Communicate Jesus | Archive

Archive - December, 2010

4 books I enjoyed reading in 2010

December 29, 2010 in Christian Living

I didn’t read as many books in 2010 as I had planned, but those I read I enjoyed. Here are four – what books did you enjoy reading this year?

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

This book got me interested in economics – no mean feat! With chapters like ‘What do school teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?’, this best seller uses the skills of economics to look deeper at the way things are. This book helped me to challenge my assumptions, and look at the world in a different way.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

How does an idea, trend or social behaviour ‘tip’, and then spread like wildfire? This book explores why some things tip, and others don’t. It got me thinking about gospel communication, and chapter 5 is particularly useful for churches – exploring the number ’150′, and how groups of people any larger than this fail to relate effectively.

The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith

Christopher Hitchens is one of the world’s most well-known and articulate atheists. I wasn’t fascinated to discover that his brother is in fact, a Christian. His autobiography came out this year, and was a beautifully written account of his life, and why atheism doesn’t work.

Counterfeit Gods: When the Empty Promises of Love, Money and Power Let You Down

Great challenge and great liberation, simultaneously. This book showed me my idols – at the surface, and well beyond, and then revealed Jesus as the one, true, satisfying Saviour – greater than any idol my heart can manufacturer.

Article: What do you think happens when we die?

December 29, 2010 in Christian Living, Outreach

Today I’ve written an article that’s been published by The Punch – an online news and opinion site run by News Limited.

“George Bernard Shaw once observed that the statistics about death are very impressive – one out of one people dies. So why don’t we give more thought to what happens after we die? A 10-minute cab ride on Christmas Eve reminded me of a question we all need to ask, but rarely do.”

Read the article here: ‘What do you think happens when we die?‘

I’ve previously written: ‘Who needs porn when you’ve got MTV?‘

20 questions to ask yourself at the start of a new year

December 28, 2010 in Christian Living, Pastors

The start of the year is an artificial fresh start. It’s a great chance to review the year that’s gone, and consider how next year will be different. Here’s 2o questions to help you do this:

10 questions from Don Whitney. My favourite: ‘What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?’
10 questions from the C.S. Lewis Institute (PDF). This Annual Spiritual Checkup includes 10 categories of questions, with sub-questions within each.

You might also be interested in ‘15 questions to consider our Bible reading habits‘.