Hero Stories

Every Wednesday at Spirit Club Rachel or I tell the children a hero story.  I think I have gotten more out of these stories than the kids! I see what a difference faith makes in the life of an ordinary, imperfect person.  Here are some of the best ones if you are looking for some juicy spiritual role models:

George Washington Carver – George Washington Carver (God inspires former slave to help his people through science) 

Elias Chacour – Blood Brothers (God leads Palestinian who lost his home to start interfaith school)

 Gandhi – The Story of My Experiments with Truth (God leads Gandhi to reform himself and his country)

 Helen Keller – The Story of My Life (deaf-blind woman discovers faith as a young adult)

 Esther Kim – If I Perish (Korean refuses to bow before WWII Shinto shrine)

 Martin Luther King – I Have a Dream (God helps civil right leader apply gospel)

 Deborah Moore – Same Kind of Different as Me (God leads wife to connect her wealthy Texan husband to a homeless man)

 John Newton – Once Blind or John Newton (God saves a misguided slave trader)

 John Rucyahana – Bishop of Rwanda (God calls Anglican Bishop to reconcile Hutus and Tutsis)

 St Francis – Little Flowers or The Life of St Francis of Assisi (young soldier gives up life of privilege to be a traveling preacher / faith community leader)

 St Patrick – St Patrick of Ireland (British man gives up home to tell Irish about Jesus)

 Joni Erickson Tada – Joni (young teen learns to accept being paralyzed)

 Corrie Ten Boon – The Hiding Place (Dutch Christian goes to Nazi concentration camp)

 Mother Teresa – Mother Teresa (nun called to serve poor and dying of Calcutta)

 Harriet Tubman – Harriett Tubman (conductor on the underground railroad)

 William Wilberforce – Amazing Grace (campaigns to end slavery in England)

 Brother Yun – Heavenly Man (persecuted pastor of illegal house churches in China)

Books that Changed Me

I have read many books that entertained or educated or confirmed what I already thought, but these are the ones that changed me.

Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
I read this book a couple years ago and still think about it.  I used to have a typical American liberal pluralistic view of cultures: “all cultures are valuable and their differences should be respected and protected.”  No more.  Infidel clearly illustrates superior and inferior cultures, comparing Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Netherlands.  Sure, every culture contains good and bad, but now I see that some have more bad and some have more good.

 
The Wright Brothers, by Quentin Reynolds
This is a children’s book I skimmed for Spirit Club. Wilbur and Orv had the coolest Mom ever. Susan Wright was skilled in Math (in the 1800s!) and taught her boys to “Dream it. Draw it. Make it.” from the age of five. Great parental role model and life motto.

Personal Bible Study Methods, by Rick Warren
Rick wrote this way before he got famous. I have enjoyed many delightful times of learning at the feet of God through these methods.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, by W. Phillip Keller
This old classic taught me how much God loves me and how he cares for us.

The Heavenly Man, by Brother Yun
Sounds like the book of Acts, but in our own time.  Strengthened my faith in the power of the Spirit.

Ben and Jerry’s: The Inside Scoop, by Fred Lager
When at first you don’t succeed . . . try, try, try again.  Also, made me laugh.

The Purpose Driven Church, by Rick Warren
Have a big vision . . . we serve a big God.

How to Make Big Money in Your Own Small Business, by Jeffrey Fox
Obviously, I’m not trying to make big money – I don’t even receive a salary.  I picked this up at a recent library book sale since I like business books.  Oops, I’m spending too much time on administration and too little time “selling” our church.

The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom and If I Perish, by Esther Kim
I don’t have to be afraid of anything because God will get me through it.  Faith requires bold action and often leads to suffering.

Stranger at the Gate, by Mel White
Published in 1994, the first time I realized what it was like to be gay; also that this is the civil rights issue of our generation.

Do What You Are, by Tiegers and What Could He Be Thinking, by Michael Gurian
Despite some overgeneralizations, unlocked the mystery of why people are so different. Helps me love all of them!

Blood Brothers, by Elias Chacour and Bishop of Rwanda, by John Rucyahana
How to respond to injustice without violence or revenge. Beauty of forgiveness.

Quest, by Denise Linn and The Seat of the Soul, by Gary Zukav
Once you filter out some of the incompatible theology, Quest methods led me to great spiritual breakthroughs and wonderful times with God.  Zukav has best list of behaviors and attitudes that lead to “bad karma” – good for personal reflection and soul cleansing.