Tender Warrior by Stu Weber

Stu Weber in Tender Warrior provides a description of Biblical manhood.  Weber reinforces what other author’s have also brought forward, there is an absence of real men in our society.  He then proceeds to provide a detailed summary of what a real man should be.  He discusses the need for men to have both strength and be able to show tenderness to those they love.  He explores how a real man interacts with his spouse, providing both provision and understanding.  This is followed by an in-depth discussion of the role of fathering and the need for real men to father children.  Weber points out beyond one’s family, a man needs companions to do life in.  He concludes with a picture of what a true man is.  A true man follows the focuses model of Jesus.  He notes that society has emasculated Jesus giving a picture of a pansy.  Weber extends notes the focuses vision of Jesus, a man who was both a warrior king and also one who could show deep compassion. 

Honestly, I kind of think this book is lost on me.  The portions of the book that resonate with me are really things I believe I am doing now.  And there is a lot of material similar to what I have read in men’s issues books before.  And those things that don’t resonate with me failed to challenge my thoughts but were discarded.  I’m not saying the material is not good or the book is not well written.  It just simply did not provide me anything new.  Part of this could be my non-hunter attitude, as this book uses many hunting stories that are lost on me.  Luckily as someone who has studied military history, Weber’s leads using his military experience did keep my attention. 

So I asked myself what would I do with this book.  First, if a believer had never read a book of this type I would suggest it as a starting point that would give them a good overview of these issues.  It would likely challenge a young husband who has not yet thought about these issues.  And I would be very willing to provide this book to someone not following Christ who wants to know what Biblical manhood looks like.  It is likely for these reasons that this book has continued to find a large audience since its original 1993 printing. 

Review Copy Provided by Waterbrook Multnomah

Love Does: Discover A Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World

Bob Goff in Love Does: Discover A Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World shares practical lessons learned from a life lived on faith and how they link to the teachings of Jesus.  Goff writes relatively short chapters centered on poignant and often humorous stories from his own life and those that he does life with.  Goff, a lawyer, leads what many of us would call an extraordinary life where in his spare time he supports global justice initiatives.  One of his stories recounts how he became a Consul for Uganda, with many of his stories relaying his own experiences in that country.  In fact, the proceeds from the book are divided between Donald Miller’s Mentoring Project and Goff’s Restore International Leadership Academy in Gulu, Uganda, which provides educational opportunities for children in war torn northern Uganda.  In the vast majority of chapters Goff explains how his experiences have enlightened him on the life and teachings of Jesus, restating the basics of New Testament passages without the typical Biblical citations found in “Christian books.”

Goff’s message is clear, Love Does!  Love is something that has energy and action around it.  And as Christians it is not enough for us to think about love but we have to put love into action.  By expressing love in an active way we can share in the work of Jesus and get to know Him in a better way.  Love does not sit idly by but moves!

Love Does is easy to read, with the reader feeling like you are engaged in a conversation with Goff.  Goff tells stories and he has interesting stories to tell.  With this being said, I think there are three key groups this book can be helpful for.  First, those seeking to know about Jesus will enjoy this book.  Goff’s writing is easy to engage with and his choice to restate Biblical text without citing makes the book non-threatening to a non-believer.  One does not have to be in the club to understand what Goff has to say about Jesus!  Second, those wanting to find direction in their Christian walk will get simple advice from Goff, do something.  And his tales show how powerful just moving in a direction can be if you don’t know where to start.  Third, Christians deep in their faith can stand to review Goff’s lessons.  Goff makes it clear that we make religion too complicated.  For Goff through action we can get clarity about God as He uses motion to make things occur around us.  Especially convicting for me was the chapter on Stalking Jesus!  Yes, stalking Jesus.  He notes that often we spend so much effort getting to learn the “facts” about Jesus that we are looking at Him from 1,000 yards away while failing to know Jesus by responding to work and entering into life with him.

Donald Miller in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years introduced us to his friend Bob Goff, a force to be reckoned with.  In Love Does we get to know Goff on a new level through his own words.  I feel comfortable saying Goff is my friend.  We both love Disneyland!  And if I really need to run something past him, I do have his phone number.  Because you should always be able to contact a friend directly!  Thanks friend for reminding me that love is an action verb!

Review Copy Provided by Thomas Nelson

Empty Promises by Pete Wilson

Pete Wilson in Empty Promises: The Truth About You, Your Desires, and the Lies You're Believing addresses head on the issue of idols in our lives.  Wilson notes that "idolatry is when I look to something that does not have God's power to give me what only God has the power and authority to give (Wilson, Empty Promises, 5).  He then goes on to explain that we, including those in the church, are practicing idolatry on a daily basis not allowing us to achieve our purposes.  Wilson then chronicles the common idols of our day, including the warning signs that we are worshiping at a false idol.  These idols include; power, success, money, beauty and religion.  Wilson notes that humans are inclined to worship and that only by worshiping God can we achieve our true purpose of reflecting Him.  Wilson finishes with practical tips for connecting with God and throwing off false ones. 

I have to be honest, I went into this read expecting generic Christian book and a continuation on the themes in Wilson's first book Plan B.  Instead, I found all new content that was challenging and to be honest things we need to be saying to each other.  Wilson is honest and calling us out in the church on our issues.  Chapters on pleasing others for their approval and religion for the glorification of self will make many uncomfortable.  There was plenty in this book that I found challenging!  Wilson identifies the sin of idolatry in the midst of God's people and then gives us the prescription for overcoming it.  The text itself is very well written, easy to read, and has a nice balance of personal stories, Biblical references and secondary supporting sources.  Overall Empty Promises is a very challenging book attacking issues that are often blind spots in the church. 


Review Copy Provided by Thomas Nelson

God Gave Us Love

God Gave Us Love by Lisa Tawn Bergern with art by Laura J. Bryant introduces kids to God’s amazing love.  In this short board book Little Cub discusses with his Grandpa the nature of love; including love for family and others, like otters who can be tough to love.  Grandpa teaches Little Cub about the great depth of God’s love and how we in response should love those that are just not loveable, like our family, but also unlovable otters.  The lesson is told accompanying by charming illustrations of Little Cub and his family, and even otters.

This is a review of a board book edition of this title which have previously been printed in other formats.  It is packaged and targeted for children 0 to 3.  And honestly it does not work well.  For a board book, there are too many words on a page and too much content.  I’m pretty sure that the book has more words than this review, which is a bad recipe in my opinion for a board book.  And that content is well above the head of most of that age group.  Personally, I feel that this title would work much better with children closer to 5 than 3.  Personally, I would recommend buying a non-board version of this story and give it to children older than 3. 

Review Copy Provided by Waterbrook Press

Great Day Every Day by Max Lucado

Max Lucado in Great Day Every Day: Navigating Life’s Challenges with Promise and Purpose inspires his reader to make the most out of day the Lord has made.  The book is broken into three key sections, “Saturate Your Day in His Grace”, “Entrust Your Day to His Oversight”, and “Accept His Direction”.  In general the book focuses on reorientating one’s view of a day, not seeing it as either ordinary or a challenge to overcome.  Instead Lucado challenges the reader to see God’s hand in the day, and be able to make the most of every single day in completing the purposes that God has built them for.  He shows his readers how to overcome crisis, depression and fear in order to achieve these purposes by entrusting one’s self to the Lord.  By entrusting everyday to God, Lucado shows that one can overcome the challenges of the day to have purpose and direction.  The core chapters are all followed by a one page “Daily Compass” that helps the reader reflect on the content of the chapter.  There is also an extensive discussion guide for small groups.  Additionally, the text is followed by a 30 day devotional, which though not written by Lucado, follows the three themes of the book. 

Great Day Every Day is a reprint of Lucado’s earlier Every Day Deserves a Chance.  The main differences between the two versions is the “Daily Compass” was previously labeled “Daylifter”, the 30 day devotional is not present in the earlier version, and the packaging and art of Great Day Every Day has a more serious tone.  Lucado, as always, is a very good writer with chapters that are easy to read and comprehend.  I think this would be a decent resource for a daily devotional due to the shortness of the chapters, usually 5 to 9 pages, and the “Daylifter” wrap up.  Anyone who has read a Lucado book in the past will be familiar with this type of Lucado book and content.  This does appear to provide more for the customer dollar than the original printing with the addition of the 30 day devotional.  Overall Great Day Every Day is a typical Lucado offering which fans will enjoy. 

Review Copy Provided for Purposes of Review

Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of C.S. Lewis

Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of C.S. Lewis by Terry Lindvall examines the use of humor in the writing of author C.S. Lewis.  Lindvall breaks humor into joy, fun, the joke proper, and satire and flippancy.  The author then explores in depth Lewis’ each use of humor in his writings ranging from fiction to theological.  Lindvall shows that Lewis clearly enjoyed humor and uses a wide range of humor in this works.

Within 30 pages I knew I would not enjoy this book.  Don’t get me wrong, Lindvall’s analysis is through, comprehensive and well researched.  Sadly, it’s a book about funny things that is not funny.  Instead it is dense and the reader plods through text instead of runs.  Part of this is probably my point of view.  I read this book for fun, it’s about humor.  This book should not be read for fun.  It should be read for a serious understanding of Lewis’ use of humor.  I would call this text literary criticism, not biography, and was not what I expected or hoped for.  If I was to be asked to write a criticism paper of Lewis, this would be a must use resource.  I should not have tried to read this book for “fun.”  And I should have listened to my buddy who tried to teach me about sunk cost!

Review Copy Provided for purpose of review

When Work & Family Collide by Andy Stanley

Andy Stanley in When Work & Family Collide: Keeping Your Job from Cheating Your Family provides practical and theologically sound advice on balancing home and work life.  Stanley notes despite the negative connotations to the word “cheating” that everyone does it.  He reframes cheating as “choosing to give up one thing in hope of gaining something else of greater value (Stanley, 1)”  The book provides examples of the negative impact on the family lives of many well meaning people who worked hard but neglect sharing their time with their families.  Stanley examines the life of Daniel from the Old Testament to provide principles on making a stand for our families.   He notes that Daniel took the stand to not cheat on his God under the pressures of those who worshiped another God.  Daniel shows us a strategy to not cheat.  Daniel addressed the issue directly, asked for but did not demand change, and offered alternatives.  In the end Daniel was allowed to test his claim that he would benefit by not eating foods dedicated to false idols, a test that he decisively passed.

This is a reprint of Stanley’s Choosing to Cheat, a book that I have cited and used to help my decision making over the last few years even though I have never read it.  Stanley presents to us a message that we all need to examine, balance.  We all know that we can and do at times cheat our families and he does not shy away from this fact.  Let’s be honest many of us have cheated our families in order to support the work of the church.  Stanley shows us that we can balance our lives and that the benefit to us is better than any raise or work promotion.  This is a book that I think every parent, husband, wife, minister, breathing person should consider in determining how to best make decisions for their futures. 

Review Copy Provided by WaterBrook Multnomah