We like books at CVM. We all like to read, and read widely across books, blogs, magazines etc. … There are always books floating around on coffee tables and desks here at the office and emails bounce back and forth with recommendations and suggestions.

We also toss around ideas of books to write, and if one day we ever complete all the ideas we start with we’d have a publishing house-size collection of books.

What To Read

With so many books out there we know, painfully, that there are good books and there are not-so-good books. So I thought that we could sit down and create a list of books that would be worth reading. A sort of map-through-the-minefield to help avoid some of the stuff that quite frankly is not worth reading.

So the internal-chatter has started and my list is growing and soon we will have a CVM Recommended Reading list, with books across a variety of subjects to help men in their faith.

But before we get there I thought I’d throw it out there for your recommendations. Which books have been of benefit to you? Would it be a work from C. S. Lewis? Or perhaps an older classic like Pilgrim’s Progress? Maybe there’s a study tool or perhaps a biography that you constantly recommending to friends?

Let us know!

We have just launched a fantastic new resource that you can share with your mates. TalkingHead is a collection of videos where real men share their stories.

Just a man, a story, and a video camera.

Check it out. Contribute. And tell your friends!

Not only did Mr. Graham Kendrick provide us with great worship this weekend, he’s now gone and put some of the songs online!

Download: Stand Up, I Know He Lives, Forth In His Name, and Love Each Other here.

It’s only one week until the CVM conference! Next Friday some of you guys will be, along with us, making your way to Warwick Uni for a great weekend. For those of who have been before, you know what it’s like. For others (like me), this is your first time and you’re probably wondering exactly what’s going to happen.

Well, the line up looks pretty good. Graham Kendrick and Andy Economides take us through the main sessions. Then there’s your pick of top guys for the seminars. Of course, there’s life outside too with a bunch of cars from Lexus to drive and a sports venue to explore.

Then there’s the food (did someone say ‘banquet’?) and the bar to chill in when the day is done. So you choose – how do you want to spend you weekend?

And for those of you that are hanging on to the last minute to book, yes – there are still some places left! Give us a ring to secure your place and come join us for what promises to be a thoroughly fun, challenging and provoking weekend!

Ever wondered who you’re calling in the office? From left to right: Karen Beech, Carl Beech, Alan Hodges, Andy Drake, Dave Lodge, Joe Mears, Rob Dean, Jonathan Sherwin.

There are a few things on the walls of the office here at CVM. This is one of them. A prayer from Sir Francis Drake, written in 1577.

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
with the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

This we ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ.

Taff tells us how he was “Hit for Six” after wasting 14 years of his life. An interview by Mark Jones, CVM Regional Director in South Devon.

Add the RSS feed … bookmark the page … a new blog from CVM coming August 3rd 2009.