If God Disappears by David Sanford

If God Disappears: 9 Faith Wreckers & What To Do About Them

If God Disappears is written by David Sanford and is published by SaltRiver, a division of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Today, many people are succumbing to waves of negative circumstances and the accompanying and crushing hopelessness that follows. Sometimes it may seem as if God has totally checked out. Has God disappeared? What if God disappears? Can God disappear? Those are very big questions. They are the questions that loom large on the horizons of many people’s skies in this atmosphere of harsh individualism. “Is God gone?” is a very serious question being asked by many, many sincere people today. It’s a question that can find a catalyst in a million different real-time life scenarios; it can be asked in a number of different ways; it can take on hundreds of different forms. The question, regardless of the manner asked or the form taken, often results in a crippled or totally discarded faith. That’s unfortunate, if not straight up counterproductive. Where else will we look for answers or meaning to life’s most potent circumstances or events?

My rating: 2.5 stars
**1/2

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October 1, 2008 | Tags: , , ,

How to Hit a Curve Ball, Grill the Perfect Steak, and Become a Real Man

How to Hit a Curve Ball

How to Hit a Curve Ball, Grill the Perfect Steak, and Become a Real Man: Learning What Our Fathers Never Taught Us

How to Hit a Curve Ball is a paperback book (Religion/Christian Life/Personal Growth) co-authered by Stephen James and David Thomas; it is published by Tyndale House Publishers, 2008.

The book, overall, is awesome. It is highly recommended. Men everywhere are brothers, sons, fathers, and husbands, or some combination of the four. The relationships that proceed from those roles - or combination of roles - are beyond priceless. Men, we have the God-given ability to positively or negatively influence all of the relationships involved in those roles and all of the relationships proceeding from the people we immediately engage in those roles! That is undoubtedly a heavy, heavy responsibility. We all could use a little help along the way. Perhaps that’s the first lesson all men need to tackle straightaway. This little book is a big step in the right direction.

My rating: 4.0 stars
****

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June 18, 2008 | Tags: , , ,

Resource Reviews Coming in May and June

Ministry responsibilities are pressing! Praise God! That is a good thing! But it means I’m going to be running a tad late on the resource reviews for this month! Mea Culpa! I promise I will be getting to them all soon. I intend to complete the resource reviews in the next three weeks, at most. Too, I’ll be beginning that promised chapter by chapter journey through DeYoung and Kluck’s book. I trust you will be joining me for that particular journey! It is a very, very relevant one for our time!

‘Till then, I offer of a preview of the resources sent to me specifically for review on Tribe. The following resources will be reviewed in the next few weeks (list after the jump): Read More »

May 19, 2008 | Tags: , ,

Interview with Curriculum Author Michael Kelley

Tough Sayings of Jesus

Scribe members were recently offered a wonderful opportunity to receive and review a DVD-based small group curriculum published by Threads/LifeWay called The Tough Sayings of Jesus II (Leader Kit). Part of this opportunity included a series of interviews, hosted by individual Scribe members, with Michael Kelley, the creator/author of the curriculum. I personally love The Tough Sayings of Jesus I and II, and could not wait to ask Michael Kelley a few questions about it! You can read the interview with Kelley after the jump …

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May 14, 2008 | Tags: , , , ,

The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World

Desiring God

In anticipation of a serious dive into DeYoung and Kluck’s Why We’re not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be, I snagged a copy of The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World (editors John Piper and Justin Taylor). Chapter authors include: David Wells, Voddie Bucham Jr., John Piper, D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, and Mark Driscoll. The book exists as a direct result of the 2006 Desiring God National Conference (Minneapolis) held to explore the Supremacy of Christ in our postmodern and increasingly diverse contemporary world. The conference speeches have been complied to form this volume. Read More »

May 12, 2008 | Tags: , , , ,

Rising from the Ashes by Becky Garrison

Rising from the Ashes: Rethinking Church

Rising from the Ashes is a book (paperback) written by Becky Garrison

This book would make a great library addition for those who are thinking hard about church and change, especially if you are engaging it from a mainline perspective. The book includes more than a few priceless nuggets of wisdom (see N.T. Wright, for example), but it also includes some of what could be easily called fool’s gold too. Not everything tagged with the words “Emerging” or “Emergent” is helpful as far as long-term solutions for ecclesial health, communal evolution, and practical change are concerned. Some of the content is, in fact, just reactionary and silly. Again, the reader must decide and discern the difference between the two. This is a good book, in spite of its need for sensible discernment. I recommend it to anyone involved in church thinking and/or leadership.

My rating: 3.0 stars
***

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April 25, 2008 | Tags: , , ,

A Review of The End of Religion by Bruxy Cavey

The End of Religion

The End of Religion: Encountering the Subversive Spirituality of Jesus is a book written by Bruxy Cavey

The End of Religion is a great book. It’s fantastic! It’s challenging but dedicatedly Biblical. Put this one on your shelf and read it through a few times!

My rating: 4.0 stars
****

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April 16, 2008 | Tags: , , ,

A Review of Life After Church by Brian Sanders

Life After Church

Life After Church: God’s Call to Disillusioned Christians is a book written by Brian Sanders.

We don’t need one more book screaming about all that is wrong with the church. We all already know that much. Those folk need to find some new material, and soon. Until they do figure out how to maturely assess contemporary ecclesiology and reflect this newfound maturity in their writing, check out Brian Sanders’ Life after Church. It offers readers a mature summarization of current trends - good and bad - in ecclesiology and challenges readers to decide for themselves if they should stay or leave by asking themselves which action would be better for the kingdom of God. This is a great little book.

My rating: 4.0 stars
****

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April 15, 2008 | Tags: , , ,

A Review of Speaking of Faith by Krista Tippett

Speaking of Faith: Why Religion Matters and How to Talk about It

Speaking of Faith is paperback book written by public radio host Krista Tippett.

If you are interested in brushing up on a postmodern, pluralistic, North American Religious Liberalism, then grab Tippett’s Speaking of Faith. You will walk away from this book feeling as though you read a lot, but have little to actually apply to real life and living. It’s an exercise in religious intellectualism, at best. If your desire is to dive deep into authentic Interfaith conversation, keep checking the shelves. This book will not do it for you.

My rating: 2.0 stars
**

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April 15, 2008 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Modern Parables On Demand Curriculum

My already complimentary opinion of Modern Parables inflated upon reception of the following e-mail notice regarding what the good folk over at Compass Cinema are calling On Demand Curriculum.

Modern Parables films, application videos, and study materials are now available for digital download! We’ve spent the past month developing a new site that will enable our customers to buy our films and related materials one parable at a time. Each downloadable package includes one parable film, one application video, a director’s commentary, and a combined Student Book/Teacher’s Guide on PDF.

This is very, very cool and convenient. Well done Compass Cinema!

March 6, 2008 | Tags: