Book Review: The Greener Grass Conspiracy, by Stephen Altrogge

Stephen Altrogge. The Greener Grass Conspiracy.
Crossway, 2011. 144 pages.

First of all, a huge thank you to Crossway for sending us bloggers a pre-release copy of the book, and for giving each of us the opportunity to write a review!

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There is a conspiracy afoot, and it’s aimed at each one of us. The conspiracy is a device of our own sin, the world and the devil, and is a mortal danger for Christians and non-Christians alike. Stephen Altrogge’s goal in The Greener Grass Conspiracy is to wake us up to the seriousness of the conspiracy’s intention: to blind us to the source of true contentment, and cause us to search after cheap imitations that will never satisfy. Stephen Altrogge writes a fresh reminder of some timeless truths: that searching for contentment in anything other than God and the Gospel will fail us.

Altrogge provides a disclaimer at the start of the book, acknowledging that this is a glorious subject that could be treated at more length. But he tells us that he isn't trying to exhaust the subject, but merely wake us up to it. He states that the book is more like "notes from the battlefield," hoping that the reader will "join him in the fight" (14) against the conspiracy. Altrogge acknowledges right off that he borrows most of his ideas from John Piper's God Is the Gospel, and that there are other more lengthy treatments of the subject of contentment, and of God as the source of all contentment and happiness. Altrogge provides a great jumping-off point for us in the matter of contentment, writing an appropriately concise exposé of the conspiracy within us, and against us in this fallen world, to blind us to what true joy and contentment mean.

The Right Things in the Right Order

Altrogge starts his argument in the right place – reminding us of who God is, and how a right understanding of God’s character puts us in our appropriate place. In chapter 1, entitled “Why Am I So Unhappy?” Altrogge gives us an assessment of our situation – that we fail to find contentment because we look for it in the wrong places. Then he shows us in chapter 2, “I’m Not the Center of the Universe,” that the whole universe, including human beings, was created for God’s glory and not the other way around.

From there, Altrogge takes us skillfully and honestly through his exposé of the conspiracy, revealing our tendencies to be deceived by the world and by our sin. Altrogge also doesn’t shy away from the difficult subjects of tragedy and trials, showing us that even in those things, God intends for us to find contentment in Him alone.

Altrogge ends his “notes from the battlefield” in the appropriate place as well, with Heaven and the hope that God will right all wrongs in the end. He speaks words of good, solid comfort, saying, “we’re still exiled from our home. We’re still waiting for Jesus to return, to conquer his enemies, to reward his disciples, and to create the new heavens and the new earth. When that happens, we’ll be home. We’ll be in God’s place, and it will be everything for which we always longed” (136).

Making it Fun

One of the great things about the book is the style of Altrogge’s writing. He is personal rather than academic, which makes his message very relatable. He uses numerous anecdotes and illustrations from his own life, and combines solemnity and humor (which is often hilariously goofy, and often self-deprecating) throughout the book. His argument is transparent, honest and relatable, which makes it quite the page turner, and quite fun at times.

The Greener Grass Conspiracy is a much-needed, freshly spoken wake-up call to timeless truth. We need the reminder that a source of true, solid contentment, happiness and joy exists – we just need to find it in the right place.

The day before Easter

John Piper, on Holy Saturday (from "Joseph of Arimathea, Part 2"):

Of this: The loss is what we see,
But seldom what the good may be.
A man can know the fruit of breath;
But only God the fruit of death.

Praise God for a resurrected Savior!

"The Ten Commandments begin with grace."

Mike Cosper writes a fairly thorough response to Ricky Gervais' recent polemic against Christianity. You can read it here. These things are good to keep up on, especially when the opposing voice is someone like Gervais, who has a fair amount of pop culture influence. His is an influential voice in opposition to the truth of God, regardless of how eloquent and well-crafted his argument is.

I really like where Cosper takes his response, because he hits on some things I've recently learned from studying Galations with our shepherding group on Monday nights.

Basically, Gervais, as an atheist, claims to be a better Christian than most Christians in the world because he does a better job at keeping the Ten Commandments. But what Cosper brings out is that even in Exodus, God's grace to save sinners is central to the whole picture. It's not about the laws on their own, but about God's grace to purify and keep a people for Himself. All along, God's grace has been what saves, not a person's ability to keep the law of God. And the Church, with all its imperfections and mistakes, has always had at its core a sinful people whom God has saved out of His grace and not their own merits.

Cosper says the following:

[T]he Scriptures place the Ten Commandments inside the context of a redemption story. God didn’t appear to the Hebrew slaves and tell them, “Do these things and I’ll rescue you.” Instead, he rescued them and invited them into a life lived in covenant community. As Marva Dawn once put it, the Ten Commandments begin with grace. “I’m you’re God. I’m the one who rescued you.” The Exodus story foreshadows the gospel, showing that at the heart of law, at its origins, is God’s grace. It’s the opposite of religion—even in the Ten Commandments.

There are millions like him (Gervais), both inside and outside the church. They believe that the essential message of the Bible is, “If you behave, then you belong.” We have a better message and a much richer story, one drenched in grace and mercy. Remember, as many Christians before us have understood, the gospel tells us that we’re far worse off than we ever imagined . . . and far more loved than we ever dared to dream.

"But we are adopted."

Go here for a great article and perspective on adoption. I find myself devouring this type of thing these days, since my wife and I are in the fost-adopt world.

What is love?

Paul Tripp is wrote this convicting passage in a collection of essays I'm reading, called The Power of Words and the Wonder of God. I don't know about you, but the concept of love is evasive to my intellect at times. I don't completely understand why that is, but I think it's partly because 1) we know that, as children of God, Scripture commands us to know the love of God, and to love one another; BUT 2) the world talks about love all the time, but defines it so many different (and often contradictory and sinful) ways.

So I appreciate this definition - it clarifies the biblical definition of love, and brings out the implications for Christians living out this love that God has revealed to us.

Tripp quotes 1 John 4:7-12:
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."

Then he comments:
You don't define love by a set of abstract concepts. Love is defined by an event, and that event is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. God calls us to cruciform love, that is, love that shapes itself to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is that love? I will give you a definition: Love is willing self-sacrifice for the redemptive good of another that doesn't demand reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving. That is the love that took Christ to the cross of his death for our redemption.

The wisdom of John Owen on sin

I've been reading through John Owen's The Mortification of Sin, and it's been super helpful to me. I've been convicted recently (by way of God's school of trials), that I have more sin in my life that needs to die (or be "mortified" as Owen would say). It's funny how that conviction comes and goes in waves.

I borrowed Owen's book from a friend on our church's pastoral staff, and it's been the perfect read for me as of late. I would venture a guess that a book like this might not be the same read if there haven't been some recent trials in your life. Reading the book has been a grace in the midst of our family's craziness. Below is one of many hard-hitting passages. Thus writes Mr. Owen:

We must hate all sin, as sin, and not just that which troubles us. Love for Christ, because He went to the cross, and hate for sin that sent Him there, is the solid foundation for true spiritual mortification. To seek mortification only because a sin troubles us proceeds from self-love. Why do you with all diligence and earnestness seek to mortify this sin? Because it troubles you and takes away your peace, and fills your heart with sorrow, trouble, and fear, and because you do not have rest through it? Yes, but, friend, you have neglected prayer and reading! You have been vain and loose in your conversation with other things. These are just as sinful as the one that troubles you. Jesus Christ bled for them also. Why do you not set yourself against them? If you hate sin as sin, and every evil way, you would be watchful against everything that grieves and disquiets the Spirit of God. You would not be concerned only about the sin that upsets your own soul. It is evident that you fight against this sin merely because it troubles you. If it did not bother your conscience you would let it alone. If it did not bother you, you would not bother it.

If we will do anything, we must do everything. So, then, our need is not only an intense opposition to this or that particular lust, but a universal humble frame and temper of heart that watches over every evil, and seeks the performance of every duty that is pleasing to God.

Challies Dot Com

A new blog I've recently discovered by way of some friends, is challies.com, run by a guy named Tim Challies. Challies is a reformed Christian, who runs the blog with this central purpose in mind, to provide a "commentary on the contemporary church and its interaction with the culture around us.”

Challies is a sharp guy, who reviews books, comments on things going on in culture and news, etc. His blog's great, and it's now in my blogroll. It should be in yours too.

Baxter, on sin

“Sin is never better because many commit it.”
(Richard Baxter, Tweeted by John Piper)