Church Outside the Walls: A Review

In Church Outside the Walls, Raj Samuel seeks to help the reader to break free from what could be considered the traditional conception of church within the evangelical circle.  That being that the church exists to be the center of our world and the end of our identity as Christians.  Instead Samuel is making the case that Christians are called to be faithful in all aspects of our lives and not just when we show up on Sunday and/or Wednesday.  I found this book to be a very easy read as it is, I believe, targeted towards the regular Joe and Sally in the church pew.  The concepts are not academic in nature but he does build his ecclesiology in a sound way.  By that I mean that he uses Scriptural support as well as early church context and thinking in his formulation.  Because of this his conception of church is more in line with a pre-Christendom view than what most churches exemplify in todays world, especially in the West.  One that does not put an emphasis on things such as a building or formal structures in organization.  Instead to a member of the church is to have your identity found in God's kingdom which extends to all areas of one's life.

I thought this was a pretty good book.  I did not learn anything new or find anything that I have not previously read before, but I think that Samuel would be a little more accessible than some other authors who write about the church in similar ways.

Decision Points: A Review

I have recently finished George W. Bush's book, "Decision Points."  I was very intrigued to read this book and find out a little more about this very controversial, love him or hate him figure from recent American politics.  Instead of this being a day by by or month by month journal or memoir of his presidency, this book follows some of the main decisions that he had to make during his time in office.  The format that follows is to present the problem or situation that arose and how Bush and his team came to their decision and ultimately how it played out after the decision was made.  I found this to be a very candid look at how Bush came to make many of the decisions that he was both praised and persecuted for making.  While I don't agree with every decision that he made, I would have to say that my admiration for anyone who is elected president grew through reading this book.  One cannot fully imagine the full scope of what it means to be the president until you are in those shoes, although you could argue that this Bush would have a good idea since his father was also president.  Be it resolve or just plain stubbornness, Bush was definitely willing to stay that course of his decisions no matter what political fallout was sure to come.

I felt the book was well written and it captured my attention all the way through.  I enjoyed the candid look at his presidency that covered both the good and bad decisions that he made, in his own words even. It will be interesting to see how history will remember George W in the long term.  One can definitely say that he endured some tough decisions throughout his 8 years in office and I personally do not envy the responsibility that comes with making such decisions.  I would definitely recommend this book.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Expanded Bible NKJV: A Review

I just received an ebook copy of "The Expanded Bible" from the BookSneeze bloggers program and I will admit that I am fairly impressed.  I was intrigued to find out how they would incorporate some of the alternate translations and more in depth notes differently than a normal study Bible, which is ultimately what sets this Bible apart.  As you probably know, most study Bibles will put those things in a footnote where you have the option to glance down if you choose.  The difference with "The Expanded Bible" is that those notes are embedded in the text.  The translation team has come up with a few ways to denote the differences between what they are embedding.  It is fairly confusing at first, but the more I read the more I got used to it.  I would recommend reading the introduction to find out more about this.

I do not foresee The Expanded Bible as being my main Bible to read, instead I think this will be a study reference.  While the embedded information is very helpful, it is a little too cumbersome for simply doing a reading and not a study.  The main translation that is used is NKJV which I do not use regularly, but I appreciate the alternative translations listed.  I would recommend The Expanded Bible for those looking to do a more in depth look at scripture, especially in the area of how words are translated.

Kissing Fish: A Review

Have you heard of the new movement within Christianity that is seeking to break free from the chains of modernity?  No, I'm not talking about the emergent/-ing church, but instead I'm speaking of Progressive Christianity.  If you are unfamiliar with this movement I would recommend "Kissing Fish" by Roger Wolsey as a starting point.  In this book Wolsey lays out the view of Progressive Christianity vs that of Traditional Christianity.  It is written in a very non-condescending style and should be easily accessible.  The biggest hang up I think that readers would have with this book depends on their view of traditional Christianity and how open they are to new ways of thinking.  Wolsey uses some of his own personal life experiences from growing up, being in school and in ministry to show how each phase has led to the shaping of his theology.  Progressive Christianity takes seriously postmodern thinking and therefore calls into question many of the widely held beliefs of Traditional Christianity.  I enjoyed this book very much even though I did not agree with the author on every point.  Make sure that you come to this book with an open mind and if you do I think that you will be challenged to think about Christianity in new ways.

Thanks to the Speak Easy bloggers group for a copy to review.  Keep 'em coming guys.

The King Jesus Gospel: A Review

Scot McKnight in "The King Jesus Gospel" dares to ask if we have somehow managed to misinterpret the full meaning of the gospel, and I for one am glad that he did.  McKnight claims that we have shrunk down our understanding of the gospel to include only the plan of salvation and have thus missed out on the full understanding of the gospel in our lives.  I don't know about you, but this seems like a risky proposition.  We in the church do not handle people who come along and claim that we have missed the point to well.  In fact, we usually call them heretics and create smear campaigns across all forms of media about them.  But I hope that those who would first throw stones will give the message of McKnight's book a chance.  For his desire is not to throw out our previous assumptions of the gospel, but to reframe them in light of apostolic teachings.

The meat of this book is centered around looking at what a fuller understanding of the gospel is and where it is found in the teachings of the apostles and even Jesus himself.  Central to McKnight's definition of the gospel is that Jesus is the fulfillment of the story of Israel.  The incarnation was not a random event that occurred in a vacuum, instead it was a continuation of the work that God had already been doing in the world that began with His calling of Israel.  It is through this lens that we begin to understand that the gospel is not just a saving story, but a calling story.  The story of Jesus as the fulfillment of the story of Israel gives us insight as to this calling that God has for us.  As McKnight says at the end of the book, "The gospel propels us into mission, into the holistic mission of loving God, loving self, loving others, and loving the world." (pg 160)

I highly recommend this book as it is both well written and thought provoking.  Allow its message to reframe what we proclaim the gospel to be and in turn how we are shaped by it.

I received this book from Zondervan in exchange for a review on this blog.

Enemies of the Heart: A Review

"Enemies of the Heart," by Andy Stanley, a book about the four emotions that control us.  Through this book Stanley seeks to examine what these four emotions are, how they affect us and ultimately propose habits that we can incorporate into our lives to help break free from these emotions.  He identifies the four emotions as being: Guilt, Anger, Greed and Jealousy.  These particular four emotions become controlling in our lives because they all are connected to a certain indebtedness in our heart.  Guilt leads to the thinking of "I owe you."  Anger leads to the thinking of "You owe me."  Greed leads to the thinking of "I owe me." And finally, jealously lead to the thinking of "God owes me."

After the author unpacks the four emotions and the control they have in our lives, he moves to a section that focuses on a habit that will lead to freedom from that particular bondage.  Freedom from guilt comes through confession, not just to God but also to others.  Freedom from anger comes through practicing forgiveness.  Freedom from greed comes through practicing generosity. Freedom from jealously comes through celebrating others.  Being habits that need to be formed, each one of these freedom-giving practices is to be exercised regularly.  They are not just one time events, instead they are to become who we are.

I found this book to be very well written and easy to understand.  I thought the content was very appropriate for the subject matter and that this would be a useful book for those who are looking for reasons why they are not maturing in their faith or able to move past certain attitudes or habits.  I found this to be a very good and practical Christian living book and would recommend it.  There are discussion questions in the back for use in groups and I feel that the material presented does lend itself to further discussion if one chooses.  All in all, this is another solid book by Stanley.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.  

With: A Review

My latest BookSneeze title is "With" by Skye Jethani.  In this book Jethani seeks to call attention to how we as Christians view the role of God in our lives.  At first glance this sounds like it could lead to a fruitless outcome, but I believe that Jethani does a pretty good job of laying out the major ways that Christians view the role of God in their lives.  He offers different ways that are as follows:

• Life Under God: which holds to the belief that as we follow God faithfully, God will in turn reward us with the blessings we need or desire in our lives.  
• Life Over God: seeks to figure out how the world works with God and implement those principles in their lives. 
• Life From God: God exists to give me my heart's desire.
• Life For God: Any worthwhile life has to be lived in a predetermined "ministry" paradigm, in others words we are wasting our life if not working full time in the church or on the mission field.  
• Life With God: Life is spent in relationship with God because God's eternal nature is relationship which is found in our understanding of the Trinity.  

As you can probably tell by the title of this book, Jethani is making the claim that the last view is the one we should be striving to embody.  I appreciated his connecting point within the life of the Trinity and the understanding that we were created to exist within that relationship.  The author does press on and talk about issues such as letting go of the fear that drove the other four scenarios to action and in turn to learn what it means to live by faith.  In addition the author makes the claim that our full understanding of living life with God is found in how our lives are formed by prayer.

I found this to be a very well written and easy to understand book that has challenged me to think about which role I try to allow God to do in my own life.  I would highly recommend this work to any and everyone with no hesitation.  May we carefully consider the material being presented and be open to being honest about the place that we allow God to have in our lives.  

The Seraph Seal: A Review

My lastest Book Sneeze selection was The Seraph Seal by Leonard Sweet and Lori Wagner.  This is a fictional look at the end times that is radically different from previous books in this genre.  The book is set in the year 2048 and the main cast of characters are on a journey to put together a variety of clues that they have recently discovered.  Little do they know but they are the ones who have been chosen to help humanity follow after God at the end of times.  They are of course opposed by a man who is looking to dominate and rule over humanity.  What unfolds is an adventure that brings together history, religion, philosophy, biology, chemistry, economics, technology, philanthropy and so much more.   I felt that Sweet and Wagner told a good story, but it was a little slow in the beginning and also was a tad bit on the complex side.  But I think that was necessary to fully explain how the world of 2048 is different from 2011.  In order to fully grasp it you almost need to be thinking in terms of science fiction, or just fully engage your imagination.  Overall I enjoyed this book and it only took around a week to finish.  I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it.  Just remember to push out your own preconceptions about the end times while reading this book and I'll think you'll enjoy it for what it is.

The Next Story: Review

The Next Story, by Tim Challies, is a look into the impact that technology has on our lives.  Challies looks at how technology has evolved over the course of time, especially in the last century, and how it has become an integral part of our lives both for the positive and negative.  Specifically he focuses on how we communicate, how our identity is formed by technology, how much distraction we have because of technology, the result of having so much information at our fingertips, how truth is seen and shaped through technology, and how much more visible our lives are with more advanced technology.  In each one of these areas Challies is careful to think critically about how our spiritual lives have been affected.  I appreciated that each chapter is closed with a few questions to think through in reference to the given topic that it covered.

All in all I found this to be a very well written book and would recommend it highly.  In fact, I wish this book had been written a few years earlier when I was still a youth pastor as I feel there is good material to talk to both teens and parents about in the area of technology and what impact it has on our spiritual growth and development.  I appreciated the candid confessions that Challies makes of his own technology consumption and how he has begun to change some of his own personal habits through his research and the writing of this book.  Reading this book has caused me to look at my own personal habits and take inventory of the role that technology has in life.  Here's to trying to break the cycle!

Read this book!!

Revise Us Again: A Review

My latest offering from the Speak Easy bloggers network was "Revise Us Again" by Frank Viola.  In this book Viola is seeking to look at a few thoughts and behaviors of those in the church and encourage us to put them under revision.  I do not feel that this is written in a malicious way or in a way that seeks to prop Viola up as holier than thou.  Instead I feel that through this work Viola is wanting the church to fully examine all that they do and ask how what we do and think brings glory to Christ and supports our mission.  Here are the issues that he brings up in this book.

• Revising our awareness of the Divine
• Revising Christian code language
• Revising the Holy Spirit's Ministry
• Revising Christianeze
• Revising the Lord's voice
• Revising Our Spiritual Expectations
• Revising Our Attitudes
• Revising Our Chief Pursuit
• Revising Our Message
• Revising Our Semantics

Most of these issues are approached in a tongue in cheek manner that reminded me a little of reading a post from "Stuff Christians Like."  But Viola moves past the humor and gets to an honest look at what harm or damage is produced from these areas that need revising.  If you have read any of Viola's work recently, you know that he is very concerned about how we are lifting up Jesus and many of these revisions will lead to the church lifting up Jesus in a more complete way than before.  One of the strengths of this work is the personal experience that Viola has had in being a part of many different denominations and Christian groups.  He does not discount the work that God is doing in each group in light of these needed revisions, but still celebrates the things that he learned from each group.

All in all I found this to be a very easy read that also challenged me to rethink some of my own thoughts and behaviors around those in church.  I think this book would best be digested in a small group setting as it definitely lends itself toward good dialogue.  What would be more interesting is to read this in an interdenominational setting as different backgrounds would take the revisions in their own unique way.

Lastly, I want to give credit to the graphics department for the design of the cover of this book.  I know it is simple but for some reason I love the idea of having a yellow legal pad as the design for this book.  I guess that comes from one too many meetings at church where ideas are made and then revised or scrapped based on the collaboration from those in the meeting.  Anyways, for what it is worth I love the cover.

A faith that needs to be Unleashed

My latest BookSneeze offering is "Unleashed" by Erwin McManus.  In this book McManus is spreading the message that God desires for his people to live with an untamed faith.  By this he means a faith that is not civilized and scared but instead one that is bold and willing to take risks.  Throughout the book he weaves in personal stories of his family and how they have set out on what he calls the barbarian way.  He mostly takes cues from his daughter and wife, but throws in stories about his son and himself as well.  His main point is that too often we have been bound to what is supposedly the "correct" way to live a Christian life, but in truth trying to follow this way has caused many people to lose their ability to recognize the promptings of the Spirit.  Here's a sample quote on this thought.  "Perhaps the tragedy of our time is that such an overwhelming number of us who declare Jesus as Lord have become domesticated - or, if you will, civilized.  We have lost the simplicity of our early faith.  Beyond that, we have lost the passion and power of that raw, untamed, and primal faith."

All in all I think this is a great book and would recommend it to anyone.  The writing is very engaging and accessible.  In fact I almost felt like the four chapters were four sermons in a series.  You can tell that McManus is that type of communicator and it works well.

Radical Together: A Review

Radical Together, by David Platt, is a continuation of his previous work titled Radical. The message of both books is very similar with the difference being in to whom the message is intended. Radical was intended to shake up the faith of the individual in light of what the gospel says to the American Dream. Radical Together is intended to shake up the faith of the church and to encourage them to live out this radical faith in community together. I believe that the strength of Platt's message is found in the stories of those from his church who are living this out. Platt is not just talking in ideas and dreams but in how real lives have embodied these ideas and dreams. I believe that this is a very inspirational book that also asks very important questions to the church in America today. I admire the courage that it takes to go against the flow of American Christianity and be a "voice in the wilderness," but there is a certain level of credibility that comes from pastoring a large church that is faithfully living out this message.

I would definitely recommend this book for everyone. The writing is very engaging and the message is one that needs to be pondered by all Christians. I would encourage everyone to read Radical first in order to fully grasp the totality of the message. There are six sessions of small group discussion questions at the end of the book that would prove to be very helpful for such a group to talk through the message of the book. I pray that the church in America could become radical together for the gospel in the world.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

If Darwin prayed

It is not too often that I come across a book that baffles me theologically, but my latest offering from the Speak Easy network did just that. "If Darwin Prayed" is a collection of prayers that are written for use in the liturgical worship of the church by a pastor in Vancouver in the United Church of Canada.  The book is laid out well and divided up by the various seasons and special Sundays in the liturgical calendar.  Each section contains a brief overview of the theological emphasis that particular season or Sunday is to use.  The prayers are beautifully written and each has the scripture reference that was used in crafting each prayer.  I believe these prayers would work well in both a corporate and personal setting.

Now to the theology.  I think was most baffled by the total acceptance of Darwin's theory of evolution in the theological framework of these prayers.  I do not consider myself to be fiercely conservative in the debate between creation and evolution, but I have never come across a total acceptance of the evolutionary theory in Christian thought.  It does seem that process theology is the most prominent influence and I will admit to just a basic understanding of the intricacies found in process theology.  I think I was most caught off guard at how all of creation was regarded in the same light.  There was no one part more important than the other.  Here's a sample quote in the introduction.

What if our image of God were informed by evolution as both a biological and spiritual impulse?  The great story of the universe reveals that there is no disconnection anywhere in the universe.  We are cousins with the stars, giraffes, amoebas, bananas - let alone monkeys!  We share an unbroken lineage with all of life.  To modify the central image of Jesus' teaching, we are kin with all that is in the kin-dom of God.  This is a stunning revelation.  Mystics has intuited it, but now science has revealed it to be fact.  We share a single energy with every form and every mode of consciousness in the universe.  This knowledge should be the cause for great celebration in our churches every Sunday and in our prayer life throughout the week.

There is a certain beauty to the harmony of creation that is painted but I don't know if I'm ready to fully go there just yet.  There are biblical passages that point to the elevated status that humans have in creation and I would be curious how these are interpreted in this theological framework.   There are many other similar questions that arise theologically and because of that I would urge those interested to be open to new ideas or well versed in this theological framework to appreciate what is being attempted.

The Corruptible

I will have to admit that I am a sucker for a good mystery book.  I found "The Corruptible: A Ray Quinn Mystery" to be just that, a good mystery book.  It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.  I didn't get bored with this book, but it did move at a fairly slow pace for a mystery book.  Part of that may be due to my love for TV shows of the same genre that move quickly and take several episodes or seasons to develop their characters.  This is the second book in a series, and I have not read the first one, so there may be some background information that I am missing.

The basic premise of the book is centered around an ex-cop, Ray Quinn, who was injured in the line of duty and now is working as a Private Investigator.  His carrer as a PI was helped by a previous case that he helped to solve and now afforded him certain perks as a consultant with the police force.  His partner is a wanna be cop by the name of Crevis, who is good hearted but cannot seem to pass the written cop exam.  Ray is hired to recover some stolen materials by a very wealthy investment firm that is run by Armon Mayer.  Ray is told that he was hired because the suspect was a dirty ex-cop, Logan, who had been working as a security guard for Mayer.  As Quinn begins his search Logan is found dead with the stolen goods no where to be found.  Quinn finds himself working alongside the police force in both the murder investigation as well as his own investigation into the stolen goods.  The case seems to go round and round while running into many dead ends but Quinn does end up solving the case in the end, which as it turns out was an inside job for the theft and a revenge of sorts for the murder.

With this being a "Christian" mystery novel there is a hint of evangelism  on the part of one of the characters who desires to help Ray.  In the end Ray does finally start listening to her and begins a journey toward sobriety that the author leads open for subsequent books.

All in all this was a good read.  There were a few things that seemed unbelievable from time to time, but I chalk that up to a work of fiction.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

The Nature of Love: A Theology

In The Nature of Love: A Theology, Thomas Jay Oord sets out to construct a theology that features love at its center.   While this doesn't seem like an incredibly novel idea, I think that as one digs deeper into this stream of thought they will begin to understand that too many of our theologies put love as one of the many attributes of God.  But for Oord this is the essential understanding that we should have of God.  One of the first problems that arises from this line of thinking is how do we define love, especially in light of how our culture has distorted the meaning of this word.  The working definition that Oord uses is as follows, "to love is to act intentionally, in sympathetic/empathetic response to God and others, to promote overall well-being."

With this working definition in hand Oord turns to the biblical witness of love and reframed my understanding of the three Greek words that we translate into love: agape, philia, and eros.  I had always thought that agape (self-sacrificial love for the good of the other) was the best understanding of biblical and Godly love.  But Oord redefines agape as "loving responses to evil" and notes other instances where the biblical writers not only use the terms philia and eros but also use agape to express the concepts of philia and eros.  Not being someone who has studied Greek I will take Oord at what he says here and have to rethink and study up on these concepts and uses of love in the New Testament.  Beyond my own discovery in this area I really loved the landing point of Oord on understanding the full meaning of saying that God is love.  "Not only should contemporary Christians embrace agape, eros, and philia as legitimate forms of love for creature to express, but they should also accept the biblical witness that God expresses these forms of love.  Rather than one-dimensional, God's love is full-orbed" (52).  This opens us up to understanding God in terms of relationship and also how we as creatures are able to act in ways that are loving.

This in turn leads Oord to make the case that a theology of love affirms open theism.  This is due to the picture of a relational God that open theism paints in contrast to the 'totally other' God of classical theism.    I appreciate the emphasis on relationship that open theism paints between God and creation but I will admit that I got a tad lost in the discussion on theodicy.  I understand the basic assumption that open theism helps to explain away the culpability of God in view of the freedom that God has given to creation but Oord's assertion that creation ex nihilo is both unbiblical and wrong still has me thinking.  I can totally see where it is an idea that is not fully supported by the biblical witness, but I am struggling with this idea that something existed apart from God in the beginning and how God will redeem that something without being at least a little coercive.  Any help here would be appreciated.

Oord finishes the book with a fleshing out of what he calls Essential Kenosis which means that it is essential in God's nature to come near to creation in love (well being).  This was modeled by Jesus and is pointed to in the New Testament writings.  Ultimately the picture of essential kenosis is one of hope that God, and love, will win in the end.  I appreciate the full picture of love, God and eschatology that essential kenosis presents to us but I still feel like I've been drinking from a fire hydrant as I process this idea.

All in all I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.  I understand that not all will receive this view well but I feel that there are very good thinking points made by Oord in this book.

I read and reviewed this book as a member of the Speak Easy bloggers program.

Hope with the Next Christians

When observing the Christian landscape in America today it is easy to get disenfranchised.  It is pretty obvious that the world as we know it is changing and that the church is trying to figure out how to faithfully present the gospel in this new world.  And you might imagine, this is taking on different looks depending on where one is trying to minister.  Thankfully we seem to be moving away from a cookie cutter ten step process in how to grow a mega church with the end result being more fannies in the seats to a holistic look at how we make actual disciples that will make a difference in the world.  In "The Next Christians," Gabe Lyons is describing what this latter emphasis looks like.  Instead of being bogged down by the intricacies of post modernity and how it may or may not affect our theology, Lyons is taking a look at how many present day Christians are living, moving and having their being in the world.  He brings up how many of the outlooks of Christians today have changed from those of generations past, especially in how they choose to engage the world around them.  They seek to be agents of restoration in the world who join God in the work that is already being done in and around them.

I really enjoyed not only the content of what Lyons had to say, but also the stories of those who are actually living out being an agent of restoration.  I felt this offered the most tangible form of hope because these shifts in lifestyle are not just good theories but realities for those who are seeking to follow God in this way.  Their stories offer a way forward to those who would choose to follow God in the same manner.  I would hope that as this book is read that it peaks our imagination to what our life with God could be like and where we can join in the work that God is already doing.  I hope that my story can one day be found in the pages of "The Next Christians" and that as a minister I have been able to help others do the same.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.  

The Lion, the Mouse and the Dawn Treader

Ever wanted a spiritual take on C.S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, then The Lion, the Mouse and the Dawn Treader is for you!  In this book Carl McColman takes an deeper look at the spiritual implications found in each chapter of the Dawn Treader.  Thankfully McColman does a great job summing up the plot line as I have not read Lewis' book in a few years.  I thought this book was very well written and easy to understand.  I also felt that there was a cliff notes kind of feel to this book in that each chapter was summed up and then the spiritual lessons were expounded upon.  This format helped to further the message of the book especially since there were a few spiritual lessons that I was unfamiliar with, namely those with a mystic point of view.  All in all I learned quite a bit from this short book and would easily recommend it to those wanting a deeper look at The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Thanks to the Speak Easy network for a copy of this book to review.  

Looking for an audacious faith?

In "Sun Stand Still" Pastor Steven Furtick challenges us to develop an audacious faith.  I was a little skeptical at first as to where this might lead, but upon reading his book I wholeheartedly agree.  Furtick is taking the basis of his book from the story of Joshua.  Joshua had the pleasure of leading the people of God after Moses had died, a task that I'm sure not too many envied.  But Joshua was the leader that was able to lead the people of God into the promised land after wandering in the desert for forty years.  During one of the many battles that he lead the army into, he had the audacity to pray that God would make the sun to stand still in the sky, and God granted this request which allowed Joshua and his army to gain victory.  It is this simple prayer that Joshua prays that Furtick uses to awaken his reader to the promises that God wants to unleash on His people.  This does not refer or in any way mimic the slick packaging of the prosperity gospel, but instead Furtick is concerned with how the people of God can make a difference in the world around them.

I think the strength of this book is found in the ease and clarity of the writing and the stories that Furtick shares of those in his church that have prayed Sun Stand Still prayers in their lives and how God answered them.  I really appreciated his emphasis at the end of the book on how the journey is just as important as the destination and that getting to the destination is always a process.  It is easy to read a book like this and then get caught up in the success stories and lose sight of the process and journey that it took to get there.  There are many resources on the website for the book that will help with small group discussions and other messages from the author.

On a personal note, one of my best friends from college attends Elevation church in Charlotte and has nothing but positive things to say about his church and the work they are doing in the Charlotte area.  If the basis of the ministry of Elevation church is founded in the frame of mind that this book portrays I can totally see why this is the case.  I believe there are even greater things in store for this pastor, his church and those who will join in the movement of God with an audacious faith.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

The Jesus Inquest

 My latest read from the BookSneeze bloggers program was "The Jesus Inquest" by Charles Foster.  Foster is a barrister (lawyer) in England and he presents two sides to the resurrection through the eyes and arguments of two fictitious barristers (X and Y).  The format of the book is that X presents evidence opposing the truth of the resurrection and Y rebuts the evidence.  This format helps to keep the main arguments on topic and not going off in the many different rabbit trails that this subject matter could lead one down.  I thought this book was very well written and easy to understand.  It exposed many new theories about the resurrection, mainly against, that I had not previously been exposed.  Some of these theories were really far fetched and some of them made logical sense, but they were contrary to what is found in scripture.  It was also interesting to read an apocryphal New Testament writing, the gospel of Peter, and to learn the similarities and differences from the writing found in the canon.

All in all I thought this was a great book and would have no problem recommending it to people.  It was an easy read and not very long.