A recent fictional read...

The Most Important Little Boy In The World - A Novel - by Dean Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First time I have read Dean Briggs and I thoroughly enjoyed the tale. Certainly the metaphor of Jesus sacrifice was explicit throughout (from his name to the blood metaphor at the end), not a bad thing...but I thought the story that supported this metaphor was fascinating. So from the beginning with the computer virus to the end, I was engaged in the story.
From a emotional perspective, I really appreciated the dynamics of the family as well as the father and son portion at the end of the book. Rarely do you truly think of God, the Father, regarding the story, but I liked the take that Briggs had on it with the father and uncle taking up the two sides of the argument. Anytime an author can get you to stop and think about things in a new way like that, they have done a good job.

Overall, I would certainly recommend the book as an enjoyable read, though it certainly could be emotional for some readers, and I am sure that I will pick up other Dean Briggs books based on the quality of this one.

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He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado

He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Max Lucado writes, "Much has been said about the gift of the cross itself, but what of the other gifts? What of the nails, the crown of thorns? What about the garment taken? What about the garment given?" and it continues. With that as an introduction, I will say that despite reading many books on Christianity, faith, Christ and so on, I had never looked quite at all of the things surrounding the cross, Jesus' crucifixion, and resurrection in the way that Lucado looks at them in this book.

With the simple analogy of his father writing some final words to him and his wife, a picture is painted around each one of the things that we read about in the Bible that speaks to much greater meaning and significance than we tend to give them as we read through the passages. But the premise made sense to me..."Knowing that his last deeds would be forever pondered, don't you think he chose them carefully? Deliberately?" I do. And I think that any of us can relate to that. Would you do any less for something that you knew would far surpass your life?

So, trace the path of these meaningful symbols in which Lucado writes, "God was never more sovereign than in the details of the death of his Son." It may change the way you look at those things every time you read those passages from here on out and help you marvel that much more at what transpired when Christ went to the cross.

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What's So Amazing About Grace?

by Philip Yancey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So, this took me a LONG TIME to read. Part of it is Yancey's writing. I can't quite place my finger on it...but it is just difficult to get through at times. I enjoyed the stories that he used throughout the book as illustrations of the various aspects of grace that he wanted to explore, but once those were through and he dove into the subject, it just seemed to stall a little for me.

As to the topic of grace. I thought it was a great exploration and discussion. I reminder of how easily we all fall into "ungrace". How often we as Christians exhibit the exact opposite of what we are supposed to and how that is perceived. I wondered how Yancey would spend so much time on it, but by the end, I felt like it could keep going....grace really does abound.

However, for a younger generation than those who are contemporaries of Yancey, maybe they will feel what I felt. I couldn't always connect with him because of what he has lived through. His examples pointed to times that I didn't live in. Issues that were addressed largely before my time. Not that they don't still exist today, or even transcend eras, but are just not as poignant for me. And I think that it showed as he tried to move into more current day issues as he spoke on homosexuality.

I know this isn't much of a summary this time as I am caught between what I liked and what I didn't with the book. Do I think it is worth reading...YES. And based on innumerable positive/glowing reviews from so many others, I think it is that much more so...because it may just be me that struggled in some areas of this book.

So, read it for yourself and see what you think. It will certainly challenge you in at least a few areas and open your eyes to God's grace in more than one way.

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Taking Your Church to the Next Level: What Got You Here Won't Get You There

Taking Your Church to the Next Level: What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Gary L. McIntosh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Our church leadership team read this book during the summer to help us think about where we are and where we are going. The book suggests that if you are not growing, you are dying and that you need to assess not only where you are in that cycle, but how the size of the church congregation, structure and other factors play into the ability to reignite the church.

To start, I will say that unless you are a consultant, subscribe to Barna or have other ways to get the information that is in this book, you very well might not know some of the things brought up in this book. How group dynamics work inside the church structure...how church management and leadership function and that there is reasonable consistency across organizations that we can learn from. That, by itself, can make this book worthwhile. However, if you take it a step further and dive in with respect to where you are as a church and think about how you need to challenge things to ensure that they don't stall or decay....if this book can help promote that engagement at the leadership level, then it is worth much more.

For me, I really appreciated the conversations that this drove and hopefully it will bless other churches in the same way.

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Read a few books lately

So, read 4 books with Jaden so far this year as we finished up the Deltora series we have been reading. Books 5-8 of the Deltora Quest series as we had to get done to turn the books in on time.
I also read an interesting book about how God created the universe as far as we understand based on the science we know at this point. Called the creator and the cosmos. It was a fantastic read that was certainly more than I understood or still understand...but it certainly put things into a cool light...based on what science has put together so far.
Finally, jaden and I are just finishing up a book for "teens" by Frank Peretti which has been really enjoyable called the Veritas Project...definitely worth checking out. And for me, I am finishing up a really short read given out by the church earlier this year called 'How Good is Good Enough?". It is a really good synopsis of why Christianity is different than other religions and why the standard thinking of "good people go to heaven" can't hold water.
Anyway, kind of interesting that in a month and a half, I have gone thru 7 books...when I didn't set any goals for books this year...versus the past where it seems I have been slower to get thru things, even with a goal to get thru so many books in a year.