Review: Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity
Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity by Tim Challies
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Challies has given us an excellent book that is both practical and helpful. Productivity books abound, but few are centered in productivity for the purpose of serving God and others. Challies gives us the how, but also the why, and that is inspiring. If you are familiar with GTD or the many other management and productivity systems, then you will be familiar with some of the practices in this book. I like that Challies has shown us that our chaotic lives can be brought into manageable order.
I like that the system recommended in this book is quite simple and doable. I have been doing some of the things he mentions. Some were new suggestions and some others were a faithful reminder that I ought to be doing them. I read this through and now I’m going to go back through it like a workbook. Challies has given us added value by linking to worksheets on his website that can be used in connection with this book.
I recommend this book, but give one caution. If you’re not familiar with any digital time, information, project, or calendar management, this book could be overwhelming. You can implement most of what he recommends manually, but it is worth the learning curve to use the digital tools.
Review: Preaching with Bold Assurance: A Solid and Enduring Approach to Engaging Exposition
Preaching with Bold Assurance: A Solid and Enduring Approach to Engaging Exposition by Hersheal York
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is divided into three parts: The Text, The Sermon, and Delivery. Part I was the strongest. Part II started with an explanation of the trademarked Decker Grid System for building sermons that felt like quite a departure from Part I, though getting past that, there was definitely good material. Part III was about delivering sermons so the focus was on effective communication. Some of the psychology stuff got in the way, but it helped me think about different aspects of delivering a sermon and connecting with an audience.
Overall, it is not an exhaustive treatment, nor was it intended to be. The book covers a good bit of ground from studying the text, to building the sermon, to delivering the sermon. Throughout I was challenged to think about my own ministry and examine deficient areas in my own preaching. I’m thankful for the book and recommend it as worth reading.
Review: One-to-One Bible Reading: A Simple Guide for Every Christian
One-to-One Bible Reading: A Simple Guide for Every Christian by David R. Helm
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When we think of evangelism and discipleship, we tend to think of resources. we want books and helps to guide us. This is partly due to inexperience and partly due to lack of confidence. It may also come from fear of misguiding another in spiritual matters. If we are not careful, these can paralyze us so we end up doing nothing.
The suggestion in this book is not against the use of resources, but rather to recommend we use the best resource, the Bible. Helm lays out simple and helpful ways for us to evangelize an unbeliever and disciple a younger Christian through meeting and reading the Bible together. If we think about different books in the Bible, who they were written to, and why, we already have custom resources for different types of people. So the Gospels and even Acts are books that can be used with unbelievers. The epistles in the New Testament were mainly written to younger Christians to ground them in the truth and equip them for perseverance and service. It makes sense these books can be used this way.
Helm also gives us some examples where he breaks down some books to read this way. For instance, he gives us two approaches to the Gospel of Mark. If you meet with a person once a week, you could go through Mark with them in 8 weeks, or 20 weeks for a more in-depth reading. He does the same for some other books as well. He also gives two different methods, the Swedish and COMA methods, for how to do it.
Obviously, a person can use some, all, or none of these suggestions, but they are helpful at least to show us how it could be done. If you think about this in the work of the church, this would also pair well with verse-by-verse preaching through books. So a pastor could preach through a book and put together a similar guide to use in one-to-one Bible reading with their neighbors, family, friends, co-workers, etc. In this way, a pastor could more fully equip his people for the work of ministering.
I am thankful to have read this book. I want to pray through and think through how I can implement this in my own ministry. Evangelizing or discipling can be a daunting task to Christians, but the simplicity of this method could help us past such fears.
Review: The Pastor’s Family: Shepherding Your Family Through the Challenges of Pastoral Ministry
The Pastor’s Family: Shepherding Your Family through the Challenges of Pastoral Ministry by Brian Croft
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I wasn’t sure how the tag team effort was going to work out in this book. However, it worked well. I appreciated reading both perspectives on the same subject. When it comes to books on the home, they vary on their helpfulness. The Bible does give sufficient instruction for us in our homes, but the market is crowded by a lot of extrapolation and thrice-removed opinions about the Bible actually requires of us. We have to sift the counsel we receive. Are we having burdens heaped upon us like an overloaded mule, or are we receiving counsel from someone with a healthy dose of what you call horse sense?
I think Croft is doing the latter in this book, which makes it a helpful book. He does deal with texts and calls out some of the neglect pastors can be guilty of, which is sinful. He rightly calls us to repentance in these. He also gives wise counsel that we should receive with discernment. For instance, he encourages a father to engage in one-on-one discipleship of his children. He may not be in chapter and verse territory, but he is giving good counsel.
I also appreciated how he dealt openly with the abysmal family legacies of some of the “heroes” of the faith that exalt so much. I was personally disappointed a few years ago reading about the marriage and home life of George Whitefield. Whitefield is one of the men Croft writes about. We need to be cautious is vaunting the men of the past. There are both good and bad examples in history. Can we really call a man “successful” in ministry who neglected his family all the while?
This is a great book for pastors and pastors’ wives.
Review: Internet Inferno: A Contemporary Warning and Reminder Regarding this Ancient Truth – “The Tongue is a Fire, the Very World of Iniquity, and is Set on Fire by Hell” James 3:6
Internet Inferno: A Contemporary Warning and Reminder Regarding this Ancient Truth – “The Tongue is a Fire, the Very World of Iniquity, and is Set on Fire by Hell” James 3:6 by Michael John Beasley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a book no one wants to read. The title refers to the flamings on social media of slander, gossip, lies, and so on. Sadly, Christians are often among the worst offenders. Beasley deals with the sins of the tongue in their modern incarnation, the sins of the keyboard. He deals with a number of relevant passages from the Old and the New Testaments. He is particularly convicting when he describe co-belligerence with Satan. Everyone needs to read and consider this book.
