God Is Greater

About 18 months ago, I cleared a section of my home-office bookshelf for the writings of Edward H. Hammett. I had just heard Eddie speak at a gathering of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia, and was impressed by his style and content of his sermon. After the gathering, I immediately went and purchased several […]

  The tag-line on the back of this book says, “OK, so the church is broken, now what?” As soon as I saw that line, I was drawn into a discussion. The majority of books coming out of the “emergent” movement have been very good at describing what is broken about the church. They’ve even […]

I am always grateful for authors who aim to challenge my own established beliefs. If I only read a diet of books that confirm what I already believe, how can I learn anything? I want to be challenged to think. Such a challenge may change my beliefs, or cause me to study harder to reaffirm […]

Book Review: A New Kind of Christianity by Brian McLaren From time to time, I am provided books by “Viral Bloggers,” provided I am willing to write a brief review and post in on my blog.  I do this joyfully because I love to read and the books are free in exchange for a honest […]

In her book, The Book of the Shepherd, Joann Davis has given us a brief little fairytale in a land where many church folks live – a land of legalism where faith is expressed in fidelity to a list of rules and regulations, and failure results in harsh retribution.   Joshua, the protagonist in this little […]

I’m not a big fan of “essay books.”  I much prefer to consume a book from start to finish, delving into the mindset of the author.  I like to argue with a book’s author – challenging her/his presuppositions, agendas, theology, philosophy, and politics.  I like following an author’s threads and seeing if they remain consistent […]

A Prayer to Our Father:  Hebrew Origins of the Lord’s Prayer, Nehemia Gordon and Keith Johnson, Hikkiah Press, 2009.    What an amazing little book!   As a Christian with Jewish ancestry, it always warms my heart when members of these two traditions are willing to set aside their prejudice and discover their common roots.  […]

The Seven Faith Tribes, by George Barna This “book review” (and that of dozens of others who have recently read this book) can also be view by visiting http://viralbloggers.com/2009/05/the-seven-faith-tribes-by-george-barna/ My user name on the “viral bloggers site” is “oldguydreaming.”  George Barna is the founder of The Barna Group, a marketing research firm that studies the religious beliefs […]

In his book, “The Life You’ve Always Wanted,” John Ortberg devotes a section to the art of practicing JOY in daily living. His eight suggestions are worth consideration. They are:  Start Immediately: “This is the day that the Lord has made” Unplug from wasteful activities – does anyone watch too much TV Fellowship With People […]