Monday, May 26, 2014

Making of Disciples

Lunch Reading: May 25 - 31, 2014

There are some really exciting things going on in the Church.  On the ground, I recently met an amazing group of church planters in my local community.  I found myself drawn to their mission of building churches from the ground up in various college towns.  They talked about spreading the gospel, building a community and exemplifying Christian love.  I would later find out this all comes at a time when existing churches are struggling to keep their doors open and serve our changing communities.  Very interesting...

Coincidentally (I think not!), I also had the awesome opportunity to help launch a few Bible studies and review recent releases by B&H Publishing.  Two titles I previously reviewed have similar themes on the importance of returning to fundamental principles of the faith.  #RecoveringRedemption provides a roadmap to personal change by focusing on the gospel.  Autopsy of a Deceased Church gives practical advice on maintaining healthy churches by remembering the Great Commission.  Another new title, #ThePeopleofGod: Empowering the Church to Make Disciples, ties it all together by describing the process of taking the gospel-saturated Christian in a healthy church and making them a disciple. 

Am I the only one who's spine tingles when I think about all of these pieces moving together?  This is no coincidence that there is a building movement of missionary church planters while respected church leaders are providing roadmaps on how to rebuild our ailing communities.  It's time for revival folks! 

More to come for sure on #ThePeopleofGod after this week's lunchtime reading! 

In My Spare Time
 
#ChildrenoftheDay - This is a amazing study on 1 and 2 Thessalonians.  Beth Moore really goes deep in this one.  Paul's letters are inspiring and so relevant to the issues that many of us struggle with today. Check out Lifeway Women All Access for great excerpts and video clips from the study.


Believing God: Day by Day - A year-long, daily devotional that is modeled after the book, Believing God.  Great daily reminders regarding the importance of "active faith" in our daily walk.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Practicing Humility

Lunch Reading: May 18 - 24, 2014

I came across Humility: An Unlikely Biography of America's Greatest Virtue by David J. Bobb last year when it first released.  I thought it was an interesting title because from Biblical perspective God favors those who are genuinely humble. I was interested to read this book's take on the characteristic, which is really more of a way of life than a trait.  Thus far, its an excellent analysis of how early American leaders George Washington, James Madison, Abigail Adams, Abraham Lincoln, and Frederick Douglas valued humility and the change they were able to bring about in our country by practicing it.   Interestingly, today's culture practically endorses pride and self-promotion.  I'm pretty guilty of buying into it in some respects as I tend to worry too much about Twitter followers and the like.  But I wonder where are those humble leaders that can bring about the change that many of us are desperate for?  Hopefully, they'll be able to break through the noise and help restore our faith and respect in our political and social institutions...

In My Spare Time
 
#ChildrenoftheDay - This is a amazing study on 1 and 2 Thessalonians.  Beth Moore really goes deep in this one.  Paul's letters are inspiring and so relevant to the issues that many of us are struggling with today. Check out Lifeway Women All Access for great excerpts and video clips from the study.


Believing God: Day by Day - A great year-long, daily devotional that is modeled after the book, Believing God.  Great daily reminders regarding the importance of "active faith" in our daily walk.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Proud To Be An American

Lunch Reading: May 11-17, 2014

Falling In Love With America Again - I'm a big fan of the Heritage Foundation.  I used to work near their headquarters and very much enjoyed attending their lunch time policy discussions.  This is actually how I got the idea for the title of this blog.  Sometimes jobs can get a little mind-numbing, but I found exploring new things during my lunch hour breathed new life into my day and then started blogging about my adventures.  Now, I've settled on primarily writing about the books I'm reading.  I was struck by the title of this book by President Jim DeMint and decided to order it.  It seems as though we've gotten away from taking pride in our country.  Growing up on a military base, there were flags everywhere and everyday at a certain time the whole base would stop while they played the National Anthem.  It was awesome!  I'm hopeful that this book will give practical advice on how we can inspire that kind of love and respect for our country in the next generation. 

In My Spare Time
 
#ChildrenoftheDay - This is a amazing study on 1 and 2 Thessalonians.  Beth Moore really goes deep in this one.  Paul's letters are inspiring and so relevant to the issues that many of us are struggling with today.  I'm starting Week 5 and have been moved to tears several times.  Check out Lifeway Women All Access for great excerpts and video clips from the study.


Believing God: Day by Day - Okay, if it's not clear yet, I'm a Beth Moore fanatic.  Several of her books, and Priscilla Shirer's, have been life changing for me.  This book is a year-long, daily devotional that is modeled after the book, Believing God.  Ironically I received the devotional before I ever knew about the book.  After B&H Publishing offered many of Beth Moore's books for free in January, including Believing God, I remembered it and dug around to find it.  How it survived my many moves since I received it is beyond me.  The devotional has been instrumental in my daily struggle to believe God's promises.  Some days it feels like everything is going wrong.  When I wind down in my favorite reading chair at night, I pick this up to remind me that every day has a purpose that is part of His beautiful plan.



Monday, May 5, 2014

Why is it so hard to find a church home?

I can only remember a few times in my life when I wasn't looking (or claiming to be looking) for a church home.  Perhaps its my restless nature, but I've found it very difficult to settle into a church.  I visited many over the years.  Some I would attend sporadically.  Others I would attend regularly and even join a small group and begin to serve.  Eventually, I just couldn't commit.  I would then start my search anew for other options that better suited my needs.

Autopsy of a Deceased ChurchClearly, I am the problem here.  I think for a long time I just wasn't in tune enough with God's will for my life to find my place in a church.  While I still haven't found a church home, during my search I do feel myself asking more why did God bring me to visit a particular church rather than how can it fit my needs and lifestyle.  This to me signifies growth, which I have to claim whenever I can.

It turns out, a number of churches are struggling, too.  I'm sure in part because of flaky folks like me.  In his book, Autopsy of a Deceased Church, Thom Rainer explores some of the self-inflicted reasons churches struggle today.  These include not responding to changes in the community, lack of purpose, and focusing on facilities instead of eternal treasures. I found this fascinating and wondered if my difficulty finding a church was at all related to the difficulty many churches are having finding their own way.

I particularly enjoyed Rainer's discussion of the Great Commission.  He noted that in some dying churches members were unwilling to go into the community and reach out and minister to people.  He closed the discussion with a prayer to be a "Great Commission Christian in a Great Commission Church."  The book is designed for church leaders, but that prayer alone gave me a sense of clarity regarding the top priority in my search for a church home and role as church-goer. 

I highly recommend this book to church leaders, aspiring church leaders, and anyone looking to better understand the qualities of thriving churches.

#ChildrenoftheDay by Beth Moore

As part of my effort to mature as Christian, I've spent quite a bit of time really digging in to the Bible.  I did this initially by faithfully reading Journey, a daily devotional magazine.  I've since broadened my horizons and recently began reading books by authors like Priscilla Shirer and Beth Moore.  Several of the books I read were life changing. 

I'm happy to give a brief introduction to another great one, Children of the Day by Beth Moore.  It is an intense study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians.  I'm only half way through the book, but it's already had a profound impact.  Several times I was moved to tears reading about Paul's love for the Thessalonians and his commitment to spreading the gospel.  Like many of Paul's letters, 1 and 2 Thessalonians covers a lot of issues that are so relevant to our struggles today, like promoting sexual morality, hard work and humility.  Pretty deep stuff!

I'm honored to play a small role in spreading the word about this great study.  Here is a funny time lapse of the video shoot for it: http://youtu.be/VCifpBYWWLE.  Hopefully, I'll be able to share more in the coming days and weeks!