Catching Up on Book Reviews

It’s been awhile since I reviewed a book, but it’s not because I haven’t been reading. In fact, I’ve been reading quite a bit. Since the last review, I’ve completed four books. Here is a quick review of each one.

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Jimmy Jividen

This book is truly a faith-builder. Staying with the subject, Jividen walks readers through faith-building reasons to trust the Bible, but also reasons to obey its commands.

With thirteen lessons, this book from Gospel Advocate would make a good study for adult classes. Personally, I’m considering it for my Sunday morning class as a study between our verse-by-verse walks through books.

If you need your faith strengthened in God’s Word, this book would make a great read.

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Kent M. Keith

Subtitled The Paradoxical Commandments for Christians, this book is a follow up of Keith’s Paradoxical Commands, which he printed while in college.

This book is filled with helpful things. If you need need a “boost,” or if you need ideas for sermon illustrations or devotional ideas, this is a great book.

Since Christianity is filled with paradoxes, this book is fitting. A couple of examples of the chapters include “If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway,” and “What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.”

While there are a few things hidden in the pages with some denominational bias, I still highly recommend this book. It is truly motivating and thought-provoking.

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Aubrey Johnson

It seems that every book that Johnson writes for Gospel Advocate is amazing. He just “keeps it going!”

Johnson wrote one of my favorite books, The Barnabas Factor, and I see this book as a prequel to it. Love More will help the reader be filled with love and trying to do his or her best.

The book is divided into several sections among its 13 chapters. While this would make a great book for a class, I enjoyed using it for some personal reflection. (I also got more than one sermon idea from it!)

Rarely do I say this, but pick up this book as well as every book Johnson has written. You’ll be glad you did.

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Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geiger

We live in a complex world. What are people looking for? Most are looking for simplicity.

Sadly, though, many congregations are only getting more complex. Simple Church challenges the reader to look at the congregation and focus on making disciples in a simple, organized way.

The most useful part of this volume to me is in comparing what we “claim” to do versus what we actually do in a congregation. This book was truly eye-opening.

I rarely use a highlighter when reading. I usually underline or make notes. However, I took a highlighter to this volume and covered it up!

I would recommend this book to elders, preachers, church planters and those who just wonder if we are doing what we need to do. There is a lot of denominational bias in it, but look for the research reports and the “quotable quotes.”

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That gets us caught up for now!

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