Books for 2008

For what it’s worth, these books are on my nightstand and bookshelf for reading in early 2008.

 With the Old Breed, by  E. B.  Sledge. Just finished this story of the marines who took Peleliu and Okinawa in WWII. Written by a private who appears to be a Christian. Very good – and very graphic on the horror of war.

Stonewall Jackson: the Man, the Legend, the Soldier, by James Robertson. Jackson is widely recognized as one of history’s greatest military leaders. He was also a committed follower of Jesus, who sought to live God-centered. Recommended by a friend as one of the best books he had read in many years.

The Transforming Community, by Mark Lauterbach. Subtitle: the practice of the gospel in church discipline. The subtitle sparked my curiosity. The first couple of chapters are very, very good.

 The Living Church, by John Stott. Now in his 80’s, Stott continues to write Bible-saturated books. I buy all that Stott writes.

 Church Planting Movements, by David Garrison. I want to learn how 15,000 new churches were started in a single year and how 150,000 Muslims turned from Mohammed to Jesus.

Reveal, by Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson. The study that produced a confession by Bill Hybels that the Willow Creek programming had not produced spiritually-mature people as hoped.

 Direct Hit, by Paul Borden. I met Borden years ago, and was very impressed by his understanding of church life and growth. This work deals with systemic change in church life.

 Church and Culture Revisted, by D. A. Carson. What does it mean to be in the world and not of the world? How do Christians relate to the culture in which they live. I try to read everything Carson writes.

Putting Jesus in His Place, by Robert Bowman and Ed Kosmoszewski. A case for the deity of Jesus.

 John Newton: from Disgrace to Amazing Grace, by Jonathan Aitken. I’m halfway through the book – great biography!

Kenya – and the Gospel

Shad Williams is a friend – itinerant evangelist, prayer-warrior, faithful missionary. His ministry is based on “going to them,” wherever people are.

Here is his latest update on Kenya

Regarding the Kenya crisis, things are still very unstable in the country. Over 800 people have died, over 300,000 people have been displaced and many have fled the country. Thousands of homes have been burned and thousands of children have been left orphaned.

I have talked with Pastor Ben Bahati by phone every day since this all began on December 27 and the scenes he has described to me are just unbelievable. As you know His wife, Mary, and their 3 daughters are now safe in the USA, but Ben remained behind to oversee the ministry and to do all he can to aid the afflicted as well as win people to Jesus in the midst of crisis and chaos. His has truly become the voice of hope throughout the country – on radio, television and in very risky open-air Gospel meetings which are being held in the hardest hit war-torn areas where the smoke is still rising from hundreds of burned out homes.

For the past 10 days Ben has been conducting large festival type open-air meetings in Eldoret, one of the hardest hit cities. Thousands have gathered to hear the Good News and thousands have been saved. Also, Ben is distributing thousands of New Testaments to those who are being saved. In one meeting a couple of days ago he told the crowd, “You came here with spears, arrows, rocks and other weapons, but I am going to give you a better weapon, the Sword of the Spirit – the Word of God”. The crowd cheered and received the Word gladly.

Dear friends, please continue to pray for these efforts. Ben and the team are risking their lives daily in order to preach Jesus and deliver the hope of the Gospel to those who are need it so badly. Ben told me yesterday, “On my way to the field to preach where houses were still burning, I was hit with a spirit of fear. So I had to just pray. I had to leave Ben Bahati standing there and let Jesus go to the meeting to preach.” What a powerful statement from a humble, yet bold servant of God. Please pray for God`s protection for Ben and the team.

Also please pray for God`s provision in regard to the needs connected to these meetings, to helping those who are destitute, and to buying Bibles to distribute to thousands hungry for the Word of God. Sheila and I are doing all we can, but it is requiring thousands of dollars each week to keep it all going. Pray that God will provide over and beyond what we normally need to get through each week so that we can keep the message going out.

Open to talk about spiritual matters!

USAToday provides a story in a paper last week, and on-line here. It is also on the their front page on the internet and is the most commented upon story.

The USAToday article focused on the views of the unchurched in a few key areas. The story is attracting a slew of comments in their feedback section.

The good folks at  LifeWay communications office have just released our story on the research here.

Our focus is more on the opportunities for people to share their faith:

Open to friendsDespite their negative opinions about the institutional church, most unchurched people are open to discussing spiritual matters with a friend. The research showed that:

–78 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to listen to someone who wanted to talk about their Christian beliefs. The number rose to 89 percent among adults 18-29 years of age.

–Only 28 percent of adults 30 years and older said they think Christians they know talk to them too much about their beliefs.

–78 percent of adults 30 years and older said they would enjoy an honest conversation with a friend about religious and spiritual beliefs, even if they disagreed with the friend.

“Even though the unchurched have a confused view of God and a negative view of the church, they are overwhelmingly open to someone sharing about their Christian faith,” Stetzer said. “We think religion is a topic that is off-limits in polite conversation, but unchurched people say they would enjoy conversations about spiritual matters.”