Anything more from chapter 1?

We will continue to pray for you. God will meet all your needs because of Jesus. We know this is true even though it is hard to believe sometimes. Pray for us here. There are gospel opportunities, so we just need to be faithful and bold. Pray we don’t give in to fear of man.

In Him who holds us,

James

This is the final post in our Outliers discussion. My dad, Tom, is finishing us up. Thanks dad! Enjoy.

Hi Everyone, I need to ask a question. Does reading the epilogue and knowing a little more about the author, his family, and his background help with the understanding of the other chapters? I think it does. I, as some of you know, like to debate issues. Much of the time it does not matter which side you are on I seem to be able to argue the other side just for the pure knowledge that can be learned. In my years I have learned that it helps in knowing some of the life’s experiences that the person I am talking with has lived through. Oh, I know you cannot make any snap judgments from a little glimpse, but it helps to understand the other person’s point of view. In this case I feel that Malcolm Gladwell has been influenced greatly by his racial heritage. I have observed that anyone who has experiences with racial discrimination upon themselves or their family has a different view of success than others or of the importance of that success. What I mean to say is that racial discrimination has a profound effect on what they consider success and how they achieve it. I have no direct proof of this and I want to make sure everyone understands that this is just my opinion. Looking back over all of the preceding chapters, I do not see any evidence of racial overtones at all, what I do think I see is a man that defines success differently than I do and quite possibly success defined by racial overtones.

The epilogue deals with society in Jamaica from the 17th century till now and how this affected two girls growing up in a society where there was not only black and white but different shades of black or white and how light or dark your skin color determined the education opportunities that were available to you. If you stopped there you could understand and possibly agree with the authors conclusions, but bear with me a little longer. As Malcolm goes on to explain that his mother in England was the victim of racial discrimination at the hands of a landlord even though in her eyes she was very light skinned and educated. She does understand through her anger that the discrimination that she experienced at the hands of the landlord was no different than what has been going on in Jamaica for centuries and she was the benefactor of that type of society. Now Malcolm does say that his mother is not a outlier like the others in each chapter of the book, but that it is an interesting story about how certain individuals are helped along the way of life towards their goal.

It is an interesting story and the book was very enjoyable to read, my only trouble with it is the definition of success. I have lived my life defining success much the same as Malcolm does as well as rest of our culture today, but in the autumn years of my life I define it quite differently. God has a plan for this world and his plan will be completed in his time line. In God’s plan we each have a part to play and the benefits we receive or get along the way are part of that plan. What Malcolm is trying to do in this book is rationalize in earthly terms the results of God’s plan or a reason things work out for some and not for others. I know that is not possible, God’s plan is too complex for this little pea brain of mine. Success to me is watching that plan unfold and enjoying the ride and my part in it. The true joy in this life is to enjoy the journey and let God take us to the destination and as Christians we all know where that is. Too many of us long for the destination only to be disappointed with our life as we limit our scope to this life and are not thinking about the rest of the story.

Here is the second letter in the series. If you missed the first one and explanation, check it out for an idea of what is happening.

James and Lily,

I was so happy to hear from you. I miss you tremendously and almost cannot bear this pain without being able to talk to you personally. You have been there from the beginning when God turned my life upside down. But, it is causing me to trust in God’s comfort. Thanks for reminding me about 2 Corinthians 1 last time. It feels like I am going insane, but I know God is there. Continue to pray for me. Some days I still don’t want to get out of bed. When I do get out of bed on those days, I just cry most of the day. Not all my days are like this, but I am always feeling this weight of pain. Everything reminds me of Grace and Luke and that is so painful. Will God eventually take these feelings away? I hope so. I pray for that often. It just hurts so much.

As I said in the last letter, I am looking for something else to read. I have been pouring through Scripture and it is helping more than anything else, but sometimes I just need a break. I need something else to read too. I hope that makes sense and doesn’t sound anti-God. Is it wrong for me to long to read something else too?

Anyway, I would love to read The Shack if you think it could help. You are right about the rest of the Christian community. People really seem to hate that book for some reason. I met a guy today at the bookstore who could not believe I was going to read it. I asked him what he thought when he read it and he looked at me like I had three eyes. He said he would “never read something so offensive to God.” How does he know if it is so offensive if he never read it? By the way, I already picked up a copy of the book, so don’t worry about sending it to me. With your present situation, it is probably easier for me to get it than for you to send it. I had an easier day yesterday and went out to pick it up.

I started reading it already. It is a bit slow at the beginning. Are your sure this is a good pick for right now? It is a little strange with the note in the mailbox from “Papa.” I guess I will give it a little bit more time. I don’t even know the story (kind of amazing isn’t it since this book has been out for so long.)

The whole “Papa” thing made me think about if it was ok to call God that. It sounds a little too personal for me and not reverent enough. I knew a guy in college who was a Christian and I went with him to a college group once even though I didn’t believe. When he prayed, he called God “daddy.” That has always stuck with me. Is that ok? It just sounds weird, like I am bringing God down to my level.

Well, I am going to go read some more. How are we going to do this discussion? I have never done something like this before, especially through letters.

Still struggling, but I am trusting day-by-day,

Tim

This post graciously provided by my friend, Kirk Burtch. He gets the praise or the blame, depending on how you receive it. :) Thanks Kirk!

Say it ain’t so. Now I am being told all my fond memories of days spent as a youth playing in and around the lake on lazy summer days stunted my intellectual growth. The theory goes that students from all economic levels learn on the average the same during the school year. But only the wealthy students whose parents provide special opportunities for learning over the summer advance during that period. This explains the ‘achievement gap’ between the disadvantaged and the more privileged students. Thus, the problem in the United States is not the quality of our schools but rather summer vacations. It seems during those summer days I lost focus and rather than advancing I may have been forgetting some of what I had learned the year before. The solution Gladwell offers is to keep the kids in school longer and teach them the work ethic Asian children learn in the rice paddies. In such cultures the children and their parents work throughout the year and by necessity must pay close attention to detail.

Another way to state this proposition is the more you stay focused on the task at hand and the more you avoid spending time away from your pursuit, the more successful you are in obtaining your goal. Whether this option would solve the problems in American schools is debatable but it is a good reminder for Christians.

As Christians, our goal is to be sanctified, to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, to be more like Jesus. How do we do this? Peter tells us that if we are not growing in this way, we are so nearsighted we are blind having forgotten we were cleansed from our former sins. 2 Pet 1 3-11 But how do we keep from forgetting? John tells us we are to continually abide in Christ. Jn 15:4 That means we are to continue in a daily, personal relationship with Jesus, characterized by trust, prayer, obedience, and joy. But how easy it is to take a ‘summer vacation’ from our abiding in him and instead rejoice in the things of this world. As with the disadvantaged students, these vacations can keep us from being successful. They stunt our growth, causing us to become blind, and keep us from obtaining our goal. They may provide fleeting pleasure but keep us from real joy.

Yes, I went to see this movie. And yes, I felt a little awkward since I did not have a teen girl, or even any girl, with me. I was curious. I have read all the books, so I thought it would be good to see how the story was told. How will they accomplish the storytelling since so much of the book that I remember plays out in Bella’s mind? How will that communicate on the screen? It actually worked pretty well.

The movie was well done considering the story. The story is very “teen girlish,” so I am not exactly the demographic. I like the overall story, but I don’t swoon when Edward or Jacob show up without a shirt on. The books are fine because I can read faster and I do not need to linger over the intimate details I care nothing about. But movies are different. This movie will work for the demographic that they are trying to reach, but for the rest of us, let’s move on from the bare chests of the two guys.

But that fact brings me to the major issue I had with the film—lust! I think this is the big struggle of this portion, but really all, of the story. How many times in one movie can you portray and even state that your life is nothing without another person. If this is not talking about Jesus, we have a major problem. In this movie, the need is not for Jesus, but rather Edward. Some people would not want this called lust, but come on. If this is not lust in the eyes of teen girls everywhere then I don’t know what is. Interesting that girls, who tend not to be as visually oriented, are getting more and more visuals in the films. I think that they are probably more attracted to the character, because most of them have read and reread the books. But I am curious if we are seeing a shift. Are we setting up women to struggle the same way guys do with the visual temptations? Is that being encouraged by movies like this?

Personally I could have done without the slow motion of Edward walking and all the shirtless scenes of Jacob. In fact, I would have preferred more story and less of the eye candy. Again, the movie was not made for men, or even people my age. Fortunately when I went to this movie, I had only two other people in the whole theater with me, my movie buddy and one other woman probably in her 30s or 40s. This means we missed out on all the teen craziness whenever one of the two guys came on the screen. Thank God for His grace even in the small things of life.

Unless you have a teen girl that wants to see the movie or you liked the book and what to see it on the screen, I would pass on the movie. While it was somewhat well done for the story, there are better things out there. Don’t worry. They will still make the rest of the books into movies even if you don’t see this film. Teen girls alone will make this profitable.

Even though we have not finished Outliers, I wanted to prepare you for the next book and it is BIG. We are going to read Stephen King’s Under the Dome next, so I would put it on your Christmas list and start reading it as soon as you can. Weighing in at 1072 pages, it is the size of a big bible. Fortunately it is bigger type and it will hopefully be a faster read.

The plan is to start discussing this book after the first of the new year. Be looking for more information on the approach we are going to take for the discussion. Please feel free to make suggestions in the comments.

Thanks and happy reading.

I am constantly amazed, but people still want to know what to do with The Shack. Certain Christians hate it, saying there is nothing of redeeming value in it. Others think it is a wonderful opening for people to get to know God in a more personal way, especially those who have gone through terrible things.

So, who should we agree with? Is it meant to be so cut and dry? As usual, I think both sides need to listen a bit more to those with whom they disagree. The Shack is not the worst thing in the world, nor is it the best. There are good and bad things in it. The question is if we should spend much time on it.

I think we should spend some time on it. I think it can not only help us work through the close relationship believers have with God, but also work through major points of theology that everyone is discussing because of the book. Why pass up an opportunity like that?

I do have a different way to approach it, though. I hope you enjoy it and maybe even learn a bit.

I have an idea. I want to take a look at The Shack by reading along with two men. The first is a young man named Tim who has recently become a Christian, but he has also just experienced a terrible tragedy. The second, James, is the older mature Christian who is leading Tim through his own “great sadness.” These two men are writing back and forth as they think about The Shack book and I think it would be helpful for us to “read along.” Here is taste of the first letter we have.

Dear Tim,

I know you have been struggling lately with all that has happened these last few months. It breaks my heart not to be there for you. You know how dearly I love you and I would be on the next plane if I could, but God has not worked that out for us just yet. In the mean time, I guess letters will have to do.

The last time we talked, you mentioned you were looking for something else to read in addition to scripture. Can I make a suggestion? How about we read something together and discuss it? If that interests you, I even have a suggestion of a book. Have you heard about The Shack? I know, the Christian community at large has been up in arms about that one, and some of what has been said is very true. You are probably wondering why I would even suggest it then. Let me say a few things about why.

1. While there are some problematic things in it, the book can be a good exercise in discernment. Even though you have only been a Christian for a short time, you still need to learn to see through error and embrace truth. What better way than to read something that contains both and discuss it?

2. With God’s providence in your life over the last month and a half, I think the story might be helpful if we strip it down a bit. There is always something beneficial we can learn from unbelievers and believers alike, no matter where in that spectrum you think Wm. Paul Young might fall. (By the way, is he any relation to you? Just thought of that! Probably not since Young is such a common last name.)

3. This book deals with God’s character and His love. No matter if we agree with it or disagree, we still get the opportunity to think about and discuss our great God. What better thing could we contemplate?

4. Last and not least is the fact that millions either are going to or already have read it. It is good for us to be familiar with something about God that is so popular.

Let me know if this interests you. I would be glad to arrange for a copy of the book to be sent to you.

Lily sends her love. If there is anything at all we can do, please let us know. We are limited in our abilities right now, but God can accomplish amazing things. We hope to see you soon, but until then we will continue to lean on the love of Jesus and trust His timing.

Your brother,

James

Today’s post is from my good friend, Mike Robbins. It is my fault that it is late. Thanks for the post, Mike.

It’s pretty clear that rice farming requires a strong work ethic and a superb attention to detail. Gladwell meticulously lays out the reasons for this in Chapter 8. Today’s Asian and Asian immigrant population are the descendants of rice farmers, therefore they possess these qualities. How these characteristics are transferred across generations is not specifically described. It is merely stated that they become part of the group’s culture. In fairness, this transference is briefly addressed in a footnote of Chapter 6, where he says, “Whatever mechanism passes on speech patterns probably passes on behavioral and emotional patterns as well.” That’s still pretty far from a comprehensive explanation. Perhaps, if we explore the information that is available, we can find a more concrete way to connect those dots.

First, we are to understand that parents bestow these qualities upon their children. One of the first ways that come to mind concerning how this could come about is through genetics. But, the author disparages that option with both the overall tone of the book and the information (particularly concerning IQ evaluations) in the chapter. Another option would be that Asians have some opportunities that are disproportionately available to them that help them to succeed in math. That would certainly fit with much of the premise of the book, but as an explanation, it quickly falls apart under scrutiny. After all, it seems that regardless of whether they’re in China or the US, Asians are consistently outperforming multigenerational American students.

I believe that the key lies in the TIMSS study. It revealed two pertinent facts. There is an extremely high correlation between measured persistence and success in mathematics, and Asians excel at both. Why is this key? Unlike genetics or opportunity, quitting is a choice. A few generations ago, a child of a rice farmer would work incessantly and exactingly, just as their fathers, even in off-paddy pursuits which may not have been quite as demanding. They would do so to please and emulate their fathers. Speaking to a group of Jews proclaiming the Abrahamic heritage, Jesus says in John 9: 44, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.” Conversely, Paul encourages us in Ephesians 5: 1-2, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, as Christ love us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

This chapter serves a reminder to me that I have a Father whom I love, and I should always strive to walk in his ways.

Do you know what love actually looks like with another person? Have you seen examples of this true kind of love? You know, the love that Jesus has shown us, not that love/lust we see so often on TV or the movies. If you are looking to see one way that can be worked out, see this movie. We need to be reminded of simple, straightforward love for another person. The Blind Side helps rather than hinders.

Don’t get all excited and think this is the greatest evangelistic opportunity since Fireproof. This movie has real flaws and the love that is shown is never explained as coming from the love of Jesus. But, this movie surprised me. It presented a Christian woman in a positive light. Of course there are some obvious areas she should work on, after all she is not perfected yet so all you who are perfect, be patient with her. But the fact is that she and her family truly loved Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy. They invited him in. They provided the necessities for him. They treated him as family, not as a visitor. They sacrificed relationships with others in order to love him. And they did all this because they cared. He became part of their family. He became their friend.

At Crossroads, we have been working through what ministry to the poor should look like. It seems to me that the typical way I think about such ministry is to consider how I can help them. This movie challenged that thought. In one of the best scenes of the movie, the main character, Leigh Anne Tuohy, is eating an overpriced lunch salad with her “friends” and they are being condescending to her about caring for Michael. When she confronts them, they assure her that they think she is doing a great thing in helping him. She corrects them by saying that he is helping her. What a transformation! When I can be together with someone and think of ways they are helping me, I have stopped thinking of them as a project and have started thinking of them as another human being who is my friend. This is the point that I must get to in my ministry to the poor.

Michael was not a project or a “ministry.” He was a person. He needed someone to be there and love him so that he could open up. He needed to have someone listen when he did open up. These are the very things that the Tuohy family provided.

I will say that the ending is obvious, but it is still helpful. I am a firm believer in “happy endings.” I think they help us experience just a touch of what we believe God says about life—things will be made right. That is a reminder I think we all need. In this world we live in, the norm is for things to go wrong. It is so much in our makeup that some look down on happy endings because it is not realistic. How sad it is that realism means things end badly. I don’t disagree that this is the norm in the world today. But to be honest, I am not looking for what is the norm in this world. I want to know the norm in the Kingdom. That is where my citizenship is and it is what I long for. Movies that end like this one remind me of the fact that God will make it all work out in the end.

Sure, Leigh Anne is a bit over the top with “leading” and it did make me uncomfortable. In my reading of Scripture, women are not to be taking the lead like this. But what I did love about this movie is the portrayal of her. She is realistic. She is a Christian who is trying to work out her faith. She doesn’t always do it the way I would want her to, but if someone was watching the movie of my life, would they be able to say I did everything right? There is a great moment in the movie where she is honestly questioning if she is a good person. It is a helpful point because it makes all of us stop and think about that same question. What makes a person “good?” Who determines this? How would I know? The movie does not give a full answer to any of this, but it does help us to think. The most clear answer to any of this is that by doing “good” things, we can be sure that we are good. That is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. What I would want to add is that she is not a good person anymore than I am or anyone else. We are all corrupt. That would be a tough sell in our culture today. The only solution is Jesus Christ. We are not good; He is. He took the blame for all I did and made me clean again. Since our culture has a hard time accepting the true state we are in, it will never accept the true good news, unless the Spirit works.

Overall I would recommend the movie. As I said above, it is not the greatest thing since sliced bread. It has faults and is incomplete, but what it does do is sorely needed in our culture today. Love from a Christian is seen. That is wonderful.