Summer Reading

OK – in case you wanted to know here’s what I have read this summer… 1) ‘Chasing Daylight: Seizing the Power of Every Moment’, Erwin McManus. McManus is a pastor in LA. (My daughter Quincy and I attended one of his services a couple of Sunday nights ago.) He writes with boldness that seems to influence me every time I read him. 2)Multiple short stories by Hemmingway. I haven’t read him in a long time. Although his personal life was a bit ‘whacked’ (as well as some of his stories!) I love the way he writes. In a word it’s simple. That’s an art that many authors (not to mention people in general) have lost. 3) ‘The Power of Serving Others’, Gary Morsch & Dean Nelson, Berrett Koehler. Morsch details the awesome opportunities he has had through Heart to Heart International to serve people. In the aftermath of Katrina and the Asian tsunami it proves that all of us have something to share and someone to serve. 4)‘The Air I Breathe’, Louie Giglio, Lifechange Books. My friend, Daryl, gave this to me. It was the shortest read of the summer. I was done in about an hour. (You know, like ‘glasses in about an hour’? Same kind of thing.) If you are a worshiper (trick question, cuz we all are) then there will be something in this book for you. 5)‘For Women Only’, Shaunti Feldman, Multnomah. My wife read this book and asked me to take a look. It’s a pretty honest and sometimes painful perspective on what men are about. Of course, no book ever could define any one of us, man or woman, but I would highly recommend it. 6)‘The Culture Code’, Clotaire Rapaille, Broadway Books. Wow. I love this book. It’s a fascinating look at why cultures ‘do’ the things they ‘do’. (It reminds me a little of another book entitled ‘Blink’ by Malcom Gladwell). I think any organization, including the church, would want to read this in order to get a better ‘read’ on customers, constituencies and crowds. 7)‘Renovation of the Heart’ by Dallas Willard, Navpress. It’s not a ‘quick-read’. It’s ‘deep’ in some areas but worth it. One of my favorite sections has to do with sanctification. He says, “Sanctification in this life will always be a matter of degree, to be sure, but there is a point in genuine spiritual growth before which the term ‘sanctification’ simply does not apply – just as ‘hot’ when applied to a cup of coffee is a matter of degree, but there is a point before which it is not hot, even if in the process of being heated.” 8)Speaking of long reads… I actually finished this one a couple of months ago but I think just about everybody should be familiar with Thomas Friedman’s ‘The World is Flat’. It’s very insightful. I have a new perspective on how our children will be most certainly facing new challenges in the global economy. 9)Oh, yeah, the Bible. It’s really good. don’t give up, j