For something different, I tried one Audible's new offerings from "The Great Courses," namely, The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World by Professor Robert Garland. It focused on the daily lives of average people beginning in pre-history and going up through the middle ages. It is in lecture form, but was far more entertaining then I remember my college lectures being. Give it a try; 25 hours of listening enjoyment!

Thanks for the great suggestions everyone. Here are my favorite audio books of late. "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" - William Shirer. A 1200+ page beast that in audio form (60hrs) is a completely captivating listen! I thought I knew a lot about the Third Reich and it's major players. This book showed me I didn't. My favorite factoid: Hitler's surname was nearly "Sheckelgruber." "Fall of Giants" - Ken Follett If you read the reviews on Amazon or Audible on this first book in a series of three by Follett about events beginning just previous to WWI, you would think this is a pretty lackluster book. But as a lover of history, this book is a perfect introduction into the beginnings of this forgotten war, so much of which played into the more familiar events of WWII. If you have read Follett's previous "Pillars of the Earth" or "World Without End," you'll love this book as well!

"All of my friends are Stage 3--confident secularists who present themselves as blissfully happy with no needs. How can I offer faith to them?" Isn't this almost along the lines of a non sequitur? What relation does the evidence of faith have to do with the appearance of happiness or whether it looks like they have any needs? I'm sure the actual question that people are looking for an answer to is, "why would the 'guy who has everything' need Jesus to improve his already great life?" If we are going to be honest, "offering faith" to that guy who has everything is most decidedly not going to improve their life in their eyes. Why would someone take on the yolk of a life of faith when they can conduct their life on their own terms, live life for today, and without the burden of treating others with justice and mercy? All of those things are only appealing if they are ever presented in the context of the future. Most Stage 3 people I have met are so concerned about their here and now, that little regard has to be given for tomorrow. And without the future, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done" has little meaning, even to you and I. So...how can we accomplish this? There are already some great ideas mentioned, but to add to them: 1. Ask for discernment - it's almost always the person who presents themselves as blissfully happy who is hiding the deepest hurts. 2. Invite the supernatural - when that person, or their daughter, or another of their loved ones encounters a desperate physical need in their life, it can be surprising how quickly they'll accept the introduction of faith through prayer and healing 3. Consistency - Believers should not be expected to be perfect, but, we are. Seeing hypocrisy is too often the death knell to faith for the person opposed to it. Easy, right?

This idea is provocative inasmuch status quo has dictated for dozens, if not hundreds of years, that the "Rick Warren" model for discipleship is the only way it works. On the contrary, its funny how the same radical behavior Jesus practiced in first century Palestine is still radical, relevant, and effective, today.