Say It With Love (book review)

August 23, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

There is a verse in the Bible that tells us to speak the truth in love. And that’s exactly what Howard Hendricks lives by in Say It With Love: The art and joy of telling the Good News.

For Professor Hendricks, the good news about Jesus Christ is not something that is just shared by a pastor on Sundays, but it’s something all Christians should be sharing all the time. And not just with words either, but with our very lives.

Dr. Hendricks challenges us to know why we are sharing the message of God’s love; to put ourselves in a position to share that message effectively; and then to live that message out in all of the roles of our life. This third section was the most impactful for me. Dr. Hendricks talks persuasively about living the message…

  • …with God
  • …with your mate
  • …with your children
  • …in your church
  • …in your neighborhood
  • …in your daily contacts

This is both a hopeful book and a convicting book. It’s an easy read with lots of Dr. Hendricks’ personal stories sprinkled in as examples. If you want to do a better job communicating the message of the gospel, you should check out this book.

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God Is The Gospel (book review)

August 18, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

John Piper is always a challenging read for me. He stretches my horizons, challenges my paradigms, and forces me to dig deeper into Scripture. In God Is The Gospel, I felt like he was writing to me specifically in my role as a pastor of a growing church.

The gospel is good news, right? But good news about what? Or more importantly: Who? Here’s how Pastor John himself describes why he wrote this book:

“The point of this book is that the Christian gospel is not merely that Jesus died and rose again; and not merely that these events appease God’s wrath, forgive sin, and justify sinners; and not merely that this redemption gets us out o Hell and into Heaven; but that they bring us to the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ as our supreme, all-satisfying, and everlasting treasure. ‘Christ… suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God’ (1 Peter 3:18).”

Too many times as a pastor I’m guilty of pointing people to the gifts of salvation, and not to the Giver of salvation. The gifts are wonderful, but the Giver of the gifts is supremely important!

This is a book about glorifying God. This is a book about worshiping God for Who He is, and not for what He gives.

Everyone will benefit from reading this book. But I would most recommend it to those who are called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Be A People Person (book review)

August 16, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

John Maxwell’s insights into leading people perpetually astound me. He always finds such simple ways to explain what I know I should already be doing. In one of his earliest books, Be A People Person, I (re)discovered some more great people principles.

Be A People Person perfectly describes this book: It’s all about being a person who is trusted and accepted by other people. This, in turn, puts this people-person in a place to be an effective leader. So Dr. Maxwell talks about confidence, motivation, encouragement, empathy, trustworthiness, mentorship, and so many other people principles.

Because this was one of his earlier books, I see many of the seed thoughts that have become books in their own right later on. But that still didn’t take away from the refreshing insights that I uncovered.

Unless you are a solitary hermit, there is so much to discover in this book to help you grow stronger and more effective relationships with family members, coworkers, and friends.

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Whale Done (book review)

August 15, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I love the business and intra-personal insights that Ken Blanchard shares in all of this books. In Whale Done, I learned from Sea World’s Shamu how I can inspire people to better performance.

Following the story of a frustrated business manager, husband, and father, Ken shows us how catching people doing something right is the key to turning around performance. And in the process, we also create more pleasant work and home environments. Ken’s premise is simple:

“The more attention you pay to a behavior, the more it will be repeated. …If you don’t want to encourage poor behavior, don’t spend a lot of time on it.”

Instead of focusing on what someone is doing wrong, we should be looking for opportunities to say to others, “Whale Done!” In other words, put the bulk of our energy into encouraging people to keep doing the right things, by redirecting our energy away from the mistakes.

It’s revolutionary, but it’s also very exciting. As soon as I finished reading Whale Done, I immediately handed it to my wife and said, “You’ve got to read this!” And I would say the same thing to all parents, pastors, teachers, and business leaders.

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The Seed (book review)

August 11, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Until I won a copy of this book from Michael Hyatt’s blog, I had not heard of Jon Gordon. Now, having read The Seed, I am so disappointed that I didn’t find out about this author sooner!

The Seed is written as a fable, following the story of a young man named Josh, who has lost his passion for his work. Given a 2-week vacation by his boss to determine what happens next, Josh encounters a series of people who help him on his journey.

Josh is first given a seed by a kindly farmer, and told to plant the seed where it will grow best. Then learning from a crop-duster pilot, his parents, a favorite professor, a former employer, a traveling businessman, and even his dog Dharma, Josh learns about the seed that leads to a life full of passion and purpose.

This book was written to so compellingly that I had a hard time putting it down. Right from the opening pages I was drawn into Josh’s life. The lessons from this book are profound, insightful, and ones that all of us can apply.

Don’t miss out on The Seed!

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Bonhoeffer (book review)

August 10, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’ve always been an admirer of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s work, but Eric Metaxas’ sweeping biography has given me a whole new appreciation for this influential theologian.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy takes you behind the scenes that influenced this great man. You will see how his family helped encourage Dietrich to be such a deep thinker. Then you will read how Bonhoeffer’s thinking was sharpened as he challenged the Nazi’s co-opting of the church in Germany, leading him to call pastors back to a biblically-sound foundation.

By perhaps the most compelling storyline is how this pastor could join the band of German citizens who agreed that Adolph Hitler must be assassinated. Although to us now it may seem like an easy decision to make, to those who lived through the events leading up to Word War II, it was an excruciating decision. Eric Metaxas does a masterful job of taking us inside the thinking process that led Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his decision.

And through all of the turmoil swirling around him, Bonhoeffer found time to not only teach young pastors, but to leave behind some timeless teachings in his masterful books.

If you are already familiar with Bonhoeffer’s writings, this biography will give you a whole new appreciation into the man who crafted the books. If you aren’t yet familiar with Bonhoeffer’s books, Bonhoeffer will whet your appetite to know more. Don’t miss out on this one!

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George Washington Carver (book review)

August 9, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I love reading biographies about our most prominent historical figures. A man that looms large at a pivotal time in US history is George Washington Carver, who is wonderfully captured in this biography by John Perry.

This book is a part of a wonderful series from Thomas Nelson called “The Christian Encounters Series.” Carver was a man strong in his Christian faith, and yet he showed it in his gentle lifestyle. As an African American born in the Jim Crow South, Dr. Carver endured his share of discrimination. But he also benefited by his share of helpful folks — both black and white — who treated him with dignity and respect, and opened doors of opportunity for him. Yet whether treated well or treated poorly, he treated everyone the same gracious, gentlemanly way.

Dr. Carver also lived out his Christian faith in his strong work ethic. He was busy learning more about creation and the Creator, and finding ways to show God through his discoveries. Although at times he was offered extraordinarily high salaries to leave Tuskegee Institute, he stayed right where he believed God had placed him.

Dr. Carver never had children of his own, but saw himself has a father to all his students. And those students gladly received his fatherly love and counsel. His Sunday evening Bible studies (which weren’t mandatory) were the best-attended event of the week. Even after graduation, many students maintained a lifelong correspondence with Father Carver.

Dr. Carver was revered as a father, a scientist, and a teacher. His impact on the advancement of science, and his example of hearing God’s whisper in all of His creation, are immeasurable. Regardless of race or age or background, all of us owe a debt of gratitude to this giant of a gentleman scientist.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.

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Biblical Psychology (book review)

August 4, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’m not one who’s into psycho-babble, but I do like trying to understand human nature a little better. A great book to help on this learning journey is Oswald Chambers’ Biblical Psychology.

As you might imagine, Chambers has a heavy emphasis on the biblical part. In fact, he makes the case that no one can really know themselves. But we can know God better, and He will reveal our real selves to us. Chambers delves into Scripture to teach how our body, soul, and spirit interact with each other, with outside influences, and with the Spirit of God.

It was an absolutely fascinating book to read. This is one of Oswald Chambers’ longest books, and also one of his most technical books. So be forewarned that you will have to really concentrate and apply yourself to grasp all he discusses, but if you persevere through it, you will be richly rewarded.

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The Spirit War: Learning And Loving (book review)

August 3, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I’m glad that my family shares at least a little bit of my passion for reading. My oldest son reviewed book one of this trilogy (you can read his review by clicking here), and he continues with his review of the second book.

[Guest book review by Harrison Owens]

Learning and Loving is the second book of the Spirit War trilogy by Frenando Quirós. Over his three-part series Quirós explores the life of Jesus. This book focuses on the time period of Jesus’ visit to the temple until His temptation by satan, and His miracle of driving out the demons into the pigs.

For anyone who read my last review you know I thought it was a very good book. With this book I was much less impressed. To begin with the demons have a horrible language problem. There was also some nudity and multiple people are described as being “perfectly possessed.”

Another issue I had with the book was a theological one. In part of this book it is explained that Jesus received His training from monks. When He returns He tells His mother Mary about having an out-of-body experiences with the monks. Also it is very explicitly stated that Jesus is NOT the Son of God and that His power was just given to Him by God. I understand that real life is not like a Sunday School story but I felt that this book just went too far.

I also feel that this book could be very misleading to people who have never heard the story of Jesus. In the preface Quirós writes, “There are scripture footnotes along the way… but this is neither a scholarly nor a formally religious work.” So even though he does claim this as a work of fiction, someone who has never read the Bible could interpret this book the wrong way. So with this many content issues I don’t think I could recommend this book because I don’t feel that God would be happy with us for taking in this much bad content, even if it’s a story about Jesus.

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Upside (book review)

August 2, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Have you ever heard how a TV news producer decides what the lead story will be? Or how a managing editor decides which stories get the front page of the newspaper? It comes down to this: “If it bleeds, it leads.” Sad, but too often true. With all of this negative news leading, Dr. Bradley R.E. Wright’s book Upside: Surprising Good News About the State of Our World is indeed surprisingly good news!

Dr. Wright notes that sociologist Joel Best “classifies the different types of bad statistics as follows: some numbers are bad to begin with; some numbers get bad as they are passed along; and some numbers are chosen because they are bad.” In other words, there’s just a lot of bad news out there!

But despite all of this negative press, people around the world are surprisingly upbeat. That’s because when a sociologist like Dr. Wright gets a hold of all of these statistics, he can put them into the proper perspective. He looks at the data on a variety of topics:

  • Personal finances
  • Education
  • Health
  • Crime and war
  • Marriage and divorce
  • The environment

“The trouble with this country is that there are too many people going about saying ‘the trouble with this country is….’” —Sinclair Lewis

Do bad things happen? Yes. Are there some issues that still need to be addressed? Absolutely. Is the world ready to collapse all around us? It doesn’t appear so. Christians should have the clearest and keenest worldview because it’s a biblical worldview. Dr. Wright does an excellent job of helping the reader find the perspective that is realistic, yet balanced.

Economist professor Julian Simons summarized it this way—

Almost every economic and social change or trend points in the positive direction, as long as we view the matter over a reasonably long period of time. That is, all aspects of material human welfare are improving in the aggregate.

I am a Bethany House book reviewer.

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