Articles for tag: Book Review

October 14, 2012

Christian Standard

Epic and Eternal: Find This Book and Read It! (Part 12)

By Charlie W. Starr   Epic: The Story God Is Telling and the Role that Is Yours to Play John Eldredge Nashville: Thomas Nelson, first published in 2004 When I read this issue in past years, I complained about the lack of fiction books among the choices, even to the point of writing a letter about it to Christian Standard. I”m a literature teacher and a writer. I understand the power of stories. I believe Christians should look more to the imagination for its importance in teaching truth and reaching people. So I”m somewhat self-shocked by the fact I”m choosing a

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 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 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

July 18, 2012

Christian Standard

Their Questions, Your Answers with These Two New Titles

By Mark A. Taylor Questions are good. We can welcome questions when they come from a person with honest doubt. Most people we”ll meet with questions about our faith are not at peace with their uncertainty. They want answers. They want time to ponder our conclusions and the reasons we believe. But sometimes Christians are threatened when confronted by questions from folks who don”t believe in God, can”t accept the Bible, or consider Jesus as nothing more than a great teacher. Sometimes Christians take the questions as a personal attack. Sometimes we react with anger or derision because we don”t

January 18, 2012

Christian Standard

Not Just Another Leadership Book

By Mark A. Taylor Late last year in this space I encouraged leaders not to dote on leadership books or lists of leadership skills and techniques. “The leader should look first to God and then deep within himself before he bothers with anyone else”s list of how-to”s,” I wrote. So here we are recommending a book about leadership, and I”m compelled to insist that I”m in no way being inconsistent. This is true because the writers in this new book, Nonprofit Leadership in a For-Profit World, seem to agree that preparation for leadership begins deep within the heart and soul

November 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Two Books about Hell

By LeRoy Lawson Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived Rob Bell New York: HarperOne, 2011 Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It)  Brian Jones Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2011 In July, I met with an exciting group of campus ministers from universities around the world. These engaged and engaging young men and women never fail to challenge me with their penetrating questions about today”s leading theological issues. This time there were two issues under consideration: gay marriage (one by one the states are voting to approve it””what are

October 30, 2011

Christian Standard

You Must Read This . . . Beyond a Job Description

By Teresa Welch The Pastor: A Memoir Eugene H. Peterson New York: HarperOne, 2011 For those of you who have read Eugene Peterson”s other works, you will anticipate his memoir to be a collection of well- crafted stories about this author/professor/pastor who has already shared so much through his writings. What he provides in his newest work, The Pastor: A Memoir, exceeds those expectations. Interwoven into Peterson”s memories about his childhood, vocational discernment and formation, planting a new congregation, and responding to the needs of his community are words of exhortation and hope for the church and for those who

October 29, 2011

Christian Standard

You Must Read This . . . Looking Afresh at “The Least”

By Brian Mavis Same Kind of Different as Me Ron Hall and Denver Moore Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2006 I gravitate toward “heady” books, but if you want a book to make your heart smart, read Same Kind of Different as Me. It is the true story of three uncommon friends, Ron and Deborah Hall and Denver Moore. The Halls are white millionaires, and Moore is a homeless black man. The book alternates between the perspective of Ron Hall and Moore as they tell their inspiring story of enduring tragedy, repenting from prejudices, and forging an authentic friendship. And really, it”s

October 27, 2011

Christian Standard

You Must Read This . . . Challenging Prejudices

By LeRoy Lawson Allah: A Christian Response Miroslav Volf New York: HarperCollins e-books, 2011 Many years ago my doctoral dissertation was published as Very Sure of God: Religious Language in the Poetry of Robert Browning. My question was, “In his poetry, when Browning says “˜God,” what does he mean?” My answer was, “Not much.” Of course it took me a book to explain what I meant. Ever since this exercise I”ve been listening closely when people say “God.” You can explain a lot of their behavior this way. Now Miroslav Volf has published Allah: A Christian Response. His question is,

October 26, 2011

Christian Standard

You Must Read This . . . Beyond Easy Legalism

By Brad Dupray Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy By Eric Metaxas Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010 German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer had a wanderlust that carried him throughout pre-World War II Europe, across the Atlantic to the United States, and even as far south as Mexico City. It was not the sights he saw that shaped Bonhoeffer”s worldview, so much as the people he met. In this thorough biographical account of a Christian martyr, Eric Metaxas reviews the tapestry of relationships Bonhoeffer used to understand basic human rights, all in the context of one who also had a deep understanding of Scripture. But

October 26, 2011

Christian Standard

You Must Read This . . . A More Meaningful Story

By Arron Chambers A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story By Donald Miller Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011 I picked up this book because it was a compilation of lessons a favorite author learned while editing his life. I couldn”t put it down, devouring it on one four-hour plane flight, because it was at once both convicting and compelling. I immediately developed the book into a sermon series for my church; it had helped me find a more meaningful story, and I wanted the same for others. At the beginning of the book, Donald

October 25, 2011

Christian Standard

You Must Read This . . . A Spiritual Retreat

By Becky Ahlberg Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense By N.T. Wright New York: HarperCollins, 2006 I found this gem during my search for help in writing the spiritual formation curriculum for an intensive yearlong program for low-income single mothers. As is often the case, when you teach, you learn the most. For this teacher, this book was like fresh water to a parched soul. In its simplicity and clarity it brought into bold relief how truly dry I was! Page after page the author brings to life the theology we often “know” and yet don”t understand in a personal way.

October 4, 2010

Christian Standard

FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Two to Help Us Think About Prejudice

Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals About the Mind Margalit Fox New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007 Christianity: A Short Global History Frederick Norris Oxford: One World, 2002 ___________________ By LeRoy Lawson For this reader, Margalit Fox”s title could be Talking Hands””and What They”ve Taught Me About Prejudice. Prejudice is sneaky, hiding in the deepest crevices of the human psyche, seldom recognized in oneself even by the most accepting and fair-minded among us. Campaigning Against Sign Language Take our attitudes toward the deaf, for example. Who would have guessed that Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, whose compassion for his

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