James MacDonald (1) (1960–)

This book grew on me with each chapter.

It's written in a paired chapter style--the first chapter portrays and explains a negative attitude and how it impacts your spiritual life and the following one resets the negative attitude to a positive complement. For example, chapter one is an attitude of complaining and chapter two guides how to replace complaining with an attitude of gratitude.

If you tackle this book as a study, I'd recommend tackling a pair of chapters each week rather than show more reading it all at once or one chapter/per week. I found it easier to digest and compare/contrast that way, but obvs, do whatever works for you.

The chapters are scripturally-based and rely heavily on illustration of the Hebrews in their 40-year desert wandering with the analogy of avoiding ending up in a spiritual desert due to a poor attitude.

Some of the chapters spoke more directly to me/my life than others, with a few that were (unfortunately) very direct hits. The author provides some practical and relatable examples from his own life to illustrate points, but it wasn't easy for me to 'see' how these attitudes are present in my own life.

I have no connection to James MacDonald and haven't read any of his other books. At times, he comes across as a little smug, but overall his teaching/writing style is direct, almost blunt. That works for me--I'd rather hear/read truth backed up by scripture than the more feel-good Christian-lite or prosperity gospel that has become more on-trend.

There are discussion questions at the back that can be worked through by chapter, if desired, but they don't interrupt the narrative flow if you don't want to. Recommended for individual reading or a small group study. show less

This book does have some good points. As Christians we should ideally be working on maturing in our faith, it is good to be sure that you've actually given your life to Christ (and haven't just inherited Christian culture from your parents), and God did create us to bring glory to himself - he's perfect, so he gets to do stuff like that.

BUT, I am not this book intended audience, and this book is a dangerous mess.

Even if he hadn't told us, it wouldn't have been that hard to guess that show more MacDonald has an anger problem. He just comes across at times as so very angry with other people who are "twisting" the gospel in various ways. I do agree with him on some points, if you think that God's grace gives you license to sin Paul does have some words for you, but he just came across as so cynical, so negative, so angry, and not really showing any of the fruits of the spirit. I was really surprised that this guy is allowed to disciple other people. He actually equates (on page 194) the Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary, and says those are those are not the prayers to be praying. I know a lot of people really don't like liturgy, but the Lord's Prayer is in the BIBLE! It is Jesus showing us how to pray. It is never wrong to pray the Lord's Prayer.

Besides that, he is literally all over the place. One minute he is kicking positive thinking to the curb, saying it's a horrible idea and he thanks God that people are disproving such folly, and the next minute he is saying we can only truly change if we believe we can. Sounds a bit like positive thinking to me. He repeats this cycle with almost every other self-help formula on the market today. While I guess his views ultimately come across as middling, which is the water I like to swim in, I really feel like the book would have benefited from more restrained language.

Finally, he lists extreme quietness as a sin you might want to work on.

So yeah, this book was hard for me to read. Really got to work on my own anger issues. I am hoping that these thoughts will be helpful to others or even myself - I would love to hear from anyone who thinks I'm wrong, as long as we can keep it constructive. Yes sin is something serious that we need to work on, despite the fact that I like to think about how much God loves me (even though I don't deserve it) I still believe that. show less

In his book: “Vertical Church”, James MacDonald directly and succinctly puts forward that the longing for transcendence in human hearts is universal. And in granting that yearning in the form of encountering the one true God provides the utmost satisfaction and joy to human souls. It is God, who delights in dwelling among His people, promises His own presence to those that seek to encounter with Him (p. 70). It is in basking in God’s revealed glory that quenches the thirst of human’s show more innermost desire. MacDonald then turns to his audience – leaders of today’s many churches, and asks a pointed question: “How often have we contented our hearts with the right actions that produced little evidence of God truly at work? Do you find yourself substituting orthodoxy for a move of God and allowing faithfulness to a creed to replace our true roles of facilitating God’s manifest presence in our churches?” (p. 72). He includes a useful checklist to assess how God manifest His presence at a local church (p. 90-92).

MacDonald narrows his focus on God’s manifest presence in the church settings, more specifically in the practical sense of local congregations in how they function. He posits that the one thing that God gives to satisfy the longing in every human heart, that is, His glory in the person of Jesus Christ, is the same thing and “only product” (p. 102) that the church has to offer, and only as facilitator at that. By now, MacDonald has dispelled any efficacy claimed for many a church growth method and management technique. These are but “tinkering and trivia” that satiate our “horizontal appetites” (p. 105). He commends that a “vertical” orientation of a church “teaches its people to judge every circumstance and opportunity in terms of its potential to reveal the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (p. 109, his emphasis)

The author goes on to highlight (ch. 4) some characteristics in many North American churches today that are typical symptoms of ineffectiveness, mediocrity, or even epic failure. One particular topic he gives due treatment is the heralding of God’s word, or the lack thereof, in today’s many pulpits. A punch line that is worth repeating: “If God hasn’t revealed it, there is no power in it.” (p. 153). And this reviewer will echo: “if you preach that which has no power, you have abdicated your call.”

The latter chapters capture MacDonald’s convictions as the four pillars of a “vertical church”:
- unashamed adoration of Jesus’ name (ch. 5),
- unapologetic preaching of the authority of God’s word (vh. 6),
- Unafraid witness (ch. 7),
- Unceasing prayer (ch. 8)

He expands on what each means by giving many practical advices to stay true to these convictions. He mentions at the outset that he is not presenting yet another “model” of “doing church” (p. 25), but as breathing is to a living person these “pillars” constitute the “oxygen” with which a healthy church consumes. At first glance, it is difficult to see how church leaders would dispute the essence of any of these. But according to MacDonald, it is the priority that distinguishes a “vertical” church: “The problem in the church today is that we treat God’ glory as a by-product and the missional activities of the church as the primary thing when the opposite is what Scripture demands.” (p. 300)

Overall, in “Vertical Church” MacDonald provides insights that lend towards the practical rather than a full-blown ecclesiology. He uses mostly folksy prose but as a preacher he never lacks a good quote. However, when he is not rhyming some of the passages may resemble his sermon notes, which are meant more for rhetoric than for reading. His phrases can at times be long-winding and lack clarity. Numerous incidences can be cited but suffice it to highlight one sentence of over 80 words as an example on page 305 under “Acknowledgments”. At this, MacDonald would be benefited from better editorship. show less

In Always True, James MacDonald writes of how the Christian can have faith in God even in the most trying of difficulties. He encourages the believer to "hang on" to God's promises, showing how God always keeps his promises. Each chapter is packed with Scripture verses, made even more noticeable in bolded font. You can't go two pages without your eyes being drawn to the bolded verse. MacDonald uncovers five different promises of God that are "always true:"

1. God is always with me (I will not show more fear)
2. God is always in control (I will not doubt)
3. God is always good (I will not despair)
4. God is always watching (I will not falter)
5. God is always victorious (I will not fail)

"God is always watching" - this promise was especially insightful. Usually when we talk about God watching us, it's in the context of making sure we are behaving. But as MacDonald points out, God watches us because we are precious in his sight, similar to how parents lovingly watch their children. And we are watched and loved not because we are valuable but because we are valued.

In his introduction, MacDonald pinpoints the struggle in the Christian walk - that of "holding on" while waiting for the fulfillment of God's promises. He says "Today I believe; tomorrow (or at some point in the future) I receive. The distance between today and tomorrow is called walking by faith. The hard part is in the waiting between the promise and the answer." (p.20)

Preceding each promise chapter is a chapter on the "Theology of a Promise" that focuses on God's nature as it relates to His promises. These are heavier on the theological side, but no less important. It gives us a glimpse into the nature of God and why it is we can trust in his promises. The last Theology of a Promise was the best. In it, MacDonald shares how all of God's promises are experienced in Jesus Christ. "God has made no provision for you to live the Christian life on your own. The Christian life is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)....Jesus Christ is the Christian life. It's not me acting like Jesus....It's not you trying to please the Lord, or to thank Him, or impress Him, or even trying to imitate Him. The core of this truth is: It's Christ in me by His Spirit." (pp.130-131)

The only minor drawback I might have with this book is that it doesn't seem to be written to those currently suffering some trial. While the theological truths are certainly there, I did not get a sense of compassion, a sense of "weeping with those who weep." The book came across as heavy on the theology of the promises of God but light on empathy. I'm not sure I would give it to someone who, for example, had just lost a child.

That being said, MacDonald does an excellent job of pointing out how God's very nature is one of promising and fulfilling those promises. When all else fails, God's promises are indeed Always True.

(Thanks to Moody Publishers for providing a review copy of this book) show less