The Reason for God by Timothy Kellor

I have over the years read various books and articles about the nature and existence of God. However, this subject has always seemed like intellectual tabu within my own mind because most discussion on the topic is more about “man-thinking” then “God-knowing.” It seems sort of blasphemous. I can truly say that after reading this book I have definitely strengthened my own faith in God. The subject is approached as someone who is both honest and open in his search for God. Hebrews 11:6 says that God rewards this kind of search. I believe there are many questions raised in this book that are being commonly asked. It is good that we as believers give sound biblical answers as Timothy Kellor has done here.

The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee

Often in the christian life we find ourselves at a loss.  What am I to do with my life?  I am I truly walking with the Lord?  It is at that time that we come to the end ourselves that He is able to work.  The following is an excerpt from the book The Normal Christian Life.

“Oh, friends, I think we all know ourselves in measure, but many a time we do not truly tremble at ourselves.  We may, in a manner of courtesy to God, say: ‘If the Lord does not want it, I cannot do it’, but in reality our subconscious thought is that really we can do it quite well ourselves, even if God does not ask us to do it nor empower us for it.  Too often we have been caused to act, to think, to decide, to have power, apart from Him.  Many of us Christians today are men with over-developed souls.  We have grown too big in ourselves.  We have become ‘big-souled’.  When we are in that condition, the life of the Son of God in us is confined and almost crowded out of action.”

It is through brokenness that the Lord can begin to work in us.  In this book, Watchman Nee gives us an eloquent and biblical look at what it means to live the christian life.  He brings back to that thing that we know but often forget from day to day, and that is that our life is not about us.  It is all about Him and His glory.

The Church of Facebook by Jesse Rice

This has been an interesting book in that it explores a subject that has exploded in the last few years.  That is Facebook and how it relates to the church.  The author gives three axioms about human behavior.  1.  There is a force that is capable of synchronizing a large population in very little time, thus creating spontaneous order.  2.  This spontaneous order can generate outcomes that are new and unpredictable. 3.  These unpredictable outcomes require the affected population to adapt their behavior to more adequately live within the new spontaneously generated order.  This behavior has given rise to the popularity of Facebook and this is now becoming a big part of our church function.  There is little chance that we have now of ignoring Facebook in our ministries.  Three pieces of advice that I found most useful in determining Facebook behavior are 1. intentionality, 2. humility, and 3. authenticity.  It is important for us to “live” a witness for the Lord both on and off the internet.

On Being a Servant of God by Warren Wiersbe

“Ministry takes place when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God.”  This simple definition of ministry forms the basis for this book.  Wiersbe gives an insightful look in to doing the work of the ministry.  I found it to be motivational, getting to the root of the “why” in ministry.  It is an easy read, but each line is packed with great insight.

Preaching and Preachers by D. Martyn Loyd-Jones

In this book there is a great many things covered.  It is an excellent and through examination of the what it is to be a preacher and how to approach the God-given task of preaching.  The first half of the book covers preaching as the title suggests.  In this is stressed the importance of true biblical interpretation and preparation.  In the second half, focuses on the preacher himself.  Among these topics are personal relationship with God, prayer life, and demeano

Good to Great by Jim Collin (Audiobook)

Of course, I believe the Lord has called me into the ministry.  That being said there are a great many principles from the business world that can be applied to the ministry.  A couple that I found in the book Good to Great are following.  First, the fact that often we are content with coasting along as good but never consider our possibilities beyond what we are doing now.  What will this organization look like after I am gone?  Is this organization centered around a personality?  Is there any “skeletons” in the closet that will cause a failure in the future?  How do I get passed simply being good and get into the territory of greatness?  Secondly, focusing on trying to do “everything” will likely keep me from doing anything.  I have God-given talents for a reason.  If I acknowledge my weaknesses, I can be on my way to fixing them as problems or obstacles.  To attempt too many objectives in too short of a time will only set me up for failure.  Lastly, I must make my goals and objectives simple and clear so that they can be easily communicated to everyone in the organization.  If everyone in the organization understands the objective, we can all put together.

The Master Plan of Evangelism (Audio Unabridged) by Robert Coleman

Apart from being God in human flesh, how did Jesus change the world in His ministry that only lasted three years?  I think it is safe to say that Jesus was the most influential person in human history.  But how did He do it?  What were His techniques?  In the book The Master Plan of Evangelism, this subject is brought to light.  We have a tendency in the ministry to emphasis thinks like websites, multimedia, and literature distribution, but forget the one thing that Jesus spent all His time doing.  Jesus invested His ministry in His disciples.  Jesus knew His time was short and that the disciples would be the ones to carry the message around the world.  So He consumed Himself with the teaching and preparing of His disciples.  As for us, media is good and even necessary.  But media should never replace influence we can have on other people personally.  The best evangelism comes from people influencing people for the cause of Christ.

The Simple Church (Audio Unabridged) by Thom Rainer

While I was reading this book I was reminded of the old saying, “Keep it simple stupid.”  Many times in my own ministry, discouragement and confusion has come from simply being too complicated.  One often likes to finds a reason why his ministry is not going well.  However, the obvious choice is almost always missed.  Simplify.  Am I doing so many programs and events that I fail in ministry…real ministry?  How many times have I and those around me made the comment, “The guy was refreshing!”  And really all he did was simplify something that we all thought was complicated.

It is therefore not surprising that the most “successful” ministries (I am using the term loosely) approach ministry simply.  One mission statement.  One theme.  One goal.  I think you get the idea.

This material in this book covers research done concerning church success rates and decision making processes.  This is a subject over which I hope more writing will be done.  I think many pastors and missionaries can only judge their own success by comparison to the guy next to them.  And as we all have experienced this can be confusing.  Hopefully, confusing can be replaced with a simple approach to doing the Lord’s work.

The Fainting Warrior (Sermon) by Charles Spurgeon

The spiritual conflict in the life of a Christian causes much worry and problem.  For many their walk with the Lord never moves beyond the shadow of this conflict.  In his sermon The Fainting Warrior (published here), Charles Spurgeon brings an impassioned please for the Christian to realize the victory in this conflict that we have through Christ. First, he highlights the two natures.  One the old sinful nature, and secondly the new nature in Christ.  Then, he illustrates the Battle that rages between the two.  ”They are always at enmity wherever they are; they were never friends, and never can be. The evil must hate the good, and the good must hate the evil.”  This is the sum of it.  At last, the Weary Combatant must find that he has the victory over sin and the old nature through the blood, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Deep Calls Unto Deep (Essay) by Watchman Nee

This essay is a quick ready, but I almost wish that he expanded on it more. Here is an excerpt that will explain the essential part of what he is saying. “When deep touches deep, deep will respond to deep. If our life has no depth, our superficial work will only affect other lives superficially. We repeat yet again—only ‘deep calls unto deep.’ “ I have often meditated on what would cause a preacher to best connect with a listen. I am beginning to believe that a deep walk with the Lord is the first step. I believe that a preacher can preach from a shallow superficial life. But he would only be able to expect the same result in the lives of his listeners.