Library Thing - The dream of all Bibliophiles

bibliophile
A	noun
	1	bibliophile, booklover, book lover
				someone who loves (and usually collects) books

I just want to draw your attention to a feature that I have on my blog. It has been there for a while, but perhaps you may not have noticed before. You can go to this link, or click the LibrayThing icon on my sidebar. And when you click it, you will go to my library (actually my wife's too - every book we own is in there - except our daughter's books). You can search my library and if there is a book you need to borrow - you can (this offer is only valid to people at Big Creek Church). I want to make my library as a resource to the people of Big Creek.

J.P. Moreland made this comment in a class I had many years ago. He said that a pastor's library has three focuses/purposes.

1. The great thinkers of God throughout history speak to us today. Pastor's can be discipled by the great men/women of faith through their writings. I have been personally deeply blessed by Jonathan Edwards, N.T. Wright, Eugene Peterson, John Piper and many others.

2. Books also become a needed resource to the pastor. Most pastor's don't live near seminaries and therefore don't have immediate access to their resources. Every pastor needs to have those resources accessible, and in effect create their own mini-seminary library.

3. Also, the pastor can use their books to disciple and resource others. A pastor is not an expert in all things, and therefore he can pass on resources from experts to those who need it. (of course every pastor should have a good loan/lending policy so that the books find their way home.)

Needless to say, these three reasons are why I have taken the time to build, and continue to build a good library.

It only took my a day and a half to get my books into the database. LibraryThing has a wonderful interface and uses information from Amazon and Library of Congress to put all the necessary information into the database. There is very little keying in data by the user. I highly recommend using this Web2.0 program. Enjoy browsing my library.

Technorati Tags: Web2.0, Books, Library