“Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption” by Laura Hillenbrand

At the risk of being overdramatic, I have to say that this may be the most powerful life story I’ve ever heard. Louis Zamperini has lived a life that tops anything you’ve ever seen in the movies. Laura Hillenbrand, also author of Seabiscuit, does a masterful job of putting you right alongside Louis in his Olympic and War adventures. I found this Youtube video featuring a CBS documentary on Louis followed by an interview with Louis and a Q&A session with a USC journalism class. The 2 hour video is priceless.

My recommendation is that you read the book BEFORE you watch this video. You’ll enjoy the book and the video more if you read the book first. So for those of you who’ve already read the book, or for those who can’t wait, enjoy:

 

Interview with Prof. Grant Horner, pt. 3

This is the third and final installment of my interview with Professor Grant Horner (Prof. Horner’s Bible Reading System).  Tuesday and Wednesday featured parts One and Two.

Pastor Brett: You recommend using one Bible and sticking with it, and you mention the concern you had over Pastor John MacArthur asking to see your tattered Bible during your interview process. So what kind of Bible have you used all these years (version, binding, etc.)? Has it been rebound?

Professor Horner: I have a 1967 imprint Scofield Bible, given to me in new condition in 1983 by my father-in-law. It was rebound in 2002; by then the covers were all gone, the spine missing, and all the front matter up to Genesis 1 and the concordance past ‘sin’ — all gone. The rebind is still functioning but pretty worn! Maybe another two years or so. I am attaching a photo of my Bible in the dry brook at Elah …. surrounded by smooth stones, and open to the relevant passage. I also managed to find an exact printing of my same Scofield a few years ago, and I have kept that one clean, and shifted my reading to it (I preach from the old one; it is sentimental.)

Professor Horner’s Scofield Bible (KJV) in the dry brook of Elah, opened to the appropriate passage. And as Prof. Horner points out on his Facebook group page, “…not a giant in sight.”

Pastor Brett: If a new Christian were to ask you for the ideal Bible for life…how would you answer?

Interview with Prof. Grant Horner, pt. 1

Grant Horner is Associate Professor of English at The Master’s College in Santa Clarita, California. A husband and the father of three, Horner is best known to the world for developing a Bible reading plan that is spreading like wildfire. What is the plan? Read 10 chapters of the Bible per day from 10 different sections of Scripture. Professor Horner was gracious enough to sit down and answer 25 questions about his Bible reading system and himself.

Pastor Brett:. I see you studied at both UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke. I didn’t know they would allow that. So, Tar Heels or Blue Devils?

Prof. Horner: I never paid attention to college sports. I taught at University of Alabama for 6 months before I realized that all the noise coming from the big round building on campus was crazed fans screaming ROLL TIDE. When I lived in North Carolina, I was doing PhD work at both UNC and Duke, the great archrivals. I figured out pretty quickly that it would be fun to put bumper stickers for BOTH schools on my car, as I went back and forth between the two campuses and parked. Yep — it was very humorous. Rednecks pulled up next to me at stoplights and called out “boy, you got yersef some kind problem or somthin’???” You could sometimes hear a gun cocking. Lucky I wasn’t shot.

Pastor Brett: You have a book that was recently released. Tell us a little bit about that venture.

Don’t Be Intimidated by the Intellectual Atheists

Sometimes Christians can be intimidated by intellectuals who don’t believe in God, especially when they have “impressive” academic credentials. But we have some pretty impressive minds on our team as well. Alvin Plantiga is one such mind. Justin Taylor posts an interview of Plantinga by Simon Smart (told you we had some impressive minds, “Smart”!). Of course, I don’t endorse his beliefs on every subject, but hopefully I can post interviews without implying full-scale endorsement of all a person’s beliefs. Anyway, it’s worth your time.

Professor Horner’s Bible Reading System: Interview with Tom Shelton and Rick Doctor, pt. 2

Yesterday I posted the first half of an interview with two of my friends who are currently using the rather intense Bible reading system developed by Professor Grant Horner of The Master’s College. By posting this interview I am not suggesting that every Christian must read at least 10 chapters of the Bible every day. The issue is not exactly how much you read, but how much you live out. As I heard Chip Ingram recently say, “God is more pleased with you reading one verse and acting on that verse than reading the whole Bible that day.” Yet if you are going to know how to live out the Bible, you need to have a full knowledge of it. This system is one of many that can help you with that goal.

Here is the the second half of the interview:

PB: When do you do your prayer time? Before or after your Bible reading time? How has the Bible reading plan impacted your prayer life?

Professor Horner’s Bible Reading System: Interview with Tom Shelton and Rick Doctor, pt. 1

A couple of days I ago I posted about the increasingly popular Bible-reading system pioneered by Professor Grant Horner of The Master’s College. Today I want to post the results of an interview with two of my friends who are currently using this system to guide them through the daily Bible reading.

Tom Shelton is a friend of mine from Tennessee. He and his wife, Angela, have three kids. In addition to being a diligent reader of God’s Word, he is an active participant in a theological reading group. Rick Doctor, also a friend, is a student at the University of North Florida and attends Harvest Bible Chapel of Jacksonville, where I pastor. Rick was saved a few years ago after hearing open-air preaching on the college campus. He is recently engaged to Daizzee and they plan to marry in early 2010. Of course, I am Pastor Brett (PB).

PB: How did you find out about Professor Horner’s Bible reading plan?