Recommended Reading

Review of Possession by Rene Gutteridge

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Genre: Fiction/Suspense

Highly Recommended.

What a talented storyteller! Possession was delightful, suspenseful, lighthearted and soul changing all in one! It reads almost like a screenplay and could be easily adapted for film or theatre.

A family that is already relationally on the rocks is put to the test when a moving truck service holds all their possessions at ransom. But as the story escalates into a mysterious turn of serious events, the possessions themselves lose all value compared to the lives at stake.

I was instantly caught up in this story and felt more encouraged than ever to run my race of faith with more purity and intensity. The Christian overtones are subtle, but the message of the story is not: we must have our priorities in order!

I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of the Tyndale Blog Network.

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Review of the Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers

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Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Recommended.

The three part Mark of the Lion series (A Voice in the Wind, An Echo in the Darkness, and As Sure As the Dawn) follow the stories of a Messianic Jewish slave girl, an aristocratic Roman family, and a German tribesman taken into slavery as a gladiator.  The setting is decadent Rome in the era of the destruction of the temple and the persecution of Jews and Christians, so THERE IS SOME GRAPHIC SEXUALITY, VIOLENCE AND PAGANISM.  I found this hard to read at first and stopped reading for nearly a year before giving it another go.  The second time I couldn’t put it down.  The pagan worship, violence and sexuality of the book, I believe, does help the story, and is written in such a way that the readers have a healthy indignation for the sin being displayed. That said, it’s not a book for everyone.

But overall, I loved the books–especially the first one.  The first two stories, especially, impacted the way I think about serving other people and the Lord, brought depth to my understanding of radical Christianity, and even gave me insight into eschatological scriptures by revealing portions of the past.

The Christian message was a bit cliché in some parts, but encouraging nonetheless.  And I was also a bit bothered by the way Rivers portrayed some of the biblical characters who were woven into the story.  It would have been better just to leave them out or to rename them, but that’s the artistic risk of giving fictitious portrayals of real-life people, and I respect her for trying.

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Review of The Twelfth Imam by Joel C. Rosenberg

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Genre: Apocalyptic Fiction

Series: Book One of the Twelfth Imam Series

Recommended: A riveting story of high stakes and affronted faiths.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Twelfth Imam, the story of an Iranian born CIA agent working to find and disrupt the secret Iranian nuclear weapons program in the midst of catastrophic global events, personal tragedies, and the questioning of his personal faith as a non-practicing Shia Muslim.

Although it is very much a work of fiction, the style of the writing and the sincerity of the characters make the story appear as a glimpse into an apocalyptic reality.  I especially appreciated the depth of the character’s faiths (it’s not often that a Christian writer would show those of other faiths to have so genuine a passion for their beliefs) and the appearance of the supernatural realm alongside the physical.

Being a Christian work, I found it interesting that the book does not have any “Christian” characters–that is, some characters come to know Jesus Christ as Lord, and faith is at the forefront, but there were no evangelical Christians going around making converts, and I found this somehow refreshing (and more believable).

From a theological perspective, I found this scenario much less dramatic than the prophetic illustration of the last days–not that the stakes weren’t high, or that the plot wasn’t exhilarating, but that it only portrayed a small piece of the prophetic story and even then, only as one possible outcome (of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, so long as readers read fiction as fiction and the Bible as the authority on biblical mysteries).

My only complaint is that the ending was surprisingly abrupt–I considered that perhaps part of it was missing before discovering that this book is the first in Rosenberg’s newest series.  Even so, the book ending felt incomplete (not mysteriously, romantically or suspensefully incomplete, but like the story was chopped off mid-sentence); and since it was so enjoyable to read, this was especially disappointing.

I received a complimentary Advance Reader Copy of this book as a part of the Tyndale Blog Network.
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Review of Corinthian Elders by Jack Fortenberry

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Recommended: A call to reinstate the biblical structure by putting Jesus as the head of His church.

Corinthian Elders focuses on the role of elders in the church, especially in the context of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians.  There’s a lot in this book because as we talk about changing the church structurally, many more issues arise, including the topics of money, leadership and authority, and accountability. Fortenberry does not neglect to mention these important questions, all the while calling the body of Christ to focus on the larger picture: focusing less on individual leaders and instead being taught by the Lord Himself that we may experience a more dynamic church as each member of the body becomes active.

It’s is a short book, but not one to read quickly.  I took my time with it so that I could place each scripture reference in context of entire books.  And though I didn’t agree with every detail and found some arguments weak, I gained a lot from this book.  I was also pleased that some of what the Holy Spirit has revealed to my husband and I personally, was also revealed and expressed by the author.  It is challenging, thought-provoking, and most importantly, stirred in me a hunger to read my Bible and seek out wisdom–any book that can do that is worth the read!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, Jack Fortenberry.

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Review of Once an Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life by Tass Saada with Dean Merrill

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Recommended: A thorough autobiography of the author’s former Muslim perspective and re-birth through Jesus Christ.

Saada’s story stretches from silly childhood episodes, to his involvement as a sniper and personal chauffeur to his long time hero Yasser Arafat, and to the supernatural way God pursued him in the midst of it all.  Written in casual story-telling language, it’s easy to follow Saada’s personal transgression from hating the Jews and fearing Allah to recognizing Jesus as God and finding love and grace (even for the Jews).  As his faith progresses, he is amazed to find Arabs prominently placed in the Bible–not with the same mission, inheritance, and responsibility as the Jews, but with equal love from God (who loves all nations), and with their own unique blessings and promises.

Now the founder of Christian humanitarian organization Hope for Ishmael, Saada has a strong passion for Arab-Jewish reconciliation in the Middle East as each people group discovers Jesus as God and understands their individual role in His kingdom.  The final chapters express amazing optimism that peace is fully achievable as every person recognizes and follows Jesus.

This view of peace and reconciliation, while understandable in the context of Saada’s message, wrongfully exaggerates the message of the Bible and leaves out a great deal of God’s story.  I don’t see this as making his personal testimony and insight less valuable, but I’d like to counterbalance his argument by reminding readers that while followers of Jesus are called to live peacefully whenever possible, we should not expect peace or reconciliation contrary to Biblical prophecies or to allegiance to our Lord.  The Bible is very explicit that at some point all nations will be against Israel (yet to be fulfilled in fullness) and also that a world-wide religious, economic and political system is coming which will superficially be about peace and tolerance, then lead into the violent regime of the Antichrist.  So while I appreciate Saada’s idealism that the Middle East can be fully reconciled, we also have to remember that Jesus came to bring a division (Luke 12:49-51), and that many will choose to reject Jesus and the peace He brings.  Christians should never attempt to fabricate peace outside of Jesus or without Him, so we should be prudent that Jesus always remain the central focus of evangelism.

I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of the Tyndale Blog Network.

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Review of The Screwtape Letters Audio Drama by Focus on the Family

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This is a guest post by my husband, Ben.

Recommended. C.S. Lewis’ classic radio presentation made best-selling book is now available through Focus on the Family in a chilling audio dramatization!

The Screwtape Letters is true classic.  Having never read the book, I found this to be a powerful listening experience.  It has really changed the way I think about the demonic realm!  While I’ve been familar with spiritual warfare for awhile now and am aware of some of the ways the devil schemes against us, this book brought my awareness to a whole new level.  The book is fictional and should be treated as such, but it’s possible that reality isn’t too different.  It has certainly given me something to think about.

Perhaps the most important thing that can be learned from this book is that the demonic realm has no friends.  Those who think Hell will be a party among friends will be sadly disappointed.

In this audio rendition the actors and background music really brought this to life.  The only downside was the bonus musical soundtrack.  The lyrics were superficial at best, definitely not matching up to the depth and brilliance of C.S. Lewis’ work.

For more information on this product, check out: http://www.screwtape.com.

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Review of The House Church Book by Wolfgang Simson

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Recommended: A prophetically relevant book and great resource–but read with care.

I really enjoyed this book, but in researching the author, started running into sketchy material–not with him per se, but in those who connect themselves with him.  That said, don’t read this for it’s theological views (it’s not a theological book anyway), but for his knowledge and gracefully written comparisons of the modern church to its New Testament counterpart.

Simson engages in controversial ground as he reveals how far the church has drifted from its Biblical model.  He then gives general advice and encouragement on how to go back to an emphasis on New Testament values without further control of the church.  In other words, he is very clear that it doesn’t work to “make exact copies of a New Testament church.  Rather [we should] take these New Testament principles and values seriously, as God-given essentials” (33).

Although Simson speaks specifically with the creation of house churches in mind, many of his findings will be of interest to those church leaders who simply want to strengthen their circles of the body in a more ‘organic’ or family-like atmosphere with God at the center.  I especially appreciated his discussions of the roles of the five-fold ministry.  This is a cutting edge resource for any Christian in active leadership.

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