Don't Just "Date" The Church!

Why Church Matters: Discovering Your Place in the Family of God is written by Joshua Harris, the best-selling author of Dug Down Deep.  This book discusses about church not as a place to go once in a while or every Sunday, but is should be part of one's life.  He says "Church isn't where we go.  It's who we are."  His opinion is further supported by Charles Colson, "Cristians belong in churches - the only places where we can thrive and grow spritually." 

Whether you agree or disagree, this book discusses on how the brick and mortar church is not just a building, it is a place for growth.  An analogy would be a school, which can also be considered as a place of growth and encouragement.  We learn and hopefully we give back to others through tutoring, mentoring and providing guidance.

An essential statement of this book is "Think globally, love locally."  If you think about it, this applies to many situations in life.  As one person, we can only do so much, so we should think about how our actions can make a positive impact on others around us.  In theory, any human action can grow exponentially.  If we bring 2 friends to church, and each of the friends each bring 2 more friends to church, we can see the effect of 2^x growth.

The author cleverly divides the book into seven (7) distinct sections which enables one to journey through God's love.  In addition, this book has a discussion section that enables groups of people to read these books and share with each other what they think.  Ideal audiences would be fellowship groups in churches.  Each chapter is accompanied by related scriptures that support His words.  This book is designed to be shared over a period of 4 weeks.  I think it could be shortened or extended, depending on how you want to split it up.

Here is an excerpt from the book: http://www.scribd.com/doc/57398149/Why-Church-Matters-by-Joshua-Harris-Chapter-1-Excerpt

First step, don't just "date" the church!  Let's thrive together!!!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Let's Go for a Workout! A Money Workout!

The 60 Minute Money Workout!  This basically is a personal fitness guide for personal finance!

Similar to how you dedicate 60 min of time to workout, this, this book shows how personal finance goals can be achieved in the same way as fitness ones.  It has 14 chapters, consisting of 14 different "workouts" you can do to become financially in shape!

In addition, the book features a Christian perspective and emphasizes integrating giving into part of a personal finance plan.  It explains that wealth is limited by time, which is always limited.  So you must seize the day and know how to make the most of it. 

First step is to achieve financial freedom.  Subsequently, one must take into account personalities.  Then the book discusses about planning for spending/budgeting, retirement savings, debt, paying less, travel and fun, allowances for kids, kid entrepreneur, college plan, home-based businesses, couples and giving.  You can read them one at a time or read them all.  The modular format is great, as it enables one to utilize sections that apply to each personal case.

This is meant to be a review, but I hope to invoke conversation and discussion.  For those of you who have not read the book, I highly encourage you to do so.  What do you do with your personal finances?  How do you manage them?

For more information about the book, I would suggest reading an excerpt from the publisher:  http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9780307446039

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.