The Return

Review: Growing God’s Church: How People Are Actually Coming to Faith Today Gary L. McIntosh Baker Books 2016 After so many church growth books have been written, marketed, read, and whatever becomes of such material afterward, this book contains some information that reveals some of the results of a research project that measured what might be considered as the outcome of all the advice presented in the church growth books.   That’s the way I read it.   What really is working with whom is the gist of McIntosh’s results.   Fear not, this does not read like a statistical report or a doctoral thesis.   He insured the results remained accessible to most readers.   Part 1 explores the biblical version of what church is and does along with some discussion of the current versions found in today’s culture, mostly Western culture.   I found it thorough and hard to argue against even if I didn’t agree with some of what he had to say.    ...

Review: Classic Human Anatomy in Motion: The Artist’s Guide to the Dynamics of Figure Drawing Valerie L. Winslow 2015 Watson-Guptill I only wish I had this volume when I studied anatomy in college.   The basics are presented here so clearly they seem natural.   Knowledge of this sort helps to see what exists before you from the surface through to skeletal structure beneath.      The author examines the human body form by region and structure in order to facilitate the discussion of motion later for her reader.   An arm can move in a particular fashion and all the surface contours develop from that.   Visualizing the hip structure helps place joints and proportions appropriately.   A facial expression requires particular muscle groups contracting and jaw movements that involve other associated structures.   Intuitively, all this is obvious, but making the transition to the art surface can lose much of the intent of the artis...