The Return

Empty promises. The things that don’t live up to expectations. We’ve all experienced that disappointment and in this book Pete Wilson works through the most common varieties of empty promises. He not only draws from his own life, but also from the lives he has seen lived around him for his examples. Biblical examples abound as backdrops to show us that this is not a new thing. What is new, for me anyway, is calling the problem broken promises rather than idolatry. While the latter is at the root of the problem, the symptom most of us experience is that emptiness when we expected fullness. It is an easy read, but not trite. It is a familiar read, and sadly one that we just don’t seem to heed. It seems every time we try the next gimmick dangled in front of us first and have to relearn this lesson. This is true not only in our religious life, but the secular as well. Keeps the presses turning on either side of that great divide. Happily, Wilson does add some helpful ideas at...

Review: Unashamed to Bear His Name R.T. Kendall Chosen Books 2012 How to review this book? The author is an accomplished author, pastor and speaker. Intimidated? A little bit. But if his aim is that it will change my life (from the preface) I thought I’d see what he had to say. After meandering around some points and coming back to others, I must say that his aim is partially fulfilled in this book. He has written in the gap between evangelicals and charismatics and in doing so probably will lose one side or the other. Maybe both? Right or wrong in what he writes, sadly. And that is a problem for his writing this and for the church as well. Maybe it will not be so in the years to come. The strength of this book is the encouragement to persevere and not be ashamed of the Gospel. His journey is an example of just that. It does take courage to step out and do what you know is right, regardless of the cries from the establishment. I do not agree with some of what h...

Review: My Own Worst Enemy Janet Davis Bethany House 2012 “Shining is not pride.” and “Hiding is not humility.” OK, she has my attention right from the start. What does she mean and how does that square with Biblical teaching? Well, don’t want to spoil the book for you so I’ll let you decide if she makes her case or not. Davis’ book has a subtitle, too, that speaks volumes. “How to stop holding yourself back.” Through a series of case studies and her own story the author illustrates just how that happens not only to most of us, but also to the women of the Bible. She revisits many of them and shows their growth and strength in a way I had not thought about before. And I think she’s on the mark with her work. The cases studies are not dry reading. She depicts real people with real emotions in real circumstances in real struggles. You will find yourself in at least one of those chapters I can guarantee. Or maybe more than one. Please read closely about the time fram...

A quick follow up on the Mansfield review. The certificate has been claimed now. Thank you for your interest. And congratulations to the the winner. G

Review: Healing Your Church Hurt Stephen Mansfield Barna 2012 Mansfield wrote this book out of need he saw among those that had experienced a church hurt. The need as the title suggests is healing. He is no stranger to the hurt he writes about here and does not dance the around the deep wounds that he received from a congregation that he had pastored for several years. In fact, he is brutally honest in some instances. What he has to say is not new territory or a magic bullet that will fix everyone and everything. So if that’s what you are hoping for from him, don’t’ say I didn’t warn you up front. What he does have to say is how to actually do the things that will lead to your healing. The ideas are not novel. They are biblical. The same stuff you have read over and over again but tried to find a way around, especially the forgiveness thing. What he does is to help guide you through that process drawing from his own experiences, failures, and finally healing. His sec...

The author has tried to restore the luster to a term that has many, many negative connotations. She does knit together some interesting anecdotes that seemed more like transcripts than anything else to me. It is quite readable and for those that like this sort of book you will enjoy it. This book was provided by New Hope via NetGalley for review.

Review: I Am A Follower: The Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus Leonard Sweet 2012 Thomas Nelson Sweet has produced what I consider to be his best work lately. Apparently, I am not alone in my opinion as the book has numerous recommendations preceding the title page. To add anything more than what has already been said seems unnecessary, but since my name is not one of the recognized group I will try to add something from the bottom tier of readers. Sweet once again is coming against the business model method of church leadership. Yes, even the word leadership is a problem, but Sweet has a difficult time avoiding its use. He is correct though in opposing the mentality of professional churchmen and business practices that have driven the marketing of Christianity of late; however he is not opposed to “plundering the Egyptians” for items or techniques that might be useful. His repeated admonishment to the leaders of Christianity does help refocus on Who is actually sup...