Category: Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Book Brief: “Outlive Your Life” by Max Lucado

Chris

What will you be remembered for in life? Will it be the hours you worked? The number of proposals or presentations you made at work? The way you kept your lawn or the cleanliness of your house? Maybe it’s your bowling score or your ability to quote baseball statistics. How many of these things will really outlast your physical life?

“Outlive Your Life” begins with an amazing parable of a man whose life impacted a small culture. His impact outlasted him, and served as his legacy.

With our lives we have the ability to impact our world, our communities, our churches, our world. We have opportunities laid before us each and every day. Some of these require a lot of effort, others just require us to step into what God has prepared for us. But leaving a legacy doesn’t mean making a name for ourselves. We have to watch out that we are not seeking to promote ourselves instead of seeking to serve God.

Max is also sure to remind us that we are not just to be out being busy, doing activity and leaving it there. In the chapter, Pray First; Pray Most, he reminds us about the special promises regarding prayer.

The message of this book is one I have echoed myself over the years. As usual, Max is always on point, full of stories and anecdotes. If you enjoy Max’s work, you will not be disappointed. It is an encouragement for the average Christian to make an impact on many realms of society, each in our unique way.

Book Reviews, Christian Living

New FREE Resource: “Tainted”

Chris

I am excited to announce our newest free resource! It is a PDF e-book entitled, “Tainted: Recognizing, Understanding and Repairing the Filters of Life.”

Since I began developing this material, I have discovered that you can apply the core concept of “Tainted” – the concept of filters – to virtually every realm of your life. From your relationships to your career to your understanding of God, filters affect us.

Discover the possibilities, both positive and negative, as you read “Tainted.” It is a FREE Adobe PDF file here on our site.

Book Reviews, Christian Living

What makes your reading list?

Chris

I’m a huge fan of reading. It is something my father modeled for me, and I try to model it for my kids. In fact, my dad and I have a standing “contest” each year to see who read more books. (He beat me in 2010, but I had a bit going on last year.)

I can honestly say that I have read most of the books on the shelves in my office, around 400 or more volumes. And those are just since Bible College. I even have a “To Read” pile near my desk; a pile that is growing instead of shrinking right now.

If you are not a reader, or you only read fiction instead of non-fiction, I would suggest you try to pick up a few titles. It is very important for you to listen to your local pastors and teachers, and I would never suggest that you trade in your weekly sermon for a hardcover book. But there is a lot of material that is helpful to you, your walk with God, and even your family life.

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Book Reviews

Book Review: The Character of Leadership

Chris

The Character of Leadership: Six pillars of a leader’s character is a book that is easy to read, probably won’t take you long to read, but will challenge you to build up who you are before you seek to increase what you are. A primary thought behind the book is this: “Leadership will destroy the man whose character is not prepared for it.”

I was introduced to Pastor Gregg Johnson at our Maritime District fall pastor’s conference. He had made the journey from New York state, was our guest speaker for the event, and he had the opportunity to share on some of these thoughts. It was obvious that Pastor Gregg was not writing and speaking about leadership so he could make a lot of money. He never once mentioned the size of his church, how many leaders he led or how many he had groomed over the years. Pastor Gregg’s goal was to challenge pastors and church leaders so that their ministries, families, even their personal lives, would be protected and blessed by God. So when we all received a copy of the book at the conference, I was excited to read it.

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Book Reviews

Book Review: After the Hangover: the Conservatives’ Road to Recovery

Chris

The Conservative movement in America curiously finds itself in the spotlight again. After the May’s primaries, several career politicians are finding themselves with nothing to do after January 2011. Prior to that, the state of Massachusetts, long considered a Democrat stronghold, elected a Republican senator to fill the vacant seat of the late Ted Kennedy. People are talking. Questions are being asked. Television and radio news agencies are buzzing. Life seems to be flowing in the veins of the conservative movement again. Life some might attribute to the caffeine from the Tea Party.

Maybe it’s simpler than that. Maybe Conservatism in America is following a pattern or redeveloping, evolving. Since its shaping in the mid-twentieth century, the movement has had its ups and downs. In 1994 the Republicans took control of Congress, but lost it again in 2006. A Conservative sat in The Oval Office for five out of seven terms between 1981 and 2009. But since election night 2008, connecting the Democratic presidential victory with its congressional victor two years prior, political pundits cry the end of conservatism on the horizon. Enter this book by R. Emmett Tyrell, Jr: After the Hangover: the Conservatives’ Road to Recovery.

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Book Reviews

An inside look at author Sheryl Young

Chris

I’ve recently found myself journeying down several side roads at once. One of these roads is a growing burden for God’s chosen people, the people of Israel. So I’ve started collecting and reading books about the Jews, who they are, their impact on the world, and what it means to relate with them as Christians.

I recently met author and blogger Sheryl Young through the world of LinkedIn.com. When Sheryl’s husband gave his life to Jesus, she thought, “How can I, a girl from a Jewish family, be married to a Christian?” She set out to prove the Gospel wrong. But the moment she really studied the Old Testament and dared to compare it with the New, everything changed. She fell in love with “Yeshua,” saw her Jewish heritage with new appreciative eyes, and realized the two could fit perfectly together.

Sheryl has written a book, What Every Christian Should Know About the Jewish People. She answers questions such as: Why is it imperative for every Christian to gain a fresh, love-filled perspective toward the Jewish people today? What makes a person consider him or herself Jewish? Do Jewish people really need to be converted?

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