i LOVE the smell of a book

i know, i know, i'm probably really weird, but...

i LOVE the smell of a book.

i'm not talking about scratch & sniff books either.

it could be a brand new book with fancy gloss pages that has that new car smell...

or a regular average book with that regular page smell...

or even a really old old book with that kind of musty smell... like you just stumbled onto something mysterious in an old chest in an attic somewhere...

don't matter what kind of book. i love the smell.

it's ok if that makes me weird.
i love books and i even love the smell of a book as i sit down to read it. hard to explain, but i love it.

top 10 books i read in 2011

it's becoming somewhat of a tradition for me on renown to post the top 10 books i read each year. (Top 10 list from 2010 HERE. Top 10 from 2009 HERE.)

my planned reading list did change a lot when we found out we were pregnant because i read several books like: Pregnancy Sucks for Men; The Guys Guide to Surviving Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the First Year of Fatherhood; and 30 Things Future Dads Should Know About Pregnancy. but only 1 full on pregnancy/baby book made the list.

*some may accuse me of cheating, but as i often do in my Top 10 lists i have a 3-way tie for 10th.
so, here we go - the Top 10 books i read in 2011:

#10  Getting Things Done - David Allen 
fairly boring read but BRILLIANT strategy & system for productivity. i've implemented the system and it's awesome. worth the boring read.

#10  Evil and the Justice of God - N.T. Wright
good book that caused me to think, but Wright never really offers many helpful solutions.

#10  In This Place - Kim Abernethy
part 1 of a Memoir from a good friend of mine. a moving and emotional account of her time as a missionary in Liberia. a great read.

#9  Freakanomics - Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
BRILLIANT book. these guys are WAY smart and see how the world works differently than anyone else. very "Gladwell-ish". again, the reader is left to come up with practical application on his/her own. but wow... brilliant & fascinating stuff.

#8  Emotional Intelligence 2.0 - Travis Bradberry
the latest on emotional intelligence - complete with a test to rank yourself + strategies to improve. extremely practical action plans.

#7  Strengths Based Leadership - Tom Rath
The newest book in the Strengths revolution. This one focuses on helping leaders lead from their strengths and how to recognize and lead others through their specific strengths.

#6  Fields of Gold - Andy Stanley
awesome little book on what God and Paul said about giving. so simple, yet so powerful. it's pretty obvious what money is for and the reason God blesses it with us. if we want to keep being blessed with more we better be giving it away. thanks to Andy for making it so painstakingly clear.

#5  The Likeability Factor - Tim Sanders
almost like a modern Carnegie with a new "9 Ways". very relevant and practical.

#4  Under the Dome - Stephen King
wow. the best ever from the best ever. over 1,000 pages and i couldn't put it down. this thing kept me up until i fell asleep with it on my face at 4am many mornings. it was like Lost meets The Stand meets Lord of the Flies. simply brilliant.

#3  Love Wins - Rob Bell
yep, loved it. very moving. very powerful. very refreshing. i didn't even read any heresy... which may make me a heretic for saying that, but nothing i can do about that i guess? and please, don't send me hate comments or mail until you have actually held the book in your own hands and read it cover to cover. happy to have a conversation then.

#2  The Baby Bump - Carley Roney + thebump.com
this is the 2nd best book i read in 2011, but largely based on context of the timing i read it in. it was SO helpful for me. i recommend it to every soon-to-be dad to figure out what the heck is going on during pregnancy and after. so helpful, practical, and easy to follow.

#1  Humility - Andrew Murray
i've already written on this book several times including HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. so, i don't need to say much more other than i never expected this book to be the best book i would read all year, but WOW. it rocked my world. SO thankful for this little book i picked off my late grandmother's shelf. changing my life...

now, i'd love to hear your top books you read in 2011!

it's over: no more Borders

Borders is done. it's over.

Borders was my favorite store. it was the best bookstore in my opinion because... well, let's see, it was the coolest, most posh, 5 minutes from my house, brilliant & visually pleasing set up that was way better than all the rest, + always had the best selection in store. need more reasons?

pretty much every time i went to the mall the past 5 years i parked at and walked through Borders. the time duration of that walk through directly depended on whether or not my wife was with me.

books.
it's like my 1 thing.
i'm a reading junky.
and Borders was my Mecca. in fact i referred to it as just that.
often.

even driving by the mall and seeing the huge towering Borders made my heart beat faster.

i was thinking just the other day why i like walking through so much? i know i'm not going to buy anything.
why do i love to walk through and look at all the books in all the different sections. i'm sure i could look through them faster on the internet.
i think it's because i love the thrill of actually picking them up and looking at them. holding them in my hands. it's refreshing.

i am so thankful that when i saw on Twitter that Borders was closing we went last Thursday - when Borders was still Borders. i enjoyed it one last time.

because now Borders is already gone. it's dead and no more. That's not Borders that's still open at the corner of Northlake Mall. it has already ceased to be what it once was.
as my wife put it - "it's a hot mess in here."

it sucks. it went from the best, coolest, "poshest" bookstore ever to... a nasty garage sale.
from the UGLY "going out of business" signs all over the windows to the books scattered randomly all about, etc...
people rushing about like scavengers/vultures.

as soon as we pulled up and i saw the ridiculously nasty "GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE. EVERYTHING MUST GO!"  signs i commented to my wife about how they had "lost" it. but then she pointed out that there's nothing left to preserve.

wow. i'm sure there are a lot more profound thoughts & illustrations just about that above thought. when an organization loses any fight to preserve what it is. you can see it happen long before they go out of business.
but i guess whether or not they're still truly "in business" at that point is debatable.

so long Borders. or "Farewell" as your president put it in the email. you will be missed. i hope someone else moves in - Walden, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, anybody...
but they won't be as cool as you.

sticky ideas

i have spent the last 7 years of my life and plan to spend the rest of my life sharing some really really important ideas. not my ideas, but Jesus' ideas. ideas about love, about joy for all peoples of all nationalities, ideas about social justice, ideas about this Kingdom/Revolution that's coming to fix what's broken and making all things new.

but, if the ideas i share don't stick in peoples heads & hearts and CHANGE how they live... it's a waste.

i have GOT to spend MORE time on making the ideas that i present STICKY instead of spending time on just the content itself.

best book i read last year (2010) was Made to Stick by brothers Chip & Dan Heath.

so much great, practical stuff in this book, but here is just a small sampling/intro:
- The truth that there are tons of great ideas that simply NEVER stick. that's a problem. [just think about that one]
- The curse of knowledge - the authors brilliantly point out that "the curse of knowledge" works against us in trying to communicate effectively. we have so much knowledge in an area that it makes it impossible for us to imagine what it's like for someone who lacks that knowledge.
- if you have to tell someone the same thing 10 times, then the idea was NOT very well designed. [wow! how many times do we talk about this in church world!? that we have to say stuff 10 times before people even hear it once.]
- creating sticky ideas can be LEARNED! it can be systematic. that's what this model is for. and tomorrow's post is all about HOW to make your idea sticky!

that model i'll share with you tomorrow has become my Framework for all things creative and everything i communicate.

thx to the Heath bros for writing this awesome book!

3 new books

just when I think I’m finished with my 2011 reading list (you can see HERE) I have to add MORE books. For some reason I always forget about the books that WILL COME OUT later in the year!

So, here are 3 that I’m adding to my list for this year. 2 just came out this month & the other comes out in the Fall.

Naked Spirituality – Brian McLaren

I always read everything this guy writes. One of my fav authors (if not my ultimate fav). Stoked to read this newest one.

Love Wins – Rob Bell

Not many who haven’t heard the hype around this book already. Pretty sure I know what he says on the topic, but looking forward to reading it. I’ve heard the 1^st few chapters are absolutely amazing.

*I already have my copies on hold/reserved at the library for both of these books above. Will be in my hands soon.

EntreLeadership – Dave Ramsey

I’ve read pretty much all the $ books Dave has written. Some call me a Ramsey-ite. But this is his 1^st non-financial book. I love learning Leadership stuff from Dave… so excited about this book coming in the Fall.

Not sure if I’ll bump 3 other books from my list, but I know I’ll be reading these 3.

flying

in one of the best books i've ever read this guy talks about what to do with the vision God births in your soul.

and he actually starts out talking about the Wright brothers and their vision to build the 1st ever airplane. (i've actually got a crazy story about THE SPOT where that 1st airplane took off from... you'll have to ask me about it.)


Here's what Andy said that grabbed me - "experience sparked in the boys an insatiable desire to fly… So they immediately went to work removing the obstacles that stood between them and their dream.”

what is that spark in you? what do you have an insatiable desire to do? you may not want to build an airplane and fly but you would say you have an insatiable desire to ___________?

have you started removing the obstacles yet?

the honorable mentions

not to be confused with "unmentionables", these are the honorable mention books who made my initial 2011 book list, but when the final cuts had to be made these had to go... they're still sitting on my shelf, so maybe i'll get to them one day.

the point of this is hopefully to highlight my new reading philosophy that i wrote about HERE. these are some REALLY GOOD books i'm intentionally choosing NOT to read. to focus on just the great stuff, a lot of good has to be sacrificed.

boiling it down to the final 15 was REALLY hard. here's some of the books that made it so hard:
Lynchpin – Seth Godin

Radical - David Platt

Wild Goose Chase – Mark Batterson

Bioethics – Gilbert Meilaender

A Primer on Postmodernism – Stanley Grenz

The End for Which God Created the World – Jonathan Edwards

Tribes – Seth Godin

Mavericks at Work – William Taylor

Rework – Jason Fried

Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long – David Rock  

Wide Awake – Erwin McManus

The Intelligent Entrepreneur: How Three Harvard Business School Graduates Learned the 10 Rules of Successful Entrepreneurship – Bill Murphy, Jr.

Making ideas happen - Scott Belsky

Rescuing Ambition – Dave Harvey

Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long – David Rock 

When I Don’t Desire God – John Piper

The Jesus of Suburbia – Mike Erre

Trusting God – Jerry Bridges

Brothers We are Not Professionals – John Piper

Primal – Mark Batterson

The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins

Microtrends – Mark Penn 

Justice – Michael Sendel

The Revolution: A Field Manual for Changing Your World – Heather Zydek

Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Love – Saint Augustine

The Gospel of the Kingdom – George Ladd

Humility –Andrew Murray

The Biography of George Muller – A.T. Pierson 

The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni

Corageous Leadership – Bill Hybels

Leadership – Rudolph Giuliani  

The One Thing You Need to Know – Marcus Buckingham

Crazy Good Sex – Les Parrott

The Modern Kama Sutra – Kamini and Kirk Thomas

Think and Grow Rich - Napolean Hill

This is over 40 great books that didn't make my list! maybe another year.

my new reading philosophy

i mentioned earlier this year while scripting my 2011 reading list that i'm going to be reading fewer books... like maybe only 12-15. not because i'm just lazier this year - but it's very strategic and intentional.

my new reading/learning philosophy/strategy actually came from a book i read in 2010. Phillip Jenkins (a new authority on Global Christianity) wrote "The world is simply changing too quickly for printed books to keep pace."

That line actually had nothing to do with his book, but it was the most impacting for me when i read it back in September. i haven't stopped thinking about that and have changed my philosophy accordingly. That line is strikingly true. In our age, print media is dying. Print newspapers and magazines will be obsolete in my generation. Printed books will never go out of style (i don't think), but they are extremely behind.

my new reading philosophy/strategy:
1.  so, part of my new strategy is to obviously read fewer books this year. But i'll keep reading just as much... it just won't be books.

all the pressure is off me to try to read 50 books again this year. i'm gunning for 12-15 at a chillin' pace. [that 12-15 ends up turning into around 30 pretty easily with all the books i'll read that don't "count". more on that later.]

2.  i will be reading a TON more magazines, online articles, blogs, and e-magazines. These are the mediums that CAN keep pace with our changing world! so i'll turn my focus more to these resources.
[i have a couple subscriptions (CT and Relevant) that i haven't read in over a year because of book reading being my #1 priority.]

i hesitated at 1st to do this because it's harder to measure progress with articles. when you finish a book, that's a big accomplishment. when you read 50 then that's awesome. Articles are so different that they're difficult to measure. but i'll read a minimum of 10 articles per week = Catalyst articles, New York Times, the above mentioned magazines, top blogs, etc... that will be at least 500 articles in 2011 - which will realistically end up being more like 1,000 as i'm already reading closer to 20 a week with the help of my iPhone when stuck in a line somewhere and situations like that.

3.  a way bigger focus on compiling my notes/takeaways from the books i read. The whole purpose is to put into practice what i've learned. it's all about helping me be more effective in life, not just reading a certain amount of books. so, i'll read less for more. (less books, more effective results.)

4.  a change in the kind of books i'll read. i'm mainly going to read the TOP books. i can't waste time on books that everyone isn't raving over. and i'll only read books that contain helpful stuff i can't get anywhere else.

5.  + i read books to improve. all about the knowledge i get that can make me better. if i can get that same helpful knowledge from a book summary or a blogger's takeaways on a book then that's EVEN BETTER. i'll read that instead of committing to read the whole book. i'll still learn probably almost the same stuff, but it only takes 5% of the time!

there you go. that's why my reading list is WAY smaller. i'll be posting my 2011 reading list (and maybe the books that got cut) soon.

What is YOUR reading philosophy and what do you think of my new one?

50 books (the 1st 25)

Yesterday i mentioned that i met my goal and read 50 books this year. That is the most i've ever read in 1 year! That was my goal at the beginning of the year and i met it.

Over the next 2 blog posts i'm just going to list the books i read this year and write a few thoughts about each of them. Maybe a recommendation of the book (or not). Maybe you'll want to pick up a couple and read them?
i also give them a 1-5 star rating after the author's name (5 stars being the best, of course).
(I'm just posting the books here in the order that i read them during the year. the most recent 25 i read coming up in the next post.)

Believing in the Future – David J. Bosch    ***

The 1^st book I read this year and it was a brilliant way to kick off a new decade. Bosch wrote this last decade before his early death and really predicted the post modern shifts that are continuing to happen and he told us what the church should be ready to do about it.

Crazy Love (re-read) – Francis Chan    ****

I read this last year and took a bunch of notes on it, but had to re-read it after I lost my notes. This is classic PASSIONATE Francis Chan. Very raw and authentic. This will always be a good read no matter how many times I’ve read it. It renews my sense of awe in a BIG God and kicks me into gear to live a radical life following Him.

Blink – Malcolm Gladwell     ****

I don’t think Malcolm is able to write a book that isn’t amazingly brilliant. He never ceases to amaze me. This book is all about the split second decisions we have to make with no info. It explores our prejudices we don’t believe we have and the world of predictions, snap judgments, and how our brain works.

The Gospel in a Pluralist Society – Lesslie Newbigin     ****

A classic from the father of missional theology for western society. This guy basically laid the foundational theology for what is today the emerging & emergent church… or really any church seeking to be missional in western culture. This was a really great book with so so many great chapters and concepts. Plus he is from Newcastle upon Tyne… home of the Magpies :)

The Humanity of God - Karl Barth     *

You can start to see my commitment to read more dead guys. Barth is one of the most famous German theologians since Martin Luther, not to mention the main name you think of when you hear “modern theology.” Honestly this book was just OK though.

Kite Runner – Khaled Housseni     *****

The best fiction I’ve read besides Harry Potter in a really long time. Maybe it’s even just as good as Harry… just different. An amazing story of childhood friendship, betrayal, redemption. It’s a very emotional story and a book that you literally cannot put down. I stayed up all night one night to read it.

The Imitation of Christ – Thomas a’ Kempis     *

Another dead guy. This one must not have been so great because I really can’t remember much about it. I’ll have to look back at my notes.

Good to Great (re-read) – Jim Collins     *****

Another one I lost my notes on so I had to re-read it and take notes again. It is a simply awesome book! It was in my top 5 in 2009. EVERY leader needs to read this book. I would recommend reading it twice like I did.

The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Doestoevsky     **

I was trying this classic work of fiction and it was LONG. Like 1,200 pages. REALLY really long. And it was a complicated story to follow at times with so many characters with unfamiliar names, etc… They would go into these long dialogues off subject and totally lose me. I guess it was a good story but could have been told in less than half the pages.                                   

The Gospel According to Lost - Chris Seay     ***

Now this was a FUN book. If you’re a LOST fan and a follower of Jesus then this is a must read. Seriously. It is amazing to see into the brains of the writers of the show and how they worked in endless theology, biblical imagery, and philosophy. The classic battle between good and evil + determinism and free will rage on in this show and this book makes sure you don’t miss any of the hidden meanings.

Religion Saves: And 9 Other Misconceptions – Mark Driscoll     ***

I love Mark Driscoll. He is awesome and entertaining. Although on other days I dislike Mark Driscoll very much. If you can appreciate that kind of tension then you’ll love this book. It’s basically his 10 week sermon series based on the top 10 questions peeps in his church asked. He’ll make you laugh and tick you off back to back. 1 guarantee is that you will NOT get bored reading this book.

Don’t Waste Your Life (re-read) – John Piper     ****

Most of you know I love John Piper. I read this one a few years ago and the same great stuff was still there this time. I won’t lose my notes on it this time. You gotta read this to make sure you’re not going to waste your life! It’s too important to waste it. And if you’re just going along with the flow of culture then I can pretty much guarantee you’re wasting it.

           

The Dip – Seth Godin     ***

“Quitters never win and winners never quit.” – Vince Lombardi. * “Bad advice. Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.” Great little book. I think I read it in an hour. Basically the advice is either GO FOR IT and see it all the way through after having counted the cost or just quit now and don’t waste all that initial effort.

A Long Way Gone – Ishmael Beah     ***

The subtitle accurately describes this book = “Memoirs of a Boy Soldier”. It is a heart breaking book. Don’t read this book lightly. I would read it at night as I fell asleep and I would wake up in the morning depressed from what I read. There was a heavy, horrible feeling suppressing me. This book is full of sadness and no hope is really offered (Other than the kid is rescued… against his will that point). I would still read it again because of the eye-opening bluntness of the power of rebel wars in Africa and the atrocity that is the recruiting of child soldiers. It is real and it should not exist in our world. What are we gonna do about it?

The E-Myth Revisited – Michael Gerber     **

This book is all about entrepreneurs. About entrepreneurs and for entrepreneurs. A lot about how to start successful companies and orgainizations. It’s very helpful and very practical. It is honestly kind of boringly written, but still a huge best seller if that tells you how helpful it is.

Developing the Leader Within You (re-read) – John Maxwell     *****

I think this is Maxwell’s best book ever. It is an extremely helpful book for me continuously trying to improve as a leader. There are so many great ideas, principles, and practical tips to help us all develop as better leaders.

Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis     **

Another classic. Maybe one of the most famous Christian books of the last century or 2? The 1^st part was pretty good. It was a classic apologetic argument for God and Christianity (which is questionable as to whether that is effective at all for a postmodern generation). But the rest of the book, for me, was struggling. I found myself counting down how long til the book was finished. Just sayin…

Killing Cockroaches – Tony Morgan     ***

This was probably the 2^nd best “pot book” I’ve ever read. It’s the perfect layout – short little 1-2 page articles on leadership and ministry. And there were a LOT of great, practical articles. Good leadership stuff from Tony.

Satisfaction: The Art of Female Orgasm – Kim Cattrall and Mark Levinson     ***

Really valuable practical advice! Really important stuff. Shoots straight with you. I would guess that everybody needs to read this.           

The Money Answer Book – Dave Ramsey     ***

Another great “pot book” I read this year. All of Dave Ramsey’s wisdom condensed down into a tiny little book. If you don’t follow Dave’s financial advice, but are scared of reading a big long book then just start with this one! You should retire as a multi-millionaire and shouldn’t have any money stress if you follow Dave’s advice.

The Forgotten God – Francis Chan     ***

I listened to this audiobook and was definitely convicted several times. We’ve basically forgotten the Holy Spirit.

The Pursuit of God – A.W. Tozer     ***

This was my grandmother’s book, so it was special to read this copy of the book that she once read even all these years after she has been gone. Tozer is a good author and says a lot of good stuff in this book. Louie recommended it to me too.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Kama Sutra – Ron Louis     ***

This was way better and easier to read than the real/original Kama Sutra! I guess that’s why they call it the idiot’s guide. Really simple and practical.

The Poor Will Be Glad – Peter Greer and Phil Smith     ****

Introducing (to many of us) the world of micro-finance and micro-enterprise that will change the world for Good. Just $100 will radically change a family’s life and lift them out of poverty forever by empowering them to start a small business! This is something I want to be a part of for the rest of my life.

Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell     ****

This book is so fascinating – as are all of Malcolm Gladwell’s books. This one is all about Success and what makes people successful/how they become successful. And it’s NOT what you think! A lot of it has nothing to do with what they can do. It’s factors that they have no control over that make them successful. BUT, some of us will be in positions to manipulate these factors for the common good and to make it possible for more and more people to be successful.


**There you have it. 
have you read any of these books? how many stars would you give them? Are there any of these you've been thinking about reading?

50 books

My goal at the beginning of 2010 was to read 50 books and i nailed it.

There were a few times i didn't think i would make it, but for the 1st time i read 50 books in 1 year.

Next year will be very different. i'll only set out to read about 12 books and i'll explain my strategy later.

Tomorrow i'll try to write a little blurb about the 50 books i've read...

quotes of the week #24

quotes of the week are back after a short respite. 24th edition. you can read the "disclaimer" on the 1st "qotw" HERE.
(i also tagged them all so you can click on the tag "quotes of the week" on the bottom right of this blog to see all 24 qotw... or just use the handy dandy search box on the top left of this blog.)
[my thoughts are in these brackets]

#1 quote of the week:
“Comfort makes cowards of us all.” – Michael Gerber, in E-Myth Revisited.
[he was speaking in a specific context but this is a PRINCIPLE that really applies to everything! imho, comfort halts world changing movements in their tracks every day.  i say, forget comfort. who needs it? what a waste.]

“Paradox = Jesus welcomes the children, but sends away the rich man. The world welcomes the rich man, but sends the children away.” – Scott Grace, my friend and a very smart man. [Scott is a really great, thoughtful writer. (way better than me.) you need to read his awesome blog HERE.]

“We can’t fix every problem, but the ones we can, we must. And because we can, we must.” - Bono. [right on man. let's quit worrying about all we can do & do what we can!]

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou

"You've got to preach for an audience of one. Otherwise you'll ride the roller coaster of people's opinion." – mark batterson, pastor and author.

“If God wants us home no doctor can keep us here and if God wants us here no disease can take us home.” – John Piper, pastor & author.

“Don’t be embarrassed about where you’re starting, just be embarrassed if you don’t start at all." - Chris Brown, my pastor. 

[he said this in the context of new believers but i believe this goes for everyone across the board. Who cares if you're starting something new and you're "behind"... forget that, just go for it. no shame in starting from scratch! but there's definitely shame in not starting at all!]

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” – Thomas Edison (surely you don't need a link)

[i need to hear that this week... maybe most weeks.]

“Don’t just read a book to read a book. Read a book to be transformed.” – tony morgan, strategist, author, & my "leadership coach"

[this is my philosophy exactly. i love it.]

“Let’s move away from an ‘us and them’ world and realizing that it’s about all of us and the kind of world that we together want to live in and share.” – Jaqueline Novograts, (@ TED Global) [speaking in a context of microfinance in Africa. what a great recommendation and way of life for all of us.]

WHICH IS YOUR FAV QUOTE?

fire

today i read The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. it was the 1st book i had ever read by Tozer. I put a Tozer book on my list to read this year because he was a "mentor" of one of my "mentors" (using "mentor" loosely - via influence at a distance) - Louie Giglio. He has influenced me as much as anyone and he says the same about Tozer. In fact, i even asked Louie which Tozer book he would recommend that i start off with. The Pursuit of God was 1 of the 3 he said to start with.

i read the whole thing today. well, some dude read it to me as i worked all morning at my side job. i was digging it and took several pages of notes.

Here was the 1st statement i loved. it's from Tozer's preface to the book.

"If my fire is not large, it is real. And there may be those who can light their candle at its flame."

That is beautiful to me. that is what's in my heart too. there's a burning fire in my heart and it just keeps burning. it's all for God's fame. My heart is pursuing Him relentlessly.
Now, i don't know how big my fire is. it's probably not pretty or cool or current or well-worded or the best fire around... but it is real.

And one of my prayers and aims with writing this blog is that my fire might just allow someone to "light their candle at its flame."
right on A-Dub.

11 reasons why we MUST study culture (part 2)

Read part 1 with the 1st 5 reasons = HERE. I gave a lot of preface thoughts too. The list is from Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger.

Basically, these posts are all about why we should act like missionaries (because we are) here in the West and study our culture in order to contextualize the gospel in it!

6            ***Because the Majority of Current Church Practices are Cultural Accommodations to a Society That No Longer Exists ***

“Much of what we understand as historical church practices are simply cultural adaptations that occurred at other times and places in church history. The church must ‘de-absolutize’ many of its sacred cows in order to communicate afresh the good news to a new world.”

*Example = the Protestant Reformation was all about a Linear progression of thought, highly reasoned exegesis, and expository preaching. These things illustrated the new culture’s focus on the written word! (print culture)

and we also at times removed the symbolic, mystical, and experiential to make a space for logical and linear ways of thinking and living!

"We MUST be aware of the ways we’ve worshipped written culture at the expense of oral, aural, and visual worlds.” **
[and that's just 1 example]

7            Because the Primary Mode and Style of Communication in Western Culture Have Changed

All faithful missionaries must understanding the language of culture! The Church has been really slow to adopt new communication technologies.

These new technologies aren’t faddish, but are “the very essence of how people today construct their worlds.”

This is maybe the spot where church is most out of step with culture! The Reformation contextualized the gospel for the print era, but we haven’t had another reformation as we moved out of the print era! = to bring the gospel to our image-based era.

We “continue to communicate a verbal, linear, and abstract message to a culture whose primary language consists of sound, visual images, and experience, in addition to words.”
[we simply need to wake up and get with it. start being missionaries and contextualize our message to reach our culture!]

*current styles of preaching are having diminishing impact. Communicators must understand the comprehensive nature of language in order to be heard by culture! 

[I'm just trying to wrap my head around it. but i know it's more holistic. the message and the medium are more intertwined than I have always thought.]

8            Because a New Culture Means that New Organizational Structures are Required

Basically, seeing ourselves as missionaries we must rethink inherited ways of administering church in our times. What of our current structures are dictated by modernity not the Bible? I don't know... we just need to rethink as objectively as we can.

9            Because Boomers Are the Last Generation That is Happy with Modern Churches

It's very interesting to me that the huge wave of Boomer returnees to church had no parallel in Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand! (more fully postmodern cultures)

*the postmodern generation is “disillusioned with institutionalism and sees the church itself as an obstacle to faith.” That’s why postmodern generations simply “ignore the organized church as irrelevant to their spiritual quest.”
wow! that's pretty hard to swallow.

***of course this postmodern shift is NOT a generational thing! That’s way oversimplifying complex issues. Those of you who keep saying that it's just generational need to WAKE UP AND PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND! It's not only here to stay, but becoming more and more our way of life. get used to it.

*Again, Gibbs & Bolger back me up that it’s NOT a generational thing! = “Generational issues are imbedded in the much deeper cultural and philosophical shift from modernity to postmodernity.”

Interesting -> Boomers are the last gen to be satisfied with a modern church service that is linear, word based, and abstract. Postmoderns need rituals, visuals, and touch. [not even sure what this new style will look like?]

10            Because of the Increasing Appeal of Spirituality Derived from Other Religions

“The church is sending spiritually minded people to strive after other religions because it has become secularized.”

Wow. that is a hard core indictment. I need to rethink it. in what ways has the church ceased to be spiritual? Have we done it intentionally?

11            Because Many Christians No Longer Follow the Religion of Their Parents

 “no longer does one adopt the traditions of one’s parents. Individuals make their own religious choices.”

**For the 1^st time (at least in American history) religion is chosen rather than received.

The individual is figuring it out for themselves. And that's the way it should be! I think that is awesome. We have the chance to raise up a generation of crazy passionate Jesus followers! But we gotta study our culture to figure out how to best do that! 

These authors sum it up best = “Ultimately, Christians who want to serve within Western culture must be trained as missionaries.”

OK, reasons #6-11... what do you think?

my FINAL 2010 reading list!

I finally completed my 2010 reading list! (the books I'm going to read this year.) I have been working on it for 2 months and have been extremely strategic and intentional in compiling this list!

*I divided the books I'll read into 5 categories:

1 - Theology - which is actually broken into 3 "sub-categories":

  General - just current books on God, theology, and the Church & what I'm trying to learn

  Classics by dead guys - I realized a few years ago I was reading all new books. This is my attempt to learn from all the great dead guys!

  Mission - One of the things I'm most passionate about = God's Mission (Global & local).

2 - Leadership - I desperately want to be a better leader... a great leader in fact. That's my audacious goal. So, I am trying to learn from the best.

3 - Culture - I'm reading these in an attempt to be in tune with current Western and Global culture, + read some fun books, + keep in touch with the books "everyone" has read/is reading, etc...

4 - Sex & Marriage - just like I want to be a better leader, I want to be a better husband and better at sex! I want to be great in fact, so I'm going to keep learning.

5 - Spirituality and Personal Development - These are some of my favorite types of books to read! Very practical and life changing. For my spiritual development and relationship with God + personal development to make me better at what I do.

*Below I simply list the title of the book and the author's name. (No links because that would take forever. If you're interested you can just google the book or author yourself!)

THEOLOGY

General
A New Kind of Christianity: 10 Qs That Are Transforming the Faith – Brian McLaren
God Is the Gospel – John Piper
Emerging Churches – Gibbs & Bolger
Grasping God’s Word - Duvall & Hays
Religion Saves: And 9 Other Misconceptions - Mark Driscoll
Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches – Driscoll, Kimball, Pagitt, etc...
Adventures in Missing the Point – Tony Campolo & Brian McLaren

Classics (by dead guys)
He Is There and He Is Not Silent – Francis Schaeffer
The Pursuit of God – A.W. Tozer
The Humanity of God – Karl Barth
The End for Which God Created the World – Jonathan Edwards
The Imitation of Christ – Thomas A’Kempis
The Autobiography of George Muller – George Muller
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis

Mission
The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative – Christopher J. H. Wright
The Poor Will Be Glad – Greer & Smith
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society – Lesslie Newbigin
Believing in the Future – David J. Bosch
The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity - Philip Jenkins
The Emerging Church – Dan Kimball
 

LEADERSHIP

Developing the Leaders Around You – John Maxwell
Leadership – Rudolph Guiliani
Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
Made to Stick – Chap Heath
Influencer: The Power to Change Anything - Kerry Patterson
Killing Cockroaches – Tony Morgan
10 Stupid Things that keep Churches from Growing – Geoff Surratt
Microtrends – Mark Penn

CULTURE

How Soccer Explains the World – Franklin Foer
The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling
Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 – Steve Stockman
Memoirs of a Boy soldier – Ishmael Beah
The Gospel According to Lost - Chris Seay
The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoevsky
Das Kapital - Karl Marx
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
Kite Runner - Khaled Housseni

SEX and MARRIAGE

Satisfaction: The Art of… – Kim Cattrall
The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Kama Sutra – Ron Louis
The Love Dare - Stephen and Alex Kendrick

SPIRITUALITY and PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ – John Piper
ReUnderstanding Prayer: A Fresh Approach to Conversation with God – Kyle Lake
Blink – Malcolm Gladwell
Taste and See – Piper
The Money Answer Book – Dave Ramsey
7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey
Freakanomics – Levitt & Dubner

also a few "Re-reads"

I forgot to mention these. I took notes on them in my infamous "red notebook" that was lost so I'm going to re-read them and take notes again!

Good to Great - Jim Collins

Developing the Leader Within You - John Maxwell

Don't Waste Your Life - John Piper

All in all there are over 50 books and well over 10,000 pages I hope to read this year! I better get started!

I would love to hear if YOU have read any of these AND what's on YOUR 2010 reading list!

rough draft of my 2010 reading list (work in progress)

I wanted to set a goal to read 42 books this year, but I think my goal needs to be around 35. I am going to concentrate on putting my takeaways from the books I read into action, which means I'll need to devote more time to that instead of reading.

Each year I want to read AT LEAST: 1 book about marriage, 1 book about sex, and 1 book about money. + a lot of books on leadership, personal development, my relationship with God, theology, culture, ministry, social justice, etc...
I want to spread out the books I read into these categories. That's why I list them below in categories. Obviously many of the books overlap into several categories so I just put them in one. (I also try to read a balance of dead authors from different eras.)

*I'm so intentional about the books I read because there are SO MANY books and SO LITTLE time! So I have to be extremely strategic about the books I choose to read. I am committed to only reading the best books for me!
So, I need to narrow this below list down to about 35 books. I would LOVE your suggestions based on this initial list. If a book sucks then you can tell me and save me from wasting my time reading it! If you've read one of these & it's awesome then let me know so I'm sure to include it in my list! Or if a book definitely needs to be on my list that's not, then tell me that too!

Here are the books I'm considering reading this year broken down into categories:

Theology (18) 

Believing in the Future – David J. Bosch

The Mission of God – Christopher Wright

The Gospel in  Pluralist Society – Leslie Newbigin

A New Kind of Christianity – Brian McLaren (releases in February)

The Gospel of the Kingdom – George Ladd

The Church in Emerging Culture – Edited by Leonard Sweet + Horton, McManus, McLaren, etc…

The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity - Philip Jenkins

Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches – Edited by Robert Webber + Kimball, Driscoll, Pagitt, Burke, Ward 
Perspectives on the World Christian Movement - Ralph Winter

He is There and He is Not Silent - Francis Schaeffer

The Poor Will Be Glad – Greer & Smith

Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis

God Is the Gospel - John Piper 

Emerging Churches – Gibbs/Bolger

The Humanity of God - Karl Barth

The End for Which God Created the World - Jonathan Edwards

Justification - N.T. Wright

Culture (12)
How Soccer Explains the World: An [Unlikely] Theory of Globalization – Franklin Foer

Justice – Michael Sendel

The God Delusion – Richard Dawkins

Microtrends – Penn

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling

The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoevsky

Das Kapital - Karl Marx

The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier - Ishmael Beah 
Walk On: U2 - Steve Stockman

Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini 
Why We Can't Wait - Martin Luther King, Jr.

My Relationship with God (8) 

The Jesus Creed – Scot McKnight

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ - John Piper

Prayer – Kyle Lake

The Imitation of Christ - Thomas A' Kempis

Understanding God’s Will – Kyle Lake

Ragamuffin Gospel – Brennan Manning

What Jesus Demands From the World - John Piper

The Autobiography of George Muller - George Muller

Personal Development (8)
The Revolution: A Field Manual for Changing Your World - Heather Zydek

The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch

Brothers We are Not Professionals – John Piper

Blink – Malcolm Gladwell

7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

Freakanomics – Levitt & Dubner
The Power of Words and the Wonder of God – Piper, Driscoll, etc…
Mavericks at Work - William Taylor

Money (1) 
The Money Answers Book – Dave Ramsey

Leadership/ Ministry Strategy (10)

Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell

Made to Stick – Chap Heath

Tribes – Seth Godin

Killing Cockroaches - Tony Morgan
Leadership – Rudolph Guiliani 

Worship Evangelism  - Sally Morgenthaler

10 Stupid Things that keep Churches from Growing – Geoff Surrat (*kindle edition)

Good to Great and the Social Sectors - Jim Collins

Developing the Leaders Around You - John Maxwell

Corageous Leadership - Bill Hybels

Marriage (4)
Love & Respect - Emerson Eggerichs

Now You're Speaking My Language - Gary Chapman

Captivating – John and Stasi Elderidge

Every Man's Marriage - Stephen Arterburn

Sex (4)
Sex and the Supremacy of Christ - John Piper

Satisfaction: The Art of... - Kim Cattrall

The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Kama Sutra – Ron Louis
Intended for Pleasure - Ed Wheat

Ok, I would LOVE your feedback & recommendations! I have to narrow this list down from 65 to 35!
Tell me your opinions!

all the books I read in 2009

I only read 21 books this year, well short of the 31 I read last year. At my pastor & mentor's recommendation I tried to spend more time on typing my notes/takeaways from the books I read & then implementing their awesomeness into my life to make me a better husband, leader, Jesus follower, etc... (I guess you can ask Jesus, the people I lead, and my wife how that all worked out...)

I'll list all the books I read but will really just comment on the books that did NOT make my top 10 list. You can read my top 10 list of books I read in 2009 and my thoughts on them HERE.

These are listed in the order of when I read them during the year.

The Secret Message of Jesus - Brian McLaren
this was tied for the #1 book I read all year.

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day - Mark Batterson
This was a really great book. You can read it really fast. He says a lot of awesome, yet simple stuff. Almost "rick warrenish"... His blog is full of good little short posts that are right on. I look forward to reading his next one Wild Goose Chase & then his latest Primal. one of these days I'll get around to them.

The Truth About You - Marcus Buckingham
This was my #5 book of the year. If you've never read Buckingham then pick this one up today!

The Last Word and the Word After That - Brian McLaren
This was the final book in McLaren's awesome "New Kind of Christian" trilogy. The 1st one was the best, but McLaren is such a great writer that everything he writes is awesome. This is an awesome fiction trilogy and this finale was great. I had followed these characters through 3 books and 5 years. good stuff.

Life of the Beloved - Henri J. M. Nouwen
My friend Ryan recommended this book to me as one that might be great for peeps who weren't Christians or people who were struggling with their faith. In my opinion it was just OK. I've got a lot of Nouwen books, but maybe I'm just not used to his style yet. I haven't read a lot of books by Catholic priests, so maybe that's why I'm not used to the style? I don't know. I do know that there were several times Nouwen did a great job of helping me see the overwhelming love of God.

Choosing to Cheat - Andy Stanley
This was my #6 top book of 2009. I think everybody should read this before they get married. And if you're already married then read it NOW!

Good to Great - Jim Collins
Also my #1 book of 2009. I listened to it on my iPod and took about 20 pages of brilliant notes on the book (but lost that notebook which you can read about HERE). I guess I'll need to go back and read this one all over again & write out those notes. It's worth it though. great book.

Jesus Wants to Save Christians - Rob Bell
Tied for my #10 book of 2009. If you don't think Scripture says much about the poor and oppressed and want to keep thinking that... then don't read this book.

Crazy Love - Francis Chan 
Tied for my #10 book of 2009. Same comment as the above book.

The Seven Checkpoints of Youth Ministry - Andy Stanley & Stuart Hall
It was a good book with some good points to learn. I think it is mainly helpful as a guide for helping plan a student ministry speaking schedule. I think it's brilliant for that. Although North Point isn't even really following this plan anymore and neither are we... the principles are still good though.

The Pleasures of God - John Piper
This was my #4 best book of '09. Loved it.

Think Orange - Reggie Joiner
Probably should have been ranked higher than #7. it's so practically brilliant.

The Passion of Jesus Christ/ 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die - John Piper
This was my "pot book" for at least 50 days. Don't know what a "pot book" is? You can read all about it HERE. Piper has a lot of great books that make for good "pot books" because the readings are so short. This one was perfect. And it's a great book.

The Rest of God - Mark Buchanan
This was #3 on my top 10 list! Great book.

The Great Emergence - Phyllis Tickle
Also tied for #10 on my '09 list. Very important history, findings, and predictions...

Advent Conspiracy - Chris Seay, Rick McKinley, & Greg Holder
The most awesome conspiracy ever finally in book form. If you don't know about Advent Conspiracy then go to the website & read the book. You can read a little about my own AC HERE.

The Spirit of the Disciplines - Dallas Willard
This book is a classic and really famous and all that. It was a really hard book to get through. I'll go back through and type my notes on it and only then find out how helpful it actually was. I was just relieved to finish the thing. It's pretty deep and Willard isn't the easiest author to read.

Death By Church - Mike Erre
Good stuff. Made #9 on my list.

Everyone's Normal Till You Get to Know Them - John Ortberg
This is the book our community group read together and talked through this past Fall @ Ridge. I've never talked through a book before as part of a small group. It's got A LOT of really good stuff. Honestly I feel like it could have all been condensed down to about half the size. But the good stuff in it is still good...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
Greatest author/writer/storyteller of all time? Maybe. My 1st fiction book in 10 years made #8 on my list.

The Relevant Nation - edited by Heather Zydek
My "pot book" (see above and/or here - a "pot book" is simply a book you read each day on the pot.) for the past couple months. It was put out by Relevant (my fav magazine). It's basically 50 biographies of awesome leaders under 40 from all venues = church, culture, media, business, politics, social justice, the arts, etc... Another perfect "pot book". If you don't currently have one, try starting with this one. It will open your eyes to what a lot of people "our age" are doing for the Kingdom across the world...


There you have it. A little peek into the books I read this year. Very soon I'll be posting my 2010 book list!

What books did YOU read in 2009?