Nothing to Lose by Lee Child

Hope and Despair Lee? Hope and Despair?
The West is riddled with little towns and the remnants of other one-time settlements and they often have interesting names. Many of them point to historical or geographical facets of the community that someone, sometime thought were important. Cripple Creek for example, was said to be named by a [...]

The Cactus Eaters by Dan White

In the late sixties I first read My Side of the Mountain and was forever hooked. Between that book and The Willie Mays Story (thanks Scholastic book service) my love for voracious reading was kindled. “Mountain” is every boy’s ideal adventure; running away, living in a tree with a pet peregrine falcon, how could it get [...]

Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath

We begin with a quiz: In the 1992 presidential campaign, a memorable proverb coined by James Carville entered the national consciousness. It was:
A. It’s the economy, stupid.
B. Change vs. more of the same.
C. Don’t forget healthcare.
The truth is, all three of these ideas were written by Mr. Carville on that famous white board as reminders [...]

Seven in 07: Books

My book piles grew by about 75 volumes this past year and there were seven standouts published this year within my church library that I recommend to everyone. In no particular order they are:
The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch
 
 
 
 
Hidden in Plain Sight by Mark Buchanan
 
 
 
 
The Path of Celtic Prayer by Calvin Miller
 
 
 
 
Gracism by David Anderson
 
 
 
 
The [...]

The Reformed Echo Chamber

This post at Arminian Perspectives takes on Tim Challies and his generally dismissive review of Roger Olson’s book Arminian Theology. The review follows the template established by other Calvinist reviewers, defaulting to the tired accusations of Pelagianism, etc. What is telling is that with the ability of nearly everyone in the age of the Internet [...]

Jesus Mean and Wild by Mark Galli

God loves you and has a difficult plan for your life.

There’s a phrase almost guaranteed NOT to make an appearance at the next revival or evangelism event in your church. When introducing Jesus to others, we more often than not default to the meek and mild savior who rolls his eyes at our follies, who [...]

Living the Sermon on the Mount in Persecution

My views on Glenn Stassen’s book “Living the Sermon on the Mount” have made their way onto a web site devoted to the persecuted church in China. Read the piece here http://chinaaid.org/2007/07/19/living-the-sermon-on-the-mount-a-practical-hope-for-grace-and-deliverance/

Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child

 If you haven’t met Jack Reacher yet, you’ll find him to be either your best friend or your worst enemy. A former Army investigator now in civilian guise, his ability to read the wind and find whoever it is he decides to search out fits perfectly with his itinerant lifestyle and the interesting coincidental violence [...]

The Overlook by Michael Connelly

The Overlook started life as an interesting experiment by Connelly; he originally published the tale weekly in the New York Times Magazine and then expanded the story to the form that we have on the bookstore shelves. The result of this exercise is mixed. While a new Harry Bosch tale is always welcome, this story [...]

The Secret – Hidden in Plain Sight

… is Hidden in Plain Sight according to author Mark Buchanan. The Secret is not to get more of yourself and your thoughts into your life, the secret of more is to have more God in your life. Buchanan gives us an eminently practical book about practicing virtue, but with a twist. What he discovers [...]