Just wanted to let you know what I have been reading up on as of Christmas.

Willis, Clint; Jesus is Not a Republican

Hybels, Bill; Courageous Leadership

Frost, Michael & Hirsch, Alan; A Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church.

The Willis book was a collection of essays pertaining to the current political trends. The essays that I alligned my convictions with seemed to be few and far between. But it was good to get a different perspective.

Hybels book was a great book on leadership. How do you choose leadership? What should you look for in a leader, etc? Not to big on the whole seeker sensitive church (an attraction of product and program, rather than Jesus) but he knows his stuff when it comes to leadership.

And the most recent book I finished, A Shaping of Things to Come, was AWESOME! Thirty pages into it and I told my wife, this is definitely in my top 10 favorite books, and it didn't dissappoint. If you have an interest in the current state of the Church in the West, pick this book up. The authors suggest radical changes in the church, a complete paradigm shift (attractional church to missional church, hierarchical leadership to apostolic leadership, renewed creativity and imagination in the church).

This book has raised many questions in my mind regarding the church I attend. But has also given me hope that all is not lost.

I am currently reading a book entitled Good News About Injustice by Gary Haugen. I'll let you know how it is.

Peace,
andy

Donald Miller Interview

Check this out! Great interview. Don talks about homosexuality, politics, errors of the church, and, oh yeah, how could I forget, penguin sex.

http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/archives/donmiller.html

CHECK OUT THIS LINK!!!!!

Hi y'all! Check out this link. Dan Kimball saw a person wearing this t-shirt in an airport. I encourage you to comment on his site or on mine. No peaking at other comments before yours!http://www.dankimball.com/vintage_faith/2006/01/true_story_what.html#comment-12721803

What a sweet weekend! I know its a little late for this but decided to share some pictures of a killer weekend in December.

I went out to Detroit to visit my parents and sister and to take in a Dave Matthews show (my 16th!). The show was great. 'Christmas Song' is a must to here live. That was Saturday night. Sunday I drove cross-state to Grand Rapids to attend a community of believers that I am very fond of. It's called Mars Hill Church. They have a great teacher by the name of Rob Bell and are on the cutting edge as far as living a life holistically to Jesus. I also had the opportunity to meet a man named Steve in Grand Rapids. Steve is a friend of a friend in West Bend and he invited me to his house after church to share a meal with his family and to hang out. It was awesome.

He really opened my eyes to some thing going on in the world with regards to being a Christian in the new millenium. Steve also (althought indirectly perhaps) showed that its okay to question the status quo when it comes to Christianity; that its healthy to have doubts and to delve deep to find answers for church, faith, etc.
Drove home (Wisconsin) later that afternoon and night. The next night, my wife scored some tickets for the 311 show in Milwaukee. To make a long story short, my friend Michael and watched the show from the stage and then went backstage and got our picture taken with Nick Hexum, lead singer of 311. It was a great weekend. Reminded me of how blessed I am to have opportunities to do things like this.

AIDS

I'd really like some feedback on this one. I've been thinking about the issues swirling around our brothers and sisters in Africa. Me and my friend Tony are planning a trip across the pond to see what we can do to make a difference. So this is what I want to know:

Is helping the people of Africa trendy?

I've heard before a study was conducted on evangelical Christians and found that 3 percent of evangelicals said they would give financially to AIDS ministries. Is this statement viable?

I'd really like to here from someone who doesn't necessarily have a heart for Africs.

Thanks everyone.