{"id":13061,"date":"2017-01-24T01:00:23","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T09:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/?p=13061"},"modified":"2017-01-23T10:12:10","modified_gmt":"2017-01-23T18:12:10","slug":"christian-readers-challenge-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/2017\/01\/24\/christian-readers-challenge-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Readers Challenge 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Pastor James Lee<\/em><\/p>\n

12 BOOKS. 12 CATEGORIES. 12 MONTHS. Avid reader, slow reader, new reader, and everyone in between\u2026 all are welcomed! You\u2019re invited to be excited\u2026 both to be encouraged and to encourage others as we take up this challenge together! It\u2019s a corporate journey that we won\u2019t regret. It will have us rejoicing along the path and at its end. As Frodo Baggins urged his friend Samwise-Gamgee in the adventure of moving forward, \u201cAnd you will read things out of the Red Book, and keep alive the memory of the age that is gone, so that people will remember the Great Danger, and so love their beloved land all the more. And that will keep you as busy and as happy as anyone can be, as long as your part in the Story goes on. ‘Come now, ride with me!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

As a followup application to a past article on the “Positive Imprint of Formative Reading<\/a>,” I wanted to invite anyone who might be interested, in what I believe, will be a mutually edifying exercise for cultivating our minds, feeding our souls, equipping our ministries, watering our joy, and exalting our Lord. The challenge, if you choose to accept, involves the reading of 12 books over 12 different categories over the next 12 months:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. January<\/strong> \u2013 A book on the \u201cAttributes of God\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. February<\/strong> \u2013 A \u201cChristian Biography\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. March<\/strong> \u2013 A book on \u201cChristian Living\u201d<\/li>\n
  4. April<\/strong> \u2013 A book on \u201cPrayer\u201d<\/li>\n
  5. May<\/strong> – A book about a \u201cCurrent Issue\u201d<\/li>\n
  6. June<\/strong> \u2013 A book on \u201cHistory\u201d or \u201cChurch History\u201d<\/li>\n
  7. July<\/strong> \u2013 A book on \u201cEvangelism\u201d or \u201cWorld Missions\u201d<\/li>\n
  8. August<\/strong> \u2013 A \u201cClassic Novel\u201d, \u201cDetective Story\u201d, or \u201cHistorical Fiction\u201d<\/li>\n
  9. September<\/strong> \u2013 A book promoting \u201cLocal Church Life\u201d<\/li>\n
  10. October<\/strong> \u2013 A book on \u201cApologetics\u201d<\/li>\n
  11. November<\/strong> \u2013 A book on a \u201cBiblical Counseling Issue\u201d<\/li>\n
  12. December<\/strong> \u2013 A book on \u201cPartnering with Our Pastors\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    For example, it might look like the following sample list by the end of the year, whether in part or the whole, depending on each of our preferences, comfort level, and selections:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. January<\/strong> \u2013 The Knowledge of the Holy<\/em> by A.W. Tozer<\/li>\n
    2. February<\/strong> \u2013 Spurgeon: A Biography<\/em> by Arnold Dallimore<\/li>\n
    3. March<\/strong> \u2013 Just Do Something<\/em> by Kevin DeYoung<\/li>\n
    4. April<\/strong> \u2013 Prayer the Great Adventure<\/em> by David Jeremiah<\/li>\n
    5. May<\/strong> \u2013 They Say We Are Infidels: On the Run from ISIS with Persecuted Christians in the Middle East<\/em> by Mindy Belz<\/li>\n
    6. June<\/strong> \u2013 Sketches from Church History: An Illustrated Account of 20 Centuries of Christ\u2019s Power<\/em> by S.M. Houghton<\/li>\n
    7. July<\/strong> \u2013 The Gospel & Personal Evangelism<\/em> by Mark Dever<\/li>\n
    8. August<\/strong> \u2013 Oliver Twist<\/em> by Charles Dickens<\/li>\n
    9. September<\/strong> \u2013 The Hospitality Commands<\/em> by Alexander Strauch<\/li>\n
    10. October<\/strong> \u2013 Every Thought Captive: A Study Manual for the Defense of Christian Truth<\/em> by Richard Pratt<\/li>\n
    11. November<\/strong> \u2013 Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave<\/em> by Edward Welch<\/li>\n
    12. December<\/strong> \u2013The Pastor\u2019s Family<\/em> by Brian & Cara Croft<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      To assist all of us in this fellowship that springs from engaging our minds and hearts, with good books, but especially The Book, our Bibles, with a view to honor Christ – Here are the guidelines for the challenge:<\/p>\n