Hey everyone, my March book review is on the subject of integrity. It’s on a great book by Jonathan Lamb! Here it is.
Lamb, Jonathan. Integrity: Leading with God watching. IVP: Nottingham, 2006.
Summary: A powerful challenge to examine our disciplines and priorities in life, calling us to live uncompromising lives of integrity. Good to read along with 2 Corinthians.
Jonathan Lamb has written a ‘must read’ for all Christians in our day and age, especially those in leadership. He shows that our words stand or fall on our actions and the way we live them out. We must live whole lives that are fully consistent with our faith, whether at work, home, at the shops, with family, friends, or with strangers etc. Our words must match our actions consistently. His big encouragement is for us to live and lead with God watching. The way we use our time and resources when no one else is watching says much about who we are.
Lamb’s book looks at integrity from Paul’s point of view as he was writing 2 Corinthians. Paul had to lead with integrity and face criticism over his own leadership, and we can learn much from the way he responded. His model was counter-cultural and it still is today. He dealt with a wide range of situations, writing personally from the heart as his character and leadership qualities were tested and questioned. In this letter he responds to criticisms about his own leadership, showing that he has a deep care for the Corinthians and that his words and actions do match up. He confronts image-conscious people trying to push for their own agendas in the Corinthian church, people who seek power at the expense of the gospel. He also discusses administering finances in a transparent way, struggling with personal weakness, pride and opposition, and knowing that his words, actions and attitudes are seen by God and will be judged by Him.
It’s a powerful book, and a hard book to read at times as it helps us question our motives and integrity. Lamb’s model for how we live is solely based on God and His character and grace. God is full of love, forgiveness, credibility, integrity, grace and truth, therefore we are to live this way. How can we be sure to do this? Are we the same around our Christian friends as we are around our Non-Christian friends? Do we hold our integrity in conflict? When we’ve been injured by someone’s words or actions, how we respond says not only a lot about us, but a lot about the gospel message we are proclaiming, a gospel message we claim to be shaped by! Lamb acknowledges that as humans we’ll fail, but even addresses this by thinking about what it looks like for us to recover integrity when we lose it. We must even realize our own weaknesses, knowing that this is a consequence of being united to Christ. However, rather than seeing weakness as a negative, he states it’s actually a good thing that produces dependence on God, that benefits others, and results in God’s glory. Now that is definitely counter-cultural!
The book is a great and challenging read. Each section has questions that help us to think through how we are showing integrity in our lives. It also opens up 2 Corinthians in a fresh way, showing Paul’s insights into his struggles and joys of Christian leadership.
(This book is available to borrow in the St Lukes Church library.)