Thursday, July 28, 2005

Reading...

I love books. I'm a little odd about it. I really like to read - I think it's my dad's fault! I remember as a kid sitting in stacks and boxes full of Louis L'Amour western paperbacks. I always liked sneaking my dad's books into my room to read - I couldn't let him know that I liked the same books, so I was sneaky (or maybe I just liked thinking I was being sneaky).

Just thought I'd post a list of some really good books I've read lately that might interest you.

Barbarian Way and An Unstoppable Force - both by Erwin McManus. Both of these books are really a challenge to the church to lay aside the conventional in order to take hold of whatever Christ is calling us toward. Awesome books.

Hurt by Chap Clark takes a look at the pain of youth culture - feelings of abondonment that pervade young people today. This book raises an issue that is really huge for me... the separation of old from young in the church. There is so much damage being done...

Blue Like Jazz and Searching for God Knows What from Donald Miller. Everyone talks about his edgy way of writing... I guess I can really appreciate his stripping off all the complications of "Christianity" and just splashing around in the simple truth that we are made to be loved by God.

The Relevent Church from Relevant Books has some really interesting stories of various faith communities. God is doing some awesome stuff through creative efforts of His people to follow Him.

The Radical Reformission from Mark Driscoll. I really liked how this book drives home the insanity of some of the church's typical responses to the world and offers real hope for the future of the church. Some of the stories shared are just hilarious - until you realize the painful truth that he's pointing out.

Hosea from the Bible. You do remember the prophet who married a whore to make a point don't you. (I'll just preach a sermon or post something in a blog, thanks!) This whole story of how God and Hosea love their unfaithful brides just makes me so grateful in so many ways. The faithfulness of my wife - and the undying love of God that is offered to the least worthy people...people like you and me.

Whatever Happened to Worship from A.W. Tozer. A really strong reminder of just what worship is all about, and an urging to pay close attention to avoid worshipping anything other than our creator (like our selves, our favorite kind of music or instruments, our comfortable orders of services...)

The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci ... Hey, I told you I'm a little odd.

Umm... I just realized this post got pretty long, and there are no nice little pictures to distract you, so I think I better shut up! If you read this far, you apparently like to read, too, so check out these books - they're good. If you don't like to read, you probably haven't made it this far, so you won't mind when I say, "Expand you brain, already. Read something!"

11 comments:

  1. ok, ok... sorry about that

    I updated the listing to include the links (sorry it looked like links before). Happy hunting.

    Feel free to add your own suggestions in these comments...

    ReplyDelete
  2. haven't read either of those from mcmanus, but i've read his other two - great.

    miller is really good, though i think blue would have made more sense to me had he written them in reverse... though i'm not sure it would have had the same impact.

    i got a copy of reformission a couple weeks ago for $6 (what a deal), but i haven't started it, yet.

    by the way, if you like a little weird, check out how to think like einstein. it's all about thinking outside your self-imposed boundaries.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brian

    No problem. The links were inadvertently left off anyway. Thanks for the link to Gutenburg. I'd heard of it, but whoah! Lot's of free reading...

    Reeser

    Those two from McManus are even better than the other two. Enjoy Driscoll's book - and thanks for the tip on the Einstein book (I've noticed that link on your blog)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Blogger is far more user friendly, but iMosaic is on xanga... that should change once iMosaic has its own site.

    I know a good many "voices" who use blogger (I have one too), but refuse to sign up on xanga. The only way you can comment on someone's xanga site is to be registered.

    Books are wonderful. Reading is wonderful. If you are interested in reading some stuff on why it is important for us to read and some lovely description of what happens in our brains, read Sven Bikerts material.
    sally

    ReplyDelete
  5. Blogger is far more user friendly, but iMosaic is on xanga... that should change once iMosaic has its own site.

    I know a good many "voices" who use blogger (I have one too), but refuse to sign up on xanga. The only way you can comment on someone's xanga site is to be registered.

    Books are wonderful. Reading is wonderful. If you are interested in reading some stuff on why it is important for us to read and some lovely description of what happens in our brains, read Sven Bikerts material.
    sally

    ReplyDelete
  6. I need some books on inner-city youth ministry. Any suggestions, oh librarian? Susie

    ReplyDelete
  7. oops...

    Busted!
    ----------------
    Anybody with any suggestions for Susie feel free to share, because I'm pretty clueless regarding the inner city.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Susie, don't know what the ethnic composition of your inner city is, but I highly recommend reading, "There are No Children Here".... that more than anything describes the experience from children's perspective.

    Glad to share.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey Susie I thought of something....

    It's not specifically urban, but a great look into teen culture and the world they've created for themselves is the Chap Clark book "Hurt". And it would definitely relate well to your setting Susie.

    Anyone who cares about youth and can get a basic grasp on sociology should read this.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey thanks, Mike. I'll check with our library to see if they have it. :)

    ReplyDelete

Blog Archive

weblogUpdates.ping theoquest http://www.theoquest.blogspot.com/