Dinner With A Perfect Stanger-David Gregory 2005

I picked up this book in a "bargain bin" at betterworldbooks.com. It is a stunning and wonderful read. It takes you through a dinner conversation with a business man and Jesus. It is a discussion about faith and doubt, world religions,the Bible, science theories and miracles,and the defining of true Christianity including a relationship with God as well as the definition of heaven and "eternal life".

It draws you in with the humanity of the real questions the man asks and how Jesus responds to them. It is a book for believers and nonbelievers, for those church going Christians and those deep in a relationship with Jesus. It is a perfect book for examining our own faith as well as improving our evangelism skills.

What an amazingly human way to look at faith in Christ and to talk to many different people from different faith backgrounds. I also think it really attacks the truths that being obedient, attending church and doing good does not define Christianity or being a Christian. Without a real and daily relationship with Christ in our lives we are not fully Christian. For many of us of my generation, this was never taught to us in the churches we attended. Only since I have attended evangelical churches as an adult, have I understood and accepted this concept of Christianity.

Perhaps many of you have already found this book and have read it, as it is not new( published in 2005). I had heard about it but until now had never read it. It is a wonderful few hours of really examining what and why and how we say we love Jesus. I urge you to pick up a copy soon!!

The Church of Facebook by Jesse Rice 2009

I heard about this book on Moody radio through an interview with the author. I bought it through Amazon and am in the process of reading it. It is very readable as filled with alot of interesting info regarding research on what makes people happy, the effects on science inventions in population growth and other discussion about the use of the Facebook phenomena to build our connection with others and evaluate our ethics of use.

A few tidbits that I have read so far and stick out in my mind are the following:


*The author is not for or against Facebook but rather helps to explain WHY it has come to be and about using it with thoughtfulness about what we post, who we connect with and why and how much time we spend on the process.

* The book has three main focuses:
1."the force that has pulled hundred of millions of users into Facebook"
2. "the new and unexpected outcomes of our social networking habits- the good , the bad
and the confusing"
3. "the types of adaptations that will best help us navigate the shifting social tides to help us
enrich our relationships and help us better understand ourselves"
( "much of the discussion is framed with biblical insights")

* Actual research on "what makes people happy" proves that CONNECTION (with family and friends) is the answer, NOT money, youth or sunny weather( the old cliches).
Students used for this research who had regular people "connections" in their lives(in-person and on-line) tested with the highest level of happiness and lowest signs of depression.

*advice not to use Facebook first thing in your day or last thing before bed- rather choose time alone with God to focus you rather that random Facebooking or emailing to start or end your day.

*advice to try to choose 1 or 2 friends for 1month to have regular Facebook contact with to develop deeper relationships vs. random scrolling and surface relationships with many friends each time we go online.

*amazing facts on the massive growth of Facebook-it announced its mobile download application in 2007 and by 2009 twenty million people had downloaded it

* using authenticity intentionality, and humility by focusing on real emotions and feelings and seeking quality vs. quantity in our on-line and in- person relationships