What an awesome time we had down in Long Beach, Washington.  The pictures posted below really tell the whole story (well, not the whole story, but as the locals say, "What happens in Long Beach, stays in Long Beach" –wink-wink, nudge-nudge.)

Anyway, instead of talking about the refreshing time the Yeti and Mrs. had down south, I wanted to give one final triumphant plug for Brian D. McLaren’s creative non-fiction book trilogy.  So here’s a picture of the three books you MUST read (before you get too set in your ways to appreciate them!):

The first one is A New Kind of Christian, the second one is The Story We Find Ourselves In, and the third (and aptly titled last) one is The Last Word…and the Word After That.

I recently finished the last book and so I am very tempted to sermonize about these books and their importance to the Christian world.  That’s just the way my mind works.  Instead, I’m just going to say that these books have really made an impact on me (and many others) and in some ways have drastically changed my perspective on many aspects of my beliefs and mission in life.  To paraphrase from the last book, "God is so much bigger and better than we ever thought."  These books were hard to read at times because they went against the grain of many of the things I’ve grown up believing, but in the end I have experienced such liberation and excitement for the part I have to play in God’s mission!  I will end this post by encouraging each of you to delve in and join the dialogue (of which you are probably unknowingly already a part of). You won’t be disappointed.

(If you’re wondering about the gehenna reference in the title, that was for my wife.  She said since the last McLaren book focuses on the Christian’s concept of "hell" I should title the post, "What the hell?"  Hey, c’mon, this is a family  blog!  I couldn’t do that.)