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Posted May 18, 2010
By LauraCC,
Did you ever play the game "Telephone" before? It's a classic illustration of what can
happen when the same story is passed down from person to person; you either wind up
with a totally different message than the original, or no message at all. It is this point that
Mark Hall wants to make in Your Own Jesus; unless we have a relationship with Jesus that
is not of the hand-me-down variety, we can never truly have a meaningful walk with him.
When I first heard this book was coming out, I have to admit I was excited because of the
author originally, not the subject matter. I happen to be a huge Casting Crowns fan and I
really respect Mark as a songwriter because he's not afraid to tell the open honest truth.
He also possesses a remarkable ability to put this truth into simple yet meaningful words,
and Your Own Jesus is no exception.
I got to read the first chapter online when it was posted as a preview for the general
public. My first reaction when I came upon his story of considering suicide was "He almost
did what???" It's awesome that a guy can go from contemplating self-annihilation to
becoming the leader of a top-selling, incredibly popular Christian band. Even cooler is
that he's willing to tell us he's human. Many Christians (myself included) aren't as open
about their weaknesses as they probably should be.
Each chapter uses points made in the songs from The Altar and the Door. In Chapter 1,
"Explaining The Wind", Hall talks about forgiveness and logic. Our humanity leads us to
regard forgiveness from God as skeptics. We weigh all the evidence and decide we can't
possibly be forgiven completely by God. We attribute to God human inadequacies He
doesn't have. Another trap we must avoid is hypocrisy; God's law applies everywhere, not
just in church.
"Infinite", continues where Chapter 1 leaves off. It begins the story of Blue, a man who
experienced firsthand what can happen when you give in to sin. Hall also discusses Psalm
1, and reminds us that nobody becomes lost in a split second; rather, it is a slow
regression of sin that escalates with every little compromise. The only way to stop this is
to quit throwing fuel on the fire.
"Stuck" discusses the "what happens in church stays in church" syndrome. We enjoy the
music, the preaching, and the fellowship but when the time comes to take it to the streets,
we either check our Christianity at the door like an old hat we're too embarrassed to be
seen in public wearing, or God leaks out of our heart all the way down the aisle. Or worse,
we decide that God looks a lot like us, faults and all. Jesus wants all of us and we must be
willing to give him access. We must also be on guard against sinful thoughts which can
lead to sinful actions. We would also do well to find someone who can challenge us on
anything we do.
"Newness" explains how we must become transformed inside and out. It also discusses
confronting people in a way that honors God, and says that telling the truth in love is more
important than maintaining friendships. Hall says we must ask to see and think about
people the way Jesus does. We must be right with God ourselves, not pass judgement on
actions we don't fully understand, and ask ourselves how we'd want to be confronted if the
tables were turned.
"The Roman Son" says that if we don't have our own relationship with Jesus, it's
impossible to see if we're headed down the right road or not. We also tend to stereotype
people from different groups as all being the same, and fail to see each one individually.
Showing Christ-like love to everyone shows them we're his, and he's God. There is no
other explanation.
"A Different Kind of Song" continues Blue's story to its conclusion. It also speaks out
against people who try to add their own beliefs to the Bible and are quick to reprove in
judgement rather than love. On the flip side, we shouldn't compromise to appeal to a lost
world either.
Resources:
+ Check out Mark's "Crowns Camp" Videos at http://castingcrowns.typepad.com/
I really enjoyed reading this book. The stories Hall recounts are vividly told, and could
stand alone as devotional articles in some cases. His points are easy to understand and
hard to forget. A master of both the humorous and the profound, Hall has no problem
admitting he's not superhuman or sinless. But he does lift his torch high to reveal the One
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