I have several books going right now. In posts like this I want to highlight a few things that I like or dislike in the book as I am working through it. I should also note that I am reading 3/4 of these books on my new Kindle. I really like the Kindle.
CHURCH PLANTER by Darrin Patrick || (Amazon or Westminster)
The bottom line here is: I like this book. I like the topic, the author’s writing style, the substance, the outline…even the cover. It is all very good so far. The book is geared for church planters and is right out of the play book for Acts 29 bootcamps. However, non-church planting pastors should not feel as though they are excluded. It is good food for all pastors. In fact, I would submit, it is good for any believer to read and interact with the ministry of the gospel. Patrick is a very solid writer, but more than that, he has a pastoral heart for his people and his community. I have been appropriately challenged, encouraged, and instructed. I highly recommend it.
OBAMA’S WARS by Bob Woodward || (Amazon)
This is just a compelling recreational read for me. Woodward is a terrific writer and researcher. He makes you feel as though you are in the room during all of the meetings he describes. The book is angled from the perspective of the wars in which the US was/is committed to during the period of the 2008 presidential campaign to the present. It is just a fascinating read. There are a lot of details about President Obama’s leadership style that I am enjoying. In particular I prefer to observe an overall scene and make deductions rather than have someone write a book and tell me what kind of leader he is. Woodward gives you the story and we get to observe. The sheer amount of information is amazing. It’s fast paced, personal, and quite lively. I am really enjoying it so far (half way through).
THINK! by John Piper || (Amazon or Westminster)
John Piper tackles the always thorny relationship between the mind and the heart. In so doing he enlists his favorite theological partner, Jonathan Edwards, to draw Christians back from various extremes to find themselves again informed by the Scriptures through the mind to the heart. In other words, Piper wants us to see that the mind is a slave to the heart, serving it by informing it. Christianity is not subjective emotionalism but revelation that produces a reaction. The purpose of our minds are to engage with truth and in so doing, produce worship of God. As I read this book I feel (wink) like John Piper is having a lot of fun. It seems like he is feeling really pastoral and helping us to tackle several very large and often confused issues. So far so good, but at times I feel like we are getting stuck in the mud. I’m sure if Piper were reading it to me (or preaching) I would be on the edge of my seat. Stand by for a full review later.
HIPSTER CHRISTIANITY by Brett McCracken || (Amazon )
Is cool and gospel contradictory? Are they mutually exclusive? Why are Christians trying to be so cool? Are they? What is cool anyway? What is a hipster? Speaking of having fun, Brett McCracken is enjoying himself in this book. A very good writer himself, McCracken is tipping over some of the sacred tables in the Christian subculture by knocking them out from their legs. What I really like so far in this book is how McCracken with sociological precision is setting up theologically the issue with our cravings for coolness. There is so much (sad) irony bound up in the pursuit of acceptance, stature and glory through the church / culture and apart from the gospel. I’m over half way through this one and am thankful for how ‘pregnant’ the chapters have been thus far.