3 Things I Like This Week

Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.

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1) Nashville Cars ‘n Coffee

I am not a “car guy” in the proper sense of the term. I don’t know engines. I don’t really know one year’s model from another by distinct features. I can barely drive a manual. But I love a good car show. I love the designs, the artfulness, the craftsmanship, the creativity. I love the variety of people who come out to enjoy a car show--young, old, blue collar, white collar, urban, rural, men, women. Once a month, usually on the first Saturday of the month, there is an event at the Nashville Motor Speedway called “Nashville Cars ‘n Coffee.” In the warmer months, it is massive--hundreds of cars from classics to modern, impeccably restored to wildly tricked out. There are food trucks (and of course coffee trucks) vendors, and anything a proper gear head or a casual enjoyer would appreciate. And it is completely free and family friendly. It is a really good time. And I think they do events like this in other cities around the country too, so check your area to see.

2) The Work of the Pastor by William Still

One of the primary responsibilities and emphases of a good pastor is to ensure that his soul is being fed and nourished. There are stretches and seasons of ministry where this is particularly challenging because of the kinds or quantity of demands placed on him. Recent weeks have felt like this for me, and I reached a point where I needed encouragement and refreshment. On somewhat of a whim I grabbed this little book. You might not think it screams “encouragement” with a title like that, but the foreword by Sinclair Ferguson states, “While there is much practical wisdom to be found in these pages, The Work of the Pastor is not a book to turn to primarily to learn the nuts and bolts of ‘how to be a minister. Other fine books perform that service admirably. Rather this is an inspirational, not an instructional book. It throbs with a passion to keep the central things central. It takes us to the heartbeat rather than the hand actions of pastoral life. It belongs to that smaller category of books on the work of the ministry that stir the affections, challenge the motivations, and produce a change in the affections.” In the portion I have read thus far I have found this to be entirely and wonderfully accurate, and I am very thankful for this book and for the timing in which I found it.

3) Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker

People of a certain age will be familiar with this classic SNL skit. People of a certain disposition will be able to quote it in its entirety and likely sneak quotes from it into every day conversation. It is Chris Farley at his best from maybe the best era of Saturday Night Live. I never fail to laugh at this. (This post brought to you by the friend of mine who casually mentioned in a meeting this week that his family received portions of government cheese when he was a child.)