The book is written as an extended exegesis of the Church, the culture, and the work of Jesus through the lens of the Great Commandment. Batterson writes to explore what it would mean for us to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. The fundamental problem of our slack obedience and bitter squabbling and heated conflicts is not in our methodology, tradition, or leadership but in our own failure to love God for all that He is with all that He has made us. That is our individual and corporate sin, and our response should be thorough repentance and learning to love God.

Batterson writes in a personable, casual style that allows the reader to relate and “talk it through” with him. His own experiences of loving God are insightful, often humourous and always convicting as he challenges the reader to pursue the love of God. His challenge invites us back to knowing God, loving God, and serving God in ways that exceed the norm and resonate with the radical nature of our ancient faith. I would recommend Primal with no reservations whatsoever.

Through a series of interviews, Carlson goes on a journey to understand how people in monasteries responded to 9/11 and what their context and training helped them to do and how to reflect on it. These brothers and sisters who have sworn vows of stability, obedience, and renounced pursuit of possessions for the sake of prayer and the good of their neighbors have many helpful insights and a love for God and people that is inspiring. And, yet, Carlson often misses the opportunity to see that the Gospel itself is radical enough without having to indulge some of his own less orthodox tendencies. It’s a good read, but one that requires discernment.

Mark Horne’s work as a biographer is to provide a sketch of Tolkien’s life and the things that were significant to him. Horne, in a significant step, seeks to provide a telling of Tolkien’s life that ties in his literary and linguistic work together with the developments of his relationships with significant people in his life (including his family, friends, and colleagues).

Horne explores Tolkien’s origins, his faith, his passions, his flaws (perfectionism, anyone?) and his legacy with an appropriate goal of honoring “the author of the 20th century” as a devout Christian, scholar, and author. Horne’s research is well done, and succinctly communicated so that this biography is an excellent short biography about the life of Tolkien and, for that purpose, I most definitely recommend it.

Sweet and Wagner’s tale is premised on the idea that eschatological events are ultimately a matter of “conditional semiotics” – the human freedom to accept God’s blessing or God’s curse, and God’s freedom to make it happen in spite of us. So, rather than presenting itself as an authoritative interpretation of Revelation, The Seraph Seal is merely one scenario and exploring it. As far as scenarios go, it’s a fun read. After all, what if Tatian’s Diatessaron was actually an apocalyptic cluebook? Or the Four Horsemen were human beings chosen to help bring the world into the next age? These are fun, speculative questions. They’re not the stuff of theology, but of good storytelling, and for that reason, it’s a good book to read.

McKinley is a pastor out in Portland, OR, and in this text, he writes in a winsome, engaging style that will show the reader the clear teaching of Scripture, draw you into the overall narrative of God’s redemptive plan and challenge you to take your place in it. This book is the best I’ve seen that does justice to both the Kingdom and the Church, so check it out.

Himes weaves a compelling narrative that spans the breadth of the American story, particularly honing in on the Southern and Western U.S. as the native territory of what would become Christian Fundamentalism. Delving into his own struggles with his Fundamentalist background, with the family’s rise to prominence in laying the foundations for Fundamentalism, and the wider counter-cultural revolution that was coming into being, he skillfully provides a lens for us to understand contemporary envangelicalism and its own personal demons, as well as those things that we should learn and maintain in our own practice of discipleship.

My one major criticism, aside from some editorial mishaps, would be Himes’ understanding of Calvinism. His only understanding of reformed/Calvinist thought seems to be the more extreme sort, not the moderate to strong Calvinism that typifies American Calvinism today. Otherwise, when this book is released on May 15, I would recommend anyone who is serious about being missional, or is interested in Christian history, or in the sociology of religion to buy a copy and read it.

Exploring everything from Augustine and Calvin to Edwards and Kuyper, Smith deftly displays the wider treasures of the reformed tradition beyond what Calvinism has been known for. The reality that Calvinism is a “world- and life-view” and that its orientation is about worship, not lectures or picky doctrinalism are just two fine examples of the points that Smith makes with these easily-read, finely-written, and often amusing letters. Whether you consider yourself reformed or Calvinist is beside the point. This book is well worth reading.

The results of Lyons’ struggle with these questions includes The Next Christians. In this book, Lyons sets out to create a vision (with lots of good examples) for what Christians can pursue and create, not as cultural separatists or as cultural Christians, but as culture restorers empowered by the work of Jesus Christ and His mission in the world. Lyons looks at how the world has shifted and changed in the last several decades, and what kind of communities we ought to be seeking as people who love Jesus, love the Gospel, and love creation and are crave its redemption.

This book was excellent as a summary and providing a way for Christians to begin to think differently about their roles as believers and as churches, and what story God is writing in the creation and its coming restoration through Christ. As disciples, we have a responsibility to engage with the work of being restorers and agents of reconciliation in a world that was torn away from its harmony with God. The Gospel empowers us to do this, and the hope of this restoration is the unique contribution of Christianity. So let’s recover it.

Platt’s intent should be obvious from the title. It’s not an uncommon theme in evangelical circles in the United States either. Casting Crowns raised the question in a hit song “way back” in September 2003. Artists like Charlie Hall, Derek Webb, and others have prophetically challenged the church on living in comfort when so many live in poverty. Like Platt says, “We were settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves” (7). In the following pages, Platt challenges us as Christians to see the loss of discipleship and the loss of the Gospel as a way of life in our churches — and to see how it is killing us when we refuse to submit to His Lordship in every area of our lives.

I was convicted and brought to repentance by this book. I was disturbed. I had to seek out the counsel of friends and family because I found myself repulsed by the comfort and ease I lived in while thinking of those who lived in poverty of every kind imaginable — particularly their lack of Christ. It lit me on fire. I was ready to sell everything I had — but Gospel wisdom also should follow Gospel passion, and wise friends have urged me to a wise pursuit of a radical life. But before posting my review, I wanted to test it out. Is the radical life possible? In answer, I would fully endorse this. Read Radical. Start the Radical Challenge. Turn your life more and more to the Gospel-centered life we’ve been called to.

My hopes, unfortunately, were dashed. While she gives token attention to the history, theology, and importance of the Eucharist throughout the book, The Sacred Meal really serves more as a memoir of her lifetime of experiences with Communion. She has had a broad diversity of exposure to various Communion practices across traditions, cultures, and theologies, but has shifted the focus from the Lord Who instituted this practice to looking at everyone you’re taking it with. Instead of being the celebration of Jesus offering Himself, it becomes an emotional experience that gives you a bond with other human beings, regardless of their commitments (Muslim, Jewish, Christian, etc.). The Sacrament is important and vital to the life of any church, and looking to Gallagher for counsel on it will do nothing for the healthy practice of Communion.