In 212 pages, John MacArthur sets out to present The Jesus You Can’t Ignore in response to the cries of Emergent theologians and pastors for conversation instead of conflict. MacArthur sets out to do this by means of highlighting Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees throughout the Gospel accounts, laying down an odd blend of a systematic/biblical theology of conflict for truth. While I agree, in the main, with MacArthur’s aim to inspire and equip people with the knowledge that the defense of the Gospel is mandated by Scripture, MacArthur has some assumptions and “facts” that make his argument problematic.

The first problem is his understanding of Jewish sects. While it is typical to see the Sadducees, Essenes, Pharisees, and “Fourth Philosophy” as hard-and-fast categories with statements of faith and confessions that they respectively hold to, it’s important to recognize that these sects are much broader than today’s denominations. The Pharisees could well be compared to modern-day Protestantism in many respects, having several core beliefs and practices, but a broad diversity on interpreting and applying them. This necessarily makes his insistence on the nature of Jesus’ relationships to these groups questionable.

The second problem is his identifying the Pharisees as Jesus’ strongest opposition, even going so far as to identify “the scribes” in the Gospels as synonymous with Pharisees (a claim for which there is no Biblical or historical basis). A careful reading of Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees, particularly as Luke portrays them, will show that his conflict with them is much more family-like. Jesus, like a Pharisee, argues with Pharisees, not as enemies, but as brothers. His conflict with the Sadducees/chief priests and scribes is much more pronounced, since they deny the Scriptures, deny the Living God, and live for their own power and glory.

Finally, MacArthur’s ecclesiology and history ultimately hurt his argument. Insisting that the ecumenical creeds that preserved the Gospel are shabby and unable to unite Christian, and imposing a standard that only reformed believers can uphold, and all the while insisting that’s all that Scripture and history have, ultimately discredits his goal. The Jesus we aren’t able to ignore said that the promised Holy Spirit would lead the Church into all truth, to be our Teacher. No one church or tradition has it all, and the reformers themselves acknowledged that only the invisible body of Christ contains all truth, as Jesus promised.

If you want to learn about conflict and its place in Christian discipleship, read the Gospels and Acts. Study the epistles. In fact, try putting a notebook together on how Jesus and the apostles confronted problems. Write down whether they were confronting a doctrinal or practical issue. Note whether they took it head on or handled it with subtlety. See where their correction was effective. The Jesus we can’t ignore died for us while we were still sinners and now reigns over all creation, and will one day make things new. The Jesus You Can’t Ignore isn’t effective at pointing us to him as much as it is to pointing to a subset of Christians who feel threatened by the world’s philosophies, and rather than putting their confidence in the Revelation of God, have taken up swords to fight with flesh and blood.

Having just moved on from the teenage life a few years ago, I still have a keen interest in the things that Christians are putting out to “help” teenagers. A Guy’s Guide to Life: How to become a man in 224 pages or less is one of the latest. What Jason Boyett hoped to accomplish in this book is to give a summary challenge to teens and almost-teens (12-15 is my guess on the intended age) to take care of themselves mentally, physically, relationally, and spiritually. If nothing else, he manages to write honestly and present his opinion on those areas well.

But, I don’t think those opinions have much biblical grounding. Boyett, it seems, has sacrificed biblical wisdom for the sake of relevance and a “cool” Christianity that, really, amounts to nothing more than a moralistic, therapeutic deism (what Christian Smith highlights as the predominant religious notion among American teens). One would grant that the worries of young teens are often insignificant to adults and so, the topics of books like this may seem insignificant. I would argue they should be addressed, but they should be addressed in a mature way, grounded in biblical discernment, not in how cool (or geeky) a Christian should be.

I don’t usually review fiction. But I reviewed Tom Davis’ book Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds a few years ago, and when he offered me the opportunity to review another of his books, I jumped at the chance. It’s not for the reasons of eloquence and fine speech or profound theology, but because I believe Mr. Davis has keen insight into the social justice issues of our day that Christians need to pay attention to.

Priceless: A Novel on the Edge of the World is a continuation of a series that started with Scared, which explored the AIDS and war crises in Africa. Priceless takes you to another arena, into 21st century Russia to put on display the horrors, the hell, that is endured on a daily basis by young girls who have been taken by the sex trafficking industry. Millions of young girls are deceived, betrayed, and abused, and governments stand by, for one reason or another. In this book, Davis presents a compelling story calling Christians to action. For the sake of Christ, the captives must be set free. For those who are mature enough for the content, I would definitely recommend the book.

I come from a prophecy-heavy background. In my early teen years, my Bible notes were a collection of notes, maps, charts, lists, and cross-references for prophecies in Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Revelation attempting to understand the last days. Years later, after a great deal of studying Scripture in the original languages and contexts, and a lot of surrendering my pride and naivete, I can now look back on those days, thankful that God has brought me forward and shown me bigger plans than I had dreamed up for Him for the last days. While reading The Prophecy Answer Book by David Jeremiah, I can’t say I experienced the same relief. In fact, it sounded an awful lot like those notes and charts that I had made as a 13 year old.

Presented in a question-and-answer format, Dr. Jeremiah deals with theology surrounding current events (particularly Israel, oil, Islam), the Rapture, the Tribulation, the Antichrist, the Millennium and the New Heaven. Jeremiah’s perspective has echoes of historical dispensationalism and a heavy premillennialism, similar to what is presented by the  Left Behind novels of Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins. On essentially every level of understanding Scripture, this book is unhelpful and, in many places, quite wrong. There is a way to study prophecy, and to understand what the Bible says about the last days, but this isn’t it.

I’ve had a tremendous experience as a ministry student at Geneva College, one that I feel has provided incredible training and preparation in so many aspects of pastoral ministry and caring for the local church. At the same time, however, I was definitely aware of some deficiencies, particularly in how to lead well on the administrative and elder side of things. Sticky Teams, a book I just picked up this weekend, has done a great deal to answer those deficiencies with sound pastoral wisdom and experience.

Larry Osborne is the pastor of North Coast Church in California and, for over twenty years, has provided vision, preaching and leadership for what was a struggling congregation when he was called to its pastorate. God has done some incredible things (which he shares) and taught him many things the hard way (which he shares) about the ins-and-outs of church leadership as pastors and elders seek to lead well in being united, in sticking to the mission, dealing with discipline, budget and policy issues, and more. Whether you are in ministry or planning on going into ministry, I would highly recommend this book to you as a continual source of wisdom and Gospel-driven insights.

John Maxwell is a popular writer. His insights on a wide variety of topics are worthwhile and helpful to read. And since he’s so engaging, it was easy to expect that with his new book Everyone Communicates, Few Connect. His work in many places has been credited with strong influence and helpfulness in the service of the Kingdom – which is part of why I found this book a bit of a letdown.

This book is essentially meant for leadership communication. All leaders have to communicate but, Maxwell argues, they are only effective leaders when they can “connect.” The principles for connection are far from innovative or original, however.The only thing Everyone Communicates offers that a half-decent communications textbook would not is Maxwell’s own phrases, stories, and autobiographical anecdotes that make his case. This review may come across as harsh or biting in its critique, but as Christians, we have a tremendous resource to offer in the Scriptures and the leadership tradition of the prophets and apostles and these were neglected almost entirely by Maxwell. So, if you want a motivational-business handbook on communication, check it out. If you’re looking to make yourself a better Christian leader, this isn’t it.

We consistently move through life with hopes shattered and dreams realized. We live in the paradox of plans that come together miraculously and the best laid schematics that crumble into the dust. In that sort of reality, Christians often find it difficult to walk with faith in a God who says that he is both sovereign and good. While not getting into the whole realm of theodicy (exploring the way that God maintains justice and goodness in a broken world), Pete Wilson’s Plan B provides incredible biblical insight to how we should live and believe when we’re not sure if God’s going to show up in the way that we want him to, if at all.

The book has a fantastic blend of stories, pastoral insights, personal confessions, and a foundation that isn’t laid on anything except Jesus and his Word. Wilson directs our attention away from our situation to the truth of the Gospel: that God has come to us, that God heals us, that God remains with us, and that God has called us to be faithful to him and watch as he glorifies himself and increases our faith, working the worst broken situations to our good. My advice: read this book.

Legends, fables, and history blend together without any sense of direction in most discussions and writings about the 5th Century “Apostle to the Irish.” In this new book from the Christian Encounters series entitled Saint Patrick by Jonathan Rogers, however, there is a literary excellence accompanied by scholastic caution and a concern for spiritual edification. In other words, I’ve yet to run across any book about Patrick that does so well. Dr. Rogers begins with the hazards of researching writing on Patrick but launches into the biography with the things we do know about him, both certainly and questionably, with several “sidebars” in the realm of lore.

The work is as complete as it can be, insofar as things directly relate to a biographical sketch of Patrick, his life and ministry. Rogers’ concern for Patrick’s spirituality and sense of calling are clearly at the forefront of his orientation, and, it would seem, based on Patrick’s writings (contained in Appendices A & B), they were for Patrick as well. Representing this British Paul carefully and honorably is certainly accomplished by Rogers and anyone who is in the least intrigued by Patrick would benefit from reading this book in whatever format they may.

The Liberating King has come! Repent and receive and so enter His Kingdom and the renewal of all things! These are biblical teachings. They are at the core of the Gospel and yet we so often miss the urgency of this message. Many times, this is due to the familiarity we have with the typical style of English Bible translations. Those involved with The Voice, however, are seeking to be true to the text and reflect the inherent creativity of the Spirit of God and the diversity of His ordained human authors, through whom He communicated to us.

In reading The Voice New Testament (for the purpose of this review, the Gospel of Matthew), I found in it a tremendous supplement and devotional translation that is, in the main, faithful to the text (a functional translation somewhere between NIV and The Message). It has many unique features to commend it and while I wouldn’t use it as a primary translation for serious study, I am, thus far, convinced that it would be beneficial for use by Christians in every stage of spiritual development. So, for what it sets out to do, I would give it a five star rating.

In today’s churches, where there is a surge in the calls for music ministers and worship leaders and a number of pastors and churches dealing with questions of what worship is and what it should look like, Dr. Vernon Whaley’s Called to Worship: The Biblical Foundations of Our Response to God’s Call may come as an answer to prayer for some. Literally deriving principles for worship from the books of Scripture, Whaley attempts to provide a “full-Scripture” framework for understanding worship. Does he succeed?

Dr. Whaley’s desire is commendable. His concept of how it should be done is also good. My sense, is, however, that this book is more influenced by his Baptist roots than an informed exegesis and understanding of Hebrew or Greek (there are a number of “errors” in the language references) Scriptures. This is not to say that his principles for worship are wrong, but they are wrongly derived. It would be my hope that some would benefit from this book and others, seeing its weaknesses, would write a more sound, exegetically-responsible biblical theology of worship. If you’re looking for valuable reading on worship, Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin would be my recommendation.