tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-275012342011-04-21T13:20:48.054-06:00Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.comBlogger301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-8408998396112387472006-12-06T14:57:00.000-06:002007-01-16T15:16:55.226-06:00

Kertzer's book The Popes Against the Jewsdocumented the Vatican's role in the rise of modern European antisemitism. Kertzer documented (through the Vatican's own archives) that the Catholic church systematically oppressed the Jews through the same means as Hitler's Third Reich, only short of mass extermination. Walled ghettos, compulsory yellow identification badges, accusations of ritual murder

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-30342805719331690632006-11-30T14:59:00.000-06:002007-01-16T15:14:35.789-06:00

I really liked Tuesdays with Morrie. So I assumed I'd like Mitch Albom's book The Five People You Meet in Heaven. But I didn't. I wonder how many other people made the same assumption.But now that I look at it, the assumption seems silly. Tuesdays was a personal experience documentary based on real interviews. The 5 Peoplewas just a weird little novella.I'm pretty open-minded. So the fact that

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146710673955914492005-01-26T21:55:00.000-06:002007-01-16T15:19:20.504-06:00

The Power of Team Leadership: Achieving Success Through Shared Responsibility (Barna Reports)is a must-read for those transitioning to ministry teamsI like George Barna. I like the fact that he's able to get down and dirty with all of the empirical evidence he gathers from his surveys. And I like the fact that he can then step back to show the reader the big picture of what he's really talking

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146710315938041722005-01-19T16:58:00.000-06:002007-01-16T15:26:46.000-06:00

Thanks to Marty for the recommendationA little over a week ago, I wrote an entry about the books I intend to read for 2005. Almost immediately, I received a recommendation from Marty, stating only "Try The Art of the Startby Guy Kawasaki." After a little online research (on amazon.com) I decided this is definitely a book I wanted to get my hands on.Three nights ago I was at a Barnes & Noble in

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146710177123467332005-01-19T16:28:00.000-06:002007-01-16T15:31:01.183-06:00

The Pursuit of GodAn Amazing Devotional ClassicThis is one of those books that I decided I should read because, well ... I own it ... and I guess I should be nurturing my relationship with God ... and it claims to be a devotional classic. So I put it on my Books to Read in 2005 list to support my roles and goals for this current year.And I picked it up and started reading. And there were so many

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146710030412312662005-01-09T23:18:00.000-06:002006-05-03T20:46:02.606-06:00

What will I read this year?Before going into 2005, I was able to spend some serious retreat time with some fellow pastors going through the Focusing Leaders material from CRM. It was really amazing and invigorating. Among other things, I defined some of my big picture roles and goals for 2005. Included in some of those goals are books that I need to read.Here are some of them:1 Book on Family

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146709938857478842004-12-10T00:08:00.000-06:002006-05-03T20:32:18.860-06:00

In which the blogger confesses to reading without reportingRecently, I have read a number of books. This list may be incomplete, but here it stands. It can do no other. So help it, God.Random Acts of Grace - by Paul and Nicole JohnsonBoundaries - by Henry CloudOrdering Your Private World - by Gordon MacDonaldPrayer - by Ellen G. WhiteLies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them - by Al FrankenA Wrinkle

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146709752309838722004-10-14T22:23:00.000-06:002006-05-03T20:29:12.310-06:00

The story of how the Adventist church started, developed, and became what it is todayC. Mervyn Maxwell's Tell It to the World is an excellent popular history of the Great Advent Movement. Starting with the story of the Great Awakening and the Millerite movement, Maxwell takes us step by step through the Great Disappointment of 1844, an understanding of the heavenly sanctuary, Ellen White's first

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146709665761519722004-10-14T21:31:00.000-06:002006-05-03T20:27:45.763-06:00

Mary had a naughty heart and didn't know what to do...By far THE BEST systematic treatment I have ever read on the subjects of righteousness by faith, substitutionary atonement, justification, sanctification, grace, authentic Christian living, prayer, and witnessing is written for 6-year-olds.Published in the 70s, this children's book by Susan Davis follows the story of Mary, a little girl who

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146709531973355982004-10-14T21:08:00.000-06:002006-05-03T20:25:31.976-06:00

How to live a holy life by taking Christ's gift of righteousnessIn his book, Christ and His Righteousness, E. J. Waggoner explores the Biblical evidence for righteousness by faith. What this book lacks in length, it makes up for in depth. Some pages will give you as many as 10 Bible verses you're expected to look up yourself (if you really want to follow his arguments in that kind of detail).

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146709386736333562004-09-29T17:55:00.000-06:002006-05-03T20:23:06.736-06:00

An amazing look into how our country was formedThis book details (though not completely chronologically) the intricate workings of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Frankly, I am amazed that we have a functional government at all. The book shows over and over again how it almost never happened.During the several months of constitutional meetings, many tricky balances were hammered out - how

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146709176265053552004-07-20T21:34:00.000-06:002006-05-03T20:19:36.273-06:00

Biblical patterns for receiving God's callWhile I think this is a good book for anyone who wants to know about hearing God's call, I think it is an especially great resource book for preachers. It provides compelling character sketches on more than 30 biblical personalities, and it shows how God worked through all sorts of different situations to make his call known.I used some material from this

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146708244733696132004-07-09T23:47:00.000-06:002006-05-03T20:04:04.736-06:00

In which the blogger laments not being able to speak ItalianI guess it's time you all knew the truth. I admit it. I'm a tad ashamed, but this is the first time I have ever read Dante's Inferno. It's just that no one ever forced me to in all my academic career.(paragraph two goes here)And that's why I never learned Italian. So I feel ill-equipped to comment on Dante's greatness as a poet (second

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146708023534391972004-07-05T11:31:00.000-06:002006-05-03T20:00:23.536-06:00

In which the blogger suggests the author get counselingI guess I should start out by saying that this is not my book. I "borrowed" it from Pastor Matt Segebartt in Lincoln, NE about a month ago when I was staying at his house. I saw it sitting on his shelf, and I appropriated it because it looked so interesting. I did ask before I removed it from his house, however. So I suppose I owe Pastor Matt

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146707839741618192004-07-04T10:37:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:57:19.743-06:00

In which the blogger laughs out loud at Dan Brown, Dave Barry, and Hollywood (in that order)Previously, I wrote my opinions about The DaVinci Code (read it here). It was obvious from my posting that I thought the book was pretty silly (if fun to read). Here is Dave Barry's take on The DaVinci Code. You can tell that he and I share the same opinion about Dan Brown's bestseller. Of course, Dave

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146707630405324372004-07-02T23:57:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:53:50.406-06:00

In which the author of this blog is disappointed in a neutered and impotent GospelI think we have to see if this "Gospel" is really all that the word denotes. Gospel means "good news." As I read through Tolstoy's gospel, I was very confused how any of this could be good news to anyone. Because of Tolstoy's philosophical bent (no doubt), all of the miraculous events are taken out of the gospel.

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146707531950517812004-07-01T22:22:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:52:11.950-06:00

In which the author stresses about not reviewing several books he has completedSo, since the last time I blogged (sorry about the length of my absence), I have finished reading 5 books. I will list them here, give a slight impression, and spend some time writing about them later.Cat's Cradle - by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. - trippyGoodbye, Mr. Chips - by James Hilton - touchingThe Screwtape Letters - by

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146707398887492142004-04-29T17:47:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:49:58.886-06:00

hmm.From all the hype, I had supposed this book either a) was extremely well written or b) provided some evidence for the Mary Magdalene conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, it failed on both counts.The story did, however, drag the reader along quite nicely.(I've been told Brown's Angels & Demons is better. I'll have to read it next time I want a conspiracy theory about the Catholic Church and the

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146707308694719742004-04-28T21:26:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:48:28.696-06:00

In which the blogger ponders the meaning of the word "Secret"No matter what you are doing in life, you must communicate with others in some form or another (hermits excluded). John Baldoni explores the topic of communication from a leadership standpoint, even claiming that a person can lead up the chain by communicating well. In this book, Baldoni looks at preparation, execution, and follow-up.

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146707188820500602004-01-16T19:57:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:46:28.820-06:00

In which the author exhibits frustration at chronological BiblesSo, I'm through Psalms, now. And I'm really only about 100 pages away from being half-way done with the whole Bible. I guess that means I'm still a little behind, but I'm not too far behind.I think I have finally decided that I don't like the chronological Bible so much. I mean, it's kinda' neat to have things in chronological order,

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146707100082622762004-01-09T20:38:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:45:00.083-06:00

In which the author "hurrays" over recent gifts from his motherThanks to amazon.com, Christmas from my mother came a bit late this year. It was good. I like it a bit more spread out. It's like the surprise dessert after an already satisfying meal. Anyway, the gifts came late. She sent us "Winged Migration" on DVD, "You are the New Day" CD by the King's Singers, and several books on bird watching

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146706953568236182004-01-09T20:28:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:43:19.410-06:00

In which the author admits missing a day or soRight. So I've mostly caught up to where I'm supposed to be. I missed a day's reading. And then put in a bit of extra time trying to make it up. Luckily, I've established this as reading the Bible through in 40 days, but calculated how much I need to read based on 31 days. That way, there's some room for slip-ups.So far, I'm through with Genesis, Job,

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146706838225137972004-01-02T11:11:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:40:38.226-06:00

In which the author attempts to do it 12X as fastI'm attempting to read through the entire Bible in 40 days. I've done it before in a month's time. It seems like a good way to start out the year. This year, the Bible I'm using is the One Year Chronological Bible, New Living Translation. It has the Bible divided up into "365 daily readings arranged in the order the events actually happened." The

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146706626430712362004-01-01T14:46:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:37:06.430-06:00

sensitive, technical, movingRead this book and then write out your living will. In How We Die, Sherwin Nuland takes the time to demythologize the process of dying. I almost cried about 4 different places in the book, as Nuland was describing the processes of real people along with real doctors trying to fight a battle they cannot ultimately win.Nuland is very technical as he takes us step by step

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146706498399227342003-12-30T22:46:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:34:58.400-06:00

I can't believe it took him that long to say thatThe Problem of Pain is a good book. In it, C. S. Lewis tackles a very sticky problem: how can a loving God allow the pain and suffering we see in the world around us? Himself a former atheist, Lewis takes the time to address real accusations and issues in a thoughtful way. However, I really believe brevity and simplicity of arguments would have

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146706262330132182003-12-26T19:56:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:31:02.333-06:00

In which the author attempts to explain how he chooses which books to readKendra and I own a lot of books. I know "a lot" is a subjective term, but the way I know we have "a lot" is that I have only read a small fraction of the entire collection. So my "a lot" is purely relative to my past reading record and my current reading capacity.We have books upstairs, downstairs, and at my office. I have

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146706151631475572003-12-26T19:04:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:29:11.633-06:00

Amazing writing. Depressing topic. I couldn't put it down.In his book The Pearl, John Steinbeck explores the nature of good and evil, economic classes, class (im-)mobility, greed, luck, destiny, happiness, and profound loss.This is the third time I have read The Pearl. I think the first time was in the 7th grade (as if being a teenager wasn't depressing enough). It is one of the first books to

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146706064478781002003-12-25T19:16:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:27:44.480-06:00

Looks like a book I'll have to read againI just picked out three books to start reading. I knew Steinbeck's The Pearl and Lewis' The Problem of Pain would satisfy me in their interrelatedness, but I did not know that Dillard's Holy the Firm would add meaningfully to that set. Having never read anything by Annie Dillard before, I decided to start there.You really should read this book. It is

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146705982225226682003-12-25T16:11:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:26:22.226-06:00

A half-decent book on biblical stewardshipTruthfully, I was a little disappointed in this book. It purports to be "33 Laws," but several of the laws are just different ways of saying the same thing. For instance, Law 26 is "The Law of Unconditional Contentment" and Law 28 is "The Law of Godly Contentment." Both of these "Laws" use Paul in prison to make the exact same point about how we should be

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27501234.post-1146705874305019502003-12-25T15:32:00.000-06:002006-05-03T19:24:34.313-06:00

In which the author attempts to set forth the purpose of this blogI like to read all different sorts of books, although I have recently concentrated in the area of church leadership. Often, after I have read certain books, I find myself (quite uncontrollably) recommending them to others. In this log, I will be commenting on books I am reading, or have read (or intend to read - *ahem*). This

Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17005660504732359039noreply@blogger.com0