book: Youth ministry on your knees (Mike Higgs)

I wanted to recommend this book for it's simplicity and accessability to youth workers short of time for a weighty read - definately not weighhty, but it covers excellent ground.

It starts with the character and person of the youth worker. Your ministry will go as far as your prayer life. we expect God to bless us, without giving him his rightful place at the head of our ministries. He moves on to the issue of purity - living a clean life before God without falling into wrong patterns of living.

This book is also really practical in terms of creating a praying culture amongst young people, and the lastter part of the book focussed on mobilising young people to pray.

I know I've been challenged by this book and have just begun reading it through a second time. Enjoy it when you buy it.

Book: Youth Leaders who last (Tim Hawkins)

I had to recommend this book for a few reasons:

1. youth leaders burnout, run away, quit, grow out of it, move 'up' the chain of command faster than I can get a burger in a fast-food joint! Youth leaders don't last - there's a culture of 'transient youth leadership' where leaders don't keep going. this makes it hard for young people to trust new leaders. I bel;ieve god wants people in youth ministry who have the heart and mettle to go for the long haul.

2. It's a brilliant book filled with biblical truths that will grow persevering youth leaders.

3. It's a good read!


The book looks at the following:

Section 1: Grow your Leadership Vision
1. Your are Called by God
2. You are a Generation-Changer
3. You are a Shepherd
4. Three Relationships of a Shepherd
5. Three Tasks of a Shepherd
6. You are a Servant
7. Ten marks of a Servant

Section 2: Grow your Leadership Character
8. You are Developing Your Character
9. You are Faithful
10. You are Reliable
11. You are a Follower
12. You have a Biblical Standard
13. Eight Checkpoints for a Biblical Leader

Section 3: Grow your Leadership Skills
14. You are a Bible Teacher
15. You are a Small Group Leader
16. You are Many, Many People
17. You are a Leader who will Last

Section 4: Appendix
1. Biblical Leadership Lists
2. Above Reproach
3. For Further Reading

i love that Hawkins has a good section on the heart of a youth leader - what you are on the inside will affect the ministry you do, and will eventually manifest itself on the outside.

as youth leaders we share Jesus, but we also share ourselves (our lives) with young people we are discipling.

On the whole - a great read (in fact i've read this book numerous times now!!

Reformission Rev

I've Just finished reading "Confessions of a reformission Rev" by Mark Driscoll. I must say that it's the most challenging and inspiring book I've read for a while. therefore you must stop now and do the following:

1. Rush off to the nearest book store
2. Buy it!
3. Read it!
4. Chew on it (think about what it's saying)
4. Apply it to your situation

Mark shows us his own journey of leading a ministry, highlighting very effectively the effect theology has on growing a biblically baded ministry.

I was particularly challenged about working through my own Christology, ecclesiology and missiology (look them up in a good dictionary if I've used big words) and felt a groqing thirst to study scripture even more. Mark's passion for the bible oozes out of every page, and while I might not agree with 100% of his views I felt inspired and encouraged to make disciples from a biblical foundation rather than from a 'consumerist' model of Church.

This book is probably aimed at Church leaders but is written in a very accessable style for all christians, and I'd recommend it very highly.

Book: You see bones, I see an army (Floyd McClung)

Floyd McClung is a total dude! If you haven'y read anything of his then read "The father heart of God"


If you've read that then get your mind stuck into "You see bones". Floyd calls us to imagine chuirch in a new way - simple, organic and rising up! What he says is also being written about by many others, but what makes this a great book is it's passion, simplicity and Floyd's ministry experiences that inform his writing and his ecclesiology.

A great bonus in this book id Floyd's understanding of apastolic ministry. the role of 'apostle' has long been shrouded, clouded and ousted - Floyd shows us a proper place of apostolic ministry for the 21st century.

Book: God On Mute (Pete Grieg)

I thought it was about time I started recommended some books - so here's the first:

I'm a huge fan of all the 24-7 prayer stuff, and this book is a warmly welcomed addition to their writings on the subject of prayer. It's refreshing to read a book with wit, warmth, honesty, vulnerability and sound theology within it's pages. Grieg manages to encourage us about the hard aspects of prayer, drawing on the example of Jesus' praying, as well as from personal testimony to ground it in today's reality.

I've read a few books on prayer and I'd rate it as one of the best.