The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Natalie W. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Reading - Book Report: Roaring Lambs by Bob Briner
Taking Back Lost Territory
How are you going to dramatically change your world? What are you going to do, that will have a lasting impact on the people around you? While our world is quickly sinking deeper into sin what will be your plan of action? These are the questions that Bob Briner is asking. His book Roaring Lambs has really challenged me to get out of my comfort zone and look for opportunities to be the salt of the world.
Matthew 5:13-14 says that Christians are the salt of the earth. Now what does that mean? It means having an impact on the world for Jesus. Being salt is looking like Christ every day of your life, and using the talents he has bestowed on you to honor and glorify Him. The last several decades Christians have relaxed in their mission to be the salt of the world. We have become tasteless. We are also demanded to be the light of the world and to take our candle into the darkness. So if Christians are supposed to be doing this then why is our world so corrupt? The answer is easy. A quote by Edmund Burke puts it all in perspective, “The only thing needed for evil to succeed is for good men to sit by and do nothing,” and that is exactly what we have been doing. Briner gives a narrative of how we are to change our world. He talks about salt and how its purposes are for seasoning and preserving. Adding taste and retarding spoilage, not sitting in the shaker. This parable shows how we need to show that Christ is relevant right now. He states that our job is to “teach His relevance, demonstrate it, and to live it.” We need to get out of the “salt shaker” or the confines of our churches, and realize that every area of life needs Christ brought to it.
Later on in Matt 5:13b Jesus says "that if the salt becomes tasteless throw it out and trample it." So what is our use if we are not sharing Christ with the world, let alone our neighbors? The answer is right there. We are absolutely useless. What are the motives behind Christians who are attempting to bring about change to the status quo? Can we have wrong motives? I believe so our actions should not be coming from selfish desires, such as making an environment that is comfortable for us. The reason that we should be reaching out into our communities and the world is to bring people to Christ, through our words, and deeds.
Through out this book Bob challenges his readers to become roaring lambs. He tells how Christians need to no longer take a back seat to what is going on in the world we live in, but to grab the reigns and get into our culture. His definition of a roaring lamb, is a person who takes their faith and values into every corner of society. To be effective right were you are in every day life. A big part of becoming a roaring lamb is prayer and understanding that you cannot do it alone. In everything we do we need to be seeking God’s counsel (Phil. 4:6). We need to be in continual prayer before we move into action (Acts 1:14). There is no possible way that we can bring others to the truth if we ourselves are not seeking after it. That is why we need to give our full attention to prayer (Acts 6:4).
Bob also explains how the church needs to get more involved. Instead of worrying about how big the size of its congregation is, the church needs to be focusing on the people outside its four walls,
The church also needs to be figuring out ways to equip and encourage people to get into the muck and darkness of our society and bring the light God offers to it. Mr. Briner isn’t talking about more pastors (He’s not against anyone becoming a pastor) but he wants to enable people to be the best at whatever they do. Instead of giving the next generation the impression that producing is bad we need to be showing them how they can make a difference with the talent God has given them. Yes it will be hard to fight the temptations that will come along with being in the spotlight, but God doesn’t say that it was easy to follow Him, He just called us to follow Him( Mark 8:34) The Christians at the churches need to be supportive also. Just because certain people are not gifted in singing, direction, acting or playing an instrument doesn’t mean we are off the hook. Our job is to encourage those who are out on the frontlines. "We need to be praying for them, giving to them financially and standing by them." So many times we sit around and complain to each other about what we hear on the radio or see on television. Bob’s answer is, "Change it." What good is it going to do, or what results will come from complaining to each other? Where will it get us? It is going to do nothing and it will get us nowhere fast.
So instead of watching the world go down the drain, we need to get out of our perfect little bubble we have created for ourselves. We should be showing who Jesus really is, a perfect, gracious God who came to earth to save the lost. This is what Bob Briner wanted to accomplish through this book Roaring Lambs, to equip believers to show Christ’s relevance through our life.
