Book Review Catchup

In my desire to have my book reviews up to date I'm going to list the books I have yet to list with a short blurb about each.  Longer book reviews may be to come on these since some of them are true gems and must reads.

Vintage Church by Mark Driscoll & Gary Beshears

A must read for all pastors, elders, leaders, etc.  (Further review to come)

Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias

A good book to see how Christianity lines up with the other major world religions.

The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

A very short read but well worth your time.  A focus on the 'Prodigal Son' parable in a compelling view focusing more on the older brother and our extravagant God.

Conversations with Boulez by Jean Vermeil

An interview with famed French conductor Pierre Boulez detailing his musical journey and thoughts on the classical music world.  The end of the book details his concert programming for the majority of his life which I found very interesting.

Music Through the Eyes of Faith by Harold Best

This should be a must read for all Music Pastors of all denominations/affiliations.  An insightful look into the what and how of our role as musicians of the church and our communities.

Getting the Blues by Stephen J. Nichols

A clever look into both the history of the Blues music genre and human suffering and how the Blues genre was born out of this human experience.  

Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris

A plea that is backed up by Scripture for Christians to stop with flaky church attendance and hopping around.  Joshua goes into reason and detail about why believers should plug into a church and the benefits that will come of this.

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

It is all to easy for Christians to get comfortable with their spiritual lives and forget that their journey of sanctification is a never ending process this side of eternity.  It's easy to only look at "big/major" sins that the people around us commit and serve that as the excuse to not look into our lives to root out the pride, arrogance, lusts, etc.  

What is Reformed Theology by R.C. Sproul

Sproul writes a masterpiece on breaking down reformed theology that is deep but not complicated.  In a book this size dealing with an academic subject I give major kudos to R.C. for making this book very readable to the average audience.  I encourage all believers to buy this book and take some time soaking it in and letting its insightful look into scripture soak in.  A further review to come.

Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

The second installment of Lewis' science fiction space series, this book has the main character on a journey to another planet that finds itself as another 'Garden of Eden'.  An interesting look into what humanity might have missed out on but what the future may taste like.

The Mark of the Christian by Francis A. Schaeffer

Christians should be easily identifiable shouldn't they?  Schaeffer compels believers to not only talk the talk but live it in their daily lives.  Short, easy and to the point.

Escape from Reason by Francis A. Schaeffer

A historical journey of philosophy and religion and how they were once mixed and now live in total separation.  An interesting book that is a bit of a mind spin...I'm still digesting it and will probably read it again in the next few weeks.  (Further review to come)

The Swans are Not Silent

In March I had the pleasure of reading three books that belonged to the series titled "The Swans are Not Silent" written by John Piper.  These books actually started as lectures given at the Desiring God conferences starting in the year 2000 I believe.  Each book deals with the lives of three real people and how their lives proclaimed the Gospel, even through immense difficulty.

The three books are titled:

The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God's Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther & Calvin

The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd

The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon and William Wilberforce

All three of these books are wonderful reads as Piper weaves their incredible stories together in a way that make you feel like you were there as a silent observer.  The second book of the series is a powerful look into the reality of suffering, especially in the form of depression that was so evident in William Cowper's life.  I would encourage everyone to pick up these books and add them to your library as they are all pretty easy reads.

More Book Reviews

Once again, these reviews will be short and sweet until I'm finally caught up to my current reading list so please bear with me.

Book #8 The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter

This is another book in the Puritan Paperbacks series that gave me a few ninja slaps to the face.  Richard Baxter was one of the most well-rounded pastors making sure to not only preach and teach effectively but care for his flock of people he was entrusted with.  This book was going to be a speech he gave at what we would call a 'Pastor's Conference' of his day.  He ended up becoming ill so he wrote his speech out which eventually turned into this book.  The three main sections are divided up into 1)Let me slap you around a little bit and tell you how lazy and unproductive you are at your calling 2)Let me slap you around a little bit and tell you how you should take seriously your calling 3)How to be effective at your calling.  I really did love this book.  Baxter takes seriously the calling of Pastors and gives an effective message no young pastor should go without hearing.  

Book #9 Death By Love by Mark Driscoll

Each chapter of this book is written in the form of a letter from Pastor Mark to a person who is facing the real situations of life be it relationship discord, abuse, pornography, anger and more.  Through each situation Driscoll beautifully points to Jesus and highlights the work of Christ such as justification, propitiation and the like.  One of the most meaningful chapters in the entire book is the chapter he writes to his youngest son.  This book is very moving on an emotional level dealing with these weighty situations as well as very deep mentally helping the believer build a firm foundation that deals with these subjects.

Book #10 Out of Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis

This is the first book written out of the three in the Science Fiction series of Lewis.  After reading the Narnia series numerous times I expected something along the same lines but was surprised to find this book quite a bit more meaty than expected.  The influence of Tolkien is seen in the incredible description of the planet and of its inhabitants.  Although the first half of the book seemed a little too descriptive for me (why I'm not a big fan of fiction, I want to get to the point!) the last half picked up the story a bit more and left me diving in to the 2nd book.

Book #11 Who Made God (100 Questions...) by Norman Geisler and Ravi Zacharias

If you're looking for a deep and almost academic approach to some of the heavy questions when it comes to faith and theology this is a good book to have at your disposal.  The book is actually written by numerous authors who each take a chapter and deal with some of the difficult questions people bring up on their faith journey.  Geisler and Zacharias do a nice job putting all of the info together and laying out the book in a way that doesn't get to stuffy or heady.  

Book #12 Greatness: Reagan, Churchill & the Making of Extraordinary Leaders by Steven F. Hayward

As a lover of almost anything to do with history, this was one of my favorite books I read in this first quarter of the year.  Hayward writes with a easy to read style that keeps you longing to turn the next page.  In this book he attempts to put the lives of Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill on display and discoveries numerous similarities in their leadership style.  As a rather enormous fan of Churchill, I knew this book was unlikely to disappoint.  Hayward starts out with both of these men's childhood experiences through their education and entry into politics, even discussing the somewhat similar situations each faced with WWII and the Cold War as well as economic situations for both countries.  What I found to be most eye opening was the economic situation Reagan found himself dealing with has numerous similarities to that of our current reality.  

Book Review Update

I've been terribly unfaithful at not only keeping my book reviews up to date but at even attempting to blog faithfully about anything.  For this I apologize and hope to keep as a discipline this useful tool.  In this blog I'm going to quickly let you know of a few books I've read over the past few months and maybe add a few comments as to catch up on my reviews:

Book #3 The Lamb & the Fuhrer by Ravi Zacharias

Book #4 The Lotus & the Cross by Ravi Zacharias

I have put these books together since they are a part of small collection of books Ravi uses to discuss various religious topics through the use of made up conversations between historical/religious figures and present day people.  A very interesting, down to earth way to communicate theological and gospel truths.  These books are very short (around 100 pages) and easy reads.

Book #5 John Calvin: His Life and Influence by Robert Reymond

Book #6 The Acceptable Sacrifice by John Bunyan

This book is part of the Puritan Classics series and is full of beautiful gems.  Bunyan uses Psalm 51: 17 as his principle text; "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite hear, O God, thou wilt not despise."  He urges the reader to seek after a broken heart that through this we are truly able to grow in our depth and love for God.  He offers the signs of a broken heart as well as why the heart must truly be broken and finishes with how to keep a broken heart.  Here are a few lines that I will take with me:

"The heart, as it is by nature hard, stupid, and impenetrable, so it remains, and so will remain, until God, as was said, bruiseth it with his hammer, and melts it with his fire."

"Therefore, I say, a broken heart is of great esteem with God; for it - and I will add, so long as it retains its tenderness - covets non but God, and the things of his Holy Spirit; sin is an abomination to it."

Book #7 Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson

This book is Batterson's latest although by the time I finished this he in turn is sending his latest book off to his publisher for final critique which is a good thing for Mark writes with a clean and easy approach on inspiring subjects.  This book derives its title from the name the Celtic Christians gave to the Holy Spirit calling Him the Wild Goose.  Mark takes this theme and is off to the races compelling us to not cage in the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to a cage of expectation but to open our minds and hearts to all that God has in store for the adventure of our lives.  Mark's writing style is easy to read since he weaves personal story so well with creative thought on a certain idea.  My main take away from this book is that when I start assuming things for my life and ministry is most likely the moment I begin to stifle all that God has in store for me.  I should never assume things when my faith and hope is in Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit and when I rest on this foundation my life will be full of broken assumptions and impractical thoughts carried on to fruition.

More to come later...