Playing Catch Up ...

Spring Break ’09

Spring Break was wonderful! I got some much needed rest, got a lot of work accomplished, went out of town visiting family for a few days, and bought my cap & gown and graduation invitations. :-)

Graduation

Less than 2 months to go. I just have 14 class days left (with a lot of work to complete in that time)!!!

Grad School

Nothing new ~ still waiting for my official acceptance letter. Shouldn’t be too much longer.

Current Reading

I just finished the book The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns (He’s the president of World Vision). It’s a powerful book. Here’s a quote from the back cover of the book to give you an idea of what it's about:

“The Hole in Our Gospel is the compelling true story of a corporate CEO who set aside worldly success for something far more significant, and discovered the full power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to change his own life. He uses his journey to demonstrate how the gospel – the whole gospel – was always meant to be a world-changing social revolution, a revolution that begins with us.”

The following is one of my favorite quotes from the book ~

“If Church leaders do not have an outward vision to become salt and light in our world, to promote social and spiritual transformation, pursue justice, and proclaim the whole gospel, the Church will fail to realize its potential as an agent of change. It will become inwardly focused on meeting the needs of its members, to the exclusion of its nonmembers. It will be a spiritual cocoon, where Christians can retreat from a hostile world, rather than a ‘transformation station’ whose primary objective is to change the world. We need only read our church bulletin to see where our priorities have been placed. How many of the announcements involve program that focus more on meeting our needs than the needs of those outside the church? I’ve been in churches whose bulletins read more like the table of contents for Psychology Today, listing programs and support groups for depression, anxiety, divorice recovery, bipolar disorder, ... eating disorders, and dieting, not to mention aerobics, Pilates, cooking classes, and Tae Kwon Do. It’s not that churches shouldn’t minister to their own members, but there should be a balance between internal and external ministry … When our churches become spiritual spas in which we retreat from the world, our salt loses its saltiness, and we are no longer able to impact the culture. Morgan Chilulu, an African pastor of a small and humble church in the midst of the AIDS pandemic, once told me, ‘A church that lives within its four walls is no church at all.’ That says it all.” (p179-180)

It’s a good book. If you read it, you can expect to be challenged. In addition, all of the royalties due to the author are going to World Vision, so that’s an added bonus. ; )

You can buy it from Amazon by clicking HERE. I'm sure you can also find it elsewhere.

Birthday

My birthday is next Saturday!!! I have one week left as a teenager ... man that feels weird. :)

That’s all for now …

Be a blessing.