The Book: Tullian Tchividjian is the pastor of a young, new Church when he is asked to be pastor of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church which was once a nationally known Church but has since declined. The boards move to merge the Churches, and the transition is far less than ideal.
Tullian shows how in this process he was forced to come to face to face with how he has lived for the approval of others and other idols in his life by confronting how if Jesus is everything, then everything else really is nothing.
Who it’s for: Those courageous enough to confront the things in their lives that they are putting before Christ. I thought the book was going to center much more on his story and how he worked through this process, but the focus of the book is on you and how you need to come to grips with the idols in our lives.
This made the book a much slower read, but far more important. The doctrine and scriptural foundation are fantastic, and Tullian is obviously extremely well-read. It’s a very heavy book (not in weight), but very important.
My Highlights:
- A gospel saturated Church is a church filled with people who give everything they have because they understand that in Christ they already have everything they need.
- Typically, its not that Christians seek to blatantly replace the gospel. What we try to do is simply add to it.
- Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God- your functional Savior.
- An idol is anything or anyone that you conclude, in your heart, you must have in order for your life to be meaningful, valuable, secure, exciting, or free.
- Legalism happens when what we need to do, not what Jesus has already done, becomes the end game.
- Progress in obedience happens only when our hearts realize that God’s love for us does not depend on our progress in obedience.
- Because Jesus was someone, you’re free to be no one.
- Sins, in other words, are the fruit of a much deeper problem, a problem hat only God can solve. Death is the root of the problem.
- The gospel shows us that while we matter, we’re not the point.
