Category: Book Reviews

Book Review: Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley

Vintage Stanley: Biblical Reflections On The Four Greatest Enemies of Our Soul

I think Andy Stanley has hit it out of the park with this book. He is so good at bringing God’s truth from the Scriptures to bear on the big issues of the day. I think that along with Pete Scazzero’s books Emotionally Healthy Spirituality and the Emotionally Healthy Church – that this book is must reading for pastors, leaders, and anyone who is a part of the body of Christ. Most Bible teachers, often neglect the soulish matters of the heart, – but Stanley calls a spade a spade and writes a convicting, challenging, and much needed corrective for us to address our blind spots.

In Part 1 he addresses the fact that sin comes from the heart as Jeremiah says and is incredibly deceptive. He talks about the damage that sin does, and how to identify it, and the importance of correcting it.

In Part 2 he addresses the dynamics of the debts that result from our sin. The four biggies are: Guilt – “I owe you”; Anger – “You owe me”; Greed – “I owe me”; and Jealousy – “God owes me.” Andy handles each of these brilliantly and gives excellent examples that we can all relate to, so that we can confess them and start working in a positive direction to overcome them with the help of God the Holy Spirit.

In Part 3 he focuses in on how to confront each of these sins, with their righteous (happy) counterparts: from anger to forgiveness; from greed to generosity; and reasons to celebrate the joy that we have in receiving Christ’s blessing and the Holy Spirit’s power at work in our lives.

In Part 4 he helps us focus on what we are modeling and the legacy we are leaving behind (especially parents for their children) and how to deal with lust.

The book includes a helpful discussion guide, which is excellent for personal application, and small group discussion. This book is vintage Stanley: full of Scripture, great examples and illustrations, and motivates you toward wanting to live the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. I can’t recommend it highly enough – life transforming!

Book Review: Turning Mountains into Molehills By Warren W. Wiersbe

How To Turn Your Mountains Into Molehills

 This concise devotional by the prolific writer Warren W. Wiersbe consists of 30 short devotionals (one for each day of the month) originally aired over “Songs in the Night” – the radio broadcasts of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago.

I have read through this book several times over the years. It is especially good to read when you are battling discouragement, depression, or going through some kind of adversity. Each chapter stands alone and is full of Biblical principles, insights, and applications for helping you turn your own personal mountains into molehills by being reminded of God’s power, sovereignty, and love for you in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

I hope that you will get this book and be encouraged as I have so many times over the years. I highly recommend it as a treasury of reminders of God’s love for you, and how He always works out everything for our good and His glory.

Book Review: Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation by Kenneth Boa

Excellent Resource to Help You in Your Pursuit of Becoming More LIke Jesus

 According to the apostle Paul the goal of the Christian life is that we would be “conformed to the image of his Son (Rom. 8:29).” I have used this book several times now in classes at my church on developing in the spiritual disciplines in the context of community. This book has it all – good theology; historical theology; and excellent study questions and applications throughout. I have used this book along with Grudem’s Systematic Theology, Allison’s Historical Theology, and Ogden’s books on discipleship to try to balance the mentoring and discipleship process of making theologically culturally penetrating disciples of Christ.

Kenneth Boa’s prayer in is that a result of reading this book you will:

–    develop a greater appreciation for the unique way God has made you;

–    become aware of a wider array of options for your spiritual journey;

–    get out of a possible spiritual rut;

–    desire to experiment with other facets of the faith

–    appreciate the manifold legacy that has been bequeathed to us by those who have gone before us;

–    expand your horizons and be encouraged to move out of your comfort zone

–    have instilled in you a greater passion for Christ and a greater desire to participate in his loving purposes for your life.

Does Boa succeed in the above? A resounding “yes.” I have used this book one on one; in small groups of 7-14 people; and larger groups of 20-40 people. In every case the book has proven to be effective in helping all involved to grow in Christ like qualities, and behavior. Boa has masterfully written a very practical theology of the spiritual disciplines by comparing these disciplines to facets of the gem that we are ultimately becoming in Christ:

Facet #1 – Relational Spirituality: Loving God Completely, Ourselves Correctly, and Others Compassionately.

Facet#2 – Paradigm Spirituality: Cultivating an Eternal versus a Temporal Perspective

Facet #3 – Disciplined Spirituality: Engaging in the Historical Disciplines

Facet #4 – Exchanged Life Spirituality: Grasping Our True Identity in Christ

Facet #5 – Motivated Spirituality: A Set of Biblical Incentives

Facet #6 – Devotional Spirituality: Falling in Love with God

Facet #7 – Holistic Spirituality: Every Component of Life under the Lordship of Christ

Facet #8 – Process Spirituality: Process versus Product, Being versus Doing

Facet #9 – Spirit-Filled Spirituality: Walking in the Power of the Spirit

Facet #10 – Warfare Spirituality: The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

Facet #11 – Nurturing Spirituality: A Lifestyle of Evangelism and Discipleship

Facet #12 – Corporate Spirituality: Encouragement, Accountability, and Worship

This book is written as a textbook – it is well organized with outlines, introductions, charts, and each chapter closes with questions for discussion and personal application. I think it is one of the most helpful books out there in bridging the typical gaps between books that consider the multi-dimensional aspects of what it means to be human and made and conformed to the image of Christ. Boa weaves biblical theology, human personalities, psychology, etc., to help us see our blind spots and how we can keep chiseling away at what is not like Christ, so we can become the multi-faceted gems that God is working in us to become – through His working and our responsibly working to become like Jesus (Eph. 2:10 and Philippians 2:12-13). I Highly recommend this book – it’s definitely a resource you will use for the rest of your life – individually and corporately.

Book Review: My ABC Bible Verses by Susan Hunt

I bought this book in 1998 when our youngest children (of five) where aged 3 and 5. This was one of their favorite books – now our oldest children are having their own children and I picked up this book to read again to my two grandchildren (and counting). Our family loves this book because it contains stories starting with A-Z and has a Bible verse starting with a new letter of the alpha bet for each story.

My wife and I would read the stories to our kids – oftentimes on the way to school, or at the dinner table – and then we would all quiz one another, “What’s the ‘A’ verse, or what’s the ‘d’ verse. There are several benefits to reading this book and discussing it with your children:

  1. You get to learn 26 verses that delineate great truths about the Gospel, Christ, and godly values.
  2. You and your children get to memorize 26 verses of the Bible.
  3. The verses are made practical in each story – so your children get to learn how applicable and relevant the Bible is to their own young lives.
  4. The gospel is taught, explained, and calls for a response in this book. All of our children have made a profession of faith in Christ, and it is very possible that the seeds planted from this book contributed to their salvation.
  5. The stories are excellent for kids – it worked out really well for our kids because it always involved a boy and girl (and we had a boy and girl) that were curious to see who the hero of each story was.
  6. There are good discussion questions for each story and it lends itself well to prayer and a personal response time of repentance, or encouragement.
  7. Susan Hunt is not only a good children’s writer, but a very good theologian – she weaves the story line together with Biblical Theology in such a way that the book is not moralistic, but Christ Centered and gospel driven.
  8. Having all the verses start with a letter of the alphabet is a brilliant mnemonic device that we still use even with our children today at the ages of 15 and 17. As a matter of fact – probably not a month goes by where one of us in the family doesn’t quiz each other on the “A-Z” verses. Sometimes we can even recall the story that went with the verse.

Since 1998 I’ve probably bought at least twenty of these books to give away to parents and at baby dedications in our church. I highly recommend it. I believe that my wife and I have benefited as much (maybe more) than our kids have. Now we are excited to read this book again and again to our grandkids. I highly recommend it for parents of young children, for grandparents, and for Sunday school teachers.

 

*Susan Hunt’s Bio:


Susan Hunt is a former director and a current consultant for the Presbyterian Church in America’s Women in the Church ministry. She has written Sunday school and discipleship curricula and Bible study series, as well as a number of books for women and children. Her published titles for women include:Leadership for Women in the Church (co-authored with Peggy Hutcheson),Spiritual Mothering: The Titus 2 Mandate for Women Mentoring Women, Women’s Ministry in the Local Church (co-authored with Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III), and Heirs of the Covenant. Her children’s books include My ABC Bible Verses, and three titles co-authored with her son Richie Hunt: Big Truths for Little Kids, Discovering Jesus in Genesis, and Discovering Jesus in Exodus. She has spoken in women s conferences across the United States and in several other countries. Susan is married to Gene Hunt, a retired Presbyterian Church in America pastor. They have three adult children and twelve grandchildren.

Book Review: God Wins by Mark Galli

The Antidote to Rob Bell’s “Love Wins”

 Mark Galli is uniquely qualified as a journalist, historian, pastor, and leadership expert to write this cogent reply to “Love Wins” by Rob Bell. In this short book that covers the same territory as “Love Wins,” I couldn’t help but think that God was so pleased with Galli’s treatment of the same material. It was charitable, exegetically sound, and God glorifying. I found myself thinking about how great our God is as I turned each page. As a matter of fact – the song “How Great is Our God” by Chris Tomlin kept popping up in my mind as I was reading this book.

The Way Mark Galli Breaks this Book Down is as Following:

Chapter 1: The Really Important Question – In this chapter he discusses the importance of asking good questions and addresses some of the most important questions and answers that we need to be asking in the 21st century. His key point is that until we comprehend the nature and character of God that all of our questions are a “chasing after the wind.”

Chapter 2: Who Is This God? – A Brief Biblical Theology of the character and nature of God. He includes an excellent discussion of how to have our joy and satisfaction in God.

Chapter 3: Becoming One Again – An exceptional discussion of how the atonement of Christ is the perfect solution to seven deadly realities that all humans face before a Holy and Perfect God.

Chapter 4: The Wonder of Faith – What God has done for us in Christ and what our response should be toward His provision for us.

Chapter 5: The Point of Heaven – A very good summary of a God focused (not activities focused or man-centered) Heaven as detailed in the Scriptures.

Chapter 6: Hell and Judgment – Excellent exegetical discussion of these two topics.

Chapter 7: The Bad News: Universalism – Very good historical and biblical discussion of the issues related to those inside and outside of a relationship with Christ.

Chapter 8: The Victory of a Personal God – Brings the whole book together and concludes: “The God of Scripture is fuller, richer, deeper, and more real than the picture painted in “Love Wins,” and that God invites us to know him as he truly is.”

Appendix 1: Discussion Guide – Well done guide: it includes a key verse for each chapter; some key ideas and questions based on the key ideas from the chapter; and some key Scripture passages to read and discuss to bring clarity to each topic of discussion.

Appendix 2: Further Reading – Galli recommends a few books in the following categories: on the Atonement; Faith; Grace; Heaven; and Life in God.

Appendix 3: Charitable Engagement – Great advice here on how to engage with people that hold different opinions than you do – worth repeating here:

1)    Try to listen carefully, and read and reread their arguments.

2)    Listen in particular for the motive.

3)    Aim to use the Bible as a guide to discern the truth of the person’s argument – and of your own argument.

4)    Disagree with ideas, not with the person.

5)    Be teachable.

6)    Try to apply the truths of Scripture not merely as you understand them but as the historic church has held them.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough. I will be using it in a small group setting and I hope that this book receives a wide reading to reflect on the incredibly important topics of eternal significance that have been brought to the forefront of thinking biblically in order to impact culture for God’s glory and the supremacy of Christ.

 

 

Book Review: Leadership Essentials by Greg Ogden and Daniel Meyer

Excellent Tool For Developing Maturing Christ Centered Leaders

Ogden in Meyer have done a great service to the church by putting together this helpful leadership mentoring workbook in order to bring bonding and multiplying influence to ministry oriented leadership teams. I have personally used the book for several years know with church staff, elders, deacons, interns, and in order to train budding leaders. I have found that each environment I’ve used it in, (one on one, triads, and groups up to 12) there has been good discussion, accountability, and encouragement towards Christ-like development.

The workbook is broken down into four sections with three chapters in each section:

Part One: The Character of a Leader

1)    Holy – Developing a vision of Christ-like Character

2)    Habitual – Cultivating spiritual disciplines to sustain leadership

3)    Humble – Keeping watch over your souls

Part Two: The Posture of a Leader

4)    Kneeling – Embracing servant love as our primary model

5)    Teaming – Building teams to accomplish our corporate mission

6)    Stewardship – Stewarding gifts, passions and personality

Part Three: The Vision of Leaders

7)    The Compelling Christ – Loving passionately the compelling Christ

8)    Embracing the Kingdom – Engaging people in mission

9)    Helping Others See – Lifting people out of lethargy and inertia

Part Four: The Shaping of a Leader

10) Taming Temptation – Facing the Dangers of money, sex, and power

11) Conquering Criticism – Handling criticism with humility and fortitude

12) Defeating Discouragement – Addressing disappointment, frustration, anger, and depression

Each chapter contains a core truth which flows from the Bible; a memory verse (there are actually several verses to memorize per chapter); an Inductive Bible Study with questions based on the specific topic being discussed; a classic reading on the topic; and leadership exercises or applications for each topic.

Overall it’s an excellent tool to use with current leaders; potential leaders; or even for any small group that wants to grow in the area of leadership and Christ-likeness. I have found it to be one of the best leadership development tools I have used in ministry and therefore, recommend it highly. It also makes a terrific sequel to Ogden’s previous workbook on Discipleship called Discipleship Essentials.

Book Review: Fathering Like The Father by Kenneth O. Gangel and Jeffrey S. Gangel

Father and Son team up in this book seeking to accomplish three goals: to help Christian dads communicate God’s Word, to become better conversationalists with our Heavenly Father, and to provide resources in producing godly fathering.

Each chapter takes one of 15 attributes (humor, grace and mercy, forgiveness, love, jealousy, truthfulness, friendship, communication, holiness, discipline, faithfulness, wisdom, intimacy, trustworthiness, and goodness) of God’s “fathering” behavior and hones in on a key Biblical passage to show how earthly father’s can learn from God’s ways of fathering us; provides a real life story, or example related to each topic from Ken and Jeff; a section offering principles, applications, and action steps; questions for discussion; and helpful suggestions for Father/child dialogue.

I found the book to be Biblically based; clear; concise; illuminating; insightful; deepened my appreciation for how God “fathers” us, and encouraging in helping me to become a better father, and grandfather to my kids and their kids. I hope that many dads will read this book and apply its principles so that we can spread the fragrance of Christ in our families and influence our culture by reflecting God’s glory by being more like His Son.

Book Review: The Legacy By Steven J. Lawson

How To Leave A Godly Legacy for Your Children Starting Today

During the Promise Keepers Movement in the 1990’s a swarm of books were published for men to be better husbands and fathers. I read a few of them – and most of them were very good, but this is the only book I’ve come to again and again – especially for help in raising my five children (and now – two grandchildren).

Lawson grabs the reader’s attention from the beginning with thinking about the importance of what we are leaving behind with our children with a gripping story of Max Jukes’ and Jonathan Edwards’ amazing legacy. Two men who lived in the same time period – one left a legacy of ruined lives; and the other a legacy of godliness that continues until this very day.

Steve Lawson is an excellent Bible teacher and preacher – and has made it a practice in his pastorates to train, equip, and spend time with men. As a father, pastor, and man’s man – he does an outstanding job of equipping men to be outstanding leaders – especially with their families.

In Part One he writes two chapters on demonstrating the fact that we all leave legacies – the only question is whether it will be a good one, or a poor one.

In Part Two there are 14 chapters on where to focus your time and teaching with your family. He shows how to build a legacy by growing, developing, modeling, and teaching in the following areas in order to leave a legacy for years to come in: godliness, love, obedience, respect, gentleness, maturity, discipline, wisdom, responsibility, strength, and prayer. The ultimate goal is to leave behind a godly legacy like Jonathan Edwards that continues on for generations. However, you can’t expect your children to be – what you are not. They will follow in your footsteps.

Lawson’s book is convicting, challenging, and very encouraging. He bases all his points on Scripture, hammers the principles on the anvil of real life experience, and gives many practical ways to start leaving behind a godly legacy today. If you are a dad – read this book and do what it says. You will be grateful to our Lord for Lawson’s advice – and so will your future generations!

Book Review: Discipleship Essentials By Greg Ogden

I have used this workbook with men one on one; in a triad; and in a group of four. In all three groups the participants have enjoyed the study, the group time, and have gone on to make more disciples by using the book to disciple others. As a pastor and life Coach I have used this tool for a few years now, and still think it’s the best tool to get Christians together and grounded in the Christian basics – theologically, philosophically, and with a Christo-centric focus for all of life.

In Ogden’s own words he says he designed this discipleship workbook as a tool to accomplish these three elements to create a climate for the Holy Spirit to bring accelerated growth:

1)    “The first element is the unchanging truth of God’s word” (each chapter contains a core truth based on a memory verse, and includes an inductive bible study with discussion questions based on the passage for study, discussion, and application).

2)    “The second element in the Holy Spirit’s laboratory is transparent relationships…Transformation occurs when we grapple with the truth of God’s Word in the context of transparent relationships. It is a biblical axiom that the Holy Spirit will have free sway in our lives to the extent to which we open ourselves up to one another. Honesty with God is not sufficient. We give God permission to reshape our lives when we risk self-evaluation and confession to others. We can’t grow in Christ by ourselves. We are people made for community” (each chapter has a selected reading after the inductive Bible study on the topic of discussion – these selections are short and very good).

3)    “The third element that creates the climate for transformation is mutual accountability…Accountability means giving your discipling partners authority to call you to keep the commitments you have made to one another.”

The book includes 25 Chapters and takes about 2-4 hours to work through between the lesson and discussion time (it goes faster if everyone works on their lesson first – my recommendation). Here is how the lessons are arranged:

Part One: Growing Up In Christ (C1 Making Disciples; C2 Being a Disciple; C3 Quiet Time; C4 Bible Study; C5 Prayer; and C6 Worship)

Part Two: Understanding the Message of Christ (C7 The Three-Person God; C8 Made in God’s Image; C9 Sin; C10 Grace; C11 Redemption; C12 Justification; C13 Adoption)

Part Three: Becoming Like Christ (C14 Filled with the Holy Spirit; C15 Fruit of the Holy Spirit; C16 Trust; C17 Love; C18 Justice; C19 Witness)

Part Four: Serving Christ (C20 The Church; C21 Ministry Gifts; C22 Spiritual Warfare; C23 Walking in Obedience; C24 Sharing the Wealth; C25 Money – and the Appendix on Building a Discipleship Ministry)

In meeting with several different groups (and counting) I have found all three of the above elements taking place. This book fosters deep theological discussion, fosters healthy accountability, and leads to numerous new Christ-like habits that benefit the individuals in the discipleship group, and the lives that they touch on a daily basis.

I think out of all the resources that I have used over the last 25 years of discipleship making that this is the best I’ve used. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: More Than Ordinary by Doug Sherman

Motivating You to Become God Enthralled

 What a fantastic book! The whole time I was reading it – I was thinking to myself “Why didn’t I write this book?” As a pastor and life coach everything the author talks about in this book is exactly in a nutshell what I want followers of Jesus  to know. I will definitely be buying this book and giving it away, and recommending it to others. As a matter of fact, I am preaching through the book of Colossians right now on Sunday’s but was so impacted by this book – that with Father’s Day coming up this Sunday – I’m going to use some of the Scripture passages in this book and the principles and suggestions that the author brings out to share with my flock – to remind them of what an Awesome Heavenly Father we have.

This book essentially has it all – excellent theology, wonderful Bible passages, great stories, personal and authentic, excellent applications, and flows very well. I read it in about three hours – and I’m not a fast reader, but I simply couldn’t put the book down!

The essence of this book is that God created us to know Him intimately and that He is our ultimate satisfaction in life. Doug does a fantastic job of weaving the Biblical story of the creation, fall, redemption, and restoration throughout the book. He weaves the Biblical story with his story and our story – making practical connections throughout the book. If you are having a dry spell in your walk with God, or He seems distant to you – or even if you think you are very close to Him – this book will motivate you and give you great practical ways to enjoy Him even more.

I especially recommend it for those who didn’t have a good relationship (or currently) with their earthly father – as the author relays his own testimony in regard to this. Also, as a father myself, it really motivated me to become a better father and reflect God practically to my children and grandchildren. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.