The Return

Review: The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World’s Largest Religion Is Seeking a Better Way to Be Christian Brian McLaren Convergent Publishing 2016 I hadn’t read anything from this author in quite a while and when I saw this book I decided to see what he had to say now.   McLaren communicates well and can be very convincing.   He hasn’t lost the touch over the years.   This book is engaging, thought provoking, and will make some folks unhappy.   That’s his style or at least what I have read it is.   This book is not just for those that identify as Christian.   And it’s my opinion that even an atheist might find this a good read.    Each chapter can be read as a standalone, so start where you want after the preface.   Being a bit of a traditionalist I read front to back.   Most of the central thrust addresses what McLaren see as a religion bound by the rigid form of its own belief systems and unable or unwilling...

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: Short Answers to Big Questions about God, the Bible & Christianity Clinton E. Arnold and Jeff Arnold Baker Books 2015 The title describes this book well.   It gives short answers, but as the authors say in the preface, “… Short Answers is not meant to be the end of your study; rather, it’s the beginning.   Let this be the springboard for you to dive into the deep ocean that is understanding God.” (17)   To help the reader move toward that goal each chapter ends with several Scripture passages related to the chapter topics and then a few questions for thought.   Some of those questions are tough, too.   There is a list of titles for further reading provided at the end.   The authors have achieved their goal, in my opinion. This is no light, fluffy read.   There are illustrations that are relevant though, so it isn’t like trying to read a catechism book.   That is good.   It is not written for the totally unchurc...