Best Books Read in 2010

I sent out a Twitter/Facebook message asking people what were the best books they read this year. Listed below are their responses. Keep in mind that these are books they simple read this year not necessarily new books that were published this year and that I do not approve of all of these books. After listing the responses I will give my top ten for this year below. Enjoy!


"Bait of Satan" - Bevere
"Battlefield of the Mind" - Bevere
"For Women Only" by Shaunti Feldhan
"Approval Addiction" Joyce Meyer
‎"Grafted In" by D. Thomas Lancaster
"How to Think like Einstein"
"Who stole my Church"
"The Hole in Our Gospel"
"Ignore Everybody" - Hugh MacLeod
"Orbiting the Giant Hairball" - MacKenzie
"The Shack"
"The Extraordinary Life" - Bevere
‎"You Have Not Many Fathers" by: Dr. Mark Hamby
Myths of Light
Pathways to Bliss
I AM That
The Way of Dream
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Inner Gold: Understanding Psychological Projection
Man and his Symbols
Meetings with Remarkable Men
The Alchemist
The Waste Land and The Four Quarters by T.S. Eliot.

MY TOP 10 READS OF 2010
(in no specific order)
"LINCHPIN" - SETH GODIN
"THE ANT AND THE ELEPHANT" - VINCE POSCENTE
"INSIDE STEVE'S BRAIN" - LEANDER KAHNEY
"THE MEDICI EFFECT" - FRANS JOHANSSON
"CHURCH UNIQUE" - WILL MANCINI
"REWORK" - JASON FRIED
"MOJO" - MARSHALL GOLDSMITH
"DEEP CHURCH" - JIM BELCHER
"BELIEF" - FRANCIS COLLINS
"ADRENALIN AND STRESS" - ARCHIBALD D. HART

A THANKSGIVING PRAYER...

Oh God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a warm home,
help me to remember the homeless;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer;
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency
and stir up my compassion.
Make me concerned enough
to help by word and deed,
those who cry out
for what we take for granted.

by Samuel F. Pugh

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me… – Matt. 25:35

Waiting in Expectation

Waiting patiently for God always includes joyful expectation. Without expectation our waiting can get bogged down in the present. When we wait in expectation our whole beings are open to be surprised by joy.

All through the Gospels Jesus tells us to keep awake and stay alert. And Paul says, "Brothers and sisters ... the moment is here for you to stop sleeping and wake up, because by now our salvation is nearer than when we first began to believe. The night is nearly over, daylight is on the way; so let us throw off everything that belongs to the darkness and equip ourselves for the light" (Romans 13:11-12). It is this joyful expectation of God's coming that offers vitality to our lives. The expectation of the fulfillment of God's promises to us is what allows us to pay full attention to the road on which we are walking.

Being Given

Jesus is given to the world. He was chosen, blessed, and broken to be given. Jesus' life and death were a life and death for others. The Beloved Son of God, chosen from all eternity, was broken on the cross so that this one life could multiply and become food for people of all places and all times.

As God's beloved children we have to believe that our little lives, when lived as God's chosen and blessed children, are broken to be given to others. We too have to become bread for the world. When we live our brokenness under the blessing, our lives will continue to bear fruit from generation to generation. That is the story of the saints - they died, but they continue to be alive in the hearts of those who live after them - and it can be our story too.

Ordering Our Desires

Desire is often talked about as something we ought to overcome. Still, being is desiring: our bodies, our minds, our hearts, and our souls are full of desires. Some are unruly, turbulent, and very distracting; some make us think deep thoughts and see great visions; some teach us how to love; and some keep us searching for God. Our desire for God is the desire that should guide all other desires. Otherwise our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls become one another's enemies and our inner lives become chaotic, leading us to despair and self-destruction.

Spiritual disciplines are not ways to eradicate all our desires but ways to order them so that they can serve one another and together serve God.

10 SUGGESTED READS FOR 2010 FOR PASTORS/LEADERS/CREATIVES

Here are a few books that I find worthy of mention for recommendation. If your looking for a good read this year let me help you with a few that have been huge for me. This is not and exhaustive list by any means but something to wet your appetite. These are in no particular order.

1) Six Thinking Hats – Edward De Bono

2) A Whole New Mind (why right-brainers will rule the future) Daniel H. Pink

3) Mavericks at Work (why the most original minds in business win) William C. Taylor

4) The Houdini Solution (put creativity and innovation to work by thinking inside the box) Ernie Schenck

5) The Fifth Discipline (the art and practice of the learning organization) Peter M. Senge

6) The Tipping Point (how little things can make a big difference) – Malcolm Gladwell

7) Integrity (the courage to meet the demands of reality) Dr. Henry Cloud

8) The Ten Faces of Innovation (ideo’s strategies for beating the devil’s advocate & driving creativity throughout your organization) Tom Kelley

9) Church Unique (how missional leaders cast vision, capture culture, and create movement) Will Mancini

10) Made to Stick (why some ideas survive and others die) Chip Heath

10 SUGGESTED READS FOR 2010 FOR EVERYONE

Here are a few books that I find worthy of mention for recommendation. If your looking for a good read this year let me help you with a few that have been huge for me. This is not and exhaustive list by any means but something to wet your appetite. These are in no particular order.

1) Crazy Love (overwhelmed by a relentless God) – Francis Chan

2) The Jesus Way (conversations on the way that Jesus is the Way) – Eugene Peterson

3) 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe – Larry Osborne

4) Pivot (how one turn in attitude can lead to success) – Dr. Alan R. Zimmerman

5) Servolution (starting a church revolution serve serving) – Dino Rizzo

6) Emotional Intelligence (why it can matter more than IQ) – Daniel Goleman

7) The Celebration of Discipline – Richard Foster

8) The Prodigal God (recovering the heart of the Christian faith) – Timothy Keller

9) The Ragamuffin Gospel – Brennan Manning

10) Primal (a quest for the lost soul of Christianity) – Mark Batterson

The Fruit of the Spirit

How does the Spirit of God manifest itself through us? Often we think that to witness means to speak up in defense of God. This idea can make us very self-conscious. We wonder where and how we can make God the topic of our conversations and how to convince our families, friends, neighbors, and colleagues of God's presence in their lives. But this explicit missionary endeavour often comes from an insecure heart and, therefore, easily creates divisions.

The way God's Spirit manifests itself most convincingly is through its fruits: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22). These fruits speak for themselves. It is therefore always better to raise the question "How can I grow in the Spirit?" than the question "How can I make others believe in the Spirit?"

C.S. Lewis on the Church

The church exists for nothing else but to draw men
into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are
not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions,
sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of
time. God became a Man for no other purpose.
— C. S. Lewis

Emptiness & Fullness

Emptiness and fullness at first seem complete opposites. But in the spiritual life they are not. In the spiritual life we find the fulfillment of our deepest desires by becoming empty for God.

We must empty the cups of our lives completely to be able to receive the fullness of life from God. Jesus lived this on the cross. The moment of complete emptiness and complete fullness become the same. When he had given all away to his Abba, his dear Father, he cried out, "It is fulfilled" (John 19:30). He who was lifted up on the cross was also lifted into the resurrection. He who had emptied and humbled himself was raised up and "given the name above all other names" (see Philippians 2:7-9). Let us keep listening to Jesus' question: "Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" (Matthew 20:22).

Maturing In Christ

A definition of a mature Christian is lacking. Best to say that you know a mature Christian when you see one. They're in the New Testament. Barnabas is one. Aquila and Priscilla are others. Onesiphorous impresses me. And so is the mother of Rufus of whom Paul said, "she has been a mother to me." That's a short list.

Let’s take a look at the marks of maturity. 1) Self-sustaining in spiritual devotions. 2) Wise in human relationships. 3) Humble and serving. 4) Comfortable and functional in the everyday world where people of faith can be in short supply. 5) Substantial in conversation. 6) Prudent in acquisition. 7) Respectful in conflict. 8) Faithful in commitments.

Take a few minutes and ask how many people you know who would fit such a description. How many? Apparently, Paul pondered the question when he thought about Corinthian Christians and said, "I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ."

Five Statements Worth Remembering as a Leader

1. Whatever you do, do more with others and less alone.
   It will help you become accountable.
2. Whenever you do it, emphasize quality not quantity.
3. Wherever you go, do it the same as if you were among those who know you the best.
   It will keep you from exaggerating. it will help keep your stories true. Your good friend will tell you things that others will not. They will hold you close to truth.
4. Whoever may respond to your ministry, keep a level head.
5. However long you lead, keep on dripping with gratitude and grace.
   Stay thankful. Stay gracious.

Church Swindoll " 10 Things I've Learned In Ministry"

1. It’s lonely to lead.
   Leadership involves tough decisions. The tougher the decisions, the lonelier it is.
2. It’s dangerous to succeed.
   It is dangerous to succeed while being young. rarely, does God give leadership that young because it takes crushing and failure first.
3. It’s hardest at home.
   Nobody at home is applauding you. They say, “Dad! You’re fly is open.”
4. It is essential to be real.
   If there is one realm where phoniness is personified it is leadership. What I care about is that you stay real.
5. It is painful to obey.
   There are rewards, yes, but it is painful nevertheless.
6. Brokenness and failure are necessary.
7. My attitude is more important than my actions.
   Some of you are getting hard to be around. And your attitude covers all those great actions you pull off.
8. Integrity eclipses image.
   What you are doing is not a show. And the best things you are doing is not up front but what you do behind the scenes.
9. God’s way is better than my way.
   God is going to have His way.
10. Christ-likeness begins and ends with humility.

This Week with Henri Nouwen

“The Church as the body of Christ has many faces. The Church prays and worships. It speaks words of instruction and healing, cleanses us from our sins, invites us to the table of the Lord, binds us together in a covenant of love, sends us out to minister, anoints us when we are sick or dying, and accompanies us in our search for meaning and our daily need for support. All these faces might not come to us from those we look up to as our leaders. But when we live our lives with a simple trust that Jesus comes to us in our Church, we will see the Church’s ministry in places and in faces where we least expect it.

If we truly love Jesus, Jesus will send us the people to give us what we most need. And they are our spiritual leaders.” - Henri Nouwen

Words That Become Flesh

Words are important. Without them our actions lose meaning. And without meaning we cannot live. Words can offer perspective, insight, understanding, and vision. Words can bring consolation, comfort, encouragement and hope. Words can take away fear, isolation, shame, and guilt. Words can reconcile, unite, forgive, and heal. Words can bring peace and joy, inner freedom and deep gratitude. Words, in short, can carry love on their wings. A word of love can be the greatest act of love. That is because when our words become flesh in our own lives and the lives of others, we can change the world. Jesus is the word made flesh. In him speaking and acting were one.

Rahab"s Song

In the dirt i used to kneel
idols fixed upon vain hopes
blocks of wood brought down with weight of prayers spilled
but you came and stole my heart
now i pray to ears unstopped
i am watched over by eyes i can't outrun

you are God alone
lesser gods before you scatter
to the winds like sand
for you, the God i love
i lay down my broken idols
following your steps

i can feel upon my skin
that your tears have met with mine
and the earth around me shakes with your resolve
all my hope in you i find
all my heart like water poured
what is one more drop in hands that frame the world?

- Vania Brandley

Going to the Margins

Those who are marginal in the world are central in the Church, and that is how it is supposed to be! Thus we are called as members of the Church to keep going to the margins of our society. The homeless, the starving, parentless children, people with AIDS, our emotionally disturbed brothers and sisters - they require our first attention.
We can trust that when we reach out with all our energy to the margins of our society we will discover that petty disagreements, fruitless debates, and paralyzing rivalries will recede and gradually vanish. The Church will always be renewed when our attention shifts from ourselves to those who need our care. The blessing of Jesus always comes to us through the poor. The most remarkable experience of those who work with the poor is that, in the end, the poor give more than they receive. They give food to us.

Spiritual Formation

The greatest need you and I have - the greatest need of collective humanity - is the renovation of our heart. That spiritual place within us from which outlook, choices, and actions come has been formed by a world away from God. Now it must be transformed.
The shaping and reshaping of the inner life is, accordingly, a problem that has been around as long as humanity itself; and the earliest records of human thought bear eloquent witness to the human struggle to solve it - but with very limited success, one would have to say... In spiritual matters there really is not a "Third World." It's all Third World.
Spiritual formation for the Christian basically refers to the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself... in the degree to which spiritual formation in Christ is successful, the outer life of the individual becomes a natural expression or outflow of the character and teachings of Jesus.

The Bible Contains

The mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. It's doctines are holy, it's precepts are binding, it's histories are true, and it's decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.
It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter. Here Paradise is restored, heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed.
Christ is it's grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God it's end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.
- Unknown

The Canvas

I read this poem yesterday and found it a great source of reflection and great for a personal devotion. Enjoy.
The canvas is blank, it’s right there before me,
I’ve got colors and brushes galore,
And when I stare at the canvas it stares back at me,
Just waiting for me to explore.
But there’s something inside me that brings me great fear,
That won’t allow me to paint or to dream,
‘Cause I worry that the outcome of my strokes over time,
Won’t be as good as the others I’ve seen.
So I stare at the canvas with tears in my eyes,
And I slowly paint one little section,
But the rest of the canvas remains free of life,
Because I only see my imperfection.
So Father, I beg you, as I go through today,
And the next chance to paint I pursue,
I ask you for courage to use all these brushes,
As I color the canvas for you.
I have this strange feeling that as the painting ensues,
And the reds, blues, and greens start to splatter,
I’ll come to see that when my eyes are on Jesus,
Comparing my painting won’t matter.
‘Cause at the end of my life, when the painting is finished,
I just know that my Jesus will love it,
‘Cause both the painter and canvas are washed in his blood,
And it’s that grace, not great art, that I covet.
- Anonymous