For All It's Worth

Tell me a Story: Finding God (and Ourselves) Through Narratives by Scott McClellan http://www.amazon.com/Tell-Me-Story-Ourselves-Narrative/dp/0802408567 Every human being yearns for a story to tell and to listen to a story that bears some significance for their lives.  In his new book, Tell me a Story , by Scott McClellan, the author takes us on a journey into his own story and the larger narrative we find in the Bible.  We get all the elements of a great story here; pain, joy, conflict, resolution, and anticipation.  Yet, we also get to seat right up front near the stage to see the story of the Bible being laid out for us through the pages of Scripture.  What is most inviting and refreshing about this book is the way Scott weds his own story, including adoption, into the larger narrative of Scripture so that we as Christians can find our place in the story.  We are not left with a story that happened years ago to an ancient peoples or a sto...

An Intimate Collision: Encounters with Life and Jesus by Craig D. Lounsbrough http://www.amazon.com/An-Intimate-Collision-Encounters-Jesus/dp/1620202131/ref=tmm_pap_title_0/181-5987295-1477063 This new book, An Intimate Collision , by Craig Lounsbrough is a trek into the very real collisions we face in a most intimate way in life, with God at the helm.  The format of each chapter provides a glimpse into an intimate collision with life and with the author that carries forth into the theme of his description of a biblical theme or narrative.  What is immediate as you read through this book is the intersection between the life of faith and the Scripture that we have.  Weaving together the events of the Bible, including the life and death of Jesus with a keen eye toward personal collisions, Craig is able to keep the reader’s attention and bring him closer into the story that the Bible provides. This is really a gem of a book and one not to be missed. In...

Active Spirituality by Brian G. Hedges http://www.amazon.com/Active-Spirituality-Grace-Effort-Christian/dp/1936908573 Written as a series of a letters to a new Christian in the faith, Brian Hedges new book entitled Active Spirituality is a remarkably wise and thoughtful book.  Taking the poles of justification and sanctification as his key anchors, he writes these letters with a sense of the finality of our being made right by God while also incorporating the hard work that being more like Christ is a gradual process.  Not shying away from the gospel’s indicatives and imperatives, every Christian will find something to chew on after they read this wonderful book.  Often, while reading this book, I found myself saying, “Amen,” and having to re-read certain letters to really sink my teeth into what Brian was saying.  I heartily recommend this book to every Christian along the journey of faith. Owning up to the reality of the Christian life isn...

Elders in the Life of the Church: Rediscovering the Biblical Model for Church Leadership by Phil A. Newton and Matt Schmucker http://www.amazon.com/Elders-Life-Church-Rediscovering-Leadership/dp/0825442729 This revised edition of Elders in Congregational Life is a great addition to the discussion on elders today.  Pastor Phil Newton and executive director of 9Marks and elder at Capitol Hill Baptist Church seek to bring the discussion of elders into the foreground for Christian believers, especially those in Baptist circles.  The book takes a historical, biblical, theological, and practical approach to understanding elders and pointing others toward a positive view of the office in our churches.  Notably, the book helps move churches from a church without elders to one who lives and breathes the life of faith with elders.  Being a ruling elder in an Evangelical Presbyterian Church, I have been acquainted with eldership for most of my adult life, ...

Growing up God’s Way for girls and boys By Dr. Chris Richards and Dr. Liz Jones These two books, Growing up God’s Way for girls and boys by Drs. Chris Richards and Liz Jones are designed to introduce young ones to their bodies, puberty, and sexuality.  Coming out this from a medical and evangelical-biblical perspective, the book offers parents and their children a unique approach to puberty.  The scientific explanations of changes in our body given in the book are sound but readable.  My daughter is too young at this point for going through this book together, but I can imagine older children would greatly benefit from these books.  The books mirror each other in much of the content while differing on the changes in a boys and girls body going through puberty.  What I thought was particularly good about these books was the section on attraction.  The authors bring out the positive place of emotions that young girls go through as they rea...