Paul’s letter to the Ephesians has been a special area of interest for me in my studies, so when I got the opportunity to review a new book focusing on the biblical and historical information we have regarding the church at Ephesus, I jumped at the chance. I was not disappointed.

In Deceiving Winds, Bruce Morton has assembled a wonderful study not only on the textual information found in the New Testament, but also on the social, historical and archaeological background that brings depth to the picture of ancient Ephesus. In a world where the church is constantly dogged by temptations to digress doctrinally and “go along to get along,” we should well heed the warning and example found in the scriptures regarding the church at Ephesus. By so doing, the church in present times can navigate these dangerous waters and remain pleasing to the Lord.

Morton, who serves as a deacon with the East Fifth Street Church of Christ in Katy, Texas, writes with a concern and passion that indicates his love for the Lord’s church. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn., a master’s degree from Harding University in Searcy, Ark., and has also studied medieval religion at Gettysburg Theological Seminary. His education has well prepared to write a work such as this, and his extensive research is evident throughout the 304 pages of Deceiving Winds.

Upon receiving the book, I was struck by the exceptional work that went into the design and printing of Deceiving Winds. But while it is a handsome publishing effort aesthetically, the real gems are found throughout the well-organized exposition. The book’s organization is a little unique in that half of the book consists of the thirteen main chapters, and the other half presents various notes, appendices, maps and photos, and a substantial bibliography.

Morton addresses many of the main themes found in the letter to the Ephesians, but he also draws on information throughout the New Testament. He covers topics such as the relationship between the Christian and materialism, the supremacy of God, our true identity as Christians, living as children of light, vocal-only music in the church, marriage and family issues, and the role of women in the church. Utilizing 1 Timothy and Acts 20, Morton also discusses the role of elders in the Ephesian church and the nature of the church itself.

With all of these topics, the author brings the biblical material from ancient record to contemporary application. As Morton writes, “The early Christians in Ephesus and Asia faced a daunting task. They had to unravel themselves from a culture that wove together civics, religion, medical arts, relationships, financial matters, and entertainment into a single piece of cloth” (p. 28). This astute observation shows the difficulties the early Christians faced in such a setting, but it also points out that contemporary Christians are in a similar setting. Morton’s book helps us to see that the same challenges the Ephesian Christians faced must be confronted by Christians today, and the answers are the same as they were nearly 2000 years ago.

Deceiving Winds is a must-read for anyone interested in early church history and background. But more than that, it will also make a good Bible class study, since it is broken down into thirteen chapters. The subject matter is highly relevant, since it deals with the contemporary issues of feminism, the dangers of wealth and materialism, instrumental music, human philosophy and mysticism, and even touches upon the “emerging church” movement. Since these issues have relation to what was happening in ancient Ephesus, we can find good counsel through the scriptures to help us navigate these troubled waters.

Overall, Morton has brought us a well-crafted, usefully-organized, and thoroughly-researched work that will help each Christian fight the spiritual battles that are before us. Therefore, I highly recommend this work for your library or Bible class.

Bruce Morton, Deceiving Winds: Christians Navigating the Storm of Mysticism, Leadership Struggles and Sensational Worship (Nashville, TN: 21^st Century Christian, 2009), 304 pp.

Don’t forget to stop by and meet Barbara A. Oliver, who will be staffing a booth for BNc’s Forthright Press in the Lectureship Exhibit area.

The Lectureship runs from Sunday, Feb. 7 to Friday, Feb. 12. The theme for the 74th annual Bible lectureship is: Perfecting God’s People, Christ and Culture in Corinthians.

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. (BNc) –

Ten thousand copies of the New Testament in the New King James Version have been printed in South India at a cost of only sixty cents each, he wrote in his Bulletin Briefs in Sept.

In spite of the low price, the little Testament (3.9″ x 5.4″) is well made, being stitched at the spine with perfect binding. It is in clear type on good quality paper.

“At times I have priced similar sized New Testaments in bookstores and found them selling for about $6.00,” he said.

The primary aim in India is to distribute them to English medium schools.

“But we would like to ship them to any English-speaking country to use for evangelism and distribution in prisons,” Waldron wrote.

In India the copies are free, but churches that want to use them in their own countries are asked to pay the printing cost plus shipping.

The shipping even in large quantities is another 60 cents, so they can be shipped to the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, etc. for $1.20 each.

A sample copy may be requested without charge.

Multiple copies, at $1.20 each, may be ordered from:

KNOW YOUR BIBLE
1824 Roane State Hwy — Box 171
Harriman, TN 37748

The Apocalipsis de Juan (Revelation of John) is a word-for-word analysis from the ancient Greek text of Revelation directly into Spanish by Enrique Martorell.

Brother Martorell is originally from Spain and currently preaches for the Hispanic church in Hope, Ark.

He serves as professor for preaching schools in several countries through videoconferencing for the Institutos del Pais y de Suramerica based in Lubbock, Tex. He is a popular speaker throughout the Spanish-speaking countries of North, South and Central America and in Europe.

When completed, the Greek of the New Testament series will be a 15-volume commentary set.

The first volume on the gospel of John was published in the winter of 2007. The third volume on the letters of John and Jude will be published this spring.

The final volume of the series is planned for the fall of 2013.

Gospel Opportunities Evangelism is a Spanish-language ministry of Robert and Michal Swain.

Copies of the Gospel of John and Revelation commentaries, or pre-orders of other volumes, can be purchased from Gospel Opportunities, P.O. Box 1030, Vilonia, AR 72173.

Spanish-language orders can be made by phone (901) 517-7274 or email, Barbara@GoEvangelism.org.

English orders may be made by calling (501) 733-0682 or emailing Michal@GoEvangelism.org.

Each volume sells for $10.00 plus shipping and handling.

A passage of Scripture is quoted and applied to every-day living. One subscriber comments: “Many days it is exactly what I need!”

Dan started sending out the messages in 1990 to encourage college students. Many members of the Hancock congregation are students at Michigan Technological University at Houghton across the river which has 7000 students. Gradually others asked to be placed on the mailing list as well. Send Dan an e-mail if you want to receive ‘A word of encouragement’: dskaggs6404@sbcglobal.net

Dan has been preaching for the congregation in Hancock since October of 1972. He says: “I often refer to our congregation as a ‘revolving door congregation’. Our numbers vary with students and other people coming and going.”

For many years his wife, Lutrica, has provided a potluck dinner each Sunday for their college students who are hungry for home-cooked food. Sometimes a married student provides salads and deserts.

Dan comments: “By reaching out to them in this way, we have seen many instances through the years of Christian students bringing friends from campus. Not infrequently, the friends become Christians.”

The twin cities of Hancock and Houghton are in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Tourists are among those ‘coming and going’. Hancock is the gateway to the Keweenaw Peninsula, which is a popular area for fishing, hunting and vacationing in the summer and for skiing and snowmobiling in the winter.

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (BNc) –

BNc talked to Luke Griffin, webmaster for the site, about the idea behind the launch.

BNc: Why another online Bible site?
Luke: The other online Bible sites (Biblegateway, Blue Letter Bible, etc.) are run by denominations, so there is a lot of inaccurate content linked to them. They also look like they were designed in the late 90’s. We wanted to take advantage of the latest technology and add a more current “look and feel,” which we hope will put a good face on the Gospel to the modern world.

The site launched with several thousand pages of content, over 2500 audio sermons and over 100 videos. By integrating our existing content to the scriptures, and inserting Bible defense commentary at the point of alleged contradictions, I think we have made a good start, and we intend to continue improving it.

BNc: What will this site do that others, like BibleGateway, won’t?

Luke: Primarily, BibleGateway is a denominational site and has a great deal of false doctrine on it, and Christians are hesitant to encourage their friends to use it. We want to provide a site that every Christian will not only enjoy using, but will also feel comfortable inviting others to use, especially for evangelism purposes. We also feel that we have improved the way the resources are placed in the text of the Bible. Instead of having to search for the resources on a given scripture, articles, videos, audio files, pictures and commentary are all easily accessible from the text. We believe ours also looks more attractive, and as we add functionality, it will be easier to use. BibleGateway has about a ten-year head start on us, but we are approaching it from more of a multi-tier perspective.

BNc: What else is in the pipeline for this site and what’s the timeline?

Luke: Over the next few months we plan to have a directory of churches in the House to House/Heart to Heart program and link to their front page content. This will automatically give a list of their service times, special services, location, etc., and will be updated when they update their HTH page. This will allow users to know where they can find a sound congregation to visit in their geographic area (at least in the U.S.).

We also plan to update www.polishingthepulpit.com as soon as possible as a tool for those who will be attending it on August 28-September 3.

After that, we will concentrate resources on adding content and features to the online Bible. There is also a feature on the custom A/V site that allows us to use the right-hand box as a PowerPoint tool. We plan to start offering PowerPoint downloads in the not-too-distant future. I think everyone will be excited as the changes are implemented, tools are added and the content continues to improve.

BNc: Why the emphasis on video for a Bible site?

Luke: We are blessed to have so many good brotherhood works that are now producing top-quality videos. Part of the idea of www.housetohouse.com is that we are building something not to compete with our brethren, but to promote their works. We want to compete with the big denominational sites while at the same time drawing attention to our brotherhood’s sites.

Our goal is to get the truth to as many people as possible, and if we work together on providing good content, I think it makes us that much more competitive in the global sense.

It costs quite a bit to send material through the mail to people overseas. Audio and video on the web make it more accessible to more lost people. Many will still have the problem of bandwidth, since many areas do not have high-speed Internet, or even electricity. So we still need to continue all the good missionary work and print work going on in the brotherhood.

But to get the gospel to the whole world (of more than 6 billion people), we need to offer material in every media outlet that we possibly can.

Further, videos are among the most popular thing on the Internet right now. The average Internet user — and there are 1.4 billion of them on the earth — uses the Internet two hours a day. They are getting their news, entertainment and much of their Biblical teaching on the net.

I don’t think we have disproportionately featured the video content, but I do think it is something that will be one of the sites most popular uses. We will also constantly add articles, Bible questions and answers, back issues of HTH and other publications, as well as current offers and a great deal more.

BNc: On HTHBible.com, you have a Statement of Faith which links back to the HTH site at Housetohouse.com. Does this tend toward a creed?

Luke: No, our statement draws attention to the fact that the church of Christ has no creed but the Bible. It simply gives a brief overview of what the Bible says on several major doctrines. This will serve as a teaching tool that will be accessed by many first-time users, and each statement includes a scripture reference for further study and verification.

The reason we added it is to counter the statements made by the prominent denominational Bible sites. Almost all of them read like the Apostles Creed and end with a call to accept Jesus into your heart. I think that’s what non-Christians will expect to find when they click there and, instead, will have the truth plainly stated.

BNc: Only the KJV is offered on HTHBible.com. Will other versions eventually be available?

Luke: We intend to add other versions for study and comparison, but we needed to start with one, and the KJV was the best candidate, since it is widely accepted and has no complicated copyright issues. We hope to add the ASV soon, again, for simple copyright reasons.

BNc: Will it be possible to link to specific passages or verses in HTHBible.com?

Luke: Yes, and we’ll do one better. We will soon be coming out with our “Pocket Bible” application. You can add this to your website and pull up scriptures, as well as link into the larger HTHBible.com. I’ll be putting together a FAQ and some tutorial videos on how to use some of the more advanced features and take advantage of these opportunities.

We could not do this alone, but with God’s help I know we will be able to spread the Word to a large part of the world. Please pray for the success of the site.

BNc: How can brethren work together, among themselves and with HTH, to do a better job at outreach and to cooperate for a greater impact on the world through the Internet? Specifically, what avenues are open for a congregation or ministry to cooperate with HTH?

Luke: God has given us a great vehicle to draw the world’s attention to the church of Christ. House to House/Heart to Heart continuously reaches nearly three million families in the U.S., plus thousands in other countries. Couple this with housetohouse.com and HTH reaches out to about 160 countries each year. Other works in the brotherhood also reach out to large numbers of people, especially through TV and the Internet. As we work together, we are able to reach more people by cross-promotion, as well as reach the same people more effectively.

What we try to do through HTH is use the vehicle that God has given to give a sinner as many ways as possible to learn the truth. We point them to other works our brethren are doing in hopes that they will continue studying, exploring, learning and coming “to a knowledge of the Truth.” We promote sound websites, and then link to each other which helps improve Google searches (gets our sites listed higher in search listings). We also promote each other’s material, like we have done with “Searching for Truth” and various Focus Press DVDs. It is important that the brotherhood not see each other as competitors, but as members of the same team. The world and Satan are doing the best they can to tear down the Lord’s church and, failing that, to get the world to ignore us.

House to House has always aimed at helping local congregations get well-designed, customized print pieces mailed into their community at a low cost. By pooling resources to get quantity and bulk discounts, we’ve been able to offer very nice looking material and very affordable costs. We promote good works inside the paper, with featured websites and free Bible study materials. We offer freebies that readers can request (like books, audios, DVDs and magazine subscriptions) in cooperation with good works such as Focus Press, WVBS and others. This gets contacts for local churches to follow up on, and gives readers more reason to have a continuing interest in the church. We want to continue such practices on housetohouse.com and hthbible.com.

I have often been impressed with the selfless sacrifices that our brothers are willing to make when it comes to helping spread the Gospel. Reaching the world is a huge mission. None of us can do it alone. It takes each of us working together, with God’s help, to get as much done as possible.

Visit HTHBible.com right now.

CHENNAI, India (BNc) –

In her new book, Bribery: The Ethics of Giving and Receiving Gifts, missionary Beth Johnson tackles those questions.

Through the use of both Old and New Testament examples, the book attempts to see how God views the principles of gift-giving at any level and for any reason.

Joy Jensen, missionary wife in Tanzania, endorsed the 82-page paperback:

“This book is a ‘must-read’ for everyone who has an interest in mission work – missionaries, supporters, short-term campaigners. These lessons are packed with Scriptures, are easy to understand and leave no doubt about God’s view of bribery. At the conclusion of each lesson are thought-provoking questions which help the student solidify each lesson and make the appropriate application.”

BNc asked Beth about her self-published book and its topic.

BNc: What prompted you to write this book?

Beth: We had been at the point of losing the property for the [leadership training] school and had gone through lawyer after lawyer — more than a dozen. Each time, the man who had taken us to court bought off our lawyers. Our whole work was in jeopardy of going down. Finally, we happened to contact a lady lawyer who had worked for the Income Tax department and whose husband was Finance Minister. Apparently she and he valued their reputations enough to do a good job for us and keep us from losing everything.

BNc: Is corruption a general problem outside the U.S.? And inside?

Beth: Most third world countries are where they are economically because of corruption, mafia or drugs. Until recently I had not suspected corruption in the U.S., but lately I have seen reports of several that have not behaved ethically.

BNc: Is bribery a major holdback to missions?

Beth: Bribery can be a temptation to anyone who is wanting to get things done fast in cultures where officials do not move quickly.

BNc: How often do you have to deal with corruption and bribery?

Beth: Almost every day we are faced with someone asking a bribe or trying to put us in a position where we might be tempted to pay one to get a job done fast.

BNc: What’s the basic premise of your book?

Probably the chapter about Paul and Felix is the hard-hitting one. Paul had done nothing to deserve imprisonment or death and he deserved to be set free, yet he refused to pay a bribe to Felix to go beyond the legal system.

BNc: Is just a flat refusal the best way to deal with bribery? Do you have any quick tips for dealing with government officials?

Beth: We try our best to avoid conflict because any official has the power to set fines and force people to pay. We try to use “soft answers” or appear ignorant of what they are asking at other times. If we are confronted directly, we ask if they give a receipt, and, of course, they do not. Then we simply tell them we cannot pay out any money without a receipt. One fellow’s answer to that was, “Mr. Johnson, you’ve been reading too much Bible.”

BNc: When can a missionary or short-term worker expect to bump into corruption?

Beth: When they start to buy or sell property or deal with bigger projects, they will find problems. If anyone happens to lay a court case against you, it is almost certain that a judge or a lawyer will approach you for a bribe.

BNc: How do people tend to justify offering bribes?

Beth: Like one man said, “Well, everyone does it; that is just how things are done here!”

Beth began teaching children’s Bible classes at age 14 and has taught as many as five classes a week for ladies or children for more than 40 years. During those years, she also served as a preacher’s wife and missionary.

Since Jan., 1962, Beth and her husband Dennis have worked with congregations in four states of the U.S. and Canada and served the Lord in Thailand, Malaysia and India.

She also taught English in public school (K-12 and university level) while they were in the U.S.

Two of her numerous special class assignments were teaching parenting for AFDC mothers and daycare recertification classes.

She has appeared on lectureships in Alabama, Texas, North and South Carolina.

Her articles and lessons have been used for classes online and for daily devotional mailing lists. They have also been published in the U.S. and India.

Beth and Dennis have two sons, three daughters and 17 grandchildren.

Bribery was published Nov., 2008, in Chennai, India. The book retails for US$5.95 and is available through JADE Books & Gifts in Lebanon, Tenn., or Chula Vista Books, in Pell City, Ala.

In Faith Undone, Roger Oakland, a premillennial dispensational evangelist, examines a fairly new movement among Evangelicals called the “emerging church” (or emergent movement). Having been through the periods of modernism and postmodernism, the church is now “emerging” into a new era requiring a complete re-thinking of “doing church,” so proponents of the movement say.

Emergent leaders see their movement as “a new reformation,” shattering “intolerable carapace” of “institutionalized Christianity,” even as Martin Luther revolted against Roman Catholicism. Oakland, however, believes the “emerging church” to be an “end-time deception,” in keeping with his dispensational convictions.

Oakland sees little to commend emergent ideas or practices, and much which makes them dangerous and heretical. Some would accuse him of alarmism or “sour grapes,” since he unapologetically exposes numerous high-profile Evangelical leaders, including Rick Warren, Tony Campolo, Chuck Colson, Bill Hybels, Leonard Sweet and Brian McLaren.

Even Max Lucado receives a brief mention for his book A Cure for the Common Life, in which he quotes Martin Buber’s statement that “a divine spark lives in every being and thing” (emphasis mine, J.S.).

Following is a list of some of the most obvious objectionable features of emergent beliefs and practices Oakland exposes. It should be noted that not every item in the list is accepted or practiced by every person or group involved in the “emerging church” movement.

Mysticism – Roman Catholic, also other religions & New Age.

Meditation – not as in Scripture, but with chants, etc., seeking altered state of consciousness.

Contemplative spirituality, contemplative prayer (centering prayer) – emptying the mind of all thoughts via meditation and repetition of a single word or syllable – preferably a one-syllable word. Any time outside thoughts return, attention is re-focused by saying that word/syllable again.

The Jesus Prayer – While meditating, breathe in while saying “Lord Jesus, Son of God,” and breathe out saying “have mercy on me.” Repeat over & over, keep track of repetitions by using beads, knots on a rope.

Labyrinth – Similar to a maze, but has only one path – walking to the center is like a journey to the presence of God. May have “stations” along the way for prayer, etc.

Multi-Sensory worship – All five senses, thus icons, incense, darkness, emphasis on tasting the bread and wine, music.

Cosmic Christ – As opposed to the historic Christ. Jesus of Nazareth was not “THE Christ,” but had a “christ-consciousness” in him, as did Moses, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Buddha.

Eucharistic Christ – As advocates of the “emerging church” are heavily involved in Catholic mysticism, they also gravitate toward the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the worship of the “host,” consecrated wafer which the Catholic priest holds up to be worshipped just as one would worship Jesus.

Not Christians but Christ-followers – Having Christ as Lord & Savior is not a prerequisite to being “like Jesus” thus a Christ-follower; may remain Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu.

Minimizing the atonement – Some emergents say that the God who would require a blood sacrifice to atone for sin does not exist. They say Jesus died as an example of sacrificial service, but mock the idea of blood atonement for sin as being a “slaughterhouse religion.”

Experience over doctrine

God in everyone, everyone is/can be God – Or perhaps we already are God but just need to realize it – the idea is also set forth that all humans are united but just need to realize it.

Vintage Christianity – Going back to the “church fathers” (but not back to the New Testament) and adopting the “spirituality” that the “fathers” set forth. Some emergents are rejecting the idea that the church went into apostasy eventually leading to the Reformation; instead they are affirming and embracing the entirety of church history, or so they claim. One wonders if they include the various varieties of Gnostics within that.

Contextual theology – “… a way of doing theology in which one takes into account: the spirit and message of the gospel; the tradition of the Christian people; the culture in which one is theologizing; and social change in that culture, whether brought about by western technological progress or the grass-roots struggle for equality, justice and liberation” (quoting Stephan B. Bevans, Models of Contextual Theology, pp. 42-43).

While premillennialism and Calvinism are not the major emphases of Faith Undone, I would recommend the book only to those firmly grounded in the truth and thus able to resist those two false systems. The bulk of Oakland’s work is valuable in alerting us to the trends in the religious world around us, for those trends invariably affect our own brethren. A few illustrations of that sad fact follow:

Emergent inroads among change-oriented brethren

Abilene Christian University

“The Spiritual Life Core would like to extend an invitation for students to attend ‘Come to the Quiet’ at 8:45 Sunday evening in Chapel on the Hill. This will be a time of contemplative prayer and worship in the form of a Taize service. . .”

One Internet site says that “Taize worship includes candlelight, prayers, readings, silence, and soft music with repetitive words led by a keyboard and flute, or violin, and other instruments. The service is very meditative and offers a wonderful opportunity to be silent and center on the Lord. Come as you are – and listen.”

“Title: Be Still and Know that I am God An Introduction to Contemplative Prayer

Presenter: Jackie Halstead, Abilene, Tex. (chair of dept. of Marriage & Family Therapy)

Description: Contemplative prayer has been practiced throughout the history of the Christian church. One example of this prayer form – imaging prayer – will be taught to increase an awareness of God’s presence.”

“Title: Up Willow Creek Without A Hybels (leading by cultivating missional imagination)

Presenters: Chris Flanders (Abilene, TX), Robert Foster (Dallas, TX), and Mark Hopkins (Pasadena, CA)

Description: For a new missional frontier, traditional patterns of leadership that emphasize problem solving and predicting outcomes will simply not be adequate. Missional leadership will need to develop Christian imagination through the cultivation of spiritual practices. Come and explore what possibilities leadership on the missional frontier holds.”

Mysticism in a Modern World

“Focused on reaching the students during Lectureship, the student track offers more student-friendly topics, such as mysticism, at later times in the evening. Monday night at 8:45 PM in the Den CafA of Barret Hall, the Spiritual Spectrum topic is Mysticism in a Modern World, hosted by Randy Harris, instructor of Bible, missions and ministry. Harris said the topic was picked because it appeals to students. ‘The director of the lectures wanted to have things that the whole campus would be involved in, especially students,’ Harris said. ‘This is aimed at students, not the guests.’ ‘I’ve done a number of things related to the topic,’ Harris said. He’s spent time at a Trappist monastery, a Buddhist retreat, a Celtic retreat house and a hermit community for 40 days of silent prayer. ‘We’re in a world where everyone is looking for religious experience,’ Harris said. ‘Monks and hermits are people who seem to know about that – that’s why I’ve gone to check ‘em out.’ . . . Though he studies mysticism, Harris said his education on the subject includes learning through experience. ‘I’ve done a whole lot of reading about it, but you get to a point where you don’t want to read about it,’ Harris said. ‘I’ve really been on a search and kinda decided I would go any place in the world to try and learn from people who know about meditation or contemplative prayer or who were practicing a mystical tradition.’”

Highland Church of Christ, Abilene, Tex.

Experience Contemplative Prayer: This class will continue to meet from 7:00 to 8:30 PM each Wednesday . . . led by Jackie Halstead

Lipscomb University

GB5553 Spiritual Formation and Guidance (Spring 2008). Professor: Gary Holloway

Course Description: This course explores how God works in us through his Holy Spirit to conform us to the image of Christ and to empower us for ministry. In the course students will experience spiritual disciplines for themselves, develop a rule of life, and be invited into the ministry of spiritual guidance.

….. This course assumes some familiarity with the practice of the spiritual disciplines (various books recommended, others assigned)

Select Bibliography included books by Richard Foster on Spiritual Disciplines, books on Contemplative Prayer, Centering Prayer, Mysticism, etc.)

ZOE Group Ministries/New Wineskins

Look to the Hills Leadership Conference (Oct. 4-5, 2007)

Guest Keynote Speaker: Brian D. McLaren

“We will be challenged by the ZOE Growing Deeper Team and Brian McLaren to grow deeper in our spiritual life and to live a transformed life.”

Brian McLaren is one of the main “movers and shakers” in the “emerging church” movement. This is freely acknowledged in the biographical information posted on the ZOE Group/New Wineskins web site.

This extensively documented book contains a table of contents, 13 chapters, 25 pages of endnotes (517 notations) and an index. The index is inadequate, one of the weaknesses of the book.

Book information: Roger Oakland, Faith Undone. Silverton, OR: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2007. 263 pages. Price: $12.95 (shipping additional; www.lighthousetrails.com or 1-866-876-3910).

by Brad Harrub

While most modern Americans would never consider themselves members of a cult, (much less drink Kool-Aid like what occurred in Jonestown), a new charismatic movement has emerged, and the leaders of this new “awakening” are Oprah Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle.

It is no secret that a simple nod from Oprah and her book club can instantly transform a novel into a bestseller. But this year that book club has transformed itself into a bully pulpit for New Age religion.

In January, 2008, Winfrey announced her 61st Oprah’s Book Club selection, A New Earth, written by Tolle.

However, this book is not like choices in the past — it’s not a novel or even a memoir. In fact, Oprah called it her boldest choice yet. It deals with a new form of spirituality — a handbook for New Age religion.

Oprah has a tremendous amount of influence. And that influence has now reached its tentacles into the church. Many Christians are reading this book and joining the online classes.

Sadly, many New Testament Christians are under the false assumption that one can safely blend these two belief systems together. Nothing could be further from the truth.

After researching this New Age religion for several weeks, we have prepared a rebuttal for Oprah’s New Age religion.

Take the time to learn the truth and share it with fellow Christians. Dewayne Bryant and I have put together a short booklet exposing the errors of this New Age religion. We encourage everyone (especially parents, teachers, preachers, elders) to arm yourselves with the Truth.

This new booklet is $2.50 + s/h and can be ordered online or by calling (866) 313-6474 toll-free.

The God of the Covenant, by David Lusk. Royce City, TX: Bible Foundation. $15.00.

My typical day involves a lot of study. Personally, I am not able to cover a large amount of material each day, but I do put in an effort to grow.

My initial response to a book is, “How thick is it?” I am terrifed of huge books. My next response is usually, “How big is the type and how is it spaced?”

Though it is not an indication of the content of the book, I am pleased to say that The God of the Covenant passed these tests. It is a nice-sized type and about 266 pages of reading.

With my hit-and-miss schedule, the book took me about two weeks to read. Perhaps the book took me 12-16 hours to read.

Some books read like instruction manuals or an insurance policy. I cannot get through those things. I have to call upon my daughter of wife for that kind of thing. The God of the Covenant seriously compelled me to read further.

It had a number of pertinent illustrations from both the author’s personal life and other sources. Neither the language nor the concepts were difficult to grasp. In fact, most of the time, I felt like I was being told a story throughout the book. The reading flowed. My daughter is 12 years old, and I will have her read the book now that I am done with it.

One of the fascinating aspects of The God of the Covenant is that it shares a large amount of historical perspective with the reader. What were the processes that ancient people went through to establish covenants? What type of covenants did they engage in? There were many nuances that until now I had no understanding of when it came to covenants in the Bible.

The author is establishes a scriptural basis for his assertions, from the use of both the Old and New Testaments. Ever wonder what a “covenant of salt” meant when you read it in Scripture? The author explains this in terms that will leave a lasting impression. Do you know what a parity covenant or suzerainty covenant is? You will within a few pages of reading the book. You will see how these are covenants utilized in the Bible and how they apply to us.

The book could be very beneficial in conversion and bring about a better understanding of our relationship with our Creator.

I have no doubt that the copy I currently have will not be the only one that passes through my hands.

The book may be ordered from the website The Evangelist Store or by emailing David Lusk.