When you think of Jesus, do you think of a mild-mannered man who always got along?  If so, John MacArthur wants you to understand Jesus in a different way.  In The Jesus You Can’t Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ, MacArthur examines the three year period of time in which Jesus battles with the religious leaders of his day.

This three year period was bracketed by the two times that Jesus cleansed the temple.  In between these events, you will discover that Jesus challenged the actions, teachings and even the thoughts of these leaders.  He challenged everything that made it difficult for people to find right standing with God.

Readers will find the familiar MacArthur writing style.  The basis for all of his arguments are firmly rooted in a careful understanding of the Bible.

The purpose for this book is to provide a call to today’s Christians to follow Jesus in confronting errors of our day that threaten the gospel message.  When people distort the gospel by either adding to it or taking away from it, this is when we should challenge these views.

I highly recommend this book to all who want to grow in their understanding of who Jesus is.  What you think about Jesus will enable you to more clearly look at the religious landscape and make clear distinctions.

What you think about Jesus Christ will thoroughly color how you think about everything else.

–John MacArthur

Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

50 years ago today, To Kill a Mockingbird was published.  In this novel, Harper Lee penned a great story of  a white lawyer named Atticus Finch representing an innocent black man in a southern courtroom.  The story is told through the eyes of Finch’s daughter, Scout.

In 1962 the story was made into an award winning movie with Gregory Peck brilliantly playing Atticus Finch.  Whether you watch the movie or read the book, you will encounter the issue of race relations.  Here are a few of the lessons we learn from this great novel:

1.  Regardless of the color of our neighbor’s skin color, we must do what is right.

2.  Doing the right thing may have negative consequences.  Do the right thing anyway.

3.  Teach your children to do the right thing with your words and your actions.

If you have never read the book nor watched the movie, find one or both and get to it.

One of the most daunting tasks of leadership in the 20th century had to be assembling and leading a force to put an end to the powerful German army determined to rule the world.  That task fell upon the shoulders of Dwight D. Eisenhower.  The consequences of his leadership would determine life, death and liberty for millions.

Geoff Loftus takes a look at how Eisenhower would lead the military forces of several nations to defeat Hitler and Germany in Lead Like Ike: Ten Business Strategies from the CEO of D-Day.  Loftus’ intent is for leaders of today to learn by observing Eisenhower.  In doing so Loftus names the Allied forces as D-Day Inc.  and presents Eisenhower as the CEO.  He then tracks Eisenhower’s actions from setting up an organization until victory is achieved.

Reading through this book puts the reader inside the command post of the Allied forces.  It is fascinating to see the interaction between the various personalities of WWII.  If you enjoy reading history, especially about this pivotal event, then you will enjoy this book.  If you are a leader, there are many lessons to be gleaned from observing Eisenhower.

One of the strengths is that not only does Loftus provide us with ten leadership strategies, but he interjects specific applications of theses strategies throughout the narrative.  At the end of each chapter, he also provides debriefing notes which focus on the lessons of the story.  In so doing the overarching strategies are fleshed out.

Although Eisenhower successfully fulfilled his mission using these strategies, the reader does get to see the times that this General failed.  The reader is able to learn from these failures as well as from the successes.

I was left with a greater appreciation for Eisenhower.  The manner in which he thought and felt about his soldiers is lesson enough for any leader.

Strategies:

1. Determine Your Mission
2. Plan for Success
3. Stay Focused
4. Prioritize
5. Plan to Implement
6. Communicate
7. Motivate Your People
8. Manage Your People
9. Avoid Project Creep
10. Be Honest

If you would like a copy of this book, you can order by clicking on the book image or find it in the P2P Bookstore (see tab at the top of the page).

Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson.

This past Sunday was Fathers’ Day.  Suzie and I travelled to Louisville, Kentucky to be with 3 of my kids and my 3 grandkids.  We had the opportunity of attending Sojourn Community Church East while we were in Louisville.  During the service, all fathers were recognized and given a copy of the book, Our Home is like a Little Church: Sojourn Community Church.  This is a short book written by Lindsey Blair and Bobby Giles and illustrated by Tessa Janes.  All are members of Sojourn.

The book is intended to be read by parents and children together so that they might discover God’s plan for worshipping him at home.  It is written in a poetic style with full illustration on each page.  On the left side pages, worship at church is described.  On the right side pages, worship at home is compared to the worship at church.

The basis for the book is from Deuteronomy’s instructions about teaching our children the ways of God.  It also takes a quote from Martin Luther as part of the foundation of the book’s teaching.

Abraham had in his tent a house of God and a church.  Just as today any godly and pious head of a household instructs his children…in godliness.  Therefore such a house is actually a school and church and the head of the household is a bishop and priest in his house.

–Martin Luther

Some may object to linking the church and home in this fashion, but I think it is a helpful application of the biblical teaching on the family.  The family does not supplant the church, nor should the church take the place of the home.  Each has a vital role with both similarities and distinctions.  When it comes to worship, teaching and training, both the church and the home are tools which God uses.

Others may object to the leadership role assigned to dads.  Women do play a significant role in the physical and spiritual nurture and shaping of children.  I pray that my daughter, Leah and my daughter-in-law, Amanda will continue to fulfill this role in shaping my three grandchildren.  But I do pray that they will find their husbands providing spiritual leadership for the household.  So I do pray for my son-in-law, Michael and my son, Carlton that they will be the kind of men who see their key function in life to lead their families to worship and know God.

If you get the correct answer to the wrong question, you will still be off — just as if you had received an incorrect answer. So argues Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola in Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ. Often the church is asking questions about the kingdom, about justice, about causes, about evangelism, about accountability, about gifts and about leadership. These questions are important, but not the main questions.

The main questions are the two questions Jesus asked of Peter:

1. Who do you say that I am?
2. Do you love me?

Sweet and Viola have provided a great service to the church and to Christians with this book. Too often we focus our attentions on things instead of focusing on Jesus. Most of us want to do better and improve, but we go about it the wrong way. We talk about being saved by grace and then try to live in our strength and with our ingenuity. Yet, it is Jesus living in us that makes all the difference in the world. The authors put it this way with regard to individual Christians and the church:

Genuine Christianity is learning to live by an indwelling Christ (p. 165).

Genuine church life is born when groups of people are intoxicated with a glorious unveiling of their Lord (p. 143).

Sweet and Viola do spend time dealing with aspects of Christianity that are substitutes for this focus on Christ. They tackle the social gospel, fundamentalism and a host of other focus points.

The only weakness in the book is that at times they draw absolute applications when the application may be more of a general principle. For example, on page 152 they assert that “God will not do for us what we can do for ourselves.” They base this on Jesus’ instruction to people around him to unbind the grave clothes from Lazarus after Jesus called Lazarus back to life. This method shows up in other places in the book.

However, this is a minor weakness compared to such a clear display of Jesus in the book. This is evidenced by what is my favorite quote from the book,

What is lacking is a groundbreaking revelation of Christ that boggles the mind and enraptures the heart (p. 17).

Boggles the mind and enraptures the heart — these are the results of really seeing and experiencing Jesus Christ. If you read this book, you will read a clear presentation of Jesus. This is true from the Introduction to the Afterword. You do not want to miss the Afterword.

Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

At the age of 17 Kristen Anderson was bearing the scars of teenage angst, the death of a family member and being raped.  Without any hope, she laid down in front of an on-coming train.  Instead of ending her life, her legs were severed from her body.  The months and days ahead were spent in hospitals and psych wards.

This is the beginning of the story for Kristen Anderson as told in her new book, Life, In Spite of Me: Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice

One question lingered in her mind.  Would she have gone to heaven had she died when the train ran over her?  This question led to another question.  What was life supposed to be all about?

These issues and these questions caused her to try and escape into a fantasy world.

I began to live in a fantasy world, hoping and expecting everything would turn out all right in the end (p. 52).

But this fantasy world could not deliver.  Not only did it not deliver, it was wearisome.

My arms had grown tired from trying to hold my fantasy world together (p. 3).

Kristen’s story turned when she heard and understood the gospel.  She discovered a life that was filled with purpose and meaning.  That purpose has included sharing her story of hope.  Many have heard her story and found the same kind of meaning and purpose.

One of the things I so appreciated about Kristen’s story, is that she communicates her setbacks as well as her victories.  She did not simply meet Jesus, and life was suddenly void of any problems.  Often Christian testimony accounts do not honestly mention the failures and struggles in the life of a Christian.  This book does deal with these struggles.

Anderson’s account presents some other issues important for Christians to consider.  For example, how should Christians deal with psychological drugs and medications.  Anderson struggles with this issue and causes her readers to think about it.

The role of intercessory prayer is pictured in powerful fashion.  Anderson discovered some important connections from that night by the railroad tracks and later in her church life.  These connections were important because of how people prayed for her that had never met her before.  The reader will be encouraged to pray for those whom they encounter along life’s way.

If you want to read a story of hope and encouragement, then get a copy of this book.  First, take a glance at Kristen as she talks about her life and book.

Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

I wanted to like this book.  I really did.  Early in my Christian pilgrimage, Charles Stanley’s teaching helped me tremendously.  Not only was I looking forward to reading from Stanley, but I also have a keen interest in this topic.  After reading it, I came away disappointed.

In the first chapter of How to Reach Your Full Potential for God: Never Settle for Less Than His Best, Stanley provides the background for the book.  He was sleeping and awakened in the middle of the night with a burning question, Do you want to reach your full potential? He subsequently jotted down what he believed God was speaking to him about this topic,

If you truly want to reach your full potential, you must have a clean heart, a clear mind, a balanced schedule.

If I had stopped at the end of the first short chapter, I would have been fine.  Indeed, a clean heart, a clear mind and a balanced schedule are important and it was great to be reminded of these.  To reach our full potential for God, Stanley breaks the book down into 7 essential elements:

Essential 1: Having a clean heart
Essential 2: Having a clear mind
Essential 3: Using your gifts
Essential 4: Having a healthy body
Essential 5: Having right relationships
Essential 6: Having a balanced schedule
Essential 7: Taking God-approved risks

In and of itself, this is a good list.  However, the development of these essentials creates some problems for me.  Here are some of the problems I have with the book.

Stanley writes about having the mind of Christ.  This is good.  But his discussion of this raised more questions than provided answers.  He warns against the wisdom of the world.  In the early part of the book, he places the mind of Christ in stark contrast to the wisdom of the world.  Again, this is good.  However, much of the remainder of the book is simply a rehashed Dr. Phil type of self-help.

It was worth noting that Stanley refers to a book (p. 224) that he read annually because of the wisdom in the book.  Perhaps you will be as surprised as I at which book that is.  Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.  Not exactly the book that coincides with the distinction to have the mind of Christ instead of the wisdom of the world.

In fact, Stanley goes further in promoting self-help books in general:

I do not at all criticize the category of books that people call self-help.  We all need help…These books can provide practical advice and inspiration for pursuing one’s God-given potential (p. 225).

He spends more time relating these principles to the teachings of Jesus.  However, when Stanley gives his practical steps to reaching your full potential for God, he provides only cursory notes of key aspects while spending a great deal of time on less than biblical concepts.

For example, we should avoid touching our face with our hands.  We should wash our hands often and long enough (sing Happy Birthday through twice to make sure your hands are clean.

Stanley also rehashes some of the culturally conservative litany of don’ts without providing any biblical support.

Some of his advice simply isn’t practical unless you are the pastor of a megachurch like he is.  In my work and in my home, I don’t have the option of delegating some of the things that need to be done.  So, when he writes of his decision to be driven around Atlanta instead of having to deal with city traffic, it just doesn’t compute.

In the end, this book doesn’t deliver on the title.  I wish that it had.  I still like Stanley, but wish for consistency with regard to what really is biblical teaching.

Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson.

When I picked up this book to begin reading it, I half expected to glance through a book with some of the typical Christian talk about being all you can be.  Instead I found myself being challenged to my core and desiring to follow Jesus like never before.

David Platt is the young pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama.  I have been hearing much about him and his ministry, but have not had any direct connection to his work.  In Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, Platt strikingly contrasts the choice that American Christians have to make.  Either we pursue the American Dream or we pursue Following Jesus.  Too often we have mingled these competing visions.  This union of the two naturally leans toward the American dream.

Platt does not merely provide preachy exhortation.  He lays a solid foundation of the gospel and what it means to believe the gospel.  In fact, if you want to understand what the gospel is, then this book is worth whatever price you might pay.

Platt also provides fantastic anecdotal accounts of the gospel being lived by people in the United States and throughout the world.  At the end of the book he spells out a 5 step one-year challenge.  The steps are both simple but profound.  I have definitely been impacted, and believe that in a year I will be changed for the better.

Without question, this is the most moving and the best book I have read in years.  To get your copy from Amazon, click on one of the titles (Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream) or on the book image above.

Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Here are 5 of my favorite quotes from Hear No Evil: My Story of Innocence, Music, and the Holy Ghost by Matthew Paul Turner. Read my review of the book here.

So many of us Christians are all about being vulnerable, especially when we’re on stage, dressed up in costume and wearing makeup (p 11).

The cool Christians, the ones who wore flip-flop, played acoustic guitars, and stole song ideas from U2 albums really seemed infatuated with John Calvin (p 125).

Timing seemed the main problem for Christians who came to Nashville to be faith-versions of pop stars.  By the time God started listening to a particular artist and decided he might like to have his name associated with a particular sound, it was about four years too late (p 150).

As four well-intentioned crazy people asked God to heal me of my stomach woes in the middle of T.G.I. Friday’s — which seemed a little like asking God to take away sex addiction while standing in a strip club — I tried to have faith (p. 165).

Everyone in the congregation was supposed to close their eyes during an altar call…It was difficult for me to close my eyes for long periods of time at that age.  Partly because I got bored looking at the back of my eyelids, but mostly because I like knowing which people in our church needed prayer and which ones didn’t.  Plus, when one of my friends walked forward to follow the Lord in believers’ baptism, I like looking for opportunities to wave at them (pp 15-16).

**FREE GIVEAWAY – I AM GIVING AWAY 1 FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK.  TO ENTER SUBSCRIBE TO EMAIL UPDATES INTHE BOX ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAGE.  IF YOU ARE ALREADY SUBSCRIBED, LEAVE A COMMENT THAT YOU WANT TO BE ENTERED.  BONUS ENTRIES: LINK TO THIS ON YOUR BLOG (email me at fgantz12@yahoo.com when you add your link) AND YOU WILL RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL ENTRY.  ENTRIES MUST BE SUBMITTED BY FEBRUARY 28, 2010.  WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON MARCH 1, 2010.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Because of my move from Louisville to Chattanooga, this book arrived late in my mail box.  It was worth the wait. Hear No Evil: My Story of Innocence, Music, and the Holy Ghost is Matthew Paul Turner’s story of the role of music in his spiritual journey.  Some journey it is.  It begins in the culture of an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist church and family.  Here hymns are the only acceptable expression of music.  The journey continues through college at the musically-gifted Belmont University in the heart of music-minded Nashville.  The route includes stops at coffeehouses with Christian music and writing about contemporary Christian music.

This record of the journey ends with the reader confident that wherever the journey takes him in the future, music and faith will be a huge part of the journey.  As a man on my own faith journey, music has played an important part in that journey.  If this describes you, then you will enjoy and be challenged by reading this book.  Turner is witty and tells stories in a way that makes you want to keep reading to see what is next.  I caught myself laughing out loud as I turned page after page.  While humorous, the story allowed me to think about my own struggles with the relationships between genuine faith, culture and various Christian sub-cultures.

Turner’s humorous anecdotes relate to various Christian sub-cultures.  This has long been a topic of interest for me.  Often Christians have become so immersed in their own subculture that interaction with culture in general is made difficult or at times farcical.  Turner reveals this by discussing the issues surrounding listening to such “controversial” artists as Sandi Patti and Amy Grant.  He also encounters the subcultures of Young Calvinism, Contemporary Christian Music, Christian schools and recovering Christians.

To get your copy of the book or learn more about it, go to Random House or click on the book image at the beginning of the article.

Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.