Does God still speak directly to people today? A review of The Turning by Davis Bunn

I always enjoy reading whatever Davis Bunn writes. The Turning was no exception. The characters are believable and as usual well developed. Their lives are interwoven through a series of events and a calling they could not ignore. The story is a definite page turner as the reader gets involved in the lives of the main characters.

Here is a plot summary provided by the release team of The Turning:
The message was unexpected but instantly recognizable. 

A voice resonated from a distance and somehow from within.  Against all earthly logic, it carried a divine command.  And five very different people knew they were summoned to obey.

Their actions were demanding, but not particularly grand.  Only later would they see a pattern emerge - one that links their tasks together and comes to challenge the cultural direction of the nation.  They realize that one small personal response unveiled a new realm of moral responsibility.  And this affirmation of everyday hope captures the attention of millions.

But power and money are at stake.  Malicious elements soon align themselves to counter the trend.  To succeed they must also undermine its source.  Can we really believe that God speaks to people today?  Surely this must be dismissed as superstition or delusion.  These well-intentioned but misguided individuals should not be allowed to cast our society back into the Dark Ages.

The public debate and media frenzy place an unprecedented spotlight on knowing and doing God's will.  The five encounter threats, but try to remain steadfast in their faith.  Had God indeed imparted wisdom on selected individuals?  Is this sweep of events part of his divine purpose? 

The movement may herald a profound renewal - one that some are calling The Turning...

The plot line could be ripped from the headlines of any newspaper in the world. The battle for hope against despair and hopelessness is an underlying reason for many of our current world issues. Bunn addresses this in a unique way that moves the reader to explore the foundational truths of God in a genuine way. He weaves theology and Biblical truth throughout the novel in a way that adds to the story in a natural flow.

The only issue I had with the book was the abrupt ending. If there is a sequel in the works then my problem would be lessened but still a concern for me. Without spoiling the book for the reader, I found the end to lack the powerful punch of the rest of the story. It reads like the publishers were pushing for a completion before Davis had a chance to fully complete the story. Even if there is a second book in this series, the ending should have been developed more fully. Many of the characters' stories are left hanging in the wind and even the central plot is not resolved in my opinion. I was left wanting another chapter or two to wrap things up.

I had also heard this book was a part of a different kind of project but the book reads like any of Davis' other books. I expected that the little prayer book mentioned in the story might be a separate product released by either Davis or the publisher. And while it might be forthcoming, I am not aware of any such product. Maybe I just got the info wrong from the outset. I still would love to see that kind of concerted effort in the future.

While the efforts of the Mundrose agency in the book was used to influence culture in a negative way, the concept of creating cultural trends is something believers should take seriously. My friend, who is now home with the Lord, Bob Briner wrote a book titled Roaring Lambs years ago that addressed that very issue. If you haven't read it, I would highly suggest that you find a copy and read it. Believers have the chance to change culture but only if we are willing to get involved in the media because the media does influence culture. I think we need to be the ones who really set the tone for culture in ways that draws them to the positive message of hope in Jesus. The Turning points people to the powerful effects of a media campaign and the battle between the Christian worldview and those who believe that hope is dead.

About Davis Bunn

Davis Bunn is a four-time Christy Award-winning, best-selling author now serving as writer-in-residence at Regent's Park College, Oxford University in the United Kingdom.

Defined by readers and reviewers as a "wise teacher," "gentleman adventurer," "consummate writer," and "Renaissance man," his work in business took him to over 40 countries around the world, and his books have sold more than seven million copies in sixteen languages.

Visit Davis at davisbunn.com or theturningbook.com/

Facebook: facebook.com/davisbunnauthor

Twitter: @davisbunn

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/davisbunn/

Video trailer for THE TURNING, by best-selling author, Davis Bunn.  
http://youtu.be/oIP6FhBjgOI

Davis Bunn talks about his upcoming novel, THE TURNING.
http://youtu.be/e3dodFsx9WI

Read chapters 1-3 of “The Turning” by Davis Bunn for free: http://statictab.com/fvrrsxz (Like his Facebook page to start reading.)

I received a complimentary copy of The Turning from River North Fiction in exchange for my honest review.

Florida Weather and Your Spiritual Life

I can’t speak for most Floridians, but as a long time transplant from Alabama let me state for the record that I love living in Florida. We think it is freezing when the temperature hits 50 degrees. We don’t like it when the sun doesn’t shine every day. We hate the gray sky. And this thing that most of you call Winter, lasts for less than a week total in the months of January and February. We post it all over the internet and social media just to make all of our friends who had to move away from here just a little jealous. We love the fact that it might rain for an hour but then the sun comes out, the birds start singing, and animated cartoon animals start playing out in the meadow. Ok so the last part doesn’t happen unless you are at Disney World. Which is another reason to love being a Floridian!

We don’t do well with extended periods of cold weather, rain, or gloomy skies. I know some of my northern friends and Canadians brethren are already rolling their eyes in disgust. Many of them have great reasons for living in other areas of the country and I get them sometimes. But if you can live in paradise which is what my phone calls our area on the weather app, (it might do that for everyone in every location too!) then why wouldn’t you. But there is a time when we need a few rain storms to come through even in paradise. If we didn’t get those rain showers in the summer and days like today when it is a slow soaking rain, we couldn’t live here. We are parallel to some of the great deserts in the world. The difference is those pesky summer showers and the fronts than bring us rain from time to time. If we didn’t have the rain, then we couldn’t have the perpetual state of green around us. But the truth is most of us don’t like those rainy days.

The same is true in our spiritual lives. We prefer all of our days to be filled with the Lord’s sunshine. We want to spend each day basking in the glory of His love and being warmed by the experience of His presence in tangible ways. We love the fact that His love keeps the cold of doubt at bay. We even sing hymns to that affect like Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee. We wake up every morning and pray that today will be a great day that will bring us peace, love and happiness. And there is certainly nothing wrong with wanting that for us, our family, and our friends.

However, have you ever stopped to consider that those storms that come our way bring growth to our faith the same way the rain brings necessary water to the plants in our yards and the grass that makes other states envious? Maybe the Lord is trying to get a message to us that can’t be delivered in the warm sunny meadows of our lives. Many great men and women of faith have written about the “Dark Night of the Soul” that they went through and how the Lord used those dark and dreary days to teach them to depend more fully on the character and certainty of God’s promises. So maybe a little rain cloud in our spiritual journey grows to become a full blown hurricane not to destroy us but to make us stronger and replenish our dry soul. I have been there too. I am not there now by the way.

But the Lord laid this on my heart this morning during my drive into the office and during my devotional time. So maybe this is for just one of you who will read this or maybe you know someone who is in the middle of a storm and you need to pass it on to them. Or maybe there is a storm coming in my life and the Lord just wanted to remind me of the truth of His grace. Spend some time reading and meditating on Psalm 107 if you find yourself in that position. Here’s just a little of it to get you started.

28Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and He brought them out of their distress.

29He stilled the storm to a murmur,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.

30They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet.

Then He guided them to the harbor they longed for.

31Let them give thanks to the Lord

for His faithful love

A great tour with a borrowed bike

Last Saturday my friends at Chain Reaction let me test ride the Jamis Coda Sport bike. I was involved with several others doing a bike tour from downtown to the west side of Gainesville. The ride was to remember the 50 year history of Westside Baptist Church here in Gainesville. The ride started downtown at the old site of First Baptist Church the mother church for Westside. We made our way through campus to the old location at 4039 Newberry Road. After a time of reflection and prayer we traveled north and then west to the new location of the church facilities.  It was a great day even if it was one of the coldest bike rides of my life.

The Coda Sport was a great bike for the tour. It was strong and steady on the sidewalks downtown and as we made our way along SW 2^nd avenue and Newberry Road. It was a comfortable ride over various surfaces including bike paths and bike lanes. It was nimble with great brakes for close riding and would be awesome on campus for a student commuter. On the way back, I was able to ride at my own pace and it was quick enough with the gears on board for a long ride on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. This bike can do it all and the price can’t be beat. If you need a comfortable bike that can be used from commuting to some serious touring, then this would be a great bike to buy. It has definitely made its way onto my wish list for my next bike purchase.

It was great to travel back down the road with several friends and even better to have friend who allow you to borrow a bike because your road bike would have made the trip much harder. Thanks Chain Reaction for the loaner and thanks Life South for letting us tour our old church facilities that are now a part of saving lives in a very different sort of way!

Glavine and Maddux go into the Hall of Fame Together!

              Congratulations to Former Braves Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux for being selected to the HOF. Growing up as a Braves fan, I really enjoyed watching them pitch for “my” team. I remember watching Maddux pitch for the Cubs when I was in graduate school in Kentucky and was in awe of his great control of the ball and the game as a whole. I was ecstatic when the Braves picked him up for the ’93 season. There are many who have written about his career and that’s not my style anyway so I will get to the relatively untold story in a few lines.

               Tom Glavine to me was always the epitome of the smooth, crafty left-handed pitchers. Why is it that the ball seems to move more when it comes from the left side? I don’t know it is true, but it sure seems like they can make it move more than the right handed guys can. He never seemed to be un-nerved or rattled. He just dominated the other team’s lineup without breaking a sweat or so it seemed.

               When the two of them were in the starting rotation for the Braves, I felt like Atlanta would never have a three or four game losing streak because I was confident neither of them would lose two starts in a row. The great run of the Braves was in large measure a result of a tremendous pitching staff anchored by both of these now Hall of Fame Players.

               In December I was in Atlanta for a conference and the organizers arranged for the group to tour Turner Field and have dinner in the 755 club. We were given a tour of the stadium including the dugout and clubhouse as well as the press box. In addition we were able to use the throwing and hitting games located on the concourse of the stadium. But the real treat was after dinner, Javier Lopez and Brian Jordan, spent some time with the group relating their stories of how they were discovered and developed within the Braves organization and baseball in general.

               Among the many stories they shared was one related by Jordan in response to the question, “Who was the best player you ever played with or against?” I wish I had recorded it so I could quote it verbatim but I will recount it to you as close as I can. I offer my apologies to Brian in advance if I get any of the details wrong in this article.

               He said that prior to a game when they were going over the scouting report of the opposing team, Maddux told him he was going to help him do something that Jordan had never done before. He said when this certain guy comes up, I am going to get him to hit you a line drive one hopper between the first and second baseman. You play the guy shallow and charge hard and throw him out at first. Jordan said he was a bit skeptical that anybody could have that much control of a batter. So when the guy came up to the plate, Jordan moved in closer than normal. He said all I could think about was what if this guy hits one over my head, but that is what Maddux wants so I am going to do it. Sure enough, Maddux throws a pitch and the guy hits a screamer between first and second. It bounced once in the outfield and Jordan charged the ball and threw the guy out at first base. He said after that he believed Maddux could do anything to any batter he wanted to with a baseball in his hand.

               Lopez added that it was great to be able to catch both of them because he knew that it would be a quick game with either of them on the mound. They were there during the transition to the “Power Arms” era that baseball is now in where the emphasis is on how hard can you thrown. And they were definitely not in that category. They relied on the ability to change speeds and move the ball around in and out of the zone to be effective.

               It is fitting that they enter the HOF in the same class. As a Braves fan it is hard to think of one without the other. They will now forever be linked together in the HOF as well. Now the question becomes will Smoltz join them in that rotation as well?

Duck Dynasty Debate

Ok, so I am sure I will offend someone by the end of this blog post. If you want to drop me as a facebook friend that’s okay with me or not follow me on twitter and I think I will survive. If you want to have an honest discussion then we can do that as well but please let’s don’t get to the level of some things I have seen on Facebook lately. Yep, here’s my take on the whole Phil Robertson thing that happened in the last 24 hours.

First I have read the entire article on the GQ website. If you want to read it you can too but be warned that it was not Lifeway approved and contains some words that might cause you to go blind if you were homeschooled. See there is the first group that will be offended. I am just kidding; it just contains words that are not socially acceptable. Oh wait, I hear those words all the time on the campus and in the stores and in the songs, so maybe they are now socially acceptable. And that is from the ladies who I see out there. Oops that’s the second group.

The leader of the Duck Dynasty family doesn’t compare Homosexuality to Bestiality any more than saying drunkenness and gluttony are the same. There was a comma there people. He just says in response to a question of what sinful is to just start at homosexuality and kinda morph from that to a whole list of other things. His comments while rather crude in the way they were expressed are not off base from what the Bible teaches about the issue. He is stating his opinion and plainly says so in the article as quoted by the writer doing the interview. That’s where it gets to the tricky part.

You see I have several gay friends and while I don’t agree with their lifestyle and do agree with Phil that it was, is and will always be a sin against a Holy God as defined by the scripture, I think they have the right as Americans to live in the lifestyle if they so choose. I didn’t read anything hateful about the way Phil addressed the issue. It was crude, borderline rude, but certainly not hateful. I think most heterosexuals have a hard time understanding the same sex attraction. I don’t get it either. I also don’t get what a lot of heterosexual couples see in each other and how that works out either. But saying I don’t understand why a guy would want to be with a guy instead of a woman isn’t hateful or ignorant for that matter, it is just a statement of my thoughts on the subject. That’s the third group, I’m sure.

A&E were bullied into making the statement they did and by suspending him as an employee. I just thought I should throw out the buzz word of the year in a blog at some point! Fourth Group now offended. They have every right to fire him if his contract has a clause allowing for them do so based on his statements in the press. I just think it has gotten crazy when you can get fired for saying something off the clock and you can’t fire someone without due cause for something like lying while they are on the clock. Or a host of other reasons that could all be demonstrated by someone I am sure.

The most aggressive group of people using their power to bully those who disagree with them are the highly political gay and lesbian support groups. Which is ironic given that they often appeal to the fact that gay and lesbians have been so bullied in their past and that is why they must be accepted in the present. I believe they should be allowed to speak and say what they believe, but I also believe that Christians should be allowed to speak and say what they believe, even when those two don’t line up so nicely.

I don’t agree with Ellen or Neil Patrick Harris or other celebrities who support an openly gay lifestyle but that doesn’t mean that I want them to lose their income over it. I don’t agree with celebrities who bash Christians over different issues but again that doesn’t mean I want their sponsors to fire them. I didn’t agree with Tiger Woods when his issues came out that ruined his marriage, but I still use Titleist balls and have a Tiger Woods Nike golf cap. Somehow we have to learn how to let celebrities have their own opinions without insisting that they keep them to themselves if we don’t like them. I just choose to not watch Ellen or How I Met your mother. So if you don’t like what Phil said, then don’t watch the show.

Finally to offend all my ultra-conservative brothers and sisters, let’s not go off on everyone over this issue. If you don’t want to watch an A&E show again, then just say it, then do it, and move on. That’s what I plan to do. If you want to change the culture in the entertainment industry, do it by affecting ratings. The next time you get that call from the Nielsen group, take it and fill out the survey. Show that you didn’t watch that network and when they realize they killed their golden goose, they will know better. If you don’t like what Phil said, then watch the network and make their ratings go up for all the other shows.

Really Phil probably could have said it in a more respectful way, but if you watch the show you know that just ain’t his way. If you ask him a question, then be prepared for an answer that you might not like either in content or delivery. But if start questioning whether his views are in line with Biblical teaching then you need to go back to school, cause his words may be strong but so is his allegiance to truth of the Biblical teaching on the matter at hand.

These are just my views and you are more than welcome to agree or disagree with them. It won’t make me love you or respect you anymore or any less either way. I apologize in advance for my attempts at humor along the way. Living in grace doesn’t mean we condone everything, it means we agree that we all need Jesus and His forgiveness daily if we are to inherit the Kingdom of God. Merry Christmas to all my friends from one sinner to another!

Low times in Gainesville!

From the beginning of the Muschamp era I have been less than impressed. I didn’t think it was the right hire then and I am even more convinced of it today. Maybe it was the fact that I didn’t think the Texas program was heading in the right direction at the time, so why should we get the guy who was second in command of a dying program to continue the success at Florida? Or maybe it was the fact that he played at Georgia. Or maybe the fact that he hadn’t been a head coach and I didn’t think Florida is a good place to get your feet wet as a head football coach. But let’s be honest, Jeremy Foley has a pretty good track record for hiring successful coaches. So I was in the minority of those who didn’t like the hire at the time.

Three years and a lot of “firsts” later and Foley is apparently still sticking by Muschamp. That is after the first losing record since 1979. The first year of missing a bowl game in 22 seasons. The first loss to a FCS team since the end of World War II. The first time we have lost 6 games in a row since who knows when. Heck, even the 0-10-1 team didn’t do that! The losing streak is hard on everyone I know. I have only been around the Gators since 1987, so I am a spoiled fan. I need to get a grip right coach!

I can understand a couple of 8-4 seasons with the schedule we face every year. It’s hard to be in the top 5 every year now with the reduction of scholarships. But let me ask you a question if you are a Gator fan. How many times since Will took over the program have you felt good about the results of a Gator game? How many times even after a win in the Swamp have you felt like this team had a legitimate chance at winning the SEC East? Even during last year’s run to the Sugar Bowl, I kept telling people outside the orange and blue nation that we were doing it with smoke and mirrors. We won 4 games that we could have just as easily lost. This year’s team is only 4 plays away from last year’s team and the team before that one!

Some of you will say that is why he deserves another year as the head coach. But do you really want a team that is that close to mediocrity each year? Don’t you want a team that dominates the teams they should and has a better than average shot at winning every game? Remember when you used to go to the Swamp and the question wasn’t “if” we win but the margin of victory. That’s why I am not in favor of keeping Muschamp as coach. But I don’t get a vote and apparently neither do the 25000 or so that stayed away from Saturday’s game. And it will be worse this week. There will be more fans from the clown college than orange and blue for Saturday’s noon kickoff. Noon, are you serious, this is UF and FSU! We’re prime time material baby! Oh, my bad, I forget how far we have fallen.

But if you are going to keep the Head Coach, then please keep the Coordinators and the other coaches too. I have always hated how a head coach blames the assistants when things are going badly. Hey, you are the head coach, if you don’t like the offense or the defense, change it! Tell the OC to do something different, throw it more, run it more, or change the scheme, whatever!  But don’t sit there the entire year praising the way we do it and then the last game roll them under the bus because you lose to Georgia Southern. The offense has been ranked lower than 100 in each year under Muschamp and there have been two different OCs. Both of them had the reputations as creative play callers and running high octane offenses. What happened when they got to Florida? They got under a coach that doesn’t want to take chances. Keep things tight, don’t turn the ball over, shorten the game and let the defense do the work. That style just doesn’t work anymore against teams with equal talent and apparently not even against FCS schools. Apparently there a number of FCS programs with better talent and better coaches since they figured ways to stop the option and outscore mighty GSU this year. Enough of them did that GSU didn’t even make the playoffs!

Maybe the Gators can right the ship and pull the upset over FSU this weekend. Maybe the staff was holding back everything the last few weeks so they wouldn’t have good tape on our new offensive strategy. Maybe Gator fans will fill the swamp this week and make it the home field advantage the Gators need to pull one of the greatest upsets in the historic series. And maybe every turkey in America will survive this Thursday. The odds are about the same. I will be there until the end either way and cheering for the Orange and Blue.

And for my Nole friends, and this is not meant as a slight because I think you win either way, would you rather have the news break now that Famous is charged so you can get a game under your belt without him or have him charged next week right before the ACC championship game or sometime before the BCS game if you win them both? I am sure the answer for Nole fans is never! I feel sorry for the girl involved and for Jameis. I hope he’s not guilty but if he is then I won’t feel any sympathy for him. The whole thing has been poorly handled by the TPD and the State Attorney’s office. This should have been resolved months ago either way.

The first question I have for Saturday’s game is whether the Noles will score more than 45 points and break the record for points scored in the swamp by an opponent or score 63 and break the all-time record of points given up by the Gators. A second question is will the Gators be able to score and keep their consecutive non-shutout streak alive. Time will tell, but while it is always great to be a Florida Gator, some weeks it’s tougher than others and this week promises to be a real challenge. Enjoy it Noles, you have had to work for over a decade to experience it, but you are the better team this week. Let’s just hope you pull a Nole and lose a game you really have no business losing. So there is always hope!

One of the Best Days to be a BCM Director

It is the way it is supposed to work, but still when you have been doing the work for as long as I have, it brings tears of joy to your eyes.

Yesterday was an incredible and incredibly long day. Because our BCM meets on Tuesday nights, I don’t always arrive early in the office. Usually, Tuesday mornings are filled with a long bike ride with my training partner and fellow campus minister Bob Gailey from Campus Christian House. But due to some knee pain, I have taken a few weeks off, so I was in the office at 8 after dropping my wife off at her office on campus. A normal day of finishing tasks, planning for the week with fellow BCM staff, visiting with students followed.

Lica and I try to eat dinner together on Tuesdays before she heads off to the house and then to praise team practice at church and I head back to the BCM for our weekly Gator meeting. Yesterday we met Zach Allen who came into town to be our guest speaker and bring one of his girls from First Baptist Church in Tallahassee who is transferring to UF in the spring. Zach is a great friend and previously served here as the college pastor at North Central Baptist Church. He is a true partner in ministry and is a blessing to Lance Beauchamp the BCM director at FSU. Lica and Jaclyn got to spend more time with Zach and his entourage of interns and students while I went back to the BCM to get ready for the evening meeting.

Zach did a great job of talking with our students about the necessity and value of local church membership to wrap up a two week series of messages on being connected to the local body of Christ. Pastor Craig Canton spoke last week about the way God puts the various parts of the body together through spiritual gifts to strengthen the whole body. After Gator was over, I spoke to one of our guys that I have wanted to meet with to see when we could get together and he said why not now.

I knew Alex had been dealing with the decision to trust Jesus as his savior so I was glad to share the gospel with him again as we talked. He was open about his questions and his struggles but he knew he needed and wanted to trust Jesus. And so I got to witness Alex giving his life to Jesus and accepting his gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life in my office last night. But it gets even better!

When I asked him where he was going to church he said he had been thinking about attending where some of his fish brothers and sisters (freshmen bible study members) go to, North Central Baptist Church. I knew Matt Seitz the current college pastor from there was still in the building so I was able to introduce Alex to Matt. They share a similar faith journey and spent some time talking together as I prepared to go home for the night.

That’s the way it is supposed to work. The BCM is a bridge for people like Alex who are exploring the idea of faith and returning to church but don’t want to fully commit yet. At least in our BCM the work isn’t done until we can share the gospel with them, love them during the journey, and help them get connected to the local body of Christ. God used invites to an event, Fish Parents who shared the gospel, fellow students who encouraged his questions, a local BCM director talking about being connected to the vine, a FSU college pastor talking about church membership, and a local college pastor who hangs out at the BCM until almost 11 pm to create a path for one of His children to come home. That’s why we do what we do, for His glory!