"A Better Way to Relate to God - Part 2" - podcast archives

”A Better Way to Relate to God - part two - Better Assumptions” 9/6/07

Many of us have been taught to relate to God with wrong assumptions — particularly assumptions about the heart (will, spirit) of a Christian. For example, are we really “Just sinners, saved by grace?” Are we really “prone to wander?” Jim continues to explore some more accurate, hopeful assumptions Christians can have about their heart as they relate to God.

"A better way to relate to God - part 1" - podcast archives

“A Better Way to Relate to God” - part one 8/26/07

Assumptions will either kill or bring life. Like medical doctors, church leaders operate under certain assumptions about people’s central disease, as well as the presumed cure they need. What if we’ve got that course of treatment wrong? (If we were really getting the cure/treatment right, our churches would be filled with healed and whole individuals — not perfectly, but substantially. And that’s not what we see.)

"Rescuing the heart" - podcast archives

“Rescuing the Heart” - 10/29/07

Jim shares excerpts from his upcoming book, Recover Your Good Heart. Is the Church really giving people the cure we claim to have? Or, are we busy managing externals?

Jim is interviewed by Family Room Media - podcast archives

INTERVIEW: Special Guest, Jim Robbins. 8/20/08. Jim was interviewed by the guys at Family Room Media. Topic: Jim’s new book, Recover Your Good Heart. The promise of the Gospel goes beyond forgiveness to the promise of a new heart. God must rescue people at the level of the heart. This is why you already have a new goodness, new power and new desires. — Thanks to Bob, Dave and Loren at Family Room Media.

"There's even more to grace." - podcast archives

“There’s even more to ‘grace.’” 9/5/08. Is it possible we’re stilling framing the idea of grace within an Old Covenant mentality? Is there more Jesus is offering us than pardon?

"A Life of Desire" - podcast archives

"A life of desire" 11/12/08 Is desire a snare to be avoided or the instrument through which God leads us into our very identity and calling? Jim talks about what the Church has done with desire and what God is really inviting us into.

"A truer authenticity" - podcast archives

"A truer authenticity" 6/5/09 Grace without restoration is cruel, like releasing a man from prison without giving him new desires and strength. Grace must go beyond forgiveness (pardon) to the giving of a new and supernaturally-good heart. Otherwise, it is stunted grace. Simply seeing ourselves as a miserable mess - yet forgiven- doesn't help a person in the long run. We need a new kind of "real." A new authenticity.

Heart ...and mind.

C.S. Lewis said:

"God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers. If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all ..."

Christianity is clearly about the heart -- the deepest you, the spirit, the command center of human personality. Contemporary Christianity has badly missed this. However, I've seen a disturbing trend. Those of us who talk about the heart can neglect the place of the mind in apprenticeship to Jesus -- or even forget that, "You can been given the mind of Christ."

Heart and mind work together.  Both come under the transforming renewal of Christ's work for us.

We must not vilify the Christian mind, particularly because it, too, has come under the restoring work of Christ.

 Have you noticed this as well?  Do you agree?

Hearing the podcast with Darin Hufford -- solution

Click here to hear the interview.

Darin is the author of The Misunderstood God, and the creator of The Free Believers Network. We talked about his book, how religious thinking (vs. the Gospel) has distorted love, and what it means to be a free believer.

Podcast problems

If you've had trouble playing the podcast - my interview with Darin Hufford-- I apologize.  I contacted Blogtalk Radio -- the architecture that hosts the podcasts, and their techs are working on the problem.  I'll let you know when they are playable again.

Now available - my interview with Darin Hufford, author of "The Misunderstood God"

The podcast is up and available for download or online listening.
Click player below to play the podcast.
Darin is the author of The Misunderstood God, and the creator of The Free Believers Network. We talked about his book, how religious thinking (vs. the Gospel) has distorted love, and what it means to be a free believer.

Expected Release: October/Early November 2009 (will be available for pre-order beginning in September)

TODAY - "THE MISUNDERSTOOD GOD" - interview with Darin Hufford

Darin Hufford, author of the upcoming book, THE MISUNDERSTOOD GOD - THE LIES RELIGION TELLS US ABOUT GOD, will join me on the podcast. The book will be published by Windblown Media -- publishers of THE SHACK. Darin is also the creator of The Free Believers Network that is helping church return to its natural habitat.

Episode airs on Monday, July 6th.  1 p.m. Eastern.  Podcast will be available for download following the 'live' episode.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

River rescue - how I almost drowned and what it taught me

Three years ago, I almost drowned.  I was rafting on a Class Five river when our raft hit a boulder and we were hurled out.  Our brief Rafting 101 talk we received back at base camp did nothing to prepare me for the shock of icy water, the panic of drowning, or the continuing slap of brown river water I was choking on. 

I tried to estimate whether I could swim laterally against the current to either bank.  Not a chance.  It was too far.   My guide and raft were too far up river to pull me out, the current having carried me too quickly away from our raft.  My only hope was another guide's raft about 50 yards ahead.  Would he see me?  I had no strength or ability to contribute to my hope of rescue.  The water was strong and fast.  I was powerless and in danger of drowning.   And as they say, the orange life jacket just makes it easier to find your dead body. 

Thankfully, the other boat saw me.  I don't know how the guy pulled my soaking, 6 feet- 2 inch, dead- weight body out of the water, but he did.

Later, while sorting through everything that happened God said, "Jim -- this wasn't about your failure to handle the situation.  It wasn't about your capacity at all.  It was about my ability to rescue you." 

This is the Gospel.  This is the ongoing nature of the Christian life -- Jesus' ability to 'save' us didn't simply cease after we said 'yes' to his offer to "save us from our sins."

We need the experience, not simply the idea or hope of being rescued.  Through these experiences of rescue, we gain a perspective that is more real and confident than the one we had on paper.  We can only gain that experience by taking the risks God is asking us to -- by placing ourselves in situations (again, when God counsels us to take the risk) where unless he rescues us, we're toast. 

Is there anything he's asking you to risk, so that you can experience more life?

Learning how to handle power

God wants to share his power.  Aptly wielded, power brings transformation and healing to the world.  He has intended to share his power from the very beginning:

"Adam, you may name the great variety of animals on the earth." "Adam and Eve, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.".

"What!!...are you crazy, God!? Don't give them that invitation; they'll screw it up!" But God risks because he shares.

Children need a sense of power, which must include the capacity for choice. Of course, the limits on that power must be age-appropriate, but stripping a child of power will wound them: "I am your father and you will do exactly as I say!" Left with only one acceptable option, and the threat of punishment if they don't choose that one acceptable option, a child will be stripped of dignity -- because dignity involves the divinely-given capacity for choice.  Power requires choices. 

What our children need to hear is this:

"Not only do you have an option here, you may choose. Of course the consequences will also be yours, but I will never remove either your choices or their consequences. I love you too much."

As Danny Silk suggests in his book, Loving Your Kids On Purpose, when you strip a child of the ability to choose between option A or B, the only way to ensure they comply is through the threat of punishment. ...and that only leads to fear: "If I don't do what mommy or daddy wants, I will disappoint them... or worse."

"Perfect (whole, complete) love casts out fear." Love and fear don't co-exist well.

God is teaching us adults how to use his power, to exercise it well; and I've been afraid of that my whole life: "But, if I get to choose here, what if I blow it? What if I choose the wrong thing?  Will you be disappointed?  Will I be outside of your will?"  ...and fear wounds the relationship.  Further, I never learn how to handle power favorably; and the only way to really learn is to screw it up sometimes.  You don't learn until you really get the consequences.  But if you live in constant fear of blowing it, you don't learn how to handle power-- You only learn fear.

Our capacity for choice is a bit unnerving.  We're given a lot of latitude when it comes to chosing.  But that latitude is wholly necessary for learning to handle power...and therefore love.  Love bestows power.

New podcast - special guest Joel Brueseke, Graceroots.org

A deeper look at grace.

Joel Brueseke is the founder of graceroots.org and has recently created a graceroots community on Ning network. He's a guy that gets the message of Jesus and understands the message of the new heart.
This is my interview with him. 

 

Book review: SIR DALTON AND THE SHADOW HEART

I didn't get to review the book that Multnomah/Randomhouse sent me as part of their author blog tour, so I want to be sure and give you the book's summary and links for finding out more. 

Category:  Youth Fantasy
Author:  Chuck Black

Summary:
Sir Dalton, a knight in training, seems to have everything going for him. Young, well-liked, and a natural leader, he has earned the respect and admiration of his fellow knights, and especially the beautiful Lady Brynn.

But something is amiss at the training camp. Their new trainer is popular but lacks the passion to inspire them to true service to the King and the Prince. Besides this, the knights are too busy enjoying a season of good times to be concerned with a disturbing report that many of their fellow Knights have mysteriously vanished.

When Sir Dalton is sent on a mission, he encounters strange attacks, especially when he is alone. As his commitment wanes, the attacks grow in intensity until he is captured by Lord Drox, a massive Shadow Warrior. Bruised and beaten, Dalton refuses to submit to evil and initiates a daring escape with only one of two outcomes–life or death. But what will become of the hundreds of knights he’ll leave behind? In a kingdom of peril, Dalton thinks he is on his own, but two faithful friends have not abandoned him, and neither has a strange old hermit who seems to know much about the Prince. But can Dalton face the evil Shadow Warrior again and survive?

To learn more, click here.

You're getting hit with accusation -- the warning signs

Warning sign #1: The conversation centers around compliance -- getting you yield to an alleged standard of thought or behavior of some sort. This could be compliance to church standards of "holiness" or to corporate standards that determine how things have always been done. Or, this could be unspoken expectations one picks up from one's family of origin and carries into the job, the marriage, the parenting.  Or, you may have adopted a more healthy set of expections, but your family hasn't. 

Warning sign #2: The accuser needs to be right-- at the expense of the relationship.

Warning sign #3: Spiritual arrogance masquerading as "love." ("I'm only saying this because I love you and want what's best for you.") Hmmm...that's not what I'm picking up here...

Warning sign #4: Fight or flight? You either want to fight or run. You're wounded and want to place as much distance between you and your accuser as possible, but you don't want them to get away with it, either.  Paralysis?  Retaliation?  "Feeling overwhelmed....loosing my spiritual footing."

What about you? What have you experienced when you've been under accusation's sting?

New podcast: "A truer authenticity"

" A truer authenticity:"  6/5/09
Grace without restoration is cruel, like releasing a man from prison without giving him new desires and strength.  Grace must go beyond forgiveness (pardon) to the giving of a new and supernaturally-good heart.  Otherwise, it is stunted grace.

Simply seeing ourselves as a miserable mess - yet forgiven- doesn't help a person in the long run.  We need a new kind of "real."  A new authenticity.

Loading glitch:  My apologies to those who've already tried to listen to the podcast and found it got cut off half-way through.  I've now reloaded it and it should play in its entirety.

"There's more to grace" -- book teaser

There's more to grace.
Grace without restoration is cruel. It must go beyond forgiveness to the gift of a new and supernaturally-good heart.

Help Jim write his next book!

CONTEST:

Help me write my next book. While promoting my current book, "Recover Your Good Heart," I've begun research for my next book. (It takes about a year to write/edit/publish a book.)

The next book will be called something like, "A Kingdom of Nobles -- Why we were meant to be kings and queens" or "The Noble Heart -- Regaining our place as kings and queens in the Kingdom"

I'm looking for novels, fantasy lit. in which a character becomes more than he or she thought they were. For example, in the "Lord of the Rings," Frodo reluctantly becomes the most unlikely of heroes in a battle to save Middle Earth. In the "Chronicles of Narnia," the children find that their true nature and destiny is to rule as kings and queens of Narnia.

CONTEST: If are one of the first 5 people to recommend a book (and I end up quoting or referring to it in my book), I'll make sure you get a free copy of my upcoming book. In order to be fair, the recommendation can't be a title that someone else has already mentioned.

Go to my Facebook page to see titles others have already recommended:  Click here.

Update on Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 11:20AM by Jim Robbins

Thanks to all who contributed great source recommendations for my next book. If you're one of the first 5 that I end up using in the book, you'll get a complimentary copy of the new book. (It will take a while, since it takes a good year to write/edit/publish a book; but I've been keeping track of who's suggested what. Thanks again!