Another Inspiration

I hope you guys like some of the pictures I have been adding. They are only a fraction of what I have. Anyways, on the last blog I talked about a cd that really helped me keep focused while I was in Turkey. For this blog I thought that I would share about a book I read while there. At the house of the host family where we were staying there was plenty of good literature to keep us reading but I picked out this one. I don't know why I chose to begin reading it. The title is somewhat appealing but not really that capturing and as for Brian McLaren, all I had ever heard of him was negative so I already had a bias. But I read it and how glad I am! Another funny thing is that I usually don't read fiction unless it is classic, but when I began delving into the book I soon realized it was McLaren's clever way of keeping the reader captivated. So many times with "Spiritual Literature" from authors like Max Lucado or John Piper I found myself getting bored or I would understand the main point of what they were communicating and set the book down. McLaren's story, however, kept me interested until the end. I don't recommend this book to anyone who is comfortable or content with where they are in their faith. After reading this book, actually I have realized that's not a good place to be. I also don't recomend this book to anyone that is so sure about certain aspects of their faith (excpet for the biblical truths that the gospel communicates) that they will defend it until blue in the face. Instead, this book is for people who want to learn and are questioning how to to make their faith applicable in an ever-changing world. The book offers ideas and topics that I had never thought to question. It challenged me to the very depths of my soul. Some would say that a mission trip would not be the place to do such a thing, but I did and I think I came out of it better than what I went in.