I try and change rhythm in the Summer and do more reading and dreaming as well as spending time with my beautiful family. A number of people have asked me about the books that I have been reading and what I would recommend and so I thought I would list them here:
Pour Your Heart Into it by Howard Schulz
Onward by Howard Schulz
Love is an Orientation by Andrew Marin
Unmerited Favour
by Joseph PrinceWhat did I learn? That there are loads of books out there worth a read and I havent got time to read them all!
Seriously though, the Starbucks books were fascinating not just the telling of a great story of how a worldwide phenomona began but more importantly the second book where Schultz takes back on the ceo position and tries to help the company re-discover their original purpose. It's a great read for any church leader trying to remember why they do it and getting lost churches back on track.
Love is an Orientation is an eye opening book written by a straight christian guy who decides to connect with the gay community to understand them and their needs and to try and find new ways for the church to engage with this valuable people group that is so often overlooked. I havent finished it completely yet but already its got me asking loads of questions!
Unmerited Favour will mess with your head if you struggle with prosperity gospel type literature, but it is worth pursuing. Prince, who is well known for his preaching on Grace, points out that Gods gift to us of his only son Jesus to take our place was the ultimate in showing us his unmerited favour (a term he suggests is another way to describe Grace which has become too common a term). Enjoying God's favour, without trying to fully understand it, is something I have been trying to do since returning from Bethel Church in Redding, California back in June. This book has taken it to a whole new level. Gods favour IS turned towards me and it always has been, I just need to accept and enjoy it and not try too hard to understand and reject it.
I would definitely recommend any of these books to fellow readers if you are willing to be stretched and challenged, if not then read a John Grisham novel (I read one of those on holiday as well!).
My last book on my pile that I didn't get round to reading is Rob Bells Love Wins, unfortunately my wife Lottie got there first and isn't giving it back!
1 comment:
Cool :-) Reading is something I am not very good at. I'm slow and don't get much spare time for it, so very much appreciate hearing your thoughts. Definitely agree about the gay community - in my experience they feel rejected by the Church, largely due to a few very vocal extremists, but for Christians I think it's often coupled with unsympathetic response from family and friends.
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