Attention all single Christian men. I'm about to do you a favour. I feel I need to let you in on a little secret. And to tell you the truth it's not that secretive as I've seen this time and time again. Really, if you don't know it already, you are at a distinct disadvantage. So listen in.
Every single Christian man seeking a godly wife needs to know the importance of a well-placed bookshelf. That's right. It's all about the bookshelf. It is of great benefit to your reputation and consequently your prospects, that within your college room/living area of your share house, a bookshelf must be present with an array of high calibre Christian books. Some people call it the Christian brag-shelf. Preferably at eye level, the specific titles are an expression of personal preference, but this shelf absolutely must contain a partly read copy of Knowing God and The Cross of Christ, plus at least 45% of Matthias Media's back catalogue. Having actually read the books is an added benefit but far from essential. However it's best not to let on that the closest you've got to reading C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity is watching the Chronicles of Narnia films (your copy of which is hidden away in your less than flattering DVD stash of Family Guy and Tarantino films).
Do yourself a favour. For women tomorrow, start your collection today.
To those with experience of the brag-shelf, have I missed any other essential titles?
By the way, here's my brag shelf.
And here's my brag-shelf after I've removed the titles I've never even opened.
And here's my brag-shelf after removing the books I've only read part of.
Love it.
ReplyDeleteNice post.
ReplyDeleteYou've gotta have 'Disciplines of a Godly man' and something massive like Grudem's 'Sytematic Theology' (probably best to keep that one on the bottom shelf).
"However it's best not to let on that the closest you've got to reading C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity is watching the Chronicles of Narnia films (your copy of which is hidden away in your less than flattering DVD stash of Family Guy and Tarantino films)."
ReplyDeleteOne can only hope this is not a description of the house you spent a week holidaying in...
Nice post - I call mine the "Holiness Shelf" it is a bona fide Christian pick up tool. It works.
I would suggest that one shelf per bookshelf, at eye level, is all that's required.
Thanks guys.
ReplyDelete@Luke
They would indeed make great additions, for their titles alone!
@ Nathan
Yeah mate, that is a fairly good description of the house I was in though I had in mind my own DVD draw. However I know from your willingness to justify almost anything for the sake of argument, rather than hide them away you would be more likely to deliberately display undesirable DVDs to encourage robust discussion.
Maybe I'm also just a little bit torn about selling my Family Guy DVDs. I was convinced at the time that for the sake of my godliness they should go, but my acceptability line seems to be constantly on the move.
Probably the Christian single girl equivalent is a Christian holiness cupboard - where all the books on singleness/marriage/romance are hidden so as not to appear desperate.
ReplyDeleteAnika, thanks for the insight. I was unwaware of the female equivalent to the brag-shelf, probably because it's hidden away.
ReplyDeleteI second 'Disciplines of a godly man'.
ReplyDeleteEven better if you have a book about emotional intelligence or something.
@ Mikey
ReplyDeleteFive love languages?
Hehe.. I LOVE this.. shame I don't live in a sharehouse.. :-/
ReplyDeleteHey you're a ministry trainee - what kind of trainee? :-)
Hi Alan,
ReplyDeleteI'm a MTS (ministry training strategy) apprentice with my church and AFES group. But I try not to say I'm "doing MTS" as then the name "MTS" becomes this entity in itself apart from what it actually is - an apprenticeship. Not sure if you're familiar with the MTS training mindset but basically I'm let loose as a full-time gospel worker under an experienced trainer to get ministry experience and see how I handle the rigours of life in paid ministry. It's a great movement which under God has had a profound affect on the evangelical church scene in Australia.
Hey Izaac,
ReplyDeleteI must confess to baiting you a bit.. Next year I'll be starting an MTS apprenticeship too, on campus with Mikey Lynch. So, yep, I'm familiar, and looking forward to starting!
..and yet reserved. I'm in Sydney next week for Geneva Push conference and an extended stay, you much for a coffee? If you're up for meeting randoms (this IS pretty random), I'm up for gleaning a bit of Sydney flavoured MTS apprentice wisdom.. If it sounds like a rubbish idea, no sweat.. I'll keep reading your blog instead ;-)
Hey Alan, that sounds great. I don't normally like putting contact details online to avoid unsolicited emails and SMS so add me as a friend on Facebook and we'll try to organise something. My full name is Izaac Cowling.
ReplyDelete