Some authors that I read (and respect), seem to be at their very best when they’re critiquing the church.
And they’re often right, much of the church is not in good shape right now and we do need to be able to name and own up to our weaknesses.
At the same time, we need to remember [...]

Posted in Books, Church planting, Quotes 6 Comments »

I’ve been chewing on Alan Hirsch’s latest book, The Forgotten Ways, over the past few months. It’s somewhat of a follow up to The Shaping of things to come by Hirsch and Michael Frost.
It’s a fairly dense read and Alan coins a number of new terms, which might be why it took me so [...]

Posted in Books, Church planting, mission, resources No Comments »

Since posting earlier on Wolfgang Simson’s Houses that change the world, I’ve began reading the follow-up, or big-brother, of that book titled the Starfish Manifesto.
A few interesting thoughts so far…
On the church entering Babylonian Captivity… the Holy Spirit is no longer the driving force of the Church, Mammon is. Part of this captivity is [...]

Posted in Books, Church planting, resources 1 Comment »

(Photo from here.)
I’ve been re-reading Houses that Change the World by Wolfgang Simson as I’ve been looking for more clarity going forward in life.
Here’s a quote in the book by Art Katz, a Messianic Jew, where he speaks of true community
Community life pulverizes your old ego in the power of the Spirit of God, and [...]

Posted in Books, Community, Quotes 9 Comments »

I just recently put down Will & Lisa Samson’s “Justice in the Burbs“. They remind me that
 
The suburbs in many ways are…
 

“…an illusion of the American dream - where no one is needy, where there is a chicken in every pot, and a car in every garage…
 
“… where planned developments control who comes near, and [...]

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Leadership Network is in the middle of relaunching it’s leadership books blog. It will be the place for practical insights from books that leaders themselves are reading.
I got invited to be one of the dozen or so contributors in this collaborative blog, though looking through the list I’m definitely the newbie of the [...]

Posted in Books, Leadership 1 Comment »

Brian J. Walsh and his wife Sylvia C. Keesmaat were recently invited to Mars Hill, Grand Rapids, to discuss their latest book.
Colosssians Remixed - A problem we face today is that we have become numbed and blinded to the empire of our day. It is not as apparent to us and so it needs to [...]

Posted in Books, Culture, resources 1 Comment »

If you haven’t read the book by Henri Nouwen that was inspired by this Rembrandt painting, you should.
Similar Posts…True community… by Lon on December 21st, 2007Summer Reading… by Lon on May 31st, 2007How to re-imagine the world… by Lon on April 28th, 2008Inattentive in class… by Lon on January 31st, 2005

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I just finished reading Tony Campolo’s, Everybody wants to change the world. More thoughts on it coming soon.

Similar Posts…Pagan Christianity… by Lon on May 30th, 2008The multiplying church by Lon on May 8th, 2008Experiential storytelling… by Lon on March 18th, 2006Return of the Prodigal Son by Lon on September 29th, 2007

Posted in Books 6 Comments »

A few thoughts from Pornified
Pamela Paul rightly opens her book with a caveat on the language that is used throughout the book… It’s hard to over-stress how graphic and explicit much of the language and content used in her interviews were. There’s lots I wish I had never read.
It is definitely not just the [...]

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