January 5, 2008
Disciplines
I’m reading through a great book right now. It’s called “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life”. It’s a great book outlining 12 disciplines each Christian should pursue. Every Christian should have this book.
June 21, 2007
Desiring God Books only $5
This is from the Desiring God blog. All books at DesiringGod.org are $5 next week. John Piper is an excellent author and totally worth $5 to try him out. Some books I recommend from him:
Desiring God
Sex and the Supremacy of Christ
Don’t Waste Your Life
What Jesus Demands From the World
When the Darkness Will Not Lift, and many others.
Many of his books are available for free to read online, but purchasing them really helps support Desiring God Ministry. So, don’t just go away from my site and check another blog right away. Check this out and buy atleast one book. Remember the sale is June 27, 28.
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All Books for $5
June 21, 2007 | By: Abraham
Category: Current Events
Every book in our store will be $5 on June 27-28, Wednesday and Thursday next week.
No limits, so spread the word.
(This sale is online only.)
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May 15, 2007
Just For Fun
I’ve seen this done a few times on other blogs. Mostly it’s when one guy tags a few other guys, and they have to do this. It’s really interesting to see what comes out by chance. Here’s what to do:
1. Grab the nearest book to you(not just your favorite, but the nearest one to you right now).
2. Turn to page 67
3. Read the very first full sentence on the page.
4. Post the sentence and the book you’re reading it from in the comments section of this post.
Here’s mine: “When people choose unbelief over belief in God, they choose a view of the universe so out of step with reality that it is impossible to live consistently with it.”
This is from “In Search of Certainty: Is there any such thing as truth? If so, can we know it?” by Josh McDowell and Thomas Williams. Let’s what type of stuff comes up.
March 30, 2007
Update on My Goals
A while ago I posted about my goals for this year. The main part of the post was what books I wanted to read through. I’ve kind of mixed them together in my reading. The two from the list that I’m trying to read right now are “Desiring God” by John Piper and “Know the Truth” by Bruce Milne.
Desiring Godis a difficult read at times. I’m not used to a lot of the terms Piper uses. All in all, however, it is an awesome book. The point of the book is finding your ultimate joy in Christ. Doing this brings glory to Him. God’s whole aim in everything he does is to glorify himself. It’s such an awesome way of looking at things. If I can focus on how God may bring glory to himself, I can see things through new lenses and understand so much more. I’m just getting through chapters 1 & 2right now. I know it seems like nothing, but I started with the introduction, and his chapters are long. Also I’m findg it hard to find time for it. But already this book is changing my life.
The other book, “Know the Truth,” is also a difficult read. It’s really helping me to see God as the final authority of truth. He lists different “authorities” that people use to find answers, some of which are based on scripture. They all break down eventually, though, if the Bible is not the final word. The one that I have struggled with the most, and I know others do too, is emotion-based theology. We feel something or rationalize something in our mind. We use this to reach a conclusion, and then we might go to the Bible to back it up. The danger is that you can leave things out or take things out of context enough to basically back up any view you hold. The best thing to do is to be in the Word consistently, which I struggle so much with, and let it reveal truth to you. This will, in turn, shape your emotions and rationalities.
I’m also reading a third book right now that isn’t on my list of “goal books.” It’s called “The Radical Reformission” by Mark Driscoll. Driscoll runs a church of around 6k people in Seattle, WA. He is definitely a pioneer in evangelism, at least at first glance he is. Once you dive deeper into the path he takes and the methods he uses, you realize he is not the pioneer, but he’s following(to the best of his ability) the example of THE Pioneer, Jesus Christ. He talks about how we are on mission every day. Here is a list of a few reasons I just cannot put this book down:
1. Driscoll genuinely has a passion for seeing Christians going into the world on mission.
2. He is brutally open and honest about his own life and struggles.
3. If you want it given to you straight, he is the man for the job. He writes his words how he would say them in casual conversation.
4. He knows what it takes to be a missionary to his culture.
This book is a must-have for anyone stuck in a rut of not being able to impact the world around them. This book will never hit my shelf. When I am done with it it’s going right to a friend of mine. Hopefully, when he’s done with it, it will go to one his. It can’t be stored to collect dust.
March 27, 2007
Next Generation Leader
My Pastor, Steve, gave me a book several months ago. It’s called “The Next Generation Leader,” by Andy Stanley. It’s probably the best book on leadership I’ve read. It’s made up of five essential qualities a leader must possess. It’s geared towards younger leaders, but it’s useful for anyone. As I read it, I kept recognizing these qualities in men I know. The one quality that stood out to me was that a next generation leader must be coachable. Many of the great leaders and successful athletes have coaches. Their coaches don’t teach them how to do what they do so much as observe from the outside.
They can see things in the leader that others may not. The big thing is that a leader must accept the criticism as well as the encouragement from the coach if he wants to be successful. We should find someone who we respect and can trust to take this role. It’s pretty easy to recruit them. All you have to do is ask them to watch you and tell you what you’re doing wrong. Most people will jump at that. I can remember back in high school when I was running cross-country. MY coach filled many more roles for me personally than just being a running coach. But the way he coached was the best way to do it. Most running coaches think they’re a better coach if they can run with you when you’re training. I disagree. My coach, Marty Sobczak, would run but away from us. He would watch us from a distance and up close. I can remember times when he would tell me one little adjustment I needed to make in my form that helped my endurance tremendously. That’s what a leadership coach must be able to do is step outside and observe. I got this book for my two brothers-in-law this Christmas. While reading the book, I saw these qualities in their lives and knew they would benefit from this book. One of them apparently thought I was getting him a joke book or something odd, but when he opened it he seemed very interested in reading it. If you know someone who has a natural leadership quality about them, I would encourage you to buy this book for them. They will thank you later, I pretty much guarantee.
Growing Up Slowly Learning More Every Day 