It's a great book. With Vitalijs Jevsjukovs, Kenny Champion, John W. Iwanonkiw, Earl Rorer. I also love that he tells the stories of the church around the world, not just one specific region. I loved the way he asked questions and didn’t give direct answers because it makes you realize it’s a journey you need to take with God too, in your own way. To that end, Ripken shares his powerful personal biography. “There is no one like Jesus. They ended up in Nigeria, with Nik taking trips into war-torn Somalia in the 1990's. Stoyan persisted with Jesus, even without a father. I think. How do we begin to walk and work with God, especially in dangerous places? NIK RIPKEN, AUTHOR, THE INSANITY OF GOD. .gave me no joy. An Interview with Nik Ripken. There were distantly related reference to “the seemingly insane teaching of Jesus who had instructed His followers to ‘love your enemies,'” and to the seemingly insane idea of being sent out as sheep among wolves. Might it be that we (in the States) do not face persecution because the enemy has already silenced us? Excellent book for anyone, and also a great choice for someone who's never been exposed to this subject before. A truly remarkable book. The Insanity of God is the true story of missionaries Nik and Ruth Ripken. When Ripken interviewed this young minister, Stoyan’s penetrating words resonated through the book. As an American with dozens of Bibles collecting dust on my shelf, I struggle to fathom the pastor who owns only one book of the Bible. This was a challenging book. As a white man, I struggle when our black congregation talks back to me. Don’t read this book for resolution. There were distantly related reference to “the seemingly insane teaching of Jesus who had instructed His followers to ‘love your enemies,'” and to the seemingly insane idea of being sent out as sheep among wolves. Ripken writes under a pseudonym for the sake of persecuted believers he has … The Insanity of God is the true story of missionaries Nik and Ruth Ripken. The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected by Nik Ripken (B&H Publishing Group) Veteran missionaries Nik and Ruth Ripken once believed God sent them around the world to share Jesus. After he is forced to leave he travels the world to learn how Christianity can survive when it is persecuted and there the real story begins. He is the author of The Insanity of God and the new book The Insanity of Obedience. That came totally out of the blue. Our Mission. THE INSANITY OF GOD (All caps in the original.) According to the website, “The Insanity of God is the true story of missionaries Nik and Ruth Ripken. This sent them on a journey around the world to see if persecuted Christians really could experience new life in Christ. This book was convicting and mobilizing and something I will want to read over and over again in the years to come. If my sermon connects, a sweet lady shouts, “So what, preacher?” I know her words are supposed to be emboldening and affirming, but I’m regularly left bumbling when she hollers anything at me mid-sermon. Let me tell you why (I cried like a baby countless times whilst reading this book). The Insanity of God is the personal and lifelong journey of an ordinary couple from rural Kentucky who thought they were going on just your ordinary missionary pilgrimage, but discovered it … After fruitful ministries in several African countries, they next experienced heartache and confusion. This is a tremendous book dealing with what God is doing all around the world today in the lives of our brothers and sisters in persecuted nations. Even from my front-row perspective in the arena of persecution I cannot self-transmigrate into the psyche of a father gathering his wife and children just prior to his arrest. So what should I do about my Christian brothers suffering daily around the world? The revelations and clarity from this section of the book are absolutely worth reading. It is a missionary biography. ), I feel like I've hit a jackpot of good books recently. I just finished this book and have to say that I struggle with writing a review of it. The Insanity of God is an account of Nik Ripken’s life-long and very personal journey of discovery into the ways of God related to persecution and suffering. Ripken interviewed that pastor’s son, Stoyan, who described his dad’s final words: “If I am in prison and I hear that my wife and my children have been hung to death rather than deny Jesus, I will be the most proud man in that prison.”, But, we’re tempted to ask, what is the solution to erasing the persecution of Christians? This is their story of disillusionment, of the darkness in the world, of famine and poverty and persecution. Nik Ripken is a pseudonym and the author has spent nearly 20 years working with the persecuted church. What: Movie – The Insanity of God When: 10:00 AM, 6/25/17 Where: Life Community Church 4400 Cemetery Rd Hilliard, Ohio 43026 The Insanity of God Summary If you are into documentaries or extended interviews, this would be a great watch, one that will challenge you to think about your faith and ultimately leave you thinking about if you would stand strong for Jesus in the face of persecution. You need to hear these stories that the Ripkins have rescued from this world’s prisons, gulags and shadows. God is not insane, though one may perceive him as such. The Insanity of Obedience (like the Insanity of God before it) is an incredibly challenging book. For what it’s worth, Ripken’s stories and interview accounts seem consistent with other isolated reports. Amazing (insane) book. That is interesting and challenging enough, but it is only the begining. The Insanity of Obedience uses modern examples to highlight Biblical truths in a way that will benefit believers both in persecution and relative freedom. I cannot think of another book that can be better than this. "The greatest enemy of our faith today is not communism, Buddhism, Hinduism, atheism, or even Islam. The Insanity of God A True Story of Faith Resurrected (Book) : Ripken, Nik : The Insanity of God is the personal and lifelong journey of an ordinary couple from rural Kentucky who thought they were going on just your ordinary missionary pilgrimage, but discovered it would be anything but. How does faith survive, let alone flourish in the places of the world that are overcome with the darkness of sin, despair and hopelessness? The title "Insanity of God" is provocative. The Insanity of Obedience is not quite a sequel to "The Insanity of God" but instead a response. I’m church planting in inner-city Memphis, where the senior pastor of our young church invites me to preach about once per month. They saw lots of crucifixions but no resurrections. Read it and you will be shaken by the conflict. They moved to Kenya so the husband could take trips to serve in Somalia, a Muslim country that experienced extreme tribal conflict, hunger, famine, and lawlessness in the 90s. The Insanity of God - Nik Ripken Ministries The title of our first book, The Insanity of God, has caused trouble for itself. These stories bear telling, and hearing, and reproducing. THE HOLINESS OF GOD BY R C SPROUL CHAPTER 5: THE INSANITY OF LUTHER References (Black book, White book, Kindle) I. Luther’s Behavior (91, 73, 740) A. Summary: The Insanity of God is the personal and lifelong journey of an ordinary couple from rural Kentucky who thought they were going on just your ordinary missionary pilgrimage, but discovered it would be anything but. We should at least write our Member of Congress or Senator, correct? I once even enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on the rooftop terrace of his home in east Africa. Not necessarily, says Nik Ripken, a leading expert on the persecuted church in Muslim contexts and missions veteran of 25 years. Don’t read this book to get answers. But the one thing that makes me madder and madder the more I think about it is that he copyrighted what he calls "HeartSongs".
