BOOK REVIEW OF "25 BOOKS EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD READ" SELECTED BY RENOVARE AND MY SUMMER READING LIST OF 25 BOOKS I THINK SHOULD BE READ.

This book caught my attention, so I looked to see which 25 books they recommended. Before I opened to the contents, though, I noticed the four contributors they mentioned (there were a total of 12), and the only one I was familiar with was one I'm not a fan of. 

Renovare is the ministry that put this out, which is known for focusing on Spiritual foundations. The group is ecumenical, so there are approaches I agree with and those I don't. 

That being said, they had an interesting selection of books, from church fathers Athanasius and Augustine to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and C.S. Lewis. They describe each book and include an excerpt. 

For people who want a diverse list of Christian authorship from the past 1700 years, I would recommend it. While I'm surprised in some of the omissions, such as a lack of Tozer, I think this is a fair representation of Christian classics.

But if I made a list, what would be on it?

Well, I was curious so I created a list of books that I think would benefit all Christians. There are not as many classics on my list, and there are only two that are on both my list and Renovare's. There are books I haven't read which would edge some of these off if I did (e.g. Francis Schaeffer's "The God Who Is There" and Robby Gallaty's discipleship book "Growing Up"), but I didn't include them. Also, two of my books are by one author.

I'll include the list for summer reading here, and the next five weeks I'll go through my list with more detail on each book. I've listed them in alphabetic order by title.

Ready?

1. "Another Gospel?" by Alisa Childers.

2. "The Benedict Option" by Rod Dreher.

3. "Calling on the Name of the Lord" by J. Gary Millar.

4. "Evidence That Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell.

5. "50 People Every Christian Should Know" by Warren Wiersbe.

6. "Four Views on Eternal Security" edited by J. Matthew Pinson.

7. "Getting to Know the Church Fathers" by Bryan Litfin.

8. "The Gospel According to Jesus" by John MacArthur.

9. "In the Shadow of the Cross" by Glenn Penner. 

10. "Killing Calvinism" by Greg Dutcher. 

11. "The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer.

12. "Living the Cross Centered Life" by C.J. Mahaney.

13. "Love Your God With All Your Mind" by J.P. Moreland.

14. "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. 

15. "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan.

16. "Pray & Go" by Thom Rainer.

17. "A Primer on Biblical Literacy" by Cory M. Marsh.

18. "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer.

19. "Sacred Pathways" by Gary Thomas. 

20. "Simplify Your Spiritual Life" by Don Whitney.

21. "Superheroes Can't Save You" by Todd Miles.

22. "Total Truth" by Nancy Pearcey.

23. "Turn Neither to the Right Nor to the Left" by D. Eric Shansberg.

24. "When Faith is Forbidden" by Todd Nettleton.

25. "You're Not Enough (and That's Okay) by Allie Beth Stuckey.

Well, Monday we'll start on the list.

 

BOOK REVIEW - "TRACING A KILLER" (MOUNTAIN COUNTRY K-9 UNIT BOOK 7) BY SHARON DUNN

Which is the biggest challenge K-9 officer Hannah Scott and her Newfoundland partner Captain faces? Outsmarting the murderer who drowned her best friend? Protecting Trevor Gage from the Rocky Mountain Killer's deadly intentions? Or convincing Gage he needs to be in a safe house instead of making himself vulnerable to his foe by protecting Hannah from her foe? Oh, did I mention they're on an island, where there is plenty of water nearby?

"Tracing a Killer" by Sharon Dunn is book 7 of the Mountain Country K-9 Unit. Dunn has done a wonderful job of keeping the tension going with not one but two villains who first struck a decade earlier but are alive and well (unlike their victims). She also does a good job in developing the protagonists as they deal with their assumed failures of the past.

The big story of this series is the Rocky Mountain Killer, who killed three young members of a rancher's society ten years ago, killed three more in the current time, and dognapped Cowgirl who was being trained to be a therapy dog, renaming her Killer. A second thread through the series is someone who sabotaged the K-9 unit's tech whiz Isla Jimenez' plans of adoption, followed by escalating threats. A lot of these multi-author K-9 Unit series are written where you don't need to read all the stories in order. Not so with this one. 

I have been enjoying the series. It isn't my favorite, but this set has great characters and nail-biting suspense. "Tracing a Killer" by Sharon Dunn is a good example of that, and I recommend this novel and the series.
 

BOOK REVIEW - "A DANGEROUS PAST" BY SUSAN GEE HEINO

 

Should Gabe Elliot respond like the hospital chaplain he is and keep a 50 year old secret shared by a patient? Or should he as the police officer he is investigate this possible murder in spite of the ghosts and skeletons he'll dig up? And should Brinna Jenson trust the man who promised to marry her but didn't to keep from stirring up accusations against her grandfather that were currently in the distant past?

"A Dangerous Past" is the first story I've had the honor of reading by Susan Gee Heino, and I have no intention of it being the last. She did an excellent job developing Gabe and Brinna, and the plot kept me guessing how it would turn out.

Would you permit me to pretend to be a literary critic here? Having read 85 Love Inspired Suspense prior to this, I'm used to having a car chase, an attempted abduction, or someone taking target practice at one of the main characters before the first chapter's halfway done. With those earned expectations, "A Dangerous Past" might seem slow-moving. My opinion? This book has more of a mystery story arc than a suspense one. If you seem to think this book might be dragging - as I did early on - don't give up on it! It is an inspiring read, and as I implied above, it's a first class mystery, with plenty of suspects and surprises.

BOOK REVIEW - "TRAIL OF THREATS" (MOUNTAIN COUNTRY K-9 UNIT BOOK 6) BY JESSICA PATCH

Is the Elk Lake Arsonist the same person as the Rocky Mountain Killer? Why did someone burn down Sadie Owens' house... while Sadie and her 3 year old diabetic son are inside? Are K-9 officer Rocco Manelli and his accelerant sniffing chocolate Lab partner Cocoa able to identify the killer before he (or she) strikes again?

Jessica Patch's "Trail of Threats," the 6th installment of the Mountain Country K-9 Unit series, is a thrilling, exciting story with great characters. But then if I made a list of the characters in the 86 Love Inspired Suspense stories I've read that made a big impression on me, the top 5 - maybe the top 10? - were from Jessica Patch novels, and Rocco and Sadie both are in that list. 

Yes, I said this is the sixth installment of a series. I would strongly suggest reading this series in order. For those unfamiliar with Love Inspired Suspense's annual K-9 series, there are 9 volumes by 10 different authors (the final volume contains 2 short stories, and take place after the main threads of the first 8 novels have been resolved. Often, you can read the stories out of order without feeling lost or spoiling stories from the previous books that may not have been ridden. Not so in this series.

Speaking of this series, I strongly recommend it, and I also strongly recommend this story.

 

BOOK REVIEW - "SHADY GROVE" (A KATY RUSSELL MYSTERY BOOK 3) BY JACKIE ZACK

Sure, she was the town hoarder, and sure she had anything but a pleasant disposition, but who would take the step to murder her? Should reporters Katy Russell and Nick Hinchman just accept the unanimous conclusion she just tripped over her "collections" and fatally cut herself with the paring knife she always carried?

"Shady Grove" is the excellent third novel in Jackie Zack's excellent Katy Russell Mysteries. As usual, it has two leads who you care more about in each installment, plus plenty of suspects and plot twists that keep you guessing who did it.

This is book 3. Do you need to read to read books 1 and 2 first? I would say that it's better to do so, but you can still enjoy this one out of order - you won't be lost, nor will reading a later book spoil the earlier book.

I recommend this book and this series.

One last bittersweet comment. Author Jackie Zack, who wrote this 4 part series, went home to be with the Lord a couple of days before I started reading this book. Please pray for her and her friends and family. She was an encouragement to me by weekly asking us what we're reading.

 

BOOK REVIEW - "TOXIC EMPATHY: HOW THE PROGRESSIVES EXPLOIT CHRISTIAN COMPASSION" BY ALLIE BETH STUCKEY

Is empathy something that is always beneficial? Or can it become an enabler for those who desire tolerance... for themselves, not for those who disagree? Is it possible that those to the left politically are using Christians' desire to care for others to convince us that what God considers evil isn't really evil?

"Toxic Empathy: How the Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion" is the second book by Allie Beth Stuckey, who previously wrote "You're Not Enough (And That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self Love." Both are books that look at lies exalted in modern culture.

The artist in me loves the structure of these books. They both have a pastel colored cover with black and white lettering (the font style is different). Each book deals with five lies that fit the theme of the respective book. 

"Toxic Empathy" deals with these five mantras:

1. "Abortion is healthcare,"
2. "Trans Women are Women,"
3. "Love is Love,"
4. "No Human is Illegal," and 
5. "Social Justice is Justice."

Each chapter starts out with a story that appears to defend the chapter's title. Stuckey then looks more closely and analyzes the world view and what Biblical truth says on the subject. 

I recommend this book. It was well put together and short enough to be a comfortable read.

 

BOOK REVIEW - "THE POSTMODERN PILGRIM'S PROGRESS: AN ALLEGORICAL TALE" BY KYLE MANN AND JOEL BERRY

 What do you get if you combine John Bunyan's classic "The Pilgrim's Progress," "The Wizard of Oz," "The Shack," and "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," committing such a project to a couple of gentlemen (or not) known for satirizing both the church and the government? Yep, it's "The Postmodern Pilgrim's Progress" by the brains of the Babylon Bee, Kyle Mann and Joel Berry.

I am giving this book 5 stars, because of its ambition and complexity and trying to make all the parts work well together. The rating has nothing to do with whether I enjoyed the book or if I thought it effectively handled its ambitious aims. My hunch is most of the readers would say it did; I didn't think so. But that's due to my taste (or, perhaps, the lack of taste of others).

I go out of my way to give limited info on the book for the purpose of avoiding spoilers, and I'm attempting to do the same here. I can give this synopsis: Ryan attended a mega-church solely because of a promise to his dying younger brother, and gets hit on the head by a falling video monitor. What follows is a long dream that takes place in seconds of real time.

The thing that took away from my enjoying the book the most was the narrator who was from a different reality. Then again, some might love that narrator. 

One last comment. This book does a good job at pointing out where modern Christianity has drifted in certain practices, but Mann and Berry did not include political satire in this book. In my opinion, it's aimed more at Christians rather than an evangelistic tool.

BOOK REVIEW AND PERSONAL EVALUATION - "SPIRITUAL GIFTS - BIBLE STUDY BOOK: WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO USE THEM" BY DANIEL DARLING

This is not the first Daniel Darling book I've read - I also have read "The Dignity Revolution." So I was excited to see his take on one of my favorite subjects. After all, I've read Spiritual Gifts books and taken spiritual gift inventories from the charismatic to the cessationist views. In fact, I've taken two inventories in the past 12 months, including the one Darling suggests in this book.

Technically, this is more of a workbook. My Bible Study group just finished going through this. It is a 6 week study, consisting of five short studies for each chapter, followed by a discussion guide. Probably, neither cessationists nor Charismatics will be completely pleased, but Darling does an excellent job of presenting this without criticizing any of the contrasting views.

I highly recommend this study. 

Allow me to add some interaction I've had, especially connected to the two inventories. I took the one Darling recommends this evening (referred to as the Lifeway test), and I took a previous one coupled with a personality test during a Guide Retreat (and hereafter called the Guide test).
There were similarities between the two. Both dealt with the same 16 gifts; Lifeway gives 5 questions per gift, while Guide gives 8. Those questions really are statements and you are answer with a number between 1 and 5 concerning your agreement. In doing the Guide test, the group leader suggested we rate each statement either 1 or 5, and if it really is somewhere in between, give it a 2 or a 4, avoiding 3s. 

What's interesting is comparing the ratings. Some of it may be due to sticking to 1s and 5s on the Guide. Some of it is how the statements are worded, whether based on experience or interest. There's one case which showed bias: One of the questions to use on the gift of encouragement was, "I usually teach topically rather than verse by verse." Is that saying those who are gifted encouragers would not be expository teachesrs? Nonsense!

Some of the common threads: On both, I'm high on teaching, knowledge, and encouragement and low on leadership, administration,  and - to my disappointment, on helps and discernment. I wasn't surprised to see the Lifeway test reflect my typical low score on evangelism compared to the aberrant 40 of 40 score on the Guide test. What did surprise me was Guide having me high on "Apostleship" (pioneer church work) and Pastor (shepherding) than Lifeway did, and that Lifeway had me very high on giving and faith which most tests - including Guide - also had me low on.

One concluding thought - we need to remember that the gifts of the Spirit often have accompanying roles in the Christian life. Some have gifts of evangelism, giving, mercy, discernment, faith, and helps, but we're all called to be witnesses, generous, merciful, discerning, full of faith, and helpful to those in need.