January Reads
Peppermint Filled Pinatas was written by Eric Bryant. Erwin McManus is always praising him for what he does at Mosaic. There were quite a few nuggets in this read like the art of woo and hanging out with you oikos. Add to this the challenge of going overboard with grace on young believers and non-Christians and I found this to be a great read to start the new year.
Mega Shift was a book I picked up a couple years ago but never set out to read. A regular attendee of the Bridge asked me to read it. I am very glad I did. This screamed WAKE UP! Our God is alive, active, and on the move. It really has been challenging me on what discipleship looks like.
Augustus is on loan to me from my brother. We decided that for Christmas we would exchange books that we wanted the other to read. Coincidently he exchanged a book I bought for him last year and I was really hoping to read it myself. For a history minor my Roman Empire knowledge is very weak. This was very insightful to me on many levels. The thing that has stuck with me the most is the frequent claim by different Roman leaders to be sons of gods. It reparadigmed some thoughts for me on Jesus claim as well as my own status as a child of God.
Colossians Remixed excited me because I believe the Bridge most closely resembles the church of Colossi. The more I read Colossians the more I hear myself saying yest that is us! This book opened my eyes to a bunch of new ideas. Some I wish I didn’t know because they are really messing with me. The subtitle of subverting the empire is grand in theory but crazy in practice. Most signficant and challenging read thus far.
The Road Home looked like a great fiction read. I love the story of Ruth and this story is set in modern times. I wasn’t a fan of this book at all though. I didn’t like what the authors dreamed up. Much like Dekker with his fascination with horror these authors seemed to get a kick out of talking about Ruth and her families past that was full of sex, alcohol, and abuse. I have trouble with authors who take delight in talking about things that are dark. Then when it came time for her to meet Boaz it goes soft. To me this was her most frisky time.
Invitation to Solitude and Silence is the second of five books I want to read on Sabbath and rest. I have the hopes of doing an entire series on this topic this summer but found the ideas and practices from this book to be very beneficial to next Sunday’s message on Wind. I’m looking forward to the remaining three books.
Made to Stick was spotted in an issue of Fast Company and I thought it would be a helpful resource in bettering myself as a communicator. I was right. Their SUCCES strategy carried far more insight then most communication books. I was further encouraged when the authors were open to sighting both Saddle Back and Jesus as sources of how they see these principles being played out. Their SUCCESS principle for those who don’t want to read the book is Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories.
Sex, Sushi, and Salvation was a random purchase. Catchy title and cover made the difference. Unknowingly I had read a previous book by Christian George (Sacred Travels) but didn’t know this was the same guy. Had I known this I probably wouldn’t have bought this book. I’m glad I did. Very similar to Blue Like Jazz. Any book that can draw similarities between the hot dog eating champion Kobayashi and Francis Assisi is entertaining. Go get this book!
