BOOK REVIEWS

State Missionary Rick Lance is executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.

Other Recent Blog Entries:

The Caleb Spirit in 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
In my mind, Caleb is the Barnabas of the Old Testament. When others seemed to lose hope, he offered encouragement to them.

A Year to Remember
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
This can be the most wonderful time of the year if we allow the Christ of Christmas to guide us through the experience. Rather than being caught up in the routined frenzy of long lines at stores shopping for gifts and the endless social gatherings during the season, we can focus on what is called the Advent.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Thursday, December 8, 2011
This can be the most wonderful time of the year if we allow the Christ of Christmas to guide us through the experience. Rather than being caught up in the routined frenzy of long lines at stores shopping for gifts and the endless social gatherings during the season, we can focus on what is called the Advent.

Finishing Strong
Monday, November 21, 2011
I do not pretend to be a football coach, but I do believe this "sports experience" translates into our everyday lives, most notably in our Christian lives. There are times when we have seemingly given our all and we feel spent, emotionally, physically and even spiritually.

Be Encouraged!
Thursday, October 28, 2011
In periods of history like the one we now face, Christians have often done some of their most effective service for Christ. But in order to be an effective servant, we must find our source of encouragement in the face of these discouraging situations.

SBC Today: An Interview
Thursday, October 16, 2011
Managing ourselves means more than controlling the calendar, staying morally and ethically pure, reading the latest books, keeping family time balanced, and running things smoothly in one's ministry. I am convinced this means staying in touch with Lord and with yourself in such a way that you make the right decisions and lead in the right direction.

The Seven Faith Tribes might sound like the study of the most famous tribes of Native Americans in our history. The book is actually a research-oriented study of the seven basic faith groups in America today. George Barna, whose name is synonymous with such research, is the author.

Although most of Barna's books have been focused on the major trends in religion and faith on the American landscape, this work is a bit different. In Seven Faith Tribes, George Barna has sought to identify 20 shared values common to all these "faith tribes" in the nation.

No doubt, the author has done his research well and he makes a case for the so called shared values in a believable way, but for some the common ground will not be very firm. His appeal for restoring America around these commonalities is an attractive call, but for evangelical Christians, we must differentiate between what is civic religion and what is Gospel truth.

With that caveat in mind, a Christian leader can read this book as a reference point for where our country is as a people and how we might work together for the common good. This can help America in manifold ways. There has to be the civic glue of shared values for a people to remain identified with each other in a national sense. The Seven Faith Tribes does a good job of underscoring those values and virtues.

This is not a theological work. It is more of a religious sociological one. For me, it helped to categorize some of the distinctive faith groups, and it enlightened me concerning how they participate in the mosaic of American life. In that sense, this is another informative read by a well-known author and researcher, with whom I have not always agreed.