A Pile of Books to Review

It’s been some time since we did a Monday book review. We did review two books individually a few weeks ago. You can see my reviews of Essentials for Life and Letters to Darcy by following the links.

Here are my thoughts on the other books I’ve finished since our last reviews.

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The Case for Civility

Os Guinness

Harper One, 2008 (214 pages)

Guinness takes a hard look at how uncivil our society has become. Subtitled “And Why Our Future Depends on It,” The Case for Civility shares some thoughts on how we can better communicate in the marketplace of ideas.

The volume is a call not just for Christian speak, but it is a call for those of all beliefs to learn how to speak in a civil manner with the ability to listen. The book is quite deep (although, for Guinness, it is not as deep as you might think), but the major thrust comes through very well. As you might expect if you’ve ever read from Guinness, The Case for Civility contains many historical references and is well-researched.

If you like to read about “Americana,” you might enjoy this book.

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The Work of the Preacher is Working

Thomas H. Holland

Penman Press, 2001 (297 pages)

What a wonderful volume! Tom Holland’s book on preaching should be required reading for all preaching students, as brother Holland shares keen insight from a lifetime of preaching.

One of the great values of this book is that brother Holland shares both the “highs” and “lows” of ministry in a candid way. The book covers a lot of ground in a survey fashion, but still has enough information on each topic discussed to be a great help.

As a young preacher, I found this book very helpful, and I think most preachers–no matter how long they have served–will find this volume helpful.

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The Gospel of Ruth

Carolyn Custis James

Zondervan, 2008 (222 pages)

The more I read the Old Testament book of Ruth, the more I love that great little book. James’ book is more than a commentary on Ruth, it is a wonderful study guide.

While The Gospel of Ruth was written by a woman and focuses on the “female” aspect of Ruth, anyone can gain insight into Ruth from this volume. It is meticulously researched and the book is very well-presented. Carolyn James is able to bring out many insights from commentaries from which she has studied in a way that is highly readable for us all.

If you like studying Ruth, you might agree with every word of this volume, but I still highly recommend it.

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Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend

edited by Ravi Zacharias

Thomas Nelson, 2007 (360 pages)

Ravi Zacharias is one of my favorite speakers. An apologist, Zacharias is able to defend the Bible in a great way, and keep most of what he says at a “level” where anyone can understand. In Beyond Opinion, Zacharias and a host of other authors share some of their thoughts on particular areas of expertise in the world of apologetics.

This is a very difficult book. It is one of the deeper books I have ever read “just to read.” However, if you keep going back to the subtitle “Living the Faith We Defend,” you will see that each author did well in sticking with that theme. While there is a great amount of depth in this book, there are also some practical points.

From a negative standpoint, I feel that the book tries to do too much. It is a fairly lengthy book, but I think that some chapters are unnecessary to the overall feel of the book.

If you like apologetics, though, you will find a lot of good and deeply-researched information here. The last 18 pages are the footnotes to this volume!

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Encouraging Teachers

Thomas H. Holland

Penman Books, 2009 (141 pages)

Preachers are often encouraged. Elders often have good things said about them from the pulpit. Those who lead our public worship assemblies are often told how well they do. However, Bible school teachers can often feel as if they are not encouraged at all.

Tom Holland’s book does a great job of providing those who teach all ages of classes some much-needed, and very much-deserved, encouragement. The book takes some time to remind teachers of the awesome responsibility they have, but also of the great reward they gain from taking on this task.

Holland is able to make this book very readable and enjoyable, while still sharing some practical tips to help teachers continue to do their great work. I highly recommend this volume to all teachers, and would encourage elders to purchase copies for as many teachers as possible.