Feedback wanted

Thanks so much for reading what I write. If you've got a moment to spare, I'm looking for some feedback to help make Joanna Muses better. A few points I was specifically wondering about are-

• Photos- The photos are admittedly a bit off topic. Should I move my photography to a new blog/photography site or should I keep posting them here at Joanna Muses? 
• Book reviews- Up until now I have been reviewing almost entirely Christian non-fiction. I am thinking of extending my focus to other non-fiction that may be of interest to Christian readers. Do you think that would be worthwhile?
• Resource roundup- What kind of online resources would you find it most useful for me to tell you about? Free ebooks? Free music? Great blog posts? 

 Ideas about other aspects of the blog would be welcome too. You can leave your feedback as a comment on this post or at the contact me page

Photos: Melbourne ramblings

Resource roundup 29 November 2010

A musically themed resource roundup for you today


Free music from The Kingdom
The Kingdom is a great Christian rock band from Australia. You can download their latest EP for free on their website. I've been playing their song How It Was a lot.


Free music from Switchfoot
Switchfoot is giving away a fantastic remix of their song Yet. You can download it at their website.

Free music from Jenny and Tyler
I think I might have featured Jenny and Tyler before but they are worth featuring again because their free EP is really good.They play acoustic pop

Book review: Thom Rainer & Ed Stetzer- Transformational Church

Transformational Church
Thom S. Rainer and Ed Stetzer

In Transformational Church, Thom S. Rainer and Ed Stetzer present their research findings as to what thriving, growing churches are doing differently and why various areas of church practice are important.

In some ways, the book has a similar premise to The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons which I recently reviewed. I think this book was an improvement in a number of ways. One was that there was no shortage of case studies. While some of them were well known churches, many were not very well known churches doing good things. Given the tendency that sometimes exists in the Christian community to focus excessively on the famous churches, this is a good thing. Another improvement was that it was more balanced when it comes to dealing with the flaws, not just the positive aspects of the researched group.

While the book is about churches, it would also provide useful food for thought for those in para-church ministries. I’ll be thinking about how their findings about growing churches may have implications for the university ministry I’m involved in.

The only thing I didn’t particularly like about the book was that at times it seemed to overdo the statistics.

Given that many Christian authors make questionable use of statistics, it was great to see a detailed explanation about how they got to their statistics and what measures were taken to ensure the research conclusions were valid.

Photos: Spring in the garden #3

 

Book review: Gabe Lyons- The next Christians

The Next Christians
Gabe Lyons

In The Next Christians, Gabe Lyons critiques the involvement of American Christians in mainstream culture and presents the ways he believes some Christians are getting it right.

There are some good things to be said about the book. I think he is right to critique the prevalent idea of America being a Christian nation. His overview of the different approaches Christians take to engaging in culture was useful, although maybe a little on the simple side.

A few things did bother me though. One of them was the almost entirely very positive portrayal of the “next Christians”. While the people he is talking about are no doubt doing some great things, every movement has its flaws and potential pitfalls which need to be carefully considered. Such excessive positivity also risks making faithful Christians who are not part of this generation look bad in comparison.

Another was that in spots his arguments felt a little unsubstantiated, both in regards to biblical support and real life case studies. It wasn’t that anything he said stuck me as un-biblical, just that it could have used a bit more scriptural support in the text. While the book had some case studies, it would have been good to have more backing up his assertions and generalisations about what this next generation of Christians is like. I was often left wondering who these wonderful people he was talking about actually are!

I think the book has enough value to make it worth reading for some, but it would probably be better to approach it as someones ideas about how the Christian community in America could and should be changing in the future rather than an accurate and ballanced report on how things are.

I “read” this book in audiobook format. Unlike many audiobooks, this one was narrated by the author which I appreciated. He did quite a good job of reading it, although occasionally could have put a little more emotion into it.


Review copy provided by christianaudio.com

Confessing so others can confess

Recently I wrote about how God helps us in our difficulties can be used to comfort others. Providing comfort isn’t the only way our difficulties can help others.

One of the big things that seems to stop people from getting help with stuff (whether their sin or suffering that isn’t their fault) is feeling like they are living something no-one else is experiencing or could possibly understand. In reality of course there is nothing new under the sun. It’s is exceptionally unlikely that what we experience is bizarre enough for us to be the only one who have experienced it.

Jon Acuff came up with the phrase “the gift of going second”. Anne Jackson also expands on it beautifully in her book Permission To Speak Freely. The idea is that when we are willing to talk about our struggles, failing or pain, we make it easier for others to share and begin the road to healing. We spare them the awkwardness of being the first one to raise a difficult topic. I have seen the gift of going second come to life a lot lately, both as a recipient and a giver of the gift of going second. God used the honest sharing of some friends to get me talking about and dealing with some stuff I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. Having someone be willing to be vulnerable start the conversation really does make a difference, particularly when it is on topics people don’t normally talk about.

Of course there is discernment that has to happen about who to share with and where the line is between helpful sharing and way too much information. Speaking out can also be scary. Those things are worth working through so we can help others on the journey to healing and wholeness.

New project: Dear First Year (dearfirstyear.com)

I have been assigned the role of peer mentor to a group of new students starting at my university next year. The role involves helping them get familiar with the university environment, requirements and support services. It is hoped that with the support of senior students, the struggles first years deal with will not end up becoming so bad they drop out of university.

I started to create a list of advice to give them but realised the list would be too big for a handout and would be more than they would remember if I told them. I also wondered if it might be useful for first years in other mentoring groups or at other universities and colleges.

With this in mind, I decided to start a new blog called Dear First Year (dearfirstyear.com). I'll be posting tips for how to study well, enjoy university and not create extra stress for yourself. I figure they may be more willing to listen to a fellow student than an adult who is long past their university days.  At the moment I am still going through the obvious (but important) hints but there will be more interesting ones to come.

If you are/have been a student, feel free to leave a comment here or over at Dear First Year with ideas for things you think first years should know. If you know any students who you think may benefit, please do pass it onto them.

Book review: Max Lucado- Outlive your life

Outlive your life
Max Lucado

Christian publishing and writing seems to go through phases of particular topics being popular. At the moment it appears to be issues of social justice, environmental responsibility and changing the world. It is a fantastic topic but I have noticed a lot of books coming out about it lately. Given that there is already so much being said on the topic I was a little sceptical about whether Outlive Your Life would be a worthwhile read.

While it is not particularly groundbreaking there is a few things about Outlive Your Life that I thought made it stand out and therefore worth a look. As I have said before when reviewing Lucado’s books, he is an excellent writer with a knack for memorable phrases. This book is no exception. If you are the highlighting type you will probably find yourself highlighting a lot. More important than style, the content of the book is pretty solid. Lucado makes very clear the importance of preaching the gospel message and prayer, two things that are easy to overlook in our haste to change the world. The book also deals with the role persecution in advancing the kingdom, quite a convicting chapter.

Overall I was quite impressed with the book. It would make a good introduction for someone starting to think about how their Christian faith is meant to impact the world.


Review copy provided by booksneeze.com

Resource roundup 2 November 2010

Sorry for the relative silence around here lately. In the last month I've had an exam, 3 essays to write, a postgraduate study application to work on, family celebrations and family tragedies amongst other happenings. Thankfully things are calming down a bit so I'll hopefully be posting a lot more. I also have a new blog I'm starting aimed at college/university students. More about that soon.

Here's some worthwhile resources I've found online lately.

Free bibles for Kindle
If you are a Kindle user you may be interested to know that the ESV and HCSB bible translations are free at the moment. Make sure you check that they are still free before you get them because Kindle pricing can change without notice.

Free and discounted John Piper audiobooks.
This month christianaudio has the audiobook of Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper available for free. Other audiobooks by John Piper are on sale for US$5. I plan to get his new book Think

Free ebooks from Gospel For Asia.
At Gospel for Asia's website you can download some great ebooks about missions and Christian living