April Book - Invitation to Solitutde and Silence

And now for the April addition of... "The world really does care about my opinion so I'll tell you what I think about the books I read." Or "Book Reviews" for short. I know nothing about literature. I can't tell you about imagery or prose or onomatopoeia... but I can tell you what I like or dislike so here goes.

Invitation to Solitude and Silence
by Ruth Haley Barton
pub. InterVarsity Press

"Ruth Haley Barton describes how she has discovered the real presence of God--the God who is present through the practice of solitude and silence. Her book invites you to meet God deeply and fully outside the demands and noise of daily life. It is a call to the adventure of spiritual transformation--an adventure that will lead you to freedom and authenticity, allowing you to become the person God created you to be (ivpress.com)."

Book's premise (no spoiler): One of my goals for the year was to read a book on certain spiritual disciplines... specifically those I struggle with. This book is (as the title slightly suggests) and invitation to solitude and silence; that which our culture seems to fear. Blaise Pascal pointed out that the only reason prison is such a dreadful place is that "people so much love noise and stir... the pleasure of solitude is a thing incomprehensible." But he also points out that it is only in stillness and silence that we can truly be refreshed and restored.

What I liked about the book: I love Barton's use of the life of Elijah as an example of our need for solitude and silence. She also offers VERY practical tools we can use in our pursuit of silence.

What I didn't like about the book: It's just a little boring... that's all.

Random passage: "We don't always think of caring for the body as part of our spiritual practice, but the story of Elijah that many times this is where it all begins.(pg 14)."

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars!

March Book - Vin†age Jesus

And now for the fourth addition of... "The world really does care about my opinion so I'll tell you what I think about the books I read." Or "Book Reviews" for short. I know nothing about literature. I can't tell you about imagery or prose or onomatopoeia... but I can tell you what I like or dislike so here goes.

Vin†age Jesus
Timeless Answers to Timely Questions
by Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears
pub. Crossway Books
re:Lit books

"In Vintage Jesus, one of America's most influential young pastors teams up with a seasoned theologian to lead you on a hilarious theological journey chasing Jesus through Scripture and pop culture. The authors provide timeless answers to twelve timely questions about the most important man who has ever lived. Each chapter concludes with answers to common questions about each subject (relit.org)."

Book's premise (no spoiler): Jesus Christ is easily the most influential name on the planet. His name is also one that stirs up the most controversy and confusion. Ask 100 people who Jesus is, you'll get 500 different answers. Driscoll and Breshears team together to evaluate the different views of Jesus throughout pop-culture and religion, and weigh those views against what the Bible says about Him.

What I liked about the book: Everything. No secret here, I am a big fan of Driscoll. I am very grateful for his writing and preaching and will continue to read and listen.

Specifically, I really appreciate Driscoll's depth. He is a very thorough teacher and gives a TON of information. And while you may think that might make this book read like a text book, Driscoll does a great job of balancing weighty information with stories and humor.

What I didn't like about the book: When I read books or listen to speakers/ sermons for my edification, I can't help but also think through the lens of what a non-believer (or even someone hostile to the speaker or the Gospel) might be thinking. There are times when Driscoll's sarcasm and humor makes me a tad uncomfortable. I catch myself thinking, "I think that this is hilarious, but someone else might use that as a reason to check-out."

Favorite passage: I don't think I will fully understand the impact that this passage has made on my ministry/ preaching/ relationships for a long time to come. I can't get this passage out of my mind.

Chapter 3 "How Did People Know Jesus Was Coming?"
pg 66

"Sadly, it is too common for churches not to speak of Jesus, which is a tragedy akin to a wife rarely uttering the name of her own husband. In our day when there are innumerable contradictory beliefs about who God is, Christians must be clear that their God is Jesus Christ alone so as to communicate the same central truth that Scripture does. No matter how many verses are used, the Bible has not been rightly understood or proclaimed unless Jesus is the central focus and hero (emphasis mine)."

Random passage: "There is even a Canadian nudist-arsonist cult that thinks the word 'Jesus' in the Bible is a code word for hallucinogenic mushrooms that are to be eaten before getting naked and lighting things on fire (pg 14)."

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

February Book - Prodigal God

And now for the third addition of... "The world really does care about my opinion so I'll tell you what I think about the books I read." Or "Book Reviews" for short. I know nothing about literature. I can't tell you about imagery or prose or onomatopoeia... but I can tell you what I like or dislike so here goes.

Prodigal God:
Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
by Timothy Keller
pub. Penguin Group (USA) Inc.


"This volume is not just for seekers... Many lifelong Christian believers feel they understand the basics of the Christian faith quite well and don't think they need a primer. Nevertheless, one of the signs that you may not grasp the unique, radical nature of the gospel is that you are certain that you do... This book, then, is written to both the curious outsider and established insiders of the faith, both to those Jesus calls 'younger brothers' and those he calls 'elder brothers' in the famous Parable of the Prodigal Son." - Timothy Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (Introduction)


Book's premise (no spoiler): It's one of Jesus' parables that many of us are quite familiar with. It's the story we call the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). His premise is that we tend to focus primarily on the "younger brother" and secondarily on the father. While it is appropriate and important for us to learn what we can from their examples, we cannot fail to learn from the attitude and response of the "older brother."

This was my introduction into the mind of Tim Keller. I'd never read anything by him or heard any of his sermons. I was actually skeptical of book because of its title (I know I'm not supposed to judge them by their covers, but I do... don't judge me). It wasn't until one of my students asked me about the book that I decided I needed to be familiar with it. I mean, if a teenager is picking up this book, it's probably either really good... or really unsound/ unnecessarily provocative at the least, or theologically dangerous at worst.

What I liked about the book: Just about everything. It's a short book and easy to read. I'm not very smart so those are always wins for me. Aside from its brevity, I thoroughly appreciate what Keller has to say. I don't want to spoil it, so I won't expound beyond saying that like Keller hints in the introduction, the book has rekindled in me a desire to be ever close to the heart of the Father.
What I didn't like about the book: I was a little too long. I know I just said that its brevity appealed to me, but there were a few times where the book was a little redundant. And since I have a short attention span to begin with, I struggled at times to keep my eyes from glazing over.

Favorite passage: In Chapter 7: The Feast of the Father, Keller recalls the time a woman came to him to respond to a sermon in which he had just finished preaching about the fact that we are "accepted by God by sheer grace through the work of Christ regardless of anything we do or have done (pg 120.)"

"She said, 'That is a scary idea! Oh, it's a good scary, but still scary.'

"I was intrigued. I asked her what was so scary about unmerited fee grace? She replied something like this: 'If I was saved by my good works, then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through. I would be like a taxpayer with rights. I would have done my duty and now I would deserve a certain quality of life. but if it is really true that i am a sinner saved by sheer grace-at God's infinite cost- then there's nothing he cannot ask of me.' She could see immediately that the wonderful-beyond-belief teaching of salvation by sheer grace had two edges to it. On the one hand, it cut away slavish fear. God loves us freely, despite our flaws and failures. Yet she also knew that if Jesus really had done this for her-she was not her own. She was bought with a price (pg 121)."
Random passage: "In that society, most meals did not include meat, which was an expensive delicacy (pg 23)."

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

January's Book - Religion Saves

And now for the second addition of... "The world really does care about my opinion so I'll tell you what I think about the books I read." Or "Book Reviews" for short. I know nothing about literature. I can't tell you about imagery or prose or onomatopoeia... but I can tell you what I like or dislike so here goes.

Religion Saves
+ NINE other MISCONCEPTIONS
by Mark Driscoll
pub. Crossway Books


"Religious people mistakenly think that they are saving people from such things as a fruitless life, sinful sex, bad relationships, unholy humor, wayard churches, evil birth control, and what they call 'strange fire.' However, religion never saved anyone, and religious answers to complex questions are simply misconceptions." - Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church (back of book)



Book's premise (no spoiler): "... we tried an experiment, opening up a section of our church's Web site for people to post any question, make comments about posted questions and vote... for their favorite question. ...And in the end, 893 questions were asked, 5,524 comments were made, and 343,203 votes were cast. I (Pastor Driscoll) answered the top nine questions in a sermon devoted to each. Here in the book we'll start with the ninth most popular question and work our way to the most popular question." - take from the first page of the book's introduction

What NINE questions does Mark answer in the book:

Question 9: Birth Control - There's no doubt the Bible says children are a blessing, but the Bible doesn't seem to address the specific topic of birth control. Is this a black-and-white topic, or does it fall under liberties?

Question 8: Humor - Why do you make jokes in sermons about Mormon missionaries, homosexuals, trench coat wearers, single men, vegans, and emo kids, and then expect these groups to come go know God through these sermons?

Question 7: Predestination - Why does an all-loving, all-knowing, and all-sovereign God will into creation people he foreknows will suffer eternal condemnation - and the Romans 9:20 answer seems like a cop-out!

Question 6: Grace - Of all the things you teach, what parts of Christianity do you still wrestle with? What's hardest for you to believe?

Question 5: Sexual Sin - How should Christian men and women go about breaking free from the bondage of sexual sin?

Question 4: Faith and Works - If salvation is by faith alone, then why are there so many verses that say or imply the opposite - that salvation is by works?

Question 3: Dating - How does a Christian date righteously, and what are the physical, emotional, and mentally connecting boundaries a Christian must set while developing an intimate relationship prior to marriage?

Question 2: The Emerging Church - What can traditional or established churches learn from "emerging" churches?

Question 1: The Regulative Principle - Do you believe that Scripture not only regulates our theology but also our methodology? In other words, do you believe in the regulative principle? If so, to what degree? If not, why not?


What I liked about the book: Just about everything!! I have to admit, I'm a big Driscoll fan. Admittedly, this is the first "book" I've read of his (although I have downloaded and read some of his free e-booklets). But I do listen to his sermons online and I am a regular reader of his church's blog. Pastor Driscoll tends not to pull his punches. He makes no apologies for his theology... regardless of who may be offended. That said, he doesn't offend needlessly. The book itself is pretty thorough yet not too lengthy. Good questions - Challenging/ encouraging answers.

What I didn't like about the book: Only this: Pastor Mark writes like he speaks. He is at times a little long-winded. And his thought train, while perfect for conversation or sermon, can be just a tiny bit confusing to read. Seriously, that's the only bad thing I have to say about this book.

Also, if you're a fan of guys like Bell, McLaren, Pagitt, Chalke, etc... you will HATE chapter 2.

I loved it.

Favorite passage: Hard to say. My favorite chapter is the one on Grace (chapter 6). Try this: "Therefore, my sin is not the hardest part of Christian truth to believe. What I sometimes find hard to believe is that God responds to me with pure grace. I receive grace not despite being undeserving--as one who has not merited grace--but actually as one who is ill-deserving because I am a sinful rebel at war with God (Chapter 6 - pg 110)."

Random passage: "Proverbs makes fun of all kinds of people, especially the sluggard, who, by definition, is someone so lazy that he experiences devolution on his way to becoming a slug (Chapter 2 - pg 54)."

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Youth Ministry 3.0

I've decided to add a new segment to the blog. It's what I call "The world really does care about my opinion so I'll tell you what I think about the books I read." Or "Book Reviews" for short. I know nothing about literature. I can't tell you about imagery or prose or onomatopoeia... but I can tell you what I like or dislike so here goes.

Youth Ministry 3.0:
A Manifesto of Where We've Been, Where We Are, and Where We Need to Go
by Mark Oestreicher
pub. Zondervan
dis. Youth Specialties

"Over the past several decades there have been three significant shifts in youth culture; each new shift brought with it different values and priorities in the lives of teens. Youth ministries adapted and responded to the first two shifts, but we're missing the boat on the third. The result? Youth ministry isn't addressing the realities and needs of today's youth culture. After nearly three decades in youth ministry, Mark Oestreicher has lived through a lot of those shifts himself. In recent years, he's found himself wondering what needs to change, especially since so much of what we're doing in youth ministry today isn't working (youth specialties)."



Book's premise (no spoiler): Using a clever analogy that equates technology to ministry, Mark is challenging the youth workers of America to re-think the way we do ministry. His suggestion is that youth ministry is still largely program driven and will only survive with a major overhaul. "The problem is this: The way we're doing things is already not working. We're failing at our calling. And deep down, most of us know it. This is why we need an epochal shift in our assumptions, approaches, models, and methods (pg 20)."

What I liked about the book: The first half of the book is a brief look into the psychology of adolescence. Over the last 50 years, adolescence has gone through 3 major shifts. We are in the middle of the 3rd shift. Assuming Mark is accurate in this description, this truth will prove extremely helpful in reaching teens.

What I didn't like about the book: The second half of the book is Mark's opinion on what to do with that information. Without delving into specifics, I think his suggestion is an over-correction. I do no like the suggestion that moving from what he calls Youth Ministry 2.0 to the new and improved 3.0 will require a major deconstruction of our youth groups as we know them. "One of the most important, dangerous, and courageous steps that any youth ministry needs to take if it's going to make the shift from Youth Ministry 2.0 to Youth Ministry 3.0 is to cut programs... The road forward must first go through the valley of doing less (pp 97 & 98)."

Favorite passage: "It's easy to see this quest for affinity in teenagers. They desperately desire to be included, to be a part of a social network, to feel as though as they belong somewhere (pg 41)."

Random passage: "What we must do as youth ministers is what Nelson Mandela did as a prisoner at Robben Islens: Discern the best way to use the times we're in to prepare young people to live in the world differently than most, as disciples of Jesus Christ (pg 12)."

My Rating:



Who might love this book: Tom Mulhern

Who might hate this book: Doug and Steve

Where I got it: Ryan bought it for me... that guy LOVES Amazon.

Have you read it? Comment!