I like books that are secretly calvinist

In our frenetic free-for-all in nabbing as many books as possible, Moses suggested A Vision for Missions by Tom Wells for reading. Like me, a first glance at the cover causes one to think, "You serious? This looks so cheesy."

In actuality, this book is startling me in its theological richness (and practicality!) Each page screams to me soli Deo gloria. Two theses are presented for the heart of a missionary (read: Christian) -

• God is worthy to be known and proclaimed for who he is. This is the motive and message of missions.
• Those who know the most about God are the most responsible and best equipped to tell of Him.

William Carey's emphasis on prayer before doing anything also spoke to me as our fellowship is preparing for our outreach event at the end of the month.

This shows us what sort of workers are needed. Those who know the most about God...A first qualification is belief in prayer. If our attitude is, 'Let us get to work at once!', we are suspect. The man who knows the greatness and glory of God cannot say that first.
....
You can do more than pray after you have prayed; but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed!

There is a correlation between knowing God and submitting to His sovereignty. A more sovereign God = more powerful prayers!