Category Archives: Not quite a review

When you see poverty

Posted on by
Reply

Corbett, Steve, and Brian Fikkert. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor– and yourself. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009. 

Point: Helping those in financial difficulty can do more harm than good, for both the giver and the receiver. Here is how to be wise.

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it to someone: 

  • thinking about taking a short term missions trip
  • helping in a soup kitchen
  • thinking of working in the inner city
  • who said, “it’s their own fault they’re poor”

 

To see the full review, click on the title above. If the review is helpful, let me know with the voting options on the amazon.com page

There’s a book for that:

Posted on by
Reply
Here is the one of the most refreshing books I have read in a long time!
Reeves, Michael. Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith.
Point: That God is Father, Son, and Spirit is the life-giving truth which separates Christianity from all other religions.
This is a top shelf book and one to come back to each year. I would recommend it to someone who:
says, “Trinity?”
prays, “Dear Father, thank you for dying on the cross…”
wants to love God more
can’t see how God can be love and show wrath
thinks theology is dry
is Muslim
is a Christian
Click the title to see my full review. If it is helpful, let me know by the voting options under the full review.

There’s a book for that…

Posted on by
Reply

In an effort to 1) relieve the readers of this blog from too many book reviews, and 2) make the book reviews more helpful, we are going to be posting them in a little different format.

Our goal is to provide the readers with the title and author of a book, a one sentence (or maybe more!) summary, who we think would benefit from the book, and a link to our full review on Amazon.com (just click on the author and title).

If the summary and recommendations peak your interest, click the link and read the full review. If the full review is helpful, please let us know by clicking on the button that looks like this:

 Screen Shot 2014-01-02 at 3.55.57 PM

This is helpful for us because it moves our reviews higher on the product. If our review isn’t helpful to you…well, never mind.

So, with that introduction, here are two books that you may be interested in:

1. Lewis, C. S. Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life.

  • Point: “Really, a young Atheist cannot guard his faith too carefully. Dangers lie in wait for him on every side.” Here is how God sought out a reluctant convert.
  • It would be worth another read and I would recommend it to someone who:
    • tells me that Christianity is devoid of reason
    • cannot ever see themselves believing in a personal God
    • who loves philosophy
    • believes science has all the answers
    • likes the works of C. S. Lewis

2. DeYoung, Kevin. Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem

  • Point: Business is a part of life, but it doesn’t have to rule your life.
  • It would be worth another read and I would recommend it to someone who:
    • consistently replies with “Busy” when I ask them how they are doing
    • is frustrated with their current priorities
    • has their children in thirty different programs
    • who views busyness as a badge of honor

Well, what do you think? Leave a comment if you have some better ideas!

12 Months of Reading

Posted on by
Reply

This past year, I made some goals for myself in the area of reading. I greatly enjoy sitting down with a book, but I find that all too often I pick fiction rather than non-fiction. I decided to try to read at least one spiritually beneficial book each month of the year, and I was greatly blessed by this exercise. Here is a list of some of the books that I read:

*Your Family-God’s Way – Wayne Mack

*The Faithful Parent – Martha Peace/Stuart Scott

*Worldliness – CJ Mahaney

*Quite a few missionary biographies (some of my thoughts of them have been stated in previous posts)

*Living the Cross-Centered Life – CJ Mahaney

*Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart – JD Greear

*Who is Jesus? – RC Sproul

*Counsel from the Cross: Connecting Broken People to the Love of Christ – Elyse Fitzpatrick/Dennis Johnson (One of the best on this list!)

*Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God – Noel Piper (Free in pdf from desiringgod.org)

*Loving God with All Your Mind – Elizabeth George

*When Sinners Say “I Do” – Dave Harvey

*The Transforming Power of the Gospel – Jerry Bridges

 

I would encourage you to look up some of these books and read them as well!

Peter and the Starcatchers by Ridley and Barry

Posted on by
Reply

Book: Pearson, Ridley, and Dave Barry. Peter and the Starcatchers. Disney Hyperion, 2010. 

Pages: 480

Point: Friendship changes us.

Path:Barry and Ridley tell a fun and exciting story with some familiar names. The reader will recognize characters and places from Peter Pan, but with many new twists and plots. There are mermaids and crocodiles, flying boys and nasty pirates, savage natives and an interesting society called “the starcatchers.”

Sources: Based on the concept of Peter Pan, the authors weave a new story.

Agreement: This was a fun story with developing characters. The prose is easy to follow and full of detail. Interesting characters and plots make each chapter a new adventure.

On the Audiobook: Jim Dale does an excellent job of reading this story. It is tough not to get wrapped up in the story with his narration.

Stars: 4.5 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

If this review was helpful, let me know here.

Ministry of Marriage by Binney

Posted on by
Reply

Binney, Jim. The Ministry of Marriage. Greenville: JourneyForth, 2003. 

Paperback: 232 pages

Point: Binney wants to give couples hope for marriage, whether their marriage is struggling or whether a couple is thinking about marriage in the future. He shows how solutions to problems in marriage must be Christ-centered. Marriage must be looked upon as a ministry in our lives.

Agreement: Binney has some great chapters on what real love is, myths about love and marriage, why some people marry, and different aspects and ministries in marriage.

Disagreement: There are several chapters in which Binney seems to merge into the popular lingo of using “needs” for certain aspects of marriage. I would agree that what he calls “needs” are important, but we must realize that we can still have fruitful lives doing what Christ calls us to do without having our spouse or others in our lives fulfill what many call “needs.”

Personal App: Am I working on loving my spouse, since love is more than just feelings?

Stars: 3.5 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it with some reservations.

If this review was helpful, let us know here.

You, Your Family and the Internet by Clark

Posted on by
Reply

Clark, David. You, Your Family and the Internet: What Every Christian in the Digital Age Ought to Know (Lifestyles) (Lifestyles. Day One Publications, 2012. 

Point: The internet offers incredible opportunities along side of deadly detours. The believer must be wise and discerning in using the internet.

Path: Most of Clark’s relatively short chapters are divided into 5 sections. They begin with an overview of a particular area of the internet. They then show the positives and the negatives of that area. He then cites some biblical principles which can have a bearing on that area, followed by some practical advice. The chapter ends with Scripture to consider and questions to ask.

Sources: Helpful polls, statistics, and research.

Agreement: Without employing the scare tactic, or the slippery slope fallacy, the author pulls back the curtain on what most internet users have no idea.

Disagreement: Some of the practical advice (specifically those given in chapter 6) were shallow and behavioristic. In this case it was lacking even basic references to Christ and the Gospel.

Personal App: Am I using the internet to glorify God or gratify me?

Favorite Quote: “Fifty years ago, if someone told you to grab a mouse, point it, and double-click it to tweet, you might have been accused of cruelty to animals.” (Joel Beeke in the Preface)

Stars: 3.5 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

If this review was helpful, let me know here.

Stop Dating the Church by Harris

Posted on by
Reply
Harris, Joshua. Stop Dating the Church! Sisters, Or.: Multnomah Publishers, 2004. 

Hardcover: 140 pages

Point: Jesus Christ loves His Church, and so should we.

Path: Harris describes the life of a church dater, or church shopper, who refuses to commit to a real relationship with the Bride of Christ. He explains why we need the church, how to love the church, how to find a church, and how to get the most out of church.

Sources: Harris shares life experiences from confessing church daters. Writers such as J. I. Packer, Donald Whitney, Mark Dever, and C. J. Mahaney all have impacted the author.

Agreement: The central theme of this book is sorely needed. We must listen closely in a time when we can go to any church we want to get our “fix” of socialization, spirituality, positive thinking, “worship”, or entertainment.

Jesus Christ died for His Church. Settle down and love what He loves. Loving Her means planning, sacrificing, serving, and committing.

I appreciated his plan for making the most of Sunday.

Disagreement: This is a good book to put into a church dater’s hands. It isn’t comprehensive. With that said, I would have appreciated a little more depth in the various categories. I think that I would hand this book out first, then follow it up with some of the 9Marks books.

Personal App: Am I loving what Jesus loves?

Favorite Quote: “Because the local church is the key to spiritual health and growth for a Christian” (15).

Stars: 4 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

If this review was helpful, let me know here.

Rescuing Ambition by Harvey

Posted on by
Reply

Book: Harvey, David T. Rescuing Ambition. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010. 

Pages: 210

Point: Godly ambition seeks to accomplish God’s tasks, in God’s strength, for God’s glory.

 

Path: Through personal stories, Biblical examples, and humorous comparisons, Harvey walks the reader through the minefield of ambition. On the one hand we have self-focused, pride driven movement, and on the other hand we have apathetic lethargy. Harvey sets up a case for a biblical ambition which seeks to display our great God for more to see.

 

Sources: Stories, illustrations, famous pastors from today and ages past.

 

Agreement: I appreciated the message of the book. Often we are told to feel guilty for desiring to do great things. That is just the mantra of the unambitious so they don’t feel guilty for never doing anything. Instead, Harvey encourages us to seek God’s glory by God’s means. and this depends on humility.

 

This book is very conversational in tone. If you appreciate blunt, humorous, and personal conversation, this book will be very easy to read.

 

Personal App: Am I seeking my own glory or God’s glory?

 

Favorite Quote: “We grow small trying to be great.”

 

Stars: 4 out of 5

 

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

 

If this review was helpful, let me know here.

Spain is Different by Wattley-Ames

Posted on by
Reply

Book: Wattley-Ames, Helen. Spain Is Different. Yarmouth, Me.: Intercultural Press, 1999. 

Pages:133

Point: Spain as a location, culture, and people is absolutely unique.

 

Path: The author leads the reader through a maze of cultural confrontations between the standard citizen of Spain and that of the United States. The concept of Spain as a country is considered in chapter 1. Chapter 2 deals with society structure and the individual. Relationships , communication, and work take up the next three chapters. The final chapter addresses the Spaniard and his diversion.

The chapters include a spanish point of view and an “american” point of view. Each chapter ends with a probable scenario of a confrontation between the two cultures and offers choices on how to handle it.

 

Sources: The author spent extensive time in Spain and then interviewed a variety of Spaniards and Americans.

 

Agreement: I appreciated the work of the author. Although describing a culture automatically includes generalizations, I felt that the author did a good job at expressing both cultures. I think that reading this book will give me a better understanding of the Spaniard and his/her culture.

 

Personal App: Am I willing to adjust my personal culture as I see how others live and think? Perhaps my way isn’t the best.

 

Favorite Quote: “Spain’s worth resides in what it is, much less than in what it produces by the labor of its people.” Fernando de la Torre (121).

 

Stars: 4 out of 5

 

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

 

If this review was helpful, let me know here.