While shopping for a Christmas present for Jackie in a bookstore, a book titled "Good to Great in God's Eyes" caught my attention. The subtitle was also intriguing: "Ten Practices Great Christian's have in common".This book grabbed me from a couple of different angles. The title and appearance were very close to one of my favorite books, "Good to Great" which transformed the way I believe a successive company should be developed over a long period of time.
The subtitle also reminded me of a book I read back in 1992 by Kent R Hughes that interviewed great Christians to see what they had in common.
It also said "Ten" things, which implied there was a list. I love lists.
So, I bought the book to see what Chip Ingram had to say.
In the picture on the left, I put "Disciplines of a Godly Man" on the bottom of the pile to point out the books that I have read after knowing what Godly men read. I put Chip's book very near the top since it represents a second opinion about what men that are "Great in God's Eyes" do.
Note: this is not a complete stack of my favorite books. It's just the top 10% of what I have here in the house. Some of my favorite books are loaned out to friends and some are on a bookshelf at work ready to be referenced.
Here's the list of ten practices that Chip proposes are common to great Christians:
- Think Great Thoughts
- Read Great Books
- Pursue Great People
- Dream Great Dreams
- Pray Great Prayers
- Take Great Risks
- Make Great Sacrifices
- Enjoy Great Moments
- Empower Great People
- Develop Great Habits
Books have shaped my perception of God, my confidence in the Bible, my marriage, my ministry, and my relationships with other people. They've done the same for countless other Christians throughout history, some of whom have impacted the kingdom of God on earth quite dramatically.... that's why I'll never regret the practice of reading great books.
As I was reading chapter three, I decided to compare my favorite books with the list that a great person like Michael Card has read. I fall short. I need to read more great fiction and more great history.
3 comments:
great list...I bookmarked in bloglines--stay warm Eby fam!
Have you tried a book called, Anchor in the Spirit. This also caught my eye on the intraweb... I bought it and it's a beautiful spiritual, well written book.
Chrissy, I will pray for you.
On the surface, using only the information that you gave me on the website, it appears that you believe the human soul has the power to reach God through methods taught by great leaders and prophets in the past.
I think that is dangerous thinking and you need to study the Word of God that is referenced on your website when it agrees with your book.
If you believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father, and I have just misunderstood your link, please let me know.
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