October 4, 2009
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Money–Ascendance and Dependence
LeRoy Lawson reviews The Ascent of Money and Hot, Flat, and Crowded, connecting financial collapse, environmental concern, trust, and Christian stewardship.
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.
September 20, 2009
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: What to Do About Poverty?
LeRoy Lawson reviews four books on poverty, comparing global aid strategies, local solutions, and what churches can learn about serving the poor with wisdom and commitment.
September 6, 2009
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Seeing Ourselves as Others See Us
LeRoy Lawson reviews two books on Francis and Frank Schaeffer, reflecting on evangelical influence, family pain, fundamentalism, and the difference between celebrity faith and mere Christianity.
July 12, 2009
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Seeing Ourselves as Others See Us
LeRoy Lawson reviews books by A. J. Jacobs and Robert Jewett that challenge readers to examine biblical literalism, religious zeal, and how others may see us.
June 14, 2009
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Learning to Communicate, Examining History
LeRoy Lawson reviews two books that challenge assumptions: Temple Grandin’s insights on autism and animal behavior, and Garry Wills’s history of Christianity in America.
May 31, 2009
Simple Church: Returning to God”s Process for Making Disciples
David Ray reviews Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger, highlighting its call for clarity, movement, alignment, and focus in discipleship while warning that simple ministry is not easy ministry.
April 19, 2009
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Personal Faith and Church Function
LeRoy Lawson reviews David J. Wolpe’s Why Faith Matters and Kevin G. Ford’s Transforming Church, highlighting resilient faith, thoughtful leadership, and congregational transformation.
March 15, 2009
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: For Presiders, Preachers, Prayers, and Other Leaders
LeRoy Lawson reviews five Christian books on the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Prayer, preaching, hermeneutics, and the ministry needs of smaller churches.
February 15, 2009
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Wisdom from a Hayseed”s Hayseed
LeRoy Lawson reviews Wendell Berry’s The Way of Ignorance and Other Essays, reflecting on humility, community, ecology, politics, and the wisdom of starting small.
January 11, 2009
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Economic Dangers and Dirty Hands
LeRoy Lawson reviews three books exploring global economic instability, glocal mission strategy, and hands-on service that calls ordinary Christians to engage a changing world with wisdom and compassion.
December 7, 2008
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: In God’s Defense
LeRoy Lawson reviews books by David Aikman, John Humphrys, and Francis Collins, tracing arguments about atheism, doubt, science, and faith in a thoughtful response to claims that God is dead.
November 9, 2008
Books We Recommend
Christian Standard contributing editors recommend books that shaped their faith, ministry, leadership, apologetics, and cultural engagement, with personal reflections on why each title mattered.
November 9, 2008
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Returning from the Dark Side
LeRoy Lawson reviews books by Gordon MacDonald, Gary Kinnaman, and Richard Jacobs, reflecting on pastoral failure, depression, restoration, and the grace needed to walk through darkness.
October 19, 2008
Three Resources on Elders and the Local Church
Casey Tygrett reviews three books on eldership and church leadership, weighing their strengths, weaknesses, and usefulness for elders seeking biblical accountability and practical direction.
October 12, 2008
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: China: Refreshing, Intriguing, Confusing, Unsettling
LeRoy Lawson reviews Rob Gifford’s China Road and reflects on modern China, Chinese Christianity, missionary legacy, and the sobering historical context of The Opium Wars.
September 14, 2008
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Five by Oliver Sacks, MD
LeRoy Lawson reflects on Oliver Sacks’s books, especially Musicophilia, and considers how music, the brain, suffering, communication, and worship intersect in deeply human ways.
September 3, 2008
Our Online Review of a Best-seller
Jennifer Taylor reviews The Shack, weighing its literary weaknesses against the theological ideas that helped the book connect with readers far beyond the Christian fiction audience.
August 10, 2008
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Defending Our Faith, Holding Our Attention
LeRoy Lawson reviews books by Timothy Keller and Charles Colson, weighing their apologetic value against the enduring influence of C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity.
July 13, 2008
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Insights Into the Middle East
LeRoy Lawson reflects on Afghanistan, humanitarian service, and three books that illuminate suffering, courage, culture, and the costly hope of education in a wounded region.
June 8, 2008
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Beyond Normal
LeRoy Lawson reviews books by David Michaelis, John Elder Robison, and Arron Chambers, reflecting on Peanuts, Asperger’s syndrome, Christian identity, and the extraordinary shape of human potential.
