An Update On Things...

So I have come to the conclusion that I basically stink at keeping up a blog. For the past two years, I have struggled with being disciplined enough to post anything of significant value multiple times a week. It's not that I don't have an opinion about a lot of things out there, it's just that I get so distracted by family stuff, delayed doctoral work, or mundane trivia on the internet that I never make time to blog much.  Anyway, I'm sitting here in my office watching a deluge out my window and thought I would start trying to put some stuff up here for the 2 of you that occasionally stop by here to see if I have posted anything only to be sorely disappointed:

Summer Travels
First, I just got back a little over a week ago from some busy traveling this summer.  My family and I spent 2 1/2 days being "house parents" for some orphans from Ukraine who were brought over here by Bridges of Faith ministry.  If you haven't checked out this ministry, you need to.  They are doing some great work trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus for some kids who desperately need it.  I know that several of the kids we stayed with are already in the process of being adopted by people here in the States that met them last month.  It was a great experience.

After that, my family and I drove all the way out to Houston for the Southern Baptist Convention.  Some asked me when I got back if I had a good "vacation".  My reply was, "If you think driving 14 hours with four kids for a three day Baptist business meeting is a 'vacation', then I would love for you to come with us next year."  However, we had a great time.  I hope to blog later about my experiences at the SBC and why my family and I like to go.

After a couple of weeks home, we were gone for two weeks to South Carolina.  First, we led a group from my church to Greenville, SC for the second year to do work with an organization called "Diligent Hands, Gracious Hearts".  If you are looking for a way to involve people in inner-city missions with multiple opportunities for a group, check them out.  Great week of ministry whenever we weren't dodging rain drops.  Then, my family and I headed from Greenville to Hilton Head for a week of vacation.  My sister-in-law lives in Hilton Head, so all my wife's family joined us there for a week at the beach.  All-in-all, we had a very good week mostly hanging out at the beach.  Hilton Head has great golf, but I couldn't fit my clubs in the Pilot with all the luggage for 6 people for two weeks.

Doctoral Work
I am trying hard to get my doctoral work finished.  Because I am a procrastinator, I have put off this work for far too long.  Ministry and family demands have kept me busy enough, but now I have to find the motivation to push forward to get it done.  I am in the process of developing lesson plans to teach my deacons on the subject of "helping deacons to be servant leaders."  I have had to read about 25 resources as part of my research.  I have also been carrying a large bin full of books, files, and papers around.  Pray for me to be disciplined to "get 'er done" over the next few weeks.  I hope to have the lesson plans developed soon to be able to start teaching soon after Labor Day.

Reading
Most of my reading has been limited to doctoral work this year.  However, once I finished my annotated bibliography, I was able to pick up some books I had set aside.  I will be posting a review here soon on "Faithmapping" by Daniel Montgomery and Mike Cosper.  Great book.  One of the best books I have read so far this year is "The Insanity of God" by Nik Ripken.  This is his encounter of over 20 years of working with the persecuted church around the world.  Warning: "If you read this book, it will shatter your perception of the current state of the church and cause you to be very frustrated with the shallowness and consumerism of the contemporary American church." However, if I had one book I wanted every friend of mine to read right now, "The Insanity of God" would be it.

There are a few updates for you if you happen to stop by.  I will try to keep some posts and thoughts up here soon.  Maybe I can give you some of the things I am learning about servant leadership as I am writing my lessons.

Go Red Sox!

Update and Some Links

I know that my recent unplanned blogging hiatus has probably dwindled my readership from about a couple of dozen down to 1 or 2 people who have nothing much to do during the day but to jump around blog bookmarks.  Most of the reason for my hiatus has been that any extra time during the day not devoted to solving church problems or cleaning up after my kids has been spent working on my doctor of ministry project.  I turned in my proposal in late January and got approval as well as a one-year extension.  So, now I am reading my research and preparing my lessons to teach for my project.  Still a lot of work left to do.  I appreciate your prayers in the process.

My church is doing our first 4-day Revival since I have been here as pastor this week.  Tonight is our last night.  My personal pastor and spiritual dad, Mickey Dalrymple, has been with us this week.  It has been a unique privilege and honor to spend time with him and to share my pulpit with him as he has brought messages.  We are also being led in music by my friend Darryl Collins whom I worked with for 13 years at Westwood Baptist Church in Alabaster, AL.  Pray for our last night tonight that we can see a harvest from our efforts.

Since I wanted to get back in the blog, I thought I would post a few links for you to read that I have recently come across:

Three Actions Each Pastor and Church Need to Take by Ronnie Floyd - I have long appreciated Dr. Floyd's leadership and example.  I had the honor of hearing him preach last week during the AL State Evangelism Conference.  This is a good reminder of how a church can discover it's local missional context.

Largest Churches in the Southern Baptist Convention by Thom Rainer - I have also benefited greatly by Thom Rainer's influence.  I am glad to have him leading our efforts at Lifeway.  Since I love to read about churches and their strategies, I have always had an interest in seeing the numbers of a church.  Don't be fooled.  These numbers can quickly become an idol for many seeking to compare themselves to other churches or leaders.  However, I like looking at them and comparing them to where they may have been several years ago.  Some have grown considerably.  Some have shrunk considerably.  It was also interesting that I have served at one on the list, grew up at one on the list, and have several personal friends in ministry that are serving at some on the list.

Four Good Reasons to Read Good Books by Tim Challies - You know that I am an avid book buyer and sometimes reader. I love to help put a good book in someone's hand to help them grow in their understanding of God, grace, or the gospel.  I think too many people miss out on so much because they do not practice the discipline of reading good books.  I think there is some correlation in the ineffectiveness of many in the church today and the proliferation of television channels, internet, and social media.  This is a good article to help you be more inspired to read.

Five Books I Will Be Reading Soon

If you know me, you know that I read a lot. I am an crazy book collector and try to read most of them.  I am constantly having to redo my bookshelves because of the new books I just bought or the ones I get free from conference.  I collect more books than I read, but I still read a lot.  I think reading is the key to learning and growing.  One of my new fascinations is that I have found several web sites that allow you to get books for free from them if you agree to read them and write a blog about them.  This is dangerous for me because giving me websites for free books is like giving me a box of hot Krispy Kremes and telling me to hold them till you get back.  Here are five books I have picked up recently that are on my most immediate "to-read" list.

1.  The President's Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy - I love biographies and learning fascinating trivia about presidents.  I ordered this book before my vacation and started reading it in July.  It's 600+ pages!  It traces the relationships of sitting presidents with some of their living predecessors.  Great background into this unique fraternity of great leaders.

2.  Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley - This book is coming out in a couple of months for national release.  Andy is a great leader and teacher on leadership.  He is one of the clearest and best communicators I have ever heard.  While there are times that I wish Andy would go deeper into some of the richness of gospel truths in his sermons, there is still much I learn from his leadership example.  This book is the story of how Andy and his team started North Point and what are the guiding principles that helped them to reach so many people.  Andy has taken a lot of criticism from some in the "gospel" camp, but whether you agree with him and the ministry of North Point or not, I believe there is a lot we can learn and take away from his story.

3.  Gospel Deeps by Jared Wilson - I have recently become a big Jared Wilson fan.  This is my book to counter the Andy Stanley reading.  Jared has a vision and passion for the gospel that is infectious.  He is a very talented writer who inspires me to know God better and to know his word deeper.  Jared is the antithesis of the "big-church" pastor.  He is content to live and preach the gospel in a small community church in rural New England where the work is hard but rewarding.  If you haven't read Jared's book Gospel Wakefulness, you must put it in your query right now.

4.  Men of Sunday by Curtis Eichelberger - This is one of the books I ordered from one of the book blogger websites.  I chose this one because I am a huge sports fan and love to read the stories of athletes who love Christ.  This book will help give me some stories to share with men about jocks who love Jesus.

5.  Killing Calvinism by Greg Dutcher - Calvinism is the hot topic today, especially in the SBC.  It's vastly caricatured by those on the non-Calvinist side and hotly embraced by those on the Calvinist side. I have very good friends and mentors on both sides of the debate.  I avoid the labels because of the divisiveness it causes.  However, as I read some people's online endorsement of this book and the description of it in Amazon, it sounded like a book that needed to be published a long time ago.  I think many in the Calvinist movement turn people off their theology not because of the truth of it, but because of their approach and presentation of it.  There are a small minority that feed the caricature of the non-Calvinists while many Bible-believing, gospel-centered, missionally-driven adherents are ignored or marginalized. I hope that reading this book will help me to be able to continue to build bridges between both parties.

When Something Crashes Your Normal

My friend Michael Kelley has written a new book about his family's journey though his son's leukemia and the spiritual lessons they learned.  Michael is a gifted writer and theologian whose experience with his son Joshua has taught him deep spiritual truths that we as the body of Christ need to absorb.  I have closely followed this family's journey as Michael has lived the story on his blog.  I have lifted many prayers for this little boy who is a living example of God's sustaining grace in times of darkness.  I think Michael has an important story to tell in a church society where we tend to equate God's goodness with prosperity and the freedom from pain.  I haven't gotten my copy of the book yet, but I can't wait to dive in.  Get this book and plant its message deep inside your soul.

Best Books of 2011

I love to read whenever I can.  Unfortunately, with the noise and chaos at my house, my reading is usually limited to late at night when everyone is in bed.  I tried to keep up with all the books I read this year and balance out my reading selections to have a very broad base. Here are a few of my favorite books I read this year.

Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller
I loved Keller's book!  It was the first book by Keller that I have read all the way through.  It is one of the most important books I have read and exposes one of the major problems in the contemporary church.  Tim Keller's insight into idolatry is profound.  This book went a long way to exposing my own idols and has caused me to be more profoundly dependent upon Christ and not my idols.

Decision Points by George Bush
I got this book last year for Christmas and dug into it this Spring.  I love biographies.  I have not been much for presidential memoirs before, but Bush's presidential span was during a large part of my young adult life.  I think Bush served in one of the most critical times in the life of our country and his impact will not be fully measured or appreciated for many years to come.  It was fascinating to look at decisions that he made behind the scenes that the media has wrongly portrayed consistently. I believe Bush to be a brother in Christ with a deep faith that was placed in a role where biblical values are not embraced or tolerated.  This book is a must read for history and presidential buffs.

Gospel by JD Greear
Greear hit a home run with this book.  The word "gospel" has become a buzzword in the contemporary church and much is being preached about it, especially among the young and reformed evangelical types.  As much as it's being talked about, it is also being highly misunderstood.  Greear does a great job showing that gospel centrality has a massive impact on our daily lives.  He shows that the gospel is not just theological language, but the power for personal transformation.  Great book I wish everyone in my church would read!

Gospel Wakefulness by Jared Wilson
I am still reading this book.  I had seen much tweeted and written on it recently.  Wilson's book is also a beautiful work on the majesty and power of the gospel to transform our personal lives.  I am only halfway through and have already worn a highlighter dry.  I will hopefully post some of my favorite quotes from this book later.  However, if I recommend one book for you to read in the next 2 months, this would be the one!

Onward by Howard Schultz
I love business books and behind the scenes looks at great companies.  This is one of those.  It is written by the CEO of Starbucks and chronicles the turnaround that Starbucks did several years ago as he saw some dangerous trends in his company.  Since I love coffee and Starbucks, much of what he wrote about I saw and remembered.

Radical Together by David Platt
This is Platt's follow-up to his first book Radical.  It is written to show more of the corporate implications of a church that commits to radical obedience to the word and the gospel.  It's a small but powerful book.  I believe that church leaders and pastors should pay careful attention to the words of Platt in a day and time where we are losing influence and impact for the gospel in our culture.  I believe David Platt is a prophet for our time and is being used of God in mighty ways.  His writings and sermons have had an impact on several in our church.  

Other books I read this year and really enjoyed were: Don't Call it a Comeback by Kevin DeYoung, Slave by John MacArthur, Pujols by Scott Lamb and Tim Ellsworth, Erasing Hell by Francis Chan, John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock by Iain Murray, Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley, The Jesus Mission by Steven Scott, I, Alex Cross by James Patterson, Great by Choice by Jim Collins, and Where Has Oprah Taken Us? by Steven Masfield, and Mint Condition by Dave Jamieson.

Connecting to the Gospel

I'm really excited about this book coming out this fall by J. D. Greear.  I heard J. D. talk about it at an Advance the Church Conference this past spring.  It sounds like a much needed clarification about not just defining the gospel, but what it means to live the gospel.  I believe most of the members of my church would benefit from this book.

What's on my reading list...

I'm headed out Sunday for a week of vacation with the family.  We're going to see my in-laws in Decatur, AL - basically because we have no money and going to Gran-Gran and Papa's means free lodging and a pool!  I hope to get some serious reading in this week.  Here is a list of the books I am taking with me.  I won't finish all of them, but I don't know which ones I will read first.

John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock by Iain Murray - John MacArthur is one of my ministry heroes.  I actually started this book last week and hope to have it finished soon.

Why God Won't Go Away by Alister McGrath - An answer to some of the "new athiests."  I got this book free to review for my blog.

Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley - another book I got free to review for my blog.  I love Andy Stanley's teaching.  I actually used the small group DVD for this book with my home group in Birmingham when it was called "It Came From Within."

Erasing Hell by Francis Chan - This is Chan's much-awaited response to some of the controversy stirred up by Rob Bell's book "Love Wins".

Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz - This one was recommended to me by my friend Jason.  Fascinating story about some changes Starbucks made a few years ago.

The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a New Generation by Jay Elliott - a behind the scenes look at the leadership of Steve Jobs by a guy who worked beside him for many years.

These are a few of the books I hope to get read soon.  What's on your current reading list?

My 2011 Reading Plan

I love books. Sometimes I think I love collecting books more than I love reading books.  Usually Christmas is a time for my family to get me books that I really want but haven't broken down and bought yet.  Whenever I get the latest copy of Christian Book Distributors catalog my fingers begin to shake and my breathing gets erratic.  I find myself browsing Amazon.com several times a day doing random searches.  My wish list and shopping cart are full of books that I think would be neat to own, but I don't feel compelled to spend money on right now.  It's a sickness that usually is only reserved for those of us in ministry who spend our lives in the arena of words and ideas.  The end of the year is usually reserved to spend the last few hundreds of dollars of unclaimed business expense money on all kinds of commentaries and books that we saw in someone else's library. 

All that being said, I do try to be intentional about what I read.  I try to vary the offerings in areas covering ministry, leadership, preaching, biographies, sports, and popular fiction.  I will be doing a lot of doctoral work in the first three months of the year.  Much of my reading will be confined to research in the area of servant leadership.  However, here is a list of the books I plan to read this year. 

Must-Do's
Slave by John MacArthur
The Confession by John Grisham
Decision Points by George W. Bush
Generous Justice by Tim Keller
Text Driven Preaching by Danny Akin
Spiritual Warfare and Missions by Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer
The Grace of God by Andy Stanley
Mint Condition by Dave Jamieson
The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons
Beyond Belief by Josh Hamilton

Like-to's
The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns
Going Rogue: An American Life by Sarah Palin
For the Fame of God's Name by Sam Storms and Justin Taylor
Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni
Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges
The Millenials by Thom and Jess Rainer
Don't Call It a Comeback by Kevin DeYoung

Might-do's
The God Who Is There by D.A. Carson
Why I Am Not an Arminian by Robert Peterson and Michael Williams
Church + Home by Mark Holmen

I know there will be lots of books that will come out this year I do not know about and others that are already out that will cross my path sometime soon.  These will be added to the plan when possible.

What's In My Backpack

If you know me, you know that I claim that I like to read.  Actually, I just see a lot of books that I think would be great to read and usually carry them around in my backpack intending to find time to read them.  I have gotten better lately and made it a matter to read more consistently.  With all that being said, here is what is currently in my backpack that I am trying to read:

1.  Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer.  Great read so far on what churches that are really making a missional difference are doing differently. 
2.  The New Shape of World Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith by Mark Noll.  Picked this up on my Kindle Sunday night after hearing John Piper quote some from it.  Fascinating read about the changing face of Christianity globally.
3.  The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God expect of Us? The Answer that Changed my Life and Might Just Change the World by Richard Stearns.  Got this free from my latest Aqua Box from Catalyst.  It was the 2009 Christianity Today Book of the Year.  I really want to dig into this soon especially after reading Radical by David Platt.
4.  The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-shift that Changes Everything by Collin Marshall and Tony Payne. Started this one several weeks ago, but got diverted to some other ones.  Looks like a great read though.
5.  Firstborn Advantage, The: Making Your Birth Order Work for You by Kevin Leman. Like the stuff by this guy. 
6.  The Masculine Mandate: God's Calling to Men by Richard Phillips. Also started this a few weeks ago.  Really different by biblically balanced look at God's role for men.

Pick up some of these.  They would make great reads.

Don't Read this Book (unless you want to be seriously changed)

This is a video introduction to David Platt's new book Radical. I think this will be a major book for this generation. Platt is the real deal and challenges me heavily. Even if you don't read much, get this book.

10 Books Men Need to Read

As most of you know, I am an avid reader. I am also passionate about men getting the kahunas enough to grow up and start being the men that God has wired them and called them to be - men who passionately lead their family to love Christ and his bride. There are some great books out there to help with this quest. Now I know that most men say "I'm not much of a reader." That's a cop-out though. It's baloney. That's nothing more than an attempt by most men to give an excuse why they prefer to sit in front of a television set in their boxers and with their shirt off watching senseless hours of garbage. God made you with a brain and the ability to absorb great amounts of information. He's also called you to be the leader of your home. So, if you really want to be a godly man or you want to help a guy find his shirt and turn off the tube, here are 10 great books I think every guy should pick up.

1. Every Man's Battle by Steven Arterburn and Fred Stoeker - This book is the quintessential resource for men who are secretly battling sexual addictions. It's a great, practical help that I have recommended to dozens of guys. It's about time that men and the church own up to and get honest about this problem. Statistics indicate that about 6-8 out of every 10 guys in your church are battling some sort of sexual addiction. It's destroying marriages, castrating the spiritual masculinity from most men in the church and rendering the church void of true manhood, and leaving a generation of boys without godly men to help them become true men of God. Men, don't pretend you don't have a problem with this. I struggled with this addiction since childhood and know full well the power it has over a man. Get honest with yourself and find help and accountability. If you suspect a guy has a problem in this area, confront him and give him this book. Some other great titles that deal with this are "Out of the Shadows" by Patrick Carnes and "At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry" by Steve Gallagher.
2. The Samson Syndrome by Mark Atteberry - This little book was a hidden treasure I found one day on a bookshelf. In it, Atteberry does a great job of looking at the character of Samson and the struggles he faced that are common to most men today. All our lives we are told to be "strong men". However, there are some pitfalls to strong men that we need to be aware of. This book would be a great read for a small group of guys to discuss.
3. Point Man by Steve Farrar - I first read this book before I became a husband and father and was radically convicted even then. It's a great book on designed to encourage men to take the front lines in the battle for their families. Farrar knows how to speak and write to men. Other great titles by Farrar are "Finishing Strong," "King Me," and "Anchor Man".
4. The Man in the Mirror by Patrick Morley - Morley leads probably the best para-church ministry designed to disciple men I have ever seen. This book has been around for about 20 years. It's filled with practical and spiritual help on facing the 24 most common challenges that men face.
5. The Secrets Men Keep by Steven Arterburn - Men are great at keeping secrets - not just from their wives, but from each other as well. Most men don't know how to be good stewards of money, be a spiritual leader, how to really love a woman, bond with other men, or measure success. This book addresses those challenges and more. Arterburn is a great leader in the men's ministry movement.
6. Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes - Kent Hughes is a pastor and one of the most gifted biblical expositors of the last 50 years. He's also great at helping provide strong biblical counsel to the issue of spiritual discipline and godly leadership. This book has also been around for almost 20 years, but is not well known in today's modern men's movement.
7. Raising a Modern-Day Knight by Robert Lewis - Lewis has started one of the most successful men's movements of the past 20 years in Men's Fraternity. However, before that, he wrote this book to help men know how to craft and imprint a definition of manhood to their sons. This book is more than just theory. It's the testimony of Lewis and his two friends who took the challenge to impart a biblical manhood to their sons and create ceremonies to celebrate. I have taken lots of guys through this book and it's phenomenal.
8. Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley - Everybody cheats somewhere. You either cheat your family or you cheat your work or you cheat your church. However, each and every day we make choices of what's going to take priority in our lives. However, not only do you make choices to borrow time and energy from one place and give it to another, but someone along the way is going to feel cheated. The reality is that you choose who feels cheated. That's the theme of this small, practical book. I would suggest this book for every guy who's running the rat race, having to be away from the family for days throughout the week, or who is so consumed in work that he's distant even when he's home.
9. The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges - Bridges is one of my favorite authors. He brings a lot of Scripture and hope to the task of following Jesus. I have read this book about 3 times. It's awesome. The truth is that holiness is not only possible for us, it's commanded of us. Therefore, we should not make it secondary. This book will provide a lot of help for the task.
10. The Silence of Adam by Larry Crabb - This is another book that's been around for a few years but that most men have never heard of. The reality is that just like Adam, most men are passive at the task of spiritual leadership. They remain silent and unable to adequately define what it really means to be a man. In the process, most men are guessing at manhood, and guessing extremely badly. Adam's silence was deadly and caused an infection to the whole human race. However, men, you can break free from the silence and discover a true biblical manhood. This book will help you.

Of course, on top of all of these books, the greatest men's manual of all is God's word. It is full of stories of true men. Men who led they family well and those who failed and turned it around. It shows us the warrior spirits of men like Joshua and Gideon. It shows us the godly leadership of Nehemiah and Moses. It shows us the missionary spirit of Paul and the wisdom of Solomon. I would suggest a healthy digestion of God's word in addition to any of the books recommended above. Get one of them today for yourself of someone you know.