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Category Archives: Books

“Training Camp”

I finally got around to reading Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else by Jon Gordon, which I’ve been interested in for a while. The book is a fictional story that shares lessons on pursuing greatness. The story follows Martin Jones, an undrafted rookie trying to make it in the NFL. DuringContinue Reading »

What the Most Powerful Preachers Do Before Breakfast

In the last two days, I read three mini-ebooks by Laura Vanderkam. The books are from her series, What the Most Successful People Do. The books are good because they are short, practical, and include lots of personal stories and application. What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast is about early morning routines andContinue Reading »

I Love the Psalms!

I’ve always loved the book of Psalms. I am often reading through the psalms. In fact, in the earlier days of my journey, I followed what I heard was Billy Graham’s system for reading Psalms and Proverbs (5 psalms and 1 chapter of Proverbs per day, reading through each book once a month). I wantContinue Reading »

5 Children’s Books for Family Devotions

Our most important responsibility as parents is discipling our children! While we can always do better, it is something we’ve been intentional about from the beginning. Some of our previous posts include: Praying the Scriptures for Your Children, Praying for Your Children, Family Devotion, Teaching Kids to Pray, and “Praying Circles Around Your Children” (theseContinue Reading »

“Praying Circles Around Your Children”

Praying for your children is a non-negotiable. And, I just read a great resource for parents who want to pray for their kids: Praying Circles Around Your Children by Mark Batterson. Last year, I read The Circle Maker, also by Mark Batterson. I wrote several posts about it. The last one, with links to allContinue Reading »

“You Only Have to Die”

Leading transformation is hard work. And, according to James Harnish, the cost is great! Several years ago, we read You Only Have to Die in a Doctor of Ministry class at Asbury Theological Seminary. Harnish is pastor of Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa, Florida. The book is written on the premise, “Hope isContinue Reading »

Dreams Should Get Bigger As We Get Older

When I read The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson this past year (I wrote several posts; the last one was 5 Takeaways From “The Circle Maker”), one section that struck me was the idea that as we age, we typically follow one of two paths: we either move toward memory or imagination. Batterson writes …Continue Reading »

Francis Asbury on the Preaching Experience

I recently started reading through Francis Asbury’s journal (see my previous post). I’m still only on page 50 of Volume 1 (of 3), but one thing that strikes me is how much Asbury writes about preaching, and how much he talks about his preaching in experiential terms. Here are a number of examples of howContinue Reading »

Francis Asbury’s Arrival in America

For a while now, I’ve been casually reading American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodists by John Wigger. I’m enjoying it, but I also recently began reading Asbury’s three-volume journal (Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3). Asbury begins his journal talking about a conference that took place on August 7, 1771 where he made himselfContinue Reading »

Eugene Peterson on the Preaching of Jesus

One book I just started reading is Tell It Slant by Eugene Peterson (I’ve always loved Peterson; his book, The Contemplative Pastor, had a huge impact on me early on when I was in seminary, preparing for ministry). The subtitle of Tell It Slant is, “a conversation on the language of Jesus in his storiesContinue Reading »