BOOK REVIEWS

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.

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.