Well, from time to time on here, I mention a few things that I’ve been reading through and encourage you to do the same. I thought for today’s post, I’d throw out two books I’ve been currently working through that I enjoy and think you will as well.
The first book I’ve been reading through is called Know Doubt by John Ortberg. You may recognize that name... John (and his wife, Nancy) are both awesome writers, and you can never go wrong picking up one of their books. Anyway, I’ve really found this to be a great read on the subject of faith, and specifically in embracing uncertainty in our faith; times when we wonder if God is really there, or if we can count on Him in particular aspects of our lives. Ortberg’s thoughts in this book are honest, but also make a lot of sense, and most of all, give hope to people like me who sometimes struggle following God in faith. I’m not finished yet, but I’m about 2/3 of the way through, and I’m really enjoying it. I hope you will too.
The second book I’ve been working through is actually one that I’m doing with our Suncrest Leadership Track guys, and it’s called unChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. Kinnaman is the president of Barna Research Group, and this book is the unpacking of a massive research study that the Barna Group did on the perceptions people outside of the Christian faith (mostly 16-29 year olds) have about those who are Christ followers. I want to be completely honest on here... there are a lot of statistics in this book. They’re definitely explained in an easily understandable way, but be forewarned... there are statistics, so don’t get freaked out.
It’s definitely an interesting (and humbling) study, but very informative. After all, if we’re going to reach out to people around us who don’t believe in Christ, we should at least know how they feel about us; what tensions they are experiencing and what barriers we might be (unknowingly) putting up that are keeping people from coming back to church and discovering a relationship with Jesus Christ. unChristian talks about six major things people feel about Christ followers, and then at the end of each chapter, actually talks about ways in which the church can stand up and reverse some misconceptions that people have of Jesus and his church. Definitely a worthwhile read as we together strive to be a church that cares about people far from God.
That’s what I’ve been reading through lately. I’d love to hear what you’re reading. And if you’ve got nothing to read, there’s two suggestions!
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