Book Review: Blue Like Jazz

Blue Like Jazz is subtitled “non-religious thoughts on Christian spirituality,” and it is a series of very personal and yet ultimately helpful musings on Christian teachings and ideas. Donald Miller has a laid back but very readable style of writing and so although Blue Like Jazz is classified as non-fiction, it is by no means difficult to read. The book has become particularly popular amongst university age students because Miller wrestles with his spirituality in a way that easily relates to postmodern generations, but people of all ages will find much to inspire and encourage them in this book. If the book has a weakness, it is probably because Miller’s conclusions are a little too rooted in his own experience and not held accountable enough by the wealth of church history and tradition.

I would warmly recommend this book as a thoroughly good read. Read it as it is intended however, an engaging, sincere and refreshing honest journal of Miller’s personal spirituality, struggles and other thoughts – don’t expect Blue Like Jazz to be what it is not.

Blue Like Jazz is written by Donald Miller and published by Thomas Nelson.

Essential Christian Books to Read

In a recent blog post, popular pastor and writer, Eugene Cho, made a list of ten books that he would recommend all Christians should read. Cho feels that these books have impacted Christianity immensely and proved extremely helpful to their readers over the years.

If you are interested in reading any of these books, they would be available from a sites such as Amazon, Exclusive, Kalahari or my personal favourite – loot.co.za.

The list is compiled in no particular order.

• Testament of Hope – Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Orthodoxy – G.K. Chesterton
• Celebration of Discipleship – Richard Foster
• Mere Christianity – C. S. Lewis
• Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger – Ron Sider
• Wounded Healer or Return of the Prodigal Son – Henri Nouwen
• Dogmatics – Karl Barth [yes, all 13 volumes]
• The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society – Leslie Newbiggen
• The Cost of Discipleship – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• The Politics of Jesus – John Howard Yoder

Cho then went on to list another ten books that narrowly missed his initial cut.

• Knowing God – J.I. Packer
• Theology of Hope – Jurgen Moltmann
• Old Testament Theology – Gerhard von Rad
• The Moral Vision of the New Testament – Richard B. Hays
• A Theology of Liberation – Gustavo Gutierrez
• Irresistable Revolution – Shane Claiborne
• Transforming Missions – David Bosch
• The Jesus I Never Knew or What’s so Amazing About Grace – Phillip Yancey
• Christ and Culture – H. Richard Niebuhr
• Moral Man & Immoral Society – Reinhold Neibuhr

Finally, Cho also compiled a list of 'honourable mentions'.

• The Hiding Place [Corrie ten Boom]
• Confession [Augustine]
• Summa Theologica [Aquinas]
• The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind [Mark Noll]
• Let Justice Roll Down [John Perkins]
• The Prophetic Imagination [Walter Brueggemann]
• Any one of Francis Shaeffer’s trilogy
• Lord of the Rings Trilogy [Tolkien]
• Surprised by Hope [N.T. Wright]
• Silence [Shusaku Endo]
• Traveling Mercies [Anne Lamott]
• The Brothers Karamazov [Dostoyevsky]
• Life Together [Bonhoeffer]

You can read Eugene’s blogs on http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/

Book Review: A Twenty Yard Stroll

If you have the desire to live a Full Life or wish to understand what values you will need in order to have all your aspirations satisfied, then I encourage you to embark on a Twenty Yard Stroll today.

This book gives you a step by step journey guide on how you can receive that Full life, to find that “something”, that joy, which is so often missing in our lives. It dares you to start taking that first step.

I recommend reading this valuable resource as the reader is challenged to put the journey into practice.

Should you wish to purchase a copy of the book on line please go to the website of the publisher Cobble Crab Publishers http://www.cobblecrab.co.za or e-mail jeanne@cobblecrab.co.za

A Twenty yard Stroll was written by the Rev. Dr. John Bailie and published by Cobble Crab Publishers.

(This review has been written by Jeanné Persson).

Book Review: Transform Your Work Life

"God wants to use you – in the marketplace!"

“Most people will spend between sixty and seventy percent of their lives at work. This is an incredible investment of time, energy and creativity and God has a very particular desire for that huge portion of your life. God cares about every part of your life, not just the parts that are spent in church and on church related activities.” (From the back cover).

In ‘Transform Your Work Life,’ co-authors Graham Power and Dion Forster outline their belief that the God-given destiny of each Christ-follower is intrinsically wrapped up in the marketplace, but that many people never take this truth seriously enough. Christians seem all to ready to limit the idea of serving God to certain times and places (like Sundays and the church) but surely God can use us in wonderful ways between 8 and 5, Monday to Friday? Power and Forster combine creative theological reflection with down to earth practical advice on how to begin to embrace your God-given calling at work. Through twelve chapters they seek to challenge, teach and guide you to “turn your ordinary day into an extraordinary calling.”

This book is very well written and manages to express deep concepts in an easy to read style. I recommend it very highly to all Christian readers – to pastors who can learn something about developing the workplace as a mission field for their congregation members and most especially to lay folk who live with that nagging feeling that surely God could use them in some way.

You can order a copy of this book by visiting the website www.christianrepublic.co.za

‘Transform Your Work Life’ is published by Struik Christian Books.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Graham Power is the founder and Board Chairman of the Power Group. He is also the visionary behind the Global Day of Prayer.

Dr. Dion Forster is a consultant and chaplain to the Power Group of Companies as well as the Global Day of Prayer and Unashamedly Ethical movements.

WHAT DO OTHER EXPERTS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK?

“Graham Power and Dion Forster have finally brought the role of the marketplace into the prominence it deserves! When you read the Bible, it soon becomes obvious that the focus of the ministry and outreach of Christ was nearly exclusively on the marketplace. If you are looking for the secrets of how to succeed with your faith in your workplace, then ‘Transform Your Work Life’ is for you.”
(Dr. Bruce Wilkinson, author of ‘The Prayer of Jabez’).

Book Review: Into Your Hands Lord

Into Your Hands Lord, is written by John Baillie, a minister in Johannesburg. The book is an account of the Lord’s hand in Bailie’s life. He embarks on a journey which highlights how small incidents can have a very significant impact on one’s life and how each and every one is ultimately connected.

Bailie unassumingly takes no credit for his achievements, and merely states that through God’s grace, he has found Jesus as his personal Saviour, and that he is constantly being shaped into the person Jesus knows he needs to become. Today, each and every experience of his amazing life journey is begun with the words: “Lord, today, into your hands I place my Spirit.”

Accounts of these events were easy to comprehend. It's an easy read, and, I believe, inspired by God. I recommend it highly.

(This review has been written by Jeanné Persson).

Into Your Hands Lord has been published by Cobble Crab Publishers.

Should you wish to purchase a copy of the book on line please go to the website of the publisher Cobble Crab Publishers http://www.cobblecrab.co.za or e-mail jeanne@cobblecrab.co.za

Book Review: My Simple Life (Sean Bastable)

My Simple Faith is a series of short yet thoughtful spiritual reflections on a diversity of topics from Spur Football Club loving friends, to Ferraris, to a tortoise named Timmy. Most of all, however, these reflections centre on the author’s own personal experience of the love and grace of God. The author, Sean Bastable, writes with clear simplicity, but his book is not simple in the sense of being simplistic or ignorant of deeper issues. Rather Sean uses this series of very personal reflections to describe how faith can continue to have simple yet profound meaning even amidst the more challenging situations faced in life today. In this, Sean writes about the growth of his own faith and how that has connected with the questions, doubts and differing paradigms of those around him, most especially his good friend Dave (who writes the foreword).

Sean makes no attempts to neatly clarify or tie up any of the big faith questions he wrestles with, but rather he holds them in tension, dialoguing with them in a way that is both graceful and sensitive. Sean grapples with questions such as the authority and trustworthiness of Scripture, belief in God, the nature and shape of God’s love, as well as free choice and consequences, and as he does so he invites his reader into the conversation as a way of stimulating their own thoughts and spiritual growth. Sean writes as a fellow traveller in faith’s journey, and I would warmly recommend this book to anyone who has ever grappled with what it means to follow God in his way of love.

(This review has been written by Gareth Killeen, the editor of 'So What?').

Review of Now - written by Delme Linscott

In Delme’s first book, Living Oceans Apart, he addressed a subject that touches the lives of everyone who struggles with the pain of living great distances away from loved ones. It proved to be an important message of hope and encouragement for many.
This second book that Delme has authored, however, is perhaps even more powerful because its message is directly relevant to every human being. Seize the day! Live in the now! Live to the full! Delme freely admits there is nothing new about these messages at all, yet at the same time they are both timeless and priceless.

Timeless, because the tendency to thoughtlessly waste our precious God-given moments of life is sadly a universal weakness clearly evident throughout human history, and thus, requires continual challenge. Priceless, because the immense value of hearing and heeding this particular message just cannot be measured, it can only be seen, tasted, touched and experienced in the quality of relational and personal fruit it will inevitably bear.

Yet, the essence of this message, while easy enough to grasp proves far more difficult to hold onto for any length of time, which again, is exactly why the lessons and truths touched upon in this book are ones that we need to be reminded of repeatedly. Delme has taken up the challenge to help us remember that every moment counts and he has produced a book which I believe will prove to be an absolute treasure-trove of inspiration for many.

Delme has a strongly personal and pastoral style of writing that manages to not only convey his message but also carry it home to the heart. Delme shares that the writing of this book was inspired by the tragic passing of a very dear mutual friend (the Rev. Barry Marshall), and somehow the deep emotions evoked in him by this event are carried through in his words. This infuses the overall message with a passion and urgency that proves difficult to resist.

All this and more is why I voraciously devoured this book, and it is why I will be buying extra copies and handing them out to various loved ones, because I so want them to hear and heed its message. It is also exactly why I am encouraging you to not only carefully read this important book but also act upon it. Now!

You can order a copy of Delme's book from his website www.livingingrace.co.za

(This review is part of the foreword in the book itself, and has been written by Gareth Killeen, the editor of CruxMobi).