Myrtle Beach FIRES! and 3 more books

Many of you have inquired and thought about me in the latter part of this past week concerning the fires here in Horry County. Below is a picture my friend and ministry partner, Todd Wood, took while with Horry County Emergency responders as he worked with our association's Disaster Relief:

I had the opportunity to do fly to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in a 25 hour whirlwind trip this weekend, and I got two books finished:

Counted Righteous in Christ by John Piper, I started in 2007 and it has been a deep struggle to comprehend and understand.

Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America by Jeff Pollard, I picked up used and 60% off and let's just say "it was interesting".

Here is a throw-back book I finished at the end of last year, 2008. I never got it on the blog, so here is to forgetfulness. I really enjoyed reading this book (written before the national election in November) and specifically about the unbiased writing of Mansfield. He (to my lack of knowledge) expounded greatly on the controversy of Obama's previous pastor, Reverend Wright. I am interested (and have obtained) others books by Mansfield regarding former President George W. Bush and current Pope Benedict XVI.

Book update 2 (2009) and SUMMER is COMING...

Wow, Easter has passed and the summer is just around the corner. I am five weeks away from our summer missionaries coming in on Memorial Day for the 10 weeks of Summer at Intracoastal Outreach! We have around 800 volunteers coming in as well throughout those 10 weeks which divide out into about 25-30 different churches. PRAISE THE LORD. We have prayed hard and worked very hard recruiting this year and are looking at about 250 more volunteers than in 2008 in our summer and spring break ministries.

I had the opportunity to go with some adults and students from the First Baptist Church of North Myrtle Beach to the country of Wales April 4-11, and the time we shared with the students there was a great experience as we shared Christ and hung out with them. I did a lot of serving and praying which was a little different for me but I was glad to just be a part of the team.

I am adding two books to the library that have i have completed and read in the past two months. I have a goal of one book to read every month, so lets see how much I can exceed that goal like I did last year:

I was able to read this one on my trip to New Orleans to take the PhD entrance exam and to do the department interview. What an incredible book and insight to the "call" I have experienced like many others who faithfully serve in ministry. Iorg pointedly and thoroughly explains the difference between how every Christian is to be a minister and those who are "called" to be ministers in ministry leadership. Great read, well written, and a must for those who feel God's calling and those who may be questioning theirs.

I got this one read on the Wales trip, and had to finish up the ending this afternoon. This was a great read for those who are stuck and complacent in their student ministry endeavors. Nothing really new, but more of an insight into how to move from shallow complacent student ministry to life-changing and tranformational ministry to today's students. With personal victories and struggles along with testimonials from those in the trenches, Clark and Powell provide a worthy read to encourage student ministry leaders (adults, ministers, and students) to continue on in their students lives for the purpose of mature Christian growth!