Recommended Reading

I'm reading a tremendous book by Erwin McManus, The Unstoppable Force. Here is an intriguing excerpt on one of the crises in the American church:

Is it really about us being fed (church members)? I think it might be important to remember that over 60 percent (and climbing) of Americans are overweight or even obese. Is it possible that this is also true in the arena of personal spirituality? Are we too much about us getting fed and too little about us exercising our faith?

Too many of our statements about the crisis in the American church center on the superficial arena of style and neglect to go to the core issue of self. At the core of so much of the resistance the church is experiencing is the preservation of selfishness and self-centeredness. It is one thing to have a preference, it is another to demand that one's preferences be honored above the needs of those without Christ.