Book #10 - Follow Me

In 2005, at the age of 26, David Platt became the lead pastor of The Church at Brook Hills, a megachurch in Birmingham. He was known as the youngest megachurch pastor in America. I imagine this has to be a pretty huge honor and responsibility.

It's probably a good thing God never called me to be the youngest megachurch pastor in America because I'd probably be too prideful.

That said, Platt wrote a book called Radical in 2009. I read it and then studied it a little bit with the Northeastern High School FCS group a couple of years ago. The subtitle of the book was "Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream."

Platt is telling us that something is wrong, then he sets out to fix it.

His latest book, Follow Me is about making disciples. He takes aim at the Sinner's Prayer and some of the cliche ways we've gone about furthering the kingdom. I even preached a sermon about this a couple weeks ago called, coincidentally "Follow Me."

Needless to say, the concepts really struck me. He's completely right that too often we preach for converts but not disciples. Because, the truth is, converts are easy to get, disciples are much harder to make. But the mission of Jesus is to make disciples. His call is to follow; his mission is to make disciples.

I was challenged by this book, and a quote from the book jumped out at me more than any other.
"We've taken the lifeblood out of Christianity and put Kool-Aid in its place so that it tastes better to the crowds, and the results are catastrophic."

With 9 and a half months to go before my birthday, I'm 1/3 of the way through my goal of 30 books! 

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Book #9 - Gods at War

I read Kyle Idleman's first book, Not a Fan, a few years ago. It was a great book about seriously following Jesus, as opposed to being a fan of Jesus. We even used that book as the foundation for a sermon series at church. When I saw that he had written a second book, I made sure that I included it on my list of books to finish before I turned 30.

Then, my Sunday School class at my new church decided to use this book as a study resource. I bought the book and read it, we're still going through it as a class, but I finished the book a few weeks ago.

Basically, the premise of the book is that all of our sins boil down to idolatry, and that's why the sin of idolatry is mentioned so many times in the Bible. Kyle suggests that everyone of us has created idols in various forms. These idols range from sex to money to food to self.

The book was hard to read because he cuts through the muck to deliver simple truth that's difficult to digest at times. I'd recommend the book to any of my friends, but I'd also recommend the study materials too. There's a video series that goes with the book including a spectacular section with Chuck Colson's story. He must've recorded it just weeks/months before he passed away last year.

Next up, Follow Me by David Platt.

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Book #8 - #GoingSocial

A few years ago, a guy named Terrace Crawford friend requested me on facebook. Terrace is a youth pastor in Virginia, he's been worth following over the past few years as I was a new youth pastor learning the ministry.

Terrace maintains a website that includes a blog and some other news about his ministry over at TerraceCrawford.com. He released a book a while ago called Going Social about how to use social media in ministry.

I read the book, hoping to gain some new insights on using social media in ministry. Unfortunately, this book wasn't really written with me in mind. Terrace goes through many different social media methods/sites, including facebook, twitter and youtube. He teaches mostly the basics, like how to set up a facebook page or a twitter account. He explains how to use hashtags and some basic tips on how to set up a youtube page.

Unfortunately, this was pretty much all info I already knew. So, at the end of the day, this book would have a lot more value for someone who is completely new to social media. If you're that person, you're probably not reading my blog, but if you are that person, then this book would be of great value to you.

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Book #7 - Mere Christianity

I'll be honest, CS Lewis is one of my absolute favorite authors; but before this year, I had never read what many people consider to be his best book. My friend Daniel gave me this book a few years ago, and I never got the chance to read it. I made sure that I added it to my list of 30 books to read before my 30th birthday, because I wanted to read one of the pinnacles of 20th century Christian literature.

Before I talk about the book, I'd like to mention something. I have tons and tons and tons of respect and love for teachers. I originally went to college to be a math teacher. With that said, my favorite teacher through 13 years of non-college schooling was my 4th grade teacher. Mr. Kirker started reading The Chronicles of Narnia to us right at the beginning of school. We read through the entire series together. I still have that original set of those books, as you can notice, with our kitty, "Lucy the Valiant."

Once I became a Christian, I already knew of CS Lewis since I was such a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia. I ended up taking a long while to read through Mere Christianity just because of everything happening in our personal lives. We moved and I had a lot going on in the job front.

That said, it was an absolutely fantastic book and I'm so happy to have read it. Lewis basically runs through a logical explanation of Christianity starting with the basic premise that there is a moral code that exists apart from individual and even cultural bias. He calls it "The Law of Human Nature."

At any rate, I heartily recommend this book for anyone. It's a very manageable entry into the thoughts behind Christian principles.

One of my favorite passages, from later in the book has Lewis' thoughts on marriage from a Christian perspective:

"Before leaving the question of divorce, I should like to distinguish two things which are often very confused. The Christian conception of marriage is one: the other us quite the different question-how far Christians, if they are voters of Members of Parliament, ought to try to force their views of marriage on the rest of the community by embodying them in the divorce laws. A great many people seem to think that if you are a Christian yourself you should try to make divorce difficult for every one. I do not think that. At least I know I should be very angry if the Mohammedans tried to prevent the rest of us from drinking wine. My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognise that the majority of the British people are not Christians, and therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. There ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage: one governed by the State with rules enforced on all citizens, the other governed by the Church with rules enforced by her on her own members. The distinction ought to be quite sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not."

Have you read it? What were your thoughts?

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Book #6 - The Shame and the Sacrifice

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of those characters in history that I wanted to read more about. I'll be honest, biographies are generally my least favorite genre of book to read. The problem isn't the historical significance, it's the inane amount of fluff that seems to be present in them. It took a while to get through this because there was a lot of fluff that I found to be uninteresting, and therefore picking the book up to read it was a chore at times.

It didn't help that this reading fell over the job transition into Hillside, so it was a pretty busy time in my life.

Anyway, this biography on Bonhoeffer was full of the fluff that I find frivolous, but it did have some definite gems and some major points to make about the way Christians reacted and were treated in the growth of the Nazi movement throughout Germany.

The insight into the German psyche following World War I helps a reader who is 70 years removed from the Second World War to understand a little more of how it was possible that a man like Hitler ever came into such a dangerously powerful role. As I read this, I remembered learning some of it in high school history.

But the impact on the church was relatively impactful for me, since the church is my vocational setting and primary concern when reading a book like this.

How did the Christians of Germany allow themselves to get so taken by the horrible Nazi movement? How did they so quickly and easily lose sight of Christ, the Prince of Peace?

One word. Nationalism.

There are some incredible parallels to be made between the German church of the 1920's and 30's along with the American church of the early 2000's. I'm afraid the nationalistic tendencies are running rather deep here, too, with many "American Christians" identifying first as Americans then as Christians, similar to their German predecessors.

We should all be quick, I think, to learn a lesson from these German Christians and understand that our Kingdom is not of this world. We are dual citizens, but our primary citizenship is in Heaven and because of this, we should allow heavenly thought to impact each of our decisions, regardless of our American citizenship.

I feel obligated to make a clear point of what I am not saying. I'm not suggesting that we burn our flags. I'm not suggesting that we move to another country. I'm not suggesting that America sucks. I'm not suggesting that Christians shouldn't feel blessed to have a freedom of worship guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

It is most assuredly a blessing to live in America, but it's a far greater blessing to be a citizen of Heaven. Let us never lose sight of that.

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Book #5 - Ready Player One

I met Brooklyn and Coy Lindsey a couple years ago at NYC. I'm not sure if either of them would remember me, but she was a speaker at NYC and was one of the emcee's of the entire event. Her and Coy both grew up in south-central Ohio (the Lancaster/Logan area), so there was (at least on my end) some sort of connection there. I connected with her through facebook and twitter after the event.

Actually, there's a funny story about Brooklyn. Francis Chan also spoke at NYC, and anyone who knows me knows that I have a slight infatuation (man crush) with Chan's writing and preaching. So, Brice (my friend) and I left the arena early that night to try and intercept (seriously, we're not creepers or anything) Francis Chan on his way back to the hotel to get his autograph and get to meet him. We waited at the hotel, but at some point, I had to leave so Brice hung out and waited to see if he could meet Chan and get his autograph for me.

When I reconnected with Brice later that night, he handed me Francis Chan's autograph! But not really, he had run into Brooklyn and she signed the paper in Chan's name for me.

Anyrate, Coy posted a list of books he was reading on his blog and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline caught my interest, so I added it to my list. I went to the library and checked it out, not sure what to expect.

Best. Book. Ever.

One of the reviews summed it up perfectly, it's like Dungeons and Dragons and the 80's had a child and raised it in Azeroth! I like all three of those things, therefore the book was a major hit for me.

It's the literary equivalent of a Summer Blockbuster, so it won't make you sit and scratch your head in deep thought for the next two weeks, but it sure was an awesome read! I heartily recommend it to anyone who wants a few days of awesome reading material!

I also can't wait for Cline's next book, called Armada, which should be out sometime in the future (no dates announced yet).

There's also a pretty elaborate contest that coincides with Ready Player One. (Similar to the entire plot from the book, actually).

Check out Ernest Cline's website here!

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Book #4 - The Land Between

A few years ago, when I was pastoring at High Street, a church on the district got a new youth pastor. He literally started just a few months after me, but I had "seniority" on him, since I was on the district first.

Joel and I quickly became friends. We directed a district retreat together, attended events together and basically just started really enjoying each other's company. We actually were pitted against each other a couple years ago for District Secretary (I won). He went through a difficult time at his church which ended with him leaving for a church in Michigan. He's not an OSU fan, so this didn't bother him nearly as much as it bothered me that he ended up in Michigan.

We've stayed in contact since he left the district (and now that I've left the district in any sort of official capacity). He and his wonderful wife had a baby a few months ago and they instagram tons of pictures so that we can keep up.

Anyrate, a few weeks ago, Joel asked me for my address because he wanted to send me a book. I gave it to him and a couple days later a book called The Land Between arrived in my mailbox. Written by Neil Mancini, this book parallels the difficult times in our lives (like being between jobs) and the struggle that the Israelites felt when they were between Egypt and The Promised Land.

The book was fantastic! If you saw any of my instagram/facebook/twitter (social media junkie!) activity while I was reading it, you know that I was touched by the honesty of the book and the way that it connected with my life.

This past year has been incredibly difficult. Without a doubt, it's been the most difficult thing I've ever gone through (and that includes an almost-cancer scare). But, Mancini summed it up so well as he wrote about his son (who is, coincidentally, named Alex too):

"Though it was a difficult [year] for Alex, I am grateful he had to endure it. I believe God is molding him into a leader, and this molding will require pressure as part of his formation. I am thankful for the trials [he] experiences and for the hardships he faces. It is my belief that he is not only maturing as a man but also as a man of God. I trust that God will use the difficulties and challenges in Alex's life to transform him. Far from being alarmed by [his] burdens, I give thanks, because I know that he is being stretched and pulled for a reason. Alex is being provided with an opportunity to become a man of faith, a man of trust." (emphasis mine)

My prayer is that these things are true, that my "Land Between," my "Exile" has provided me with the opportunity and proven me to be a man of faith, a man of trust.

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Writer's Block

They say the more you do something, the better you will get at it. It should be no secret that I enjoy writing. This is my third blog attempt, each on focused a little differently. I find difficulty in blogging, however, because I think the majority of people who I'm already connected with won't be interested in a lot of the things I could sit down to talk about.

For instance, I finished A Dance With Dragons tonight. It's the 5th book in George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series which has been made wildly popular by the show Game of Thrones on HBO. I had read the previous four books a while ago but was reluctant to read the 5th book because it garnered pretty negative reviews from readers (especially on amazon).

However, when compiling a list of 30 books to read, I went ahead and added it onto the list. It took me three weeks to read it, and I absolutely loved it! It continues the very adult saga of Martin's world, but is hands down the greatest fantasy literature over (Yes, move over Tolkein)!

My greatest frustration, however, is Martin's incessant use of cliff hangers. There are what feel like 100 cliffs that we're hanging on, waiting for the next volume of the epic series. There were 6 years between the publication of the 4th and 5th books. I'm horribly anxious for the next book in the series!

But alas, most of my friends don't want to read my musings on that book. So, I could write about some new music. I recently picked up 2 albums from Benjamin Dunn from noisetrade.com. The first one is called Fable. It's an amazing album. RadioU plays 2 singles from the album, and I loved both of the songs.

Fable (at least for the first 5-6 songs) plays on a litany of Narnia references. If you've gotten to know me at all over my life, you may know that The Chronicles of Narnia has a very special place in my heart. The Narnia novels remain one of my favorite book series of all time.

Sail to the End speaks about Reepicheep and his journeys to the end of the world to travel to Aslan's country.

My Name is Eustace is a wonderful song rendition of Eustance Clarence Scrubb being transformed by Aslan's grace and mercy.

Sing references the Emperor/Aslan creating the world of Narnia by singing it into being.

But alas, I'm not sure I'm musically aware enough to write an entire post about an album (or even two). However, I highly recommend the Benjamin Dunn albums. Find them and get them!

What I could spend a lot of time talking about is my idea for a gaming adventure. I want to have an adventure published by next August. This gives me more than a year to get an adventure written and published. I also want to fill a journal up with only gaming ideas (not necessarily just Pathfinder). Why gaming ideas? Because gaming forces me to be creative. Writing is a creative endeavor, but writing for gaming really embraces my imagination in a completely different way.

So, I went to Barnes and Noble and got a new "Gaming Journal." I must admit, I actually bought my first Moleskine journal. After using it a little, I can see why they're so popular.

Anyrate, I've started brainstorming ideas for my new adventure. I have a title and a very loose concept in my head. I spent a few hours yesterday writing down a lot of information on the setting of the adventure. It needs to be loose enough to fit into any campaign world, and not be tied down to a single campaign setting.

I can literally feel more than 3/4 of my readers clicking away from this post already.

The issue I'm having, though, is where to begin?! I can see the end-game really well. Kill the BBEG (That's gamer talk for Big Bad Evil Guy), take treasure, WIN!

I can see the mid-points well. Get to BBEG, travel through dungeon full of traps and monsters.

But the beginning of adventures is so vexing for me. How do great stories begin?

A hole in the ground.
The beheading of a Night's Watch Deserter.
4 children avoiding the blitz by moving into a country mansion.
Traveling along the road in the desert and being blown up.
A traveling merchant singing a song about hot nights before peddling his wares.

(Bonus points to anyone who can name all 5 of those stories based only on my interpretation of their beginnings)

What about you, I've hit some writer's block, can you help? What's a great way to begin an adventuring story? The old school gaming trope is to meet in a tavern, get the mission pitched, save the world. So, I'd prefer to avoid that type of introduction altogether.

At any rate, thanks for reading. Leave comments below!

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Only slightly random...

The reading project is going really well. I finished the second of thirty books on Sunday night. The book is Church Unique by Will Mancini. When the new pastor of High Street (Rob) began his ministry, he had the entire staff and board read this book. My mother-in-law had a copy of the book and so it's been in my "to-read" pile for months.

I completely understand why Rob had the entire board and staff read the book, it's a great read for casting vision with your church.

Some of it got a bit wordy at points, but overall, I was glad I read the book. I'm eager to see how that book, and it's method of vision casting can work in a youth ministry. Especially in a church with a well-established vision. All in all, it's worth reading for pastors. Check it out on amazon!

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You may not know this, but I've been published! Raging Swan Press is a 3PP (Third Party Publisher) for the Pathfinder Role Playing Game. I contacted Creighton, the publisher, to see if he was looking for any freelance writers and he was looking for someone to do a long project.

I've worked on a few installments of Dungeon Denizens. I don't find this to be a MAJOR outlet for creativity. I mean, there isn't a lot of story (if any) but I think it's a great way to get my foot in the door, and hopefully get an adventure published within the next 16 months.

But, the most recent edition of Dungeon Denizens is going to be released on May 9. If you'd like more information, you can check out Dungeon Denizens EL1 here, or EL 2 here.

The PDFs are only two bucks, and if people buy them, it increases the legitimacy of what we're trying to do and possibly the legitimacy of me as an author/designer increasing my chances at getting an adventure published.

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Finally, apologies for this being a day late... I was up late desperately trying to finish that book on Sunday and just didn't have the energy to write last night! Thursday's post will be ON TIME!! (For those of you who are curious, I'm updating on Mondays and Thursdays)

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The week that was, but I wish wasn't

I can't lie about this, part of the reason I started writing this blog, made a list of books to read and things to do, is that I'm so frustrated with where my life is right now.

If you had asked me a year ago where my life would be right now, this was not it. This was nowhere near what I expected in my life. I can't overstate that enough.

So, I've spent the past 10 months trying to "right the ship," if you will. I've been trying to get things back into a place where I want them. I spent three months unemployed, but still drawing a salary, so I didn't do much. I sent my resume to every single Nazarene youth pastor opening I saw.

The next five have been spent working at a restaurant as a cook. I hate it. I thought I'd be there for a few weeks because surely I wouldn't be stuck in this place so long. Boy, that wasn't even close to correct.

So, a few weeks ago, things started to line up. We got an interview nailed down, and everything seemed like it was going to happen. I felt like God was finally bringing us out of this place. God had finally decided that it was time to move on from here.

I know a lot of people get excited when they have interviews and they think "this is it!" I had taken four interviews prior to this most recent one, I didn't feel that way about any of them. I was so sure that this was it, I was preparing the restaurant for my departure. Holly was preparing her employer for her departure. We even discussed timing plans with the in-laws regarding how/when we were going to move. I started collecting some boxes from work.

This wasn't all just fantasy, I promise. Every communication from the church we were heading to made it seem like the interview was just a formality. We were in. They even took our opinion on what color to paint a couple rooms in the parsonage.

We went for the interview and on Saturday night, after the interview, Holly and I talked, after talking with our hosts. We looked at each other and said, "this is it."

Well, it wasn't. Not by a long shot. Dreams were crushed. Plans were stopped. And now... nothing. I don't know what's next. Everyone likes to ask that, after a crushed soul, "What's next, Alex?"

The truth is, I have no idea. I literally have no idea what we're going to do next. Keep looking for a ministry position? Go into management at the restaurant I'm in (They're dying to have me do that)? Go back to school and get my MDiv? Go back to school and start a whole new career?

I have no idea what's next. Most of those are exclusive. If I do one, I can't do the rest. God says, "Ask, Seek, Knock."

I've asked. I mean, I've asked. I've begged and begged and begged. I've cried tears of desperation. I've asked everyone I know for advice. I've asked God for guidance and direction. I've asked. Over and over and over.

We've sought. I'm not sure I can even begin to count how many places I've sent my resume. I've sent it far and wide (as close as the NWO District, as far as Washington State). We've had interviews with churches on both sides of the country (literally: San Diego and Maryland). We've even discussed an over-seas opportunity at one point. Every single youth pastor opening that I've even been given wind of, I've contacted. More often than not, I'm getting no response. That's not figurative, it's literal, no response. I've sought.

I've knocked. Every single door I can think of, I've knocked. Career change? Knock knock. Youth pastor openings? Knock knock. Senior pastor? Knock knock. Discipleship pastor? Knock knock. Young adult pastor? Knock knock. Military chaplain? Knock knock. Military officer (non-chaplain)? Knock knock. I've never experienced something like this before. Every door we've knocked on, none have opened. The ones that seemed to be open have been shut in our faces.

I'm bone weary.

I'm completely exhausted.

I'm confused.

I'm doubting.

I'm questioning.

I'm broken.

I'm sad.

I'm angry.

I'm weak.

I'm hurting.

I'm at the end of my rope.

And here's where the cliches come in, "when you're at the end of your rope..."

"God gives rest to the weary..."

"God gives strength to the weak..."

"When one door closes..."

In my experience over the past ten months, none of that seems to be true. Every door that I've pursued has closed. Every window that I've pursued has been closed. Every small glimmer of light has gone dark.

I really thought this was it. I thought I was going to begin writing about starting a new ministry, moving to a new place, meeting new friends. Instead... none of that.

Last week was a complete bust. I didn't read anything. I didn't run a single mile.

This week will be different. I've got a list of things to do, going to turn it around, make something happen.

Be blessed, friends. Continue to pray for us as we continue to struggle through this time of Exile.

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Book #1 - The Hobbit

I set out to finish 30 new books before I turned 30 years old next August. To start my adventure, I read a book about... an adventure.

Holly and I fell in love with the Lord of the Rings trilogy; in fact i twas one of the things in our lives that we shared before we dated and have fallen in love with the extended editions through our marriage (we actually took the entire series on our honeymoon with us and watched the trilogy that week).

When The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey came out, we put it at the top of our "Must see list." Once we saw the movie, Holly took to rereading the book (she had read it before).

She absolutely insisted that I read it, and so I made it the first book I read on my list! I read the book in the shadow of the movie, which is something I generally try to avoid doing. However, I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in college, and really struggled with Tolkein's writing. I just couldn't get into the flow of his style. He was a genius, no questions asked; but I really had trouble hanging with it.

The Hobbit didn't give me any of those problems. It was a fantastic read, and helped to flesh out more of the world I've come to love so much. It's also gotten me super-excited for the next couple of Hobbit movies.

One book down, Twenty-nine to go!

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