Join Michael Leehan in "The Ascent from Darkness"

     Ascent from Darkness is a powerful personal narrative about the spiritual battle between good and evil. Michael Leehan's personal testimony is gripping, and thought-provoking. It simultaneously draws the reader in while causing them to take stock of his or her own personal Walk. Leehan begins Ascent from Darkness sharing a snapshot from his early adulthood. From there the book does not relent as we follow him on the course of his path from initially deciding to turn his life over to the work of Satan, to a life plagued by demon influence, and finally at the end of his rope realizing that the only path to freedom comes through Jesus Christ.

This is by far one of the most powerful books I have read lately. From the moment I picked up the book until the moment I was done reading the book, I could not put it down. Leehan comes across as an honest, sincere human who has gone through a life transformation. At times conversational and other times matter-of-factual, but much of the time unsettling with how honest he is, Leehan does not hold back as he shares the struggles of his life. Anyone picking up this book will find quickly that Leehan's life is one genuinely Redeemed story worth reading.

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.

Why God Won't Go Away by Alister McGrath

            To begin with, Why God Won’t Go Away is not a book determined to engage with you and convince you that God is real.  This book is not meant to persuade you to find some sort of “religion.”  While McGrath is a noted theologian of our day, this book has one purpose only, which is to engage what has come to be known as the “new atheism” by contributing the rebuttal to the discourse of authors such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris.  McGrath presents the positions of these three men and then counters them by showing the inherent flaws of their position.  Throughout the book, McGrath goes a step further by explaining where they go wrong and then he offers a protheological view that counters yet seems fully rationale.  In the end we see that GOD does not go away because GOD is constant; the views of those who do not believe in GOD are not.

            This book is a little different compared to what I usually read so I didn’t quite know what to expect in reading it.  The book engaged me in how I’ve come to the conclusions that I have in regards to faith and the evidence needed to have it.  I felt this book was even-handed, well-researched, and that the evidence was presented in a way that rebutted the “new atheism” without stepping into the realm of triviality and name calling.  I enjoyed Why God Won't Go Away and would recommend it to and would recommend it to anyone who wants to broaden their knowledge on the conversation between atheists and theists.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Understanding In A Car Crash.

If you are a friend of mine on Facebook, you saw yesterday (7/11) that I uploaded a photo of Sarah's Saturn dashboard with both airbags having been set off and in the process of deflating; the caption read: "To the driver of the red Pontiac: thank you for screwing up our evening."  Yesterday seems like such a whirlwind and I wonder if it really happened, but then I look at the bruise and swollen mark on my leg and realize that it did.  As even mere hours pass since it happened, I keep wondering whether the details are getting clearer or clearer as I saw them.

As the car crossed our lane of traffic and we were preparing to collide, I remember just sitting there watching it all unfold from the passenger seat.  There's a scene in the beginning of the movie Garden State where Zach Braff is having a dream where he is in a plane that is going down and as everyone is screaming and in a panic, he is sitting in his seat disaffected, calm, and stoic.  It kind of felt like that for me.  There was no jerk reaction, no heavy breathing, nothing.  When we hit, the only thing going on in my head as there was the squealing of tires, crunch of vehicle bodies, and the deployment of airbags was: "Wow.  The sound is deafeningly quiet now."  My ears were ringing and everything was muffled for a moment.  I remember Sarah asking me if I was okay and my only response as I went through the motor checklist of my limbs and body my only response was: "I don't know."

The emergency vehicles begin to arrive and it quickly becomes a scene from a cheesy B-film (including the helpful man with the ZZ Top beard in the pickup truck who witnessed it all happen).  I then received an epiphany to a question I had wondered my entire life: I wonder what people think about as they are standing at the scene of a car wreck witnessing the emergency response crews working.  The answer is: not much of anything.

Here's to hoping the rest of the summer gets better.

Unleashed by Erwin Raphael McManus

If you (the possible reader of this book) are content with a completely peaceful, pacifistic, indifferent Christianity, this book is not for you.  Erwin McManus’s Unleashed is a warrior-call to all Christians to go out and do something for Christ, and not sit around and simply discuss theology.  In this book, McManus challenges the church to wake up from complacency and take the world head on because: “…the call of Jesus is one of action.”

I have always respected McManus as a teacher and author, so I will admit that I came in with a biased opinion that it was going to be good; this book blew away my expectations.  His mixture of life experiences with principles based in Biblical truth create a work that is compelling and seems urgent which the call of Christ really is.  From the very beginning when McManus shares the anecdote about visiting Scotland on the way to Northern Ireland just so that he can see the boyhood spot of William Wallace and then connects it to the quote, “Forward, for the heart of your king!” I was hooked.  McManus makes implicitly clear that anyone who follows Christ is not doing it to the fullest if he or she is not doing it with passion.  Anyone who feels like their walk has become too predictable and routine-laden should pick up this book and prepare to do battle the barbarian way.

The Final Summit by Andy Andrews

In The Traveler’s Gift, David Ponder was the one who needed saving; in The Final Summit, it’s all of humanity that needs the saving.  The book picks up years after Ponder made his first trip to learn the “The Seven Decisions of Success,” he’s faced at another crossroads of life.  He’s aged, his wife has passed away, he has succeeded in his life’s ambitions and now he’s faced with sitting back and becoming complacent.  Then Gabriel shows up and again, Ponder’s life changes.  The Final Summit brings back the original Travelers from the first book and introduces some new historical faces: Winston Churchill, Booker T. Washington, and King David just to name a few.  They are brought together to determine the secret that will save the world.  The secret is simple, yet profound.  I would tell you what it is, but instead if you can’t wait until the end of the book, you can find the secret in chapter 12.

For me, the book didn’t capture me until around chapter 5.  The action and writing style were a little slow for my tastes.  The plot continues to build and multiple times I found myself wondering if they had discovered the secret early and even thinking it made sense, only to find out just like the summit of Travelers, that I was wrong.  I had not read The Traveler’s Gift before getting a copy of The Final Summit so I had to briefly skim the former to get an idea of what I would be encountering in the latter.  Overall, the book was enjoyable and I would recommend it for someone who needs a little bit of a pep talk in both their faith and life.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Tact.

I used to wonder why my dad always placed an emphasis on trying to use tact.  To be quite honest, sometimes I felt like he didn't have it so it was a concept at times hard for me to grasp.  Now that I'm older and in a position where my public conduct affects more than just me or even just me and my wife, I now understand why tact is important.  That said, since I can get away with doing this anonymously, I have to things to get off my chest to different individuals that will probably never read this (and to prove that as a youth pastor, yes I am human; probably more than I should be at times):

1.  You are not in love.  You are too young and naive still to understand what love truly is.  What you have is lust with a commitment component.

2.  You need to suck it up and be a man.  Start setting an example for the kids living under the same roof as you because you are only hindering them spiritually.  You may be the worst (step)father ever.  Okay maybe not worst ever, but you're still setting a bad example.


Thank you for allowing me to stand on a soapbox for a moment.

Promises.

It's kind of funny.  In the last week I have seen God move in awesome ways and directly answer three different prayers of mine.  But then I turn around and find out that between the Federal and State governments I owe around $1000.  There is nothing like seeing prayers answered and new trials to show you that you are doing what you're supposed to.  Now it's on to baking brownies to raise money.