Tag: book

What is your Favorite Children’s Book? (Give Away)

On By pastorjonathanIn books, Family, parenting2 Comments

It seems like these last few days I have been covered up with kid stuff so I thought one more day couldn’t hurt.  But rather than me telling you about kids resources, why don’t you tell me.  I want to know your favorite Children’s book! It can be a book that someone read to you when you were a kid, a book that you read to your kids, a book your kids read or whatever.  In the comments section give me the title of the book and what makes it special to you.

I happen to have an extra copy of the book pictured above (This Little Prayer of Mine) and will draw a winner from those of you who post. (I’ll Draw on Good Friday, April 2nd).  If you win I’ll contact you via e-mail and let you know.  In the mean time here are some posts on kids stuff that I’ve done over the last few months.

Sammy and His Shepherd (This is my favorite kids book to date)

The Lightlings

The Prince’s Poison Cup

What’s In the Bible? with Buck Denver

The Children’s Storybook Bible

Easter Book Club (50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die)

On By pastorjonathanIn blogging, books, Devotional, discipleship, spiritual disciplinesLeave a comment

I want to invite you to read a book with me and take a deeper look at why Jesus came to die.  Over the course of 50 days I will be reading a 127 page book (not exactly an overwhelming task).  In the process I will be blogging my response to what I have read each day and posting it here.  You are invited to participate.  Read along in the book, read my comments and share some of your own.

We will be starting on Easter Sunday.  Below is the scoop on the book, why I chose Easter, where you can get a copy of the book, and the schedule so we can read along together.

A few years ago John Piper wrote a book entitled, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Each chapter is approximately 2 pages in length and covers one of the fifty reasons.  I must warn you that though the chapters are brief, they are not always easy to process.  I have found in the past that reading one brief two-page chapter a day helps me to process the content of each chapter before moving to the next.

Easter is the time where we celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and Pentecost is the time we celebrate when the Holy Spirit came and empowered the followers of Jesus to bear witness to his death, burial and resurrection.  Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) there are 50 days between Easter and Pentecost.  This provides a great time to read Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die and meditate on the reasons Christ’s death (and resurrection) were necessary.

I will read a chapter a day according to the schedule and posting my response here on this blog.  I want to invite you along on the journey and share your thoughts here as well.  You will need to obtain your own copy of the book.

The following is a PDF of my schedule for reading: 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die – Reading Guide.

“Everyone Communicates, Few Connect” By John C. Maxwell

On By pastorjonathanIn books3 Comments

I was excited when I first got this book in the mail.  I have been reading up on making connections with people and have How to Win Friends and Influence People back in my reading rotation.  I was hoping that Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently would be similar in nature.  I wasn’t let down, but I wasn’t overly impressed either.  The concepts you will find in Everyone Communicates, Few Connect are basic and can be found in just about any good communication book including How to Win Friends and Influence People.

It helps that this book was written by John Maxwell and he has tried to include input from his blog readers. However, in the opinion of this reader the book does contain excessive use of the pronoun, “I,” even when belaboring the point that to connect you must focus on others.  I appreciate John Maxwell and certainly would agree that he knows a whole lot about what he is talking about, I just don’t think he communicated it in the same way he challenges his readers to communicate.  Over all I really liked the book.  Again the concepts are practiced and true.  The credibility of Maxwell’s personal experiences definitely add value to the book.

Everyone Communicates, Few Connect is a reasonably good book on the basics of communication.  The retail price is $25.99 (Hardcover), and is available at places like Amazon.com for $17.15.  I gave it four stars.

Disclaimer: As a blogger I received a complimentary review copy from the Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger program  (http://booksneez.com/ ).  There was no requirement to give it a positive review, just for the reviewer to call it like they see it.

Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are (Book Review)

On By pastorjonathanIn books, student ministryLeave a comment

Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are is a great book geared especially for teenagers.  Alex and Brett Harris Have done it again!  There first book Do Hard Things was an amazing book that challenged teenagers to get out of their comfort-zones and begin rebelling against low expectations that people have of teenagers and really begin to do hard things.  I read it in one sitting and was thrilled when I heard that they had another book coming out.

This book like the first challenges teenagers to step out and rebel against low expectations.  Start Here however is smaller, more concise and shares a lot of practical insight and perspective from the lives of teenagers who are “Doing Hard Things”.  It is choc full of knowledge on how to go about doing the difficult but good things.  Alex and Brett share from their own experiences as well as from many of the teenagers who have logged on to their blog and shared their insights.

Start here is a great follow up book for anyone who has read Do Hard Things.  It is also a great stand alone book for teenagers who are tired of the status quo and wanting to get out of their comfort-zones and attempt great things.  I found it highly motivational and inspirational.  My job now it to put it into as many teenager’s hands as will read it.  Thanks Alex and Brett for rebelling against low expectations and challenging our teens!

I really liked this book and highly recommend it to teenagers or anyone with teenagers in their life, including parents, teachers, and student pastors.   Start Here is an excellent resource. The retail price is $12.99 (Paperback), and is available at places like Amazon.com for $8.76. I gave it five stars.

Disclaimer:  This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.  There was no requirement to give the book a good review.  Just to review it and tell you what I really think.

John Bunyan (Christian Encounter Series) – Book Review

On By pastorjonathanIn books1 Comment

John Bunyan (Christian Encounters Series) is a great introduction to the life and times of John Bunyan the famous author of Pilgrims Progress.  The book is quite brief, but serves as a great background study on a man who lived through an incredible time in history.  As an avid Bunyan fan I am always looking for more material to put into the hands of others to help them understand the literary genius of this ‘simple’ man who wrote one of the most widely read classics in English literature.

The book is not heavy with details, but rather takes a simple, yet scholarly approach to the life of Bunyan.  It would be a great biography for energetic middle school students to read.  I can see it as a handy companion to read along side of Pilgrim’s Progress which is Bunyan’s most famous work.

If you are looking for a complete biography of John Bunyan, this isn’t it.  But if you are looking for an introduction to the life of Bunyan, that isn’t daunting or too challenging, this is it.  I see this as being a handy reference book on the life of Bunyan.  Speaking as one who has read a few Bunyan biographies and host to a Christian Heritage Conference that centered on the life of Bunyan I wasn’t disappointed to read this book, I was excited that a biography was written on this level to introduce more young minds to the life of a great man.

John Bunyan (Christian Encounters Series) is a great introduction to the life and times of John Bunyan, I highly recommend it.  The retail price is $12.00 (paperback), and is available at places like Amazon.com for $8.65.  I gave it four stars.

Disclaimer: As a blogger I received a complimentary review copy from the Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger program  (http://brb.thomasnelson.com/ ).  There was no requirement to give it a positive review, just for the reviewer to call it like they see it.

Name Your Link

5 Things Every Christian Needs to Grow – Give Away

On By pastorjonathanIn books2 Comments

Last month I wrote a brief book  review of 5 Things Every Christian Needs to Grow, a book written by R.C. Sproul.  This month I have decided to give away a copy on the blog.  To enter for a chance to win all you need to do is read my Review and then come back here to briefly share about why you want the book (even if you want to give to someone else).  Then on  Monday (March 1st, 2010) I’ll draw a name by random and announce the winner in the comments section on this post.

If you win I will also contact you via e-mail so I can make arrangements to get you the book (so make sure you fill that part out when leaving a comment).

I have answered some frequently asked questions about the Wednesday book give away in earlier post and you can find it here.

A Hill on Which to Die

On By pastorjonathanIn books, Ministry1 Comment

I still remember it like it was yesterday.  I was at the Southern Baptist Convention in New Orleans a few years ago.  A good friend of mine (who was more excited about the conservative resurgence than I was) had convinced me to tag along and soak in the atmosphere.  He had a contact with Judge Pressler and several others in the movement and we were invited to sit in and hear about the lives of these men, the battles they had fought, and absorb the atmosphere.

To be honest, I went for the bookstore.  The Alabama Baptist Convention used to have a fantastic bookstore at each of its meetings with great deals on books.  I was hoping for some of the same kind of interaction on national level.  However, I was quickly disappointed to learn it was just a Lifeway store set out on tables.

The Highlight of the trip came however when we had the opportunity to tag along on a trip with Judge Pressler to Cafe Dumonde.  We sat in on the conversation, asked our best questions, bought Cafe Dumonde mugs (to remember the occasion) and consumed beignets and hot chocolate.

We were blessed to be able to interact with Judge Pressler that night and throughout the convention.  I was amazed at the character and grace of a man who was both very loving and very kind to most everyone he encountered.  He talked with grace about the years of the conservative resurgence and I was surprised to later hear all the things he was accused of saying or doing.  Quite simply the accusations didn’t line up with the man I had met.

His book A Hill on Which to Die: One Southern Baptist’s Journey is his side of the story concerning the Conservative Resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention.  It is a very straightforward, orderly account of his life, the issues that lead to the resurgence, and the account of how things took place.  It is a great book for anyone looking to hear the conservative side of the resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention.  I give it 5 stars.

I picked up my copy several years ago when Pressler came to speak at UM and I got a copy autographed.  Recently I had the opportunity to pick it up again and actually read it.  I wish I had read it much sooner.

Hear No Evil by Matthew Paul Turner (Book Review)

On By pastorjonathanIn books2 Comments

Hear No Evil: My Story of Innocence, Music, and the Holy Ghost by Matthew Paul Turner comes out Tomorrow (February 16, 2010).  Turner grew up in a fundamentalist Independent  Baptist church and fled to the edge of the music scene in Nashville.  He describes in vivid detail how his fundamentalist upbringing and his earnest desire to be part of the Christian music industry collided.

To be fair, Turner is a very gifted writer.  His writing style is engaging, comical, and pointed all at the same time.  He has a way of pulling the reader into his story and challenging them to see things through his eyes.  This book was very well written.

However, though the book was engaging, in the end it really lacked substance.  All it ended up being was a tirade against various forms of Christianity.  Turner exposed the flaws of fundamentalism, the extreme edge of Calvinism, held a sad reflection on Pentecostalism, and exposed the underbelly of Christian Music Industry.  But to what end?  Why?  What was the point?… That is it.  There was no strong way forward.  There was no call to abandon Christianity.  There was no call to move to the center.  There was no call to say, “Hey, we are all messed up.”  There was no challenge to find the real Jesus.  In the end it was just a well written book on what is wrong with the world of fundamentalism and a few other branches of Christianity.

In the opinion of this blogger, it is a little late for that.  It’s tired.  There are enough former fundamentalist writing out their angst against their parents religion.  Why are they still being published?  Lets push forward and provide some answers, clarity, and direction.  There are two ways to embrace a theology.  One is to be so repulsed by a theology that you back into one, the other is to open both eyes and examine the evidence for yourself.  Hear No Evil is a great example of backing into a theology.  If you are looking for a way forward check out Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris.  It is written in a similar style, but provides a clearer way forward.

I would really only recommend this book to former fundamentalist who are still full of pent-up angst against their parents and are looking for someone to agree with them.   The retail price of Hear No Evil: My Story of Innocence, Music, and the Holy Ghost is $14.99 (Paperback), and is available at places like Amazon.com for $10.11 I gave it three stars.

You can also get more information about this book from the publisher or purchase it here.

Disclaimer:  This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.  There was no requirement to give the book a good review.  Just to review it and tell you what I really think.

How to Get Free Books (Part 3)

On By pastorjonathanIn booksLeave a comment

I first learned about the Blogger Review Program from Nav Press by searching their website to see if they offered free books for review.  I eventually found the Blogger Review page.  I signed up immediately and with in a few weeks got my first book to review.

The Blogger Review program is a decent program.  It is a little difficult to work your way around the page at first, but eventually I caught on and was able to place an order.  You basically send an e-mail and then order the book using a special promo code that they give you. You write a review and post on your blog.

Strengths to the Program

You Get Free Books

You Get to choose which book you Review

They generally update books to choose from near the beginning of the Month

Weaknesses

The Selection is small (usually about 4 books)

Learning how to order can be a challenge at first

I highly recommend the Blogger Review Program program if you read about a book a month or are looking to suplament your other reading material.  So far I have received and written reviews for 1 book through Nav Press. Compared to the other programs I give it a 3 out of 5.

How To Get Free Books (Part 1)

How to Get Free Books (Part 2)

Wednesday Book Give Away (Dug Down Deep)

On By pastorjonathanIn books, spiritual disciplines3 Comments

Last month I wrote a brief book  review of Dug Down Deep, a new book written by Joshua Harris.  This month I have decided to give away a copy on the blog.  To enter for a chance to win all you need to do to briefly (100 words or less) share your story on how you became a follower of Jesus Christ  or a defining moment when you began to grow deeper in your relationship with God. You can see my examples below.  Then on  Monday (February 15th, 2010) I’ll draw a name by random and announce the winner in the comments section here.

My father was a pastor. When I was 14 my dad had a stroke and his church fired him. I hated God and the church and soon started action out in rebellion. My dad confronted my rebellion. I tried to be good enough to make up for the bad things I had done, but I still felt guilty. When I was 24 I finally trusted in Jesus Christ to remove my sin and my shame. Knowing Jesus has changed me and I want others to know about Him. He is indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

If you win I will also contact you via e-mail so I can make arrangements to get you the book (so make sure you fill that part out when leaving a comment).

If you are interested you can find out more about my story by clicking here which will take you to the “my story” section of this page.   You can also click here to begin with the first of five posts on how I became a follower of Jesus Christ.  I look forward to reading your story!  It always amazes me how God works in our lives.

If you have any questions, I have answered some of those on an earlier post and you can find it here.