Series: Featured

October 13, 2012

Michael C. Mack

The Vitality of Christian Community: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 10)

By Michael C. Mack   The Relational Way: From Small Group Structures to Holistic Life Connections M. Scott Boren Houston: TOUCH Publications, 2007 The model of the church today stands in stark contrast to the church of the New Testament. In this book, Scott Boren calls for a new restoration””a restoration of the “relational way” that is at the very heart of God and his design for his church. The ideas Boren proposes are revolutionary within our culture; indeed, they are counter-cultural, which is exactly what he intends and proposes in this book. If you are not directly involved in small groups,

October 13, 2012

Christian Standard

Reading for Enrichment: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 9)

By Marshall Hayden   It”s great advice! “Read broadly” we have been told. It will enrich your life, your thinking, and your preaching. It”s true. But until retirement came, the stack of interesting books””purchased but unread””just kept getting taller. Now there is the fine advantage of carrying a little electronic thingamajig, rather than a bag or briefcase full of books. Maybe you will start taking that good advice earlier than I did. You may be like our remarkable friend, Roy Lawson, whose reviews you read on the pages of Christian Standard. He is not yet retired. Well, twice retired, but

October 12, 2012

Christian Standard

Exploring Authentic Manhood: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 8)

By Eddie Lowen   Man Alive: Transforming Your Seven Primal Needs into a Powerful Spiritual Life Patrick Morley Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2012 Several people who narrowly escaped the collapse of the World Trade Center towers 11 years ago credited their safety to “a man wearing a red bandana.” The man approached several bewildered people and said, “Follow me. I can help you get out.” He carried one woman on his back down 17 flights of stairs. When the rubble was cleared from where Tower One once stood, the body of a young man wearing a red bandana was found among the bodies

October 12, 2012

Christian Standard

An Exciting Family Devotion Resource: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 7)

By Matt Lockhart   Discovering God”s Story Jim Eichenberger Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 2010 Have you ever wrestled with wanting to do a family devotion but struggled with what to use or how to get started? If so, do I have a reading recommendation for you! Discovering God”s Story is a great book to help families engage with God”s Word. It”s a beautifully illustrated, full-color hardcover that provides a chronological overview of major Bible stories and themes in 100 short and visually rich vignettes. While a great reference book for any Bible student, I can tell you from firsthand experience that

October 12, 2012

Christian Standard

Insights into the Underprivileged: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 6)

By Nancy Karpenske   What Every Church Member Needs to Know about Poverty Bill Ehlig and Ruby K. Payne Highlands: aha! Process Inc., 1999 Ruby K. Payne is the leading U.S. educator teaching teachers and social workers about the impacts on families in poverty, and the author of the best-selling book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Bill Ehlig has been a minister in urban settings for more than 30 years. God expects and commands followers of Jesus to be concerned and involved with needy people. “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has

October 9, 2012

Christian Standard

An Aid to Cultural Context: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 5)

By Beth Guckenberger   Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009 This book came across my path several months after I returned from a trip to Israel. I had been talking nonstop about the insights I had gained while there and was fascinated by the cultural context I hadn”t understood before my visit. I read Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus in two days, taking notes on my laptop, thinking of all the people I wanted to read it. The book outlines Jewish culture and historical context for the lay

October 9, 2012

Christian Standard

Learning from Trials: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 4)

By Brenda Garrison   Nine Things You Simply Must Do to Succeed in Love and Life: A Psychologist Probes the Mystery of Why Some Lives Really Work and Others Don”t Dr. Henry Cloud Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004 As a mom, I want my daughters to live the abundant lives Jesus promised us. One way I encourage them to do so is by giving them books that have spoken to me. One of our favorites is Nine Things You Simply Must Know to Succeed in Life and Love.  In his book, Dr. Henry Cloud teaches nine principles that anyone can implement

October 9, 2012

Christian Standard

When Faith Is a Struggle: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 3)

By Randy Gariss   Disappointment with God Philip Yancey Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988 Reaching for the Invisible God Philip Yancey Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000  A Skeptic”s Guide to Faith (previously titled Rumors of Another World) Philip Yancey Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009 Struggling with faith? Keep Philip Yancey”s works close. In my opinion, you can never go wrong by recommending a Philip Yancey book. From the mid-1970s, his writings have made a dramatic mark on the Christian landscape with more than 15 million of his books currently in circulation. His writings are varied, but the genius of his work probably has to

October 8, 2012

Christian Standard

Explicit, Not Assumed: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 2)

By David Faust   The Explicit Gospel Matt Chandler with Jared Wilson Wheaton: Crossway, 2012 In the contemporary church”s effort to be cool and culturally relevant, have we diminished the message of the cross? Matt Chandler, who preaches for The Village Church in Dallas, Texas, suggests that for lots of American churchgoers, the gospel has been merely assumed, not made explicit. And what many assume about Christian faith is not the robust gospel that takes God and sin seriously and sees grace as the God-given solution. Instead, many hold to an anemic “moralistic therapeutic deism”””we try to be good, we

October 8, 2012

Christian Standard

The Power of Uncertainty: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 1)

By Gayla Congdon   In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day Mark Batterson Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2006 The book I have read that has impacted me the most in the past few years was In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. The title comes from a story found in 2 Samuel 23:20, 21. On a snowy day during the reign of King David, Benaiah chased a lion down a pit and killed it. The story is timely because we are living in days when fear is consuming us and, I

October 6, 2012

Christian Standard

Truth in Fiction

Whether you want to solve a crime with a gritty street detective, laugh your way to redemption, walk in the shoes of the suffering, or reflect on the beauty of God”s created order, you will be able to find a Christian novelist who is happy to be your companion on the journey. By Pat Magness I am not sure why, of all the hundreds of books in the bookstore that day, this particular book, Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott, reached out to me. I hadn”t heard of the book or the author before, but somehow I already felt part of

October 5, 2012

Christian Standard

Why I Write Books

By Dudley Rutherford When CHRISTIAN STANDARD asked me to share why I write books, I had to smile because I actually ask myself this question all the time. Writing a book, for me personally, is a torturous and time-consuming exercise. Please don”t be offended when I say that it leads me to imagine what a woman experiences when giving birth to a child. Writing a book can be very painful, and if it goes well, it”s completed within nine months. Afterward, you are filled with incredible euphoria as you hold in your hands this crafted project that truly is an

September 30, 2012

Christian Standard

Encouraging Healthy Controversy

By Brian Giese We live in an age when the world invites Christians to keep their faith to themselves and out of the limelight. This is also a day when no one wants to confront anyone, and nobody wants to be confronted. The rule seems to be: “Let each person make his own choices, and don”t judge him or her. Don”t make waves, just love everybody.” No one can deny that the world needs more love, but what kind of love? When one reaches adulthood, he can look back and see that the correction and punishment his parents gave him

September 29, 2012

Christian Standard

Let Me Tell You How You Should Vote

By Ben Cachiaras As the 2012 elections approach, many feel there are no good options. Voting for one candidate or the other is like choosing whether you prefer to be hanged or shot. Others feel strongly there is only one clear option and how you vote is simply a matter of whether you are smart or stupid, a choice between acting as a courageous, loyal American, or a wimpy, fascist pig. It”s clear! I know many who are fearful about what is happening in our country, the economy, the fraying of moral fiber, the loss of freedoms we hold dear””fearful

September 25, 2012

Christian Standard

Facing the Facts about Debt

“¢ Our nation soon will be $16 trillion in debt. The U.S. government is living way beyond its means””it is insane and can”t continue without cataclysmic results. But the government is essentially doing what the average American citizen is doing. “¢ A tsunami of student loan debt will be upon us soon as graduates leave college and enter the workforce with an unimaginable and unsustainable albatross of debt. The average debt load of 2012 graduates will hit “a record $28,700, projects Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Finaid.org. That amounts to a $330 standard monthly payment. To handle that easily, he estimates,

September 25, 2012

Christian Standard

Don”t Ignore Your Debt, Eliminate It!

By Barry L. Cameron In December 1999, my family decided to do something about our finances. We were fed up with money problems and bothered by endless bills and perennial payments on stuff that was falling apart, in need of repair, or already in a landfill. We didn”t go to a financial planner, nor did we mine the endless array of financial resources available. We went back to the Word of God. We figured the One who created everything and owns everything could give us the guidance we needed to clear up our financial mess. Early on, I found a

September 24, 2012

Christian Standard

What Would It Mean to Live Simply?

By Eleanor Daniel Most of us have heard the old Shaker tune encouraging simplicity. And all of us are familiar with Paul”s affirmation in Philippians 4:11, 12: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” For the last couple of months, Paul”s affirmation and the song have echoed in my mind. It all started because I had decided to move. When I began preparing to move into a

September 23, 2012

Christian Standard

Gifts that Make God Smile

By Jeff Anderson Autumn Joy toddled across the room and stood at the edge of my laptop-centered view. I was in task mode, typing away in my living room recliner. My 18-month-old daughter looked up at me, her Shirley Temple curls bouncing around her face. Then she handed me a plastic doughnut from her kitchen play set. I looked at the doughnut my toddler had just given me and then back at her again. She was waiting for a response. So I lifted the doughnut to my mouth and said with great animation, “Yummm, ymmm . . . thank you,

September 17, 2012

Christian Standard

A Big Heart for Missions

By Francis Nash While studying history and broadcasting, which became my eventual full-time profession, I found myself behind the pulpit in 1968 at Sugar Grove Christian Church in rural Bath County, Kentucky, six miles from any town. My interest in mission work was ingrained by my childhood love for geography and the mission displays I had visited every year while attending the North American Christian Convention with my family. As a congregation of mostly middle-income families numbering around 85, Sugar Grove””which I continue to serve””had not been exposed much to mission work. I detected a reluctance to commit to other

September 16, 2012

Christian Standard

Why We Believe in Faith Promise

By Jim Bird What”s faith promise? I had never heard of faith promise and now I was expected to lead it! I became the lead minister at Fort Caroline Christian Church in Jacksonville, Florida, in summer 2009. Soon I asked how we fund our missions giving and was told we do it through faith promise giving.  It is an approach I didn”t know, but I soon decided I would preach two sermons on missions and stewardship, and then, on Faith Promise Sunday, our folks would make God-directed commitments to support our missions. With that in mind, I determined to learn

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