Frankenstein - review

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is the classic fiction novel about Victor Frankenstein and his monstrous(?) creation.

This is a fun read that brings up all kinds of ethical issues. Chocked with detail and dialogue, Tom Clancy fans may be a bit disappointed. Nonetheless Shelley is a great author (it is a classic) and pulls the readers through to the very end.

Sticky Church - review

Sticky Church by Larry Osborne attempts to close the proverbial back door to churches.

The concept is really quite simple - plug new people in constantly forming sermon-based small groups. That's it. The rest of the book is why's, how's, and who's of implementing this plan.

The simplicity doesn't make this a bad book. Osborne has great insights into people and church dynamics, not to mention fine supplements in his appendices. Plus, he writes a book that is easy to read. Good stuff.

Total Church - review

Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis presents how the gospel and community should shape our churches.

The authors first argue why the gospel and community are the two key principles that need to shape our churches. They then spell out the implications of gospel and community in practice: evangelism, social involvement, church planting, world mission, discipleship and training, pastoral care, spirituality, theology, apologetics, children and young people, and success. Chester and Timmis conclude with some thoughts on having a passion for God.

While the personal experiences of the authors' was insightful, the way they brought the reader through the Scriptures was the real strength of this book. The concepts were simple, useful, and well grounded.

A personal favorite was the distinction between a personal relationship with the Lord and an individual relationship. The gospel is retold from an individualistic perspective and then contrasted with a more corporate (and comprehensive) perspective. (pp 148-149) The comparison is incredibly perceptive! (You'll have to get the book and see it for yourself.)

IMHO, this book is one of the better volumes that talk about how to do church.

On the Incarnation - review

Athanasius, St. Giles', Cambridge
Originally uploaded by TheRevSteve.

On the Incarnation by Athanasius is a defense of Christ's physical dwelling upon the earth. This defense includes responding to attacks from various groups of people, which is actually quite enlightening.

Athanasius moves in the following fashion:
*Creation and Fall
*The Divine Dilemma and its Solution in the Incarnation
*The Death of Christ
*The Resurrection
*Refutation of the Jews (OT review)
*Refutation of the Gentiles
*Conclusion

"Christ alone, using common speech and through the agency of men not clever with their tongues, has convinced whole assemblies of people all the world over to despise death, and to take heed to the things that do not die, to look past the things of time and gaze on things eternal, to think nothing of earthly glory and to aspire only to immortality."

A profitable read for any believer - I especially enjoyed some of his final thoughts about the profound difference Christ has made on so many different types of people.

Children of the Living God - review

Children of the Living God by Sinclair B. Ferguson shows how God is the Father of those who trust in Christ. While a seemingly simple concept, the implications are quite enormous.

The book flows in the following fashion:
*The Children of God
*New Birth
*Adopted Children
*The Family Traits
*Family Life
*The Spirit of Adoption
*Family Freedom
*Fatherly Discipline
*The Final Destiny

A snippet:

I am a child of God. He is my Father. He understands and cares for me. The Christian, of all people, should be increasingly aware of who he really is. That knowledge gives me stability in an unstable world. ... It sets me free from the world's anxious quest to 'be somebody'. (p 51)

This short book was required for a counseling class through CCEF and it was a real gem. You can almost hear Ferguson's Scottish Brogue, if you listen hard enough. Or, if you can cajole a certain pastor from Eagle Grove to read it to you, you can also get the proper effect.

The Externally Focused Church - review

The Externally Focused Church by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson is an encouragement for the church to do real and relevant acts of service, something that is one of the most effective ways of reaching people with the gospel. (p 11) The two targets of these acts are those that are in the margins of society (p 18) and the city (p 20). Rusaw and Swanson spend eleven chapters drawing out what this looks like.

The book is filled with very practical stories, outlines, and diagrams for what an externally focused church looks like. At the end of each chapter are study and sermon helps that reinforce the particular progression of an externally focused church. The quotes, the references to history, the contemporary examples were excellent.

Here's a particular favorite from John Maxwell: "there is only one thing worse than equipping people and losing them; it is not equipping them and keeping them." (p 151)

If I might offer a critique, it would be in the area of Scriptural exposition. I felt that more time in dealing with the text on these issues would have been really helpful. Perhaps a companion volume? There were a few quirky issues as well - the diagram about the transformational sweet spot (p 61) was helpful but not all of the areas were described. Maybe a fuller explanation or a different sort of diagram might have been in order.

Those points aside, I really enjoyed this book. It offers very helpful advice for the Church in being externally focused.