From the Secret Message of Jesus, here is a quick excerpt on the topic of God's Kingdom and Christ's message. I'm using this book as part of a series on discipleship. Some evangelicals might throw me under the bus for that, but I'll repent on my death bed so it's all good.....

....Jesus says again and again, this kingdom advances with neither violence nor bloodshed, with neither hatred nor revenge.

Tell that to all the 'Christians' in America who picket against homosexuals or abortion with signs like, "God hates fags". Actually, God hates intolerant white people with racists signage. God also does not stamps his name next to America because they solve their problems in a very pagan way....

Continue reading →

Dave Fitch's book is still the best on missional church, but for 'introduction to....' The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay is the best out there. I'm halfway through and although i haven't encountered much in the way of new thinking, I love some of the quotes, I have included one here:

"Church is the place you go to, and attendees don't have to do much in the way of mission because the pros do it for t hem. We show up at church to get what we want ((which is feeding from a leader), not what we need (to feed ourselves and others). If we don't get what we want, we head to the place next door because that chaplain is better at giving us what we want." pg 56

If this is an accurate description of your church may I suggest you reach and grasp something more? You were meant for it.

I'm always a fan when new statistics arrive in the mail, email, newsletter, etc., regarding the latest sociological trends in Canada. Maybe it's because I'm an economist by designation, maybe because I like to learn about my culture as a church planter. Nonetheless, from this perspective I found the latest Barna book very useful, albeit, I would have appreciated it more if I were an American. (Download part of the book here,

However, I'm not quite sure this is a necessary book to purchase, maybe a good one to pick up from the library. I for one enjoy Barna and his newsletter that arrive via email. Part of me wondered whether the first half of the book that outlined the seven major faith tribes according to Barna would have been better off in the concise newsletter format rather than in book form. Continue reading →

Part of my commitment with theooze is to review books they send. I don't technically have to blog about them but I figure they're willing to send the books then I'll return the favour and review them. This time around I opted to peruse the latest attempt at summarizing Christian history from a Western perspective taking in Diana Butler Bass', "A People's History of Christianity. The Other side of the Story". (You can browse inside the book online here.)

How compelling....The 'Other' side of the Story. So why is there an 'other' and what would be the apparent 'current' side of the story? Continue reading →

Sticking with books, I've been working through NT Wright's - Simply Christian. It's touted as the contemporary version of CS Lewis' - Mere Christianity. It's a fantastic book, just hard to get through because every few pages you have to stop and think. These kinds of books take forever to read. Continue reading →