So I asked this question via Twitter and Facebook, "[What is] your must read books for boys (11-14) that would teach essential things for manhood (spiritual, leadership, relationships, lessons)?", and I have compiled a quick rough draft from those and other recommendations.  I hope to cut and add in order to have a finished list of 'must read' books for my boys to read their 12th (or 13th) year of life.  Here are some ideas that might make the book list:

• Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations - Alex & Brett Harris
• A Guy's Guide to Life - Jason Boyett 
• Hatchet - Gary Paulsen
• The Teen's Guide to World Domination: Advice on Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Awesomeness - Josh Shipp
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens - Sean Covey 
• The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens - Sean Covey 
• Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is): Sexual Purity in a Lust-Saturated World - Joshua Harris 
• I Kissed Dating Goodbye - Joshua Harris 
• Take Your Best Shot - Austin Gutwein 
• The Greatest Salesman in the World  - Og Mandino 
• Richest Man in Babylon - George Clason 
• Pursuit of God - A.W. Tozer 
• Jesus Freaks - DC Talk 
• Case for Christ Student Edition - Lee Strobel

What books would you add?

When I saw this slick infograph by SingleGrain, I noticed the top 10 countries with the most Facebook users.  It is very interesting that, Church Online shares 7 of the top 10 countries. Here is the list of top 10 countries for both Facebook and Church Online.

FACEBOOK users // CHURCH ONLINE visits

1) United States // 1) United States

2) Indonesia // 2) Pakistan

3) United Kingdom // 3) India

4) Turkey // 4) Turkey

5) India // 5) Mexico

6) Mexico // 6) United Kingdom

7) Philippines // 7) China

8) France // 8) Indonesia

9) Italy // 9) Canada

10) Canada // 10) Malaysia

Here are a few take-aways I have from this discovery.  First, our sell-out to Facebook as our community and connection for Church Online is a good one.  Those visiting from our top countries will have a high likely hood of being able to connect and grow through our Facebook presence.  Also, as we grow our Facebook effectiveness it is definitely a variable in bringing visits from these countries to Church Online - a nice win-win.

Second, the countries that we share with Facebook are a great place for us to focus and make country specific pushes through Church Online.  This is something we have been discussing as we try to become a more effective global minsitry.  These countries are great place to start.  There is a great possibility for high ROI (return on investment) as we can see that there is good penetration of social media, which is a great indicator of internet connection and use. 

Share some ministry implications or thoughts you see from this data?

On Spring Break, the boys and I camped one night in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge.  Then we climbed around Mount Scott and saw some bison up close and personal.  Good time!

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