Life + Faith

Tag: Writing

  • My Top Books of 2016

    This is the week in the blogosphere where all bloggers release those awful list posts, humbly bragging about what they read this year. It’s an easy post to write, tickles the ego, and promotes faux intelligence. It also makes you feel bad for not achieving your own reading goals, and a reminder of all those other goals you failed to complete this year.

    Well, here’s another.

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    For me, 2016 was a horrendous reading year. I only finished 11 books. I won’t give you my excuses but will put reading back into its rightful position in 2017.

    So for the third year in a row, and in no particular order, here are my top books of 2016:

    Do More Better: A Practical Guide To Productivity by Tim Challies

    Here’s a little gem, at just over 100 pages, which helps you think through your own productivity system. Much of the advice given can be applied to the different spheres in which you find yourself – work, family, personal, recreation etc. It just helps having a good system and the one by Challies’ outlined here is a good fit for me.

    Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practical Guide by Cameron Cole and Jon Nielson

    If you want a good primer on youth ministry, giving theological grounding and practical outworking of that theology, then this is a good book. Every Senior Pastor and Youth Pastor should read this. If you’re in youth ministry as a volunteer it will give you a good idea of the foundational thinking your Youth Pastor should be thinking through, as well as providing you with excellent training in the process.

    Each chapter is about a particular topic: making disciples in youth ministry, teaching the Bible, building relationships, forming a gospel-community, partnering with parents, how to make youth ministry inter-generational, small groups, leadership training, music and worship, retreats and events, evangelism, serving the poor, and short-term missions. There’s a lot there and it’s all very solid.

    This book would now make my Top 3 Books for Youth Ministry.

    Martyn Lloyd-Jones: His Life And Relevance For The 21st Century by Christopher Catherwood

    There is something about Martyn Lloyd-Jones that draws me to read about his life and ministry. His own writings and sermons are invaluable themselves, but so are the reflections of others about his life. In this book Lloyd-Jones’s eldest grandson gives a brief precis about his life before delving into topics missed by other biographers. There are the chapters to expect, one on preaching and another on the centrality of Scripture. But, there are also chapters on home life, and how he is relevant and appealing to Millennials and the 21st century.

    It’s not a long book and is easy to digest. It’s worth the read.

    Luther on The Christian Life: Cross & Freedom by Carl R. Trueman

    The ‘On The Christian Life‘ series is a terrific series for those of us that enjoy biography and historical theology. Bringing this together with Martin Luther, one of the most significant figures in Christian history, Carl Trueman does an exceptional job. Albeit I’m a bit of a Trueman fanboy, but he does do a great job in outlining Luther’s life and theological growth, centred on his theology of the cross.

    Chapters cover Luther’s life, the Word, liturgy, baptism and mass, righteousness, and living and dying in the world.

    Growing Young: 6 Essential Strategies To Help Young People Discover And Love Your Church by Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Brad Griffin. 

    I can’t really go through this list without mentioning Growing Young. This is the book I’ve spent the most time in this year, thinking it through and reflecting upon it. To get a better idea of the book you can read all nine reflection posts on this blog if you’re so inclined!

    The main premise of this volume is what keeps young people in church. Much has been written about why young people are leaving the church, but this is a piece of research summarised into six core reasons why young people stay.

    This is a book for anyone who works with young people in churches. From senior leadership to volunteer leaders to parents and grandparents, this is a good resource to help you think through how to integrate young people in your church.

    Well, that’s the top 5 for 2016. If you’d like to read 2014 and 2015 then go ahead and do so.

    I hope you’re 2016 reading was better than mine, but if it wasn’t then why not try this awesome reading challenge for 2017?

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    My Top Books: Yearly Series
    2014
    2015
    2016 (this post)
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    2021
    2022
    2024
    2025

  • Jesus Invites You In – A Christmas Poem

    Below is a Christmas poem written by someone who attends Rowville Baptist. It was written and shared last week at a local retirement village. I had the privilege of having it emailed to me and received permission to share it here. Enjoy.

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    Jesus Invites You In!

    Young Mary with Joseph a journey did make

    Tho’ pregnant with child, this risk she must take

    There were thieves along the way, the road was rough

    By the time they reached Bethlehem they had had enough

    They were hungry and weary, the babe was due any minute

    When they saw the inn they hurried to get in it

    They knocked on the inn’s door and asked to lodge there

    The innkeeper refused, for their plight he didn’t care.

    “No room” he said, you cannot stay,

    “Go to the stable, go sleep on the hay”

    The tills were overflowing, business was good;

    Take in these straggling strangers? Couldn’t see why he should

    But he paid a price when “No room” he cried

    He missed big time when the shepherds arrived

    He never got to hear how the heavenly host did sing

    He missed being at the birth of our Saviour and King

    We recall this story each year for a reason

    Lord, help us reach out to others this season

    As the day approaches and we are all set to rejoice

    Help us remember those who have no voice

    Lord may we not reject with a word or a glance

    And say “We have no room”, not give others a chance

    With your heart and your eyes help us to see,

    And pray for the suffering, for those who aren’t free

    We pray for ourselves to do unto others

    Remembering always they’re our sisters and brothers

    Lord we think of the many souls that are lost

    We thank you, you saved us at such a great cost

    How thankful we are that You made Yourself known

    Visited us as a babe, left behind Your own throne

    We are so thankful Lord Jesus, that you love us so much

    Others who don’t know You, they too need Your touch

    Now as Christmas approaches, You stand at the door

    Saying “Come in, come in, there’s always room for more”

    – Marlene S

  • Of Masks and Men

    stingProfessional wrestling seemed to peak in the late 90s, while I was finishing up high school. I remember nicking off from school to go watch Main Event: WrestleMania at a mate’s house, hoping to get a glimpse of Sting come down from the rafters and scare the hell out of everyone in the ring. Ah, fun times.

    Sting was one of those wrestlers that wore a mask. He wouldn’t wear a corny one that looks like a piece of lycra with some holes in it. No, Sting’s mask was painted on, a white paint with some black flowing stripes. It showed enough of his face to know who it was but also hid something behind it, enough to leave some mystery.

    Like entertaining wrestlers we too live behind masks. Probably more than one.

    A wrestler does it for entertainment, for their work, to become someone they’re not in real life. Much like an actor playing their role in a biopic. We, on the other hand, seem to hide behind masks because we’re fearful of what others might think of us.

    I wonder what masks you wear?

    In Matthew 23:25-26 Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for wearing masks. He says,

    Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

    Jesus condemns the Pharisees and scribes for their two-faced hypocritical lives. They elevate the law and commandments and self-made rules above loving God and neighbour. They wear masks as they walk around pontificating about their own righteousness, shown by their outward signs and condemnation of other ‘sinners’. Yet on the inside these Pharisees and scribes are as unrighteous, sinful and dirty as the prostitute, tax collector, and leper.

    It is hard to take our masks off. Like a woman taking off her make-up, scrubbing hard to get the foundation and blush and lippy off her face so too it is hard for us to scrub our masks off and reveal our true self to the world. If we expose our blemishes to the world we fear what people will think, we fear we will be judged, we fear we will be rejected.

    Thankfully we have one that knows our true self. Thankfully we are known by Him who accepts us, blemishes and all. As much as we turn away, hide and put Him aside, God sees all of us and accepts all of us. Despite our faults and imperfections God stands with open arms accepting us just the way we are.

    This post is a free writing exercise in response to The Daily Post topic ‘Mask‘. 

  • Another Year Begins

    It’s a New Year.

    A time filled with expectation, excitement and possibilities. 

    For me this means a couple of changes, particularly early in the year. I currently have seven more days of leave before I begin as Associate Pastor for Youth & Young Adults at Rowville Baptist Church. In early March there will be a new addition to our family so that will change things up a bit too!

    With the turn of a new year brings the opportunity to take stock of what’s important and bring some focus to the year.

    I find I’m not very good at resolutions but I do enjoy taking time to think, pray, and plan the coming weeks and months.

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    With this in mind there is always the goal of writing and blogging more. I found last year a bit difficult in this regard, mainly due to personal reasons, as can be seen by my posting patterns. Yet, as 2016 has come upon us the writing vibe has gradually been increasing and I hope to see this as an avenue for more blogging.

    If you hang around here over the coming months I hope you will see posts about the Christian faith, youth ministry, sport, and some reflections on what I’m thinking through or teaching. It’s a random assortment of material, which isn’t exactly the advice given by the blogging gurus out there. But nevertheless, I do hope it will be a benefit to you as readers as it will be to me the writer. 🙂

  • 2015 In Review

    The WordPress.com stats monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

    Considering I’ve hardly written at all this year (7 posts in all) I’m pretty happy with these. Here’s hoping for a better writing year in 2016!

    Here’s an excerpt:

    A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,800 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 30 trips to carry that many people.

    Click here to see the complete report.