Another book? Yep.

Following up our resident book expert, Lee Saffell's blog post, and Pastor Brett's most recent video blog post about Relationships That Heal, Not Hurt -- I thought I'd offer a book for your summer reading.  The book is called Renagade: Your Faith Isn't Meant To Be Safe, by Vince Antonucci. 

Vince left the church he planted in Virginia to plant a new church in Las Vegas -- on the strip!  He was warned by friends that it could be risky.  Not just because planting churches is hard work and a majority of them do not make it, but even more so because of where he was going to plant it.  There are certain men in Vegas who would not like their "employees" to become Christians (if you know what I mean).  Reference Acts 16:16-24 for a similar example in the New Testament.

I'm not yet 50% of the way through it yet, but have already made many highlights (sorry Lee!).  A key one is: "If you're not close to people who are far from God, you're not as close to God as you think you are, because God's heart is always with those who are far from Him.  That's why He sent Jesus."  I don't know about you, but that hits me pretty hard.

In reference to Matthew 5 (A City on a Hill/Light Under a Bushel), Antonucci writes most of us Christians are "happy to grab some other Christians and put themselves under a bowl."  Sad but true.