Thursday, January 28, 2010

Book for the church council

I finally decided on a book to have our church council go through this year. Several years ago we started going through a book - working our way through it little by little at our monthly council meetings. We usually take 30-60 minutes at the start of each meeting discussing the chapters and anything we think God might be saying to us or that's relevant to us. I know one year we went through Alexander Strauch's 'Biblical Eldership'; one year it was 'In the Name of Jesus' by Henri Nouwen; one year it was Roy Hession's 'Calvary Road'; one year it was Reggie McNeal's 'The Present Future'; and last year we went through the books of 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus (in the Bible). There may have been others but I can't remember off the top of my head.

This year I debated between Bill Hybels' 'Too Busy Not To Pray' and 'The Most Loving Place in Town' by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges. I saw where Dan Kimball was taking his leaders through TBNTP, and that's why I thought of it. But I read The Most Loving Place this past year, and while it may not apply entirely to our church (we're not as institutional as the one in the book), I think it will be good for us due to its emphasis on learning to love God and others more. Plus it's a short, easy read, and while I think it's important that we put forth some effort, I don't want to overwhelm anyone. So we will begin working through the first two chapters of 'The Most Loving Place in Town' at our February meeting; then do two chapters at each month's meeting thereafter, until the last one - which will only have one chapter. I always enjoy hearing the insights others bring to the discussion, and I am looking forward to this years.

Peace out; and in.

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