reading what i want

For the past two and a half weeks I have been on a break from the Ed.D. Program at George Fox University. I find myself happily sandwiched between fall classes (Organizational Change & Decision Making and Foundational Perspectives on Ethics & Diversity) and those starting just over a week from now (Quanitiative Research Methods and Advancing the Organization: Fundraising). The challenge of tackling Miroslav Volf has passed and the anxiety of entering a doctoral level statistics course has yet to set in.

As with most school breaks, the thing I enjoy most is the lack of academic demands on my time. I feel as if I am granted a brief window to catch up on life, resume friendships that have gone untended, clean my house, and read whatever I want. The challenge for me is trying to fit it all in, especially the reading. There are so many books to read, good books. I have shelves of books that I haven't yet read, and the stores are chalk full of others that call out to me whenever I walk by.

And so, with the start of this break I made a conscious decision to read diligently (of which a positive side-effect has been that I've watched a lot less television). Again, my challenge is selecting what to read, or more specifically what to finish. Finally, months later finish Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning? How about Peter Hessler's Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present a book that I started before going to China in July (photos coming if I can get iPhoto to export correctly)? The Servant by James Hunter? The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman? And just when I thought I had enough options to choose from - one of my classmates, Heather, gave me Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything as a Christmas gift. I must say the title really piques my inquisitive side.

In the end, although reading bits and pieces of several of these, so far, I went back to a book that I first read about six years ago as part of a men's ministry program at Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley. The book is Point Man: How a Man Can Lead His Family by Steve Farrar. I'm not married, nor am I engaged, and I don't have any children. But I hope and pray that all of that is in my future. And if and when those dreams become reality, I want to be ready for the responsibility that comes along with the titles of husband and father.

Point Man does a relatively good job of laying out the need for husbands and fathers to step up to the plate in leading their families. He outlines the Biblical role and responsibility of a husband as a leader, while making crystal clear that this leadership is not to be abused. Men are called to lead their family as a servant, as one seeking the best for those they are leading. Our model is the sacrificial love of Christ.

The book includes some kitschy humor and several silly stories, but the overall point of the book is driven home quite well. I really recommend the book to men that seek to lead their families well, particularly from a Christian worldview.