Book Reviews

Book Reviews provides thoughtful, biblically informed reviews of books that serve churches, leaders, and disciples. Explore summaries of key ideas, theological and practical evaluation, and clear recommendations on who each book is best suited for—pastors, elders, small group leaders, students, or everyday believers. You’ll find reviews across theology, ministry, discipleship, Christian living, and church history, helping you choose resources that are faithful, helpful, and worth your time. Whether you’re building a library or selecting a study for your church, this hub offers trusted guidance for discerning readers.

October 24, 2015

Christian Standard

Books Too Good to Miss

What should I read my children? What should my children read? This teacher”s answers to those questions just may point out books you”d like to read for yourself! By Pat Magness Reading is one of the greatest gifts parents can give their children. It is especially crucial for Christian parents for whom the reading of the Word is central to their faith. The love of reading is best nurtured long before children are reading for themselves: the best reading teacher is the one with a child on his or her lap, reading aloud in a total context of love and

September 24, 2015

Christian Standard

Is Religion the Problem?

By LeRoy Lawson Can We Be Good Without God? Biology, Behavior, and the Need to Believe Robert Beckman Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2002 Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence Karen Armstrong New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014 Home Sweet Anywhere: How We Sold Our House, Created a New Life, and Saw the World Lynne Martin Naperville: Sourcebooks, 2014 I bought Can We Be Good Without God? because I wanted to know the answer. It”s not unusual for someone going through a medical, familial, or other kind of crisis to ask, “How does one who doesn”t believe in God get through something

August 22, 2015

Christian Standard

Powerful, Prolific, and the Professor

By LeRoy Lawson   Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World Jack Weather ford New York: Broadway Books, 2005 Surprised by Scripture: Engaging Contemporary Issues N. T. Wright New York: HarperOne, 2014 Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness Richard B. Hays Waco: Baylor University Press, 2014 When I told a friend I was reading a biography of Genghis Khan, he laughed at me. “You will read anything, won”t you?” No, not anything, but a lot of things! “But why Genghis Khan?” Because I don”t know very much about him, that”s why, and because he was

July 27, 2015

Christian Standard

Growth, Grace, and a Writer I Like

By LeRoy Lawson   Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeing God in the Crucible of Ministry Ruth Haley Barton Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2008 Lila: A Novel Marilynne Robinson New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2014 Persuasion: A Novel Jane Austen Originally published in 1817   I”ve written here before about how much I learn from my students. Many books in this column have appeared because they told me I needed to read a favorite of theirs. Ruth Haley Barton is one of those favorites. She is president of the Transforming Center, where she and her colleagues are in the business

July 2, 2015

Christian Standard

An Annotated List of My Latest Finds

By LeRoy Lawson The War of the Worlds H. G. Wells London: Penguin Books, 2007 (first published in book form in 1898) Science and Religion in Quest of Truth John Polkinghorne New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011 Finding Neguinho David Randle New York: Page Publishing, 2014 Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim”s Tale Ian Morgan Cron Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013 (previously published by NavPress, 2006) Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English John H. McWhorter New York: Gotham Books, 2009 Language A to Z (audio download/CD) John H. McWhorter Chantilly: The Great Courses, 2013 The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry

June 7, 2015

Christian Standard

A Book to Push Us Deeper

By Matt Johnson Is your church liberal or conservative? The question is a land mine, often meant to act as a test of fellowship. Christians who wish to honor God with their hearts as well as their minds see this question as a false choice. For this audience, Adam Hamilton has written Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics (Abington Press, 2008). Radical Center Hamilton divides his book into three parts. First he lays a foundation for what he calls the “radical center.” His goal is not to arrive at tepid, middle-of-the-road

May 25, 2015

Christian Standard

Struggling for Balance

By LeRoy Lawson   Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus C. Christopher Smith and John Pattison Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2014 iGods: How Technology Shapes Our Spiritual and Social Lives Craig Detweiler Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2013 Brave New World Aldous Huxley New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics; originally published in 1932 Chris Smith presented the argument for Slow Church to a small gathering in Erwin, Tennessee. After a season of serious drought, First Christian Church has been enjoying renewal under the steady leadership of Chris”s friend Todd Edmondson. Erwin was a fitting venue, since many of the growth techniques that have

March 30, 2015

Christian Standard

God”s Heart, God”s Servants, a Growing Church

By LeRoy Lawson Life on Mission: God”s People Finding God”s Heart for the World Tim Harlow Pastors.com, 2014 Timeless: Devotions Based on the Sermons of Floyd Strater Kim Hamilton Self published, 2014 (available at amazon.com & lulu.com) No More Dragons: Get Free from Broken Dreams, Lost Hope, Bad Religion, and Other Monsters Jim Burgen Nashville: Nelson Books, 2014 The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (Future of Christianity Trilogy) Philip Jenkins New York: Oxford University Press, 2011 The 2014 North American Christian Convention was a profitable one for me. In addition to Ian DiOrio”s Trivial Pursuits, which I reviewed in last month”s column,

March 1, 2015

Christian Standard

Tragic Hero, Seven Great Men, and How to Reach the “˜Nones”

By LeRoy Lawson Washington Journal: Reporting Watergate and Richard Nixon”s Downfall Elizabeth Drew New York: Overlook Hardcover, 2014 Seven Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness Eric Metaxas Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013 The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated James Emery White Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2014 I have been reliving a nightmare. Not just my bad dream, but our nation”s. Nightmare isn”t even my word. It”s Gerald Ford”s, part of his August 1974 swearing-in remarks. Richard Nixon had left the White House in disgrace. “My fellow Americans,” Ford told the country, “our long national nightmare

February 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Secular View, Scriptural Standards

Review by Dick Alexander Unhooked Generation: The Truth about Why We”re Still Single By Jillian Straus Hyperion, 2007 Have you noticed Americans are waiting longer to marry than past generations? And have you noticed a growing number don”t marry at all? So did Jillian Straus, because she was one of them. With matchmaking websites, speed dating, and shelves of relationship books, why can”t today”s young adults find the love relationships they”re looking for, and make them last? Straus, a former producer for Oprah, interviewed more than 100 single men and women thirtysomethings, and wove their stories with her own observations into

January 30, 2015

Christian Standard

Assessing a Pope, Learning about Armenia, Reconsidering Depression

By LeRoy Lawson   Pope John XXIII Thomas Cahill New York: Penguin Books, 2008 Armenia: A Journey Through History Arra S. Avakian Fresno: The Electric Press, 2008 The Armenian Genocide: Forgotten and Denied Yair Auron Valley Cottage: Contento De Semrik, 2013 My Age of Anxiety Scott Stossel New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014 On March 13, 2013, the Roman Catholic Church”s papal conclave elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina as the new pope. We commoners held our collective breath. So much depends on the character of the man, his leadership style, his ability to hold together his far-flung, disparate, often

December 18, 2014

Christian Standard

The Crime-Poverty Connection

Book Review by Doug Priest The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence Gary A. Haugen and Victor Boutros Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014 The Locust Effect made me extremely angry. I seethed with righteous indignation for the entire first half of the volume. Gary Haugen is the founder of International Justice Mission, an international human rights agency that provides service to “impoverished victims of violent abuse and oppression in the developing world.” His book begins with several gut-wrenching illustrations of injustice in the majority world. From Yuri, the small Peruvian child who was raped

December 16, 2014

Christian Standard

What Does “˜Justice” Mean?

By Chris Travis Generous Justice Timothy Keller New York: Riverhead, 2010 In Generous Justice, Tim Keller leads us through a straightforward, well-reasoned, and brief but comprehensive survey of what the Bible says about justice. It”s eye-opening to see how much emphasis God puts on justice in Scripture. This is a particularly relevant book in the wake of socially volatile situations like this summer”s shooting of Michael Brown and ensuing protests in Ferguson, Missouri. There is so much impassioned public discourse about what”s right and wrong, and not nearly enough deep contemplation about what the Bible actually says about justice. Generous

December 14, 2014

Christian Standard

For Anyone Concerned about Poverty

By LeRoy Lawson   Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa Dambisa Moyo New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009 Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help Robert D. Lupton New York: HarperCollins, 2011 When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009 Grace at the Garbage Dump: Making Sense of Mission in the Twenty-First Century Jesse A. Zink Eugene: Cascade Books, 2012   I”m writing this month about poverty. Maybe you are on your

December 12, 2014

Christian Standard

Creating a Framework, Unleashing Potential

Book Reviews by Becky Ahlberg A Framework for Understanding Poverty By Ruby K. Payne, PhD Highlands: aha! Process, 2013 Ruby Payne”s book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, is already considered a classic and must reading for people working with families in poverty. It is a simple book and a fast read, but it is truly an eye-opener. Its initial audience was educators trying to break through to children in poverty. It has since become an industry standard training course for employers, policy makers, and service providers of all kinds. What makes it so valuable are the practical, clear tools and

November 24, 2014

Christian Standard

Life, Love, Liberty, Language

By LeRoy Lawson Four Steps to Spiritual Freedom Thomas Ryan Mahwah: Paulist Press, 2003 Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy””Until You”re 80 and Beyond Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D. New York City: Workman Publishing, 2007 Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future Tim Elmore Atlanta: Poet Gardener, 2010 Made in America Bill Bryson New York: William Morrow Paperbacks, reprint edition, 2001 I teach a seminary course called Theological Integration. Students take it in their final semester. First comes this class, then commencement. As the name indicates, the course is designed to encourage a summing up

October 30, 2014

Christian Standard

How Much More Can I Read about War?

By LeRoy Lawson A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Ishmael Beah New York: Macmillan, 2007 The Things They Carried Tim O”Brien New York: Mariner Books, 1990 The Right Stuff Tom Wolfe New York: Farrar, Strauss and Gireaux (Picador), 1979 The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins New York: Scholastic Press, 2009 A few months ago Amazon.com published a list of “100 Books to Read in a Lifetime.” The list is designed to humble. At least it humbled me. So many books I haven”t read. I made my own “to-get-to” list from that list. It”s too long. It”ll take a

August 28, 2014

Christian Standard

Despots, Presidents, and a Readable Grammarian

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China Jung Chang New York: Anchor Books (Doubleday); originally published by Simon and Schuster, 1991 The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism Doris Kearns Goodwin New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013 For Who the Bell Tolls: One Man”s Quest for Grammatical Perfection David Marsh London: Guardian Books, 2013 Wild Swans sat around our house for too long. My wife, Joy, picked it up a couple of years ago while traveling with our daughter in Vietnam. In the face of other pressures, it sat on the back shelf until

July 31, 2014

Christian Standard

Memoir of an Atheist, Biography of a Genius, Advice for Travelers

By LeRoy Lawson   Joseph Anton: A Memoir Salman Rushdie New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2013 Jim Henson: The Biography Brian Jay Jones New York: Ballantine Books, 2013 Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- and Cold-Climate Cultures Sarah A. Lanier Hagerstown: McDougal Publishing, 2000 When Salman Rushdie published his infamous The Satanic Verses in 1988, the Muslim world went crazy. Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of Iran”s revolution””the one that drove the Shah from the Peacock Throne and into exile””outraged by what he perceived to be Rushdie”s attack on religion in general and Islam in particular, pronounced a fatwa

June 8, 2014

Christian Standard

A Truce in the Creation Wars? (A Book Review)

By Jon Weatherly Creation versus evolution, young earth versus old earth, design versus chance, God versus Darwin””few issues stir as much controversy for and among Christians as the question of origins. The recent debate between Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis, and Bill Nye, PBS”s “the Science Guy,” is but the latest in a series of flashpoints going back at least to the celebrated Scopes “monkey” trial of 1925. In the aftermath of these events, Christians sometimes feel they”ve been surrounded by mortal enemies who must be fought at all costs. Too often what some Christians mount as a

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