BOOK REVIEW: A Wrinkle in Time

It's a shame that our creativity is often stifled and our imagination often left to grow stale as a result of not reading books like this one. This 1963 Classic by Madeleine L'Engle is one of the best fiction books I have ever read!

I picked this book up a week ago while on a trip to the county library with my wife and daughter. This book has it all; good vs. evil, a terrific plot, intriguing characters and even a surprisingly Christian overtone.

It seems as if more and more the Lord has me running to books not only to learn and increase the sum of my knowledge but also as a form of retreat and an opportunity to get my creative juices boiling over. A Wrinkle in Time has accomplished that in a huge way! I mean what other book has children who travel to different dimensions, witches that quote scripture and love God, and an evil villian who is an enormous brain?!

The message of this book, the idea that love inevitably conquers the most evil forces in the universe is one that is first-of-all communicated by God Almighty himself in the scriptures. While "realists" (I don't mean that in a good way) might be turned off by the book's plot, I definitely recommend this book as a nice airplane read or one to work through while kicked up on a beach in Maui! Aloha!

...and the two shall become one flesh.

Recently I've been listening to Pastor John Piper's pod casts a lot. (Technology continues to floor me as nowadays I can put my daughter in her stroller and take her for a walk all the while listening to someone proclaim God's Word on my i-pod. CRAZY!) Some people aren't real fond of John Piper because of his tendency to emphasize the providence & sovereignty of GOD Almighty (a theological hot-topic for heady college students who seem to have tons to say while having little to no life experiences and an incredible affinity to avoid at all costs any experience that may cause them to "pay their dues" and not be in the spotlight.) A-HEM!!! Excuse me! Anyways......I like John Piper. The biggest reason is because of his undeniable love for Jesus Christ and the gospel and the intensity he displays in the pulpit while proclaiming the gospel.

I've enjoyed the series on Marriage John Piper has recently been teaching because, quite franky, I've never heard anyone (Preacher or Oprah) talk about marriage like this before! The basic premise of John Piper's series on marriage is this: What if marriage isn't about the warm fuzzies and Hollywood's idea of "being in love"? What if, instead, the main point of marriage is that it is a parable of Christ's covenant relationship with his church?

So....in layman's terms, the point of marriage is NOT me or my wife but instead the point is that all who see us & know us might seeclearly how Christ & the church relate to one another.

The Lord has really been stretching me as I have been mulling over this holy stuff. If this is true then it means that every time I choose to be the spiritual leader of my home, and a man who leads devotions, or prays with my family, or reads scripture to my baby girl before she goes to sleep, or cuddles and sings "Jesus loves you" to her at night, or spends time loving my wife and doing special things for her, I am displaying Chirst's covenant love for his church.

Maybe marriage isn't about feeling warm fuzzies every day. Perhaps instead it's about loving and choosing Christlike faithfulness to my bride in good times and bad times, during prosperity and need, during trials and celebration, on the mountain and in the valley of the shadow of death and choosing selfless love over selfish ambition every day of our marriage. Because that is exactly how Jesus Christ displays his love for His church.

To listen to this series search for "Desiring God" on i-tunes or go to www.desiringgod.org

BOOK REVIEW: Into the Wild

So....you better read this book soon because the movie is coming out this fall! John Krakauer is an incredible author and he's actually more like an investigative reporter.

In this book, he chronicles the journey of a young man named Chris McCandless who after graduating college at Emory in Atlanta, gives away or destroys all of his posessions except for his car and decides to leave everything so that he might truly "live".

This true story stirred my heart to the extreme. The interviews in this book with people who encountered Chris over that span of time all hold one consistent theme about McCandless. "He was different".

Though this book isn't a Christian book (at least by our own definition) and Chris' journey was inspired more by philosophy than scripture, I couldn't help but see the Christlike overtones of what Chris did. He left everything and everyone in order to truly embrace life and live it to what he believed was the fullest. Therefore, he was an inigma wrapped up in a riddle.

As you read about the tragic end to McCandless' journey, I hope you are as inspired as I was to live life to the fullest! And it is my sincere conviction that a life lived to the fullest is a life lived in consistent passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ (no matter what the world, other Christians, or other pastors may do or say about it.).

To view the previews for the movie Into the Wild click on the link below:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2LAuzT_x8Ek

BOOK REVIEW: Confessions of a Reformission Rev.

Mark Driscoll- nuff said.

God has anointed this man in a cool way and I loved this book!

The stuff this man shares about planting his new church right in the middle of Seattle (Where they have "more dogs than Christians" as Driscoll always says) is absolutely incredible and caused me to marvel at how amazing God truly is!

I can honestly say that I just read a book and agreed with every statement the guy made.Whether it was his insights on the emergent church movement, cultural relevance, age/stage ministry, manhood, the way preaching/ proclamation should happen, etc, etc, etc!

Not everyone will agree with the things Driscoll says but his willingness to say them (STRONGLY AND WITH CONVICTION) almost caused me to say "Amen!" out loud at Starbucks as I read this.

I have 3 Pastors in this nation that I look to as "Paul" type figures. They are my mentors (though distantly) in ministry. One of them is Mark Driscoll.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves Jesus Christ, Scripture, Sound doctrine, and people (enough to share Jesus-Scripture-and sound doctrine with them!!)

Read it!!!

BOOK REVIEW: Samson and the Pirate Monks

So about a month ago I get a call on my cell from one of my best friends Jason Britt. He is a student pastor in Atlanta at a stinkin' amazing church and one of my most trusted compadres in all the world. A true partner in ministry, I am constantly sharing wth Jason books I have read. Well this time Jason leaves a message on my phone simply stating: "Bro....YOU GOTTA GET THIS BOOK..."!

Honestly, the title threw me a bit. I loved it but I was kinda unprepared for what the pages held.

Here are a few reasons why this book was amazing and why every man on earth needs to read it:

1. Because of the lack of authentic men in today's culture.

2. Because of the lack of men who desire to have true intimacy with Jesus Christ at all costs.

3. Because of the truth it shares regarding how broken we men are and how desperately we need other men in the foxhole with us.

4. Because metro-sexuals are taking over the world.

5. Because until the men are men the church won't be all Jesus wants it to be.

Basically, I would recommend this book to any man who loves Jesus but needs to know how to have victory over sin and the enemy Satan. I've already started giving this book out to the grooms of the weddings I perform and as Birthday presents to buddies. Calling all men: BUY THIS BOOK!!!

BOOK REVIEW: Ambrose Bierce

Recently I picked up this book and I am really enjoying this writer. A civil war era writer who wrote most of his stuff here in Northern California, Ambrose Bierce had an incredible affinity for short-stories.

Most of his stories are either "horror" stories or "war" stories and each one I have read has been significantly entertaining!

It's so nice to read short stories every now and then because they are easy and most of Bierce's turn out to be incredibly intense! I would recommend Bierce to anyone who enjoys reading twisted, haunting-fiction from time to time. My favorite story so far has been one entitled "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge". It has a sort of Sixth Sense twist to it that I loved. It's one of those that I'll probably read over and over again!!!

WARNING: Don't buy this book if you're more of a modern dude or chik who doesn't like "dated" stories. If you're a fan of good fiction, though, what are you waiting for?!

BOOK REVIEW: Ancient Rome

So I've been on this weird Rome fascination for a few months and I just finished this book. Honestly, I feel like I deserve some type of trophy for making it all the way through! It was a really long read and it can get somewhat slow at times. All in all, though, it ws really rewarding to make it through and I found myself intrigued by this horribly barbaric and yet innovative culture.

It helped me as I constantly read with the perspective that "This is what a culture absolutely devoid of Jesus Christ or God's Word is destined to become."! Often times I think of a culture without Christ to look like small barbaric tribes in the Congo while the reality is that a people can be innovative, creative, well-fed and even commercially prosperous and yet morally bankrupt, blood-thirsty and power-hungry.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this book was reading about Rome's persecution of the first Christians and how it backfired on them. Christianity actually gained momentum as Christians were slaughtered in the Colisseum because the people in the stands found their faith and commitment even unto death so fascinating and awe-inspiring.

I definetely recommend this for any history-buffs but buyer beware: it takes a time commitment to make it through!!

BOOK REVIEW: The Third Policeman

Every once in a while I enjoy escaping to a far away nook and curling up with a book that really has little or nothing to do with theology, ministry or even culture for that matter. Recently while in a bookstore in Sacramento I picked up this gem.

While this book is not for everyone or maybe even most people it was the perfect read for me. Weird, unorthodoxed, challenging, entertaining and even funny at times. This is a piece of Irish fiction that was written around 1950 and is somewhat of an underground cult-classic for those who enjoy "Twilight Zone" type books. This book challenges the space-time continuum and has some intense philisophical overtones.

The end of the book left me scratching my head and thinking about it's concept. I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys the TV show Lost and enjoys thinking deep thoughts while reading! If you end up reading it let me know what you thought about it!!