Rob Bell and a New American Christianity by James Wellman Jr.

I read this book in a day and I need to read it again and again.

Wellman does a fantastic job of highlighting the rise of Rob Bell and his controversy while also commenting on American Christianity.

There is no doubt that Rob Bell is a superstar. His Nooma videos are selling like hotcakes and his books are just as hot. Not only are people consuming his thoughts on Jesus but he's not at a loss for his critics.

Wellman divides this book into seven chapters, each touching on a certain description placed on Bell while the last one highlights where Bell is going:
1. Mystery
2. Subversion
3. Charisma
4. Canvas
5. Radical
6. Heretic
7. A Beautiful Jesus

You'll follow Bell on his rise to megachurch pastor status and how he never fit the bill of Conservative Evangelicalism while not subscribing to Liberalism either. Wellman takes us inside the mind of Bell while he forms a band in college, and how a meningitis scare puts the brakes on a possible indie-band future. This leads him to seminary and apprenticing under Ed Dobson.

Wellman explains the place Bell is whenever he writes one of his books. And how the real trouble started around the time he wrote Jesus Wants To Save Christians. It is with this book, Wellman says, that Bell moved from subtle questions to outright criticism of America and the strong ties Conservative Evangelism has with patriotism. (He even moved his family into a former crack house because he didn't want to be hypocritical...they stayed in that house for only two years)

This caused many people to leave his church (another thousand left when Bell preached a critique of the Iraq War). Following that book, Bell asked for a leave of absence from pastoring and spent some time in Ireland. From this time away Bell penned the ultra-controversial Love Wins.

It is after the controversy surrounding Love Wins, which surprised Bell, that he resigned from his church and traveled to LA. His show idea never got the pilot pick up and now he's trying to start a new talk tv show.

This book is fantastic. I couldn't put it down, even when I tried to. Wellman explores everything about this pastor and why he has such a connection to the younger generation. The way he preaches and uses performance to enhance sermons, to the fact that he brings out the Jewish aspects of Scripture that so many Mainline and Evangelical churches have omitted give so much aura to the man.

This book attempts to connect Rob Bell's journey with that of Christianity in America: one that embraces science and desires questions that may not have a concrete answer.

If you follow Bell or have enjoyed his books, this book will be another one for your shelf. I need to stop writing about it and read it again.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Abingdon Press.

Deadline by Randy Alcorn

Why do I keep reading books that involve horrible car accidents?

This is a repackaging of the mammoth novel by Randy Alcorn. Journalist Jake Woods tries to uncover the truth about the accident but is drawn into a riptide of murder and mystery.

Alcorn has a fantastic way of speaking profound truth and exploring deep topics all while spinning an engaging tale. The size of the book may turn a few off initially but as soon as you finish the first chapter, you won't be able to put this down.

Afterwards you will have finished a novel that you will be talking about for days to come. There are things that come up that you will wrestle with and mull over long after this book is back on the shelf. You'll want to meet up with friends and explore the implications of what you've read.

In this new edition a Reader's Guide is included at the end (don't peek) to help you on your way.

Pick this book up from your library and spend a weekend with Alcorn, Woods and his friends.

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

Rudy: My Story by Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger

If you haven't seen the movie Rudy yet, stop reading this review and pick it up.

It's about time we have the book to explain the story behind the film that makes grown men cry. Ruettiger teams up with Mark Dagostino to spell out the journey this man traveled for his dreams.

Like most biographies, you'll read about the victories, the heartaches and the glory that comes with being the recipient of a biography.

You'll read how Rudy struggled with school because no one knew how to diagnose dyslexia. You'll pick up on things left out of the film that adds so much depth to his struggles. Like most "heroes", there is a moment when Rudy wants to give up. He wants to quit because all the voices telling him he can't actually win. But, as the movie portrays, he is confronted with another guy who provides the "out" Rudy needs to succeed.

The book is written in the high-octane style similar to the film while also slowing down for the more poignant moments of his life. Some of the actual events had to be changed in order to create a story adequate for film, but this book is worth every penny - every page.

You'll enjoy flipping through the photos that are found near the middle of the book - helps put faces to names.

Rudy's is a fantastic story and it will motivate you just as much if not more than the film!

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Thomas Nelson Publishing

Jesus the Temple by Nicholas Perrin

When I saw that the author was a former research assistant to N.T. Wright, I was anticipating greatness.

Not taking anything away from Perrin - the material is discussion worthy: Did Jesus see himself as a replacement for the Jewish Temple? He has filled this book with so much information, it would take at least three semesters to adequately cover the ideas. And therein lies part of the problem.

Reading this I felt like I was reading a report by a student who had so many pages to fill and decided to use as many words as possible. There are simply too many words! Repeatedly I found myself thinking, "just get to the point!" I would skip ahead to the "Conclusion" segment of each chapter and think, well why didn't you just write that??

Perrin explores about all the conclusions each theologian has come to when it revolves around Jesus' actions with the Temple in Jerusalem. Every. Single. Conclusion. (probably not every single one but it felt like it)

His own conclusions are fantastic and worth the book but I imagine I would have enjoyed this book more if he just got to the point.

The later third of this book explores how Jesus' words and actions give proof to how he viewed himself in relation to the Temple and creating a counter-temple movement. It is this section that I really digested with delight. I just can't get enough of cultural/contextual information about Jesus and First Century Israel.

This is absolutely a book for higher education. It is full of footnotes and examples of resources for further study.

I hope Perrin writes more books and that he follows N.T. Wright's example by streamlining thoughts. (even early Wright was heavy on the word-usage)

Finding God in The Hobbit by Jim Ware

Remember how Christians tie in everything they can to get people to read books? Jim Ware is good at this as far as Tolkien is concerned.

He wrote a book called Finding God in The Lord of the Rings so it makes sense that he would have another one based on The Hobbit. And that publishers would want to push this book with the movie releasing.

Ware gives us a nice, small hardback book with twenty chapters. But don't let that number scare you, this book is like the God-cliffnotes for anyone interested. You'll get very short chapters that begin with a brief overview of part of the story and then unpacks the God-stuff.

I found some of the points he brought out to be interesting and not the typical ideas you'd assume to find in a book about finding God within a story.

This book may make a nice discussion starter for those who aren't familiar with The Hobbit, but diehard fans might be insulted by this and I imagine they could go even deeper in their discussions. Make no mistake, Ware knows his stuff, but it doesn't come close to adequately explore the themes.

But this is meant to get you interested in another book/movie and talk to your friends about the connection with God in pop culture. It's a gift book, make no mistake.

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

The Art of Pastoring by David Hansen

This is a rerelease. There's a few things included in this new edition.

Pastor Hansen decided that pastors don't need another "how to" book about being a pastor so he used his personal experiences and tied them together in a "how to" book.

This revised book is divided into twelve chapters:
Beginning
Call
Holy Spirit
Temptation
Eschatology
Preaching
Prayer
Friendship
Sacrament
Leadership
Leaving
Reward

As you can see, each chapter deals with those specific topics with Hansen's life experiences as the backdrop. This is an enjoyable way to read a "how to" book. It's fun to read someone else's experience and think, "oh I've dealt with that" or "This is something I hope I never experience".

You don't have to agree with his theology in order to enjoy this book. There's a new foreward and preface to the revised edition and there's a fairly decent epilogue to close things out. This would make a nice gift for any pastor-in-training or even someone just getting their feet wet in pastoral ministry.

I enjoyed the gimmick that this wasn't a "how to" book while still being a "how to" book. It's a how to book that doesn't promise to give you the answers. I really resonated with that idea because I'm a big proponent that ministry is messy and each situation is going to be different. Nothing is cookie-cutter while still being successful.

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