Category Archives: Book Reviews

Book Review — The Hole in Our Gospel

I am grateful to Thomas Nelson for the review copy of The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns.

Part autobiography, part biblical challenge, Stearns wants to raise our awareness to the needs of the poor in the world. More than that, he wants us to realize the amazing resources we already have at our disposal that would alleviate a lot of suffering, but we are sitting on our resources rather than using for the good of the Kingdom.

Stearns was a very successful CEO in the corporate world when World Vision came calling in 1998. They asked him to be president, leaving behind a very wealthy opportunity in his company. Stearns had been challenged along the way to do more for the gospel and for the poor in this world. After refusing the job, he ended up taking it and has led World Vision for the past 11 or 12 years.

The biblical challenge is clear. There is a need to bring justice to the poor of this world. There are solutions that can be brought to the poor through the Church. Yet, the American Church sits on incredible resources and does very little. Stearns’ statistics are bone-jarring. American Christians gave less to the Church in 2005 as a percentage of income than they did in 1931 during the Great Depression.

The book is not just a challenge to give. It is to open our eyes to the needs of the world. It doesn’t take billions of dollars to make a difference. It just takes each believer stepping up and doing something that will reach beyond their own world.

There are a couple of observations that bother me somewhat. First, Stearns had the luxury of moving from CEO to World Vision. His future is secure. In one sense, it is easy for a millionaire to talk to others about giving. A lot of talk I hear about stepping up to give comes from people of means. I do not mean this to be completely critical of Stearns. He sacrifices in his way. But these stories of Jesus dealing with people to make life changes seem to come from the top end of the pay scale.

The second observation is his examples of good churches and bad churches. He is very critical of American churches, but really only hits on the megachurches. He came from a megachurch as a member and probably attends a megachurch when he is home. He sees the massive wealth of those congregations and gets fed up with them spending it on themselves.

The “good” examples come from small churches… in Africa. He doesn’t find any good examples of small churches in America. I pastor a small church in America. Am I lumped in with the megachurches? How can I successfully answer the call to reach the poor of the world in my context? He doesn’t really address that.

Again, those are not meant to be overly critical. I am challenged by this book. I am all too aware of what is happening in this world and desire to see small incremental changes by every believer. If every believer WOULD make small incremental changes in their giving and focus, we could tackle some HUGE problems for villages in poorer parts of the world.

Book Review — Present Perfect by Greg Boyd

I live and pastor in the Twin Cities, so I get somewhat of a front row seat to two very opposite biblical scholars/pastors: Greg Boyd and John Piper. The big Open Theism debate of several years features these two heavy weights. Ironically, I love both of them for their ability to communicate the Scriptures.

Greg Boyd’s latest book, Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now veers off from Boyd’s instructional style. It is mystical. He takes the writings and spiritual practices of J.P. de Caussade, Frank Laubach, and Brother Lawrence and puts them in modern meditations. They  are his own meditations as he has tried for over 20 years to bring the practice of the presence of God into his own life.

This is not a book for speed readers. It is to be taken slowly. Very slowly. Practice it. Find those times when you can digest a chapter, then put it into practice. This is not about method. It is about being aware. Do not compartmentalize your life. (“Oh, I’ve had my devotions, now I will run off to work and forget what I just read.”) This is a challenge to be aware of the very presence of God at any given moment in your day.

This is a refreshing read. Books on spiritual formation are like water on parched ground for me. I soak them up. I get tired of the mental gymnastics of a lot of theological books. (I love them, but my brain isn’t geared to run that way all the time.) We need a holisitic approach to our lives again. Don’t “do” devotions. Don’t “exegete” a text. It’s not just about someone examining the text. It is allowing the text to examine them. What is your hurry?

Boyd’s call is to celebrate the moment. This moment. Sense God here. Now. What’s your hurry. Are you awake? God is there. Do you see it?

(In the spirit of full disclosure, this book was sent to my wife so SHE could write a review, but I snagged it from her first. This book was free, and I think Zondervan sent it to us. I am under no obligation to write a good review, though.)

If you are looking for Boyd’s tough apologetic style, it’s there… in the appendix. He defends this book against claims of being like Eckhart Tolle. It’s good reading, too.

But, really. Take a break from your intellectual idolatry. Rest. Find God here. Now. Breathe.

Book Review: A Century Turns

A Century Turns is claiming to be the “third volume” of Bill Bennett’s work on American history. Many favorable reviews are calling a must read for high schoolers. I am not as quick to put it in that category. I am not as quick to put this book in the same category as his other two books on American history.

The first two volumes were much more objective. This book is far more of an analysis. Bennett is very much in the middle of many events that took place in the past 20 years and does not offer a dispassionate voice on these issues. This is more political commentary than history.

As political commentary for conservatives, I highly recommend it. It is a review of the past 20 years as you will like to remember it. I was amazed at just how much has changed in the past 20 years. The thought that I certainly wouldn’t be “blogging” 20 years ago, or “emailing”, or “surfing the net,” is incredible. Time and technology has accelerated.

What has also changed is the dispassionate view of history. There is a need to interject our own views, especially if we have lived through those events. This is Bennett’s viewpoint. It is not straight historical record, so I was disappointed in that sense. While I read the book as a “volume three,” since that was how it was advertised, I was quickly disappointed. For commentary, it’s a good conservative book. For history, it is disappointing.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their 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. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”


Book Review: “The Voice” New Testament

“The Voice” is a New Testament translation coming from Thomas Nelson.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their 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. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This is a new translation that will eventually include the Old Testament. The translation work combines the work of scholars and artists. This translation has as its stated goal to be a work for ” a church in great transition.” What is different about this translation is they combine translation scholarship with the work of authors, musicians, and other artists to make a translation that is incredibly flowing and easy to read. They actually call it a “literary project.” The goal is to get people back into the Word of God.

The format is interesting. They will put in blocks of writing that help explain the text. It has a flow that makes it much more readable than a commentary, and it does a good job setting the context for the reader. They are also faithful to translation work, in that if they added phrases within the text that are not in the original languages, they italicized them so readers will know this is something just to help explain the text a little better.

It is also written like a movie script. Dialogue is set off by marking the person speaking at the beginning of the verse. It doesn’t really detract from the reading.

I am a translation junkie, but with our recent translation “wars” over the TNIV, ESV, etc., I was leery of looking at another translation. I was especially leery when I noticed some of the names (not translators) attached to the project. What theological damage they could have done to the text seems minimal at this point. I may discover it on another reading. The translators used are solid, in my opinion. For my own ministry, if I had this translation, it would be useful to give to people who had never read the Bible, or had a hard time getting into the story. This translation is helpful.

New Book for Review Just Arrived

It’s actually a new translation called “The Voice” from Thomas Nelson. They sent me a complimentary copy for review. I admit, seeing one of the contributors (not one of the translators) had me skeptical. But I took it to my son’s swim meet tonight and read through some passages. I am pleasantly surprised! I look forward to a deeper look into this fresh translation. Review forthcoming.

Book Review: Enjoying Prayer

One of my heroes in the faith is Calvin Olson. Calvin was a missionary to southern Asia for many years. When I knew him he was retired as a missionary and traveled throughout our state with our district superintendent to conduct monthly prayer and fasting days. Every fall prayer retreat before he passed away, you could find Calvin Olson there.

One of the last things I remember Calvin saying was this: “I have a confession to make: I’m addicted to prayer meetings.” The man loved to pray and you could tell. Talking to Calvin was like talking to God. I’m serious.

My friend, Kevin Senapatiratne of Christ Connection Ministries, has come out with a book that will help all of us become addicted to prayer meetings, and prayer. (Don’t try and pronounce that last name unless you are from Sri Lanka.)

Kevin’s book is called Enjoying Prayer: Launching Your God Adventure. It is completely accessible. Each chapter is short and its intentional. Read a chapter and try it out. It’s a good strategy. Kevin proposes different strategies to really make prayer real… and, well, enjoyable. He tries all kinds of crazy things in prayer. He even named his dog after a TV personality because he is praying on a consistent basis for that TV personality. What a way to remember to pray for someone! (I’ll name my hamster Paris.)

Each chapter concludes with a “Next Step Question” and a prayer idea. It’s a great work to help people launch into the JOY of prayer!

Dadgum

I grew up 30 minutes from Lawrence, KS. Maybe it was proximity, or something else, but from my earliest memories I have loved Jayhawk basketball. My early memories were of Ted Owens and some very good teams. There were the bitter losses to Missouri and Kansas State.

Then, there was the coming of Danny Manning. Larry Brown had come to KU and hired Danny’s father as a coach, moving Danny to Lawrence while he was still in high school. They were in our high school league, so I saw Manning play in our gym our senior year. It was phenomenal. This guy was going to do some amazing things for KU. And he did. There was the magical year of 1988 when “Danny and the Miracles” made the improbable run through the NCAA tournament and beat Oklahoma in the final in Kansas City.

By then I was a senior on college in Minneapolis. A friend and I were from Kansas, so the next day we wore our Kansas sweatshirts to rib a professor we had who hailed from Oklahoma.

Larry Brown left, and with his leaving, he forgot to take his recruiting violations. The NCAA doesn’t bother calling a foul on coaches who leave. They just hammer the program left behind. Larry went to the NBA and KU couldn’t defend its national title because of NCAA probation. This was one of the premier programs in the country, so there were high expectations regarding the next coach.

With all the influence and esteem of KU, Dr. Bob Frederick went out and hired Roy Williams. And everyone went, “WHAT? WHO?” Roy was an assistant on Dean Smith’s North Carolina staff. The only head coaching he had done had been a high school team ten years before. Of course, no one has any doubts about that hire now.

Roy Williams has always been my favorite coach. I have only seen one KU game in person and when I watched Coach Williams I KNEW this was a great coach. It obviously broke my heart when he left KU and went to North Carolina, but I was not going to blame him. He thought he had put that stuff to rest the first time he turned them down. He had no idea they’d fire Matt Doherty so soon. So, he had to return to a place he loved.

When his autobiography came out, it went to the top of my Christmas list, so my wife gave it to me and I just finished it. I am not a fan of sports autobiographies, but this is Roy Williams. His memory is incredible. He has kept notes on all his coaching and recruiting travels from his high school coaching days to now. The book is more than just remembering some good times at KU and UNC. He gives his life’s philosophy.

It’s simple: outwork everyone else. He still does. He coaches in his alma mater, doing something in a place no one ever wants him to leave… and he still outworks everyone else. I know he did that at Kansas, and it is amazing to see him still do it.

He never won the national title at KU. He has won two at UNC. I wish he had done it at Kansas, but KU has done well with Bill Self and pulled in their own national title in 2008. Of course, they ran over UNC to do it. I am a HUGE Roy Williams fan… except on nights he plays KU. I was thrilled with the huge KU win over UNC.

The book is a great reminder of what has made Roy Williams the best coach in college basketball. He is incredibly honest. He still loves KU and he deeply loves UNC. He doesn’t hide it. It’s why I will always deeply admire this coach.

For those who are not familiar at all with Roy Williams, I put the title on this post in honor of him. He rarely cusses. He is full of “dadgummits” and “gosh darns.”

And he is the best dadgum coach in the game.

Book Review: “Holy Spirit: Creative Power in Our Lives”

This review is on Holy Spirit: Creative Power in Our Lives by Dr. Lois Malcolm.

Dr. Lois Malcolm has written a slim, accessible volume for anyone who is Trinitarian in their doctrine. I am a Pentecostal. Dr. Malcolm is a Lutheran professor at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. Her work is something that informs my Pentecostal mindset, theology and practice.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I had the distinct privilege of having Dr. Malcolm as a professor at Luther Seminary for my M.A. work, and she was a reader on my thesis.

She opens her book with these words: “Every year, when I teach the Holy Spirit course for seniors at Luther Seminary, I begin by asking these two questions: Who is the Holy Spirit? Have you experienced the Spirit in your life and in the world around you? As my students try to respond, they often draw a blank.”

I teach in a Pentecostal school, an undergraduate college. It has a long tradition as being “Pentecostal.” Yet, when I teach on the power of the Spirit, I often meet the same blank stares. We are ALL in need of learning.

One of the hang-ups younger people in Charismatic and Pentecostal circles have with “classical” Pentecostalism is speaking in tongues. Let us dispense with this straw man argument. Let us get to the real point: Is the Holy Spirit truly active in your life today? This is the fundamental question for Dr. Malcolm, and this should be the fundamental question for every Trinitarian believer. As a Pentecostal, this question should be primary in our church doctrine and practice.

Dr. Malcolm’s approach is to take the reader on a journey through the entire Bible. She surveys the Old Testament references on the Holy Spirit, demonstrating the place of the Spirit in Old Testament theology and practice. Leading us through to the prophets, specifically Joel, she demonstrates that God’s purpose for the pouring out of the Spirit was for the whole person. The work of the Spirit is meant to be permanent. What God intends is for every believer to have the presence of the Spirit.

She then looks at the life of Christ and the demonstration of the Spirit’s work in the life of Christ on earth. Jesus working in the power of the Spirit gives us the example that his salvation brings not just healing, but it “de-demonizes the world” (p. 29). The power of Jesus’ salvation liberates creation from all the powers of death.

The Spirit’s work also brings justice. Jesus’ work among all people shows there is no partiality in the Kingdom of God. The Spirit helps erase the barriers and false dichotomies set up by cultures: men and women, slave and free, rich and poor. The Kingdom of God is able to bless ALL. The power of the Spirit enables us to touch people, ALL people. The touch of the Spirit in people’s lives means they rise up and move away from the barriers. ALL are invited to the incredible feast prepared for us by our Savior (p. 32).

Malcolm then demonstrates the power of the Spirit in community, looking at the Book of Acts as the model. She demonstrates four key components that were in place when people responded to the message about Jesus:

1. They were baptized in the name of Jesus.

2. The gift of the Spirit was given.

3. Repentance.

4. Forgiveness of sins.

“Baptism in the name of Jesus involves the Spirit and the fire of Pentecost (p. 37).”

The place where she would depart from Pentecostal theology is, of course, the gift of tongues as the initial physical evidence. That is understandable. But she inserts this important reminder: “Nonetheless, there is no denying that the experience of the Spirit was clearly charismatic and often accompanied by ‘signs and wonder (p. 38).’”

It is clear that there are only three instances where speaking in tongues occurred with the baptism of the Spirit: Acts 2, Acts 10, and Acts 19. That cannot be refuted. Dr. Malcolm does not avoid it. Pentecostals should not avoid it, either. What needs to be put to rest is this one event. Dr. Malcolm’s intent, along with many leaders in the Assemblies of God, is to realize we need the activity of the Spiri today! This is where Dr. Malcolm speaks so helpfully to Pentecostals. She gives a clear biblical understanding of the power of the Spirit and invites the believer to have that same Spirit active in their lives.

Dr. Malcolm goes on in later chapters to identify areas where the Spirit is vitally needed in our lives. We must rely on the Spirit to give us power to deal with destructive patterns in our lives (p. 56). These words are needed. Her work is helpful in understanding the depth of the power of the Spirit available to us TODAY.

The biblical text Dr. Malcolm lives out of in her own life is Romans 8. She fully believes in the power of the Spirit in the life of the believer. Her words on this passage are like fresh water hitting parched land. Read these words and drink it up.

The power of the Spirit is also demonstrated in the life of her family. She relates the story of her own mother who has realized the power of Romans 8 in her own life, from a concentration camp in China to the current battle she faces with Alzheimer’s. The story is a powerful  demonstration of what the Holy Spirit can be doing in each one of us.

As a Pentecostal, I am deeply grateful for this helpful work. I pastor a church, and will look for ways to put this book into the hands of my parishioners. As an adjunct professor, this is a book that will be recommended from time to time as a great help to biblically understand the power of the Spirit.