Josh's Best Books 2011

I love books. I love reading them, too. They keep my mind fresh and my soul hungry for more. They adjust my attitudes for better or worse. But they never leave me unchanged.

 And I suppose thats how we get to this list. The best reads are the ones that induce the most change in the reader. The following books impacted in many different ways: spiritually, emotionally, relationally, mentally and vocationally.

So. The List

. 1. Steven James Story: Recapture the Mystery

For me, 2011 was the year of the story. I spoke about stories, I studied stories, I wrote stories, and I told stories. The story influenced me more than any other theme in 2011 (as this list will attest).

Why I like this book: Steven James intertwines poetry, personal story, and the Biblical narrative. Its so beautiful and so powerful. You get wrapped into a story that you already know, but this time you are seeing it in a new light. Best book I read this year.

Why you should read it: You will never read the Bible the same way again.

2. Ken Robinson Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative

Why I like this book: Of all the themes that I explored this year creativity was central. Robinson took me on a fascinating journey through the history of education and how we arrived at a point where reading, writing, and arithmetic are valued higher than the arts (music, painting, dance, etc). Then he provides an outstanding case that the arts and sciences should be on equal footing. Finally he helps us understand that we can learn to be creative again.

Why should you read it: Every area of life needs creative solutions to the problems we face. We need creative solutions in finance, environmental care, churches, family, and more. This book is just a fascinating call to get back to our creative roots.










3. Don Miller A Millions Miles in a Thousand Years

Why I like this book: How would you like to have a movie made about your life? Awesome right? But when the writers show up and tell you that they need to rewrite your life because its a boring story you begin to think through how you are actually living. Don Miller recounts the events when this happened to him.

Why you should read it: Don Miller asks a simple question: "Are you living the best story that you possibly can?" Great question. How do find out? Read this book.

4. Brennan Manning The Furious Longing of God

Why I like this book: I've never encountered a book that forced me to grapple with the heavy and unrelenting love that God has for me. Its not just love but a deep longing to be with me. Its beautiful but its also breathtaking. In other words its a struggle to allow myself to let God love me. Filled with beautiful stories and penetrating insights Manning's book helped me explore a grand spiritual concept.

Why you should read it: If you have never felt love before, or if its been quite some time this may be the book for you. You may not accept everything in it right away but the exploration of the topic will open up an lock region of your heart. 

5. James Andrew Miller ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun

Why I like this book: I am a sports nut. ESPN constitutes 90% of my TV watching. Yes its the history of the network and it was a great story, but what really makes the book is the interviews and first-hand accounts of the people who were involved through the years. Miller tells the facts of the events then he provides the perspectives of those who lived them. Great read although the back-and-forth between narrative and interview did get a little distracting.

Why you should read it: If you watch ESPN like I do this book is a no brainer. If you are building an organization from scratch than this is a great story to read as well. 

Christian by Comparison

At this very moment:

• Folks are having sex with someone other than their spouse
• Little children are being sold into sexual slavery
• People are turning to alcohol, drugs, and other substances to evade reality 
• Employees are stealing from their employers
• Lies are being told by everyone from politicians to preachers. 
• Gossip fills social networks and itchy ears from coast to coast

All this and more is currently happening somewhere on this globe - perhaps even in your neighborhood or in your own home. 

I hurt because these things exist. I ache because there are people dying without knowing that Jesus could really help them. I weep because some of these people doing some of these acts will end up in hell tonight. 

But what kills me more than anything is that there exist some people, who claim to know this Jesus who brings light into darkness, that justify the shortcomings and sins of their own life by telling themselves that "at least I'm not as bad as so-and-so" or "at least I don't do such-and-such"

I call them "Christian by Comparison". They have settled their own righteousness by comparing their actions against those who "struggle" more than they do. They have figured that they are pursuing God enough because they aren't acting like the scandalous person down the street or in another country. 

When a person starts evaluating their righteousness on the actions of other and not by the standard of Christ he or she has completely missed the concepts of grace and forgiveness.  Grace acknowledges that every person, despite their actions, can have a second chance to make it right before God. Forgiveness acknowledges that no one is perfect and all mess up. These concepts put every person on the same playing field in God's eyes. 

Somewhere along the way some folk's attitudes shift from responding to Jesus' call to "be holy for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16) and  begin to measure themselves by the actions of others. Don't they remember that without Jesus all of our righteousness is filthy and worthless (Isaiah 64:6)? 

The Christian is called to a higher standard, to continually pursue becoming like Jesus. There is always stumblings and bumblings along the way. But the pursuit of perfection keeps us from settling stalely into complacency. Look to Jesus as the example and stop settling for doing a little better than the guy down the street. 

Would You Trade 30 for 3

This post came up in a conversation this week and I figured I would repost. Ironically I posted this to another blog  exactly a year ago. Some concepts keep coming around and around I suppose. Enjoy.

No this is not a trick question - like trading 30 pennies for 3 dollars.

This is a straight exchange. Would you trade 30 for 3. 

Jesus arrived on earth as a newborn baby boy. We read of his experience teaching at the temple when he was 12. Then we hear this:  "Jesus grew..." (Luke 2:52) 30 years of life defined by birth and one experience when he was 12. Then...

Then he explodes onto the scene and spends the next three years setting in motion a revolution that has shaped heart and minds for 2000 years. 

So for 30 years Jesus grew. In wisdom. In stature. In favor with man. In favor with God.

To define a focus, a passion, a mission, a purpose. 

Then he spent 3 years executing the plan. 

Now Jesus could have conquered the world as a little baby. "Ga-ga. goo-goo" could have been as powerful a statement as "Follow me." 

But he was experienced 30 years of molding, of testing, of learning - all for 3 short years of ministering. 

Could you fathom doing what Jesus did? Would you trade 30 for 3. Would you work 30 years as a stock boy for just three years as CEO? Would you trade 30 years of nursing for only 3 of running a hospital? Would you carry the bags of all the team members for 30 years just to be the general manager for 3. 

30 for 3. Then its all over. Would you?

Thats a hard question for us. Especially when we think that 2 minutes is entirely too long to download an entire album from iTunes. You know an album that took months/years to finish and perfect.

I can't honestly say to you that I would be willing to wait 30 years to be used for 3. I would like to but then I would be lying. I want much less than 30 and much more than 3. But my prayer, for both you an I, is that we can see the "30", not as obscurity or insignificance, but as a crucial part of becoming God wants us to be and a crucial part of the "3"

Fine Line at the Wrong Time - A Christmas Carol Conversation

"The hopes and fears from all the years are met in thee tonight."

That lovely lyric from the Christmas hymn is one of the most beautiful ever penned. They encompass almost all of the human experience and remind us that Jesus' birth introduced the world to a presence of the divine in a very relatable package.

But I do believe that this particular line is used to described the wrong story. The right character but the wrong tale.

Now both stories involve a rejected family, uncomfortable wooden accommodations, a crowd of unlikely witnesses, kings and a King, shepherds and a Shepherd, and the Divine willingly being placed in situations not deserved.

The hopes and fears of the world may have been represented in the nativity but they were juxtaposed on a hill called The Place of the Skull. In one hand the hope of reconciliation and friendship. In the other hand the failure of trying to deliver ourselves. Both hands nailed to a cross.

The cross was simultaneously triumph and defeat. It was finished. But it was just beginning. We fear the end. We hope for another beginning. In the cross we both.

Christmas was just the beginning. Let's remember that. Now is the time when we celebrate the opening pages of the story of Jesus. And for those that follow him it the beginning of our story too.

Photoshop and Original Sin

A misspelling can be changed. But only as long as the change goes to the root.

A couple years ago I was asked to create a logo for our church. A daunting task indeed. The public image of the church was now placed in the incapable hands of a novice. I suppose some people just have strong faith…

But I toiled through the project and got the work approved. And I promise to you that I had the logo checked and double-checked by so many people that there was no way that an egregious error would come back to bite me. 

Well, it did. Who knew that the absence of a little letter i  would be my undoing. Ok, thats over-dramatizing the situation but still, my spelling positive as postive has been the highlight of my illustrious graphic design career. 

 So I did what any other person would do. I fixed the mistake and created new logos. And for the last two years we have been a model of spelling royalty. 

Until last Monday.

Its when we got word that the huge t-shirt order contained a misspelling. 

Really?

Yeah, postive crept up again. Fortunately the company caught it and fixed the problem. 

But it sent me on a scavenger hunt trying to find how this could have happened. Again. 

The Corrected Version 

Well I looked back into an original source file. And there I found the error. Tucked gently, neatly, inconspicuously into the logo which I had to needed to convert to black for the shirts. I changed the color, but not the spelling. 

And yet all I can think of is sin. Not that spelling something wrong is a sin (well, maybe) but sin gets into our original source files and it seems to rear its ugly head every now and then just to remind us that we ultimately fail when we rely on our own strength.

But this ordeal has also made me grateful for grace. Yes I mess up but I have the power (through Jesus) to change the original source files and live an less error filled life. 

Our Life for Our Community

I originally wrote for my team at LCC. But I figured it may bring some encouragement to you as well. 

There is a so much to do during the holidays. Aside from family traditions we have the great task at reaching out to our community and beckoning them to come and meet Jesus.

As the season grinds on for us let us remember a couple things:

1. Our cause is the greatest cause ever.

          The Easter story starts at Christmas. Jesus could not die if he was not born. 

We could not be reconciled to God without Jesus' death. 

2. Our response to Jesus determines other's response to Jesus.

         Our testimony or story of how Jesus has changed our lives is THE greatest proof to others who are looking for positive life change. We must remain conscious that our people are watching our lives to see if we act how we believe. 

3. Our Time must not remain our own.

          Hours are the curency of eternity. You can't wrap a ticket to heaven in a box with a bow. But we can spend time sharing the messge of Jesus. The more time we invest the greater the we see the dividends of the Kingdom.

And as we share the love of Jesus with our community lets also share in the love of our families and remember that they are one of the greatest gifts that God ever gave us.