The title of this blog post is a value of Curwensville Alliance. We own it. If you want to know more about it, you can click here, where I speak of it in some detail.

Read any good books lately?

Several years ago — maybe 2005 — I invited some men to join me in growing our faith. At first, we met very early in the morning. If memory serves, some men of strong commitment met at 5:30 a.m. in the nearby truck stop. We moved from there to a few more local places. Currently, we meet at The Dutch Pantry.

Each week, the guys read a chapter of a pre-chosen book in advance, highlighting things that stand out and jotting down any thoughts or questions they might have about the content.

The group has varied in size from as many as 18 to as few as 3. It probably averages 8-10.

The agenda of our gatherings is simple.

1. Order breakfast.
2. Share stories from your past week.
3. Pray and eat breakfast.
4. Discuss what stood out in the book.
5. Hang out until you have to go.
6. Leave a good tip and pay for your meal.

As we began, many guys were reluctant to join.

“Pastor Steve, I like breakfast,
but I’ve not read a book
since I finished high school.
And back then, I hated it.”

I encouraged them to give it a try, and to their credit they did.

So, here, well over a decade later, a list of books we’ve read include.

1. Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas
2. Rumors of Another World: What on Earth Are We Missing?, Philip Yancey (I’m not sure we finished this one.)
3. A Man’s Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines: 12 Habits to Strengthen Your Walk With Christ, Patrick Morley
4. Uncommon, Tony Dungy
5. For Men Only: A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women, Shaunti Feldhahn
6. Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul, John Eldredge (We might have read this one twice.)
7. The Love Dare, Stephen Kendrick
8. Hero: Becoming the Man She Deserves, Fred Stoker
9. Secondhand Jesus, Glenn Packiam
10. A Traveler’s Guide to the Kingdom: Journeying Through the Christian Life, James Emery White
11. No More Christian Nice Guy: When Being Nice–Instead of Good–Hurts Men, Women and Children, Paul Coughlin
12. The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of Christian Faith, Timothy Keller
13. The Resolution for Men, Alex Kendrick · Randy Alcorn · Stephen Kendrick
14. Who Do You Think You Are: Finding Your True Identity in Christ, Mark Driscoll
15. The Explicit Gospel, Matt Chandler
16. The Me I Want to Be, John Ortberg
17. Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ with Bonus Content (Designed for Influence), Dallas Willard
18. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, Timothy Keller
19. Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who’s Already There, Leonard Sweet
20. Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life’s Storms, Tim Tebow
21. Seven Men and the Secret of their Greatness, Eric Metaxes
22. Seeking Allah,  Finding Jesus, Nabeel Qureshi
23. The Tech-wise Family, Andy Crouch
24. Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Timothy Keller
25. The Pursuit of God by AW Tozer
26. Stepping Up: A Call to Courageous Manhood, Dennis Rainey
27. Shame Interrupted, Ed Welch
28. Crazy Love, Francis Chan
29. Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller
30. Mere Christianity, CS Lewis

For a group of guys, many of whom said they don’t like reading, I think they are doing well.

What have you read lately?

You’re welcome to join us. Interest has grown so much that there are now two groups meeting. One Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. and one Tuesdays at 7 p.m. See me or Tim Smay for information.

-Pastor Steve