BOOK REVIEW - I WOULD DIE FOR YOU: ONE STUDENT'S STORY OF PASSION, SERVICE, & FAITH BY BRENT AND DEANNA HIGGINS

What does it look to live a life totally surrendered to God, being obedient to him? Is it possible to display such total abandon to our Creator? Is there an age limit on being too old ... or too young?

I Would Die For You: One Student's Story of Passion, Service, & Faith is the story of B.J. Higgins, a teenager who lived out his love for God and the world, with a call to missions. He spent two summers ministering in Peru, and returned home with an unknown but deadly disease.

B.J.'s parents, Brent and Deanna Higgins, wrote/edited this book. Besides their contributions, it includes several journal entries, devotionals, and blogs by B.J., as well as comments from family members, friends, B.J.'s fellow summer missionaries, and others such as Bart Millard of MercyMe. It also includes several photos of B.J.

This is not a negative, but I found this book a challenging read on several points. First, if you're human, a story about a teenager who dies will of course be a challenge. Second, I found the book being a collection of memories from various people than it would if it was written as typical prose and then having a few quotes at the end. Finally, it's a challenge for me to stand up and be counted, to take up my sword and serve God as He wills.

I highly recommend this book.

 

BOOK REVIEW - MISSIONS: HOW THE LOCAL CHURCH GOES GLOBAL (9 MARKS: BUILDING HEALTHY CHURCHES) BY ANDY JOHNSON

What is the purpose of missions? What should the relationship between the missionary and the supporting local church be? Should the local church have missionaries they support all over the world to show their commitment? Are short-term missions trips a blessing or a trial for the long term missionaries?

Andy Johnson, author of "Missions: How the Local Church Goes Global"  (Part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series) starts out with the various views Christians have about missions. He does an excellent job looking at how missions was done in the New Testament, and how to apply those principles.

I'm in a Southern Baptist, where technically through their Cooperative Program every SB church supports every SB missionary. Johnson suggests it may be better for churches to have a smaller number of missionaries to support and then give substantial support to the few.

On the subject of short term missions, Johnson questions if those trips are more for the benefit of the short-termer than the field missionary or the mission field. He suggests a long-term relationship between the local church and the missionary so that the short-termers are doing what helps the missionary. He gives an example of a short-termer from his church in D.C. taking care of baby sitting (including diaper changing) while the missionaries go through training. The missionaries were in tears when they learned the regular job of that short-termer was being on the White House staff.

As is typical for the 9Marks books, I highly recommend this short book.

INTERVIEW WITH MINISTER, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, AND AUTHOR SAM ROBB

JR: It is not often I get to interview a former Presidential candidate (probably never). What was it like? What lessons did you learn, and anything that has made a lifetime impact?

SR: It was really a once in a lifetime experience. I mean, even if I never run for that particular office ever again… how many people can say they’ve even tried? My biggest lesson came not just from my own particular race, but from working on Jo & Spike’s campaign last year. It’s really simple, but pretty profound: like Wayne Gretzky said, you really DO miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. What I learned in that campaign is to take a shot. Run for office. Write that book. Volunteer for that cause. Ask for that raise. Call that person. Ask for the interview. Sure, sometimes the answer will be “No”… but you will be amazed and surprised at how much you can accomplish just by showing up and doing something. Be someone who makes decisions and makes things happen instead of someone who waits to see what’s going to come down the line.

JR: Another hat you wear is being a minister. How did you come to know Christ and get into the ministry?

SR: I was saved at the age of 30. It was a long path to get there. I was raised Catholic, and went to a Catholic high school, so someone who’s been there can probably understand what I mean when I said I came out of there wanting nothing to do with religion! I was more or less an agnostic through college and my twenties. I’ve heard an agnostic described as “someone who doesn’t know the nature of God, and is sure that you don’t, either.” That was me. It was something that might be fun to argue about, but not something that was real to me, you know? It wasn’t until my wife and I returned to PA from my time in the Navy out in California that I found myself someplace different. My wife grew up in a Christian and Missionary Alliance church, and when we got back to PA, we started going there. It was pretty obvious that the people there took God seriously, and they were happy about it. It was also my first exposure to expository preaching, which really made me sit up and take notice. People who read the Bible and paid attention to what it says, not what someone says it says? Whoa! We went from there to an independent Baptist church where we found an amazing group of people and a fantastic preacher by the name of Kurt Skelly. By that point, pretty much every message I heard was convicting me of my need for a savior. So it was Easter weekend in 1999 that I finally admitted what I already knew, and accepted Christ as my savior. After that, I wanted to learn, I wanted to help, I want to do, I wanted to teach… so it wasn’t long before I started helping out with Sunday school classes, taking college courses on the Bible, and working towards understanding theology and apologetics well enough that I could do my best to communicate the Gospel message to others.

JR: I remember that one of your rivals on the campaign, Dan "Taxation Is Theft" Behrman, invited you to speak at a rally he had one Sunday. How has your involvement in the Libertarian Party expanded your ministry? Also, has anyone suggested you are mixing church and state or has questioned if Libertarianism is compatible with Biblical Christianity?

SR: That was a wonderful time! Dan is a fantastic guy, Meeting people like him and Ken Armstrong and Jo and Spike (in photo with Sam)… that was all just so wonderful, getting to know all those great people. I was delighted that he asked me to speak, because I think there’s such an unseen overlap between Biblical Christianity and Libertarian thought that the two might as well be different sides of the same coin. God gives us freedom of choice, and then uses his Word to show us that following His way is the best way… Libertarian thought is that you have freedom of choice, and if I want to convince you that I have the best way, I need to use my words - not force! - to get you to follow my advice. I mentioned Ken Armstrong earlier - Ken’s a pastor, and one of his comments really stuck with me. The idea that the Libertarian Party is his mission field. My wife reminds me of that often, that this is my mission field. I’m here for a reason, and ultimately, that reason is to see lives changed by the Gospel. I’ve had a few people push back on the idea of a preacher as a politician. Usually die-hards who oppose any and all religion, and not necessarily on Libertarian grounds. So long as I am not seeking to use the power of the state to force people to believe what I believe, where is the conflict with Libertarian philosophy? I don’t understand why we would want to use force in any case, not when we have the power of the Gospel and God’s word. I think that Christians need to get away from “There ought to be a law” and back to “We ought to preach Christ to the world”.

JR: Do you believe Christian Liberty is at risk here in the US? Why or why not? What are practical ways we can defend it?

SR: Yes. Not necessarily because of any one thing, but because it has always been at risk. Like I said above, I think that Christians need to get away from “There ought to be a law” and back to “We ought to preach Christ to the world”. As the body of Christ, we have too often gone for the easy route of using the state to force people to behave a certain way - then we declare that victory over immorality, when in fact, we’ve changed behavior but not hearts and minds. Legislating behavior the junk food version of salvation. It looks good, it tastes good, it may even feel good for a while… but ultimately, it doesn’t provide the spiritual nourishment that people need, and it kills them. Which is eerily close to the description of how sin works in our lives, isn’t it?

JR: You recently were a part of the Perspectives of Freedom event. What was your role there, and anything of interest dealt with?

SR: That was a great event organized by Liz Terwilliger. She’s an incredible lady who’s seeking the LPPA nomination to run for the US House of Representatives in her district next year. She’s been incredibly active in her community and region these past few years, and this is an example of that. She brought in a number of different speakers (Spike Cohen, Noel Olinde, Nick and Valerie Sarwark, and others) to have round table discussions about how freedom directly impacts our lives. We talked about health mandates, the military, police reform, education - you name it. There were a couple of common themes across all the discussions. The big one for me was very much related to what I see as a desperate need within the LP. We need people who are able to preach liberty. That means getting out and finding people where they are, then talking to them about the problems they are having, and then showing them how liberty is the solution to their condition. I may be biased, but I think the last 2000 years have shown this is a pretty successful model for reaching people! Folks like Liz and Spike and Jo Jorgensen have done a fantastic job of leading the way here, and I am excited to see us continue on that track as we grow the party here in PA and across the country.

JR: Most of my interviews are with people in the arts, and especially authors. You are an exception... or so I thought. Actually, you have written a short story in the sci-fi collaboration "Exploring Infinity." Would you like to tell us about your contribution and any other writing goals you have?

SR: I’ve got a couple of short stories out there now, plus a book of Dad Jokes :) You can find them all on my Amazon Author page. Hopefully there will be more to come. The past year has been busy, but I do like storytelling. My story in “Exploring Infinity” is about an alien who gets trapped on Earth thanks to an errant time-traveller. My other stories focus on “Weird Pittsburgh”, a setting where faeries, the undead and even angels sometimes wander through the City of Bridges. It’s still hard for me - I’m not a 10k word a day guy like Larry Correia, by any means! - but I do enjoy telling an entertaining story. Really, I’m just glad that some folks out there think they’re worth spending time on. That makes me happy :)

JR:Thank you for your time. What is on your schedule? Do you have a blog or webpage for those who want to follow your activities?

SR: I’m getting more involved with the newly formed Pro LifeLibertarian Caucus and with several crisis pregnancy centers in our region. I will stay involved in LP politics, though perhaps in more of a peripheral or supporting role as time goes by. I love being able to help people accomplish their goals, and contributing to or supporting a campaign or effort is one of the real joys I’ve found in the LP. You can find me on Twitter as @Samrobb4liberty, or on Facebook as SamrobbForLiberty. I also have a Substack blog named “Political Perceptions”  that I will write longer pieces for once in a while.