Book Reviews – Page 166

A Visit to Vanity Fair: Moral Essays on the Present Age by Alan Jacobs

July 28, 2011 by Adam Shields

A Visit to Vanity Fair: Moral Essays on the Present Age

Purchase Links: Hardcover

I do not often read books of essays. Frankly, I do not frequently read essay length works. I read a lot of blog posts and I read a lot of book length works. But the essays are difficult for me. Jacobs is a very good essayist. And that is why I wanted to read the book. He was (and is) a professor at Wheaton College when I was there, but I did not have him (and do not remember meeting him.)

Over the past couple years I have follow his blogs and writings fairly closely, but this is the first book of his that I have read. I bought it a bit over a year ago to take to the beach (found it for $3 including shipping on Amazon.) Unfortunately it ended up in my Sister-In-Law’s beach books and I forgot about it until I went to the beach this year.

Streetwalking with Jesus: Reaching Out in Justice and Mercy by John Green

July 27, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Not all of us are called to minister to male prostitues, but all of us are called to work out Micah 6:8 “And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” for ourselves.

Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition (until July 27, the kindle edition is on sale for $3.99)

I have been aware of John Green and his ministry almost as long as it has been around. Green was finishing up a Master’s degree at Wheaton College as I was starting my undergrad. We did not know one another, but I knew of him and what he was doing. There were Wheaton students from very early on volunteering. Until 5 years ago when I moved from Chicago to outside of Atlanta, I would see John regularly at Wheaton events, especially those alumni events that were trying to get alumni in urban ministry together.

Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson Book 3)

July 21, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Some new friends, some characters die.

Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook
(Kindle Edition is lendable if someone wants to borrow the series)

The series is aging. Percy is now in 8th grade. Annabeth is trying to live with her Dad and Stepmom again. Tyson has found a home and Grover has found two new children of the Gods that need to make their way to Camp Half-Blood. Percy is still the main and center character, but he is not in charge of the quest, in fact he is chosen to join the quest at all.

Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson Book 2) by Rick Riordan

July 21, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Friends are important.

Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook

In the second book of the series, Percy is getting comfortable in his role as one of the half-bloods and excited about going back to camp for more training. But as normal, the mosters that seek after the children of the Gods cause problems and another adventure is started.

The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way by Eugene Peterson

July 18, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: We often live like Jesus is the Life, sometimes like Jesus is the Truth, but often forget that Jesus is the Way. It is a path that we are to follow, not just a belief that we are to ascribe.

This is the second time I have started this book. A couple of years ago, I got bogged down and did not finished it. Because it was the only one of Peterson’s series of practical theology that I have not read, I decided that I should go back and read it again. This time I got it. That is not to say that it is an easy book to get through, I still think it is the weakest of this series. It is a bit disjointed. The beginning of the book talks about the reasons that we need to follow Jesus. This section primarily revolves around the passage of Jesus saying he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Peterson says we spend a lot of time on Jesus being the truth and the life, but we do not often think a lot about how Jesus is the way.

Welcoming Justice: God’s Movement Toward Beloved Community by Charles Marsh and John Perkins

July 11, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Very few topics get more to the heart of Christian love and community more than racial, class and economic reconciliation.

Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition

I first heard about John Perkins in the spring of 1992 as I was preparing for a summer missions trip with Wheaton College. We read one of his books (cannot remember which one, but according to his Wikipedia page, only A Quiet Revolution was published in 1992, now out of print). Later that year, after working for a summer in Houston with kids in a long term homeless shelter, attended my first Christian Community Development Association meeting. It was there that I first heard John Perkins speak. Since think I think I have read almost everything written by or about him. He truly is one of the modern prophets that has done much to change the direction of the modern Evangelical church. So I am always surprised how many people have not heard of him. A the last Catalyst conference, Perkins was one of the main speakers and I saw dozens of tweets quoting him and many questioning why they had never heard of him.

Luke by John MacArthur

July 7, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Learning scripture from a variety of teachers is important.

I have decided I am going to try a different format of scripture reading. The main issue for me is that I read too much and too quickly and that after a while I start reading scripture in the same way as I read everything else. So I am being intentional, repetitive and trying to slow down as I read scripture.

I picked up this bible study a while ago when it was offered for free on kindle. I decided to start with Luke intentionally in part because I had this bible study and wanted to be intentional in reading a diverse group of authors as I read about the book I am actively reading.

From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology by John Dyer

July 5, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Technology is shaped by its human creators, but also in turn shapes its human users. (This is the book I have been searching for on Technology and Christianity.)

I am a geek wannabe. I fix a lot of friends computers and my less techie friends often ask for advice. But my skills pale in comparison to John Dyer, John Saddington, and a bunch of other twitter friends. In spite of the fact that I am a nanny and not a full time tech worker, I have been thinking a lot about technology and how we as Christians should be reacting. Over the past couple months I have read two decent books on Technology and Christianity, Tim Challies’ The Next Story and Adam Thomas’ Digital Disciple. Both have real value, but the book I have been looking for is John Dyer’s From The Garden to the City.

The main theme of the book is that while we as humans create technology (and that is part of our God given role), the resulting technology shapes us in ways that we often ignore. A personal example happened yesterday. My wife and I are heavy users of our phones for social media and texting, but we do not actually use them to make a lot of phone calls. Our smart phones are not neutral devices as many Christians want to say, neither good nor evil. Yes, we can choose to do good things or evil things with the phones, but the very fact we have the phones affects the way we interact in the world. Technology is not deterministic; we can overcome natural tendencies. But without reflection and insight we, often are just unaware of how the technology affects us.

Now You’re Speaking My Language Honest Communication and Deeper Intimacy for a Stronger Marriage by Gary Chapman

July 5, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Communication is the center of marriage. Almost everything, both good and bad, is a result of communicating with our spouse.

One of the best things my wife and I have done over the past year is to lead a small group for newly married couples. We have seven couple that were married from 5 weeks to 1 1/2 years when we started. We are wrapping up the group this month and will start a new group in August. Leading the group has really required that my wife and I have serious conversations about what is good and bad in our own marriage and the marriages of those around us and how it is we can encourage new marriages to become strong. I really recommend leading a group like this.

The Naked Gospel by Andrew Farley

July 4, 2011 by Adam Shields

I had a conversation with the Author in the comments of my review on Amazon. I am reprinting that conversation here. I need to re-read the books because clearly I did not get all of it. Whenever I disagree with an author, I want to make sure that I am communicating their argument correctly, in a way that they would agree that I have understood. Farley was kind enough to dialogue with me to move me closer to understanding what he was trying to communicate. The conversation is at the bottom.

Takeaway: The overall point, that Jesus plus anything else is no longer the Gospel, is right. But his method of dismissing most of scripture, including much of Jesus’ own teaching, makes it so I am hesitant to recommend it.

It took me about 3 years, but I finally got around to reading this book (or most of it anyway.) A friend asked me what I thought of it and gave me a copy, but we were never able to schedule a time to talk about it, and I did not read it until now.

Farley grew up in a legalistic church background. He reached a crisis of faith when he realized he never could share the gospel with enough people, he never could live righteous enough, he could never become holy by his own power.