Creation Regained by Al Wolters is a book I’ve been meaning to read for about 10 years. Geared towards students, it’s a good look at the implications of the gospel through all creation. (8.5)

Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas is a well written look at a fascinating figure worth reading about. But somehow, I felt like this biography was a little too close to hagiography, and also projected quite a bit of 21st century evangelicalism onto the subject. Still, it’s a good read. (6.5)

The Fault in our Stars by John Green made me laugh and cry and think. Word to the wise: there is a lot of good work written in the Young Adult genre that you might enjoy, that is neither dystopian nor vampiric. TFioS is my favorite of Green’s novels so far, but I probably need to re-read Looking for Alaska now that I know his writing better. (9.5)

I re-read Compassion, Justice & the Christian Life by Robert Lupton with some friends this month. If you are interested in practical wisdom about loving the poor, I recommend this simple book. (9)

Hippie Boy by Ingrid Ricks was an unfortunate Kindle Lending Library choice fueled by my interest in all things LDS. It is a decent, but unremarkable memoir, and not as much about Mormonism as the blurb suggests. (4)

I really wanted to like The Shaping of a Life by Phyllis Tickle. And there were moments I really enjoyed. But I did not love it, nor did I find it as engaging as many other spiritual memoirs. (6.5)

The Underdog was Markus Zusak’s debut novel. It’s quirky and fun, but read The Book Thief, that is Zusak’s masterpiece. (6)

I wrote a full review of Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick here. (6)

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery is thought-provoking and like The Fault in our Stars, made me feel a wide range of emotions. It read well and didn’t feel like a translation. I think this is a book people either really like or really don’t, and I’d recommend it more cautiously, even though I enjoyed it. (8)

Give Them Grace asks readers a very important question: how does believing the gospel change the way that you parent? Fitzpatrick asserts that if the way that we parent is the same as a devout Muslim or Jew, there must be something wrong. I think this is a paradigm shift that is very important for Christian parents, and one that I have been excited to see more and more of in books written in the last five to ten years.

The overall message of the book will be a balm to many readers. Resting in grace, parenting with humility, dependence on God, these are all messages that parents need to be reminded of. There are no guarantees and no quick fixes. Parenting is hard. I think many parents will find this an encouragement on many levels.

Because I have seen her books recommended in presbyterian circles so often, I was genuinely surprised by how un-covenantal this book was. (Fitzpatrick has a Sovereign Grace / Reformed Baptist background.) In the first several chapters alone, it talks many times about not presuming your children are regenerate, that they might pray a prayer just to please you and if they aren’t saved, they don’t have the Holy Spirit and therefore can’t obey God’s law from the heart. In examples of how to speak to a child, parents say things like “someday you’ll know how wonderful God is and how much he loves you.” Worse yet, speaking to an older child, “Because you don’t believe in Jesus’s love for you, your whole life will be spent trying to win and never being satisfied. And then you’ll have to stand before God, and all you’ll have is your record of failure. Striking out isn’t the worst thing that will ever happen to you. Living your life to win something other than Jesus is.” In example “scripts” there are different things to say to unbelieving versus believing children.

This is hard for me to read, even though I know that my children might turn away from God and need to be spoken to as an unbeliever, I think that it can be very confusing to children to speak to them as if they do not have faith. Let’s not encourage doubt or for them to question whether they “really” believe, let’s teach them to rest in God, as he is the author of their faith, anyway.

Though Fitzpatrick explains a fully orbed portrait of discipline that looks like discipleship, she uses the word “discipline” as a synonym for “spanking” which irks me. Parents say “I must discipline you” which is true generally, but what they mean is “I am choosing to spank you for this infraction.” It’s a pet peeve. Reading her model for talking to a child who defied his parent by not stopping playing when told it was time for dinner, shocked me. “If you believe that he has loved you and received punishment for you, then this kind of punishment will help remind you to live wisely, and the pain of it will soon be gone. But if you don’t believe in his great goodness, then the punishment you receive today will be just the beginning of a lifetime of pain. Today, you can ask for forgiveness, and I will forgive you, and if you ask him, so will the Lord. But if you wait, if you harden your heart and refuse to change, then a day will come when it will be too late to ask for forgiveness.” This sort of talk feels manipulative to me.

However, I appreciate the stand the authors have taken against forcing children to show repentance after being spanked. Many evangelical authors espouse this idea, and I know many adults who remember faking repentance and lying to avoid further punishment.

Many readers will appreciate the attempt at coupling of theology and a philosophy of parenting with more practical advice. I feel like I talk to my kids fairly theologically but the models were a stretch, and I couldn’t imagine talking to my children like that. However, it did incite me to think about how I would phrase a similar discussion, and that sort of premeditation is always helpful in parenting.

This is a good addition to the already crowded Christian Parenting shelves at bookstores, but I am still waiting for a book that I feel more comfortable recommending.

Still by Lauren Winner is aptly subtitled “Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis.” It is a collection of reflections from the middle, from a place of messiness, doubt and despair. That terrain is familiar to many and the ability to feel less alone in those moments by reading this book makes it worthwhile.

Winner directly informs readers that this is not a memoir. If you are looking for juicy details about her marriage falling apart, you won’t find them here. In the moments the book got the most personal and vulnerable, it connected most deeply with me as a reader. But I understand why there is a sense of discretion, and at times, detachment, in the writing as well. Winner is very respectful of her ex-husband, placing the blame for their shaky marriage and its dissolution squarely on herself and her issues. If she had delved more deeply into the personal, this respect would have been hard to maintain.

The writing is poetic and beautiful, as readers have come to expect from Winner. “Notes” fits well, as the chapters vary in length from a few sentences to many pages, and include many quotes and ideas from poets, writers, theologians and friends.

Overall, there is a hope in Still. Instead of fleeing when she felt far from God, Winner stayed in her church, stayed in her community, and learned to feel God’s nearness again. Her means of doing so may not work for others in the middle (and this book is very far from setting itself up as a model for others or self-help by any means) but it is a testimony that one can feel engulfed by anxiety, doubt and despair and start to believe more deeply again. And that is a beautiful message to the church. (8/10, expected to release January 31, 2012, I received an advanced copy from the publisher, which in no way affected my review.)

My Life with the Saints by James Martin

Winsome and wickedly funny, My Life With the Saints is part history, part theology and part memoir. Sharing about his own life and discovery of a variety of saints in the Catholic Church, James Martin helps readers to see the encouragement we are able to find from other Christians (living and dead) while striving to follow God with our own unique gifts and experiences.

Far from being dry, Martin’s interactions with the saints serve as a model for how others can study the saints for themselves, as companions and friends. He includes men and women, from many different ages of the church. As a Jesuit priest, Martin has a thoroughly Roman Catholic theology of the saints, but I think protestants can also learn a great deal from this book. (9/10, seeing Father Martin on Colbert again reminded me to pick this up off my shelf. Thanks Stephen.)

The third in a series of fun books narrated by a know-it-all little girl, How to Get a Job… by Me, the Boss by Sally Lloyd-Jones is child’s eye view on the process of employment. From brainstorming about what you’d like to be to the practical steps to get there, it’s all covered in this volume. Both Kate (7) and Lexi (5.5) really enjoyed it. We have read the other books in the series, so they were familiar with the concept, lots of insight wrapped in wit and child-like goofiness.

The girls comprehended enough to laugh at all the right places and to ask good questions. However, the ground covered was more complex than How to Be a Baby… and How to Get Married… so I am not sure it will be as easily understood by preschoolers as those are, but now my kids know about resumes!

Both my girls are very interested in art, and they loved Sue Heap’s illustrations. Kate spent a while studying to try to decide what mediums she used (Publisher’s Weekly says crayon and acrylic paint.) Of course, this is great fodder for talking about what kids want to be when they grow up, and the steps it will take to get there. Sally Lloyd-Jones is a great storyteller, and we are all glad when we share her gifts together. We’ve read this several times already and I’m sure we will continue to enjoy it for many years to come.

[As I mentioned, I received a review copy of the book from its publisher, which in no way influenced my opinion.]

After enjoying her last novel quite a bit, I was excited to get a hold of Marisa de los Santos’ Falling Together. The story of three college friends who experience a rift after graduation, de los Santos covers the familiar ground of loneliness and community as themes.

This story is told primarily from the perspective of Pen, a single mother struggling with the loss of her father and her deepest friendships. I liked this character but I didn’t identify with her as deeply as I did Cornelia in Belong to Me. I found the plot also more forced, and the flashbacks not as powerful as they could have been. I don’t think readers got a full enough picture of the friendship of Cat, Pen and Will. They are told how special it is more than shown.

De los Santos has a background in poetry and her writing is marked with loveliness. All of the description of setting and place were beautiful and I enjoyed her writing of some of the secondary characters in particular.

Overall, Falling Together is a feel-good read that many will enjoy. I just didn’t think it was De Los Santos’ best.

[I received a review copy of the book from its publisher, which in no way influenced my opinion.]

Winter Light by Bruce Ray Smith is one man’s journey towards humility. In the form of a journal, it exposes deep, honest thoughts about pride and moreover, surrendering fully to God. With poetic prose and bare thoughts, it provides a model for Christians of prayer and meditation.

So few have been exposed to rich and meaningful examples of the spiritual disciplines in this day and age. As we rush around, we neglect listening, waiting and contemplation. Smith’s insights and experiences expose both our lack of practice and the great impact these disciplines can have on our souls.

There is a great amount of wisdom found in Winter Light, lessons born of struggle and hardship. I know that I will be revisiting it again and again to contemplate and continue to digest all that Smith shares in this short work. Its structure lends well to picking up and putting down, brief thoughts that provide the fodder for lengthy meditations.

Obviously, Winter Light is quite unlike what is typically published in mainstream evangelical circles. It was not written by a guru and doesn’t tell readers what to do. But by its example, readers will see how they can lay themselves bare before God and their neighbors, as well. I’d commend it to any Christian. (9/10, I received a review copy from the publisher, but these thoughts are my own.)

Narrating the story is a young doctor named Natalia, who learns of her grandfather’s death while on a humanitarian mission to vaccinate children in an orphanage now across the border from her home and tend to any pressing medical needs. Her nation has just suffered a bloody civil war and her memories of her grandfather and the war intermix with her story of dealing with the aftermath.

The novel is filled with the spirit of such authors as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Salman Rushdie with lovely folklore and magical realism. Like others who write in the genre, the style is wandering and occasionally confusing. I had to really concentrate to comprehend what was going on in parts.

The writing is lovely and there are moments of true cohesion where everything is working together and it almost took my breath away. But then there are large parts where I felt like I was enduring to get to another good part. Maybe it’s a little too broad, a little too wandering, a little too literary.

The Tiger’s Wife is receiving the praise that many projected years before publication, and Téa Obreht became the youngest author to receive the Orange Prize this June. She is an exciting young writer and I hope she continues to grow and develop and improve upon this solid beginning.

4 of 5 stars. [I received a review copy of the book from its publisher, which in no way influenced my opinion.]

So moved by reading Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Carolyn Custis James responded by writing a book that tackles God’s global vision for women. With clarity and insight, James sets out a theology of women that works both for affluent surburbanites and those in the developing world. Women matter to God, they are his beloved daughters, and that knowledge gives them a foundation to rest upon and strength to fight oppression and injustice.

James is challenging the church to answer three questions:

(1) What message does the church offer women in the twenty-first century?

(2) What will the church do to address rampant suffering of women throughout the world?

(3) What message are we sending to the world by how we value and mobilize our own daughters? (p. 41)

In answering the first question, James explains how women are made in the image of God, just as men are, are of great value. She also explains that God made women ezers, helpers. But unlike the docile doormats that many picture, Ezer is also the Hebrew word used to describe God’s strong help, how the mighty warrior defends and protects his people. Both men and women benefit and are at their best when they join together to serve the church and the world. I think her work in this area is invaluable to the church as an encouragement to women.

The second question is more of a challenge than anything else. Though James highlights some women who are fighting injustice around the world, there isn’t an easy solution to the problem of suffering and oppression and there isn’t an easy answer. I wish this had been more fully developed, and included more stories of women advancing the cause of justice and mercy.

More controversial than the other two, I appreciated the way James handled the third question. She established that it is wrong for us to equate biblical womanhood with being a wife and a mother, which are two good and valuable roles that we often elevate to the point of excluding and marginalizing other women. Her ministry is not for or against women’s ordination or a blanket egalitarianism, which is sure to frustrate those on both sides who would like to see her take a strong position one way or another. But I find it wise, as those with either conviction can learn a lot from James.

Half the Church could have been organized a little better, and integrated justice more clearly as well, but I still appreciated it. It is a good book, not a perfect one, but one that will encourage the church.

Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper would be a good read if you are just starting to think about how to form a family culture with traditions that reinforce your values and beliefs. As someone who has thought about it for awhile, I found it encouraging but with few new or groundbreaking ideas.

The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh. I’d recommend the original Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter mysteries to any reader. If you can’t get enough of Lord Peter, Harriet and Bunter, you might enjoy this modern Lord Peter story as well. It’s not up to Sayers’ standard but it’s still pretty fun.

The Apostles’ Creed for Today by Justo Gonzalez was mostly disappointing, but not exactly bad. Worth working through something like Karl Barth’s Dogmatics in Outline instead, for greater insight.

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is a classic that is not too difficult to read and has moments of being very enjoyable. But it’s neither important enough nor enjoyable enough for me to insist it be at the top of your “must read” list. I liked it, but I probably would never read it again.

As the Internet Monk, Michael Spencer encouraged thousands through his blog, before he died of cancer last April. His one and only book, Mere Churchianity, is a fitting legacy.

Like his blog, Mere Churchianity is provocative and appeals to those disillusioned by the institutional church. It serves to start a conversation about what following Jesus looks like, and the ways the church is leading us astray and thwarting us in our attempts to live like Christ.

I found the book encouraging on the whole. Consistently, readers are called to go back to the gospels, and examine what Jesus said and did. Find the real Jesus, not the one other people project, and be changed by him. Spencer calls evangelical churches out for the ways they ignore Jesus and peddle a false gospel, particularly those who promote a prosperity gospel or one that requires everyone to be happy all the time.

Though it is addressed to “leavers” and is very sympathetic to their concerns, I think it makes a good case for living in community and being a part of a church. This book will be a great encouragement to those who are struggling with the church, but its short on next steps. I would have liked to see Jesus-Shaped Spirituality a little more fleshed out. But overall, it’s a worthwhile read. [I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.]

Spiritual Parenting by Michelle Anthony stands out amongst the crowd of Christian books by grounding parenting in discipleship. Instead of focusing parental energy on sin management, Anthony urges parents to share their lives transformed by the gospel. “The goal of spiritual parenting is that our children would learn to hear and know God’s voice, desire to obey it, and obey it in the power of God’s Spirit, not their own strength.”

With a goal of passing down a vibrant faith, Anthony describes environments and values that we should consciously cultivate in parenting: storytelling, identity, faith community, service, out of the comfort zone, responsibility, course correction, love and respect, knowing, and modeling. I found each chapter encouraging. Though Anthony is not coming from a covenantal perspective, I found her ideas and examples compelling and easy to comport to a reformed theology of children.

As twenty-first century evangelicals reconsider how to do church, the way we raise children in the faith must be part of that conversation. Anthony’s book is a good start for parents to consider some of the fundamental concerns of raising children who share an authentic and transformational faith. It also serves as a necessary reminder that parents are responsible for the spiritual formation of their children, and how they live is much more important to that development than anything that happens for an hour or two a week.

It is a temptation for parents to look for someone to tell them just what to do, and this book is not structured to feed that. Anthony encourages parents to know their children, embrace the way God made them, and parent them as individuals. Without a formula to follow, parents are better reminded of their eternal focus. “What is our job then? The joy of parenting can be spent on cultivating environments for our children’s faith to grow, teaching them how to cultivate a love relationship with Jesus as we cultivate our own, living our lives authentically in front of them so that they become eyewitnesses to our own transformation. “ (8.5/10) [I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.]

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When Helping Hurts is a helpful and necessary book that I’d recommend to others interested in the best practices of mercy ministry and community development from a Christian perspective. Coming out of a reformed worldview of creation, fall, and redemption, the authors see the purpose of mercy ministries as restoring people to right relationships with God, one another, creation and having a healthy and biblical view of themselves. They have many years of experience and research to share and great examples of applications both in the US and abroad.

The basic theology of ministry and paradigm shift for readers from relief to development and also how to evaluate short term mission work, are worth re-reading regularly. I took the Chalmers Center’s Foundations & Principles of Holistic Ministry distance class a few years ago, so much of the groundwork was familiar to me, but I still appreciate having it all together in one succinct package.

A few things perplex me. Though the authors mention that we should not be paternalistic and that we all have poverty in our lives and relationships even if we are not materially-poor, this wasn’t as well fleshed out as I would have liked, especially in the examples. I think people are at a loss as to how to have equity in relationships with the materially poor and this book won’t help much.

The tone is very instructional, almost to the point of being condescending. Though I do see many doing ministry in ways that hurt the poor and themselves, I also see the way God uses those who act out of compassion, even when their efforts aren’t always perfect. I wanted to tell Brian, “stop beating yourself up!” Best practices are excellent to strive for, but I have felt paralyzed by the thought, “am I doing this right?” Readers need to be told that the mandate to care for the poor is worth putting yourself out there and making mistakes. (8.5/10)

As more and more evangelicals identify themselves as gay Christians and more evangelicals have deep and meaningful relationships with homosexuals in and out of the church, Wesley Hill’s Washed and Waiting comes as a welcome insight into Christian faithfulness in the midst of a homosexual identity.

Wesley Hill is exclusively attracted to men, and this book shares his struggles to reconcile his homosexual attraction to the gospel and life of the Church. He interacts with a wide range of great thinkers and writers as well as scripture as he describes his own wrestling with the loneliness and pain of living a celibate lifestyle. His choice to not act on his impulses and attractions is a powerful testimony to any Christian struggling with any sort of sin. Concluding with a hopeful and beautiful chapter about how sinners are made beautiful and cherished by God, regardless of how we feel about ourselves. We will hear those words “well done my good and faithful servant,” as we enter into perfect fellowship with God and his people. That was especially encouraging to me as a believer.

Some may quibble with his use of “gay Christian” and “homosexual Christian,” other reviews go into this in depth if you are interested, I didn’t find it distracting in the least. I think those who believe that homosexuality is entirely due to choice and nurture will find this very confusing, as Hill was raised by loving parents in good churches, but I hope they will persevere in reading this as there is a lot of great insight to gain.

This is a short and easy read, “reflections” rather than systematic theology or a ten step how-to guide. If you would like to understand the struggle of Christians with same sex attractions, I’d commend it to you highly. If you enjoy spiritual memoirs of any kind, I’d recommend it as well. I am looking forward to hearing more from Hill in the future, both on his spiritual journey and his study of the New Testament. (9/10)

In a world with great poverty and despair, what does God expect of his people? If our neighbors are people of relative affluence, what concern should we have for the poor? Grappling with these questions and others, Richard Stearns, president of World Vision US, writes an engaging and informative treatise to all Christians to life out the gospel with word and deed in the context of the world’s poor.

Weaving in his own personal testimony, Stearns considers the problem of poverty from various perspectives. As he explains how he left his position as the CEO of a large corporation to begin a new work he felt unequipped for in the private sector, he is also expounding on the Bible’s call to love the poor and needy. Describing his first visits to the third world, he embodies the statistics about poverty that he is also providing.

In an age where our influence can spread beyond a few square miles of our homes, Stearns lays out for readers how they can help to serve the suffering and why they ought to. I found the book compelling and thought provoking, but also winsome and easy to read. This book is one that I’d commend to any Christian, but in particular those who feel ill-equipped in their call towards mercy and justice. (9/10)

**I received this book from the publisher to review. My opinion I’ve expressed is my own.**

Suffering is a part of the christian life, and this question is one that I grapple with a lot. Pete’s analysis is honest, Christ-centered and pastoral. If you want an academic discourse on the problem of suffering, look elsewhere. This book is surprisingly easy to read, something I appreciated considering the foggy haze suffering can bring. Knowing that there aren’t any easy answers to the question, I appreciated the reinforcement of basic truths that Plan B provided.

Wilson uses stories from the Bible and the experiences of his friends to explain suffering from a Biblical perspective. I might have done it differently, and spent more time talking about how things will be different someday in the new heavens and the new earth. Explaining how Christ has started to redeem the world and make all things new. However, Plan B is a hopeful book, and a good one, and will be a good resource to the church in the years to come. (8.5/10)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”