Religion Books

This is an outstanding book. I highly recommend it to all Christian women who are pregnant or think about getting pregnant.

Christ Centered Childbirth

I am the author of Christ Centered Childbirth, and this book inspired me so much that after my thrid child, I was moved to add to the work Jackie Started. I very much appreciate all that she has offered us. With a measure of discernment, the reader can gain much from her steadfast faith in the perfect design of the woman's ability to give birth.

I bought this book for my niece a few months before her baby's due date and she loved it!! She'd talk about it all the time and was so uplifted by the stories. Great purchase!

This book starts from the premise in the Bible that nothing is too hard for the Lord. I had never "interpreted" some of the scriptures the way the author did, but I don't think it is harmful to view them that way. The book is loaded with scriptures. I had expected more mundane advice and certainly nothing that expected the incredible. She gives her own experiences as well as including stories from some who had tried this and it had worked. My opinion is that we, mortals, know very little and much more is possible than we judge possible. But it takes faith and, very definitely, humility to tap into the "impossible."

This lady has incredible faith. I learned a lot from this book. I took many of the scripture references and taped them, along with some affirmations. I play the tape over and over again to get the words into my head. No baby as yet, but Amazon wanted a review and I didn't think about waiting several months or a year to write it.

I don't think that those people who tried and "failed" ought to judge themselves or the book. There is a difference between faith to be saved and faith to be healed in a way that our society and traditions say, no, shout is impossible. There is condemnation for one, but not for the other. I think it takes a lot to look in one's soul and see the fine points where we lack faith.

This book is definitely worth trying. There is nothing anti-Christ nor dark about this book.

My first child I had a miscarriage, my second a 23 hour extremely painful birth which ended with 4 degree tears & even more recovery pain that took weeks. And then 7 months later another pregnancy where I was sick 8 out of the 10 months I was pregnant (he was 3 weeks late so it really was 10 months :) and though the birth was shorter, 3 hours, it was the most intensely painful 3 hours I had ever experienced--contraction on top of contraction with no rest. And while my beautiful children were so worth it, the thought of another pregnancy or birth was terrifying to me. A year later I became pregnant again in spite of using protection constantly (it was just God's will :) and this time I had horrible nausea, much worse than any of the others. I later discovered why, I was pregnant with twins!! :D While this was ultra exciting I was also so fearful, I had never heard anything but horror stories in deliveries of twins. My first two births had been drug free, and though incredibly painful, I still wanted this one to be drug free too.

A friend at church gave me a tape of a lady talking about this book, all of the scriptures, and her personal experience. I listened to the cassette tape several times, wrote down all the scriptures and prayed over them every other day from the 5th month on. I prayed especially hard that they would not be born prematurely and would be born on God's appointed day for them. And also believing God for a painfree birth. It was the most wonderful pregnancy I ever had and I praise God so much for it! And I am so grateful to my friend for introducing this to me. At 5 months pregnant I was already beginning to be quite large, in fact I was as large as my sister-in-law who was 8 1/2 months along--and she wasn't tiny. It was getting to the point where I could not walk, and I had been a very active person. I didn't want to gain a lot of weight like I had with my first so I started taking communion at home each day and praying over the pregnancy and childbirth scriptures. After three days I could walk!!

After that I walked a 1/2 mile in the morning and 1/2 mile at night till I was 7 months along--then I swam in a friends pool. It was great, I felt so light!! Praying over the scriptures was awesome, God's word works. After I started that I never had any nausea, backaches, leg cramps, swelling, hearburn, no new stretch marks and I slept great (other than a couple night trips to pee :). It was a total miracle! The best pregnancy I had ever gotten to have, because before I had all of those symptoms in abundance except heartburn wasn't real bad with the others--but I had none with these!

When I was 8 months along the doctor said I had dilated to a 4 and would have the babies any time now. I cried driving home, they would be a month early, and it made me so sad. I just heard God whisper to me "Trust Me". So I did, and I just kept praying the scriptures. Whenever I would have a moment of doubt or fear my husband was such a strength, he would just remind me what God's word said and help strengthen my faith with his strength. The last appointment I went in on Tuesday, I told the doctor I felt like it would be Sunday so for him to be ready. I bet he thought that was weird, but I gave him a heads up anyway. :) I was going twice a week, once for a sonogram and once for fetal monitoring. On Friday I called and canceled my appointment and told them I felt like they were arriving on Sunday so if they didn't come then I'd come in Monday.

Sure enough Sunday afternoon the contractions started, they were 38 weeks to the day. They were coming very gently and with no pain, I could just feel the stretching. I went in at 3pm and I was dilated to a 6 1/2. After a few hours it had went up to an 8 but then by 10pm I had never moved past an 8. No pain, just stretching. I was bouncing on the beach ball they had in there, walking around, jumping up and out of the bed for bathroom breaks--the nurses were so incredibly amazed that I could get around so easily with carrying twins. I was huge, my friend called me a triple decker, but praise God I was still able to move around easily. :) The twins literally sat in my lap once I hit the 6 1/2 month mark, and then it grew out from there. Which makes it all the more amazing that I didn't get any new stretch marks!! :) Anyway, at 10pm the doctor asked if I would like my water broken so I did--I figured if they were to be born on Sunday we didn't have much time left! :) 30 minutes after that the stretching got stronger and my friend, my husband and I started praying in tongues. It just seemed like a few minutes after doing that the first baby started coming down! I hollered to get the doctor fast!! I had such a strong desire to push, he asked me to wait till the pedi got there. I said NO I need to push!! He said ok then, but let me get my gloves on and get ready first!! The only uncomfortable part was as she moved through those bones, I just do not like that feeling. Ugh. I still shudder, I can remember that feeling with every one of my kids. But that was the only uncomfortable or remotely uncomfortable part, whohoo! Calleigh Jorja was born in two pushes, then six minutes later Cadence Bethany was born breech with three pushes. All without medication, all painfree!! Oh, I highly, highly recommend it!! It was just so wonderful. :)

They were born August 28, 2005--the night Katrina hit landfall. Calleigh weighed 7 lbs 1oz and Cadence weighed 7 lbs even. They'll be 3 years old this Thursday, it is so awesome. Isn't that a wonderful miracle of God? Born healthy and a nice weight, and a wonderful pain free birth too! Next time I am going to pray for painfree afterpains, those were killer but thankfully they were over in a couple of days. After 3 days I was walking around, carrying them around and acting like nothing had ever happened! It was just so awesome, God is so good.

It kind of upsets me when people try to explain away the good things God has provided for us. Or they try to use their personal experience to negate the word of God. I mean, if that was a valid argument people could just say Well, not everyone is saved so God doesn't want to save anyone!! That is just ignorant to me. They suppose that just because it didn't work for them it couldn't work for anyone else. God's word won't work if you have unbelief, and it won't work if you don't any faith or belief for it. The two work against each other, faith and unbelief, and unbelief can cancel a persons God given faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) Matthew 17:19-22 clearly shows that praying and fasting is the remedy to unbelief. So that is why saying those scriptures and praying over them everyday works. If you waited till the day before you went to give birth to try it I would imagine it would be harder to quelch the unbelief and let the faith be pure enough to let God's word work! So combine hearing the word, praying the word, and fasting and watch the results of the word of God work in your life too!! Now, I will say when pregnant you are not supposed to fast food or water as that has been known to throw people into pre-term labor. Dehydration and lack of omega-3 essetial fatty acids are two of the main causes of pre-term labor. So if you want to fast while pregnant fast something important to you such as Tv, computer, ect. would be my recomendation and spend that time that you would have spent otherwise doing those things with the Lord. Anyway, I hope this testimony blesses someone's life and helps them see that God is the same--yesterday, today and forever and that he is no respecter of persons. What He will do for me He will do for anyone. :) You just have to believe and purify that belief by squelching the doubt, fear, and unbelief!! :)

If you're looking for spiritually based explanations on how life began and a view of the "bigger" picture, you have found the perfect read on Kabbalah. This book just tells you what it is without difficulty.

Starts as very good wisdom and then turns into alot of dribble. The book has parts of outstanding clarity and consciousness. The book has some parts which will introduce new ways of thinking to you. But also, the book has a lot of nonsense. Sometimes the author is drawing unfounded unreasonable conclusions.
Chapters are broken down into a simplifier format to the pages easy for reading. Parts I and III of the book should be mandatory reading for anybody. Parts II and IV of the book lose all sense of cohesion and rationality. Parts V and VI of the book become long winded, redundant baloney.
I think that the author probably started with some ideas of another older, wiser person which were really good. Then he tried to take their wisdom a step further with his own ideas but the reasoning fell apart.
The philosophy is founded predominantly on this idea of passive resistance or non reaction leading to a life of greater satifaction. It's a philosophy of just accepting whatever life throws at you. It's rididculous. And, the book definately has a very egotistic, "i know better than everyone else" type tone.
You have to sort out the pieces of golden wisdom from the ramble of nonsense but definately worth reading once.

I've already read this book 4 times. I recommend this to almost everyone. To gain a grasp of the original ancient wisdom and achieve a sense of spirituality this is a must read.

I recommend this as a first read for those interested in Kabbalah. Most of Yehuda Berg's books are easy to understand and very empowering.

I thought "The Power of The Kabbalah" was an easy interesting read. I would recommend it but prefer a more historical view with less interpretation. Although, it is a good introduction for those who are curious. One can take what they want from the book and perhaps understand it is a bit "Americanized". I am suspicious by nature, which is why I did not give it the full 5 stars. Cynicism and suspicion conflict will the Kabbalah ways, so perhaps I should keep reading.

I liked the book. But I recommend people to read about Mevlana also, they will like it more.

Wonderful study guide. I was given the book by my mother-in-law a couple of years ago as a gift. My girlfriends and I decided to do a girl's study over the book and we all purchased the study guides to go along with it. We are in chapter 3 and so far the group is going great. The study guide offers us great starting points for our discussion and really gets the group going. I recommend everyone reading the book to get the companion study journal too!

Good book and got me on the path to knowing we have an Adversary that wants to darken our hearts so we can't shine for God.

Companion to the book, Captivating, by John and Staci Eldridge. Using the journal as you read the companion book leads to a much more personal and in depth discovery of the reason you were created and greatly enhances the application of the realities presented in the book. It is a journal of self discovery; self in the real sense of the word, as it relates to our purpose, and why we were created, by a loving God.

I have started a women's ministry and we are doing a book study on "Captivating" We have also implemented "Captivating: A Guided Journal" This companion book allows us to discuss in great depth and answer probing questions about who we are as women in our own lives, but more importantly, to our Father. We are still in the first few chapters, but already have been greatly blessed.
I highly recommend both the "Captivating" book and the "Guided Journal."

I loved this book. It made me realize I was worth more than what my husband thought of me. I am made by God and am as is every woman made with care and created for this earth as an asset not to be abused! Buy this for every woman you know and tell her how wonderful she is! She should be loved and not abused in any way. Women are precious. Remind them!

I was required to read this book for a Church Planting Course I am taking. I was a little suspicious when this book came up as required reading for a church planting course. I had previously heard an interview with the author on radio and after having listened to it, I made up my mind that it would not be a book I would want to read. So I find myself having to read the book because of course requirements. I thought perhaps because since the book was required reading for the course, that I should not judge a book by its cover. I gave it a shot. The book rings true to the authors radio interview. It did not fail to disappoint.

In response to the papers objective in "How this book may be an important consideration in planting a new church", I would have to take the position that there is anything of little importance, and perhaps serves more to illustrate what one should not do in planting a church. Although the author makes several points that may be useful, the line of reasoning that he uses to arrive at these conclusions is extremely incoherent, irrational and without basis to any Biblical model of church planting. There is hardly a logical or consistent thought throughout the book. He writes extremely emotionally which ironically by his own definition is a feminine characteristic. - but of course, he is writing to women.

In my view this book is extremely harmful and contributes to the poor state of our churches of our day. He immediately qualifies in the beginning of the book that he will not often refer to scripture, - that the book is admittedly written to appeal to a female audience. The title of the book no doubt will ring a cord with women married to men who are absent from church and who are desperate for information on how to fix their husbands. Towards the end of the book however, Murrow warns women not to try to fix their husbands. ????


The author makes an observation that can be agreed with in a general sense, in that there is a lack of male attendance, participation in the modern church. This is of course what the book is about and he spends great lengths to fortify this message. He also makes the point that the church should focus on building up men in the church. Good point, but the methods he suggests are built on opinion, feeling and the wisdom of man rather that looking to any Biblical wisdom or scriptural references regarding the discipleship of men and their roles in the church and family.

His idea of masculinity is quite frankly preposterous. (Note: the author also mentions he had many refusals from publishers to publish his book - Huh). He basically describes the sinful character of man - which he describes as true masculinity, and the wonders why these men are not in church. They are not in church because they are sinners and are uncomfortable in confronting God. Let's call a spade a spade. If we paint the walls camo and show videos of Rambo, we may get these guys to church, but they will be no more saved than if they stay at home watching the fight channel. Sin needs to be identified, repentance needs to occur, God and Jesus need to be put in the proper place in these mens hearts and in the church and then maybe they would have a chance for true salvation. The church is doing a great disservice to the unsaved macho men by telling them it is ok to accept Jesus on your own terms. It leads them to an illusion of saving faith which is not true salvation. Following his suggestions may permanently isolate a man from truly accepting Christ. The author claims to preach the hard truth, but what he is preaching is the wisdom of man, he doesn't even come close to the hard truth. Biblical manhood is never addressed. If masculinity is his issue, he does not suggest that we learn from scripture the successes and failings of the triumphant and godly men of the Bible - he makes the claim that men don't read and don't like to read so you needn't burden them with requirements to read scripture!!!!

He boldly claims his goal is to call the church back to men - which is upside down. The church should never stoop to appeal to the sins of man. But at the conclusion of the book, he reasons that maybe church is not a place for men any way. Perhaps they are better served in small group Para church ministries? Well wasn't that the point of the book, to get men into church? - what is it then??

The author mocks those men that are faithful and obedient and never mentions the development of the men already in Church. In fact he berates them as spineless sissy-pants. Given also that he maintains later that men need strong Christian men to follow, where does he propose they come from? Perhaps if the beer swilling, cussing philandering men could come to church we may follow them? Would it not make sense to develop seasoned Godly men to lead those in their walk?

He confuses evangelism and discipleship. It is not clear whether the men in the book he is trying to get to church are saved or unsaved. In some sense one gets the idea that they are saved men who can't be bothered to come to church because it isn't fun enough, or it doesn't meet their needs or it isn't relevant. If that is the case then shame on these men. Making church fun won't get them there either. Are the men sitting at home non-believers? Then what he suggests may work in getting them to come to church. In his view you must make church more appealing than golf, hunting or sleeping if you want them to come. I.e. appeal to their sin, don't challenge or convict. Focus on their needs. One could have a long debate about whether Sunday morning is a time to evangelize. I would take the position it is not. The authors approach does not work, has not worked and is a rehashing of the seeker sensitive, needs based philosophies made famous by Saddleback and Willow Creek. It gets a lot of people in, but fails to develop mature Christians - Murrow cites these models as laudible successes. i.e. numbers = success - again wisdom of man.

He also focuses a great deal on putting men into responsible positions - giving them tasks. Which men are these? Are these the sissy pants or the beer swillers? Does putting them on the building committee save anyone? Is a man qualified to teach if he doesn't even know a shred of scripture?

Murrow employs a large use of statistics and results of studies in an attempt to give credence to his conclusions and suggestions. The data is deliberately chosen to support his view, his view is not derived from the data. To quote Shakespeare "me thinks he doth protesteth too much". The conclusions he arrives at are completely arbitrary, for example, many stats are given for the disproportionate number of men attending church compared to women. His conclusion is that men do not attend church because it is a "feminine" environment. Now, he makes an assumption that the church is a feminine environment. Assuming his assumption is correct, would not an equally valid conclusion be that the church has become "feminine" because of a lack of male presence? This illogical pattern of "reasoning" (if one could call it that) is consistent throughout the book.

I believe that this book if taken to heart will do more harm to the cause of church planting, evangelism and God's church, than any possible benefit. It follows the pattern of many "What is wrong with Church" books. It presumes on mans reasoning and wisdom for the solution but this line of reasoning is what got us into this problem in the first place and serves to further us deeper in the mire.

The one thing that Murrow has identified is that there is a shortage of Godly men. He asks the question as to why this is, and this is perhaps the only thing that can be taken away from this book. His methodology on identifying the causes and suggesting a remedy is to look to the wisdom of man and appeal to his sin. This book would encourage me to do otherwise by its error, and seek the wisdom of scripture and God's word for answers to the question.

Murrows book maybe useful in generating a reaction, but so does a stink-bomb.

The writer has an interesting style. I like the way he breaks down the chapters into subsections and uses lots of illustrations. He shares some good statistics and recommendations. But he tends to accentuate differences for emphasis. I am not convinced that every observation is valid, but enough of them make sense that I plan on sharing the book with several people.

This was a good, easy read. While there are no huge revelations or surprises and the topic really isn't that new, it will open your eyes to some issues that are unique to men and church. Although, as a man who regular attends church without being drug by my wife, it did make me question what type of "man" I really am! It may help teachers and leaders with a new perspective on how to reach men.

I found this book to be a great enumeration of the many reasons men are turned off by modern churches.

The author makes many assumptions in this book. First, that churchgoing men aren't "real" men, but a wimpy and effeminate. They don't drive trucks, drink beer, watch sports, or look at porn. The second mistake is to hold up this kind of man as the idea. I'm sorry, but the "man's man" stereotype is no more Christ-like than a spiritually neutered man. These are very superficial stereotypes, and to base the book on this ideal is quite a shaky foundation. I understand that the man described above is underrepresented in the church, but is that entirely the church's fault? I agree that much of the church's programs and values are neutering for men, but is the goal to change church to make it more like a monster truck rally, or to develop men into noble Warriors and Kings for the glory of God?

I had a big problem with the chapter where he starts with two columns: one with mainly feminine values and one with mostly masculine values, and uses that to say most people equate Christian values with the feminine ones. I disagree: I believe love, harmony, respect, relationships, etc. are Christian values, that look differently when expressed by men and women. Men express love and respect towards other men by spending time together - no words need be spoken - while women need to talk. Men nurture their children by providing for them materially and spending time with them; women hold them and tend to emotional needs. The values are the same; it's just they are expressed differently by men and women. Obviously, if there aren't many men expressing these values in their own way, the expressions become routines which become traditions, and we are left with the current church that is influenced more highly by the feminine expressions of these our shared Christian values. Men either have to deny their masculine expression (trying to fit the square peg into the round hole), or else give up.

The author does make some valid points: lovey-dovey worship songs need to go. It's not healthy for anyone, even women (not in nature, but degree). Men need to step up and take ownership of their role in the church. Women need to stop being guilt-tripped into propping up dying ministries because "If I don't do it, no one else will". Men need discipleship above all else. All valid points.

However, I agree with the dissenting article that much of what the author describes as "masculine" is not derived from the scriptures, but from popular culture. In other words, the pinnacle definition of a man is a rough hunter/fisher-type who loves sports, isn't well-read, and works in a "manly" occupation like construction, excavation, or demolition. This is a very shallow, "pop" conception of what it means to be truly masculine. It's more informed by John Wayne than Jesus Christ.

A better read for pastors, lay leaders, and fathers would be John Eldridge, "The Way of The Wild Heart: The Six Stages of a Man's Life". That book lays out a blueprint for discipleship at every stage of life, and allows ministry expressions to flow forth spontaneously, and from within. Superficial changes will only result in...you guess it: superficial changes.

This is an excellent book written by two college professors, but it doesn't have the feel of one written by scholars. While their research and scholarship is evident, the book is neither difficult to read or dry. One of the most thought-provoking truths presented is that "faith" has been given a label by mainstream society that likens its to wishful thinking. As the authors point out, faith is anything but blind but has a bedrock foundation in the truth that God is trustworthy and capable of doing anything he wills. This is no light treatment, but a balanced look at "God-confidence," as the authors replace the slandered word "faith."

I'm a big fan of Macaulay's work and have nearly all of his books. There is no denying that "Mosque" provides a much-needed introduction to Islamic culture for Westerners who are increasingly interacting with and often clashing with the Eastern world. Macaulay has added color to his illustrations, a departure from earlier works like "Cathedral" and "Pyramid." I prefer his monochrome pen-and-ink work over the colorized versions, for the simple reason that his pen-and-ink work is extraordinary, and the addition of color seems to me to actually detract from it a little bit. (That said, they are still quite good.) But nonetheless it is a fine book and one which I look forward to sharing with my son. I just hope that Macaulay hasn't abandoned altogether his amazing drawing technique.

An informative entry into the Macaulay canon, this one telling us the story of every aspect of the construction of a great mosque. The details are what makes this and other David Macaulay books so delightful. The only thing that took me time to get used to was seeing one of his books in color instead of the black and white ink sketches I grew up with. Mr. Macaulay is simply one of life's all-around great authors, and here he is in highest form, giving the world another fine book.

Beautiful illustrations, informative narrative about the construction of a Turkish mosque in context of its society and culture. Will help reader appreciate the majesty of Islamic architecture.

Mosque is David Macaulay's latest book on architecture. Macaulay does not get into politics and does not dwelve deep into religion; he just focuses on architecture.

I have read all of Macaulay's other books (Castle, Cathedral, Underground, Ship, and City) and Mosque lives up to all the books he wrote and illustrated before. However, this book is Macaulay's first in color. All his other books were in black and white pen drawings. With the color in Mosque, you are able to picture the towering minarets and the grand interior of the mosque.

Macaulay's books are a tribute to architecture and should not be overlooked. Buy this book!

The first book by David Macaulay that I ever read was Cathedral, so that's the benchmark by which I measure his other books. Mosque is based on the same premise as that book (i.e. the construction of a great structure for religious worship), but adds the new element of color for the first time and is obviously not set in Medieval Europe. And while I did enjoy the color prints, and the book is well done, overall I felt like it fell a bit short of Cathedral because the drawings lacked the detail found in that book. Mosque seems to present a bigger picture rather than focusing on the intricate details that made Cathedral so interesting to me. You'll notice that I still gave Mosque four stars, so I'm not unhappy with it at all. But I didn't think it quite lived up to the high standards set by Cathedral, which is the only reason I shorted it one star. I would add that my four-and-a-half-year-old son, who absolutely loves all things related to construction, really enjoyed this book becuase of its illustrations and the interesting subject matter, but also becuase I summarized the narrative rather than reading it word for word. I did that because it is written at a higher reading level than Cathedral. That may or may not suit your needs depending on your situation, but for younger kids this would be a long slog if you read every word to them.

If you can get past the fact that Mark uses 'street language' this is a wonderful book. There is much to be learned from Mars Hill. Not everything will translate out of Seattle, but we need to realize this cannot be 'your grandmas church' even in small town America.

Driscoll really provides the reader with a good view of the Gospel and its effect on very different people

This book is really helping our small groups rethink how we evangelize and speak to people. Its been a great tool and we are thoroughly enjoying it.

There are few men in the US who are raising the bar for ministry and the men who are called to do such work, quite like Mark Driscoll. Young men going into ministry need humble models and they are hard to find. God calls real men to stand in the gape for souls. Driscoll is burdened to see men in ministry who love Jesus best and love His word. Everyone else stay away! This is a man worthy of imitation and this book is a good start in understanding how to follow him as he follows Christ.

I really, really liked this book. So much so that I not only ordered my own copy, but I didn't give back the one I borrowed, I gave it to someone else to read first.

Radical reformission is about a transformation of the church. Mark shares his philosophy regarding the church, and what it means for a church to be missional. This book combines powerful teaching with storytelling, and the typical driscoll humor.

I love the story of how he started in ministry. Mark accepted Christ, and then immediately decided to start a bible study (the same week!). He summarizes it like this "It then dawned on me that I had been a Christian for only a few days, had never been in a Bible study, and did not really know anything in the Bible other than the fact that I sucked and that Jesus is God." Mark offered to let anyone ask any question, as long as they would give him a week to try to figure it out.

Mark is very transparent in this book, sharing both success and failures. After one very entertaining story about going to a gay cowboy bar (gotta read the book!) in which he was afraid to tell people he was a pastor, he said "I cared more about how I appeared to people than about whether I shared the passion of Jesus for those who are lost"

But the chapter on reformissional evangelism really hit home with me. I struggle with the idea that we expect people to jump through hoops to be part of the church, and Mark writes an incredible analogy on this point:

"In reformission evangelism, people are called to come and see the transformed lives of God's people before they are called to repent of sin and trust in God. Taking a cue from dating is helpful on this point. If we desire people to be happily married to Jesus as his loving bride, it makes sense to let them go out on a few dates with him instead of just putting a shotgun to their heads and asking them to hurry up, put on a white dress, and try to look happy for the photos."

Mark then explains "In our church in Seattle, as lost people become friends with Christians, they often get connected to various ministries (for example, helping to run concerts, helping to guide a rock-climbing expedition, taking a class on biblical marriage, helping to develop a website, joining a Bible study, serving the needy) and participate in them before they possess saving faith."

This is a key difference between the emerging church and the traditional church. Traditionally churches require people to be members before they do things, which requires that they are already Christians. The emerging church is about exposing people to a life in Christ and using that to draw them in.

Mark challenges readers to engage culture rather than withdraw from it, but is careful to caution that engaging culture does not include sinning (e.g. things like fornication and drunkenness are not engaging culture, they are sin).

In a chapter entitled "the sin of light beer" Mark talks about the dangers of syncretism and sectarianism, and specifically utilizes the Christian church's demonization of something God created for the joy of His people, alcohol, to make his point. I really love Mark's conclusion in this chapter:

"Here's what I'd like you to remember from this chapter: reformission is not about abstention; it is about redemption. We must throw ourselves into the culture so that all that God made good is taken back and used in a way that glorifies him. Our goal is not to avoid drinking, singing, working, playing, eating, love-making, and the like. Instead, our goal must be to redeem those things through the power of the gospel so that they are used rightly according to Scripture, bringing God glory and his people a satisfied joy."

The conclusion of the book is profound in its own very post-modern way. Rather than wrap everything up into a neat little conclusion, Mark concludes the book by sharing his hopes and dreams for the city of Seattle and the ministry of Mars Hill. In essence, Mark shares what he prays will be the end result of putting into practice the things that he has been writing about through this book. That the world would be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long, long time.

Joel

NICE AND CONCISE.Scott Hahn is an exellent resource for finding the truth and developing your spiritual life! He's a wealth of information!

Dr. Scott Hahn has done Catholics (and anyone seeking greater understanding) a great service by writing this pocket guide to the Bible. It is small enough to carry around with you, but packed with tons of useful information on the most sacred book of Christians.
The book is organized in a very usable manner, what the Bible is, what its made up of,who wrote it,how it relates to the Church, how to understand the Bible, a reading program for reading the Bible, an overview of all the books that make up the Bible, and an excellent topical reference section in the back of this compact 80 page book. This like the other Pocket Guide's published by Our Sunday Visitor are the perfect solution for those who want a quick update or explanation of the the Catholic Faith. A Pocket Guide to Catholic Apologetics andA Pocket Guide to Purgatory (A Pocket Guide to) (A Pocket Guide to) by Patrick Madrid offer great tools for those seeking the Biblical background of the Faith, Dr. Peter Kreeft's A Pocket Guide to The Meaning of Life (Pocket Guide Series)gives an insightful teaching on what life is all about, Fr. George Kosicki's A Pocket Guide to Divine Mercy (A Pocket Guide to)presents the most popular devotion to arise within the Catholic Church during the last century and finally my own contributions to the series A Pocket Guide to the Mass and A Pocket Guide to Confessionseek to answer all the questions that someone might have about both Sacraments.

An easy yet thorough read of what the Bible is and is not from an authoritative professor of scripture. It can be read quickly over the course of an hour or two. It's an excellent primer for the novice. I like the last few pages with topical references. I have already given this book away!

Anyone growing up during the 60s will relate to this personal story, especially if they did "the scene" during this time. See how Greg Laurie was "experienced" and not only survived, but came to know and share His saving grace!

Years ago I reviewed another book Greg Laurie wrote called "The Great Compromise". I noted that Greg is an honest and engaging writer and speaker, one who does not water down the word of God, but delivers it straight. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to discover how God worked through Pastor Greg, from his early, sad life, through the transforming power of Jesus Christ and onto to what he is today; a man of God who reaches thousands for Christ. And how he came to be that honest, Godly teacher.

The book has a picture of Pastor Greg at one of his Harvest Crusades and the caption reads, "many people experience, when Greg speaks, he is talking just to them." That is how this book read for me. I felt so badly for the child who was pulled to and fro, through a life of instability, and I was astonished at the complete transformation once Jesus gold ahold of this young man. I felt like he was sitting next to me telling me his story. A very personal experience.

I read this book in 24 hours, I simply could not put it down. It's a heartfelt journey. So many times I found myself near tears in gratitude for the restoration of his life. You know, there is just no limit what God can do with a heart that gives itself over to His leading. And Pastor Greg is a living example.

I enjoyed this autobiographical sketch of Greg Laurie, a Christian Pastor, especially well-known for his stadium Harvest Crusades in Southern California. One thing I learned about him was his passion for drawing cartoons and how this talent served the first church he attended. Easy- heartwarming read describes his difficult childhood abusive background, yet culminated in a complete character change as he came to understand Biblical teaching. He could have been lost to addiction, etc. This story was especially meaningful to me because of a recent tragedy in Greg Laurie's life (not covered in this book). He lost his boy, his adult, married son in an automobile accident this summer of 2008. His response to this grief is an inspiration to all of us who have or will lose someone we love. I bought this book so I could know the background of this man, Greg Laurie, who is modeling courage along with his tears.

Great book. Probably liked it most because it mirrored a life I'm personally familiar with. It's an easy read, with humor and sadness.

Greg Laurie grabs your attention from page one. A wonderful book with lots of humor. A nice book to share with friends who are not believers. Anyone would find his story inspiring and fascinating. I highly recommend buying/reading this book.

Several small groups in my church are using this little book, augmenting the book with the DVD in which Bishop Job talks about the three simple rules--Do no harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God. We are buying it by the boxful and hope to use it as a starting place in building a congregation that practices the faith in a more deliberate way.

This is a wonderful little hardcover volume which, if implemented, will revolutionize your life. John Wesley espoused three simple rules: Do No Harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God. Though these rules sound amazingly simple - and they are - yet to actually practice them may indeed be the hardest thing you've ever done. This small book shows how difficult the instructions of Jesus (and Wesley) can be in real life, and yet how rewarding they can also be both in this life and in the life to come, if we simply take them to heart.

The main point is to stay in love with God. If we do this, the rest will follow. As Bishop Job says, "Holy living will not be discovered, achieved, continued, and sustained without staying in love with God. And while staying in love with God involves prayer worship, study, and the Lord's Supper, it also involves feeding the lambs, tending the sheep, and providing for the needs of others (John 21:15-16). Feeding the lambs and tending the sheep are the signs of love that we exchange with God. And they are signs of the love that the world can understand. Spiritual disciplines not only include practices that bind us to God every day but they also include actions that heal the pain, injustice, and inequality of our world. It is impossible to stay in love with God and not desire to see God's goodness and grace shared with the entire world." (p. 58).

This inexpensive little volume, taken seriously by the Church of Jesus, could well ignite a holy reality that burns hot with the fire of God in our day.

Excellent book...quick reading. Book arrived ahead of time. In new condition. Well protected.

Retired United Methodist Bishop Rueben Job's "Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living" (2007, 77-page pocket sized hardback) is a handy quick read commentary for John Wesley's General Rules. This small book suggests to believers the profound nature of boldly loving God. Indeed, the good bishop is determined that his readers return love for love, in Jesus Christ.

Along with Wesley, Job begins with Deuteronomy 6:5 and Mark 12:29-31 as the biblical warrants for Christian love. We believers are to love God and others unconditionally! This book reminds that there are no other rules for Christians as important.

In three chapters (on doing no harm, on doing good, and on loving God) and one appendix (litanies for the use of prayer in drawing oneself closer to God) pastor Job offers a daily guide that encourages and matures the Christian walk. This is a Wesleyan spiritualist's self-help.

The downside of this great little book is its dearth of stories and illustrations for making the good bishop's points. One wishes for more narrative from Job's long and accomplished career as he speaks for Wesley's rules. A few stories would have barely increased the length of this book while broadened its scope (helping, perhaps, to make the General Rules more preachable and shareable). Narrative scarcity, here, prevents more stars.

This book is recommended to all new to Wesley's General Rules, novice Christians, Christian spiritualists, seminarians, and Christians-in-training.