Musings on Spiritual Matters

Paula Harrington is a Christian woman who has the gift of encouragement.  I have never personally met this Christian mother, wife, and disciple of Christ, but from her ministry through the World Wide Web, she has blessed thousands, as well as blessed me.  Therefore, it was a tremendous honor to participate in a book blogging tour of her new work “A Common Bond.”  This book takes her gift and puts it into practice for the entire church.  The work is a compilation of wisdom, advice, humor, and a deep and insiders perspective on the life and work of a minister.  She has requested thoughts from some of the best gospel preachers throughout the brotherhood.  As a young minister, this book deeply touched my soul through the words of encouragement, the words of wisdom, and even the words of warning.  Preaching is an odd pursuit, and there are various dynamics that one might not understand from the perspective of a church member.  This book brings together the best thoughts from a wide variety of preachers.  There are quotes from preachers of former generations, quotes from those in the mist of ministry.  It was highly entertaining to hear the words of some of my personal heroes of the faith.  I paid especial attention to Hardeman Nichols and Phil Sanders.  It was wonderful to hear from some of my personal friends in ministry like Mike Baker and Dale Jenkins.  The only regret of having read this book was that it was a pre-release adobe file.  This is a book that is a must for the book shelve of all preachers.  Even though I have read this title on the computer, it was so good that I want a personal autographed copy from the author.  This is a book that is a must for every student graduating from every brotherhood university.  This is a gift for every retired minister in the church.  It belongs on the desk of all preachers.   As one reads this work, you walk down memory lane, you are blessed by the conversational partners along the way, and you are enriched through the voices of old as well as new.  It seems that through the book you have access to hundreds of preachers before the big moments in life.  It is like having the blessing of calling all of these men (which would take forever) and having the privilege of asking them some of the most important questions in ministry.  How do I act in the try out?  What do I do if I am fired?  How do I handle my cash?  How do I manage my time?  These are just a few of the deep and needed questions that are answered.  One of the greatest blessings in the church is when those who have a special gift is unleashed.  Paula has the gift of edification, and through this book it is truly unleashed for all to enjoy.

Related posts:

1. Common Sense Leap Hermeneutics
2. Review of “Applying the Sermon”
3. Review of “All in the Family”
4. Review of “The Pastor”
5. Review of “Prophet of Purpose”

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This entry was posted by Matthew on Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 at 5:45 pm and is filed under Church News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.