Open House Volume 1 FREE chapter: Max Lucado

8/8/2019 Open House Volume 1 FREE chapter: Max Lucado

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OPENHOUSE

S H E R I D A N V O Y S E Y I N C O N V E R S A T I O N W I T H T I M C O S T E L L O,

A N D R E W D E N T O N , C L I V E H A M I L T O N , T H O M A S K E N E A L L Y ,

M A X L U C A D O , P H I L I P Y A N C E Y A N D M A N Y M O R E .


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Open HouseCopyright 2008 Sheridan Voysey/Christian Broadcasting Association LtdFirst published 2007 by Strand Publishing

The Open House radio program is a production of Sydneys 103.2: www.fm1032.com.au

ISBN 9781-921202490

Distributed in Australia by:

Family Reading PublicationsB100 Ring RoadBallarat Victoria 3350Phone: (03) 5334 3244Fax: (03) 5334 3299Email: [email protected]

Web: www.familyreading.com.au

The words of Jesus Christ on page 1 are taken from John 10:10, The Holy Bible, NewInternational Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society.

Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.The words of Saint Paul on page 83 are taken from Romans 12:1, The Messageparaphraseof the Bible by Eugene H. Peterson. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000. Used bypermission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.The words of King David on page 193 are taken from Psalm 24:1, The Holy Bible, NewInternational Version.

This book is copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy,recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations for printed reviews, without priorpermission of the publisher.

Edited by Owen SalterCover design by Joy LankshearTypeset by Midland Typesetters, AustraliaPrinted by Griffin Press


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Contents

Introduction v

Life:Terry Waite 3

John Anderson 15

Clive Hamilton 26

Joni Eareckson Tada 32

John Eldredge 39

Tim Flannery 48 Jeffrey Sachs 57

Wess Stafford 65

Duncan Armstrong 74

Faith:Eugene Peterson 85

Andrew Denton 92

Max Lucado 101

Tim Costello 111

Philip Yancey 119

Alister McGrath 133

Tony Campolo 147

Michael Frost 159 John Smith 171

Don Piper 181


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Contents

Culture:

James Morrison 195Katherine Paterson 209

Marina Prior 224

Thomas Keneally 235

Graham Kendrick 243

Adrian Plass 251

About Sheridan Voysey 263

About Open House 265


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Max LucadoFINDINGYOUR SWEETSPOT

Max Lucado has touched millions around the world with his signaturestorytelling writing style. The author of more than fi fty books, including

In the Grip of Grace, When God Whispers Your Name, He Chose

the Nails and 3:16 The Numbers of Hope, over twenty-eight million

copies of Lucados books are in print today.

The infl uential Christianity Todaymagazine once called him AmericasPastor, and Readers Digestonce crowned him the best preacher in

America. But I have a feeling Max would rather be known simply as

a husband, a father and a follower of Jesus. We talked about fi nding

faith, avoiding moral failure and discovering our sweet spot in life.

What would you like to be known as?

A sinner saved by grace. God has been good to me, despite the

fact that I had ignored him for many years in my life. So I think,

if nothing else, to know that God was kind to me and had mercy

upon me even though I ignored himthat would be the greatest

legacy I could leave.

Your own path to faith actually had a few bends and kinks in it.Recount that for us.

Well, I developed a pretty serious drinking problem when I was


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Faith

young. Even though my parents did all they could to direct me

onto the right path, I fell in with a crowd. They were stronger thanI was.

I have this insatiable appetite for beer, and just one beer is

never enough for me. So by the time I was eighteen I realised that

I could drink a lot more than my buddies without feeling it. I

was developing a tolerance towards alcohol and, quite honestly,

I enjoyed that for a while. But it scared me. I wondered where it

was going to take me.At about the age of twenty somebody explained to me about the

teachings of God, especially about his son Jesus. I came to believe

that Jesus is Gods son and when he died on the cross he died

so that I could go to heaven. That was authenticated to me as I

studied the resurrection. And I realised that if Jesus really rose from

the dead then he has authority over my mistakes and my rebellion,and so I received his forgiveness. Its been literally a great life since.

I dont battle the alcoholism any longer [although] I have to be

careful. And I am finally convinced that he has forgiven me for all

those mistakes I made during those years.

If you were to sum it up in a sentence, what would you say is your life

message?

I think it would be this: God loves, so God gave; we believe and so

we live.

I like that. Spoken by a true preacher!

Remember the most famous verse in the Bible: For God so loved

the world that he gave his one and only son, so that whoeverbelieves in him will not perish but have eternal life. You have to

keep things simple for me. Im not the brightest bulb in the drawer.


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And that passage makes sense to me. God loves me. I can get my

head around that. He gave exactly what I neededa sacrifice formy sins and mistakes. If I believe, if I just trust that, then life begins

within me.

If I could share with any person, in any subway, airplane or

situation, it would be that message.

Christianity Today called you Americas pastor andReaders Digest

said youre the best preacher in America. Youve probably sold morebooks than any other Christian author in the world. How do you

combat the tempting lure of being a Christian celebrity?

That is a great question, Sheridan, because sometimes I believe

what people say about me. And that is the most dangerous thing to

do. You begin thinking, I must really be special. But Im not. Im

really not. I struggle just like everybody else with pride. Pride is thecore of sin.

You know, when Adam and Eve were in the garden and the

serpent approached Eve and said, Did God really say if you eat

from this you shall not die? I think he was playing with her pride,

testing her, and saying, If you do this you will be like God. So

there is something inside us all that wants to be our own little gods.

Its a challengeit is. I dont always succeed.

Now, God humbles me regularly. Right now, for example, Im

battling a heart condition. Ive had fifty-two years of phenomenal

health but the last nine months Ive had an atrial fibrillation. I

thought I was Mr Bullet Proof, that I would never have any health

issues. Its a reminder that I am very fragile, just like everyone else.

And I think God sends us those reminders to keep us dependenton him.


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Faith

We really are dependent on his enabling moment by moment, arent we?

Yes sir. He is faithful. He does watch after us. But he is prone tosend difficulties to waken us up to look to him.

Weve all seen the horrible effects of the Jimmy Swaggarts, Jim Bakkers

and, more recently, the Ted Haggards of the Christian world who have

had public moral failures. What kind of safeguards have you put in

place to keep you on the straight and narrow?

I do believe [that] of him to who much is given much is required.If somebody is entrusted with the care and teaching of a lot of

peoplehundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people through

booksintegrity is very important. People interpret the credibility

of God through the credibility of his children.

I try to be very careful. As were engaging in this phone call, for

example, Im in Seattle, Washington. I live in TexasIve travelledup here to speak at an event this weekend. And I always have

someone who travels with me. I never travel alone. When I speak I

dont request an honorarium, but I do request two airplane tickets.

I know there is someone checking up or checking in with me. It

helps minimise the temptation of wandering around in a strange

city and doing something that I would live to regret.

Here in the United States pornography is so rampant that as

soon as I check into the hotel room I have to call down to the desk

and request they switch the adult films off in my room. I dont trust

myself for even five minutes alone with those films. So I have to do

things like that, just to be careful.

In your bookCure for the Common Life, you talk about us findingour sweet spot in life. Its a golfing term, but describe how it can be

applied more broadly.


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I believe that every single person has a uniqueness about thema

particular aptitude, bent or strength that is unlike any other personalive or indeed has ever lived. When we discover that uniqueness

we discover the reason we were placed on this earth. To try to be

anything that I want to be is really impossible. I may want to be a

certain mechanic or certain carpenter or certain singer, but if those

arent the skills God gave me, I can want to be one all day long.

Desire alone wont do it.

I honour God when I study myself and assess what I do well.When what I want to do and what I do well converge together,

there I find my sweet spot.

Would you call it the same as finding ones calling or vocation?

Yes, yes. You know, vocation comes from that Latin word vocare,

or vocalto call. I believe God has given each one of us a calling.There are many places in the Bible that teach this, and of course

there any many psychologists and sociologists who embrace the idea.

If we can equip our children, especially, to understand that God has

made them in a unique fashion and help them understand what is

unique about them, we are doing them such a great favour.

Max, how did you personally discover your callingthe thing in life

that you were supposed to do?

I assumed that I would be like my father. We all assume that we will

be like whoever raised uswhether its an uncle or a coach or, more

personally, a father or a mother.

My dad was a mechanic. He loved to fix things. The problem was

that I couldnt tell a carburettor from a spare tyre. I really wanted tobe a mechanic like my dad, but I couldnt. I mean, I would try and

it just didnt make sense.


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But what I coulddo was read. I loved books. Even though my

family was not a family given to a lot of booksthere werent manyin our houseI could read books all night long. My father noticed

that and he made sure that I had a library card.

I also noticed that I loved to write. While other kids groaned at

English assignments, I would get excited. I wouldnt get excited

at chemistry assignments, or math assignments.

As you look back over your life, what things have you consistently

enjoyed doing and done well? Study your life and read your ownstory, and assume that there is something unique about you.

Lets unpack that further. You use the acrostic STORY as a tool to help

us discover our sweet spot and live an uncommon life. Break that open

for us.

I could spend the whole program on it, but Ill try and do it quickly.Strength, Topic, Optimal environment, Relationships, Yesthats

your STORY.

What is your Strength? What is that one thing that you do

that you do relatively easily? In fact, Sheridan, there is probably

something that you do that is not without challenge, but when

you do it you say that it wasnt that hard. It came together pretty

quickly. That is your strength. When you catch yourself saying,

Well, that wasnt very hard; why cant everybody do this?, then

you are operating in your strength.

You also have a Topic that fascinates you. It might be nature, it

might be numbers, it could be colours. But when you find that one

topicfor me its words and messagesthen youre finding your

sweet spot.We all have Optimal environments in which we work. I have a

friend who works at a hospital and he loves emergency moments. He


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is, I guess, an emergency room junky. He is at his best when he has to

make a decision within a matter of two or three minutes and its a lifeor death decision. Others of us would just panic; we need time and

space to be able to process. So what is your optimal environment?

The fourth letter stands for Relationships. Do you work better

leading people or following people? As you look back over your life

and your successful moments, were you by yourself or were you in

a group?

Then the last word is Yeswhen you do something and youlook up and you clench your fist and say, Yes! That was great! My

youngest daughter does that when she cooks. Shes eighteen, will

prepare a meal, and at the end of it say, Oh, that was so much

fun. I cannot comprehend that! I see no enjoyment whatsoever in

cooking. But Im still grateful that she does; and because she does,

I eat well!Thats the STORY we all have.

I think of when I had three or four months alone to write a book. It

was my optimal environment. I also think of the night we launched this

show. I was driving home around two oclock in the morning after wed

wrapped up the very first show and I was slamming the steering wheel,

saying Yes, yes, yes!

Way to go, Sheridan! See, what you are doing is you are being

responsive to Gods story on your heart. I think there is an

assumption sometimes made by Christians that if its enjoyable

then it mustnt be my assignment; that to be a follower of Christ

means being miserable. Its just the opposite.

I think of Frederick Buechners great phrase: The place God calls you to

is where the worlds deep hunger and your deep gladness meet.


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Faith

I have read that phrase and underlined it myself. I think its the

great summary of the theme of vocation.

As you mentioned before, youve recently had some issues with your

heart. How has that changed your understanding of your own unfolding

story?

Ive not had any health issues for fifty-two years, my entire life, and

all of a sudden Im being reminded on a regular basis that even if

you try to take care of yourself these things happen. So its a wake-up call to me. It encourages me to focus. Im fifty-two years old;

I figure I have two or three decades left if I can take care of myself.

What is the lasting contribution I want to make? This gives me

a wonderful opportunity to focus in on that and see if I can do a

good job.

So what will be your lasting contribution over the next three decades?

Im going to do more of what we are doing now: writing, and doing

more talking about writing about this message. I will probably do

a little more travel. My health is doing better now; Ive had some

good treatments for my heart and, God willing, I would like to

travel and encourage people.

Who has been the greatest influence in your writing life and your

shaping of words?

You mentioned Frederick Buechner, who is a wonderful writer. I

was introduced to him in the 1970s, if not 1980. Somebody gave

me a Frederick Buechner book and I remember being amazed at

how he could write so creatively about the Christian faith. So hewas an early influence for me.

Later on I began reading Chuck Swindolls writings. Chuck is


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a dear friend, a man whom I respect very much. The fact that he is

a pastor and a writer inspired me to try and do both.So those two men have had a good influence on me through the

years.

What is your optimal environment for writing? Do you need solitude?

I do. I have to get off by myself and need several hours of

uninterrupted time. I am no good at writing for thirty minutes here

or sixty minutes there; I need a good five or six hours. After five orsix hours my brain cells begin to fizzle and so I have to call it a day.

Ive heard of those who can go all night long. I dont do that well.

As we speak youre starting to finish a chapter of your lifecompleting

twenty years of service as the Senior Minister of Oak Hills Church in

San Antonio, Texas. Did life ever slip into commonness during thoseyears?

Yes, I have battled that. Leading a church can feel like youre just

leading a company, an organisation. You have budgets, you have

personnel issues, you have property issues, and it begins to take on

a corporate feel.

We have to remind ourselves regularly in church that this is

an absolutely unique organisation on the face of the earth. The

church is the only organisation God calls to pray. He did not call

universities or hospitals to be houses of prayerthe church is Gods

house of prayer. The church is the institution to which God gave

his gospel, the promise of eternal life through the death of Christ

on the cross. That is a high and holy call that God gives the church

so we have to battle against mediocrity as we express those twogreat gifts.


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I want you to leave us with three pieces of advice: one for church

leaders, one for aspiring writers and one for those feeling that their lifeis trapped in the common and the mundane. What would you say to

each of those three groups of people?

To church leaders I would say pray and preach Jesus. If we succeed

there, great. If we fail there, we fail.

To writers I would say that the secret to good writing is re-

writing. Most books could use another draft.

To those whose lives are trapped in the mundane I say listencarefully to the promises of the Bible, like John 3:16that God

so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever

believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. You are loved

by God. Your name is known in heaven. God smiles when he thinks

of you and he has an eternal plan, a plan that is beyond this world,

beyond this life, for you.


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About Sheridan VoyseySheridan Voysey is a Sydney-based

writer, speaker and broadcaster.

Sheridan is the author of the

award-winningUnseen Footprints:

Encountering the Divine Along the Journey of Life, named the 2006

Christian Book of the Year by the

Australian Christian Literature

Society. He is a featured columnist

forAlive Magazine, and has been

published in a variety of nationaland international publications.

Sheridan speaks regularly on

issues of contemporary life, faith

and culture. Passionate about everyday people hearing the

whispers of God and changing their world, Sheridan speaks across

denominations and in mainstream settings.

As a broadcaster Sheridan hosts Open House, the live, national

talk show on which the interviews in this book first aired. He spent

three years as creative director for Compassion Daya national

radio event in partnership with Compassion Australia which sees

hundreds of children released from poverty each year.

Sheridan is married to Merryn, loves Thai food, is somewhat

partial to dark chocolate, devours books, values solitude, hopes to oneday own a puppy and is constantly working on his sense of humour.

His website is www.thethoughtfactory.net


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. . . every show explores questions that Im personally asking, while

making me aware of issues I havent previously considered . . . I wishit were daily!

Author and speakerJason Stevens

. . . informative, challenging, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always

enlightening.

Actress Lynne McGranger, Irene Roberts

on Home and Away

Open House is a production of Sydneys 1032: www.fm1032.com.au

Open House Volume 1 FREE chapter: Max Lucado

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