One Person at a Time...

Eat That Frog!

At the other end of the spectrum, I read Eat that Frog! by Brian Tracy today.  The sub-title:  21 GREAT WAYS TO STOP PROCRASTINATING AND GET MORE DONE IN LESS TIME  sums up the book quite well.  It's a how to that has a great deal of practical help if you're like me and want to make the most of each of the 24 hours that God gives you!  It's a quick read, but one you'll go back to over and over again to implement the advice that will make your time and your life more effective and more efficient!

Velvet Elvis

Read Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell today on the plane trip to Florida.  Awesome book!  Bell's writing style holds the attention from cover to cover, and what he says challenges, comforts, makes you laugh and makes you think.  My favorite quote in a book full of favorite quotes:  If there was ever anyone who didn't have a Messiah complex, it was Jesus!  Bell's transparency, especially about the emptiness of success without wholeness in Jesus AND his view of heaven and hell are worth the price of the book. 

I became a Christian...

I read a great book over the weekend by Vince Antonucci!  It's titled I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt: Replacing Souvenir Religion with Authentic Spiritual Passion.  The book is a fascinating recounting of Vince's life as a non-believer (the first 20 years of his life!), of how NO ONE ever told him about Jesus, and how after becoming a follower, Vince's life has taken radical twists and turns.

While the book is filled with deep insights, couched in humorous and sometimes downright silly language, the most important point I took from the book was:  Jesus doesn't want to have a relationship with us. He wants us to ABIDE in Him. Vince recounts how he had a great friend, with whom he had a great relationship, and did many things together.  Then the friend moved away.  Despite the great relationship, Vince moved on.  He still calls the friend occasionally, but his life hasn't changed all that much because of the friend's move.  In the same way, if we have a relationship with Jesus, and that's it, then Jesus makes life better when He's "around," but if we get busy and forget to invest in the relationship it doesn't make all that much difference.  But if we are ABIDING in Jesus, that is if we have that "branch-vine" relationship that Jesus calls us to then we are in Him and He is in us.  Then, we can't live without Him!  We probably all know that, but Vince has a way of taking things that we all know and driving the home with powerful stories and illustrations.  Go out, buy it and read it ASAP!  You'll be challenged and changed if you take the book to heart.

The Case for the Real Jesus

Lee Strobel has done it again--he's taken a challenge faced by believers, gone to the scholars to get their input, and produced a READABLE apologetic response.  This one is titled The Case for the Real Jesus.  In it Strobel addresses six current attacks on the IDENTITY of CHRIST and reasonable and credible responses to them.  In Strobel's typical fashion, he provides volumes of evidence, but in a manner that is almost "down home."  The Case for the Real Jesus will give you helpful input for engaging friends who may have dismissed Jesus and adopted other "alternatives," AND it will deepen your own faith as you see time and again the reliablity of Jesus and the Bible!

"The Samson Syndrome"

In this not so recent release (Copyrighted in 2003), Mark Atterberry hits one out of the park with The Sampson Syndrome: What You Can Learn from the BADDEST Boy in the Bible.  Atterberry reviews twelve negative (read sinful) tendencies found in Samson and in "strong men" in general, and how we can overcome them through God's guidance and power.  This is a "must read" for anyone who wants to fulfill God's design and calling in life.  Thanks to Jim Brown for recommending it!

Change Your Heart Change Your Life

Dr. Gary Smalley's latest book:  Change Your Heart Change Your Life may well be the most important book I've ever read outside of the Bible.  Notice I didn't say that it was the "best" book I've ever read.  The reason I used the phrase "most important" rather than best, is that the book calls us to change the firmly held beliefs of our hearts to coincide with God's truth in the Bible, and in doing that to see our lives change.  That is vitally important!

The book is amazingly practical and as I read it, I found myself saying time and time again, "I knew that, but he makes it so much clearer and DOABLE than I've ever seen it before."  Smalley's premise is that we become what believe in our hearts, and that those beliefs are put there by our parents, the world, or by God's word.  Beliefs develop by a continual repetition of thoughts--taking literally thousands of repetitions to become beliefs.   For example, if a child grows up hearing her parents say, "You aren't as smart as your brother" over and over again, eventually she believes it.  It becomes a belief in her heart, and she will assume that she is NOT as smart as her brother.  It doesn't matter whether that child trusts Jesus as Savior and Lord, or not, the belief of her inadequacy will remain.  That's because trusting Jesus brings salvation, but it doesn't AUTOMATICALLY bring a change of beliefs.  That takes "hiding" God's word in our hearts as the psalmist put it.  Smalley contends that we must replace the firmly rooted wrong beliefs in our hearts, with God-given beliefs from Scripture.  The book gives specific, doable instruction as to how this happens.

I'm already noticing changes in my behavior that have resisted change for years.  As I meditate on God's word, particularly on the words that address the negative behaviors that come out of my negative beliefs, I'm seeing the behavior change, and eventually that would become the norm, as my belief changes.  THANKS to Dr. Smalley for this outstanding book!

Anger: Handling a Powerful Emotion in a Healthy Way

Gary Chapman has apparently re-released a great book on handling anger!  (I say apparently re-released because the copyright lists 1999 AND 2007).  Chapman helps us understand that anger is not a sin, but we must learn to address it or it will result in sin in our life.  The format offers us opportunities for understanding how to address anger in our own lives, in our marriages, families, and in other people.  The book is both biblical and practical, and I commend it to anyone who has ever struggled with addressing anger in appropriate ways.

They Like Jesus But Not the Church

Just finished Dan Kimball's They Like Jesus But Not the Church.  Muy challenging!  Kimball interviewed many young adults regarding their reasons for liking Jesus, but not the church.  The six primary issues these folks have with the Church is their perception that: 1)  The Church is an organized religion with a political agenda; 2) The Church is judgmental and negative; 3) The Church is dominated by males and oppresses females; 4) The Church is homophobic; 5) The Church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong; and The Church is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally. 

Kimball's book is worth the read for the comments from those who are currently outside the church alone.  He took the time to go one-on-one with a lot of folks and to genuinely hear their concerns.  While you may draw different conclusions on some of the points than he, you have to admit that he's in the trenches making an effort to as he puts it offer an apologetic and an apology for the Church.  The book challenged me to invest more time in the lives of those who are currently unchurched, and to challenge everyone in my sphere of influence who knows Jesus to do the same!  To find out more Dan Kimball

"Facing Your Giants"

Max Lucado has hit the ball out of the park again!  His book "Facing Your Giants," which has been out for a while, finally made it to the top of my "Books to Read" list while I was on vacation last week.  Lucado does his usual amazing job of taking a biblical character who is well-known to us, and making it seem like he's a member of the family---AND that we're one of his.  This time it's the life of David that Lucado tackles.  With each "giant" David faces, Lucado reminds us that when we face similar giants we can either focus on the giant -- in which case we'll fall; or focus on God -- in which case the giant will fall!  If you're facing any major challenges in your life right now, or just the typical challenges we all face day-today, "Facing Your Giants" is an easy, enjoyable, practical and profitable read!

Creating Community

It seems that I'm on a North Point/Andy Stanley binge lately!  The latest book I've read in the North Point Resources series is Creating Community: 5 Keys to Building a Small Group Culture.  What I really liked about this book is the emphasis on a small group "culture"--being a church OF small groups, rather than a church WITH small groups; and the practical way it's written.  While the idea of being a church OF small groups is nothing new--that's the goal of many churches these days, including New Life--the key is that North Point is well on the way to accomplishing it.  Another component of the book that will surprise a lot of you who are familiar with small group ministry and processes is that North Point has come to the conclusion that CLOSED groups are best for building community AND reaching out to those who are disconnected from God and the church.  This is a quick read that will make you think for a long time after you read it---AND if you apply the ideas in it, your church's life and culture could be transformed as is happening at North Point!