God's Good Design has officially been released!
God's Good Design has officially been released!
I’m leaving for vacation today with Laura and the kids, so I’m sending this out a day earlier than usual. We’re going to Pigeon Forge to stay at a campground in a cottage. My mom and stepdad are bring their RV down and we’ll get to spend some time with my two sisters who live in the area. Getting to spend time with family is the best thing about vacation. We really enjoy them!
God’s Good Design is Amazon’s #1 New Release in Christian Ethics
The book dropped (that’s what the kids call it; “dropped” means “released for sale” haha) last Saturday on Kindle and paperback. Of course, I started publicizing it on social media. I had been building anticipation for a while, so those who were interested purchased it right away.
I don’t have my paperback copies yet because it’s a bulk order and takes two weeks to arrive! Thankfully, some friends have posted pictures online of their copies. It’s so encouraging to see the book “out in the wild,” knowing people will be able to finally read it. I got to sign one for another friend yesterday. It was the first one I’d seen myself.
Here’s the link. Paperback version is on sale this month for $14.99 (goes up to $17.99 next month) and $9.99 for kindle. Books that sell well initially and have lots of good reviews tend to do better in the long run. If you’re willing to leave a review that would be a HUGE help!
I was hoping to have it released in June, which is Pride Month for LGBTQ activists. The need for a book on biblical sexuality is a lot more obvious in June! Due to a strong first week, Amazon has it ranked the #1 new release in “Christian Anthropology.” I’d like to keep it there for a while.
If you’d like to help me get the word out, one simple thing you can do is tell friends and family what you appreciated about it, and share it with your pastor. Or maybe buy him a copy. :)
If you run across any quote graphics (like the one below) on social media, give it a like and a share. I’ll be posting these regularly in the coming weeks.
Why did I write a book about biblical sexuality?
Hardly a week goes by that I don’t hear a pastor say, “I’m doing a preaching series on biblical sexuality. What’s a good resource?” From what I’ve seen, there’s not a ton of great resources out there.
We have an abundance of scholarly books, marriage enrichment books, "manhood" books, "womanhood" books, Christian feminist books, and books that teach “modern” sexual ethics that are foreign to scripture.
What I haven’t seen is accessible books on sexuality that (1) take scripture seriously, (2) don’t water down its message, (3) respect the cultural differences between the modern and ancient worlds, and (4) gives practical examples of how to apply the Bible’s teaching today.
What drove me to write this book was a pastoral concern for the “why” questions of sexuality. I made discoveries along the way that stirred in me the wonder, magic, and genius of God’s design. I was frequently moved to tears as I reflected on the goodness of God in his gift to us.
Christians are more familiar with the “rules and roles” of sexuality than the “what and why.” For example, what do “masculine” and “feminine” mean? Why does God forbid certain sex acts and relationships? Why does God say the husband is head of his home? And only qualified men can be elders?
If we don’t understand the “why” questions, God’s commands about sexuality might seem arbitrary, leading some Christians to conclude that they don’t apply anymore and we can discard them. Or distort them to make them fit modern sensibilities. (See also Rick Warren and the Southern Baptist Convention).
Abandoning God’s design for sexuality is like abandoning God’s design for lungs. We weren’t made to breathe underwater. If we try it, we’ll drown. The consequences of abandoning God's design are disastrous, as we increasingly see every Pride Month. We're drowning in immorality.
My goal with this book is to open scripture to demonstrate the truth, goodness, and beauty of God’s good design. Since our modern context is so different from the ancient context, I also provide many pastoral applications and examples of what God’s design means in the modern world.
This book would be most enjoyed by pastors, church leaders, and ordinary, Bible minded Christians. It would be a great resource for preparing a teaching series or Sunday School class on sexuality.
Finally, I wrote with a pastoral warmth that respectfully addresses common objections. This stuff is very personal and emotional. It’s not abstract theology for lecture halls, but touches the most intimate parts of our lives and the deepest longings of our souls.
I wanted the book to “feel” like sitting down with a pastor who patiently and gently explains concepts that you’ve always wondered about but didn’t know how to ask, without holding back the hard-to-hear parts.
I’ve prayed for a long time that this book will be a great help & blessing to you. I couldn’t care less about making money. If I make enough to take my family to Olive Garden, I’ll be happy. My burden is a love for Christ, and to serve his church with desperately needed teaching.
Rick Warren is Corrupting the Southern Baptist Convention
This might be a little bit of “inside baseball,” but my church is Southern Baptist and and the future of the SBC should matter to every Bible believing Christian. The issue at hand is his effort to persuade the SBC to accept women pastors. He’s leveraging his enormous giga-church pastor influence to change the SBC’s historic stance on the pastoral office.
I wrote a chapter of my book about this issue, so I won’t explain my position here, but the basic idea is that God designed men to carry the burden of responsibility for the household (both the home and the church). God designed women for a different purpose.
What should we make of Rick Warren’s recent statements as the SBC annual convention approaches? He is recommending the spiritual equivalent of sending women to war. The Christian life is a war and pastors are called to be “good soldiers” in the spiritual battle (2Tim2:3).
Why does the Bible use so much warfare imagery to describe the ministry? Because the pastoral office is more than counseling sessions, classes, and clerical work. True pastoral work involves waging war against the Devil for the souls of men and women. It's a spiritual battle.
Every pastor knows this. All of our heroes are known for the courage they showed through opposition and great suffering. Pastors are spiritual field generals who lead the church in spiritual war. Every pastor should know he is signing up for slander, conflicts, and opposition.
The same goes for preaching. Sermons are not inspirational TED talks. Preachers are heralds of the eternal truths of God and preachers are called to awaken the hearts of sleepy sinners with a blood earnestness that their souls are at stake and heaven and hell hang in the balance.
Men who want women to be pastors are no different than men who would send women to war. It does not honor women to make them pastors. It puts them in harm's way. As Father Christmas told Lucy Pevensie, "battles are ugly when women fight."
Pride Month is when Christians Need Backbone
I wrote last week about the blasphemous performance by the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” at a Pride Parade in Los Angeles. The Dodgers’ star pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, is also a Christian. To add to the intrigue, he is the scheduled starter for the Dodgers on the same day they are recognizing LGBTQ Pride month.
Kershaw had an opportunity to show greater to loyalty to Christ, and in my opinion, he missed it. Christians will increasingly face these sorts of decision points in the future. Here’s a word of encouragement.
Christians, choose you THIS DAY whom you will serve. Kershaw had a choice between loyalty to Christ or caving to activists. He said he’s going to pitch, and he’s doing so because he wants to “love everybody well.” In truth, he has denied the Lord and called it “love.” That’s a cop out. You cannot serve two masters.
I don’t mean to heap scorn on the man, but scrutiny is the burden of the spotlight. LGBTQ activists will not love him for doing this. They’ve claimed their scalp and now they’ll move on. But Christians will notice and be discouraged. They’ve lost another role model.
Do you see how the word “love” is being used to justify cowardice? You don’t “love people well” by loving them more than God.
When Peter denied the Lord, he wept bitterly and Jesus forgave him. I pray Kershaw does the same. It won’t be easy, but Jesus never promised us easy. He did promise to strengthen us with his Spirit when making hard choices.
Where are the Eric Liddells of modern sports (The “Chariots of Fire” guy)? We remember his name because he loved Christ more than his fame or athletic accomplishments.
Imagine if Kershaw, a well known, elite MLB pitcher, had followed Eric Liddell’s path and said: “my highest loyalty is to Christ alone” and refused to pitch? No doubt, he would have faced the fury of activists, teammates, and fans, but he would have honored his God and inspired Christians with his courage. Christian dads could tell their sons, “that’s the kind of man you should aspire to be.” He might have earned earthly scorn, but he would receive a heavenly reward for taking a stand.
We need heroes like this. LGBTQ activists are going to hate him either way because he’s a Christian. But ordinary Christians would have been inspired because we are hungry for courageous role models.
Christians, we must love God FIRST. Our love and devotion to Christ must surpass every other human loyalty. You cannot serve two masters. The only way to truly love people is to love God *more* than people (Matt 22:37-40). Every Christian is likely to face some version of this choice sooner or later.
So, choose you “this day” whom you will serve. Right now. This minute. Decide in advance what lines you won’t cross and be prepared to never cross them. You might be disliked. Your name may be slandered. People may threaten you. You might lose your job. You might have to move your family. But God will reward your faithfulness in eternity.
Draw your line in the sand. Don’t cave in. Jesus is worth it.
God bless, have a great week!