Growing up Christian is not as easy a task as one might think. There are dangers and temptations unique to growing up within a Christian family and within the church and sadly these difficulties are often downplayed or misunderstood by those who have been converted later in life. Growing Up Christian seeks examine these issues, which, as a person who grew up in a Christian home (ie a “church kid”), are near and dear to my heart. The book is targetted primarily at church kids, though their parents would do well to read the book with them. The author, Karl Graustein, is a church kid himself and is now a principal at a Christian school, so is intimately aware of the issues at stake.

The subtitle to Invitation to Solitude and Silence by Ruth Haley Barton is “Experiencing God’s Transforming Presence.” Had I been the editor, I might have suggested something a little more appropriate. Perhaps “A Textbook in Eisogesis” or “Constructing Complex Theology From Non-Supporting Scriptures.” And really this book is an adventure in poor use of Scripture and unsupported statements.

Let me say from the beginning that I believe silence is important. I believe solitude is important. Both are important parts of a healthy spiritual walk. I also believe in the importance of meditation, albiet meditation in a Puritan sense rather than an Eastern sense of the word. While these are good and necessary parts of a healthy spirituality, they are also dangerous if misused, and particularly dangerous if used in ways not only unsupported, but forbidden by Scripture.

Wicca, and witchcraft in general, have seen a great resurgence in interest over the past few years. There are several factors that have contributed to this, not the least of which is the success of the Harry Potter books and movies. Witchcraft is widely-regarded as “just another religion” - one that is not much different from any other. But what sets Wicca apart from the alternative systems of religion is the attraction it has to young people, and young girls in particular. Teens are turning to witchcraft in droves, proudly adopting a system of religion that they feel allows them great freedom.

I have long-since learned that when an actress launches a career in music it is best to avoid her album. Similarly, when a musician tries her hand at acting the results are usually painful. It seems the same is generally true when an author of novels tries his hand at non-fiction. So it was with some trepidation that I opened The Slumber of Christianity, a book written by Ted Dekker, an author known for his heart-pounding thrillers. This represents his first attempt at writing a non-fiction book. Thankfully, it turns out that he is a gifted writer who is able to express himself in either genre.

Abortion, gay marriage and euthanasia are just three of the issues facing our society at this very moment. As Christians we have strong opinions on each of these issues, believing them to be in direct contradiction with the will of God. So how do we go about discussing such difficult topics in our pluralistic society. The truth is that we often shy away from such discussions rather than risk offending others or appearing intolerant. Yet as Christians it is our responsibility to share what we know to be true. Talking About Good and Bad Without Getting Ugly, written by Paul Chamberlain, director of the Institute of Christian Apologetics and professor at Trinity Western University, offers a solution to this dilemma.

I have had the mixed blessing of reading several of the titles in the LifeChange series. Some have been good, some have been awful. But I guess that is to be expected when the authors represented range from C.J. Mahaney to Pat Robertson; from John Piper to Bill Gothard. Of the titles I have read, none has been better than The Cross Centered Life.

In his book The Discipline of Grace Jerry Bridges wrote, “The gospel is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experiencing the joy of living by it” (The Discipline of Grace, page 46). C.J. Mahaney would have us remember that sometimes the most obvious truths are the very ones we need to be reminded of the most. The Cross Centered Life is just such a reminder.

It is a tragic fact that many, and perhaps even the majority of students who proclaim to be Christians when they begin college, no longer make such a claim when they have finished. Four years of college, four years of being away from the presence of parents and church, leads many to abandon the faith they once professed. To combat this ongoing problem, David Wheaton, radio host and one-time tennis professional, has written University of Destruction. This book is targetted squarely at the teenager who is about to depart the comfort and safety of home to set out on his own, beginning with a college education.

It seems to me that John MacArthur writes books in two broad categories. The first is books that often address cultural issues or specific issues within the church. This includes books like Hard to Believe or Ashamed of the Gospel. The other category is books that are drawn from sermons series he preaches to his congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California. The Fulfilled Family, the lastest in a long line of MacArthur’s books, falls squarely in the second category. This book began as a series of sermons expositing Ephesians 5. It is no more and no less than what we have come to expect of John MacArthur - well-written, deep, challenging, and above all else, firmly biblical.

The book is divided into five chapters of roughly equal length. There is one chapter for each of the family, the wife, the husband, the child and the parents. Following the theme of the book, each chapter exposits a portion of the fifth chapter of Ephesians and other parallel texts.

A friend of mine, who is far more qualified than I am to make such judgments, tells me that Philip Ryken is among the top two or three preachers in the world today. That is quite a claim, but one I am more willing to believe as I continue to read Ryken’s work. Until a few weeks ago I knew little about the man, having encountered him only as co-author of a book he wrote with James Boice. But then I read his book City on a Hill and so enjoyed it that I almost immediately turned to He Speaks to me Everywhere.

During evening services at the church he pastors, Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ryken delivers not only a sermon, but also a short cultural reflection. He Speaks to me Everywhere is a compilation of fifty of these commentaries divided into nine broad categories. Topics range from Muslim dress code, to pressing theological errors of our time; from sports and recreation to the acts of terrorism on September 11th; from the Church Mothers to Intelligent Design. These commentaries show a man who knows the issues that people in our culture, believer and unbeliever alike, struggle to understand.

Not too long ago I began to pray that God would teach me to pray. A bit of an odd request, is it not? Obviously I already knew something about prayer if I was praying about it in the first place, but my concern was that despite my prayer habits, which are sometimes good and sometimes bad, I have often felt that I just don’t really understand what prayer is all about. When I pray I’ve often wondered just what the point is. I’ve often wished that I was better at praying and that maybe God would answer a few more of my prayers if I just learned to pray like a Spurgeon or another great preacher of days gone by whose words to God can still stir hearts even today.

I believe God answered my prayer through Bryan Chapell and his book Praying Backwards.