Tim Chaddick - Better: How Jesus Satisfies the Search for Meaning

EPILOGUE

HOW DOES IT END?

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE: ASPIRATIONS

WHAT DO WE EXPECT OUT OF LIFE?

PART TWO: ASSETS

HOW DO WE USE WHAT WE HAVE IN LIFE?

PART THREE: ATTITUDES

WHAT DO WE RESPOND TO LIFE WITH?

To my family and my LA church family,
who ask more questions than any other group of people I know.

Contents

BETTER

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org.); NLT are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved; NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved; NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com; ISV are taken from the Holy Bible: International Standard Version. Copyright 1996-2012 by The ISV Foundation of California. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.

The author has added italics to Scripture quotations for emphasis.

LCCN 2013943294

ISBN 978-1-4347-0523-5

eISBN 978-0-7814-1086-1

2013 Tim Chaddick

Published in association with the literary agency of

DC Jacobson & Associates LLC, an Author Management Company

www.dcjacobson.com

The Team: Alex Field, Amy Konyndyk, Nick Lee, Caitlyn Carlson, Karen Athen

Cover Design: Jesse Bryan, BAJI Group

First Edition 2013

TIM CHADDICK is the founding pastor of Reality LA, a rapidly growing church in the heart of Hollywood, California. Reality LA is part of the Reality family of churches, a movement committed to relational church planting and serving the broader body of Christ. Tim and his wife, Lindsey, live in Los Angeles with their three daughters.

Visit DCCeBooks.com for more great reads.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my dear friends who pastor in the Reality family of churches for all of their love, wisdom, and encouragement. I would also like to thank all the humble genius leaders who helped me both understand and appreciate Jesus and the book of Ecclesiastes, including Professor Peter Kreeft of Boston College, Hugh Palmer of All Souls Church Langham Place London, and Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

What people are saying about

BETTER

Tim Chaddicks Better is an important call to seek after God, as well as an insightful commentary on todays media-obsessed culture. With characteristic passion and wit, Chaddick unpacks the book of Ecclesiastes for the modern leader and reader, engaging the hard questions and many paradoxes found in this Old Testament book. Here is a work stocked full of ancient wisdom for this age of seekers, skeptics, and young visionaries. Dont miss it!

Brad Lomenick, author of The Catalyst Leader and president and key visionary of Catalyst

Tim Chaddick has written an important book. Not simply because it highlights the beauty of Jesus, but because it unmasks the temptations and distractions that leave us empty and unfulfilled. An insightful, thoughtful, and compelling vision of why life in the kingdom of God is better than life in a shallow, consumer culture.

Jon Tyson, pastor at Trinity Grace Church New York, www.cityrenewal.org

In this powerful book, Tim Chaddick winsomely explores how the writer of Ecclesiastes speaks to the human search for significance, calling us to face the cosmic anxiety of the meaninglessness of life without God and pointing us to the mind-blowing reality that Jesuss life, death, and resurrection change every part of our lives. Chaddick is an important voice in the church who is doing fantastic work in Hollywood, and I am thankful for his ministry and for this book.

Justin Holcomb, author of On the Grace of God and adjunct professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary

Tim is one of my dearest friends and also one of my greatest teachers. His insights into God, people, culture, and Scripture always inspire and challenge me deeply. When Tim speaks, I listen, and now I look forward to years of reading everything he writes.

Britt Merrick, founder of the Reality Family of Churches, author of Godspeed , and pastor for preaching and vision at Reality Carpinteria

Tim Chaddick is a gifted young Bible teacher with a flourishing ministry in a tough urban context. Im excited to see him connect the timeless truths of one of the most overlooked books of the Bible with the empty pursuit of lesser gods such as sex, money, fame, power, and possessions.

Mark Driscoll, founder of Mars Hill Church and the Resurgence and cofounder of Acts 29

Tim ministers in the city of LA, a place where searching for significance can easily take over families, careers, and even life itself. I know the message of this book has satisfied the souls of countless people because, as Tims close friend, Ive seen this message change him as well. Hes one of the most helpfully provocative thinkers I know, and he practices what he preaches.

David Lomas, pastor for preaching and vision at Reality SF and author of The Truest Thing About You

Were there none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better.

Florence Nightingale

A TALE OF THREE PREACHERS

Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 1:2

Why is vanity such a story-killer?

Jonah Sachs

Life not working out the way I thought it would turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.

I used to daydream about taking my guitar in for fifth-grade show-and-tell. I pictured myself placing my amp on the teachers desk, flicking the switch, and tossing my hair out of my eyes. The crowd (a.k.a. the rest of my class) would hush in anticipation. And then I would play. The jaws of the crowd would drop in awe. This would be the moment where my musical genius would shine, confirming that I was a musician , that this was my identity, and that from this day forth my life would never be the same.