Articles for tag: Book Reviews

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 28, 2015

Christian Standard

A Literary Conversation about Racial Prejudice

By LeRoy Lawson Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power Jon Meacham New York: Random House, 2012 Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America Gilbert King New York: Harper Perennial, 2013 Trivial Pursuits: Why Your Real Life Is More than Media, Money and the Pursuit of Happiness Ian DiOrio Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2014 I often make my way through two or three books at a time, one on my Kindle, one for listening pleasure when grunting my way through morning exercises, and a “real book” with paper pages at the office or

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 30, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

New Steps and a New Gift

By Mark A. Taylor Every year at Christmastime I look for a way to give something to someone who can”t or won”t give me anything in return. Usually this means an extra offering to a favorite mission, a check written to a local shelter, or gifts purchased for our church”s project to “provide Christmas” for needy children. I do this because it”s always seemed to me that exchanged gifts are trades, not really gifts. They”re fun, and they can be a good part of office or family celebrations. But true generosity doesn”t happen with rules about dollar limits or gift

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

October 1, 2014

Christian Standard

A Bad Year, a True Hero, and an Invitation to Wonder

By LeRoy Lawson Diary of a Bad Year J. M. Coetzee London: Harvill Secker, 2007 The Ruby Ring: Tyndale”s Battle for an English Bible Karen Rees Crosslink Publishing, 2013 Unwrapping Wonder: Finding Hope in the Gift of Nature Carol O”Casey Greeley: Gladach Publishing, 2013 I suppose it is because “misery loves company” that books by or about other old people get my attention, but that”s not the only reason. Sometimes old people write very good books. And younger people sometimes write very good books about old people. In the case of J. M. Coetzee”s Diary of a Bad Year, we

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

May 24, 2014

Christian Standard

A Statesman, a Theologian, and a Preacher

By LeRoy Lawson   A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America Stacy Schiff New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2005  Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology Eugene Peterson Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005 One Year to Better Preaching: 52 Exercises to Hone Your Skills Daniel Overdorf Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2013 Sometimes it pays to look pathetic””or eager””or greedy. I don”t know exactly what my friend saw in my face, but before I left his house that evening he gave me two books. The first was a bit of nonsense featuring

April 18, 2014

Christian Standard

Good Friday, Sexual Identity, and the Fruit of the Spirit

By LeRoy Lawson   City of Wrong: A Friday in Jerusalem M. Kamel Hussein (translated by Kenneth Cragg) Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1995 (first published in 1954) The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex Is Too Important to Define Who We Are Jenell Williams Paris Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2011 Life on the Vine: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Christian Community Philip D. Kenneson Downers Grove: IVP Books, 1999 Picture yourself in Jerusalem on Good Friday. Even better, imaginatively hover around and in and through the actors, big and small, in this most consequential drama. This is what Kamel Hussein does

March 3, 2014

Christian Standard

Seeking Discipline and Considering the Captives

By LeRoy Lawson   Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor Jana Riess Brewster: Paraclete Press, 2011 Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives Thomas French New York: Hyperion, 2010 The title gives it away: Jana Riess”s Flunking Sainthood isn”t going to be your most serious read this year. It may be, though, the most fun. Actually, Riess is serious about the exercise of spiritual disciplines. Her tone is lighthearted, even flippant at times, but her soul thirsts, yea even longs, for the living God. So she goes to work. Her

February 6, 2014

Christian Standard

Improving Your Literacy

By James Riley Estep Jr.   Improving Your Cultural Literacy Thomas de Zengotita”s Mediated: How the Media Shapes Our World and the Way We Live in It (2006) assesses the impact of living in a media-immersed society by exploring the influence technology has on the relationships in American culture. Sherry Turkle”s Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other (2011) explores how technology challenges the desire for community. Likewise, Jake Halpern”s Fame-Junkies: America”s Favorite Addiction (2008) assesses the American obsession with achieving fame, cultural recognition, and its influence on society in general. These books apprise

January 24, 2014

Christian Standard

Power, Forgiveness, and Suffering

By LeRoy Lawson My Beloved World Sonia Sotomayor New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013 Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1994, 1995 What Shall We Say? Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith Thomas Long Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2011 What books do you take along for vacation? Last summer Joy and I had a rare treat. Marshall Hayden invited us to be a part of a group he led for a cruise on the Mediterranean. (You can adjust!) In exchange for a few lectures, our sailing was

January 6, 2014

Christian Standard

Fighting Against “˜the Death of Hope”

By Neal Windham Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire William T. Cavanaugh Wm. B. Eerdman”s Publishing Company, 2008 The United States has one of the lowest savings rates of any wealthy country, and we are the most indebted society in history. What really characterizes consumer culture is not attachment to things but detachment. People do not hoard money; they spend it. So warns William Cavanaugh in his book, Being Consumed (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008). Cavanaugh published these words at the beginning of the Great Recession, just as millions of baby boomers were readying to settle into their 401(k) lives. Having

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