Sometimes I enjoy a book, but still find myself scratching my head about certain elements of it. Sometimes I genuinely appreciate what an author has to say, yet find myself wondering about some of his claims. And this is exactly the case with Passport to Heaven: The True Story of a Zealous Mormon Missionary Who…
I always find it interesting to pay attention to trends within Christian publishing. As certain ideologies appear within wider society or as certain questions are brought to the surface, the publishing industry inevitably responds with books on the subject. In the past couple of years, we have seen a good number of titles dealing with…
There are some Bible verses that seem to go just a little bit too far. “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children … he cannot be my disciple” comes to mind, or “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.” And then…
For every truth of the Christian faith, it seems there is a corresponding fallacy. For every great doctrine there is an opposite misconception. It is a constant challenge to sort the good from the bad, the right from the wrong, the truth from the error. Yet that is exactly the task Mike Wittmer takes on…
I love a good biography. I love a good biography when it’s a “standard” or “pure” biography that simply describes a person’s life from beginning to end. But I also love a good biography when it is written purposefully or thematically—when instead of chronologically detailing all the events of a person’s life it provides selective…
If there is any word used to describe masculinity in our day, any adjective commonly used to modify it, it is almost invariably “toxic.” We hear almost nothing of positive masculinity or healthy masculinity. But we hear endlessly of its toxicity. It would not be wrong to conclude that society really has no vision for…
We have access to some amazing resources meant to help us better understand the Bible. From commentaries to lexicons to systematic theologies, we of all people are most blessed. One especially helpful resource that will help devotional Bible readers as much as pastors or theologians is a harmonized narrative of the life of Jesus. God…
There are three ways to read a good and growing number of the classics of the Christian faith. The first is to read the original work. This is usually the most rewarding option, but it can pose difficulties when the author’s language is either foreign or antiquated. The second is to read a modernized version…
Identity is everywhere. We can hardly read an article in the news or watch a show on TV without encountering it. Identity defines our relationship to the world around us, to the other members of our society, and even to our own bodies. “This rapid rise in identity-thinking has caused a somewhat tense interaction with…
Sometimes a book obscures its subject behind a clever or even misleading title. Sometimes, though, it just goes out and says it. And that’s very much the case with Bob Fyall’s Why Are We Often So Boring?. Having dedicated his life to both preaching and training others to preach, he has collected his thoughts and…
It is a question I get asked with fair frequency: What book would you recommend for a new Christian? If someone has just made a profession of faith in Christ, what would you suggest they read? The answer changes with the times because the times continue to change, so while there are some issues that…
Whatever history may record about the church of this era, it certainly will not record that we had a shortage of Bibles or excellent resources to help us better understand the Bible. To the contrary, there is a host of faithful Bible translations in the English language and there are far more excellent resources than…
There have been times in the history of the Christian faith in which poetry played a key role in believers’ devotion to the Lord. There were eras in which the work of Christian poets was respected and even lauded. But that was then and this is now. While we still value poetry in the form…
There’s little doubt that the modern world creates some unique challenges when it comes to navigating the space between singleness and marriage. There are a host of factors that exist across Western culture and a separate bundle of issues that exist within Christian culture. Put together they can create significant difficulties in successfully pairing up…
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I enjoy reading a good biography as much as anyone, but was perhaps a bit skeptical about a book that, instead of focusing on an individual’s life and accomplishments, instead describes his spiritual and intellectual formation. Yet what could have been a mite…
I suppose I should probably preface what follows by saying that I have never watched as much as a moment of any show by or about the Duggar family. I once had a very cordial chat with Jinger Vuolo (formerly Duggar) at a conference without knowing she was a reality TV personality and probably the…
It’s probably more than a little cliché to point out that we are a busy people who live in a busy time. And while we tend to think there is something unique to the modern context that pushes us especially hard toward overwork, as I have read the books of previous eras I have come…
Sometimes it’s simple enough to know what a book is, but a little more difficult to know what it’s meant for. Understanding a book’s contents is sometimes a bit simpler than knowing how to use it. And I’d say that’s exactly the case for A Divine Tapestry by Ryan McGraw. A Divine Tapestry is simply…
I don’t know what it is like to lose a spouse. I don’t know what it is like to bid farewell to the person with whom I’ve built a home and had a family and shared a life. I don’t know the unique griefs, the unique sorrows, the unique traumas that come with so devastating…
We can tell a lot about ourselves by what we long for, by what we desire, by what we dream about, by what consumes our thoughts when we lie in the quiet darkness of night. You can tell a lot because what consumes our thoughts is a good indication of what consumes our hearts which…