Becoming Greek

Sex God

I think this is one of the best books on sex that I have ever read. It is not just a book for married people or for single people, but for people. The book helps you take a deeper look into scripture and human nature. It is a quick read, and is a must read for anyone who is a teacher or preacher. It is an easy absorb, and helps you put into words a lot of things that you already know..... Take some time to read Rob Bell's Sex God if you have the chance.

Irresistible Revolution

I want to give a review of a book that was recommended to me by a friend named Ryan Gerber. It is called the Irresistible Revolustion by Shane Claiborne. Now that I am driving all the time I am buying itunes books, and this was read by the author which added to the experience. He has an impressive resume with the theme that he is talking about. The best way to describe his philosophy was that a Christian community is to be more communist without the Marx influence. Everyone looks out for one another, pitches money in together, and have community items. It is very different thought process from our hoarding mentality that most Americans have. He has slept out with the homeless, picketed numerous events, been detained by the secret service, saved a homeless community living in a abandoned church, spent 3 months in India with mother Teresa, did a year internship at Willow Creek, spent quality time with Rich Mullins (our God is a awesome God), did a tour in Iraq in 2003 during the height of the war, did a year at Wheaton, and 3 years at Eastern in Philadelphia.

The stories about his life alone are so interesting. He practices what he preaches and it is nice to hear an author so dedicated to his cause. It is well thought out and his main idea is this: We insulate ourselves from the poor because we do not spend time with them. It is easier to write a check than to spend the night on the streets. It is easier to pay for a hotel room than to invite someone into your home. It made me think a lot about my responsibility to the poor, and to the unfortunate as a Christian. It also made me think a lot about how to create community as a church planter in Greece. It also stretched my thinking with our future church budget. I think this book will influence me to look at giving a lot of the money to outside sources. To create a church that is community with the community.

He has a very strong worldview. He tends to be political and critical of the current systems that we live in as Americans. I could see very patriotic, and the mega churched cringe at a few parts. But it is a book about a revolution. It was new thinking, and it was loaded with stories and scripture.

An excerpt from my book

If you don't know I have been working on a youth ministy leadership book. I am sitting in the back yard by Chet's old chimnea writting with Ryan Gerber. Right now we are having some trouble with a title. Right now it is "Everything you need to hit the ground running: The most practicle youth ministry book ever written." But I am not sure on it. Post any suggestions.

Here is an excerpt. (Andrea- the grammer and structure has not been worked through yet) This is raw an uncut from this afternoon. It is the begining of my Integrity chapter. Let me know your thoughts...

My brother lives in India as a missionary. One of the adventures that he was able to take was a climb to Mt Everest base camp. I am intrigued when I think about Everest. A mountain that is so tall that the normal human body was not meant to climb it. If I were to take you right now to the top of Everest, you would die. In fact the oxygen at the top of Everest is one of the most challenging things about the climb. The air is so thin that normal lungs will suffocate. The air is so thin that helicopters can not fly to the top of the mountain.
The body is not acclimated to be 5 miles above sea level. Except for one group of people the sherpas. Sherpas are the native people that live in the Tibetan region called Solo Khumbu. These people are smaller than most, but are extremely strong. Not only are they strong for their body size, but they have an extreme ability to withstand altitude sickness. Altitude sickness can cause headache, nausea, insomnia, or even sever body damage. I personally have only been in one location in life where I have watched people feel the affects of altitude sickness.
We were on a flight to Santa Cruz Bolivia for a mission’s trip. During the flights we had a stopover at the capitol city named La Paz. While we on this brief stopover a lot of our students were nauseous and getting headaches. It was still early morning and so it was dark outside. I knew from geography that La Paz is nestled in the middle of the Andes mountains. But when you looked outside the windows you could not tell if you were in the mountains, or have any clue about your altitude. So I asked one of the ground personal on the plane what the altitude was in La Paz. His answer was 4,000. I thought to myself that is not very high. I was thinking about how I grew up in Montana in a similar altitude of 4,000 feet above sea level. However, I quickly realized he was not talking about feet, but about meters. All of a sudden I realized we were almost 12,000 feet above sea level. Most of the students in our group were from locations that were less than 100 feet above sea level, and it was affecting them immediately. I watched a normal energetic group of teens slump in their seats, and try to sleep it off.
I was able to walk around and continue to operate normally since I was born and raised in a high altitude climate. When you are born in these altitudes you body naturally adjusts. But lets get away from me and back to the sherpas.
Most people that climb Everest need to pay the sherpas to carry equipment, and their oxygen tank. Imagine a strong 200lb football player from California, using a 90lb sherpa who is carrying 80lbs of equipment for the both of them.
My brother was enamored by the sherpas when he hiked to base camp. To give you a background: Base camp is the first stage to climb Everest. There are several stages the climbers use. At each stage they spend time living and adjusting to the altitude before they can move on to the next camp. The process to climb Everest is weeks because of this acclimation of elevation.
When my brother was at base camp he talked about how winded he became. He told me that he struggled to walk. Even a small walk would leave him breathless. The sherpas were playing a game of basketball. While others have trouble walking they are sprinting.
One of the most famous sherpas was a man named Babu Chiri. He holds the record for staying at the summit of Everest for 20 hours. He was the strongest in the world when it came to altitude acclimation. When others were made for low altitude, Babu could climb higher.
The truth is in ministry, the high road is a lonely one. You will be faced with decisions that many are faced with, but will you chose the same outcome? Only a few can handle the high road. It is easier to stay at low altitudes. It is easy to do the easy things. It is hard to do what is right all the time. A great leader is someone who can handle the highest road.

There is the intro....

This weekend after church the CLA staff is having a pastors retreat. We have all read "Five Dysfunctions of a team" and are looking to make each other better. The book is a quick read, and it makes me want to be the best team player possible. We are going to be talking vision for the future of CLA. We are meeting, praying, and playing together. We are also going to hit the golf ball around a little as well..... Keep our team in prayer this weekend as we have this transforming time. As Jamie and I get ready to transition we are cherishing these last moments. Only a few more days until Ireland!!!