BOOK REVIEWS
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State
Missionary Rick Lance is executive director of the Alabama Baptist State
Board of Missions. |
Other Recent Blog Entries:
A Sincere and
Respectful Call for A Great Commandment Renewal
Thursday, June 24, 2010
As I have said earlier, I will do my best not to let
disagreements define our relationships. I am praying that The Great Commandment
Renewal will begin in me!
VBS Is a Blessing!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
As a pastor, I always felt that VBS was to be a major
commitment on my part. I wanted to be in town, involved and engaged in the
efforts of impacting the lives of children, youth and adults. It was not a chore
for me, but rather it was a joy!
Taking the
'Stew' Out of Stewardship
Thursday, May 27, 2010
At first, I thought I had hurt his feelings. I mean
this was a serious project, and maybe I was being a little too cute for my own
good.
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BOOK REVIEWS:
Good Books for the Hot Days of Summer
John Ortberg has done it again. He has written
another devotionally challenging book entitled
God Is Closer Than You Think.
Like his previous works, this book is creatively written and thoughtfully
prepared. The main emphasis of the book is a focus upon the spiritual discipline
of living in the awareness of God’s presence. Ortberg has become well received
as an author. His pastoral ministry has given him the opportunity to practice
the principles he has considered in his books. His latest work is an obvious
illustration of that experiential background. Devotional reading can be done
with attention to the classics such as Practicing the Presence of God as penned
by Richard Baxter. It also can be experienced with a contemporary author, such
as John Ortberg. Perhaps a balanced attention of the two could be a helpful
exercise in developing a spiritually discerning lifestyle.
If you are looking for a book which will inspire
you in the area of decisionmaking, then
Profiles in Audacity: Great Decisions
and How They Are Made is a good source of encouragement. Alan Axelrod has become
noted for this kind of leadership genre writing. This work reveals the story
behind the story concerning some important turning point decisions in history.
The book features the anecdotal accounts of such well-known leaders like
President Truman and his decision to use the atomic bomb at the end of World War
II, General Eisenhower and his plans for the execution of the D-Day invasion and
the non-violent protest philosophy of Indian leader, Gandhi. Other chronicles of
decision-making are not as well known, but they are pivotal ones nonetheless.
Axelrod helps the reader get inside the mind of each person in his or her
context of the historical moment. This humanizes the individual and assists the
reader in identifying with the critical decision as it is incarnated in
experience. For those of us who are interested in the process of making
important decisions, Profiles in Audacity will be practical inspiration and
information.
Simplifying the complex is the substance of the
book
Simple Church, written by Thom Rainer and his young friend Eric Geiger.
The title says it all. The authors are advocating a process of disciple making
which includes four essential components. The emphases are: clarity of purpose,
clarity in communication in the disciple-making process, alignment of ministries
with mission and focusing on the big picture.
Simple Church is a real breath
of fresh air for church leaders who long to clear up the confusion evident in
many churches. It is not a cure- all for the fog of ministry maladies, but the
book does help the reader think through the leadership challenges which confront
the contemporary church.
My love for preaching and for reading
biographies led me to
The
Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher. This revealing work —
written by relatively new author, Debby Applegate — focuses on the life of the
renowned 19th century preacher, Henry Ward Beecher. Beecher is the son of Lyman
Beecher, the well-known Congregational minister of New England Calvinist roots.
Henry Ward Beecher is the definition of the term “late bloomer.” He was not a
good student; in fact some would have described him as slothful. Yet, Beecher
made a name for himself as a popular preacher and pastor of the fast growing
Plymouth Church in Brooklyn. He became an author and a frequent speaker on the
lecture circuit during these years. Henry Ward Beecher also had a cloud hanging
over his head concerning allegations of moral indiscretions with female church
members. Although the accusations were not evidentially proven, there were some
people associated with Beecher who believed the rumors to be true. The book
helps the reader better understand the church culture of America before, during
and following the Civil War. Beecher was a pure abolitionist concerning the
slavery issue, but he was a strong voice against “the peculiar institution.” His
sister, Harriet Beecher, wrote the earth shaking novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Some,
including Abraham Lincoln, considered the book to be a major influence setting
the stage for the Civil War.
For many, the study of history is a tremendous
challenge, especially church history. British author, Christopher Catherwood has
written
Church History: A Crash Course for the Curious. In this relatively brief
work, Catherwood charts the two millennia of Christian history in artful
fashion. The author is decidedly reformed in his perspective and he is an
unapologetic admirer of his grandfather, D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, who was a
well-known evangelical leader in Britain before, during, and following World War
II. The book has much to commend it. Catherwood is a good narrative style
writer, who has the gift of making history a story in itself. There is one
observation which might be helpful to the reader, namely the author’s tendency
to repeat himself as he unfolds the story line of history. Personally this was
not a distraction, but for some it could well be. As Christopher Catherwood has
said in his title, this book is focused on an audience of “curious” readers who
want to piece together the story of the Christian movement.
 Most Americans are admittedly deficient in their understanding of the
geopolitics in the Middle East. Christopher Catherwood has written a very
user-friendly book simply titled
The Middle East: From Abraham to Arafat. This
work is a brief history of this most volatile region of the world. Although
Catherwood is a Christian, he is definitely fair-minded as to the treatment of
the high points and low points of history. In no way does he seek to rationalize
the Crusades in a revisionist fashion. Some may differ with his consideration of
the role of Winston Churchill in the establishment of the nation state of Iraq.
Catherwood has written another book, entitled
Winston’s Folly, which offers an
extensive commentary on what he believes to be a foolish and ill-informed
approach to the post-World War I Middle East situation. For the interested
reader who is seeking a general understanding of this area of the world,
Christopher Catherwood has offered a tremendous contribution. He is a very
capable writer and a skilful thinker. |