Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Hungry For Life - by Dave Blundell


My thoughts:
I have a bit of a unique perspective on this book and it's author as he and I have been good friends for many years and I now work for him at Hungry For Life International. 
Dave and I met at Bible college and have stayed friends throughout the years. He came to me about nine years ago and said that he had this desire to start a relief and development organization. As I sat and listened to his reasoning of how and why he wanted to start this I became more and more convinced that these were not just musings that had no valid basis in reality, but that it was God's voice whispering to him all the things that He had in store. I told Dave at the end of our dinner that I would come and work for him if he ever got it up and running. And here I am after having worked at Hungry For Life for the past four years and could happily make this my life's work. 
All of that to say that this book is a hard copy of all that is in Dave's heart and mind. This is the garden of his life and you can see all of the seeds that God has planted growing and coming to life on the pages before you. From the stories that he tells of himself as a child selling lemonade in an attempt to end cancer to meeting Dr. Job in India, or the harsh statistics that keep him working to make a change in this world, to the final "so what?" of this book, all of it, each word drips with his blood sweat and tears. I love this book and try to live my life by it's call because the call of this book is also the same call that God spoke into my ear many years ago when I chose to follow Him wherever He choose to lead me, even to the not so pleasant ends of the earth.
Thanks Dave for this book! 

Here is a book that might interest you. In Hungry For Life Canadian author Dave Blundell takes a unique approach to world missions by not offering a prescription for behaviour modification. Instead, he offers a call for renovation of the heart, building on the premise that a deeper global commitment is the by-product of deeper spirituality.

 
In explaining that the spiritual poverty of the Church affects global issues, Blundell states “There is a clear link between the spiritual health of God’s people and the social health of the poor. Throughout Scripture, when God’s people lost their first love, they failed to tangibly love those in need around them. God constantly points to social injustice as evidence of misplaced spiritual affection.” Noting that there are a number of books on social justice being released, Blundell saw the need for a resource for Christian leaders that would not simply criticize or condemn the Church, but one that would provide motivation and encouragement. Hungry For Lifeidentifies three priorities: first, identifying what is broken (global imbalance); secondly, an examination of what our world should look like (the biblical vision of a compassionate church); and thirdly, identifying how the Church can help right the imbalance through making strategic changes. Blundell firmly believes that “The Church has all the spiritual resources, through the Holy Spirit, and all the physical resources to transform the world – but most of us simply don’t know where to start or how to get strategically involved for long term impact.”  Encouraging churches to engage in global development as by-product of deeper spirituality.

Check out chapters 2&3 here on Google books.
Find Dave's website here and read about his other adventures and thoughts.

You can be Everything God Wants You to be - by Max Lucado

My thoughts:
This was a great little devotional book. It was encouraging and meaningful. It would be great as a gift to a recent graduate or for a friend who needs a helping hand. It was a pleasant and quick read if you choose too just sit down and read it but would be ideal for daily thoughts or meditations. 
Check out the first chapter here. Or comment and leave me a note if the link does not work... I am still new to this.
You can be Everything God Wants You to be - by Max Lucado
God made only one version of you. He custom designed you for a one-of-a-kind assignment.
You are heaven's Halley's comet; we have one chance to see you shine. You offer a gift to the world that no one else brings. So find it and bring it! And when you do, both you and God will smile.
Yes, you can be everything God wants you to be.


Friday, June 4, 2010

Plan B - by Pete Wilson

I sit here with tears in my eyes as I write this review. Plan B is an amazing book! Who of us has never had a difficult or life changing event? Well even if your answer is that your life has never been anything but fabulous, this book will help you figure out all of us other unfortunate ones who have had our lives rocked by major catastrophes. As I am in the thick of walking through a major life changing situation this book has encouraged me and renewed me hope and trust! I would recommend it to anyone who can read, and for those that can not read, someone please take time to sit and read it to them, you will both be better off for the effort! 


You can check  out the video posted on Youtube as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C34l01O8rI0




"Book has been provided courtesy of Thomas Nelson and Graf-Martin Communications, IncAvailable May 2010 at your favourite bookseller. 

The Meeting of the Waters - Fritz Kling


This was a fascinating and helpful book. I work with an organization where we help facilitate groups to go on relief and development missions trips, so the global church is my everyday reality. This book was an encouraging and helpful resource that at times reinforced what I have been encountering in the church and at times it shed new light into a shadowed area for me. I have enjoyed this book a great deal! Fritz Kling has an effective writing style that I found easy to read and relate to my own life. I would recommend this book to those that are interested in current trends or those that work within the church who have ever wondered where it is heading or why. 

Seven Currents that are Changing the Global Church
A Breakthrough Book by Fritz Kling details the rapid transitionary forces facing Christianity today

491 Meeting of Waters cover-KlingTwo rivers meet in Manaus, Brazil, at the turbulent head of the Amazon River. The different-colored tributaries do not give way or merge, but instead strain against their common seam. For ten miles, they share the same channel but remain distinct like oil and water. 

Christendom finds itself at just such a murky and perilous juncture. The church is caught between its tried-and-true past and an all-bets-are-off future. Christianity throughout the world is stunning in its scope and spiritual impact, but what is happening to the Church as new technological, promotional, and generational shifts make their unavoidable mark? And what difference does it make for Christians in day-to-day life?

The Meeting of the Waters, a new book by Fritz Kling, identifies seven trends—including migration, machines, and the growing Mercy Generation—having an impact on today’s Global Church. Neither an institution nor a bureaucracy, the global Church is incredibly adaptive and vibrant.  It has long been the world’s most effective relief agent, meeting needs across the globe through justice advocacy, material aid, counseling, biblical proclamation, education, and more. But what forces are shaping the global church, and what will it take in this unique place in time for the church to continue its mission of hope?  Equal parts travelogue, character study, and global documentary, this breakthrough book seeks to answer these important questions and is written for anyone eager to make a difference in a changing world.

Kling’s experience as a foundation executive who has researched and directed investments to Christian ministries around the world has taught him how to “connect the dots”—to understand how forces secular and sacred, ancient and modern, spiritual and physical, domestic and international have informed Christian ministry. Over the past eight years, Kling has met with more than a thousand indigenous church leaders from forty different countries. He has made airlines re-think their frequent flyer programs, bounced through endless van rides, and drunk gallons of Coke and chai in both slums and skyscrapers.  Secular commentators have long written about globalization’s wake, but Fritz Kling has witnessed it firsthand—through a Christian lens. The Meeting of the Waters is the byproduct of these experiences and is therefore able to give an original and incredibly well researched perspective on the growing need to understand ministry in a rapidly changing world.

The Meeting of the Waters will be an important addition to the libraries of anyone who wants to make a difference for Christ in a global community. In particular, pastors, mission pastors, missions committees, seminary professors, missionaries, and mission agency employees will find this book a fascinating and useful tool.    

The Meeting of the Waters by Fritz Kling
David C Cook/March 2010/ISBN: 978-1-4347-6484-3/256 pages/softcover/$16.99