Sex God

There is something about a book titled Sex God that led me on a wild goose chase to find it. Not to mention the author is Rob Bell, whose creative writing style and gift of imagery have been resonating with me since I read Velvet Elvis. So what is this book about you might ask. I have often heard it said “don’t judge a book by its cover,” and this is one of those books where that statement applies. Simply by reading the title of the book, one might think that the book is about the physical act of sex and God’s place in that act. While the book does touch on the subject briefly, the contents of the book went far beyond that. Rob explains that scholars believe the word sex is a Latin term derived from the word secare, which means “to sever, to amputate, or to disconnect from the whole.” He goes on to tell us how our sexuality has two dimensions, our awareness of our disconnection, and that are sexuality is all of the ways we go about trying to reconnect. Connection is the primary focus of the book and he cleverly uses the word sex to capture his audience’s attention. He touches on a broad range of subjects like sex, (the physical act) marriage, abuse, addiction and our trying to connect through these channels. He also manages to fit Johnny Cash into the book! Rob does a great job of making you feel like you personally know the characters in the book and the struggles that they are dealing with. Many of the stories in the book are people Rob has encountered over the years in his ministry. If you are looking for a book to improve wounded relationships, or just work on your current relationship this would be an outstanding read for you. Rob Bell can be contacted at http://www.marshill.org/

Irresisitible Revolution

To have a heart for people like Shane Claiborne in The Irresistible Revolution is unlike anything you have ever seen before. In a society inundated with prosperity preaching, Shane swims upstream by choosing a life of poverty. Claiborne chronicles his time living on the streets with the homeless, because he says, “you will never no what it is like to be homeless until you have lived with the homeless.” He also invites us into his time spent with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, where they made their own shoes and worked with the poor and less fortunate. His ideology to some may seem extreme, but when considered with reason, it makes perfect sense. He sews his own clothes because of the sweatshops that promote underage and underpaid workers. He drives cars that operate off of vegetable oil because of the foreign wars with people losing their lives over oil. Shane also visits Iraq and chronicles his time spent with Iraqi families and the fellowship he experienced with them. In Philadelphia, he sets up a house called The Simple Way for the less fortunate to stay, and any possessions that he or his friends acquire are distributed accordingly so that no one is in need. It is reminiscent of the early apostles in the book of Acts on the day of Pentecost. This book is great for anyone trying to draw inspiration for making a change in the world around them. His stories are convicting, and his ideology will make you question yourself and your commitment to others. Shane can be contacted at http://www.thesimpleway.org/

When God Winks At You

Has God winked at you lately? Squire Rushnell gives us many real life “God Winks” in his book titled “When God Winks at You.” As the subtitle suggests, (How God Speaks Directly to You Through The Power of Coincidence) Rushnell give you stories of real people who have powerful encounters with God through Coincidence. All of us at some point have had things happen in our lives where we were left in awe at the head scratching event that just took place. To some this is called coincidence, and can be explained with reason and logic, but to others they are direct revelations from God that can only be explained by the divine. Rushnell’s simple writing style mixed with the compelling stories of coincidence will leave you with goose bumps down your spine! Notable “God Winks” that are recorded are Tim Conway, Rudolph Giuliani, and Billy Graham. This book has the power to make you see that God still works powerfully today, and will “Wink” at you. So you better keep your eyes open! You can check out Squire Rushnell’s website at http://www.whengodwinks.com/

Blue Like Jazz

This book creatively written by Donald Miller focuses on the life of Miller, and the people that he has encountered over the years. It is comical and yet at the same time addresses some serious issues that we deal with as Christians. Miller takes us back to his college days where he and his Christian friends set up a confessional booth on campus, not for people to confess, but rather him and his Christian friends to confess their remorse for the way they have treated the people that were not in their “Circle.” As the subtitle suggests (Non Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality,) Miller’s encounters with various people give us good insight on how “Non-Believers” feel about Christians. He details his friend who was an atheist and her conversion to Christianity after considering Christ and reading the bible. Miller does a great job of really making you feel like you know the people in the book and can relate to the struggles that they are wrestling with. If you are looking for a book about authentic people with authentic questions, and want to spend a considerable amount of time laughing as you read, this book will be perfect for you. You can visit Donald Miller at http://www.donaldmillerwords.com/

Velvet Elvis

A fantastic book cleverly titled Velvet Elvis, written by Rob Bell, the pastor of Mars Hill church in Michigan. The title in itself is one that calls your name and says “Read Me!” Rob creatively bases the entire book off of a painting of Elvis that he bought off the side of the road that has been collecting dust in his garage. He states that the painting of Elvis was not of the black and white variety with a cordless guitar, nor the Elvis after doughnuts, but the Elvis in between that seemed to paint the best picture. More impressively he states is at the bottom of the painting the artist simply signed his work with the letter R, so as to say that enough paintings have been done, that this is the best painting ever created and all other painters should retire their brushes. Bell claims that this assertion towards that painting would prevent the growth of future artists, and prohibit any further masterpieces that could be created. He says that like artists, we are always repainting the Christian faith, so that we can continue to grow and see great transformation. Rob goes on to say that throughout history, Christians have not painted the perfect painting and we must change along with an ever-changing society. This book is a great tool to see the modern Christian movement in action. He details Mars Hill humble beginnings, all the way to their mega church type congregation we see today. Throughout the book you can really see that Rob has a passion for the ministry, and an even greater passion for reaching out to the people that are not traditionally known as the “Christian Type.” Maybe this is why he is so successful. It seems to me that those were the types of people Christ came to save in the first place. So if you are looking to reach out to people with tattoo’s, piercing's, colored hair, people that are simply not like you, then this is the book for you. You can check out Rob Bell at the following websites:

www.marshill.org
www.nooma.com
(The Nooma site is a series of short films created by Rob Bell. They can be found on You Tube as well.)

90 Minutes In Heaven

On the way back from a Southern Baptist convention in Livingston Texas, Don Piper’s life changed forever. On a rainy day he headed back from the convention filled with hope and new insight, but was involved in an accident that would leave him dead. That’s right, dead! Piper describes in detail his experience in Paradise. His welcoming committee, the singing, the colors, and other things the rest of the world can only imagine. While confined to the car due to the severity of the wreck, another Baptist preacher, also on his way home, was stuck in mile long traffic behind the scene of the accident. Feeling compelled and convicted by the Holy Spirit, he begins to walking to the site of the wreck to pray for those involved. Arriving at the scene, he is confronted by authorities and tells them he is a pastor, and would like to pray for the parties involved. The officer tells him that a couple of people received minor injuries, but there was one fatality. After convincing himself and the officer, they allowed him to go to the car that Piper owned. He crawled inside through the trunk because of the significant damage, and grasped the hand of Piper and began to pray. Praying lead to singing, and singing lead to a chorus with both him and Piper singing! Oh yes! He was alive singing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” All while fighting for the life he had previously lost. Immediately he called for the medical personnel to reevaluate Piper, who had been officially pronounced dead for 90 minutes. After being life-flighted to Houston, Piper began life after death by enduring countless surgeries, a painful experience with a device placed on his leg to stretch his bone, bed sores after being confined to his bed for more than 13 months, doubt, and depression. While dealing with the suffering, he questions why God would allow him to experience such bliss only to have him then return to earth to deal with such agony. After his recovery, he confides in one of his closest friends about his experience in Heaven almost 2 years after the wreck. Piper felt like the experience was for him only, and that no one would believe his story anyway. After convincing Piper otherwise, his friend encourages him to detail the account and begin to share it, because he believes God allowed it to happen so he could share it with others, and now we have “90 Minutes in Heaven.” This book is great for encouragement for anyone enduring difficult times. The details of the suffering and pain had me in tears at a couple of different points of the book. Sometimes we feel like we have it bad, and then you read a story like this and it puts things in proper perspective. Other than Paul’s account of the “Third Heaven” in the New Testament, it is the only heavenly experience I have read about. After reading this book you will have a little more insight into what to expect as we head home. You can check out Don Piper at www.donpiperministries.com

The Five Love Languages

I just finished reading The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman. Point Blank, this is the best marriage book that I have read to date. I would go as far to say that the book in itself is a marriage counselor. Chapman’s simple writing style mixed with his gift for marriage counseling, allowed for a fantastic product. His points of emphasis are on five distinct points that spouses tend to focus on to feel loved. He creatively labels these points “The Five Love Languages.” They are as follows:

Acts of Service
Receiving Gifts
Quality Time
Words of Affirmation
Physical Touch

Dr. Chapman explains how these languages compare to your native speaking language, and your comfort in speaking it. For example, one spouse might feel most loved by spending quality time with his mate, while his mate might feel most loved by random acts of service. He explains that the failure to identify the other’s love language can lead to one or possibly both people not feeling loved by the other. Chapman also points out that we must begin to get comfortable learning a secondary love language if we want to effectively communicate love to our spouse due to our differences. He does a great job of using real life scenarios and actual people in his book that he has counseled over the years that have found success with his ideology. For some reason marriages struggle consistently, but the way Dr. Chapman explains his “Love Language” philosophy in his book it is almost like common sense. I mean if my wife feels most loved by my spending quality time with her, but I am focusing on showering her with gifts, although my intentions are good, I am not speaking love to her. Furthermore, her not responding to the gifts that I am giving leaves me feeling unappreciated. Here’s where the secondary love language comes in. I might like to play sports, hang out with my friends, or go fishing, so it will be uncomfortable for me at first to speak that language to her. Just as in our speaking language it is uncomfortable to speak another language apart from our native language. The more I get comfortable speaking her love language, the more she feels loved by me, and vice versa for her. Sounds like 2+2, but we make it 529x50+b-c. I would recommend this book to anyone with a marriage that is struggling or anyone that is trying to grow in their marriage with their spouse. I believe God can use it to glorify himself through our marriages, and maybe resurrect a marriage that sees hopeless. If you would like to contact Dr. Gary Chapman, his contact information is listed below.

http://www.garychapman.org/