The Book and its Topic

The Blogging Church is a long overdue book. To newcomers, the blogosphere can be a very intimidating place. What do you read? Why? What does Technorati, FeedBurner, del.icio.us, Digg This! and similar terms mean? How do you create your own blog? Why? Where?

Add to that the responsibility of communicating clearly as a disciple of Jesus, and you are almost sure to be petrified...

Enter The Blogging Church. This book will tell you all you need to know, and set you free to read blogs, create your own blog, and manage the whole process with confidence. You will feel like a native of the blogosphere, where now you feel like a tourist in a strange land, speaking the wrong language.

Brian starts off the conversation brilliantly by telling the story of blogs, and then giving the reasons for blogging, and thus, for this book.

Throughout the book he has little Q&A sessions with leading pastors, and other blogging disciples. These help a lot, and have the additional benefit of creating awareness to the reader. I didn’t know Mark Driscoll has a blog! And I am too scared to read ;-)

The Book and its Topic

Sex God, Rob Bell’s new book, had big shoes to fill. It came after Velvet Elvis, in my opinion one of the better books ever written. Did it manage to fill those big shoes?

Not quite, but see they are two different books. This is a book that is (as Rob calls it) “Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality”. Velvet Elvis was a much wider look at the Christian Faith.

Sex God should be read by every Christian. I think we are taught too little on sex by our parents and society as a whole, and we don't like discussing sex. This aside, I think that it will help Christians everywhere find freedom from sin.

Understanding who we are and what our true identity is, and gaining insight into the greatness of God, helps us realize the impact of our sin. What are you really doing when you sin, and what are the eternal implications of your actions?

There is this one chapter called ‘Leather, Whips, and Fruit’ that blew me away. I think that this is one of the best chapters in any book on any subject ever! At least from those books that I have read. When I read Christian books I use a pencil to underline things that stand out and are worth remembering. You will laugh when you see my copy of Sex God. I underlined almost the whole chapter called Leather, Whips and Fruit.

The Book and its Topic

Philip Yancey’s award-winning Prayer is best described as a journey. A difficult journey, into tough and demanding territory. He searches for an age-old answer. Does time spent on your knees make any difference?

I do not want to spoil your reading fun, but he does arrive at an answer. It makes a difference! Now if you have cancer and have been praying for healing to no avail, without receiving an answer or any form of deliverance, you might want to stone me for that comment.

But could it be that the time spent on your knees (or flat on your face) gave you the courage to carry on? Could that be whu you are still here?

Answers come in a variety of ways...

Philip has a style of writing that resembles a personal struggle with the subject matter. He is honest and has an ability to open his heart and that of others on the subject. That is why I describe the book as a journey. Philip does not pretend to have any answers, but he does invite you to explore with him.

Rob Bell was born on 23 August 1970. His full name is Robert Bell. He is the son of US District Court Judge Robert Holmes Bell.

When Rob went to Wheaton College, he still did not know what he wanted to do with his life. This is where he met his wife Kristen. He also started a band with some friends while at Wheaton College, called _ton bundle. In 1992 he received a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton.

Bell claims he was called by God to preach the Word while at the Wheaton College's Honey Rock Camp. This prompted him to complete his Masters in Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary.

The Book and its Topic

The Dream Giver is all about those things most dear to us that we do not necessarily like to talk about – our dreams. This book aims to help you follow your God-given destiny.

The well-known author and Bible teacher, Bruce Wilkinson, shows us that our dreams are from God. God gives us dreams to have us depend on Him and walk out our lives in a deep love relationship with Him. Moses and countless other Biblical figures had such dreams and we read in the Bible about their lives spent in pursuit of these dreams.

The dream giver starts with a parable about Ordinary. Ordinary is a Nobody living in the Land of Familiar. The story then goes on about how Ordinary has a Big Dream and his journey to achieve it.

The second part of the book concentrates on your own dream journey.

Bruce takes you through a number of stages you will encounter in pursuing your Big Dream. It starts with realizing that you do have a Big Dream and if you lost it, it is just a matter of digging deep enough to find it again.

I like Christian books. No, sorry... I love them.

Sometimes I am in the company of loved ones and I catch myself wishing I could rather be alone somewhere reading. It started when I was very young. I read fiction back then, and lots of it.

Every time we entered a book shop, I could ask my dad for a new book and I knew he would buy it for me. Did he spoil me? No, he just knew I would actually read the book and I guess he knew that reading is an excellent habit.

When I became a disciple of Jesus many years later, I started reading Christian books.

It is my favorite pastime.
I cannot walk past a bookshop.
I have tried not buying any new books for a couple of months... and failed miserably!