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Josh GriffinMore Posts MoreThanDodgeball’s Year in Review: Best Book of 2011

This year I read quite a few books – you can see most of the book reviews here on the blog by using the book review tag right here. Which book was the best? Before we get there, here are a couple of runner-ups:

Pray for Kaia – Youth worker Ryan Donovan tells the most touching story about his daughter’s painfully short life. I literally cried my way through the end of this books. An absolute testimony to faitfulfulness in the middle of unspeakable pain.

Onward – Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz writes a way-too-long but great history of his little coffee company and a vision of the values they are taking to the future. Really interesting story of the Starbucks journey.

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff takes his best stuff from his blog and drops it into a fun book making fun of but loving Christians. Excited Jon is a speaker at SYMC this year, excited to hear him speak in person about youth workers. Ha!

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers – Dan Merchant brilliantly shows us the clearest picture of what Jesus intended His followers to live by contrasting it with how we (himself included) have managed to mess it all up. Innovative stuff, even if I’m late to the party since the book was published 4 years ago.

My favorite book from 2011:

Steve Jobs – I realize it was trendy to read this book this year and kinda lame to make it my favorite – but it has to be conceded that 2011 will forever be marked by the loss of Steve Jobs. I think I’ve learned as much what TO do as what NOT to do by reading about Steve’s life and management style. Incredible success, incredible failure.

What was your favorite read this past year?

JG

1 View Comments December 31, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts MoreThanDodgeball’s Year in Review: Top 10 Guest Posts of 2011

Every weekend I get the privilege of posting a guest post or two from the More Than Dodgeball community. It is open to everyone – provided it is solid and fits some basic requirements (like somewhere south of 500 words, and isn’t a blatant infomercial for something – if you’re interested get the scoop here). These are the best of the best – the most popular guest posts from 2011:

Becoming an Indispensable Staff Pastor by Justin Lathrop
Top 12 Things You Should be Saying to a Guy Who Struggles with Porn by Nick McDonald
What to do with the Kid Who Hates You by Geoff Stewart
Taste And See: Sharing God’s Goodness Through Grief by Ryan Donovan
Youth Tracker by Bradley K. Chandler
43 Top Church Website Resources by Zach Younkin
I’ve Failed as a Youth Pastor by Steve Ingold
Make the Ask by Geoff Stewart
The Curious Question of Campus Lunch by Sean Kahlich
When Good Ideas Go Bad by Geoff Stewart

JG

1 View Comments December 30, 2011

Josh GriffinMore Posts Book Review: Pray for Kaia – She is Such a Gift

I received a copy of Pray for Kaia: She is Such a Gift from the author of the book – Ryan Donovan had asked about sharing his story here on the blog and eventually did in a moving guest post about grief in ministry. I expressed my interest in his book about his precious newborn daughter’s short life and I just finished reading it tonight. The book is a collection of emails written by Ryan and his wife to friends and family members as they walked through the journey from life to death. They are incredibly moving letters and demonstrate great faith in the midst of uncertainty, hopelessness and pain. About 12 pages in was the first time my eyes filled with tears, as they did twice more before I finally caved in at the end, tears streaming down my cheeks. The book is gripping and emotionally charged, but will do great things to your faith and remind you of the Father’s love for His children. Wow.

JG