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Today, Scott Sauls' newest book releases called Irresistible Faith . I would definitely recommend the book.  The nine chapters are broken into three parts: Abiding in the Irresistible Christ, Belonging to an Irresistible Community and Becoming an Irresistible Christian. One of my favorite things about the book is the flow from abiding with Christ to community to world. Too often Christian books focus on one of those three and in the process we miss the connection and importance of all three. Also, one of the things that Scott Sauls does so well is show how a “conservative” understanding of Scripture leads to a “liberal” way of loving others. He did this in Jesus Outside the Lines and this book reinforces that again. In this day and age, we need more unity and I believe Scott’s book will help us experience it.  I plan to use this book in an adult class I teach at church.  Go and pick up the book today!

I had the privilege to be quoted in a recent book written by Lori Wildenberg entitled, The Messy Life of Parenting. So, I received an advance copy to preview and review.  So, I finally finished it and would like to recommend it to you. Why do I recommend this book? It's simple premise is that all of us mess up as parents.  Lori is honest to share her struggles and the difficulties she has faced as a parent.  This refreshing focus allows parents to hear the truth from the book without feeling like a failure. It reminds us that our children will make mistakes and how we can point them to Jesus and help them navigate their own struggles.  I loved her statement when a child makes a mess literally and metaphorically, "That's OK. Everybody spills. I'll help you clean it up," send the underlying message of grace and truth" Lori starts with relationship before rules as evidenced by the opening chapters of the book. She starts with God's love for us and th...

I recently finished reading Think Again by Jared Mellinger.  The cover says "relief from the burden of introspection."  I highly recommend this book to everyone because all of us can become too obsessed with self. We can easily spot the narcissist is our midst, but this book helps us see that we too can become overly focused on self as we seek to grow in our relationship with Christ. I shared some quotes from the first half of the book a few days ago.  Visit that post for several great quotes from the book. Mellinger does a great job describing the problem of introspection which he defines as "the act of looking inward."  He shares his own struggle with introspection at the beginning of the book and then in the following chapters helps the reader to understand themselves including self-love and self-loathing.  In Chapters 4-6, Mellinger gives counsel and comfort for those stuck in the introspective trap.  Chapters 7-9 address self-examination ...

Getting Jesus Wrong by Matt Johnson is a great book about how the author's understanding of Jesus changed over the years.  What Johnson discovered was that he had created several false messiahs rather than seeing Jesus as He really is. The first part of the book looks at these false messiahs: Life Coach Jesus, Checklist Jesus, Movement Leader Jesus and Visionary Jesus.  Each one ultimately leads to pride (if you are accomplishing what Jesus requires) or despair (if you are failing what is asked of you). Through humor and real life stories, Johnson helps the reader understand how even though you attend church on a regular basis, you can still have an inaccurate understanding of Jesus.  The book does not come across as judgmental or pointing fingers because the author's honesty and vulnerability shows how he personally experienced each of these false messiahs in his own life.  The second part of the book looks to the antidote of pride and despair and these fa...

I received a free copy of Union With Christ by Rankin Wilbourne to be part of a blog tour for an honest review.  Below you will find my review which will also be posted at Amazon. Wilbourne writes, "One of the major arguments of this book is that union with Christ was once considered to be at the very heart of why the gospel is good news. Nothing is more basic or more central to the Christian life than union with Christ." I would highly recommend this book because of the topic as well as a thorough treatment of the subject. The book is divided into four parts: Union with Christ: What is it and why do we need it; Union with Christ: Where did it come from? Where did it go?; Union with Christ: What problems does it solve?; and Union with Christ day by day. Rankin Wilbourne does an excellent job explaining what union with Christ is and why it is important.  His definition is union with Christ means you are in Christ and Christ is in you.  For the rest of part...

Below you will find a book review for Saving the Saved by Bryan Loritts.  I received a free advance electronic copy of the book for an honest review.  This book releases today.  As the title suggests, this book is about moving from trying harder and performance in the Christian life into living from who God says we are.  The book is comprised of 3 parts: What Goodness Isn't, Authentic Goodness and Living In and Reflecting God's Performance-Free Love based on the gospel of Matthew. Loritts does an excellent job of presenting the reason this book is needed through examples from Scripture, his own life and the church. It reminds us that our relationship with Christ is not based on our performance for Him or what he calls "meritocracy".  Instead, Bryan helps us refocus on Christ and what it means to abide or be in relationship with Him. I would recommend this book for anyone especially those who are striving to earn God's love or who question their i...

This past week, I posted a book review on Rediscovering Discipleship by Robby Gallaty.  If you want to know more about the book, check that out.  Today, I am posting my favorite 5 quotes from the book. Until disciple-making becomes the ministry of the church and not a ministry in the church, we will never see our discipleship efforts impact the world the way that Jesus envisioned. As a disciple-maker, all you're doing is pointing at the One you're following and saying to those around you, "Come with me; I'm following him." Becoming is a long process that Jesus brings about in our lives over time. It's not an instantaneous gift, but the result of an extended, intimate relationship that develops over time. Jesus is the originator of the action. We cannot grow in him on our own, but we can align ourselves with him, so that he may grow us. What if we established goals for spiritual growth and followed them, not out of coercion or compulsion, but as a resp...

If you have been reading the blog lately, you have seen several posts including great quotes from Jack Klumpenhower's book, Show Them Jesus . If you are new to the blog, go back and check out posts over the last few weeks. I decided I would write a review of the book.  Let me start with this: go and buy the book!  Whether you are a parent or grandparent, Sunday School teacher, youth leader or pastor, this will change the way you minister to children and teens. Klumpenhower was unknown to me prior to this book.  Since starting the book, I have become acquainted with his curriculum for pre-teens and teens as well as his website which includes great tools and resources that he talks about in the book. The book is broken into two parts: why teach the good news and how to teach the good news.  Both parts are extremely rich in theology as well as practical ways to share the good news with kids/teens. In the first part, he shares his journey as a teacher from teachin...

I finished reading through the devotion, Hidden in Christ by James Bryan Smith yesterday.  I loved it!  I would recommend it to all of you.  It is a great reminder of who God is and who we are in Christ.  It is based on Colossians 3:1-17.  It has 30 entries based on words from this passage.  One of my favorite parts of the 30 entries is the affirmation at the end. Here is the affirmation at the end of the book based on praying "in Jesus' name." "I am privileged to act, to pray, to minister and to do all that I do in Jesus' name. I do not act alone; I operate with the power and presence of Jesus in all that I do." May we all love others today in the power and presence of Jesus!

I finished reading One Way Love by Tullian Tchividjian a week ago.  I have looked forward to this book and it did not disappoint.  I will be attending the Liberate Conference in February to hear from various speakers on this topic of God's One Way Love for us. Because of the many great thoughts throughout this book, I have decided to post some longer passages for reflection over the next several weeks.  Now, to the review. If you read this blog, you know that Tchividjian is quoted often.  I have been stretched and blessed by his writing and videos.  One Way Love focuses on God's one way love towards us.  Tchividjian speaks about law and grace.  He concludes, and I agree, that the church understands that grace gets us saved, but then we believe it is up to us (our willpower, strength) to keep us saved.  Throughout the book, Tchividjian explains the purpose of law and grace.  He has a great explanation of what each one accomplishes....

I received an advanced copy of Growing Up by Robby Gallaty.  The byline of the book is "How To Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples."  It releases on November 11. Gallaty's book is based on teaching he received as a new believer as well as ten years of leading discipleship groups in his own life.  H e mentions there are many books on why discipleship is essential for the church.  His book offers a practical plan of how to be a disciple who makes disciples.  He uses what are called D-Groups.  He writes the purpose of D-Groups is " to help you grow in your relationship with Christ, give a defense for your faith, and guide others in their relationship with Christ." Gallaty offers a plan selected from the life of Jesus.  He has chosen six disciplines that not only grow disciples but also helps them become disciplers of others.  The intention is to create disciples who are self-feeders and not dependent on the church for discipleship.  But ...

This Saturday, December 1st, from 10 a.m.-noon, you can get this book signed by the author, Jared Burkholder, at Faith & Life Bookstore in Newton, KS. With the upcoming book signing and because Jared lives in Hesston, I wanted to give a quick review of his book prior to beginning of Advent. Jared writes, "In particular, I pray that this book will help parents meaningfully discuss the Christmas story with their children of all ages and develop in them critical thinking skills." The first part of the book includes short chapters which tell the Christmas story in chronological order. These chapters could easily be read during a time of family devotions during the Advent season. One of my favorite parts of the book is at the end of each chapter. Burkholder includes "a gift" such as submission, protection, family, life, praise, etc. which includes a question related to it. It is then followed with an active way to share that gift including a Scripture. But B...

I have been reading Red Letter Revolution by Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo. In the book, they describe a group called, "Red Letter Christians" who are seeking to follow what Jesus said. The cover of the book asks the question, "What if Jesus Really Meant What He Said?" I was fascinated by the cover and was excited to read the book. There are many great things about this book. First, I enjoyed the conversational tone between Tony and Shane in each chapter. Their dialogue and questions and answers were helpful. Second, they do a great job covering many topics that most authors would avoid such as life, environment, women, racism, sexuality, war & violence, economics, reconciliation, etc. It is broken into three parts: Red Letter Theology, Red Letter Living, & Red Letter World. I offer a mixed review of this book. In some ways, the book was great for me as it challenged my thinking and what I believe about specific issues. On the other hand, the b...

This devotional is based on the popular book by Emerson Eggerichs.  It has a great subtitle to get men to pick it up.  It says, "A Husband Friendly Devotional that Wives Truly Love." Why will men love it?  First of all, instead of becoming overwhelmed with 365 daily devotionals, this book only has one per week.  Second, the devotions tend to be short at only about 2-3 pages.  Third, it is easy to use as each devotional ends with a simple prayer prompt and an action step.  For those interested in using it in a small group or to go more in depth, Eggerichs also includes discussion questions for each week in the appendix. What about the content?  I have not read Eggerichs book to compare, but I would assume based on the content of the devotionals that this would be a great resource for the person who does not like to read.  From my perspective, I think I understand many of the concepts from Eggerichs book by just reading the 52 devotionals.  T...

I recently had the privilege to read the book, "Shift" by Brian Haynes published by Group Publishing. I picked up the book while attending the D6 Conference in September. It was one of the first books I had to start reading. I highly recommend the book to those who minister to children, youth or families. Brian Haynes offers a practical and helpful strategy for equipping parents. As someone who graduated from Denver Seminary with a degree in Youth and Family Ministry, I have always known the importance of involving parents in youth ministry. I have a heart and passion for helping parents pass on their faith to their children. I have tried many things over the years to help in this area, but many have not been long term. This is why Shift is an excellent resource. Shift talks about 7 Milestones that people naturally progress through over time. Each of these milestones are things most churches already celebrate so it is not just adding more things to an already busy church cale...