Modern Answers to Modern Problems

Joni and Friends gives the church a wonderful study and resource to answer the really tough ethical and moral questions of our day. Issues like abortion, stem cells, eugenics, disabilities and the right to life debate are clearly articulated, processed through scripture and laid out in a great fashion for the reader. I found the research and clarity very helpful as I continue to hone my beliefs about these complicated and emotion charged issues. The end of the chapter study questions are perfect for small group meetings and book clubs. As an added bonus the book is replete with personal stories and life commentary from Joni and others who have been personally impacted or entrenched in these issues.
I believe the church is in better light when Joni Eareckson Tada speaks and writes as she stands taller in her chair than most do even standing on a chair.
(Book was received from Gospel Light)

General Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny

General George S. Patton Jr. was a man of destiny. During his military career that spanned the first half of the 20th century he was a man in the right place at the right time. Then, as usual, by his own undoing, he became his own worst enemy with deeds and words making him the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I learned so much about this man, the military from 1900 to 1945, tank warfare and key battles of WWII from this book. It is an absolute 'must read' for any student of history. I could not stop reading the book, getting up at one point in the middle of the night to finish. Yes, this is a book worth losing sleep over. Grab this book to learn about the greatest military mind who possibly ever wore an American uniform. The "I didn't know that" phrases will pour out of your mouth as you read this book, especially if your only diet of Patton trivia and information was from the 1970s George C. Scott Hollywood movie rendition of the General. Founder of tank warfare? Olympian? Bible student? The war's best decoy? Read the book to find out all these great details. I think to study Patton is to learn about human nature and how dangerous it can be to be who we really are in front of people. Do you dare? Patton certainly did, paying many dear prices in route to becoming a great American still studied and remembered 65 years later.
(Book provided by Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze.com program.)

The Jesus you are probably ignoring

One of America's greatest modern preachers and possibly one of the greatest yet has served up another volume worth reading. Even though this book is a distillation of many of his sermons on the topic of Christ and His bold ministry confrontations it is an important work for me as I try to grow in Christ and grow in my understanding of Christ.
The reader is brought face to face with a Jesus who does not receive too much press in our modern age. As you will learn in this book Jesus spent his whole public ministry confronting in very bold and even extreme ways the prevailing false views and practices of the spiritually elite in a way and style that we as moderns need not ignore and better off to embrace.
I was personally challenged to rethink how and why I should be more bold and wise and yet at the same time mild and loving in my witness to the lost as well as to the church. This is one more book that will be added to my Christology section of the bookshelf and will be referenced again and again.

Thank you Thomas Nelson publishers for making this volume available through your free book blogging service.

Jesus Manifesto

Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the supremacy and sovereignty of Jesus Christ
by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola



Who do you say that Jesus is? Where does He fit in your thinking, your life, your church? In Jesus Manifesto Sweet and Viola help the reader and thus the church flesh out freshness to our understanding of the Christ. Could it be that the church has become so occupied with Christianity that we miss Jesus? The authors believe it is so and so do I.

Who does the world say that Jesus is? More important, though, is this question: who do you say that Jesus is? This book very directly and simply gives us the answer. Do we really need another book about Jesus? Surely the Bible itself and the countless thousands upon thousands of books written about The Christ is sufficient? Well, yes and no. Yes, the Bible is all that we need for life and godliness. Certainly out of the countless books written about Christ there are no doubt more than enough that are worthy to be read and enjoyed. However, like anything else in this life, seeing and savoring the savior through another set of eyes is always wonderful. Can one have too many pictures over the years of our children going through stages of life? Another book, a good book that is true to Scripture, is always needed. I believe this is one of those books.

To start with, I like the premise behind this book even though the title threw me off and seemed a bit on a cultic twinge. However, the content is very much orthodox and helped me in my walk with God. I believe I need a constant freshness in my view of Christ and this book delivered that for me. This course correction for a modern church that is more interested in having a dialog about justice or going green than in the worship and exaltation of Christ is straightforward and long overdue. This book can reach into emergent, missional, moderate, conservative and even liberal churches in a way that some authors with great books about Christ might not reach. These two authors hand deliver and gift to our churches that is worthy of small group studies throughout Christendom.

Here is the cool content that draws me to and helps me easily recommend this book to my friends. These guys get the questions right and even more importantly they get the answers right. “Who do you say that I am?” “Do you love me?” In these questions lies the premise of the book. The answers are just as profound and fill the pages as they flow over our souls like gentle waves lapping at the shore of our need. Here are a few of these little nuggets to capture your interest. Every scripture and every biblical story points to and is about Christ. “He is the Rosetta Stone of the Bible.” Did you know that? Jesus, the son of man, is the human being, the way human beings were supposed to be before sin. He died the perfect death after He lived the perfect life and all this to please and magnify the Father as we reap the benefits. The book opens with this challenge and I will close this review with it. So what is your chief occupation in life and ministry? Here’s a hint: Whatever you are occupied with comes out of your mouth. It’s what you talk about most of the time.” Is it Christ or something else? That’s why you should read this book.

I was given this book as a free copy to review and blog. I was not told in any way what to say by Thomas Nelson publishers.

Simple, encouraging leadership principles for Church workers

Ok, so there are tons of books on leadership. When I saw that Gospel Light and Regal Books were adding to the list of this genre I was quite skeptical. I wasn't even going to read the book until I met the author, Craig Johnson. Warm, personable, humble and real are my new impressions of this man. His life story, replete with triumph and tragedy, are on display in this book. God is proclaimed and glorified as the victor and ministries across the world should be blessed by this style of leadership. You will certainly benefit from reading this book but more importantly from taking your team through this book this year. Its not heavy theology but should make a heavy imprint on your ministry none the less. Note: I received a free copy of this book from Regal with no expectations to read it let alone review it.

Is your God big enough?

How big is your God when times are tough, the mission impossible and the knees are weak? Big God is a new book by Britt Merrick on one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, Hebrews 11. "We need a bigger picture of the supremacy of Christ, the glory of Christ and the mission of Christ, and our lives should be subsumed by and submitted to Him." pg. 219 When your heart is overwhelmed with the worst possible news about life and death you better know some Bible, you better know Jesus. The central message of this book and why its worth reading in Britt's own words: "What do you do as a Christian when the doctor tells you that your five-year-old has cancer? How do you deal with that? If you're a Christian, your mind goes to Jesus." pg. 18. This book helps you along that path by exploring nine key elements of faith from Hebrews chapter eleven.
Another book about God and faith seemed a bit of a stretch for me with all the thousands of titles written on the subject in the last decade alone, not to mention antiquity. Britt disarms those thoughts as soon as you read the introduction and sense that this man has been battle tested with Jesus, through the Scriptures, anchoring this man's soul in very rough seas. The easy to read and understand exposition of the great faith chapter, Hebrews 11 was very well done and laid out. I wish for scholarship sake that he would have been defined the origin of faith itself as coming from God Himself as a gift and actual result of regeneration. (Rom. 10:17, Eph. 2:8-10, Titus 3:3-8)
Regardless, I was moved closer to Christ and encouraged to press on with the Gospel message and that is the benchmark for a book worth reading and recommending. You will be impressed, as was I, by his very high view of the Scriptures, Christ and the glory of God. The Solas of the reformation ring true and bright with this one. Britt, thank you for your work on this. You can warm yourself by my theological fire anytime.
http://biggodthebook.com/
Note: I received a free copy of this book from Gospel Light / Regal Books with no expectations or endorsements required. I write these words under my own motivation and desires.

How to connect the family to the Bible and church

How in the world can the church effectively connect the Sunday school efforts, the Word of God, and the family together? Within the context of modern society this seems like an impossible task given all the activities and 'pulls' on the family. Sitting around the crackling fire all snuggled up with each other as dad gently draws on his pipe while turning the pages of Scripture in an engaging Bible devotion seems totally foreign today. Is it possible to capture that lost innocence and direct the same spirit of family time into modern constructs? Heaven help the home and the church if we can't or stop trying.
I want to share with you some ideas and some examples of how one Sunday school publisher is trying to establish the connections.

 As a dad, the biggest hurdle I face is motivation to remember to ask what my kids learned in Sunday school. If I do remember they usually don't remember what they learned. It could be that my question is just too big and too broad to help them focus. I'm looking forward to this solution: automatic, weekly emails that will be delivered to me early in the week so we can review Sunday school easily. I look forward to the simple reminder from myhomelight.com

Another issue we face is kids and their Bibles. Often we have struggled in this area because when they do take their bibles to class they are a different translation and different page numberings  making it tough for the teachers to get the kids to use their own bibles. Now with God's Story for Me Bible Storybook we have a great resource at home that matches story for story what is going on in Sunday School. No more guess work and the children actually use their bibles at home and in class.

"Give me something practical and easy!" is no doubt the battle cry of men. I need something really quick and visual that I can point to or ask about concerning the Sunday school lesson. The kids are doing these fun in class activity pages that end up coming home too. Its amazing to me how much the kids want to show off what they were doing in class. The level of recall as they point out the different parts and pieces of this resource is pretty impressive. Since I wasn't raised in Sunday school I think I'm learning too.

I remember the days of being in children's ministry and the difficulty of seeing take homes not being taken home. I think these Family Fun Time take homes have a great chance of making it home. The parenting articles are great. The retelling of the story in an interactive way is fun and it references what page to turn to in the God's Story for Me Bible which is a huge bonus.

Another area that I often forget about is the music. I know that kid's Sunday School is always filled with music. Everyone remembers the words to their favorite songs even from 30 years ago in high school. This music from Gospel Light makes it very family friendly. Its reproducible and now we can have a free copy of what they are using at the church for home use. Great idea and the songs are fun. Yes, I sing along in the minivan too.

Finally, I think its terrific that the second hour Children's Church is using a curriculum that actually matches story for story with the first hour Sunday School programming. I always found it difficult to try to help the kids keep up with too many stories in the morning. How many times have they been talking about a story only to get confused about the other story in the other class. "No son, Jesus did not walk out on the water to visit Noah in the ark!"

Nothing is perfect when it comes to raising kids and teaching them at church but I think Gospel Light is doing a pretty good job.The Bible. Pure and Simple. Sounds good to me.