Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Pastorpreneur by John Jackson

I'm not sure how I feel about pastoring a church like an entrepreneur.




Dr. John Jackson has used this format with his church and he has shared these ideas with us in this book.

There has been much debate about how a church should be led and how the structure should be formatted. Bill Hybels has been successful at treating his church brand as a business with Willowcreek. Arguments for this format and against it are filled with passion.

This book is divided into three parts. The first part is contains four chapters detailing vision: the call of the vision, how to dream the vision, planting it and then growing your vision for the church.

Part two is the meat and potatoes of the book: Five strategies to birth spiritual life in the community. #1 is grab the attention of the community. Jackson goes into very general ideas as to how a church can grab your local areas attention. #2 is all about strategic partnerships (in other words, networking). I think at this point everyone understands that to grow a successful business-like church, you need to have strong business ties with Type A personalities who have lots of money and influence. #3 is what Jackson calls Big Faith-Building Events. Again this is soaked with churchy-lingo but boils down to bigger is better with high quality details. Is this a wrong attitude to have? It's up to you and the rest of the debate. #4 is about finding your niche in ministry. Age-appropriate, hobbies, or any other areas for connection. #5 is about mentoring and spreading the influence.

Part three highlights keeping the vision fresh and putting it into practical action. Pretty quick and easy as the bookend.

I think there are some values to glean from this type of style and structure, I'm just not sure how comfortable I am with it.




This book was provided for review, at no cost, by IVP Books.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Unstoppable by Nick Vujicic

Vujicic begins this book by explaining his successes following his last book.




He then states how he almost hit rock bottom. This is not the ego-driven writing of some louse. Nick Vujicic knows the power of God and the grace He gives.

You'll breeze through ten chapters on believing and achieving.

It's difficult not to compare this book with the previous book of his. It may be a bit too soon but this is the furthering of the story. As a motivational speaker, Nick touches on personal crises, issues with our relationships, challenges with your career, what it's like to feel out of control and other typical motivational topics.

Using his own stories dispersed throughout the anecdotes and experiences of others he has had contact with, you'll read about having a "ridiculously good life" and what it means to be unstoppable.

The glossy photos in the middle are always a nice touch but I just couldn't plow through this book. It seemed like I had read it before when I read the books by other motivational speakers.

The biggest thing going for this author is his life story and the challenges it brings. Like it or not, we are drawn to his deformity and inspired just by his videos and the kind of life he has chosen to lead.




This book was provided for review, at no cost, by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing.


Everything by Mary DeMuth

I have been impacted by everything Mary DeMuth has written.




Her novels evoke such a range of emotion while reading them and her nonfiction writing turned out to be just as impactful.

Everything is Mary's coaching book. Using her own life as the blueprint, she helps us explore what we give and what we gain to becoming like Jesus.

Right off the bat you will discover that things were not so wonderful for Mary as she and her husband were obedient to the ministry of God. In fact, things were awful. Mary explains the fear and the level of depression that seemed to surround her home while they worked overseas.

She then jumps into three sections. First she writes about our head and what we think about God and the challenges that brings. Second, she writes about the heart and who we are. This section is the home-run for Mary. She is terrific and poetically expression this aspect of our lives and how it connects with God. Third is the hands and how we live. She gives us many things to think about when it comes to our finances and our relationships and just being irresistible.

Her epilogue is the perfect way to sign off from this adventure. It's the bookend that needs to happen when you read anything by her.

There are questions to explore and discuss after each chapter. And these are your typical churchy cookie-cutter questions. You will absolutely go deep with them.

Terrific book for any individual or small group.




This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Thomas Nelson Publishing.
I review for BookSneeze®

Placebo by Steven James

This marks the second consecutive Steven James novel that I very nearly quit reading after the first chapter.




Placebo is quite different from his Bower's Files series. We're talking deep scientific mumbo-jumbo in this series. The big question revolves around the idea that we can affect others simply by thinking about them.

Jevin Banks was a magician who turned his knowledge into an expose reality tv show. He reveals scammers and phonies with ease. When he turns his sights on mind-to-mind communication program, he uncovers a far-reaching conspiracy that bring an end to any sense of safety.

This book begins with horrific family tragedy for Banks. His wife drives their family van into a lake thus drowning herself and their two boys. It was at this point that I became angry at the author, threw the book down and almost didn't pick it up again. I was unhappy with James using children coming to harm to evoke emotion from me. He has done this with his last two books.

But of course, this plot point is integral to the story and character of Jevin Banks. So it is what it is.

This book pushes you head first into the world of science, consciousness and the power of prayer. It might be considered too highbrow for some looking for a quick thriller. But fans should expect the gripping thrill ride as well as the profound, intelligent writing from James.

At points, once Banks and his partner, Charlene, enter the mind-to-mind program things travel a little slow and we're just waiting for the explosion of action and the thrill of the chase. James does deliver on all accounts - it just takes us a while to get there.

This seems to be the first novel of a new series for James as the ending leads directly into the title of the forthcoming Book 2 of the Jevin Banks Novels.

You'll find yourself contemplating the power of prayer and what makes a blessing a blessing and a curse a curse. Heck, you may even crack open your Bible to research some of the theories these characters propose.

James is able to blend faith topics with engaging storylines that don't feel forced or overtly Christianized.




This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Revell Publishing.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The Obamas by Jodi Kantor

This really isn't a tell-all memoirs from inside the Obama White House.




Kantor has done some interviews and asked a few questions to come up with this brief look at the Obama family - particularly Michelle and how she handled the transition from Chicago to the brightest spotlight in America.

Kantor reveals that Michelle wanted to stay in Chicago with the girls while President Obama moved to Washington until their girls finished the school year. This is just one example of the naive thinking of this powerful couple. Of course they ended up moving as a family to D.C.

Michelle Obama is a force like no other. She is not at all like Laura Bush nor does she reflect Hillary Clinton. However, she is harsh critic of her husband in that she doesn't believe politics can bring about honest change.    She also protects her husband's time and schedule like a momma bear.

The Obama administration didn't really know how to interact with Michelle. The President actually staffed out how he would ask her not to do something or to stump for his policies.

Like previous First Ladies, when the President's approval ratings tanked, Michelle was brought out because hers were through the roof. (Of course she did have a few missteps early on: flying to Europe during her husband's birthday and wearing uber expensive dresses)

While Kantor is an Obama fan, she doesn't delve too far into politics. I'm sure we can leave that to Bob Woodward and other "writing heads". Kantor keeps it within the couple's relationship and how they interact with the Washington elites.

Michelle hates to schmooze with the wives and daughters of Congress men. President Obama doesn't like to shake hands and pose for pictures. He has been accused of being too self-centered and not willing to reach out to those who helped him get elected.

The only huge blow up that Kantor reveals is between former Press Secretary Gibbs and Obama-tight-friend Valerie Jarrett. Jarrett claimed Michelle didn't approve of how Gibbs handled a situation, Gibbs went off on an F-bomb tirade, and storming out of a meeting. It is later revealed that Jarrett made the whole disapproval up. Seems Jarrett is incredibly territorial and makes all other staff members ill at ease.

This is more family-oriented that policy-wonk material. So take it as it is.



Sunday, November 4, 2012

Israel at War by Joel Rosenberg

If you know Joel Rosenberg, then you really don't need to read this book. There isn't anything that is surprising about his views of Israel and an nuclear armed Iran.




Rosenberg takes us in a close-up trip to the Israeli Prime Minister and how he handles this situation with the Iranians. What this book truly does is give us a better understanding of the man, Netanyahu. 

His writing is clear. His knowledge is crisp.

You won't finish reading this book wondering what Rosenberg believes a nuclear Iran will do and how Israel will respond.

He pulls in the United States and the how the situation will implicate us.

This is a fairly short book at only 100 pages so there really isn't much to review because so many people already know Rosenberg from his fiction writing.

This will resonate with people who already agree with his thinking.




This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Tyndale Publishing.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

500 Days by Kurt Eichenwald

This huge book details what happened in our government and around the world on 9/11 and how the decisions were made in the months to follow.




Eichenwald writes nonfiction in an adrenaline-laced way that keeps you turning page after page. I couldn't get enough of this book. The information is incredible and straight forward. He explores what mistakes were made and how judgments were made.

I did not see anything partisan about this book. It's great to have this resource - all the War on Terror details - in one book. It helps to see how things happened in our government and what the Bush administration wanted to do.

You won't see any name-calling from the author (although the people involved certainly had their own choice words for individuals).

This is the kind of informational book we need right now about Benghazi. I just hope it doesn't take this long for all the details of that attack to come to light.

Much of the information inside this book has been reported and explained in other places, but it's very nice to be able to sit down and read day-by-day accounts happening in real-time.

I appreciated the detail of what was happening in Afghanistan with bin Laden and his lieutenants; what happened between our Special Forces/CIA and the Pentagon around Tora Bora was atrocious.

The turf wars that Attorney General Ashcroft fought are incredible. He comes across as petty and shrill.

Whatever your thoughts are on President Bush, this book points out his determination to keep Americans safe and the mistakes that occurred within his team.