Last night I sent out a letter to 21 of my closest friends, including several who no longer live in the area but with whom I want very much to stay connected. I thought I would post a version of that note here on the blog in hopes that it would stimulate you to do something similar with your friends...or perhaps to even join in this project with us. Here's the note:Hey, guys,
I’m going to be spending some time in Heaven this autumn – Randy Alcorn’s incomparable book, that is. I’ve read it a few times before and even taught a couple of classes on it but I figured it was time to go back and refresh my heavenly-mindedness with one of the most delightful, exciting, and influential books I’ve ever read.
Any of you interested in joining me?
I’m going to read, ponder, and use in my intercession one section of the book every week. Each section is usually 20-30 pages long so that should take me just about to the new year. But the reason I’m letting a few of my friends in on the project is because I’d love to have you participate. Maybe you’re too busy with other tasks, other books. That’s cool. But if you’d like to take the challenge, I’d encourage you to not only start reading Heaven but perhaps join in the conversation. For the three of you who I meet weekly or the others here in the Omaha area I see often, that’s easy enough. But those of you far away could use email, phone calls, or the comment section in Facebook when I repost an item about Heaven from Vital Signs Blog that I’ll put there.
I’m making this invitation because I’ve decided not to wait till heaven to develop further some of the best friendships I’ve had in my life with some of the most terrific Christian men. So…anybody in?
P.S. In my prayers for each of you these next couple of weeks, I’m going to use a C.S. Lewis quotation from Mere Christianity that Alcorn cites in Chapter 2 of Heaven: “If you read history, you will find that Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next…Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in: aim at earth and you will get neither.”
Denny