Book Review: Wednesdays were Pretty Normal

Wednesdays were Pretty Normal: A Boy, Cancer, And God by Michael Kelley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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This book is a very interesting look into the progress of one family through the cancer treatments for their little boy. Even though the ups and downs and deeper theological and emotional peaks and valleys are cataloged, I really don't think one can fully grasp them unless he or she walks the same path. There's just too much that can't be put into words when a family goes through something like this.

I enjoyed the humor and grimmaced at the fear they faced, but I sometimes just couldn't connect with the depth of emotion. This isn't the fault of the author, but a fact of life...I've never faced anything like this with my kids, and I don't see how anyone who hasn't can fully relate. If you have faced this, I think this book might be even more meaningful to you than it was to me.

Nonetheless, this book is still a great read and I highly recommend it.

Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal

Here is a link to the book trailer (or click through below) for a new book coming out in few months by Canyon, TX native (and current Nashville resident) Michael Kelley.

The Kelley's two-year-old son Joshua was diagnosed with leukemia; this is the story of what it was like to live in and battle through those days, and how the grace of God was revealed to them in diverse ways through the process.

Michael has preached in my church on numerous occasions, and is the real deal...I can highly recommend this book even though I haven't seen a copy yet because I know Michael and know his strength of character and love for the Lord.

Run, don't walk, to get this book when it is available.

A Few Tidbits

This was a good summary of the CJ Mahaney 'fiasco' that occurred last week.

Here is a great synopsis of the decline in numbers in the Southern Baptist Convention in the past couple years.  I think it is spot on for the most part. Having been a member of several SBC churches in the past 20 years, some of which had some of these specific problems, I agree with the conclusions of the author.

Michael Kelly posted this picture of someone's re-creation of Middle Earth (Tolkien) in Legos.  I love Legos.

In the spirit of the 'Darwin Awards', here's one of the risks of being a copper thief.

Multi-Site Churches...Good or Bad?

The whole idea of these multi-campus, multi-site churches is a confusing one.  I can see some very strong positives and some very strong negatives, mixed in with a whole bunch of gray area 'what-ifs' in the concept.

On the one hand, I'd love to sit and hear a Matt Chandler or RC Sproul or Mark Dever sermon on Sunday mornings at my local church.  We continue to be without a pastor fourteen months ongoing, and we've had fill-ins, guest speakers, an interim pastor (for a short time), and so on.  Not all the sermons have been bad, but all have been somewhat disconnected (and some of them have been pretty close to sleep medication).  We've had a few that have been gospel-centered, encouraging, and provoking (thank you, Michael Kelley...want a full-time pastorate?). So the idea of listening to one of these types of pastors on a weekly basis is very interesting. 

On the other hand, it looks to me like we are headed toward a situation with megachurches that looks like the cola wars of the 80s...a few really big churches spending millions of dollars on top celebrities trying to coax huge segments of the population to attend one of their local satellite campuses.  We'll see which pop star goes with which church.  (Hopefully, no one's hair will catch fire this time.)


You have Driscoll's church with campuses in multiple cities (mouse over the 'Locations' drop-down), expanding to more; you have Lifechurch with around fourteen campuses now (click on the 'Select Campus drop-down), and other megachurches interested in getting into the mix.  What happens when Joel Osteen decides to compete with these folks for headcount?  (Just think of the advertising budget he'd have.)  How many lost souls would that facilitate?

I still haven't decided one way or the other on the worth of these multi-site churches, but my gut feeling about them is not good. We need pastors who know their local members.  But we also need preachers who engage their congregations with in-depth gospel preaching.  Are these two things mutually exclusive?