August 7, 2017

• Book Reviews

  Here are some more book reviews... enjoy!  For earlier reviews, see  http://tim223.xanga.com/category/book-reviews/

  We Died Before We Came Here, by Emily Foreman
  This is a beautifully-written account of their family's years in a North African country, and the circumstances around her husband's murder by Al-Qaeda in 2010, and how God sustained them through it, and some of the fruit that has already been seen afterward. Highly recommended.

  City of Tranquil Light, by Bo Caldwell
  This is a novel about two missionaries to China in the late 1800's and early 1900's, based loosely on the lives of her grandparents, and with other true stories from other missionaries added in to their lives. It is a beautiful and powerful book, as the stories (told from the alternating points of view of both the husband and the wife) show their struggles to fit in and make friends and preach the gospel in China... and the hardships they went through, and God's faithfulness through it all. I found myself wishing it was a simple biography (rather than a novel). Other than that, great book.

  Openness Unhindered, by Rosaria Butterfield
  This is a very thoughtful book. Her first book, "Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert", tells her story (journey out of liberal/lesbian/atheism into Christianity). Here she shares more excellent thoughts on the mistaken categories our secular world has constructed regarding sexual identity, and how to use words and categories Biblically in this area. Also, her chapter 7 on "Community" is one of the most powerful portrayals of hospitality and Christian community I've ever seen. It is much more powerful and compelling than Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Life Together"... it is basically an exposition of Acts 4 combined with a practical application of Jay Pathak's "The Art of Neighboring"... the book is well worth reading just for this one chapter about practical hospitality, even if you don't know anyone who struggles with the sexual orientation topics discussed in the rest of the book.

  Not Just A Soup Kitchen, by David Apple
  This book is focused on practical aspects of helping people who are in poverty, addicted to drugs, homeless, etc. He talks about the practical aspects of being a deacon in a church... everything from how to respond when someone asks for money, to how to visit the sick or dying. He shares his own story of his spiritual journey. Excellent book... recommended for all church deacons, elders, pastors.

  < a very powerful memoir... not listed here because I would rather not have search engines indexing it ... contact me for details>

  Girls Like Us: Fighting for a world where girls are not for sale, by Rachel Lloyd
  This is a powerful memoir of Rachel's life, interweaving stories from her own life (how she became a victim of commercial sexual exploitation) and from the lives of the girls she now works with (through GEMS, in New York City) and helps to leave and recover from that life. She shares about how Christ's love (demonstrated through Christians) has helped her toward wholeness, and helped her to escape the psychological manipulation of her pimp(s). She also shares of their work to get states, cities, and police departments to recognize that commercially exploited children are not criminals ("prostitutes") to be prosecuted, but victims to be rescued. Highly recommended book.

  Unless a Grain of Wheat: The Life of G. Christopher Willis I, by W.A.Willis
  This is a biography of a Christian who became a missionary to China and other parts of Asia in the 20th century, for some 30-40 years. Its writing style is of mediocre interest, but the topic, the man Christopher Willis, is well worth reading. He seemed to be humble, friendly, faithful, Bible-centered, etc, and overall have a very fruitful ministry. He ran a Christian literature and printing business in China, and spent 2 years in a Japanese POW camp during WWII. Good things can be learned from his life, I think. The title sums up his life nicely. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:24) Willis 'died' to his earthly ambitions, and saw much spiritual fruit (and more came along after he was gone).

  Helping others overcome addictions, by Steve McVey and Mike Quarles
  The main point of this book is that Jesus Christ is not only the MAIN thing needed by an addict to overcome his addiction (i.e. a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, believing in Jesus Christ, becoming saved by Jesus Christ), but in fact the ONLY thing needed. All other things are merely crutches, of limited help... whereas recognizing one's new status as a fully-loved, righteous, clean, child of God, is the ONLY thing that will provide lasting freedom from any kind of addiction.
  For example, they take issue with AA's pattern of having people introduce themselves as "Hi, my name is __ and I'm an alcoholic". "No!" the authors state, it is no longer accurate for a Christian to think of himself with that 'old identity' of alcoholic... instead he has a new nature, righteous in Christ, 'all things have become new', it's only 'sin dwelling in me' that does the sins, etc etc.
  The intent of this book is good, and many of its points are good. But it is written in a very polemical style (even sometimes self-promotional), and some of its points are very controversial. They try to 'split hairs', it seems, in their interpretation of certain things... I'm not sure if I agree. I think I'll read it again in a few years (or discuss with others) to try to figure out if I agree with certain things they say. This book MIGHT be helpful for some people, but it might not.

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