Only 6min and 55sec into this message from Matt Chandler and I knew I had to post it on my blog. He is preaching this message at Code Orange Revival at El3vation church in NC.

I have poured through my fair share of books and the majority, I really enjoy because I usually read a review of the book beforehand. The other day I was offered a free book for a review from Moody Publishing.  All In: Finding True Life on the Path to Total Surrender, by Mike Guzzardo. I had never heard of the book, nor the author, which is not good since I am a youth pastor and he is a big name youth speaker (Oops!) But I figured that it would be worth reading.

I was looking forward to reading the book, mainly because I thought that it may be a quick encouraging read about how I can continue to strength my walk with Jesus. Now I don’t know Mike and I am guessing by the book and his personal testimony, which he shares in the book, and that he speaks about Jesus to teens all around the world, that He is a great guy. The book is well written and engaging yet it falls short in my mind.  What I had hoped for was absent within the pages of All In.

It seems that throughout the book Mike builds an excitement for being a Christian, following Jesus and even giving up for the cause of Christ, but the problem is that he does not take the reader into the gospel at all. He simply leaves you with a try harder view of the Christian life. A view that seemed to have filled all the books I read throughout my teenage life. A view that in the end leaves you frustrated and hopeless. Now, I am not going to totally trash the book because there are some good points but I am going to say that we need to go deeper and close the loop as youth workers. Don’t encourage students to strap up their boots and work hard to have the perfect Christian life. Encourage them to trust deeply and have that trust lead their heart to delight in Jesus so much so that there is no other option than to follow him.

Mike, if you ever read this (but I doubt you will) I am thankful that you are telling students about Jesus. I am thankful Jesus saved you and has delighted your heart with himself. Just go deeper man! Students can handle it and they need to, or they will leave Jesus. It is not about an emotion, or a moment, but about a Jesus. If you are ever in Maine I would love to have coffee, my treat!

Every now and then I like to share some helpful articles, blogs and links that I have read online. Usually I post them on the weekend, but I figured I would share them today, maybe to help your hump-day go a little better!

• James Emery White has a helpful article on stirring a passion within your children to read.
• A few months ago I got turned onto the blog Practical Shepherding. I have been immensely blessed by the site over the past couple months. Here is a great post on Pastors Getting a Day Off.
• There is a new online magazine, which is free, called Credo. Their first issue is out, and it looks like it will be well worth reading.
• I have been reading Fast Company for the past couple months and finding some of the contend well worth it. This short video on the danger of a Project Plateau is helpful!
• Westminster Books is having a one week sale on all Re:Lit books, 50% off, buy them all and get even more off!

If you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook, you would have noticed that I posted that there is a great deal on the Kindle version of  Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas. I figured it is such a great deal that I would post a blog about it.

The normal price for this book on Kindle is $19.99 but if you act now you can grab it for $1.99, which is a steal for this 600+ masterpiece. If you don’t have a Kindle, it is well worth buying!  Or you can download a FREE kindle reading app for you MAC, iPhone, Droid, and even a PC! READER

From Publishers Weekly

In this weighty, riveting analysis of the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Metaxas (Amazing Grace) offers a comprehensive review of one of history’s darkest eras, along with a fascinating exploration of the familial, cultural and religious influences that formed one of the world’s greatest contemporary theologians. A passionate narrative voice combines with meticulous research to unpack the confluence of circumstances and personalities that led Germany from the defeat of WWI to the atrocities of WWII. Abundant source documentation (sermons, letters, journal entries, lectures, the Barman Declaration) brings to life the personalities and experiences that shaped Bonhoeffer: his highly intellectual, musical family; theologically liberal professors, pastoral colleagues and students; his extensive study, work, and travel abroad. Tracing Bonhoeffer’s developing call to be a Jeremiah-like prophet in his own time and a growing understanding that the church was called “to speak for those who could not speak,” Metaxas details Bonhoeffer’s role in religious resistance to Nazism, and provides a compelling account of the faith journey that eventually involved the Lutheran pastor in unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Hitler. Insightful and illuminating, this tome makes a powerful contribution to biography, history and theology.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Wether  you like him or not, here is a very helpful and confrontational video from Paul Washer called Are You Clothed With Power. It can be a very helpful 13 min, maybe some of the most helpful you have watched in some time.

(HT: Bill Streger)