A Book You Have to Read...

One of the best parts of being in ministry as you age is seeing what your former students turned adults do as God grabs a hold of their hearts and unleashes their passions and skills in our world...this book is written by a former student of mine who is also one of my best friends...and God is using him thru written and spoken words in ways that make me more than proud and more than blessed...and his ministry is really just beginning in many ways even though he's been used mightily...grab a copy this spring and you won't regret the read...I can't wait to have him share his story and THE STORY with my students at Cornerstone next month...check out my personal review of the book below...

mY Generation: A Real Journey of Change and Hope
by Josh Riebock


I have spent the last 20 years working with students and spend my time each day with this generation of college and post-college students...there have many many how-to books written about how to do ministry with this complex and compelling generation...and many of them were written from an outsiders perspective...Josh has written something completely different...he offers an insiders perspective and uses the tool of story to help all of us to understand the passions, questions, and power of this unique generation...his use of story offers a window to the soul of a group of people who we must seek to unleash for good in our world...read it and be inspired and overwhelmed and more ready to engage the GEN Y group...I've watched Josh personally live out this journey and his openness is refreshing and effective in being a model for connecting with this community...I'm grateful for all of us who work with this generation that this book is out there!

LION-CHASER MANIFESTO by Mark Batterson

I spoke at our CU chapel this morning on the topic:

KOPION--Living with a Grand Passion...

I closed with a calling to our community to discover and pursue that which grabs their heart and keeps them up at night as they consider what God might want them to invest all they have in its pursuit...and these words from Mark Batterson were the prayer I sent them out with today...

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion!

Reading Set #2 to Dig Deeper in Series on Poverty and Justice

Here's another reading following the second talk in this 3 week series...really enjoying the conversations and discussions and learnign taking place in this group of young adults...love thinking about how they will lead the church in this Kingdom response to the needs of our world and its people...

Topic for this week is:

Recognizing Where Injustice and Inequality in God’s Kingdom Equation Reign in our World Today: Taking a Look and Having a Conversation about the Places, Faces and Issues Around the Globe and in our own City we have to know about today…


READING FOR WEEK 2: Picture Justice: Embracing a Global Neighborhood by Bethany Hoang, Director of the IJM Institute at International Justice Mission...

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2fjQcNaJgcdMjQzYzIzMmMtZWNhOS00ZmQ1LTg0MmYtNTczYzY4MWY1ZTU4&hl=en