The Return

Review: Boundless: What Global Expressions of Faith Teach Us about Following Jesus Bryan Bishop Baker Books 2015 A very interesting book.   And one that challenges you to think about what following Jesus is really about.   Bishop describes his experiences in this book, as well as being open about some of the issues that challenge him. Yes, the present tense since he admits to still working through some things. He traveled to places where the predominant religious practices did not include Western style Christianity.   He found followers of Jesus in communities from Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Native American cultures.   Their practices generally tended to include their native culture and practices much more than what most Western Christians would find comfortable, and that’s when this book gets interesting.    The word Boundless implies a broader range of acceptable practice while staying true to the teachings of Jesus.   Contextu...

Review: Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus Nabeel Qureshi Zondervan 2014 An amazing journey for the author of this book and for the reader as he walks with him through the years of searching.   Yes, years.   As the title suggests, Qureshi was Muslim.   To their credit, his parents taught him well and lived their faith before him.   But, as time went passed and Qureshi moved into young adulthood questions arose.   His search led him through the Islamic literature and the Christian literature.   He studied and debated, defending his faith.   In the end he acknowledged the truth of Scripture.    That end was not any surprise given the title, but what impressed me was his perseverance and the faithfulness of his friend, David.   He stood with him throughout the process encouraging him and helping him understand more.   David also learned much throughout this time.   Is that what evangelism and discipleship is supposed ...

Review: How to Talk to a Skeptic Donald J. Johnson Bethany House Publishers 2013 Finally!   Someone has finally said it---you have to know what you are talking about to speak intelligently to skeptics (and anyone else) about God, Jesus, Christianity and all the topics that surround that.    People are looking for real answers to questions.   Many of them anyway.   That means any Christian that wants to join the conversation has to have worked through what and why he holds the beliefs he does.   The Christian that wants to join the conversation must be aware of the world around them.    What Johnson has done to give his readers an example of how that is done.   From his own admissions, it’s not an easy task.   In a first step his advice is not to be baited into an argument.   It is to be a conversation.   Start with some information as to where the skeptic is “coming from” or discover how his vision of how thi...