The Bad Habits of Jesus

The Bad Habits of Jesus: Showing Us the Way to Live Right in a World Gone Wrong by Leonard Sweet details habits uncovered by Sweet and crowd sourced by his colleagues that traditional society would find rude.  Additionally, many of the habits would also have been found unacceptable by Jesus’ own contemporaries.  Sweet provides context for Jesus’s bad habits including being late, not being specific, spending too much time with children, partying and just intentionally being rude to others.  For each of these habits Sweet provides an explanation of the habit and the benefit that Jesus and his followers can gain from the habit. 

Honestly, I have a mixed mind about this book.  I totally understand how these bad habits can at times be good examples can provide good benefits.  For example, being late can also be seen and described as slowing down instead of rushing, providing time to mediate and allowing one to better interact with creation.  But there is an elephant in the room to me, which is for some people with the habit of being late they are simply rude.  And being rude is not always a positive!  Additionally, Sweet discusses Jesus being intentionally offensive to teach lessons and challenge the status quo.  He himself provides examples where his digression led him to be offensive to others.  But for me this explanation seems like permission for Christians to be purely offensive.  I see plenty of postings on Facebook and other places, one which was beyond shocking I saw this week, where in the name of being truthful, Christians are simply being petty!  Quick fact everyone, I changed my opinion due to Facebook said no one ever!  So in the end, the book is really uneven to me; jumping between strong teaching to lessons that need further development and caveats which I believe Sweet could easily provide. 

The Bad Habits of Jesus: Showing Us the Way to Live Right in a World Gone Wrong by Leonard Sweet is a book that those who enjoy Sweet’s numerous writings will likely want and enjoy.  For me however, I would warn against generalizations, I am a historian.  Being late can definitely be a sign of slowing down one’s lifestyle.  Or it can just be a message to others, you do not matter.  In the end, Jesus played all these situations perfectly…but he was God. 

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People of the Second Chance

People of the Second Change: A Guide to Bringing Life-Changing Love to the World by Mike Foster is full of good reminders.  Foster reminds us to look beyond what we see in the loser, the misshapen, the poorly packaged and instead find the greatness inside.  He urges us through his story and the stories of others to allow the great thing inside those we find beaten and ourselves with all our self-hatred to simply provide another chance.  Foster is no stranger to brokenness.  He starts the book telling of an accident that would shape his life forever.  Out of that accident he found he had to give himself a second chance in order to be more than that three seconds.  Foster then walks his readers through providing a second chance to one's life, going as far as to have a party to allow the celebration to sweep over one's soul. 

In Foster's system broken things, and people are great things.  From a broken state, God can and does make wonderful things.  And so he urges us to plan the second chance for those around us so God's power can truly take effect.  And then one can play the role they were intended to play in the fantastic story of their life. 

One insight for me is how little Americans touch.  I will be honest, I often joke about it.  Yet as someone who's love language is touch it is amazing how calming a quick pat or a hand squeeze can be.  But I declare proudly do not touch me.  Foster helped remind me touch is powerful for me, it's the reminder that I am far from alone!  And touch can re energize many with weary souls.

I really enjoyed People of the Second Chance.  I found it easy to read and insightful.  The reminders to avoid perfection, be vulnerable, give and receive gifts and many more were powerful and timely.  And in the end I think for all of us we need a second chance in order to be the best us...or a third and a fourth. 


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Chase the Lion

Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn’t Scare You It’s Too Small by Mark Batterson is his follow-up to In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.  Batterson continues connecting the life of the Old Testament hero Benaiah who was one of King David’s Mighty Men.  But along with Benaiah, Batterson extends his connections to the larger group of Mighty Men mentioned in the Old Testament.  Batterson uses popular culture, stories of men and women of faith, and his own experiences to connect the Mighty Men to actions today.  Themes found in Batterson’s text include legacy, love faith, and comradeship.  Batterson uses these stories to encourage people of faith to dream big and activate dreams bigger than themselves.

Batterson fans will want this book, especially as it serves as a true sequel to In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.  Readers will find a book that shares the tone of the original and grows the stories found in that volume.  I tend to be a very concrete person and organizationally I would have preferred chapters that focused on text about specific Mighty Men.  In the end, Batterson gives us the book that we expect, which is one that challenges dreams and big prayers as one moves into a bigger story. 

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Altar Ego

In Altar Ego: Becoming Who God Says You Are author Craig Groeschel challenges his readers to be the person God means them to be. Groeschel breaks Altar Ego into three main sections: “Sacrificing Your False Self for Your Sacred Identity in Christ”, “ Sacrificing Cultural Relativity for Eternal Values”, and “Sacrificing Self-Justification for Passionate Obedience”. The first section outlines how to overcome one’s self image and the expectations of others to become God’s ambassador. The second discusses living with values like patience and honor. And the final outlines being bold in one’s true identity in words and deeds.


The book is easy to read with Groeschel providing an easy to access writing style. His use of stories helps show he is a skilled preacher who is familiar with weaving personal anecdotes in and out of teachings. The content itself will be familiar to those who read Christian Living books, with chapters on prayer and reorienting self around God’s images of you. Altar Ego is probably best suited to a new Christian or one that has shown interest in further exploring their identity in Christ. For those who have explored life with Christ in depth before the text would most likely serve as reinforcement of truth and opportunities to gather new examples of those truths.



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Draw the Circle

Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson builds upon his earlier work in The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears. Batterson provides readers with a 40 day devotional to help focus his readers on a greater prayer life. Each entry is 5 to 6 pages in length and covers a variety of prayer related topics. Batterson’s writing used excerpts from The Circle Maker, stories of those impacted by the original book and tales from Batterson’s own prayer life.

Batterson opens with “The forty-day prayer challenge is going to change your life (Batterson, 7).” Personally I feel this promise falls short. To me Draw the Circle is more of a devotional than a challenge. To me a challenge is something that requires action steps and reflection. I assume that these can be found in Batterson’s The Circle Maker Prayer Journal. If I evaluate the book as a devotional, I find it typical of that book type. And I believe those who enjoy Batterson’s writing style will likely find this enjoyable and enlightening.

I sadly am not a huge fan of devotionals, though I have read a few. Yet I was still able to find thoughts for reflection. These include need to provide variance to our prayer life to avoid ruts, the need for specific and non specific prayer and stories of God working in the lives of the prayerful. I probably would have enjoyed this more if I had thought of it as a devotional and not a challenge.

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Who Do You Think You Are?

Mark Driscoll in Who Do You Think You Are? Finding Your True Identity in Christ confronts his readers with a simple truth.  They are experiencing an identity crisis.  He notes that many Christians place negative labels on themselves instead of realizing that their salvation has made them image bearers in the likeness of the Trinitarian God.  So instead of viewing ourselves as being in the image of Adam, the sinful man, we need to understand how we are copies of Jesus, the holy divine man.  To demonstrate our true identities, Driscoll explores the book of Ephesians with his reader.  He points to our true indentity that includes that we are, saved, blessed, saintly, rewarded, adopted and loved.  How often we forget we are loved!

I have never read a Driscoll book or heard a Driscoll sermon.  I have often heard he is a fiery personality.  I did not get that impression from this book.  Yes, he is realistic about how Christians are often obstacles to other Christians.  And he pushes us to be more than legalistic.  But I did not see him as controversial in this book.  Maybe this is a reflection of my own thoughts!  In the end, I believe this is a helpful book, for Christians that are struggling to understand who they truly are!  

Review Copy Provided by Thomas Nelson 

The Purpose Driven Life, Expanded Edition

I cheated.  Author Rick Warren requests you take 40 days to read The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? so you can reflect on each chapter.  Instead, I read through it in 8 days.  So, it is possible, okay I know, I missed out on the full impact of the book.

In The Purpose Driven Life, Warren walks his readers though the theological and practical spiritual steps to living on purpose.  Each chapter is a daily meditation that focuses on one topic and finishes with points to consider and questions to ask.  For the expanded edition, Warren has added codes that can be scanned by a smart phone and provides access to videos that accompany the chapters.  The book is broken into sections on living for God’s pleasure, living as part of God’s family, living to imitate Christ, service and missions.  At the conclusion of the book are numerous appendixes for additional resources, including some free ones, and Bible verses.

Lately, I have been complaining about generic Christian books and my frustration over them.  In many ways I can see how The Purpose Driven Life provides nothing really new and is generic. But even when I read the first edition over 8 years ago I never got the sense that Warren was trying to provide breakthrough ideas.  Instead, I think he was attempting to make 2,000 years of theological study fit within a container that was understandable to the general public.  The reaction and book sales make it clear that he accomplished his goal.  So in many ways I feel like generic Christian books are trying to copy the Warren success, rather than this book being part of the problem.

I really do suggest reading this book as a group.  I can remember when I did this in weeks one and two our group discussed questions like what job does God want me to have.  But by the time we dug into the content the question really became what kind of person does God want me to be.  Ironically and results may vary, that is when jobs and other personal requests opened for the group.  The Purpose Driven Life was one of the most successful group studies I have been part of.

I really would recommend this book as a small group tool or a book that would be helpful to a new believer.  Even for those who have been around for awhile it can be very useful.  I found myself contemplating Warren’s comments about how the church is filled with servant-leaders not servants.  And the new chapters on envy and people pleasing are highly insightful.  All in all, the expanded edition only helps to build on the success of this highly popular book.             

Review Copy Provided by Thomas Nelson

Twelve Unlikely Heroes

Twelve Unlikely Heroes: How God Commissioned Unexpected People in the Bible and what He Wants to Do with You by John MacArthur outlines the lives of 12 figures from the Bible who proved to be heroic though they may have seemed ordinary.  Those profiled are drawn from the Old Testament, such as Joseph and Gideon, and the New Testament, like John the Baptist.  Though the biographies are predominately from the Old Testament.  Many will be familiar with like Joseph but the book also includes more obscure figures like Enoch and Onesimus.  Though these heroes were all very different people, MacArthur shows how all were people of faith and acted on God’s direction. 

Overall Twelve Unlikely Heroes is clear and easy to read.  Some of the chapters are balanced more towards Christian living teachings, like the Enoch chapter, due to a lack of biographical information.  Other chapters, like Joseph, are more heavy on biography due to the vast amount of primary and secondary material available.  Honestly, the chapters that were the least effective for me were Joseph and Miriam, which was really heavy on Moses, because they cover material that others have presented from pulpits, videos and other books.  It was profiles for James, Mark, and Onesimus that were the most effective to me since they are figures we hear less about.  I also appreciated MacArthurs use of tradition and church history to help expand on the Biblical information we have on these figures, while be transparent to their source.  Overall, Twelve Unlikely Heroes is accessible book that could serve as a good introduction to the lives of these early heroes.    

Review Copy Provided by Thomas Nelson

Heaven Change Everything

Heaven Changes Everything: Living Every Day with Eternity in Mind by Todd and Sonia Burpo is a devotional that builds on the story of Todd Burpos’s bestseller Heaven is for Real, which details the Burpos’ son Colton’s experiences during a near death experience.  There are 42 entries which are written by one or both of the Burpos that follow the same format.  Each chapter opens with a brief excerpt from Heaven is For Real, followed by a narrative that builds on the principles of the excerpt or discusses events that have happened since the publication of the first book, a thought to contemplate and finally a Bible verse linked to the devotional’s main point.  The topics covered vary from serving, grieving, the afterlife, evangelism, prayer and many more.

As I read though this devotional, I found that it would be what most would expect from a devotional reader with brief chapters that can be mulled over.  I believe that this offering would be of interest to two audiences.  First, fans of Heaven is For Real will likely enjoy this text since the Burpos expand on stories within the original book and share stories from their life about what has happened since.  The second audience is those who are wrestling with grieving.  Having lost a child to heaven, and have him returned they speak of loss in a different way than others that did not walk through journey.  Additionally, as a pastor and his wife they have seen and helped others in their periods of loss.  Overall Heaven Changes Everything is a typical devotional that fans of Heaven is For Real will likely pick up to enlarge the story of the Burpo family. 

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Grace by Max Lucado

Grace!  It is a powerful and often misunderstood concept.  And it is foundational to our faith.  Max Lucado in Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine attempts to wrap his readers’ minds around this complicated and important word by showing examples of grace in action in the lives of ordinary people, who often prove themselves extraordinary, and the pages of the Bible.  Lucado notes that we often have a wimpy picture of grace and that he wants readers to understand the transformative power of grace.  The grace that Lucado offers is one that reshapes the recipient giving us a heart transplant in his words.  The chapters of Grace shows how grace changes us to be more giving, more caring, and more receptive to the work of God.  The main text is followed by a study guide. 

So, if you have read and liked a Max Lucado book before, you probably know what you are getting in Grace.  The book is easy to read and Lucado’s strength is his ability to write in a clear and entertaining way.  Most anyone can pick up and understand this book.  The chapters are brief and easy to read through in a devotional style.  So, if you have read and not liked a Max Lucado book before, you probably know what you are getting in Grace.  So for those who dislike Lucado’s style you already are well aware of this and probably should not pick up this book.  Grace is a typical Lucado book sure to please Lucado’s core audience.       

Greater: Dream Bigger, Start Smaller. Ignite God's Vision for Your Life

Greater: Dream Bigger. Start Smaller. Ignite God’s Vision For Your Life by Steven Furtick looks to inspire learners to stop living mediocre lives and step into the life of greatness God has meant for them.  Furtick provides both practical, theological and inspirational advice for believers to escape their a life of waste to one that is greater, greater than labels, greater than earthly success, greater than our own dreams.  To show us how to live this greater life, Furtick relies on two chief illustrations.  The first is the prophet Elisha who went from plowman to Israel’s most distinguished prophet of his day.  The second is stories from Furtick’s own Elevation Church and the people that he does life with.  Furtick directs our attention to Jesus, the ultimate example of one who lived a life using the principles Furtick has discovered to being greater. 

The following is probably more of my thoughts on “Christian” publishing and not Greater persay.  Why as a belief group that speaks living in freedom do we need so many “self-help” books.  Furtick himself acknowledges that he could be seen as just another self-help book.  My question is why does he need to address that issue?  Let’s be honest, self-help books are ones we read, consider, and then forget about as we pick up the next title.  I call it Generic Christian Book and they tend to have the themes of look to Jesus, throw off the bonds and live in freedom, do more for Jesus.  Don’t worry they also tend to all give us the same recipe; have faith, pray, read your Bible, be nice to animals (okay I made that up).  Honesty this is not about our authors but us as consumers.  Publisher and authors are putting these Generic Christian Books out because we are buying and reading them, but as I look around are we living them with the swagger that says the Father loves me and I am free!  Often, I think no.

With that being said, Greater is a text that I would drop into the category of Generic Christian Book.  Yes, I like the use of Elisha.  Yes, the books are well written.  But I think a “mature” believer should have read much of this elsewhere or heard similar concepts from the pulpit.  Greater should be of benefit to a new believer who needs to move past that old mediocre life and does not know how yet, but it is us “mature” believers that seem to need this sort of message again and again and again and again.  Reading with a bad attitude, some of the examples from real life mentioned in the book did not impress me.  And I was frustrated with impression given early in the book that one with deep faith who takes a deep risk will have a windfall soon after, especially when Furtick discusses in depth later in the book the difficulties walking out on faith will experience. 

Honestly, I was probably pre-disposed to not be as open to Greater as others who will pick it up.  I almost feel bad saying it but I see it as a trend within theBbody.  Maybe I am reading too many Generic Christian Books improperly giving me the impression that we are staggering in our belief instead of strutting with confidence.  As someone who reads a lot, I say let’s start listening and living the messages of a book like Greater instead of recycling and re-reading it’s concept that we need to live lives of greatness.     

Review Copy Provided by Blogging for Books

Tender Warrior by Stu Weber

Stu Weber in Tender Warrior provides a description of Biblical manhood.  Weber reinforces what other author’s have also brought forward, there is an absence of real men in our society.  He then proceeds to provide a detailed summary of what a real man should be.  He discusses the need for men to have both strength and be able to show tenderness to those they love.  He explores how a real man interacts with his spouse, providing both provision and understanding.  This is followed by an in-depth discussion of the role of fathering and the need for real men to father children.  Weber points out beyond one’s family, a man needs companions to do life in.  He concludes with a picture of what a true man is.  A true man follows the focuses model of Jesus.  He notes that society has emasculated Jesus giving a picture of a pansy.  Weber extends notes the focuses vision of Jesus, a man who was both a warrior king and also one who could show deep compassion. 

Honestly, I kind of think this book is lost on me.  The portions of the book that resonate with me are really things I believe I am doing now.  And there is a lot of material similar to what I have read in men’s issues books before.  And those things that don’t resonate with me failed to challenge my thoughts but were discarded.  I’m not saying the material is not good or the book is not well written.  It just simply did not provide me anything new.  Part of this could be my non-hunter attitude, as this book uses many hunting stories that are lost on me.  Luckily as someone who has studied military history, Weber’s leads using his military experience did keep my attention. 

So I asked myself what would I do with this book.  First, if a believer had never read a book of this type I would suggest it as a starting point that would give them a good overview of these issues.  It would likely challenge a young husband who has not yet thought about these issues.  And I would be very willing to provide this book to someone not following Christ who wants to know what Biblical manhood looks like.  It is likely for these reasons that this book has continued to find a large audience since its original 1993 printing. 

Review Copy Provided by Waterbrook Multnomah

Love Does: Discover A Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World

Bob Goff in Love Does: Discover A Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World shares practical lessons learned from a life lived on faith and how they link to the teachings of Jesus.  Goff writes relatively short chapters centered on poignant and often humorous stories from his own life and those that he does life with.  Goff, a lawyer, leads what many of us would call an extraordinary life where in his spare time he supports global justice initiatives.  One of his stories recounts how he became a Consul for Uganda, with many of his stories relaying his own experiences in that country.  In fact, the proceeds from the book are divided between Donald Miller’s Mentoring Project and Goff’s Restore International Leadership Academy in Gulu, Uganda, which provides educational opportunities for children in war torn northern Uganda.  In the vast majority of chapters Goff explains how his experiences have enlightened him on the life and teachings of Jesus, restating the basics of New Testament passages without the typical Biblical citations found in “Christian books.”

Goff’s message is clear, Love Does!  Love is something that has energy and action around it.  And as Christians it is not enough for us to think about love but we have to put love into action.  By expressing love in an active way we can share in the work of Jesus and get to know Him in a better way.  Love does not sit idly by but moves!

Love Does is easy to read, with the reader feeling like you are engaged in a conversation with Goff.  Goff tells stories and he has interesting stories to tell.  With this being said, I think there are three key groups this book can be helpful for.  First, those seeking to know about Jesus will enjoy this book.  Goff’s writing is easy to engage with and his choice to restate Biblical text without citing makes the book non-threatening to a non-believer.  One does not have to be in the club to understand what Goff has to say about Jesus!  Second, those wanting to find direction in their Christian walk will get simple advice from Goff, do something.  And his tales show how powerful just moving in a direction can be if you don’t know where to start.  Third, Christians deep in their faith can stand to review Goff’s lessons.  Goff makes it clear that we make religion too complicated.  For Goff through action we can get clarity about God as He uses motion to make things occur around us.  Especially convicting for me was the chapter on Stalking Jesus!  Yes, stalking Jesus.  He notes that often we spend so much effort getting to learn the “facts” about Jesus that we are looking at Him from 1,000 yards away while failing to know Jesus by responding to work and entering into life with him.

Donald Miller in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years introduced us to his friend Bob Goff, a force to be reckoned with.  In Love Does we get to know Goff on a new level through his own words.  I feel comfortable saying Goff is my friend.  We both love Disneyland!  And if I really need to run something past him, I do have his phone number.  Because you should always be able to contact a friend directly!  Thanks friend for reminding me that love is an action verb!

Review Copy Provided by Thomas Nelson

Empty Promises by Pete Wilson

Pete Wilson in Empty Promises: The Truth About You, Your Desires, and the Lies You're Believing addresses head on the issue of idols in our lives.  Wilson notes that "idolatry is when I look to something that does not have God's power to give me what only God has the power and authority to give (Wilson, Empty Promises, 5).  He then goes on to explain that we, including those in the church, are practicing idolatry on a daily basis not allowing us to achieve our purposes.  Wilson then chronicles the common idols of our day, including the warning signs that we are worshiping at a false idol.  These idols include; power, success, money, beauty and religion.  Wilson notes that humans are inclined to worship and that only by worshiping God can we achieve our true purpose of reflecting Him.  Wilson finishes with practical tips for connecting with God and throwing off false ones. 

I have to be honest, I went into this read expecting generic Christian book and a continuation on the themes in Wilson's first book Plan B.  Instead, I found all new content that was challenging and to be honest things we need to be saying to each other.  Wilson is honest and calling us out in the church on our issues.  Chapters on pleasing others for their approval and religion for the glorification of self will make many uncomfortable.  There was plenty in this book that I found challenging!  Wilson identifies the sin of idolatry in the midst of God's people and then gives us the prescription for overcoming it.  The text itself is very well written, easy to read, and has a nice balance of personal stories, Biblical references and secondary supporting sources.  Overall Empty Promises is a very challenging book attacking issues that are often blind spots in the church. 


Review Copy Provided by Thomas Nelson

Great Day Every Day by Max Lucado

Max Lucado in Great Day Every Day: Navigating Life’s Challenges with Promise and Purpose inspires his reader to make the most out of day the Lord has made.  The book is broken into three key sections, “Saturate Your Day in His Grace”, “Entrust Your Day to His Oversight”, and “Accept His Direction”.  In general the book focuses on reorientating one’s view of a day, not seeing it as either ordinary or a challenge to overcome.  Instead Lucado challenges the reader to see God’s hand in the day, and be able to make the most of every single day in completing the purposes that God has built them for.  He shows his readers how to overcome crisis, depression and fear in order to achieve these purposes by entrusting one’s self to the Lord.  By entrusting everyday to God, Lucado shows that one can overcome the challenges of the day to have purpose and direction.  The core chapters are all followed by a one page “Daily Compass” that helps the reader reflect on the content of the chapter.  There is also an extensive discussion guide for small groups.  Additionally, the text is followed by a 30 day devotional, which though not written by Lucado, follows the three themes of the book. 

Great Day Every Day is a reprint of Lucado’s earlier Every Day Deserves a Chance.  The main differences between the two versions is the “Daily Compass” was previously labeled “Daylifter”, the 30 day devotional is not present in the earlier version, and the packaging and art of Great Day Every Day has a more serious tone.  Lucado, as always, is a very good writer with chapters that are easy to read and comprehend.  I think this would be a decent resource for a daily devotional due to the shortness of the chapters, usually 5 to 9 pages, and the “Daylifter” wrap up.  Anyone who has read a Lucado book in the past will be familiar with this type of Lucado book and content.  This does appear to provide more for the customer dollar than the original printing with the addition of the 30 day devotional.  Overall Great Day Every Day is a typical Lucado offering which fans will enjoy. 

Review Copy Provided for Purposes of Review

When Work & Family Collide by Andy Stanley

Andy Stanley in When Work & Family Collide: Keeping Your Job from Cheating Your Family provides practical and theologically sound advice on balancing home and work life.  Stanley notes despite the negative connotations to the word “cheating” that everyone does it.  He reframes cheating as “choosing to give up one thing in hope of gaining something else of greater value (Stanley, 1)”  The book provides examples of the negative impact on the family lives of many well meaning people who worked hard but neglect sharing their time with their families.  Stanley examines the life of Daniel from the Old Testament to provide principles on making a stand for our families.   He notes that Daniel took the stand to not cheat on his God under the pressures of those who worshiped another God.  Daniel shows us a strategy to not cheat.  Daniel addressed the issue directly, asked for but did not demand change, and offered alternatives.  In the end Daniel was allowed to test his claim that he would benefit by not eating foods dedicated to false idols, a test that he decisively passed.

This is a reprint of Stanley’s Choosing to Cheat, a book that I have cited and used to help my decision making over the last few years even though I have never read it.  Stanley presents to us a message that we all need to examine, balance.  We all know that we can and do at times cheat our families and he does not shy away from this fact.  Let’s be honest many of us have cheated our families in order to support the work of the church.  Stanley shows us that we can balance our lives and that the benefit to us is better than any raise or work promotion.  This is a book that I think every parent, husband, wife, minister, breathing person should consider in determining how to best make decisions for their futures. 

Review Copy Provided by WaterBrook Multnomah

Why Men Hate Going to Church Completely Revised & Updated

David Murrow has updated Why Men Hate Going to Church, his renowned book with new information and text previously published by him in other books.  Murrow in this text uncovers the gender gap in churches, asking the question where are the men?  Murrow shows his readers that today’s churches are dominated numerically by women and that men are largely absent.  He explores the culture of the church noting that church vocabulary and words like love and relationship are tied to feminine culture and not masculine images.  For example, churches typically use pictures of Jesus as a lamb or dove while generally ignoring the word pictures of Jesus as a lion.  He also shows how church programs, largely academic and feelings based provide boys and men discomfort leading to a male exodus from the church.  In general, churches rely on volunteer positions that are better suited to female preferences instead of male.  And church programming generally also follows this trend.  Finally, he provides suggestions and practical examples of how to return men to church.  Murrow advocates that the greatest way to grow the modern church is call men back by changing our culture.  By bringing back men Murrow argues that men, women and children will all benefit.    

                                        

This book creates a lot of conflict in me in my ministry and my personal life.  My ministry has been within one that stereotypically is a women’s ministry, working with families and children.  Part of my personal call has been to have manly guys working within that ministry so kids can see both the masculine and caring side of men demonstrating balance.  But I see exactly what Murrow describes with curriculum that are largely intellectual in nature and put boys at a disadvantage with girls in the “competition” of Sunday school.  And I think that this realization is what has led me to also seek non-traditional curriculum and curriculum that relies on movement and diversity to help keep boys engaged in learning about Christ.  Honestly, one of my best days of ministry was spending a day with a predominantly boy youth group scooping horse manure.  There were no complaints as these boys completed a manly task in God’s name.  As a man I often found myself chaffing at his description of academic pursuits as womanly.  I personally excel in this area while my skills in car maintenance are completely lacking.  But with this prejudice aside I definitely see and have felt the issues he points out about language, frilly decorations and relationships.  My academic training is history, which warns that generalizations are not absolute.  So, there are exceptions to what Murrow describes, but the generalizations are widespread enough that leaders should take notice of this book and assess how their ministries are attracting or repelling men and boys. 

        

Review Copy Provided by Thomas Nelson

Theme Park Sabbath

Theme Park Sabbath: Some thoughts on rest, relaxation, and how to bring God into the little things like Space Mountain. 

Hell is Real (But I Hate to Admit It) by Brian Jones

Brian Jones in Hell is Real (But I Hate to Admit It) discusses his voyage of self-discovery that the Hell of the Bible is real and how it has impacted his life.  Jones examines why he personally failed to hold to a personal belief in heaven and why as group Christian by in large do not believe in a real hell.  The then details how a real belief in the doctrine of hell has impacted his ministry and moved him to become very serious about salvation and helping others to avoid an eternity in hell.  Finally, he provide his readers practical advice and guidance to leading non-believers to a saving faith in Jesus, and thus helping them to avoid an eternity of wrath. 

Overall this text led to mixed reactions from me.  First, realizing that I have failed to understand my own beliefs more fully on heaven and hell I have found the recent literary conversation about heaven a timely and interesting one.  And this book definitely falls into that conversation, and provides a different view point of once you believe in hell this is how you can behave.  And I found his evangelism advice helpful, useful and realistic especially as one who sees this area as a weak spot.  And I love his explanation of a Christian as an foreign ambassador living amongst unbelievers.  But there were also misses for me.  He discusses uncovering how Bible study led him to discover the truth of hell for himself.  I would have loved for him to walk his readers from fully through this process.  Additionally, he discusses God’s wrath, but in my mind never fully answers the question of why God is wrathful.  Finally, Jones who clearly is a compassionate man describes himself and statements as a way that can only be seen as harsh and unkind.  These comes especially in the first half of the book where the second half better draws out Jones’ personality.  Overall I was hoping for a fuller discussion of the doctrine of hell than was provided in a book which is really a call for evangelism.    

Review Copy Provided by The B&B Media Group, Inc. 

Enemies of the Heart: Breaking Free from the Four Emotions That Control You by Andy Stanley

Andy Stanley in Enemies of the Heart: Breaking Free from the Four Emotions that Control You indentifies four heart illnesses that attack us and have negative impacts to our lives.  Though these four diseases are not physical, but emotional, they can be as harmful as heart disease and wreck out lives.  The four emotions that attack our heart are:

·         Guilt: I Owe You

·         Anger: You Owe Me

·         Greed: I Owe Me

·         Jealously: God Owes Me

These four emotions are underlying causes for relational disharmony with others and for the diminishing of our self worth.  Especially harmful, but not often discussed, is jealously which finds us harboring resentment against God and interfering with our relationship with our creator.  Stanley argues that way to overcome these diseases is the creation of habits that expose these emotions and allow us to break free from their hold on our hearts.  To conquer guilt Stanley advises confession.  Stanley offers forgiveness as the cure of anger.  For overcoming greed, he offers the remedy of generosity.  Finally to escape the hold of jealousy, Stanley prescribes celebration, the honest praise of the accomplishments of others.  By creating these habits, Stanley offers his readers an escape from these destructive emotions. 

           

In the past I have often found that Andy Stanley books are not for me.  However I really enjoyed Enemies of the Heart.  The book is honest, with Stanley freely using examples from his own life and those he knows to show both the destructive power of guilt, anger, greed and jealously and the power of creating habits to shatter their hold on you.  All four of these emotions are difficult issues to discuss, and his addition of a chapter on lust provides a very frank book that comes face to face with very difficult heart issues.  This is not a let’s feel good about yourself book, it is a text that makes you look into your heart and asses what holds you captive.  This is a book about the heart and what controls it, and it is frank, honest, painful and in the need immensely helpful in making it clear that we can escape the pain we emotionally put our hearts through.  This is a reprint of It Came From Within and it is a worthy title to reissue.                                   

Review Copy Provided by WaterBrook Multnomah