Readings Got Me Thinking
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Cross Cultural Connections
This week I read a book entitled, Cross Cultural Connections, by Duane Elmer. It was timely, and an easy read. At one point he listed about fifteen symptoms of culture shock, and I think I basically had all of them, or at least go through…
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What Should Wealthy Churches Do (and Not Do) with Donated Money to Avoid Creating Unhealthy Dependency
I’m currently reading through a book by Glenn Schwartz entitled, When Charity Destroys Dignity. I thought the content in one of the chapters was particularly solid enough to bear repeating. So this information is mostly from chapter four of that book. I think the advice…
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Info Nuggets versus le Livre Crème de la Crème
As a kid I used to always read books while eating breakfast and lunch. And supper too if it had been allowed. But it wasn’t. We ate supper together as a family and were supposed to talk to each other instead of burying our nose…
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Lord of the Flies
There are 17 books in my reading stack. I just counted. Granted, some of them are library books. And some have been in the stack a long time. Lord of the Flies was one of the latter. Nevertheless, I finally finished it, as I do…
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When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty
Introduction (and all that implies) When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… and Yourself by Steve Corbett and John Perkins. I heard of this book through a required reading list of a certain Missions organization, purchased it, and recently finished it. Though written…
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God Moves Suddenly, Not Quickly
Hope Naomi wrote a piece recently about how God works. It got me thinking. She brings out the concept of God working behind the scenes for what feels like an eternity before anything HAPPENS. But then, when God DOES do something, results are immediate. This…
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Is The Perfect Family Size Really 3 Kids?
Here’s a question for you, “How many children would you like to have?” This question was asked by Rick and Jan Hess to a group of singles in a survey they gave to four evangelical churches (Berean, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Evangelical Free, and General…
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Can I Recommend Irresistible Revolution?
The book, Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne challenges nearly every aspect of American "churchianity." The revolution Shane describes is nothing less than a call to follow Jesus literally in the way He lived and taught. Shane’s interpretation of what it…
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Missional Small Groups
This past summer I read a book entitled Misisonal Small Groups by Scott Boren. I would recommend the book to anyone mission-minded as I thought Scott made some excellent observations, particularly in breaking down what he sees as four types of groups. Having been involved…
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Are Short Term Mission Trips a Waste of Time?
The answer? “Depends on the mindset of those going,” according to Noel Becchetti. He provides an interesting break down of unhelpful attitudes Westerners often bring as they go to minister in other cultures. Despite the title of his article, keep in mind he actually does…