Tag Archives: Book

Book: Boundaries (When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life) by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

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In this book Boundaries, Dr. Henry Cloud and John Townsend use the Bible as the spiritual compass to guide us back to healthy boundaries that are Christ like. One of the main themes of this book is that our deepest need is to belong, to be in a relationship, to have a spiritual and emotional ‘home.’

In fact, the very nature of God is to be in a relationship: ‘God is love’ says 1 John 4:16. And this love is within a relationship – the caring, committed connection of one individual to another.

By reading this book you will learn what boundaries are, what they look like, how they are developed, and some common myths about setting and having boundaries. The authors cover a wide range of boundaries such as between you and your family, friends, spouse, children, work, your self, and God.

Learning how to say no can seem difficult at first but if you are ready to take control of your life and saw yes to a healthy, balanced lifestyle then this book is for you. Often, as Christians we focus so much on being loving and unselfish that we forget their own limits and limitations.

Boundaries impact all areas of our lives: Physical boundaries help us determine who may touch us and under what circumstances — Mental boundaries give us the freedom to have our own thoughts and opinions — Emotional boundaries help us to deal with our own emotions and disengage from the harmful, manipulative emotions of others — Spiritual boundaries help us to distinguish God’s will from our own and give us renewed awe for our Creator.

A boundary is a personal property line that marks those things for which we are responsible. In other words, boundaries define who we are and who we are not. Boundaries are a “litmus test” for the quality of our relationships, and learning to set limits has to do with telling the truth.

And God is more concerned with our hearts than He is with our outward compliance… when we are afraid to say no (to other people), then our yes is compromised. When we say no to people and activities that are hurtful to us, we are protecting God’s investment. We each have only so much time and energy we can give out and this book provides incredible insight into why we behave the way we do, where habits come from, and how to have healthy boundaries our life.

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Book: Calvinism, Arminianism, and the Word of God (A Calvary Chapel Perspective) by Chuck Smith

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Calvinism and Arminianism . . . since the Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century, Christian churches and leaders have disagreed over such issues as depravity, God’s sovereignty, human responsibility, election, predestination, and eternal security, as well as the nature and the extent of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

In the midst of this tumultuous debate, it is easy to ignore the plain statements of the Bible and to believe we have the ability to fully understand God’s ways.

How tragic it is when we become more concerned with being “right” than being loving. Our desire at Calvary Chapel is to bring believers together in the love, truth, and unity of the Holy Spirit, focusing on our awesome God rather than on ourselves.

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Book: The Upside Down Church by Greg Laurie

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Looking for ways to light a fresh fire under a church whose flame is burning low?

In the book, The Upside Down Church, Pastor Greg Laurie uses the biblical guidance found in the book of Acts to show what the New Testament church really looked like, and what we find is that we have come a long way from them.

The Upside Down Church is a must-read for pastors and church lay leaders to help them grasp the principles of biblical church growth. This book will help you rediscover the first century church priorities of fellowship, evangelism, worship, and discipleship.

By in large the early church and much of the Calvary Chapel movement has used growth methods that are upside down when compared to today’s church grown models (such as The Purpose Driven model for example). The approach many churches have taken is from the business world instead of following God’s Word.

Pastor Greg Laurie demonstrates in this book how the mission of Harvest Fellowship (the church he pastors at) has simply been to live out the Great Commission and be the church that honors God.

This book helps readers to learn about God’s original plan for His Church, discover God’s plan to save the world, understand how twelve men turned the world upside down, recognize the power of prayer, and concluded that God can use you too.

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Book: Life@Work (Marketplace Success for People of Faith) by John C. Maxwell

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Authors John C. Maxwell, Stephen Graves, and Thomas Addington identify the basic tools followers of Jesus should always have in their work toolbox: Calling, Serving, Character, and Skill.

The conventional wisdom of leadership sees character as a muscle of leadership. In truth, character is a muscle of the heart. Our culture is enamored with leadership when it should be enamored with character.

The lines of our behavior draw picture of our character. Behavior and character are related, but they’re not the same. Behavior is what we do. Character is the person our behavior has made us into. Behavior is just one action. Any behavior, duplicated and reduplicated, forms a part of our character. Character is a fruit of the heart.

If characters is what counts most, then it is critical that we build and protect a strong pure heart. As the book of Proverbs says “as the heart goes, so we go.” The heart is where character is forged. After God gives us a new heart, it is up to us to water and nurture it.

This book helps readers learn how to better integrate faith and work and why it is crucial that we do so.

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