Church Unique - review

Church Unique by Will Mancini is about helping a church find their particular vision (a Vision Pathway). Mancini proposes a three part process in this Vision Pathway: Discover your Kingdom Concept, Develop your Vision Frame, and Deliver your Vision Daily.

Pros:
This book was recommended for some of the features that it would offer, specifically, the Missional Motives and Missional Map portions of the Vision Frame. Filled with examples, Mancini gives some good direction on how to move forward in the murky world on vision casting. He also gives a solid critique of those who simply copy models looking for a silver bullet and identifies the sin of growth idolatry. Mancini is quite thorough and detailed throughout. Complete with a chapter on the history of the 'church growth' movement, Church Unique is well written with great charts and pertinent illustrations.

Cons:
Mancini seems to downplay the importance of doctrine in your Vision Pathway (see pp 123 & 132 for examples). At times Mancini comes across in a very black & white sort of way when it seems unwarranted or unsupported (see p 219 on hiring staff and p 201 on how soon a church can achieve the 'collaboration' stage). And this is thick reading.

While Mancini is very helpful in parts (especially for the reason I purchased it), the rest will have to simmer for a while for me to be able to make a decent verdict. With that being said, there is enough well done material to make this a worthy volume to have as a resource on church vision.

Searching for God Knows What - review

Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller is half Christian apologetic, half critique on the church. But it is all entertaining. And a bit of stream of consciousness. One of the primary points of the book is to emphasize the relationship we are to have with the Lord, not seeing following Christ as formulaic or 3 easy steps to a better you. This book was loaned to me by a friend.

A couple of the highlights

Regarding Jesus (pp 119-149): he believed all people were equal; he was ugly; he liked to be with people; he had no fear of intimacy; he was patient; he was kind; he was God; he is I AM.

Regarding beauty (pp 209-211): we will scarcely find an ugly person on a CD in a regular store, and never on a Christian CD.

Miller is quite penetrating, writes in nearly everything from the perspective of a story, and he does it while not being whiny. He really has a heart for the person who is jaded with religiosity and who wants to know the living God.

Passion for the Heart of God - review

Passion for the Heart of God by John Willis Zumwalt "is a jump start to renewed passion for Jesus and a roadmap for seeing Him walk out His life through us!" While the Amazon blurb might overstate the scope of this book, Zumwalt certainly challenges one towards seeing the Gospel spread throughout the world. This book was loaned to me by a friend.

Over and over, looking at passage after passage, you are confronted with the fact that our purpose is to glorify the Lord and to spread His gospel. This means to all people. All. This book is designed to stir our heart towards mission. Zumwalt does this so frequently that the chapters only build on one another somewhat; it would be better to say that you get hit repeatedly with same message. There are a few parts that I would either take issue with or I simply don't understand what Zumwalt is saying exactly. But, all in all, this is an excellent motivator to be about missions.

A sample:

When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the ship captain tried to turn him back, saying, “You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages.” To that, Calvert replied, “We died before we came here.” (p 160)

Heaven - review

Heaven by Randy Alcorn is a rather exhaustive look at the subject of what Heaven will be like. The book breaks down into three sections: a theology of Heaven, questions and answers about Heaven, and living in light of Heaven.

One of the basic themes that Alcorn addresses is the notion of Christoplatonism - the thought that the physical is bad and will not be a part of the afterlife. Alternatively, Alcorn shows that Heaven will be a physical place with physical items inhabited by physical beings. Another theme woven throughout the book is the idea of redemption, that is, that the physical world today is a shadow of what the New Earth will be like tomorrow.

This was a great book and will provide a valuable reference in the future. Alcorn offers quite a bit to discuss, but more importantly, he gives us a lot to hope for.

The Prodigal God - review

The Prodigal God by Tim Keller is a short book that focuses on Luke 15 and the parable commonly known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Keller teases out the implications of how both sons (the younger and the older) see the world and see the Father.

From page 45:

The gospel is distinct from the other two approaches (religion or irreligion): In its view, everyone is wrong, everyone is loved, and everyone is called to recognize this and change. By contrast, elder brothers divide the world in two: "The good people (like us) are in and the bad people, who are the real problem with the world, are out." Younger brothers, even if they don't believe in God at all, do the same thing, saying: "No, the open-minded and tolerant people are in and the bigoted, narrow-minded people, who are the real problem with the world, are out."

But Jesus says: "The humble are in and the proud are out" (see Luke 18:14). The people who confess they aren't particularly good or open-minded are moving toward God, because the prerequisite for receiving the grace of God is to know you need it. The people who think they are just fine, thatnk you, are moving away from God. "The Lord ... cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud" (Psalm 138:6).

When a newspaper posed the question, "What's Wrong with the World?" the Catholic thinker G. K. Chesterton reputedly wrote a brief letter in response: "Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely Yours, G. K. Chesterton." That is the attitude of someone who has grasped the message of Jesus.

This is an excellent short book!

Best books of 2008

Well, now that 2008 has come to a close, here are my top 10 favorite new reads of the past year:

1) Death by Love by Mark Driscoll
Theology and practice collide.

2) Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor by D.A. Carson
Exalts faithfulness in ministry.

3) Instruments in the Redeemers Hands by David Powlison
Great primer for seeing change in people's lives.

4) Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal by Richard F. Lovelace
A book from the previous generation, but helpful in thinking through the Christian life.

5) A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie
We just prayed these prayers for a bit and it gave us a bigger vision of God in our own lives.

6) Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen
Sometimes it is about getting things done - completing this post is one more item off my next actions list.

7) The Holman Bible Atlas by Thomas Brisco
I love maps and I feverishly read this from cover to cover.

8) Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God by Larry Osborne
Legalists and performance addicts find recovery.

9) The Reason for God by Timothy Keller
There's lots of reasons for God.

10) The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (audio)
It sounds like audio was a good way to go for this gem.

10 Keys for Unlocking the Bible - review

10 Keys for Unlocking the Bible by Colin Smith gives the reader an overview of the Biblical storyline.

The 10 keys are:
* The Garden
* The Law
* The Sacrifice
* The Invitation
* The Manger
* The Cross
* The Tomb
* The Spirit
* The Fight
* The City

The book is quite short and I was hoping for something that would give a few more hooks to help someone climb through their Bible. The chapters seem to be modified sermons, which means that there is lots of illustrative material, but the sustained argument often lacks comprehensiveness. But, as advertised, Smith gives his readers a good picture of the Bible. And, it is rather easy to grasp hold of the keys. So, for what it does, it does quite well.

You want more after the intro? I suggest the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Smith's other books are probably good too; others will have to attest to this however.

Judges, Ruth (NAC) - review

Judges, Ruth (NAC) by Daniel Block is an excellent commentary on the Old Testament books of Ruth and Judges. For Ruth, Block does a fine job, but the real treasure is his treatment of Judges. This review focuses on Judges.

Pros:
* Easy and fun to read
* Great focus on the text; brings out literary features such as ironies, phonetic tidbits, and changes/omissions as the story unfolds
* Makes connections outside the text
* Makes strong application points

Cons:
(For my purposes, I can't think of anything significant. If you disagree with the fundamental way he handles the text, you obviously won't get much out of this book.)

Excellent commentary! I used this to prepare for an adult Bible Study. The group kept growing as the summer went on; people wanted the notes if they missed a study. It helped us not only understand Judges, but gave us tools and motivation for looking carefully at the text.

1 and 2 Samuel (TOTC) - review

1 and 2 Samuel (TOTC) by Joyce G. Baldwin is a shorter commentary and introduction on 1 & 2 Samuel.

Pros:
* Good evaluation of issues that are presented
* Concise
* Helpful to preachers

Cons:
* Short; issues are missed
* Not as strong on textual issues

This is a great commentary if your expectations are properly tempered. Baldwin will bring up high point issues, deal with them concisely, and move on. This is written for the preacher and while it may lack a depth that other commentaries have, the words that are printed are useful. It is also small enough that my year-old daughter likes to cart it around. While I like Bergen, Cora heartily chooses Baldwin over the other Samuel commentaries.

1, 2 Samuel (NAC) - review

1, 2 Samuel (NAC) by Robert Bergen is a commentary from the New American Commentary series on the books of 1 & 2 Samuel.

Pros:
* Handles issues in a solid fashion
* Gives good textual insight
* Give good background information
* Shows the connections throughout 1 & 2 Samuel and the OT
* Evangelical and pastoral perspective
* Great introduction

Cons:
* Somewhat brief
* Doesn't help as much in going from text to message as I'd like

This is probably the best of the bunch in 1 & 2 Samuel. Bergen does a solid job and this should be an addition to anyone that is preaching from these books.

Luke 1:1-9:50 (BECNT) - review

Luke 1:1-9:50 (BECNT) by Darrell Bock is the first in a two-part volume commentary on the book of Luke.

Pros:
* Comprehensive
* Deals well with textual and grammatical issues
* Gives some application oriented insight
* Easy to read and easy to follow
* Great introduction, outline of the book

Cons:
* Some interpretive issues are not addressed. (This will be true in some sense in all commentaries, but given how well Bock does in some of these other areas, I was hoping for more.)
* My evaluation might be weak because I only used his Luke commentary. Other resources that I used for Luke were not commentaries and so I don't have much to compare from.

Other resources that were especially helpful in Luke are David Pao's notes from his English Bible class on Luke, Andy Perry's, John Piper's, and Tim Keller's sermons on Luke, the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, and particularly the Commentary of Use of the OT in the NT.

This is one of the top rated Evangelical commentaries on the book of Luke. It keeps you from going off the cliff, so to speak.

The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NIGTC) - review

The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NIGTC) by Anthony C. Thiselton is a robust commentary on 1 Corinthians.

Pros:
* Deals exhaustively with issues
* Well-outlined
* Good connections intracanonically
* Good background on the world of Paul and Corinth
* Great help with the Greek text

Cons:
* Thick reading with a bunch of information that isn't very helpful for the end message
* Not strong in practical application, but issues are covered in such a way that such implications are not difficult to bring out

This is a top commentary on this book. I coupled this commentary with some shorter expositions from DA Carson: Cross and Christian Ministry and Showing the Spirit. I also used some resources from Desiring God, Commentary of the Use of the OT in the NT, the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, and Al Lewis' messages and Q&A on various topics.

2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity (Focus on the Bible Commentaries) - review

2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity (Focus on the Bible Commentaries) by Dale Ralph Davis is a commentary on 2 Samuel. This is not so much of a commentary, but an exposition on the various passages.

Pros:
* Easy to read
* Lots of 'here and now' type illustrations
* Very application oriented

Cons:
* With a few exceptions, little help with the text itself
* Doesn't deal with many intracanonical issues
* Seems to lack a Christological focus

This was a helpful book, if you know how to use it. I bought it at the STRONG urging of a friend at which time I also bought another of Davis' books. I am glad I bought both at the same time, because I don't think I would have bought this one had I only purchased the other first. It has some good uses, but it is very deficient in other areas. But for 2 Samuel, there aren't as many expositional resources, having this was helpful even if I didn't always take the path Davis did.

Brave New World - review

Brave New World by Adlous Huxley is about a society in the future based on control and stability. In this society, parenting is a non-existent concept (a tot in the pot), monogamy is immoral, and pain is to be subdued with a drug called soma. In contrast to this 'utopian' society, there a reserve where 'primitive' people are allowed to give birth to children, learn non-sanctioned poetry, and live without drug induced vacations. For a few people, these two worlds collide.

While a classic, it is quite racy and very choppy. There are several places where it is difficult to figure out which person is speaking. The story ends rather abruptly and leaves several open loops. Great for discussion and commentary on the direction of society, fair as far as actual reading enjoyment goes.

Creative and fun

Thanks PoMonkey!

What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur'an - A History of Islam & the United States - review

What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur'an - A History of Islam & the United States by William J. Federer attempts to give an overview of Islam, the Qur'an, and how it impacts the US. This book was given for me to read by a good friend. Even though I respect this person a great deal, the book was a disappointment in several areas.

Readability:
This book was more a grouping of certain facts, quotes, and comments rather than having any sort of real story/argument to pull you along. Chapters were really general headings to these chucks of text and paragraphs were either a quote or a simple statement.

Argumentation:
Much of the book was bits of information that were loosely pieced together, often lacking connection to the larger argument. References were wanting at times - the author several times referred to (even printed portions of!) Wikipedia for support. Many times a real argument wasn't made, statements were made but not interpreted, and some references were unnecessarily long. At times I struggled to even see how the evidence supported the greater point/chapter heading.

Orientation:
I think the book was trying to make us concerned about Islam as Americans and as Christians. Much of what was stated was not compelling or incomplete. As a Christian, you really have to make me understand why Thomas Jefferson's statements are relevant. As an American, you have to do the same. There was a tightness that was assumed between Christianity and being an American that makes me uncomfortable. Plus, even if your case is made, so what? I felt the implied application is hand-wringing and fear.

There is much to assess concerning Islam and while this book has nuggets, there needs to be a better, more coherent presentation of the salient issues and then what are the implications. Because of the issues mentioned earlier, I would want to consult another source before trusting in the veracity of Federer's collage of information.

Death by Love - review

Death by Love by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears is a series of letters written to people in his church that had some serious issues in front of them.

What is beautiful about this book is the way Driscoll ties theology and particularly the implications of who Christ is to real (and often super serious) problems.

One of, if not my favorite book this year. Watch the video which outlines the book. You should read it. If you go to my church, it is on the display shelf to check out. If you don't, you can buy it online.

Read a sample chapter. Start with the first few paragraphs - you wonder what can be said in this situation? Keep reading.

The Man Who Was Thursday (audio) - review

The Man Who Was Thursday by C.K. Chesterton is a story set in the early 20th century London. It features Gabriel Syme, a poet that is secretly working for an anti-anarchist task force in Scotland Yard. The story, laden with allegory, shows Syme's pursuit of the anarchists and especially their leader, a man called Sunday.

This was an awesome audio book: short, compelling, easy to follow while you listen. The story itself is rather good as well. The finale was confusing at parts and I was searching to apply allegorical meaning to everything, which is probably not a good way to read this book. But I did think that this would be a great book for a book discussion.

The DNA of relationships - review

The DNA of Relationships by Gary Smalley describes our life as a bunch of relationships.

The book is as follows:
* Part one describes the nature of relationships and how you can 'dance' destructively.
* Part two describes the five new relationship dance steps: take personal responsibility, create a safe environment, keep your battery charged, listen with the heart, and adopt a no-losers policy.
* Part three gives some concluding and encouraging thoughts.

The book has a bunch of wonderful material, like the discussion on fear. It is also very easy to read; it even has one page chapter summaries (essentially the chapter minus the stories). This book is easily referenced if you needed to pick it back up. There is a website devoted to propagating these dance principles.

With some of the vigor that this book was recommended, I am surprised I wasn't as taken by it. The were a few quirky things that didn't settle as well. Plus, I felt a bit betrayed when I learned that the chapter summaries are an acceptable substitute for the majority of the chapters. But for many it has been very helpful. Waste of money? Not by a long shot. But I probably won't have our church go through the DVD series without a serious reread.

Christ & Culture Revisited - review

Christ & Culture Revisited by D.A. Carson looks at the relationship between Christians and the culture they live in.

The book starts out with by looking at Richard Niebuhr's five-fold analysis of Christ and culture. After working through Niebuhr and giving some direction on some preliminary issues (definitions, framing the discussion, etc), Carson then begins to start looking at a positive way forward. This involves a robust critique of what we call 'good' in politics.

I always enjoy Carson's insight and this book is no exception. He does an excellent job at highlighting prominent contemporary thinking on Christ and culture. His critiques and concluding reflections are especially helpful. Highly recommended.