Here’s a kid ripping it up with Jason Mraz’s ‘I’m Yours” on a ukulele. Peaceout.
(h/t josh)
Top 10 Books to Read in Your First Year out of School
In Vanuatu I gave a list of my top 10 books for a Christian to read in their first year out of school. The list actually had 11. And then it kinda grew to almost 20. Here is the final list. Shout out to Dan Godden, bro-in-law and co-host extraordinaire, who helped me to decide what made the cut. Have you just finished school? I believe that if you read each of these books it will give you a good foundation for the rest of your life. 10 books works out to be a book per month with 2 months off throughout the year. As you work out your reading plan, make sure your first priority is to have programmed into your daily schedule time with God to hide his word in your heart.
- Don’t Waste Your Life – John Piper – Piper has a stack of books worth reading. This is a good place to start. You get some of the thesis that runs across all of his books, that the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. The book is cross-centred in the way it calls you to live with urgency as you invest in eternity. You can also download it for free (along with a billion other Piper books).
- Guidance & The Voice Of God – Phillip Jensen & Tony Payne – as an 18 y/o this radically changed my thinking about how to make decisions. In speaking to teens and twenties, I regularly have the framework from this book in the back of my mind.
- Knowing God – JI Packer – gold, pure gold. This really is a beautiful book. It’s all about knowing God and being known by God. I often go back and re-read the section on ‘Sons of God’.
- How Long O Lord, Reflections on Evil & Suffering – DA Carson – the way of the cross is suffering, it’s normal for Christians to suffer. This book will equip you to know how to suffer. Deals with key Bible texts. You won’t find a better book on this subject.
- The Cross Of Christ – John Stott – my aim is to read a book on the cross every year. There is no better place to start than this one! It’s thick, but readable.
- Sex Isn’t The Problem, Lust Is – Josh Harris – one of the great things about this book is that it is PG. It’s suitable for guys and girls, young and old. Josh Harris takes holy living and fleeing from sexual immorality seriously. You’ll be armed to live God’s way in a fallen sex-crazed world.
- Know & Tell The Gospel – John Chapman – crystal clear on what the gospel is. Very practical on how to share the gospel. Highly recommended!
- A Book By A Dead Guy – there are 2000 years of Christian church history. Some pretty sweet gear has been penned by some dead heroes of the Christian faith. Find one. Read it. Meditate upon it. Here’s a few suggestions: Holiness by JC Ryle; Mere Christianity by CS Lewis; A Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan; Morning & Evening by CH Spurgeon; Classics of the Reformation by Luther, Calvin & Cranmer.
- A Book About A Dead Guy – some of those dead heroes also had books written about them. Biographies will help you to learn from the successes and failures of those who have gone before us. John Piper’s brief biographies are a really good starting point: Athanasius, Owen & Machen; Tyndale, Judson & Paton; Bunyan, Cowper & Brainerd; Augustine, Luther & Calvin; Newton, Simeon & Wilberforce. (All free to download).
- A Piece of Classic Fiction – reading fiction helps you to read more betterer. Do it. Here’s some suggestions: Moby Dick by Melville; Robinson Crusoe by Defoe; Gulliver’s Travels by Swift; Pride & Prejudice by Austen; The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien.
Each of the authors in books 1 through 7 are great. If you like the book I’ve suggested, read anything else by the same author you can get your hands on.
Most of the links above are to the publisher’s website. In some cases you might want to buy them direct from the publisher. Looking for a bargain? Check out booko.com.au – they find the best online prices for purchasing from Australia.
If you’re having a crack – let me know how you go!!
episode 17: don’t waste your Christmas
dan preaches a christmas sermon. dave sits awkwardly through it. dan’s wife comes on the show. dave sings an awkward song to her. dan is talented at the guitar. dave is not, and so shouldn’t hold the guitar. this show is easily one of our best 17 so far. we talk about Jesus all about life. you should hide God’s word in your heart. get ready for the jesus revolution. HERE’S THE ORIGINAL POST…
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Beautiful People part 2
Part 1 was all about beautiful people from Vanuatu. This second post is all about some beautiful people from Australia. Is the language ‘beautiful’ a bit gooey? Bare with me. Who are these beautiful people from Australia? The Schoolies. NOT the drunken Schoolies that congregate on the Gold Coast, but a beautiful bunch of 20 young men and women intent on being counter-cultural in their end-of-school celebration.
These beautiful young adults were gathered from all over NSW as part of the Scripture Union Schoolies in Vanuatu trip. Bruce Boyle, Ali OpdeVeigh and their SU team did a great job in leading the trip. Following are three ways that I was impressed by this extraordinary group of beautiful people.
1) Expression of God-given gifts
At the start of our time in Vanuatu, I ran a training session on the nature of our ministry amongst the Nivan people: Encouragise; Empathise; Evangelise. (Downloadable from here). Let’s be honest. They really didn’t need much of an encouragement! God has clearly gifted each of these young men and women. They were constant in their encouragement of the local believers to keep trusting Jesus. When we visited the hospital, many Schoolies again showed an incredible ability to empathise, listen and pray. Likewise, they were bold in making the most of evangelistic conversation. It’s beautiful to see young men and women joyfully using – and discovering – their God-given gifts.
2) Love for Jesus and the Scriptures
I’ve been on 50+ youth camps in the last 10 or so years and probably spoken on 20+ of them. Of all those camps, this one was unique in the amount of quality time in the Bible. The Schoolies took reading and studying the bible with great seriousness. Our series, Don’t Waste Your Life, was a helpful platform to think about living life with eternity in mind. It was beautiful to look out on the lawn at random times of the day and see Schoolies scattered around under trees reading and meditating on the Bible. Then at other times to hear many of them grappling with big questions about God, Jesus and life. We hit on many of the big issues of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility, and it was a delight to see them willingly submitting to the authority of the Bible. Finishing school is a significant time of life, I’m confident that, under God, these young people are poised to make the most of their lives by growing in their love for Jesus.
3) Depth of Character
Teenagers aren’t expected to be godly. Society has low expectations on young people. My heart was warmed in seeing the way that these beautiful people are rebelling against these low expectations by living with great depth of character and maturity. (See this post for some links to great articles by the Harris brothers about Doing Hard Things). On our arrival back in Sydney their godliness was poignantly illustrated. After the customs people confiscated half of our souvenirs, we walked past this massive TV. On the TV there was a news report. The volume was turned off, but the images and text on the screen said it all. It was a scene from Schoolies on the Gold Coast. Something like: “three times as many arrests, three times as many alcohol fuelled incidents, three times as many fights on the beach”. What a contrast! While the majority of their peers were living for themselves and this world, our Schoolies were living for the sake of others and with a view to eternity.
The gospel really does change people. I really love these young people and the way that God is shaping and moulding them to be more like Jesus. Who knows, of all those 50+ camps, this was probably my favourite!!
Did you arrive hear via searching for “schoolies” in google?? This blog post probably sounds bizarre. Check out this gear about Jesus – God could change your life!!
In The Chute church planting conference
I’m currently attending In The Chute. It’s a conference run by the newly formed church planting network, The Geneva Push. The conference has been very well run. The Geneva Push is an impressive, well-thought out gospel-centred movement.
We’ve heard from Andrew Heard, Al Stewart, Mikey Lynch, Tim Baldwin, Paul Dale, Wayne Pickford, Jim Wallace, Mark Dever, Cathie Heard, Dave Sheath and Scott Parry-Jones. It’s all been great content and I’m praying that God would use this movement to plant 1000s of gospel centred, cross-driven, Christ-exalting churches throughout Australia. (What’s all the fuss about Jesus? Check this)
Mikey Lynch has been dominating the live blogging while we’re here. Seriously there’s like infinity posts. (If you’re reading this after the event – check the first post – and then keep clicking ‘newer post’ in the bottom left corner to work your way through them!)
Interested in Aussie church planting? Regardless of your denomination, check out The Geneva Push for a killer network.
Beautiful People Part 1
As beautiful as the landscape is in Vanuatu, the people are of far greater beauty. Many of the Nivans we met were characterised by gentleness, kindness, warmth, love, overwhelming generosity and a unique ability to show hospitality. Walking around the streets of Port Vila was a little bit like walking around the streets of Sydney during the 2000 Olympics. For Sydney, that was an exception. For Vanuatu, it seems to be the rule.
It was good fun making friends with locals as we hung out the bus windows and waved to every person in sight! A number of us also enjoyed sharing meals with random locals in cafes and the markets. At each point we were made to feel welcome.
We were shown the depths of the generosity of Christians in Vanuatu in the first church we visited. After an encouraging night of fellowship around the word, singing and prayer, we were treated to supper. By rich middle class Australian standards, it was nothing special. Bread, biscuits and tea. However, these weren’t rich middle class Australians. This community was made up of a cluster of corrugated iron houses in close proximity. This basic meal would have come at significant financial cost.
One of the elders in that community, likewise, was very generous in giving me a hand-crafted model canoe to give to my son. With a little bit more work, canoes like this could fetch up to $70 in the markets.
Another beautiful aspect of the Nivan people, was their joy. On the day that we prayed with patients in the hospital, we saw first hand joy, not to mention perseverance and courage, even in the midst of very difficult circumstances.
Upwards of 75% of the population are Christian. As you meet many people you can see the Fruit of the Spirit evident in their lives. Their joy and beauty is firmly rooted in the change that the gospel of grace brings to the life of the believer.
In a future post, I’ll share the amazing story of how the gospel of Jesus came to Vanuatu.
I want your ideas on Youth Leadership Principles
Later this week I’ll be getting together with a bunch of others involved in youth ministry to brainstorm potential chapters for a book on Youth Leadership Principles.
Are you (or in the past have you been) involved in youth ministry?
- What are some some principles of leadership in your youth ministry?
- What are the non-negotiable principles of youth leadership?
- What errors have you or others made in your approach to youth leadership?
- What would you like to read in a book on youth leadership principles?
- Anything else you think is relevant.
Thanks for your help!