Sunday, March 17, 2019

Bolivar Heights: When Failure Is Not Final




Author: Leighton Kramer
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc., Meadville, PA, 2018

A Warning to the Unfallen; An Explanation, Hope, and Purpose for the Fallen 
Leighton Kramer’s book is one of the most complex books I have ever reviewed. I felt at times like a judge on “America’s Got Talent” – one minute I marveled at his perceptions and the next, I was totally frustrated with both the structural and grammatical editing of his book. The human insights are so on target. But it is hard to clearly adjudicate who is really doing the writing on any given page, about whom, when, and where.
There were many times when I felt this (or at least most of this) is indeed Kramer’s own story without him wanting to admit it.  There is no other explanation for some of his thoughts on what a fallen person can think or feel except that he personally had experienced the same thoughts and feelings. If I am wrong, then he truly has a great gift.
There is no doubt the book is a much-needed one. Too many people in the ministry do not finish well, as Kramer tells us. Many failures could have been avoided by God’s servants making better and less rushed decisions. Others, by having accountability partners who speak up in a timely fashion. Still others, by prayers that rise upwards, uttered by saints on bended knee.
Kramer correctly points out that everyone has a weak spot. But when it comes to God’s servants, that weak spot is fervently and constantly being observed by the Enemy, seeking the most opportune time and way to hurt it again, and if possible, to the point of death. Satan certainly knew the main character’s weakness and he knew exactly how to use it to his advantage.
This book is a must-read for anyone who is in the ministry, anyone who loves someone in the ministry, and even anyone who knows or is responsible from a governance perspective, for someone in the ministry.
The author capably demonstrates that the battle is indeed spiritual. The Enemy is indeed real. The consequences are deadly – not only for the individual but for those he/she entangles in his/her downfall.
If you learn nothing else from this book (and there is so much to absorb and adopt), every reader should learn at least two things: First, you are not protected from failure in your Christian life. As Kramer contends, life is a “probation” period. This could happen to you. And second, when you know the weak spot in yourself or in your circumstances is at jeopardy of being attacked – take every step possible to address it as God would have you address it. Kramer in a very powerful way, especially in his last chapter, drives home the mistake that many of us make – trying to address our ‘problem’ without God and outside our public world.
Indirectly, this book is a call to prayer for pastors, for those in our family who lead ministries, and for ourselves – for many of us are called to serve God without going into full-time pastoral or similar work.   Highly recommended.

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·     Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, March 17, 2019, www.accordconsulting.com

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1 comment:

  1. This is definitely a complex book. I did not find the underlying "moral" as you did. It seemed that Clay Keane blamed his wife for his adultery. Even in the redemptive twist at the end, the focus is largely on the wrong that he did Miss C., not the wrong that he committed against "K" and his son.

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