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Category: 2016 Reading Challenge

The Joy of Finishing Well

Back in January, I jumped on board Tim Challies’ 2016 Reading Challenge (which looks like this). Working full-time, finishing my final year of study, and expecting our third child, this seemed a little ambitious even on the lightest plan (complete 1 book every 4 weeks). What I learned in the early months was that all I needed was to break away from my conventional reading style (I’m a physical book kind of guy) and by tapping in to resources like Audible and Kindle I could keep my attention span longer, and get through more because of that. Accepting this challenge was in no way a head-over-heels scramble to simply achieve the number though; rather I tried to be intentional about every book I invested time…

2016 Reading Challenge – APRIL UPDATE

2016 is well under way, and I’m making progress on the Challenge. Finding time to read is about to become a lot more interesting, as our third child is due at the end of April. So while the next list might be shorter, I’ll continue to post updates, as (so far) I highly recommend everything I’ve read. I haven’t listed the categories that these fit into, nor have I listed the numerous comic books that I’m reading each week, nor the texts that I’m reading for study; so this list is limited strictly to the 2016 Reading Challenge. If you read (or have read) any of these, I’d love to have more conversation about them so drop me a line! God Made All of Me,…

Communicating for a Change

Every journey begins and ends somewhere. The same should be said for every sermon. Unfortunately, what most of us grew up hearing were messages built around several points rather than one clear destination. Andy Stanley and Lane Jones explain that the point of having points is to move people systematically through an outline of information; but if life change is your goal, point by point preaching is by far the most effective approach. I haven’t written a hundred sermons. But I know that when I write, I have a dangerous tendency to structure a sermon too much like another one of my seminary papers; and that becomes obvious the moment its read aloud. Communicating for a Change contains so many implications, insights, imperatives, and instructions (one…

Pneumatology

All too often relegated to a minor role, one of the most exciting developments in 20th century theological thought is a resurgence of interest in the Holy Spirit. While historically there have been a broad spectrum of views held with regard to the person and work of the Holy Spirit, no denomination or movement can be said to hold a monopoly on the Spirit’s activity or involvement, and the Bible itself presents no systematic view of the Holy Spirit any more than it presents such a neatly delivered package on any other doctrine. In his book Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit in Ecumenical, International and Contextual Perspective Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen surveys the Biblical canon (with commentary from church history) to form a solid ‘core’ for understanding the Holy…

The 2016 Reading Challenge

This year, I’m getting together with some friends to participate in Tim Challies’ 2016 Reading Challenge. It’s simple really; I love to read, but I find I always read the same stuff. Whether you’re a light reader or do nothing but read, this is a fantastic, organised way to enlarge your scope of reading across topics and genres. Within the challenge, you can choose to read 13, 26, 52, 104, or (with extra credit) 109 books over the course of the year. That challenge is appealing to me because Tim’s plan will encourage me to read different kinds of books than I might normally read.