Reading Recommendations -- Love God With Your Mind

I administer a Facebook page titled: "Love God And Love Others...The Greatest Commandment". Recently, I wrote a post on that page regarding the subject of loving God with our minds. In response to that post, I received a request for some reading recommendations. Well...since I typed up a list, I figured I might as well publish it here, too. Hey, if I'm going to type, I want to get some use out of it! Here are some books that I highly recommend…

Total Truth, Nancy Pearcey

TruFaced, Thrall, McNicol and Lynch

Crazy Love, Francis Chan

Revolution Within, Dwight Edwards

Boundaries, Cloud & Townsend

How People Grow, Cloud & Townsend

Why I Still Believe, Joe Boot

What’s So Great About Christianity?, Dinesh D’Souza

The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer

Can Man Live Without God?, Ravi Zacharias

Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis

Messy Spirituality, Mike Yaconelli

The Long Journey Home, Os Guinness

These books are all outstanding, in my opinion, but not all for the same reasons.  Some are a little bit weightier than others but I believe they are all accessible.

If you are specifically interested in the subject of “leadership” here are a few recommendations…

Spiritual Leadership, Henry & Richard Blackaby

Good To Great, Jim Collins

Deep Change, Robert E. Quinn

Building The Bridge As You Walk On It, Robert E. Quinn

Leadership and Self-Deception, The Arbinger Institute

Spiritual Leadership, J. Oswald Sanders

Integrity, Henry Cloud

The Emotionally Healthy Church, Peter Scazzero

Here are some titles that are not specifically “Christian” books and I do not necessarily endorse everything that these authors write, however, they are, to me, excellent books with very interesting and helpful insights…

Talent Is Overrated, Geoff Colvin

Learned Optimism, Martin Seligman

Night, Elie Wiesel

The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck

Made To Stick, Chip and Dan Heath  (For Those Interested In Communication)

Hope this is of some value.

Dan M.

P.S. If you are on Facebook and are not already a fan of "Love God And Love Others...The Greatest Commandment", I hope you will consider becoming one. Here is a link:    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Love-God-And-Love-OthersThe-Greatest-Commandment/236001620687?ref=ts

Love God And Love Others...The Greatest Commandment

I created a Facebook page called:  “Love God And Love Others…The Greatest Commandment”.  I hope you might take a moment to look at it.  There is a link to the page on the right hand side of this blog page (if you scroll down a bit).  I invite you to join it, if you haven’t already done so.  I created the page for a few different reasons.  One reason goes back to a recent trip I took.  When I’m on vacation I think about different things than I ponder when I’m at home.  I’m not exactly sure why that is but I suspect it has to do with my mind being freed up from certain obligations and certain responsibilities and, therefore, able to pursue less typical thoughts. 

Anyhow, I was out walking one morning and I started thinking about how I wanted to be remembered.  I know it’s a little maudlin, but it was one of those “what-will-people-think-about-me-when-I’m-gone?” kind of thinking sessions.  Sounds like a super fun “walk”, huh?  No wonder the other walkers were crossing over to the other side of the path when they saw me coming.  They must have picked up a strange “vibe”.

I tried to think of all of my great skills and talents and the lasting impact they would have on people.  And, then, I had the troubling realization that I don’t have any skills or talents that are so extraordinary that people would remember them and remain dazzled by them long after I’m gone.

The simple thought that finally occurred to me was, actually, a biblical type of thought.  What I realized, as I made my walk around the lake that day was that God was creating in me a heart of authentic love for people.  (Don’t worry, I’m not at the point where I arrogantly believe I’m the most loving, caring person God has ever created.  Some people still “bug me”.)  But I honestly believe that—with the help of God’s Holy Spirit—I can love people with the love of God.  Imperfectly, to be sure, but authentically.  (Boy, I hope that doesn’t sound bizarre or fanatical, I simply mean it to represent my understanding of how God’s love can work through a person in the way that scripture tells us it can.  “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”—Jesus (John 13:34))

A couple of days after that walk I got the idea to create the “Love God And Love Others…” page.  (I’m hoping that was a God-thing.)  I have tried to create interesting and helpful content on the page for Christians who want to follow the command of Jesus to “love God and love others” and I truly hope that it would be of value to people who connect to the page, for that reason.  And I hope it could be a contribution to this calling of Jesus on our lives that is substantial and important and lasting.

There’s another reason that I created the page.  I haven’t been doing the online social networking thing for a long time at this point, but I find that I have become truly fascinated by it.  I’m almost embarrassed to admit that, since I was a bit reluctant to even get involved with a social network like Facebook.  But now I find it to be incredibly interesting.  (My how things change, huh?)  I’m particularly interested in the potential online social networks have for connecting people and spreading ideas.  I’ve been reading and doing some research on networks and how they work and how things spread through networks.  I have to admit, I don’t completely understand it—I do so much better when things are in comic-book form—but it’s very intriguing to me.  And the more I read about this, the more I keep thinking that it has an amazing potential for doing good things for God.  Really.

So having shared all that, I would like to ask you to consider helping me with something.   Would you be willing to take a look at the page and join it, if you haven’t already done so?  And would you consider inviting people who you think might be interested in the page to connect to it?

Based on what I have been reading about networks, a small handful of people, theoretically, could powerfully and quickly spread a concept through a very large group.  I’d like to see if that’s possible.  And I would like to see if it could happen with a concept that Jesus says is worthy, a concept He says is of utmost importance:  Loving God and Loving Others.

I know that everyone who reads this is busy and has a life and has lots of other things going on.  I appreciate that you even took the time to read such a long post.  So, if you don’t have time to check the page out and invite people to it, I understand completely.  Please don’t feel pressured or obligated.  This is just an idea that is intriguing to me and I’m passing it along to folks to see what MIGHT happen.  I’m genuinely curious.

Thank you!

I hope you’re sensing God’s love and blessing in your life!

Dan