BOOK REVIEWS

State Missionary Rick Lance is executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.

Other Recent Blog Entries:

A Sincere and Respectful Call for A Great Commandment Renewal
Thursday, June 24, 2010
As I have said earlier, I will do my best not to let disagreements define our relationships. I am praying that The Great Commandment Renewal will begin in me!

VBS Is a Blessing!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
As a pastor, I always felt that VBS was to be a major commitment on my part. I wanted to be in town, involved and engaged in the efforts of impacting the lives of children, youth and adults. It was not a chore for me, but rather it was a joy!

Taking the 'Stew' Out of Stewardship
Thursday, May 27, 2010
At first, I thought I had hurt his feelings. I mean this was a serious project, and maybe I was being a little too cute for my own good.

Dallas Willard is not as well known, as say, Max Lucado, but he is a serious and thoughtful writer nonetheless. His book, The Great Omission, is a well-written treatment of the essential teachings of Jesus concerning discipleship. In his mind, the term apprentice might best capture the fundamental core of what it means become a fully devoted disciple of Christ.

A statement in the introduction caught my attention in a special way. Williard writes, "People in Western churches, and especially in North America, usually assume without thinking that the Great Commission of Jesus is to be carried out in other countries. This is caused in part by the use of 'nations'...when a better translation might be our contemporary 'ethnic groups', or just 'people of every kind'".

"People of every kind" have come to our neighborhoods. This gives a deeper and richer meaning to the call to be Great Commission Christians. The nations have come to the neighborhoods.

Williard succeeds in stretching the mind and feeding the soul of disciples who wish to be faithful in fulfilling the Great Commission. The book is written for a general audience of committed Christians. By this, I mean it is not an academic work but more of a practical one.