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Are You My Spiritual Father?: Spiritual Fathers and Sons...or Brothers?
This short book is adapted from a chapter of -I Am Persuaded: Christian Leadership As Taught By Jesus.- Jesus said, -Call no man on earth father, for you all have one Father who is in heaven.- Yet Paul called Timothy, Titus, and Onesimus his -sons- and sometimes used -father- language when addressing the churches. Was Paul contradicting Jesus? Instead of cherry-picking scriptures, adapting extreme views, and reviling anyone who sees differently, we need to get to the heart of the issue. -Spiritual Fathers Or Brothers?- clears up the confusion and helps us to understand the heart of both Paul's teaching and Jesus' teaching. While acknowledging that Christian leaders should share in the father heart of God, it also highlights the unhealthy dynamics that result if we go beyond scripture in our emphasis on -fathering- young disciples. The reader should have a more complete and balanced perspective by the end of this book, whether or not he fully agrees with the author's conclusions.
64 pages, Paperback
Published March 30, 2017
13 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Brenneman
15 books31 followersI was born in Rochester, NY and grew up in Pennsylvania. As I child, I suffered mental torment and was unsure if God existed.
I became convinced of God's existence when he healed my back. I was about nine years old. My mom laid hands on me and said "In Jesus' name, back be healed." Although I didn't expect anything to happen, I felt something like a ball of energy start rolling up and down inside my back until the pain was gone. I later told my friends "I felt God's hand in my back!"
I had a "born-again" experience when I was eleven years old, and got involved in missions as a young teenager. My first trip was to Mexico. I began studying Spanish, then Polish, Portuguese, and Russian.
When I was about 20 years old, I felt very frustrated with myself and the church. I knew that God was real, but I wondered why he felt so far away and why I never saw the miracles that I heard about happening in other countries and for other people.
Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me through the Bible and the speakers at a Christian conference. God dealt with traditions of men that were causing me to feel so frustrated, revealing Jesus to me in a greater way than I had ever seen before. I began to see many people healed when I prayed for them. It was the beginning of a life of miracles.
After taking many short-term mission trips to various countries, I moved to Brazil in 2012. I now live in Rio de Janeiro with my wife and daughter.
I became convinced of God's existence when he healed my back. I was about nine years old. My mom laid hands on me and said "In Jesus' name, back be healed." Although I didn't expect anything to happen, I felt something like a ball of energy start rolling up and down inside my back until the pain was gone. I later told my friends "I felt God's hand in my back!"
I had a "born-again" experience when I was eleven years old, and got involved in missions as a young teenager. My first trip was to Mexico. I began studying Spanish, then Polish, Portuguese, and Russian.
When I was about 20 years old, I felt very frustrated with myself and the church. I knew that God was real, but I wondered why he felt so far away and why I never saw the miracles that I heard about happening in other countries and for other people.
Then the Holy Spirit spoke to me through the Bible and the speakers at a Christian conference. God dealt with traditions of men that were causing me to feel so frustrated, revealing Jesus to me in a greater way than I had ever seen before. I began to see many people healed when I prayed for them. It was the beginning of a life of miracles.
After taking many short-term mission trips to various countries, I moved to Brazil in 2012. I now live in Rio de Janeiro with my wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 5, 2017
This was a very thorough, yet concise look at this issue. I liked that the author expressed his viewpoint from many different angles;brining out the need to put truth of scripture behind our actions. It would be terrible to fail young believers by making them reliant upon a man, when Father God is completly capable and wanting to Father His children. We rob people of a real "walk with God" when they feel that they need to walk with "man".
April 19, 2017
Christian Mentors
This book is balanced and comprehensive regarding the current practice in some Christian circles of having "spiritual sons." The key is that fathers of the faith are not rulers lording it over others but are rather loving mentors having love like that of a natural parent for those in whose lives they pour themselves. The indisputable argument is that Jesus said call no man father.
This book is balanced and comprehensive regarding the current practice in some Christian circles of having "spiritual sons." The key is that fathers of the faith are not rulers lording it over others but are rather loving mentors having love like that of a natural parent for those in whose lives they pour themselves. The indisputable argument is that Jesus said call no man father.
May 17, 2017
"I believe spiritual sons are not accepted or embraced, they are born of death, persistence, perseverance and passion. True sonship is earned by aspiring sons, not given by their fathers. So, pay the price."
Unknown Christian preacher that sets up why this book was written.
That sets up the premise of this book. Some teaching that the author has heard. He is not identified not the denomination or any other affiliation. That is my problem with this book. I have been a Christian for almost 40 years and I have never heard a teaching about being a spiritual father/son. To be fair, I have heard of and experienced a pastor that was borderline Shepherding movement. I submitted to him up to a point and then felt that it was getting abusive. It also kept me from going to Bible School. So, yes I have seen abusive teaching in the church. I just never have heard this type of teaching.
The author does try to balance the words of Jesus that 'no man should be called father' with Paul's words of fatherly affection. In doing so he seems to muddy the water a little bit.
I would like to think that the relationship that Paul had with others that he called sons was more a mentoring relationship. I have heard it taught that everyone needs a Barnabas a Timothy in their life. Barnabas was the one who mentored Paul, and Paul mentored Timothy.
It has some points that needed to be made, but since the main point is to refute a teaching that was made by an anonymous person, I can not recommend this book more than 3 stars.
Unknown Christian preacher that sets up why this book was written.
That sets up the premise of this book. Some teaching that the author has heard. He is not identified not the denomination or any other affiliation. That is my problem with this book. I have been a Christian for almost 40 years and I have never heard a teaching about being a spiritual father/son. To be fair, I have heard of and experienced a pastor that was borderline Shepherding movement. I submitted to him up to a point and then felt that it was getting abusive. It also kept me from going to Bible School. So, yes I have seen abusive teaching in the church. I just never have heard this type of teaching.
The author does try to balance the words of Jesus that 'no man should be called father' with Paul's words of fatherly affection. In doing so he seems to muddy the water a little bit.
I would like to think that the relationship that Paul had with others that he called sons was more a mentoring relationship. I have heard it taught that everyone needs a Barnabas a Timothy in their life. Barnabas was the one who mentored Paul, and Paul mentored Timothy.
It has some points that needed to be made, but since the main point is to refute a teaching that was made by an anonymous person, I can not recommend this book more than 3 stars.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews