"George Washington Carver," A Christian Encounters book by John Perry

Everyone close to me can tell you that I am passionately against racism and racial discrimination. It is a sin that is opposed to the very Gospel of Jesus Christ. After all, if God so loved the "world," and if "whosoever will may come," and if we should love our neighbors as ourselves, what room does that leave for racism? Why should we feel we have the option to hate another human being for whatever reason? (By the way, this is one course of logic that compels me to reject the calvinist doctrine of limited atonement. For a full explanation of my thoughts on that, you'll have to email me!)
Also, please know that I am not ignorant or indifferent to trends within cultures. The black culture has been mired in some dangerous trends - particularly as it concerns fatherless homes. But, that is not a reason to hate black people. After all, white people have just as many, probably more, dangerous "cultural trends" that demand to be answered before we presume to judge our brothers. That being said, and since it is Black History Month, I chose to read about the great American scientist George Washington Carver.
This biography struck the perfect balance of information to give the reader the ability to develop an idea of what Dr. Carver was like. It was not a long book, and it wasn't full of trivial factoids. In its pages, I gained a new appreciation for a great man - and a great scientist.
I especially appreciated the emphasis given in this biography on Dr. Carver's love for God, and how he gave God the credit for all the amazing discoveries he made and talents he possessed. It also surprised me to learn that Dr. Carver was a praise-seeker: he loved basking in the compliments of other men. However, this was balanced by his humble attitude and generosity.
The greatest lesson that I learned from this book concerned the way Carver handled the issues regarding racial segregation in those days. Unlike those modern civil rights activists who seek to demand equal treatment, often sounding brash and overbearing (and sometimes causing more harm than good), Dr. Carver had the amazing ability to cause the white establishment to blush at their own unjust laws and silly social rules. They WANTED to break the "rules" for Dr. Carver, because his spirit and personality were so winsome. His white friends would be angered when he could not get a room at a hotel or ride in certain train cars, but he never whined or grew bitter over his treatment. He wanted the white man to see him as a productive and valuable member of society. Couldn't we all learn a lesson from him, especially as it concerns those of us who wish to reach people with the Gospel?
Everyone should read this book about the amazing Dr. Carver. Read it, and learn from his life.
I received this book free from the publishers in exchange for my honest review.

"Desiring God - Meditations of a Christian Hedonist" by John Piper (Kindle Edition)

John Piper presents a most perplexing theology in his book "Desiring God - Meditations of a Christian Hedonist." The book actually contained very little about desiring God, but it did speak a great deal about desires. The entire contention of the book is that all men desire to be happy, and this desire must come from God. So, the ultimate happiness that man may find is in God Himself. God, on the other hand, has created all things to glorify Himself, and He gets the greatest glory when we are happy in Him. That sounds great on the surface. But other statements just struck me as odd. Among them, that no one does a good deed for any other reason than that it will make them happy. (He actually said this, "...the pursuit of pleasure is an essential motive for every good deed." - at location 1933-1934 in the Kindle edition). Does that include a soldier diving on a grenade to save his fellow warriors? How much pleasure was expected in that good deed?

The first issue I had with the book is that the first couple of chapters are really an explanation of Piper's form of Calvinism. Apart from my own disagreements with this view of theology, the chapters were not really necessary. (Actually, nearly ALL of the chapters were too long. Much of the content was not related to the theme or title of the book).

Although the main theme of the book (that man should find his ultimate happiness in God) is fine with me, I was amazed at the way Piper harshly condemned the performance of the Christian disciplines out of the sense of duty. He contends that it leads to legalism (even though telling Christians to pursue their own pleasures can lead to other things, as well). However, he goes on to recommend doing the "duty" anyway, in the case of a Christian who has no joy! (location 5267, Kindle edition) Basically, Piper is caught in a balancing act that is not sustainable.

For one thing, he kept reiterating that we are commanded to delight in the Lord! ("...the pursuit of pleasure is not just tolerable; it is mandatory..." - location 1871-1872, Kindle edition) But this is highly destructive to his own argument. After all, if it is mandatory, then we have a "duty" to pursue pleasure.....but Piper says that it should not be out of a sense of duty... Um...so why the command to do it? If true worship is made void when performed out of duty, why does God keep telling us (and Piper keep reminding us) that we are commanded to seek happiness in worship?

Also, he said at location 2131: "Joy in ministry is a duty." This is astounding in light of his demeaning statements against worship and service out of a sense of "duty"! So, JOY in ministry is a duty, but the ministry itself is not? He condemns the thought of Christian duty, yet says we have a duty to be joyful....

There are other problems I had with the book, not just the Calvinism and the holes in the arguments. But it is not necessary to state them all here. In short, this book was disappointing. I should have realized that I wouldn't like it after reading his chapter on "Christian hedonism" in his book "Brothers, We are Not Professionals" (which is a great book; I highly recommend it for ministry leaders). In "Desiring God," he overstated his Calvinism and understated the serious Biblical and theological problems with his view.

I received this e-book free from the Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.

"Revival Praying" by Leonard Ravenhill

The voice of Leonard Ravenhill is greatly missed in two ways. One, he has gone home to be with the Lord. Two, many Christians and churches have never been exposed to his piercing books and stirring sermons. He is a much-needed teacher for us today. In reading this book (much like "Why Revival Tarries"), every page seemed to be a condemning description of my heart and habits. It is impossible to read Ravenhill and not be convicted. The Holy Spirit used the man so powerfully.

As the title suggests, this book is about prayer. And what pitiful excuses for prayer we are usually engaging in, when we should be laboring constantly and enduringly before the Throne of God. While the book brings much conviction, it is also not without encouragement. True revival-bringing prayer is within the ability of each of us, if only we should be willing to pay the price (and there is a price). The greatest reward will not come from reading this book - but from heeding it. And I believe that reward would be nothing less than revival.

I love the stories that Ravenhill includes concerning men who were mighty prayer warriors. Many of them I did not recognize, but I will be sure to learn more of them. Other names I knew, but my respect for these men only grew by hearing of their dedication to the work of prayer.

If you are like me, praying has been (for most of my life) a necessary thing along the lines of brushing one's teeth every day. It is necessary - but I am not desperate to do it. Prayer needs to be more like breathing: we dare not cease breathing, or else we will die. Can we be any less serious about the business of prayer?

Please read this book. And let the Christians hold each other accountable for our praying.

"The Bishop" by Steven James

Just getting around to writing my review of this book - even though I finished it before Christmas! Whew...time flies.
I will say up front that this book was (in my opinion) the most violent and graphic. There are two killers in this book who work in tandem, and they stage elaborate murders which intentionally look as if someone else has committed them. We've met one of the killers before in the series... but, of course, I can't tell you who it is.

In this story, author Steven James re-uses a few plot devices - which ordinarily doesn't bother me. But for some reason it did in "The Bishop." I guess I feel like a talented author such as this should always have new ideas and not have to revisit old tropes. Even so, the book is captivating and earns its place in the series with dignity.
Tessa's "real dad" is back - in fact, he is involved in one of the most intense scenes in the entire series (but I can't tell you how). We learn some more about him - some good, some bad. Also, both of Patrick Bowers' almost-girlfriends are back... and the awkward moments are priceless (actually, he TRIES to choose between the two). Bowers is the intended victim again (meaning the killers are using all the murders as bait to lure him). And, of course, the crime comes to a climactic end with Bowers squaring off against one of the killers. Since the release of "The Queen," I'm sure you know who wins.

Not much more to say, but it was a good book. I just realized that in my review of "The Rook" that I stated I liked "The Rook" better than "The Pawn" - and then in my review of "The Knight" I said that I "still like 'The Pawn' best".......  Oh well.  To be clear, I think "The Pawn" was my favorite.

I would still give it a 5 out of 5 stars.

"Going Deep" by Gordon MacDonald

My hopes for this book were fairly high, even though this is the first Gordon MacDonald book that I've read. And, to be fair, it wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't a terribly good book, either. Before I get too far, here's the main plot: a pastor is praying for a "great idea" to train future leaders and to grow some influential Christians in the church. The end result is "CDP: Cultivating Deep People." A few people from the church are selected to be a part of the CDP group, and they spend a year of discipleship with the pastor and his wife (meeting every Monday night for 40 weeks). The book follows the formulating of the plan and the first CDP group's experience.
Let me start with my criticisms so we can end on a positive note. To begin with, there were times when the conversations in the book seemed a little shallow and.... well, "cheesy" is about the best way to say it. This is merely a personal opinion and reflects my assessment of the author's writing style, so others may disagree. My second criticism involves the time frame. The book covers two years in 383 pages. Obviously, there are some pretty big gaps and jumps in time.
Third, and I hate to say this, but the characters seemed a little wooden (except for the pastor and his wife, Gordon and Gail MacDonald!). The characters are what either makes or breaks a book for me. This book was lacking in the character department.
Fourth...it was just too good to be true. There were no major conflicts (there were a couple of weak crisis points, but they were resolved). It's very hard to remain interested in a book with no climax. If you aren't building up to something, then you have the feeling that it's downhill all the way.
Fifth - and this was the biggie for me - you will read the words "CDP", "great idea", "this thing", or "deep" on average about 5 times on each page FOR ALMOST THE WHOLE BOOK. It got pretty annoying. I guess it was a necessary thing to do, but it made the book very monotonous to me.
Okay, now I can say some good things about the book! Any pastor would love to have an experience like this in his own church. I truly pray that our church will have disciples that are on fire like these disciples were.
Probably the best thing about the book was the information about Jesus as a Rabbi (from a Jewish perspective). It really opened my eyes to what Jesus was trying to accomplish with the 12 disciples. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to research how ancient Jewish rabbis selected and trained their followers. It will change the way you look at Jesus.
The "great idea" that Pastor Mac had in the book isn't a NEW idea at all. It's what Christians should have been doing for 2,000 years. But I'm glad there are 21st century pastors putting new emphasis on the Great Commission: "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19) We need more disciples of Christ. In all, I'd probably give the book 2 out of 5 stars.
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson publishers as part of the BookSneeze bloggers program. I was not required to make a positive review, and the opinions expressed are my own.