reading...


I've got a stack of books awaiting my attention - last count I had 12 'must-reads' on the shelf behind my desk... this is officially the 'waiting room' for my books/next reads.

I'm 2/3 of the way through THEY LIKE JESUS by Dan Kimball - I believe that this book should be required reading for any/all people that are a) Christ-followers & b) have a desire to live in such a way as to reflect Christ to the people that they come in contact with.

Actualy, when they make me King, Emperor, Dominar, or Guy in Charge of Assigning Reading, I would give this book to every pastor (vocational or otherwise) in any & every Christian church - with a mandatory "Response Paper" to be written afterwards. The paper should be 3-5 pages, & would:

-Address Kimball's thesis: People like Jesus, but they don't like the church - Why does Kimball say this? What are your observations of pre-Christians? What are your responses to these observations (his & yours)?

-Describe your "philosophy of ministry" - briefly explain the "WHY's" (reasoning, values, beliefs) behind the "WHAT's" (actions, behaviors, personal schedules, programs) of the ministry you are involved in.

-What does it mean to be missional? Describe the WHY's & the WHAT's of you being missional.

Then, we'd all get together in small groups (5-8 people) & discuss what we wrote & why... with the intent being on taking action towards leading a community in living out Jesus.

For inquiring minds:
Dan Kimball Blog

Vintage Faith Church

8 launchings into the blogosphere....:

TimmyMac said...

I prefer the title Literary Dominatrix.

(Side note - don't use Google to spell check the word dominatrix . . . trust me . . .)

digapigmy said...

ok, so how do you get google to spell check a word . . . you just leave it hanging out there.

i'm currently reading velvet elvis after hearing how good it is. i'm irritated by the formatting of the book, but i mostly think it is an important read. you have to let me borrow this book, though. it sounds like the kind of book i would want to write if you had asked me before i already knew there was one. an i'll go out on a limb and say kimball is a much better author than i.

georgia said...

Dominatrixes are female. What are you saying, Tim?

digapigmy said...

are you sure it's not dominatrices, kind of like the plural of matrix?

georgia said...

Yes, I'm sure Brent. It's like the battle of the "sexes." When I spell it a certain way, it's right. If you disagree with me, I'll make you read three books instead of two.

digapigmy said...

georgia, care to visit my blog?

TimmyMac said...

Diga - I've noticed when I use Google and spell the word wrong, Google asks "do you mean . . . ." I just got in the strange habit of doing that instead of using an on-line dictionary . . . just another part of the mystery that is me . . .

Georgia - I was just trying to get in touch with my feminine side.

No(dot dot)el said...

i will have to add this one to my list to put on my new rating books system. such a dork i am. now are you all going to talk about what the word dork means??