The Tulip Driven Life

GREENVILLE PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BOOK REVIEW: RADICAL BY DAVID PLATT Thomas Booher AT 44 Missions July 29, 2015             David Platt’s Radical is a unique book in that it is both wildly popular and weds Christ-like living for all believers in the United States to mission’s work. Platt is one of the youngest megachurch pastors ever, and he explains that when he began preaching at his church, it was full of complacent believers who embraced cultural Christianity. They wanted to live the American dream and have Jesus too. Our spending on ease and luxury is exorbitant, and our giving to the church and to the poor is miniscule in comparison. Platt proposes a remedy by imposing a “salary cap” on oneself, setting a certain yearly budget that one will live off of, and whatever is earned over that budget is sent to Christian charities, especially those overseas where the g...

By: Thomas F. Booher Without the gospel, we are lost. Without the gospel, we have nothing. I can think of no greater truth than the truth of the cross. I can think of no greater need than a recovery of the truth of the cross in our churches. As American culture continues to slip and slide into secularism, as unbelievers increasingly overthrow their consciences, the Christian church will be seen as the most peculiar institution in existence. This means you and I will be seen as the most peculiar people in our land. This is a scary thing, perhaps, but it is not necessarily a bad thing. When persecution comes, and Christ promises that it will come, we have opportunity to stand firm and faithfully. We have the privilege and duty to speak the truth, to shine light into the darkness. But our own light has been partially eclipsed by the darkness of the world. Obviously, light cannot be dimmed by darkness, for darkness is the absence of light. Yet we Christians too often fear the darknes...

By: Thomas F. Booher As a seminary student hoping to one day (if the Lord wills) pastor a church, I often get asked why I desire to be a minister. For a while I was thinking that my answer might be rather peculiar. In fact, I was afraid some would even consider it prideful or arrogant (and I believe some have). But as I was reading through the book of Matthew the other day, something Jesus said stood out to me. It’s exactly the reason I desire to pastor a church. I’ve been saying, or at least intending to communicate the same thing, but Jesus puts it so simply and beautifully that I can’t think of any better way to put it myself.  For a brief bit of context, I want to quote all of Matthew 9:35-38.  “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they...

By: Thomas F. Booher Dear Evangelicalism,  I am not sure if you are aware, but people are having a harder and harder time defining you. I suppose I am an evangelical, insofar as I believe that we need to proclaim the gospel to everyone. The first sentence in Wikipedia defines you (us?) as "a world-wide Protestant movement maintaining that the essence of the gospel consists in the doctrine of salvation by faith in Christ's atonement." That definition is a large umbrella housing many different denominations, and gospels. Roman Catholics believe that salvation is by faith in Christ's atonement. A Mormon like Glenn Beck can call himself an evangelical with this definition. Yet Catholics and Mormons both believe that good works are needed for salvation in addition to faith in Christ. So evangelicalism, you are not defined by the true gospel. Absent is the truth that we are saved by faith alone through Christ's atoning work in life, death, and resurrecti...

You can purchase The Shadow Lamp here . By: Thomas F. Booher I've discussed the exceptional writing of Mr. Lawhead in my review of The Spirit Well, and the general plot for the complicated tale can be found there as well. Though what I have to say below is aggressive, I do want to say up front that this book is well worth reading based on the writing, and if you take the story as a non-Christian piece of fiction, the plot and what I expect the conclusion to be should still be enjoyable. But this book is part of a Christian blog tour and written by one who professes to be a believer. Therefore I must say the following. I have found the previous book and this one much the same. The culmination of the whole story is becoming clear, however, and I am quite alarmed with the way God is represented. In fact, I am wondering whether this series can rightly be called Christian at all. I hope that is not the case. In fact I hope Lawhead can stop by and reassure me that he is not ...