J'ai lu, Juin 2009

We have completed six months of this year, now that June has come to an end. I find that I am still trying to discover who Katie Tracy 2009 will turn out to be. Everyday seems to bring lessons I did not expect to encounter. But I am changing. I can feel it in myself—observable change is taking place. God, who is the Author and Perfecter, continues to develop my character throughout the story he has written me in to. The plot changes, and the journey continues.

I turn 20 this month. This holds less excitement for you, likely, because I am mostly the last to reach these milestones. People are always exceedingly surprised to hear I am still a teenager. I suppose that’s an okay thing.

The Ragamuffin Gospel (Manning) – A simple meditation on grace, but with some mind-blowing insights. I really loved Manning’s thoughts on the Gospel of grace that we allow to become too familiar and too often take for granted. A beautiful reminder. He also includes a section at the end of “19 Mercies” to practice and scripture to meditate on for each of these. I love practical application, and Brennan provided this throughout. (9)

unchristian (Kinnaman) – Kinnaman was commissioned to research the perceptions that “outsiders” (people not associated with the church/not born again Christians) have of Christianity and Christians. Kinnaman presents his 3 years of research in this book and takes time to focus on each of the top perceptions (the majority being negative) to give us (Christians) an idea of how we look to the world. The world is changing, and our generations are a whole different brand of people than our parents were. This book is a great way to see ourselves from the outside looking in, and be really thinking about whether we’re living as Christ did and truly being representatives of Christ to the world. (7)

Death by Love (Driscoll) – A series of letters Mark writes to various people he has come in contact with, complete with life summaries of each of them and Biblical application of the Gospel to each of their personal struggles. I really liked the idea of this, and I liked a lot of what Driscoll says to each of them. This is something I think is great for anyone interested in loving people who are broken, and trying to figure out what to say (that should be all of you). Driscoll can be a little (or a lot) “in your face” and doesn’t really sugar coat things, but for the most part, I appreciated the insights he gave and the overall concept of the book. (7)

The Gospel According to Starbucks (Sweet) – Sweet discusses how Starbucks has created an environment and a product that are appealing, warm, and welcoming. While he has some good things to say, his argument is essentially that the modern church has a lesson or two to learn from Starbucks. I was attracted by the title, but was disappointed that it wasn’t quite as tongue-in-cheek as I expected. Eh. (5)