Eugene Peterson

A few of my friends, whom I respect deeply, have been following the writings of Eugene Peterson lately and shared some of his thoughts that have affected them. Here are a few that are tumbling around in my brain these days:

"People are uncomfortable with mystery(God) and mess(self) – so they hire a pastor and start a program to deal with these."

Pastors should never brag about their busyness – it is the disqualifying factor to the role of pastor." 

"Busyness is a sign of insecurity or laziness." 

"Discipleship is a decision to live by what I know about God, not by what I feel about Him or myself or my neighbors."

Books I'm Taking with Me

Kiley has always said, "If Mike is going to have an affair it'll be with a book." I'm not sure how I feel about that statement, but, I have to confess, I love books. I've rarely met one that I haven't enjoyed at some level.

One of my many plans is to read books I wouldn't normally read or have time to read. Stuff that's not work-related, fun, mind-challenging, paradigm shifting, or just plain what everyone else out there is reading...

It's actually been a little bit of a challenge to figure out what to take along and what not to take along.

Here's a list of the books in my book box. If I get time, I'll put in links later:

• Star Wars:Specter of the Past by Timothy Zahn
  
• Star Wars: Vision of the Future by Timothy Zahn
  
• Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell & Jeffrey Kluger
  
• Team of Rivals: The Politcal Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
  
• Every Man's Battle by Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker
  
• Choosing Your Faith by Mark Mittelberg (I actually have a pre-published copy of this that I've been meaning to read)
  
• Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacArthur
  
• Wild at Heart by John Eldridge (One of those classic books that I keep recommending but haven't taken the time to read thoroughly myself)
  
• Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
  
• The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard (I've been reading this book over and over for about 10 years now)
  
• I'm still looking for a good book on Marriage by Les & Leslie Parrot. Haven't decided which one yet.
• I'm also going to be hitting bookstores along the way!

Plus, I'm finishing these books up this week:

• Time Bomb in the Church: Defusing Pastoral Burnout by Daniel Spaite (This is the primary source that we've used
  
• It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg
• Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit by Chuck Swindoll