It’s been more than two weeks since I’ve given an update and that has brought me into my second month since ‘retiring’. It has certainly not been a lazy month.
Reading: I have read, or am at various stages of reading several books.
- Breaking Tradition to Accomplish Vision by Paul R. Gupta and Sherwood G. Lingenfelter. This is a ‘must read’ for anyone interested in missions. Bethany Bible Fellowship has copies available at a reduced price ($10). I have only a few pages left to finish.
- The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey. I finished this one. I highly recommend it. Yancey was recommended to me by a young man at Bethany and is now one of those authors whose works I want to devour.
- The Habits of Highly Effective Churches by George Barna. Another good one, but it has been set aside for the others.
- Discussing the Da Vinci Code by Lee Strobel & Garry Poole. This is more of a workbook to go along with a discussion group I’ll be mentoring with the 20’s at Bethany (see below).
- Exploring the Da Vinci Code by Lee Strobel & Garry Poole. “Investigating the issues raised by the book & movie.” This is also part of the curriculum for the group.
Research: I’ve spent quite a bit of time on the Internet looking up stuff on the Gospel of Judas, other early Christian writings, The Da Vinci Code, Tiktaalik Roseae, and how to do stuff on the Internet.
Jury Duty (described in 4/18 update): This has started me thinking about all the judical terminology related to Christianity and apologetics. I hope to comment on some of these elsewhere on this site.
Men’s retreat at Verdugo Pines, near Wrightwood, CA and atop the San Andreas Fault.
See www.bethanybiblefellowship.org/images/Men/06MensRetreat/index.html.
20’s ministry: Last Sunday morning we held our first meeting with key leaders of a new 20’s ministry being started at Bethany. One of our first topics will be a discussion of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. This will give us an opportunity to discuss the reliability of the Gospels, the role of women in Christianity and whether Jesus is the Son of God.