We Are Half-hearted Creatures

from The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

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A Year with C.S. Lewis

Join me in 2013 for a year’s journey of drawing closer to God, as well as learning more about our Christian faith, through the life and writings of C.S. Lewis, one of the most popular and influential Christian thinkers of the 20^th century.

My goals for this focus are, first of all, to help acquaint you with the person and works of and about C.S. Lewis. Secondly, I pray that your view of God and the Christian life will grow richer and larger and livelier. Thirdly, my deepest hope is that you will take what you learn and put it into practice as well as share it with others.

There are two ways to spend this year with C.S. Lewis.

1. You can think of this as, “Pastor Dale’s Book Club,” and simply read each month’s assigned book on your own. This will be an independent study of sorts. No checking-in required. Think of the assigned booklist as a helpful suggestion to aid your reading of C.S. Lewis.

OR…

2. You can think of this as a low-key directed study. By that I mean, if you so desire, you are more than welcome to set up times to meet with me to discuss each month’s book, what you’ve learned, questions you may have, etc. The last thing I want to do is add stress to your life, therefore, you are free to meet with me every other week, every other month, or not at all (or any other schedule that you can think of). The choice (and schedule) is up to you!

We begin our literary journey on January 1, 2013. You can check out the reading list below to see what interests you. Read a few of them… or read them all. Whatever you decide to do, I know you’ll be blessed by reading the books of and about this great man. More importantly, you’ll be even more blessed as you grow closer to the God of this great man.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

Reading List

• January – The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis by Alan Jacobs (Biography)
• February – Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C.S. Lewis 
• March – A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
• March – Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
• April – The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
• May – The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
• June – Seeking the Secret Place: The Spiritual Formation of C.S. Lewis by Lyle Dorsett
• July – Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer by C.S. Lewis
• August – The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
• September – Between Heaven & Hell: A Dialogue Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C.S. Lewis & Aldous Huxley by Peter Kreeft
• October – Not A Tame Lion by Bruce L. Edwards
• November – The Soul of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by Gene Veith
• December – The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The books can be purchased online at Christianbook.com or Amazon.

Locally, I’m certain that Barnes and Noble or Lifeway Christian Store can order the books for you if they do not have them in stock.

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Pentecost (A Dramatic Scripture Reading from Acts 2)

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Worth Your Time

Is the Mega-Church the New Liberalism? by Al Mohler

The Moral Case for Capitalism at the Manhattan Institute

Ross Douthat and the Value of Traditional Christianity in America at Acton Institute

God Rebuilds the World Through Our Work at The High Calling

Video – Makers vs Takers with John Stossel at LibertyPen

15 Spectacular Libraries in Europe at Mental Floss

A Heavenly Calling by TM Moore. You can click here to download the entire series, which would work well as a small group study. More always does a great job with these resources.

Podcast – How to Shave Ten  Hours Off Your Work Week at Michael Hyatt

Study Shows that Mormonism is Fastest-Growing Faith in Half the U.S. States at Washington Post

A Response and Challenge to Dan Savage by James White

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Today’s Best Reads (and an added bonus)

Saturdays are pretty slow, but here are a few things worth reading today…

15 Ways to Make Prayer a Natural Part of Your Everyday Family Life at Raising Godly Children

Six Big Differences for Kids Today at Tim Elmore’s blog

America’s Crisis of Character at Wall Street Journal (by Peggy Noonan – really great article… and sobering)

Anti-Bullying Speaker Curses Christian Teens at Fox News Radio (you have to read this to believe it)

The Case for Adam and Eve: An Interview with John Collins at byFaith Magazine

John Bunyan and “The Pilgrim’s Progress” at Bill Federer’s American Minute

Temptation is Not Sin by Bill Mounce at Trans*Formed

Knowing When to Criticize by Ron Edmondson (This is very helpful. Some folks seem to think that they have the spiritual gift of criticism. Edmondson has some helpful suggestions on this matter.)

The following isn’t a “read” but it is definitely a MUST watch and a MUST listen. The good folks at HistoryMaker’s have put together another very powerful video on the need for missions. Lecrae uses a quote at the end of the video taken from the first page of John Piper’s book on missions, which says, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” Great video. Enjoy…

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Do You Read Much?

I’m a bit of a late bloomer. I’m convinced that it was God’s grace moving in and through my call to ordained ministry that empowered and encouraged me to become someone who enjoys reading. Prior to that… all the way through college (to my parent’s horror) I seldom picked up a book (my grades reflected this fact).

Yet, even in college, when I was interested in something, such as politics, I would actually pick up a book and read it. It was after I graduated from college that I found myself reading books, mostly on theology. It was partly through reading that God ignited my heart and mind for him and for ministry. I’ve been a fairly active and consistent reader ever since.

However, to my frustration, there are just too many good books worth reading and not nearly enough time. Therefore, the discernment process is key… which  books to read and when. This process is a work in progress for me.

One thing has been very helpful is reading book summaries and reviews. I once heard Os Guinness say that we can’t possibly read everything we want to, so why not benefit from others who have read and summarized (and even evaluated) some of the same books that you have been meaning to read, but just haven’t gotten around to yet. If the summary of the book really excites you, you can always buy the book for yourself.

There’s a very helpful post today at Church Relevance on this point. I recommend that you read it as well.

Here are a few Book Summary providers that I’ve come across. Two of them I have already subscribed to. A couple of others I’m considering. If you have other recommendations, I’d love to hear from you.

• Christian Book Summaries - This is a free service. They have a great collection of Christian books on a wide variety of topics.
• Success Book Summaries - I have also subscribed to this. It comes in both audio and print. They cover books on leadership, personal development, business, etc.
• Leaders Book Summaries - This is one that I’m about ready to pull the trigger on. It looks great. The Church Relevance blog specifically mentioned this one in today’s post.
• Business Book Summaries Reviews is a website that reviews other “book summary” websites. They have a great list of other good services with their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Again, let me hear from you if you have some other good suggestions. I’m always looking for ways to read more (as well as to remember what I read).

Happy Reading,
Dale

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New Feature: Book Reviews

I’ve had the privilege of occasionally being asked to review a book on my blog. Now, I don’t for a second think that’s because I’m so insightful. I know that it has much more to do with exposure for the book. But that’s okay; it’s still nice to be asked and I enjoy the opportunity.

I have, on many occasions, used this blog to share the great ideas that I’ve learned from the books I read. I believe I’ve been positively shaped and molded by many of them. As is usually the case, I generally review the books that I really like or have been particularly blessed by (though I may dare to venture out on this front).  It’s always an added treat when the author of the book takes the time to connect with me and thank me for my efforts. (I don’t write the reviews for that reason, but, again, it’s a nice treat.)

Interestingly, my reviews are often my most popular posts. I think that’s because many of us like to check out what others thought about a book before we decide to invest the time and money in the book ourselves. Or, as I stated in an earlier post on book summaries, we get what we need from a book out of the review itself. And besides, we can’t read everything that’s out there.

I’ve been fairly generous so far by calling my posts about books “reviews.” They are certainly not critical reviews because, as I said, I’m usually writing about a book I really like. Thus, I guess you could say that they are more like “advertisements”  for the books. I’m clearly hoping that my efforts will encourage folks to read them. (But, as I said, I may soon be including some books that I don’t necessarily agree with.)

Also, because it’s my blog, my “reviews” are different in that I don’t have to review the whole book at once. I’m not sure I’m smart enough to do that anyway. Instead, I enjoy studying the book chapter by chapter, really digging into it and seeing what’s there (or what’s not there), thinking about it, and then commenting on it. My “book reviews” should probably more appropriately be called “chapter reports.”

Over the years I’ve discovered various resources that have really helped me get all I can out of a book. I haven’t perfected the art, but I’ve grown a great deal. I know that I don’t apply everything I’ve learned, but I have been able to put together a few things that make up an outlined agenda of sorts. This outline of questions, thoughts, etc., helps me absorb more of what I’m reading than I would without it. It also helps me as I share what I’ve read with others, whether I’m writing about it, teaching it, or simply talking about it with someone over lunch.

At any rate, I thought it might be helpful to officially make book reviews a new feature here at Renovate Your Life. Ideas have consequences, both intellectually and practically. I know from experience how God can use a book to renew a mind and transform a life (that’s renovation). It’s my sincerest prayer that these little reviews will be a blessing to those who read them, and will hopefully lead the reader to the books to which they point.

Happy Reading,
Dale

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