"The Searchers" by Joe Loconte

     The Christian life is not a walk in a rose bed; much of the time it is actually a confusing journey of testing which we wrestle through every day.  This could be an accurate paraphrase of The Searchers, the latest from author Joseph Loconte.  Using the backdrop of Cleopas and his travelling partner as they are making the walk to Emmaus in Luke 24:13-35, Loconte uses a large collection of pop culture references, stories and personal anecdotes, and time-period research to bring to life all the emotional aspects of what the followers of Jesus experienced after witnessing his execution.  In doing so, he also shows the reader that many of these same troubling things that the first century Christians experienced are the same ones we experience today; experiences necessary in order to develop our own faith.
     In this project, Loconte does a great job of picking apart the emotional dynamics of the time surrounding the Crucifixion.  His connections he makes between Century 1 and Century 21 are brilliant and reveal a complex richness in our faith.  At times, I felt a little buried in the various references to movies, books, and songs released over the last 50 years which were mixed in throughout in order to deepen the connections.
     This is a solid book which will catalyze something in every reader who picks it up.  Whether one has been walking with God for decades, months, or not ever, this book is sure to ignite the "Searcher" in all of us.

I received my copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for reviewing it.  I was not required to write a positive review; my thoughts and opinions expressed are mine.

This book made me want to take an ink pen to its pages...

...and underline things throughout the book. It has been a good while since I have picked up a book that tugged at my heartstrings, convicted me, and engaged me to consider my own faith in the way that Tony Kriz does in Neighbors and Wise Men. Early on in this book, Kriz challenges the idea of sharing one's faith, especially when it is in conflict with the beliefs of another person by telling stories like Jesus did instead of trying to debate the person. The story about how he learned this lesson cleverly frames the remaining 145 pages or so of reading as Kriz walks the reader through the various experiences that helped him redefine what faith means. Kriz is transparently honest with the reader about his faults and flaws as he shares a narrative about finding Jesus and the voice of God in some of the most unlikely places.

Kriz does a great job of taking deeply profound insights and framing them in such a way that they easily hit home with the reader. Tony does this well. I am hard-pressed to find a point of critique for this book because it is well written and there wasn't anything I found in its pages that made me lose interest. The pacing is quick, yet conversational and anyone looking for a book to challenge their faith in an authentic way should sit down with this book, a beverage, and a highlighter and prepare for one wild ride.

I received my copy of the book free from the publisher in exchange for writing a review of it.  I was not obligated to write a positive review; my opinions are my own.

I Am "Fully Alive"

For the sake of avoiding the standard review format, here is something different:

Dear Ken Davis,

Your book Fully Alive is a challenge to the reader to realize that every day is a chance to live his or her life to the fullest; not just because life is available, but because there is a God who through his son has given each of us the ability to live life to the fullest.  I appreciate how you use examples and moments from your own life to show how if we are not embracing each moment that life brings, then we are taking for granted the very opportunities that God has given us.

            Ken, you do a great job of sharing various moments that effectively connect to the ultimate “moral” of each of your lessons throughout Fully Alive which you share in each chapter; I especially connected with one of your early chapters where you share about your granddaughter going missing; that moment when you realize you have to fully rely on God because you can’t control ANYTHING makes you realize how alive you are.  Having listened to you speak before, I can imagine you telling all these stories.  The lessons you share challenge me to want to not miss out on any chance to live; the consequences that can be determined by some of your stories for not living the life God has given can be disastrous otherwise.

            Fully Alive reminds me that every day is a new opportunity.  I would happily recommend your book to anyone who: a) needs a great book to read, or b) anyone who needs a little motivation to make their lives extraordinary.  Thanks for writing such a great book!

Sincerely,

Gerrit

P.S.  I received your copy of this book from the publisher for free in exchange reviewing it.  I was not obligated to write a positive review; my opinions are my own.

            

"The God I Never Knew"

                Let it be stated from the outset, I am a member of a Pentecostal fellowship (Assembly of God) that believes in the reality of Holy Spirit.  That said, my interest was mildly piqued at the idea of reading this book since I felt at this stage that I knew more than enough that a book introducing Holy Spirit would seem a little elementary.  I was wrong. The God I Never Knew by Robert Morris is an eye-opening teaching in print about the reality of Holy Spirit and how we as Christians are called to let it play a vibrant, active role in our daily lives.  The book is well-written; the reader can see the teacher’s heart come out in this work as Morris uses multiple biblical examples and passages to clearly state and explain the points he is trying to get across.

                I do have issues with the way that Morris explains some of the concepts on Holy Spirit in his teaching.  There are a couple instances in “Session One” where I would question the extent to which he exercises interpretation of the Scripture, but these moments do not detract from the overall cohesiveness of teaching a topic which is brand new to some readers and Christians.

                The God I Never Knew is a good teaching material for both novices and seasoned Christians alike to read for sound, biblical teaching on Holy Spirit.  The book’s moments where I might question the direction that Morris is taking the reader are quickly alleviated by reading the teaching sections in context.  I recommend this book for anyone wishing to learn how Holy Spirit plays a vital role in the Christian life.

I received my copy of the book for free from the publisher in exchange for reviewing it.  I was not obligated to compose a favorable review; my opinions are my own.

Surfing for God one click at a time.

               Men everywhere are quick to acknowledge that purity is a struggle. With sex cheapened to the point of being used as nothing more than an advertising technique, it is no wonder that men feel this way.  Enter Surfing for God by Michael John Cusick. His book which is part personal accounts and part God-centered, practical advice based on those personal accounts gives the reader valuable tools on how take back the field of the mind for the cause of purity. Cusick is highly candid and transparent in sharing about his struggles and history with the issue of addiction to porn. Cusick expresses plainly that looking lustfully at a woman is a dehumanizing experience, both for the woman posing in the picture and the man viewing the picture.

               The writing in this book is straightforward. Cusick does not treat the issues lightly nor does he treat them as minor. He states what he means with a succinct clarity that shows that his intentions are to give the reader as much help as he can on the written page. If this book lacks in anything, it feels like Cusick spends more time at the beginning constructing scenarios and repetitively introducing his topic over multiple chapters before beginning to explain how to handle the issues. Overall, this was a decent book and I would easily place it alongside a book like Every Man’s Battle as recommended reading for any man who is wrestling with issues of sexual sin or pornography addiction.

I received my copy of this book from the publisher for free in exchange for reviewing it. I was not obligated to post a favorable review; the opinions expressed in this review are mine.

Not Another "Fish Tale"

I am a Caucasian male and have never caught a fish in my life.  The thought of picking up a book like The Fourth Fisherman and expecting to get anything out of it seemed slightly ridiculous…until I started reading it.  I was wrong; Joe Kissack weaves together the personal narrative of a man who has, about losses, and then claims THE MOST IMPORTANT thing with that of Mexican fishermen who have, appear to be about to lose, and then receive THE MOST IMPORTANT thing in life.  I was expecting a hokey faith narrative and instead found open, honest, transparent truth.

Kissack does a good job of making some of the most intriguing moments of life seem normal and mundane.  I have never traveled all over the country for a job, or met with multiple station managers and entertainment executives, but Kissack make it seem normal.  He also excels at being able to share about his life in a way that makes the reader feel as if he or she knows him personally.  I am hard pressed to find anything to critique, but for the sake of saying something, at times the action especially in the early chapters seems too slow in building for me.  On the whole, The Fourth Fisherman is a great faith narrative which is no case a “fish tale.”

I received my copy of the book for free from the publisher in exchange for reviewing it.  I was not obligated to compose a positive review; my opinions are mine.

Need a Shot (of Faith)?

     "There is little to no evidence for God, and so Christians are forced to take what refuge they can in a feeble, sometimes fleeting faith."  From the onset, one gets the impression that Dr. Stokes is going to address some pretty pointed critiques of the Christian faith, and that is exactly what A Shot of Faith (to the Head) is.  In this book contains some of the most practical deconstructions and point-by-point analysis of the discourse midst various prominent atheists and neo-atheists of our day and the theologian's rebuttal.  This book does a great job of giving even-handed treatment to points that the author obviously feels are faulted and wrong, without indicting or ridiculing the other party for their seeming lack of fair assessment of the situations.
     Where I find that this book lacks (if there is a place), is that I feel like a lot of this is just retread ground.  I didn't find really any new or exciting points to ponder, whether in the theist's rebuttal, or the original atheist's argument.  Much of this book seemed to be stuff that I had already read in other places; I will give Dr. Stokes the tip of the hat for consolidating it and making it a concise narrative for the reader to follow.
     Overall, this book is suitable for anyone with a mind for academic discourse who wants to enrich his or her ongoing conversation in the existence of a deity.  This book is an enjoyable read with many deep points to consider.

I received my copy of the book free from the publisher.  I was not required to write a positive review about the book; my opinions are my own.

Don't Lose Your Dinosaur.

     In the great family classic film Step Brothers, there is a line about one of the two characters that when he was a child wanting to be a dinosaur when he grew up.  Of course, this gets us all to laugh; however, I think there is some bitter truth hidden behind all our laughs.  Are we laughing because the idea of a child turning into a dinosaur is ridiculous, or are we laughing because we too once had impossible dreams that as we have grown up we never took the ambition to chase after and now we feel pain (we're using "laughter as the best form of medicine")?
     When we were younger, we played games of make-believe because we could do anything.  We believed that we were the great artists, musicians, and most powerful people in the world.  And then we started looking at the great artists, musicians, and "powerful" people and we lose our zeal.  Why does this happen?  Belief is half the battle.  What caused us to lose this belief?  How can we reclaim it?
     The answer in short is: "I don't know."  Maybe we should stop valuing celebrity and start esteeming creativity.  Maybe we should take every opportunity to build each other up instead of tear each other down.  This is a big issue, more than a simple blog can solve an answer too.  Thoughts?

Are You Torn?

     Suffering happens to everyone.  Alright, discussion's over and we can all go home!  Yes, true.  Suffering happens to everyone, but the question is how do we all deal with it?  Torn by Jud Wilhite was written to address this question and provide a God-centered way to address it.  Written from the perspective of a theological narrator whose discourse is supplemented with examples of people who have experienced suffering and how they've coped with it, all this is done ultimately to come to the conclusion that we don't know why suffering happens to each individual but we do know that God will always use it ultimately to His glory.
     Wilhite does a great job of tying Biblical perspective to current setting.  Stories of suffering straight out of the Bible provide an application to life, and alongside them Wilhite adds references to pop culture events (YouTube, Death Cab for Cutie, and Hopkins's The Edge for example).  What I have an issue with is the fact that this book ends too neatly.  For all the practicality that Wilhite provides for how to deal with suffering, it would seem that he glosses over or makes it seem too simple.  For example, in his final pre-conclusion chapter, "Learning to Forgive," a much more powerful thing to analyze would have been what happens when the one suffering is upset with God and how to "forgive" when he or she feels that they have been abandoned by the Creator.  He starts to leave the door cracked for issues like this but sadly it would seem that a lot of the messy issues he sidesteps.
     Overall, Torn is a well-written book full of practical advice for the Christian who is in pain and suffering.  For the issues that I have, I still enjoyed this book and would recommend it for anyone who would like a book to broaden their view on issues of the Christian walk.

I received my copy of this book free though Multnomah's Blogging for Books program.  I was not obligated to write a favorable review; the opinions are my own.

Why We Should All Be "Second"

Revelations 12:11 states that, “They overcame by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.”  I Am Second: Real Stories Changing Lives is definitely a book about and for overcoming all obstacles and experience the life-transforming power of the Almighty and His Son, Jesus Christ.  This book is a collection of stories of notable people from different walks of life and how their lives were changed by an encounter with Jesus.  These stories are real, gripping, true-life narratives of how different famous people overcame various problems to the glory of God. 

These stories are powerful yet polished.  Sometimes, I felt they were a little too polished and perfectly presented.  While I did enjoy reading them, it feels like there is a lot of production that went into writing them to the point that some of the power of these personal stories can be missed.  Most of the stories, I was able to find a video counterpart on the I Am Second website, and these stories reflect the same production that the videos received.  Overall, the book was alright.  I teach high school English and have recommended this book to a couple of my students.

I received my copy of this book for free through the publisher, Thomas Nelson, in return for writing a review over it and its contents.  I was not required to give a favorable; the opinions stated are my own.

You Have a Unique Soulprint

You are a unique creation of God with the purpose of serving Him in the unique way that only you can.  This one sentence sums up the entire book Soulprint, the newest book from Mark Batterson.  Doing what he does best, Batterson takes familiar portions of the Bible and gives them a fresh spin.  Using five different aspects of the life of King David, Batterson shows the reader how through the high and low points he or she can live and fulfill his or her unique life calling; in short, how they can fully assume the identity of their soul print.

Soulprint feels very similar to his earlier book In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day.  Where Soulprint falls short for me is that while In a Pit was the kind of book to pump you up and get you motivated to do some outrageous things for God, Soulprint felt too much like a self-help book for me.  Based on what I had read earlier from Batterson, I did not enjoy this book as much as I could have.  A reader who comes into this book with a similar mindset will have a very difficult time getting into this book much like I did.  The reader who will get the most out of this book is the one who is working on trying to find his or her identity; the young Christian who is trying to grow in the faith.

I received my copy of this book free from the publisher, Multnomah Waterbrook Press, through their Blogging for Books program for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I was not required to issue a positive review.

"A Year With Jesus"

     To the reader of the Bible, upon reading the New Testament it can seem perplexing why there are four books back-to-back (the Gospels) that all tell the same story.  Different stories are repeated with only slight variation in quotation and it can all seem like just a story.  This is where A Year With Jesus can be useful as much more than a simple yearly devotional guide.  R.P. Nettelhorst takes the reader through a one-year journey that takes excerpts from both the words of Jesus and stories about Jesus from the Bible, and then turns them into a relational expository lesson that makes the teachings of Jesus easily accessible to any reader.  But more than this, Nettelhorst through the pages of this devotional introduces the reader to The One who desires relationship with all who read His words.


     At times deceivingly simplistic and at other times intimate, A Year With Jesus is an engaging read.  Once you get into the habit of reading the daily entries, readers will be challenged to actually want to stop reading this book as each day furthers a "conversation" of insights of the most important Teacher of all time, Jesus.  I recommend this book to anyone looking for a one-year study guide that will challenge them to grow, no matter what their station in life.




I received my copy of this book free from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, through their BookSneeze program for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I was not required to issue a positive review.