Three Books

Every time I come back to Kyiv from the USA, I read a lot--I guess to help me adjust back to life--sort of an escape. So far I have a stack of books that I have started but have finished three. One was horrible Business as Usual in the Missions Enterprise? It is for a class I thought I would take this summer but now I think I won't go. The book (or pamphlet that cost about $10) is a ficitionalized account of a missions committee meeting. Eventually, one person takes a space trip to some imaginary world where they go on a short-term missions to a fish world. Just don't bother.

The other, a little better, Evangelism Outside the Box: New Ways to Help People Experience the Good News is a practical book on reaching people who have postmodern tendencies. A new way to tell the gospel story. It's got a lot of Lewis and one chapter is Leanna Payne rehashed but otherwise it's very helpful for anyone who really wants to reach young people.

Finally, Cross-Cultural Connections is sort of an intro to communicating with people from other cultures. I highly recommend it (and probably would require it) for anyone I would lead on a short-term mission trip. It's an introduction to all the basic differences cultures have (about time, space, work expectations, etc.), the things that usually cause problems when people from two cultures try to work together. And it doesn't insult the reader with stupid examples, cheesy illustrations, or two many "How To ...." It also has a rather good chapter on re-entry.

I am also reading a book on marriage mentoring, the reliability of the gospel tradition by a Swedish theologian, and will soon start Leslie Newbigin's The Gospel in a Pluralist Society.

Today, mostly was a real Sabbath except for a two-hour planning meeting we hosted for our student night committee. We had a good discussion and made a schedule for this outreach until the May holidays. We start next week. Let's pray someone shows up!!!!