Summer Reading List

I have been meaning to read these books for a few months, but life has been crazy. This semester was a little more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I had too many books, papers, and projects which have consumed most of my mental capacity. Although, I did read Irresistible Revolution last month. Here's the books I'll be reading this summer (if you want to have a book club, give me a call):

Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer


Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven, But Nobody Wants To Die by David Crowder


God's Politics by Jim Wallis


The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren

The Church

I've been contemplating the idea of "church". I've come across a few ideas recently which I feel give some insight to what church is.

"The purpose of the church cannot be to survive or to thrive, but to serve. And sometimes servants die in the serving."
-Erwin McManus, Unstoppable Force

"I've been trying to remove the word 'churches' from my vocabulary. We are not churches, we are 'the church'."
-Shane Claiborn, Irresistible Revolution

"A fascinating question came in [during a Townhall Meeting] in which somebody said that they were concerned that in working with the poor, [Mars Hill] would not be partnering with any secular organizations. As I reflected on that later, [aside: 'I'm trying to edit'] let just say, if you have a piece and I have a piece and those two pieces match, I don't care this person's religion, background, worldview, perspective. I don't care whether they skip the 'under God' part of the Pledge of Alliegence; I don't care where they're coming from. If they have a piece that matches my piece, I want to hook those two pieces together."
-Rob Bell, We Already Are (Matthew 28), Sermon at Mars Hill, 4.15.07

Vocab

Here's a word I read in a book for school. I wasn't sure what it meant, so I looked it up.

indignation: a strong distaste for something unjust.

I hope someone would describe me with this word.

Check out the new look!

In other news, here is something the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans which I've been thinking about recently:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

School

I'm having some trouble focusing on school right now. I've got so many things brewing in my mind concerning such bigger things. Seriously, Irresistible Revolution has really made me think and I'm still trying to sort through all that stuff. My view of the gospel has been challenged and I've got lots of questions. I consider that a good thing and I want to figure out what it means to follow Jesus. I'm just trying to figure out my place and how I'm supposed to live out my faith. It's a tough road, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Maybe school is a place where I can implement the things I'm learning. I just hate all the homework and long classes. Oh, well.

Any Thoughts...

So I read this parable of Jesus in Matthew the other day and I've been struggling with it ever since. Here it is:

Mt 22:1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:
Mt 22:2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
Mt 22:3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
Mt 22:4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
Mt 22:5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.
Mt 22:6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.
Mt 22:7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
Mt 22:8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.
Mt 22:9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’
Mt 22:10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Mt 22:11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
Mt 22:12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
Mt 22:13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Mt 22:14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

WHAT! This guy killed the people who didn't come to his party and he burned their cities? Then he invited good and bad people to his feast and then kicked a guy out for not wearing the right clothes?

Does anyone have any thoughts?

A Must Read...

This book has articulated some thoughts, questions, and stuggles that I have been dealing with recently and you should read it. Shane Claiborne is a founder of the Simple Way (www.simpleway.org) and he has served alongside Mother Teresa (or Momma T as Shane calls her) and has been to Bible College and Seminary. This book gives incredible insight into raw discipleship, community, serving, and what the Church could be. I feel like this book is setting free some ideas and visions I have been having about what it means to follow Jesus. Please check it out. It is definitely on my must read list.

You can read a sample chapter from Irresitible Revolution here.