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Wanna Read More Books?

January 16, 2012 in Product Reviews, Reading with 10 Comments

Of course you do. Even non-readers usually wish they were better at reading.

One of the greatest things for my personal learning has been a website called Audible. It’s a bookstore of audiobooks. Now I realize that I may have lost you with that last word. Real “readers” don’t listen to audiobooks, right? Wrong.

I’ve already won over a few skeptics (read: they made fun of me when I first told them about this) that have since turned into diehard audiobook fans. We are quick to forget the power of learning by listening. In fact, I recently read about the significance of listening versus reading when it comes to the courtroom.

“Testimony is expected to be given orally, on the assumption that the spoken, not the written, word is a truer reflection of the state of mind of a witness. Indeed, in many courtrooms jurors are not permitted to take notes, nor are they given written copies of the judge’s explanation of the law. Jurors are expected to hear the truth, or its opposite, not to read it.” Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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Reading Without Words

January 12, 2012 in Humor, Reading with 3 Comments

Insurrection

January 11, 2012 in Reading with 4 Comments

It took me a little while but I recently finished Peter Rollins latest book, Insurrection. It is a meaty read—not in the style it is written but in the depth of thought that Rollins invites you into. I love writers like him who challenge the easy thought process that we all fall into and cause us to question the very core of what we believe. We emerge stronger if we are willing to push through the process.

Rollins invites the reader to experience what it truly looks like to die to self. What it looks like to truly experience crucifixion with Christ. It means that we leave the comforts of certainty, and safety, and go to face despair and suffering directly in the face.

To be sure, not everyone has the spiritual “stomach” for such a process. That is why it is easy to label Rollins as a heretic. But behind the contrarian spiritual advice lies a truth that we seem only to be able to embrace in fleeting moments. Yet it shows us the depth of the Gospel.

I would normally share a quote and then comment on each, as I did earlier this week with another book, but the content of this book speaks for itself and almost reads as poetry when the ideas are allowed to soak in. With that in mind, I invite you to ponder a few of the sections that most stood out to me.

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kenosis

January 10, 2012 in Bible, Reading with 3 Comments

This is a continuation of my series of posts on new words that I learn from my reading.

kenosis

noun: the doctrine that Christ relinquished His divine attributes so as to experience human suffering

usage (in concept): “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:5-8

I read it in this book: Insurrection by Peter Rollins

5 Dysfunctions of a Team

January 9, 2012 in Reading with 8 Comments

Our team at Central is going through Patrick Lencioni’s book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Most of the book is a leadership story that encapsulates the principles in the book. The story itself is definitely what makes the book good. The explanation afterward is somewhat dry but it makes sure that each of the concepts is explained.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from it:

“If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.”

This is an amazing idea to think about. Whatever industry you are in, teamwork can make all the difference at whether you succeed.

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