Normal Rockstar

Ishmael Beah: Child Soldier Tells His Story

I read a fascinating book this past week called "A Long Way Gone" written by Ishmael Beah. Ishmael is a former child soldier from Sierra Leone who was rehabilitated and came to live in America where he finished high-school, graduated from college, and authored a best-selling memoir of his time as a child soldier that has currently sold over 700,000 copies and grossed over $1,000,000.

It is a fascinating story - well-written, extremely descriptive (and quite graphic at points as he describes the violence he was a part of), and overall hard to put down. Unfortunately, the historic accuracy and therefore the overall truthfulness of his account has been called into question by an Australian reporter named Peter Wilson over the last couple of years.

I will let you decide for yourself whether you believe Ishmael is telling/recalling the truth or whether Peter Wilson has uncovered a partially fraudulent account (read Peter's criticism here and Ishmael's statement in response here). Regardless, the story has done a lot of good as far as bringing the whole issue of child soldiers to the forefront of the public's mind. The kind of stuff that he describes in his book DOES happen - the question is whether it all happened to him.

Read the book - then let me know what you think.

"The Shack": The "Pilgrim's Progress" of Today?

I've had a number of friends in recent months rave about William P. Young's novel "The Shack", so this week I decided to pick it up and give it a read. Eugene Peterson wrote a pretty glowing review for the book: "When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of The Shack. This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!"

I'm embarrassed to say I haven't read Pilgrim's Progress yet, so I guess that's going to be added to my reading list. But so far I've been really impressed with this read. It's a short, easy, and engrossing book - I should be finished today or tomorrow. If you've already read it, I'd love to hear what you thought... however, as a courtesy to those of us who have not read it or finished it yet, please be careful not to give anything away!

[I'm participating in Watercooler Wednesday - check it out!]

"A Thousand Splendid Suns"

I haven't read a novel for a while, but my wife brought home Khaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and I've really been quite enthralled (I haven't let her start it yet!). Hosseini wrote the best seller "The Kite Runner" (which I haven't read yet either) and I can see how it became such a hit - he paints such beautiful pictures through the written word of a culture that I know nothing about (the story takes place in Afghanistan). I'm about halfway through and should be done by the end of the week at the latest - so far I would strongly recommend the book... I'll let you know if that changes by the time I finish!

kite runner, hosseini, afghanistan, taliban

Robert Kiyosaki: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad"

I've started meeting with a business coach/mentor and I'm really excited about it. I have been needing someone like this in my life for a while now and have just recently been able to find the guy locally here who I can get together with on a regular basis. We've only met twice so far and it's been awesome.

He recommended I read Robert Kiyosaki's book, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", so I picked it up and read through it yesterday prior to our breakfast meeting this morning. I was really intrigued... with a subtitle like "What the rich teach their kids about money - that the poor and middle class do not!" who would not be interested?

This book came out over 10 years ago, so I'm a little behind the times on this one, but it is still a great read and very relevant for today. I'm a big Dave Ramsey fan and he's very anti-debt. Dave's deal is you should have no debt except your house (and you need to try and pay that off as soon as possible). Robert considers a house that you live in a liability, not an asset, because it does not add to your monthly income cashflow.

I've got to be careful that I don't jump in too deep here and give away the whole book (especially if money matters completely bores you to tears!). I've always been pretty cautious about becoming that Christian guy who says he doesn't worship money but lives differently. That's why I've kind of stayed away from books that have "rich" or "millionaire" in the title (a matter of principle, I guess). But I made an exception here and I'm glad I did - more than anything it challenged the way I THINK about money matters. Well worth the purchase, and really a pretty easy read (I knocked it out in 3 hours of concentrated reading).

Have you read it yet? what do you think?

Lee Strobel Makes a Case for The Real Jesus

I have been reading Lee Strobel's new book, "The Case for the Real Jesus" this week and am REALLY enjoying it. I hate to admit it, but this is the first of Lee's books that I've actually read. I have heard his story - he's a a former atheist turned Christian after he started investigating Christianity in an effort to disprove it for an article he was writing for the Chicago Tribune - and have been able to spend some time with him (he's really a great guy!), but it wasn't until now that I've actually read one of his books.

What I'm enjoying about this particular book is that it's an easy read. He writes it in a very engaging way. The basic premise is that he goes around the country interviewing various scholars who have been wrestling with this question for years - who IS the real Jesus? - and he writes in such a way as though we feel we're sitting in on the interview, talking with old friends.

One cool sidenote: Lee actually quotes a line from a downhere song in the introduction of the book, and we will be going out to California the end of this month to play at the official TV broadcast launch of the book - click here for more information on the event. You can see a video of us performing the song he quotes here.

A Great New Book

I have made a new friend as of late, and have been enjoying his book. Charles Robinson, author and founder of The Red Road, is a man of quiet strength. We had coffee together the other week (neither of us drank coffee) and I thoroughly enjoyed our time together. I am preparing to build a blog for Charles, so we'll be seeing more of each other, and I'm quite looking forward to it. He's one of those people whose passion for what they do is contagious. Do you know anyone like that?

Harry Potter Sets Sales Records

All I can say is... wow. Have you seen the sales numbers for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? In the U.S. alone it sold 8.3 million copies in the first day. In the first hour, Barnes & Noble sold 156 copies a second [read the rest of the stats here].

I am probably one of the few that have not joined the Harry Potter craze for no reason other than this: fantasy isn't really my genre.

However, I was quite intrigued and somewhat disturbed by this short article in last week's issue of Time Magazine. How's this for a quote?

"If you want to know who dies in Harry Potter, the answer is easy: God... What does Harry have instead of God? Rowling's answer, at once glib and profound, is that Harry's power comes from love."

What do you think? Honestly, this somewhat concerns me. It seems that we have a generation that is growing up on Harry Potter (prior to the release of the 7th book, Rowling had sold 325 million books in 66 languages), a world where dragons are real and religion is the fantasy.

I'm having a hard time getting my mind around what the implications of this will be for Christendom in 5-10 years. Is this something to be concerned about, or is this just the conservative in me making a big deal over some harmless children's stories?

Monday Morning Thought

Clemens has his head full of imaginary piety. He is often proposing to himself what he would do if he had a great estate. He would outdo all charitable men that are gone before him; he would allow himself only necessaries, that widows and orphans, the sick and distressed, might find relief out of his estate. He tells you that all other ways of spending an estate is folly and madness.

Now, Clemens has at present a moderate estate, which he spends upon himself in the same vanities and indulgences as other people do. He might live upon one-third of his fortune and make the rest the support of the poor; but he does nothing of all this that is in his power, but pleases himself with what he would do if his power was greater.

Come to thy senses, Clemens. Make the best use of thy present state. Do now as thou thinkest thou would do with a great estate. Be sparing, deny thyself, abstain from all vanities, that the poor may be better maintained, and then thou art as charitable as thou canst be in any estate. Remember the poor widow's mite.

- William Law (1686-1761)

Are You an Ordinary Radical?

A friend of mine from my Church community group suggested I read this book, threatening that it would "really mess with you". Well, I'm usually up for a challenge like that, and I've been missing reading time, so I went home and promptly ordered my own copy from Amazon.com (she offered to let me borrow her copy but I refused - I like to mark my books up, so it just wasn't going to work).

Well, she was right - I'm messed up. It's nearly 1am here in Atlanta, GA, I've been reading the book, checking out various sites and such related to the author (Shane Claiborne, one of the founders of The Simple Way), and even emailed the guy handling his booking to see if we could connect when we're in the same city in December (kudos to his guy - he emailed me right back. Unfortunately, our schedules don't allow for us to connect this time around... but I'll keep trying!). Here's a review of the book from Publishers Weekly:

If there is such a thing as a disarming radical, 30-year-old Claiborne is it. A former Tennessee Methodist and born-again, high school prom king, Claiborne is now a founding member of one of a growing number of radical faith communities. His is called the Simple Way, located in a destitute neighborhood of Philadelphia. It is a house of young believers, some single, some married, who live among the poor and homeless. They call themselves "ordinary radicals" because they attempt to live like Christ and the earliest converts to Christianity, ignoring social status and unencumbered by material comforts. Claiborne's chatty and compelling narrative is magnetic—his stories (from galvanizing a student movement that saved a group of homeless families from eviction to reaching Mother Teresa herself from a dorm phone at 2 a.m.) draw the reader in with humor and intimacy, only to turn the most common ways of practicing religion upside down. He somehow skewers the insulation of suburban living and the hypocrisy of wealthy churches without any self-righteous finger pointing. "The world," he says, "cannot afford the American dream." Claiborne's conviction, personal experience and description of others like him are a clarion call to rethink the meaning of church, conversion and Christianity; no reader will go away unshaken.

No kidding... I'm going to try and go to bed now - after reading just a few more pages...

Chick-fil-A & Truett Cathy

Last year as a band we did a couple of radio promotional events at Georgia Chick-fil-A restaurants. We had a great time visiting with the people who came by the restaurant to meet us, get a CD signed, or get a picture taken with us; we had a great time visiting with the radio station personnel who were our gracious hosts for the day; we had a great time eating Chick-fil-A food (for breakfast and lunch!). However, what most intrigued me were the conversations I had with the restaurant owners - Operators, as they're referred to in the Chick-fil-A world. so much so, in fact, that when I saw the book Eat More Chikin: Inspire More People, written by Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy sitting on the counter beside the "Cows in Shining Armor" calendar, I decided to purchase it (and, true to Chick-fil-A style, the Operator refused to take my money for it). That was late last year - I was finally able to get to it in early January and finish it off. Quite an interesting book - Cathy is definitely not a literary giant, but his story is amazing - he continues to build on an already amazing legacy. Let's just start here: Truett and his wife have been married for over 50 years. They have 3 children, 12 grandchildren, and more than 120 foster children. Yes, you read that correctly: more than 120 foster children. Many, many years ago Truett realized the importance of loving parents in the life of a child and started looking for ways to influence hurting children by inviting them into his home. One of the ways he has developed to do this is through The Winshape Foundation, a non-profit organization developed simply to "shape winners".

Near the end of his book, Truett tells the story of a girl named April, who came to live in one of his foster homes at 8 years of age. When she was 14 she wrote a speech about "Grandpa" for a school assignment. Truett arranged for April to present her speech to The Newcomen Society, a foundation that recognizes achievement in American business, when they awarded him membership in 1997 and invited him to address the members. April wrapped up her speech this way:
Truett Cathy, the businessman, inventor, and benefactor, is not my real grandfather. you see, it is my privilege to call him Grandpa because I am a WinShape kid, sort of an adopted grandchild of his. I have learned from Grandpa the importance of hard work, practicing your beliefs, and helping others. I strive to be a graddaughter who will make him proud. I hope that by hearing some of his story today that you will be encouraged to be like my Grandpa. Thank you, and eat more chicken.

There's plenty more I could go on about - the story of Chick-fil-A is really quite remarkable (get this: chicken wasn't even served in the first couple of restaurants Truett owned before Chick-fil-A. The Chick-fil-A sandwich came about by accident!). Truett really knew how to hire great people and then took care of them - that has always been one of the keys to the success of his business. Here it is in a nutshell - wrapped up in the core message delivered at the very first Operators Seminar in 1971:

Build the business.
Guard the brand.
Take care of your people.
What counts in this business is not how much money we make or how much chicken we sell. What counts is the difference we make in the lives of others.

This is applicable not only to those who owned Chick-fil-A restaurants in 1971 - this is applicable to us all today. Just replace "how much chicken we sell" with whatever you do - "...how many people we get in church on Sunday morning", "...how many houses I get built, "...how many CDs I sell" - you fill in the blank. You'll be surprised at what happens when you start to think of the well-being of others...