Book Review - Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris

If I can be honest, I had little knowledge of Joshua Harris. My limited interaction with him was watching a group of students read I Kissed Dating Goodbye when I was in college. The mean-spirited part of me joked that they kissed dating goodbye because they weren’t going to get kissed anyway, so it was no big loss. I was vaguely aware of other books that he had written and I knew that he had a church relatively close to where I live, but that was it.

I had the opportunity to read Dug Down Deep: Building Your Life on Truths That Last and I am very glad that I did. This book is a combination of autobiography and entry-level theology text. Harris shares a number of stories from his life growing up and shows how each of these events led to him digging and building his life on the elements of the Christian faith. Given the “celebrity” status that Harris has, you would think that he either lived a completely perfect Christian life or that he was a reprobate sinner who experienced a miraculous conversion. Neither is the case. Harris had a fairly typical Christian life growing up, one that was, unfortunately, void of much doctrinal training. Throughout the text, he shares how he came to understand that doctrine was not dry and boring or a weapon to bludgeon others with. It was the key way that we come to know and experience God.

As I was reading the book, I found myself constantly stopping to share quotes from it on Facebook and Twitter. As I said above, it is an introduction to systematic theology, barely scratching the surface on a number of the elements. The ones that are covered include Jesus, the Bible, the Holy Spirit, salvation, and the Church. And while it is an entry-level book, there is enough meat to satisfy the reader and cause him to be hungry for the "meatier" texts that Harris references throughout.

Joshua Harris is an incredible writer. I found myself devouring the book and looking forward to when I could sit down to read it again. As a youth pastor, I am now contemplating how I can incorporate the ideas from the book into our weekly youth group Bible study. At the bare minimum, this book will definitely be found on the top of a recommended reading list.

It should be noted that a copy of Dug Down Deep: Building Your Life on Truths That Last was provided to me by Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for a review. I was not required to give it a positive review, even though the book warranted one.

Some Thoughts from Onward by Howard Schultz

Over at one of my favorite blogs, there is a post about the 12 books a youth pastor should read in 2012. One such book is Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul. I recently began reading the book and I must say it is quite remarkable. While I am not finished with it yet, I did come across two great quotes that have made me to do a lot of thinking about the way that I would like to do ministry.

There is a word that comes to my mind when I think about our company and our people. That word is "love." I love Starbucks because everything we've tried to do is steeped in humanity.
Respect and dignity
Passion and laughter
Compassion, community, and responsibility
Authenticity
(Onward, pp. 4-5)

---

When we love something, emotion often drives our actions.

This is the gift and the challenge entrepreneurs face every day. The companies we dream of and build from scratch are part of us and intensely personal. They are our families.
Our lives.

But the entrepreneurial journey is not for everyone. Yes, the highs are high and the rewards can be thrilling. But the lows can break your heart. Entrepreneurs must love what they do to such a degree that doing it is worth sacrifice and, at times, pain. But doing anything else, we think, would be unimaginable.
(Onward, pp. 8-9)

While I cannot tell you that this is a great book or a terrible book, I can tell you that I am enjoying what I've read so far, even if I did feel a bit disingenuous reading a book about Starbucks while drinking a delicious frozen coffee from Sheetz. My review should be up soon.

Book Review - Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley

In his book Enemies of the Heart, Andy Stanley discusses the four emotions that many individuals face that can be destructive to their hearts and to the relationships they have with others. These emotions include guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy. Stanley begins by addressing the symptoms that many individuals have that indicate that there is something terrible taking place. He lets us know that some of the indicators include statements like “I can’t believe I just said that;” “I don’t know where that came from;” and “That’s not like me.”

After addressing the four deadly emotions, Stanley then provides the reader with four spiritual exercises that can be implemented to combat and neutralize the emotions. He also provides a discussion of lust and why it is important to fight these emotions for the future of our children.

I found this book to be an easy read, but it was not one that I found to be particularly enlightening. I am a fan of the books that Andy Stanley writes that deal with leadership and youth ministry. This book came across as being very shallow and, at times, a little sugar-coated. While I did not research it, it would not surprise me to discover that this book was based off a sermon series that Stanley did at his church. Others may find this book beneficial, but I did not. It was not a bad book, but it was not something that I typically read.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. The thoughts in this review are my own and I was not asked for a positive review.

Free Kindle Books Worth Looking At

In light of my post about preaching from a tablet, here are some Kindle books that may be worth looking into. The price can't be beat: all of these books are being offered for FREE (at least for a limited time).

Heaven for Kids by Randy Alcorn

Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We've Made Up by Francis Chan

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan

Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan

And, for those of you who haven't gotten your Kindle yet, you may want to think about picking one up. It is a great ministry tool and good item to have in general (at least in my opinion).

Kindle Fire

(HT to Tim Challies for the book list.)

Book Review - The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

A few posts back, I wrote about my desire to read 50 books in 2012. I realize that it isn't quite 2012 yet, but I started my reading list a bit early. Here is a short review of the first book I read.

Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret tells the story of a young man named Hugo. Through a series of tragedies, Hugo finds himself alone without any adults to take care of him. In order to avoid suspicion, Hugo, who lives in the train station, spends much of his time making sure that the clocks at the station are functioning, a job that belonged to his drunken uncle. When he is not fixing the station's clocks, Hugo is busy stealing mechanical pieces to fix an automaton, a special mechanical man that had once belonged to his father. Hugo is convinced that if he is able to fix the automaton, it will have a special message for him from his father, a message that will save his life.

There is much more to the story, including a stolen key, some mysterious pictures, a mysterious old man who refuses to talk about his past, and a trip to a film library, but to give away too much will steal from the story. The text is beautifully written, but perhaps even more entertaining are the wonderful pictures that help the story to move along. Selznick has drawn some amazing pictures that help to push the story forward. These are not used to simply illustrate the story, but to tell the adventure as well.

This book is written for a younger audience, but it deals with a portion of history that many adults will be intrigued by as well. I hope that many will pick up the book and enjoy it as much as I did. It has also recently been made into a film, Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese.

Reading 50 Books in 2012.

One of my favorite activities is reading. I love to read. It brings me great joy. As a result, you can probably guess that my Amazon Kindle is one of my favorite toys. I carry it with me everywhere.

In years past, I have made conscious effort to read a minimum of 50 books each year. I usually cheat a little bit and begin around Thanksgiving, but as long as I finish my 50th book by New Years the following year, I consider it good.

I haven't been able to do this for the past couple of years because seminary has gotten in the way. I have so much reading and writing for my classes that books for fun get pushed to the wayside. However, I will be done with my seminary program in 5 weeks, so I will be beginning my goal of 50 books in 2012 again. I'm pretty excited. As I said, I usually cheat a little, but cut me some slack...it's 50 books in a year!

Three Books on Prayer

One of the classes that I am taking this semester is entitled "Strategic Prayer and Spiritual Warfare." As a result of this class, I am being convicted that my prayer life is not what it should be. In fact, I recently preached on this very topic. Part of that conviction has come as a result of three different books. I would highly recommend that you pick up all three and spend some time prayerfully going through them.

Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders by Dave Earley. There is much that I could recommend to you about this book, but it is better if I simply quote Dr. Ergun Caner: "Do NOT read this book if you want information. Read this book only if you desire a transformation. It will drive you to your knees."

The Necessity of Prayer by E.M. Bounds. This short little book packs a lot of punch. There is enough "food" here to keep a hungry pray-er fed for years. It is packed with Scripture and is conversational in tone. Well worth your time.

Quiet Talks on Prayer by S.D. Gordon. This book reminds me a great deal of Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon. The format is that of a lecture transcript, but it is packed with nuggets that will convict and challenge you.

If you desire a stronger, more fervent prayer life, I can't recommend these books more highly. Of course, as Tim Challies wrote recently, "I want to be a prayer warrior, but I find that I'm more of a read-books-about-prayer warrior," we need to make sure we are putting what we read into practice.

Reading Through Radical Together by David Platt

I was recently given a preview copy of Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God by David Platt. The book is written to describe what could happen if individuals in churches would work together to achieve the purposes of God.

My plan, as I am reading through the book, is to write my impressions on each chapter. There are six chapters, each dealing with an aspect of the gospel that is often misunderstood and how it should play out in lives that are devoted to Christ. Like I said, I will be reading through the book and writing about my impressions as I finish each chapter.

I would love for you to go on this journey with me. We may go to the same church or we may go to different churches in different states, but the fact remains that every church should be working to accomplish the great things that God desires. Please pick up a copy of the book and add your thoughts to mine as we read through this book together.

Learn more about the book in the video below, then, if you so choose, buy it from Amazon.com.