This fine book is available now at our bookstore....

Dogs and Doghouses, Rethinking "Church"

by Andy Decker

148 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-2073; ISBN 1-4120-1696-7; US$17.00, C$19.50, EUR14.00, £10.00

Not for the doctrinally squeamish. Dogs & Doghouses will change your contemporary ideas about "church" and what has come to be accepted as "religion," for Christians and non-Christians alike.

Read more!

about the book      about the author      sample excerpts      catalogue info

About the Book "We live in an age when people can't seem to tell the difference between a dog and a dog-house." So goes the comparison made by Andy Decker in his newly released Dogs & Doghouses, Rethinking "Church". Considering the contemporary Christian landscape, and using the Bible as the, "sole rule of faith," are we prepared to dismiss as unnecessary tradition many of the things we take for granted when going to what has come to be called church? When you pick up this book prepare to have your thinking on what it means to be a Christian challenged in a direct and significant manner. When you are finished you will have been asked serious questions about not only what you believe, but more importantly, why you believe those things. Decker takes the reader to task on many levels emphasizing the whole while that we should indeed love the Lord with not only our hearts and souls, but with our minds as well. The book and its many comparisons are based on the simple premise that the Bible should be the basis of Christianity. Anything else needs to be considered well-intentioned extras (at best) or superstitious idolatry (at worst). Decker offers three broad areas of topics (what is a church, the roles and responsibilities of church leadership, and how a Christian should give) only after providing an up-front list of assumptions that allow us to hear his biases from the first chapter. The final three chapters will impress the reader to apply what he or she has just read. He urges a resetting of the ancient landmarks that are often missing from today's Christian lives. Daring to use the idea of "a correct worship," in an age of, "here's what it means to me," Decker reminds us that the Bible means something and that the beginning of wisdom is still the fear of the Lord; that repentance still means setting aside what lives in the unrepentant heart for the better ways found in the scriptures.

---

About the Author

Andy Decker was ordained into the gospel ministry in 1995. He has been studying and teaching the Bible ever since. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Theology from the Midwest Baptist Institute in East Peoria Illinois, as well as a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in English from Truman State University in Kirksville Missouri. He is currently the Pastor of LandMark Missionary Baptist Church in Edwards Illinois.

---

Sample Excerpts

Think about understanding the Bible and doing our best to be obedient to God like food. Our approach to both is similar. A significant percentage of Americans are overweight and lack basic levels of physical fitness. At the same time we understand the simple changes required in to attain greater health: eat right and exercise. It doesn't get much simpler. Simplicity aside, lifestyles do not always change in accord with what we "believe" about health and wellness. Most also agree that unnecessary chemicals in food are not healthy. Over time many of them can build up in our systems and can cause cancers (extra cell "packets" that are harmful and often deadly to our bodies). We like our vegetables fresh and clean. Nothing beats a home grown tomato. Nothing quenches thirst like pure water. This is our attitude about food. So why aren't we a healthier nation?

The answer is because, when it comes down to it, we don't want to change. It's more convenient to get the pre-cooked, chemically treated foods and throw them in the microwave. The restaurant is always an appealing alternative to a homecooked meal. Broccoli and treadmills are simply not as comfortable as chips and cable television. Similarly we continue in our errors concerning the Bible because we like our errors. Somehow the mistakes we make taste better than doing things the way they are shown in scripture. At the same time we have to understand that by adding to our beliefs about Jesus Christ with non-Biblical writings and traditions we risk introducing harmful "growths" into our churches. Just as cancer harms the natural and healthy bodies they reside in, all the extra stuff in our worship services can grow to choke out the truth and the first love of any body of believers. Over time, the junk will take its toll.

---

Who opens a book (any book besides the Bible) and reads just one sentence to think upon it? Who builds entire lines of thought around one verse of anything, regardless of what the preceding and following sentences say? Almost nobody does this until they are reading the Bible. Much of the richness that can be found in the Bible has been chaptered and versed to dangerous nearsightedness. The very device (dividing the Bible into chapters and verses) intended to open the Bible to scholars is now blinding modern readers to that most important of interpretation tools: context.

If we read other books the way we read the Bible, Huckleberry Finn could be passed off as a definitive guide on cave exploration. Romeo and Juliet could be seen as a treatise on inner-city commerce in renaissance Italy. And, The Origin of the Species could form the basis of a religion (which, arguably, it has). But these would be incorrect interpretations of these books. With the exception of Mr. Darwin's work, I have never read such a serious misunderstanding of the above books. Why then the open season and liberality on the books of the Bible?

What makes great works of literature great (hopeless postmodernism excluded) is the unity, the message, and the themes of the entire work, woven within the smaller parts of those works; whether it's a poem, a play, a short story, or a novel. The same is absolutely true of the Bible, and more so since Christians profess to view this book as the primary window into their understanding of the Savior. That Christians should be concerned with understanding the whole work should go without saying. But we live in such times that it is often necessary to state the obvious.

---

We live in an age when we are insulted if someone tells us our beliefs are wrong. The ultimate culmination of the great American experiment is building towards this: in reality we are not all born equal (some are wealthy, some are poor, some are fast, some are slow, some are healthy and some are sick). Therefore, the reasoning goes, it must be that all our thoughts and opinions are equal, specific facts to the contrary need not apply. The entertainment, public education, and political worlds, driven greatly by humanist teachings, go to great lengths to convince us of this, just so long as we agree with them. Opinions without facts are considered just as important as opinions with facts due to the great leverage given to ignorance by the underdog concept known as self esteem. We would do well to remember, however, that some thoughts are more equal and correct in our society than others; the single ACLU objector to the road sign at the city limits of Franklinton Louisiana comes to mind.

Tyranny of the minority not withstanding, the ultimate aim and goal of many today is to neither offend or to be offended, unless you don't like something immoral I'm doing, in which case the offended should look the other way. It's interesting (to be kind about it) that gay pride parades with half or fully naked adults can occur in the streets of New York City while displays of the Ten Commandments must be removed from courthouse lawns all across rural America. The often declared, "Who are you to judge me?" and the often misquoted, "Judge not, lest ye be judged," has been twisted to fit the current thinking that we are all equal in our thinking.

Now more than ever there are lots of "flavors" of Christianity and, like an over-spiced soup, those flavors have blended into a bland (lukewarm) slop that easily splashes into most any bowl. Modern Christian leadership goes to great lengths not to insult anyone by stating, dogmatically, anything. The higher up in the national spotlight, the greater the lengths they go towards being careful and mild. Couple this with the widespread ignorance of the Bible and you end up with a Christianity that stands for very little, if anything, and is also very extra-Biblical.

It may come as a surprise to many, but the Bible does not teach that the moral high ground is the avoidance of judgment; but rather, it is to live a life that is perfect and to give honor and glory to God. Admittedly lofty aims; but perfection and glory to God it is. That's what's in the Bible. We are to avoid even the appearance of evil. (I Thessalonians 5:22) We are to flee (that means run away from) immoral temptations. (II Timothy 2:22) Individuals who are blasphemous, pagan idolaters, and heretics can be noted as such and can be avoided. (II Timothy 2:16) These are just some of our goals and correct behaviors as believers. And what have we done with that aim? Not much if anything and quite the opposite in fact. Should someone tell you they are trying to be perfect, you would laugh. Should someone abstain from a behavior because they are avoiding sin, they themselves would be shunned and avoided.

I make judgments about other people each day of my life; it helps keep me alive. I don't walk through certain parts of the city at night, nor do I allow my daughters to do so. It's not that there are objects dropping from unsafe buildings nor are the potholes so deep and treacherous that we could fall in them. The danger in certain parts of the city resides with the residents. There are dangerous people living there. I am judgmental. I don't pick up hitchhikers. You never know when one might try to slit your throat. I use my God-given intellect to make solid judgments about people. When I went to college certain professors tried to persuade me that issues of right and wrong were actually relative. I ignored these professors and branded them as foolish because I knew they were teaching heretical principles. People who say there are no such things as right or wrong are, themselves, wrong. That's me, the judge. And, if you lift the beam out of your own eye, that's you too.

Just as there is only one true north and just as there is only one correct answer to many questions, there are also standards and guidelines that we need to re-include in our lives as Christians. Imagine going to the bank and informing them that your $100 bill is actually worth more than most other $100 bills simply because you said it is. No one ignores reality like this. Yet this is how America lives its moral life; on a constantly shifting (mostly downward) landscape. And we wonder where society is going.

---

Catalogue Information

---

About Trafford Publishing:
Our books are manufactured one-at-a-time to fill individual orders -- part of an innovative process we invented, called "on-demand publishing." Authors and organizations from 120 countries are using Trafford for their publishing needs.
If you (or your company) wish to list a title for sale to the public, contact the nearest office or select "publishing offices" from our bookstore pages for details.

Canada • USA • UK • Republic of Ireland Contact Us URL http://www.trafford.com © 1995-2005 Trafford Publishing, a division of Trafford Holdings Ltd. Trafford's Privacy Policy: Client information will never be provided to anyone outside of Trafford and its subsidiaries except where required by law.