The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Joel M. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Read - Book Report on Roaring Lambs by Bob Briner
"Sitting in the shaker, salt does no good. It might as well be thrown out." This quote captures the main idea that Bob Briner tries to get across in his book. The message is very powerful and has challenged me tremendously. It’s basically a wake up call to all Christians in every avenue of life. Bob Briner, a successful producer and president of Proserv Television urges us to roar out our faith in our everyday life.
Throughout all of U.S history, our country has been a Christian nation. So tell me why in the past 100 years or so has our nation become steadily more secularized? It is because the Christians of our nation have not been salt in every area of their lives. Churches need to encourage their congregations to look for opportunities to be salt in their careers. A lot of Christians don’t grasp that our entire life is one big mission field. I’m not saying that if every Christian would have been salt, then nothing bad would have happened. But our nation would be in better shape then it is now.
For so many years, Christians have had a massive subculture with their own TV stations, radio stations, bookstores, music, and much more. Before I read this book, I was not quite fully aware of how much Christians have almost isolated themselves away from society. But that doesn’t make sense! One of the main points stressed by Jesus himself was to spread the gospel. For example, Matthew 28:19 says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Personally, I have determined to not isolate my faith from the world. One of my favorite quotes is "Always be preaching the Gospel, and when necessary, use words." When we live our life according to God’s law, people will see something different about you. And that leads to opportunities to share.
This book has personally challenged me a great deal. There are so many areas in my life that I need to get out of the shaker and be real salt. For example, in sports, God has given me an ability to play. And that is a tremendous tool to be salt to the world. If you work hard and are good at something, people have respect for you. And that opens the door to be able to share God’s love. There is a difference between pushing our faith on someone and living a Godly life and being prepared to share when the opportunity arises. Standing on a street corner condemning people is not the salt we need to be. Don’t forget about the lamb part of roaring lambs. Yes, we need to live out our faith and not be timid. But the real power of the Gospel is how words spoken with love and kindness, can pierce someone’s heart so deeply.
Would I recommend this book to others? Most definitely. Roaring Lambs is challenging, intriguing, and inspiring. Since reading it, my thoughts have been influenced by what it says. There are many times throughout my week that I think upon what I have read. It has inspired me to be salt in the world. From this point on in my life, I’m going to make it a goal to be a roaring lamb!
