"The Ambition" by Lee Strobel

If you've never read the "Case for..." series of books by Lee Strobel, you are missing out on pages upon pages of excellent and worth-while apologetics reading. The interview-style writing of those books really helps keep your attention - and makes you feel like you are part of a conversation instead of just listening to a bunch of facts.

That being said, this debut novel by Lee Strobel had me anticipating great things. It failed to deliver....  The story centers around a megachurch pastor, Eric Snow, who has political aspirations. He is being pushed along on his journey by a member of his church leadership staff who (apparently) sees a jump-start for her own career. His co-pastor, however, feels like Snow is betraying his God and his church. His main rival for the political position has a few skeletons in his closet...  Following all of this action is a reporter, who also happens to be an atheist.

There's more to the story than that - but that's the main idea. I feel like Strobel really missed out on some great opportunities for suspenseful action. The ending was also very abrupt - which is dissatisfying when you've put so much time into reading a book.

On top of that, the story-line just wasn't as engaging as I'd hoped. Some of the plot twists were predictable (as was the resolution to the story). But the final straw was the totally unnecessary swear word that Strobel threw in. It doesn't matter that a "bad guy" said it, and he was really, really angry when he said it. There is no purpose or need for cursing in a book written by a Christian author and marketed to Christian audiences.

So, for the aforementioned reasons, I give this book a 2 out of 5 stars.

"Not a Fan" by Kyle Idleman

The message of "Not a Fan" is extremely important, and it is also terrifyingly relevant for today's church. The independent fundamental Baptists that I have listened to for the past couple of decades have been saying for years that there are "imposters" in the church - those who are not truly followers of Christ. This epidemic has been around since, well, Jesus' days. But the danger for the 21st-century church is that we are not only tolerating fans (or hypocrites, or false converts, or whatever you wish to call them), we are PRODUCING them at an alarming pace. Our discipleship success rate is almost nonexistent. We have dressed up Christianity as an attractive consumer package, and we are reaping the consequences of  an "easy-believe-ism" without the commitment of the heart that should accompany salvation. (For the record, I believe salvation is as simple as "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved..."  I'm not trying to add to the Gospel. Please understand the context of what I'm saying.)

That being said, this book is one of the must-reads I have reviewed so far on my blog. However, that does not mean there weren't a few minor pitfalls with the book. (I know, I know... I'm so picky)

The main thing is that I felt like the message could have been conveyed just as effectively in a 50-page booklet, whereas we are presented with a semi-redundant 200+ page book. There comes a time when I am reading books like these where the main point has been clearly made, but I feel obligated to finish the book - even though I doubt the author will present anything really fresh in the last 50-75 pages.  (This book could have been a lot shorter, BUT I will say that the last three chapters were the most powerful in my opinion)

By the way, the book is written on a very accessible level for readers. As one of our church men who read the book said to me recently, it is written on about a 7th grade level - all in all, not a bad thing. It just means that there are no deep Greek expositions, complex thought progressions, or logical syllogisms (which I actually happen to love).

The other thing that bothered me was the author's use of humor and jokes. He (graciously) relegated most of his cheesy-ness to footnotes at the bottom of the page; so for a better reading of the book, I recommend skipping the footnotes altogether.... Seriously... Don't even look down there at them.  Here the author has this incredible message that is as serious as Heaven and Hell (literally, if he's right about the fans being unsaved), and he sprinkles in some lame wisecracks every now and then. To me, that severely disrupted his momentum and decreased his effectiveness in communicating his message.

I hope this book (among others) will help foster a desire for true discipleship in our churches.

The message is a definite 5 star, but I can't rate the book itself any more than 4 out of 5.

Giveaway List - Updated 10/03/12

*** New update - instead of reposting the whole list, I will just update the title and strike through the books that have been taken. (like this)

I plan on leaving the list up for about another week, so request your book soon if you see one you like!


Please note that most of these books are older and have a little shelf wear. Some may have frayed edges or dog-eared pages. Many have writing and highlighting in them.  DISCLAIMER - I have not read some of these books, so I cannot say that by giving them away I am approving of all their content.

In the following list, the ones with an asterisk (*) are hardcover; all others are paperback/softcover. The last 5 books in the list are small booklets/gift books.

First come, first served!  They are in roughly alphabetical order by author's last name.

1. Beebe, Wally “All About the Second Man” (1971)
   • A Sword of the Lord publication about the Assistant Pastor position.
2. Beebe, Wally and Winifred “All About the Church Music Director” (1996)
   • This Sword of the Lord publication was later combined with “All about the Second Man” by the same author, and it was republished as “The Second Man”.
3. *Briggs, S. R. (compiler) “500 Bible-Based Outlines” (1976)
   • A collection of sermon outlines, in bare form, to aid study of the Bible.
4. *Burkett, Larry “What Ever Happened to the American Dream” (1993)
   • Larry Burkett examines the “American Dream” of the Pilgrims through the Founding Fathers and examines just how far America and Americans have fallen since then.
5. *Bullock, C. Hassell “An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books” (1979)
6. Hagee, John “The Beginning of the End” (1996)
   • Subtitle is “The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Coming Antichrist”
7. Ham, Ken “The Lie: Evolution” (first printing 1987, this printing 2003)  
8. *Handford, Elizabeth Rice “Me? Obey HIM?” (1972)
• A Sword of the Lord publication about the obedient wife.
9. London, H. B. with Neil Wiseman “They Call Me Pastor” (2000)
   • These two authors have over 50 years combined experience as pastors. They write this book to help pastors foster a Christ-like love for those in the congregation they lead.
10. McDowell, Josh “Evidence that Demands a Verdict – First Revision” (1979)
• In its fifteenth printing in 1979, Josh McDowell’s “Evidence…” has been a classic of Christian apologetics since it was written. It began as a series of lectures. McDowell has also recently written “The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict.”
11. *Robinson, Haddon “Biblical Preaching” (1980, this printing 2000)
    • Haddon Robinson popularized a technique of preaching called propositional exposition, also known as preaching the “Big Idea” of a text.
12. Sheldon, Charles “In His Steps” (this printing 1996)
    • This great novel, written in the late 1890’s by a creative pastor, is the origin of the famous line “What would Jesus do?” If you’ve never read this book, you owe it to yourself to get it. I’m only giving it away because I have three copies already!
13. *Slaughter, Frank “Upon This Rock” (1963)
    • A novel that I’ve never heard of by an author that I’ve never heard of. This author apparently wrote many other Biblical, historical, or medical novels as well as a few non-fiction works. The book seems to be well-researched, and some of the quotes I saw while glancing through appear to be verbatim from Scripture.
14. *Vos, Howard (editor) “Religions in a Changing World” (1959)
    • A survey of the world’s major religions, with each chapter written by a veteran missionary who has had a first-hand experience with the religion.
15. *All-American Church Hymnal
16. *Great Hymns of the Faith (hymnal)
17. Wiersbe, Warren “Be Faithful – a commentary on the Pastoral Epistles” (1982)
18. Wiersbe, Warren “Be Complete – a commentary on Colossians” (1981)
19. Wiersbe, Warren “Be Free – a commentary on Galatians” (1981)
20. Wiersbe, Warren “Be Rich – a commentary on Ephesians” (1983)
    • NOTE – Wiersbe’s “BE” series of commentaries has been repackaged for sale as a 6-volume commentary set called “The Bible Exposition Commentary.”
21. McGee, J. Vernon “Isaiah” (2 volumes) (this printing 1982)
22. McGee, J. Vernon “Jeremiah and Lamentations” (this printing 1982)
    • NOTE – McGee’s commentary booklets based on his radio program have been repackaged for sale as a 6 volume commentary called “Thru The Bible Commentary.”
23. Devotional: Chambers, Oswald “My Utmost for His Highest” – Classic paperback edition
24. Booklet: Murray, Andrew “199 Treasures of Wisdom on Talking with God” (2007)
25. Booklet: Carroll, J. M. “The Trail of Blood” (2002)
    • History of the Baptist people from the time of Christ.
26. *Gift book: Murphy, Elspeth “Recess - Prayer meditations for teachers” (1988)
27. Booklet: Hawkins, O. S. “Antology: Lessons from the ant for our own financial future” (2007

"Dreams and Visions" by Tom Doyle

I had read a little bit about this subject before starting this book. The subtitle of this book is a question: "Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World?" And I would have to say, after reading the stories in these pages, that God is surely doing something in the Middle East to bring revival.

Tom Doyle's book is, first of all, written from the heart of a missionary. He has been in these hard-to-reach places, he has talked with most of the people whose stories appear in his book, he has a burden for the Muslim world - in short, he writes this book with love, not just with the bland fact-giving tone of many books with biographical content. And there are many stories to be told, apparently.

Each of the people whose stories are told in the book have reported seeing Jesus in either a dream or vision. They all seem to know who He is immediately upon seeing Him. Sometimes two different people have the same dream, or a Muslim will have a dream where Jesus shows them a building they must find. When they wake up, they find the building and meet the people who live there (Christians, of course, who are able to lead the person to the Lord).

It is impossible to read stories of these Christians in the Middle East without being simultaneously repulsed by the persecution and torture they endure and encouraged by the strength of their faith. In the excellent Appendices in the back of the book, Doyle answers the question easily: "How do you know the dreams and visions are of God?"  He makes two strong statements: Point #1 - No one goes to sleep a Muslim and wakes up a believer in Christ. Without fail, the dreams only point the dreamer to a person who shares the Word of God with them. For some, it only takes a dream or two - others have had many dreams over the span of many months. Some of the dreamers written about in the book have not yet received Christ at the time of the book's printing (and Doyle asks us to pray that they do). It appears that Jesus is not violating the Scripture that says "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

Big point #2 - Look at the fruit of the dreams and visions. These dreams produce seekers of Christ, who become disciples of Christ who are willing to die for their faith (a very likely reality for most of them). Not only that, but when they accept Christ they are so deeply changed by Jesus that they cannot help but share the Gospel with others.

The chapters of the book are divided into sections by country: Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and even Israel and America. I really appreciated how the author gave a brief historical background of the countries and the Muslim groups that have become dominant there. It helps create a clearer picture in my mind of the context of the stories.

Do I believe these dreams and visions are from God? I can honestly say that I hope so. And it certainly appears to be so. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

What is your opinion of this information? Do you believe God would use dreams and visions to reach a group of people that are nearly impossible to reach by conventional methods? PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT OR DROP ME AN EMAIL AND GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS!

Also, don't forget the book giveaway list! I have given out 7 or so, but there are plenty more!

I received this book free from the publishers in exchange for my honest review.

BOOK GIVEAWAY LIST!!!! - Updated

Okay, here is the list of books that I am giving away. Please note that most of these books are older and have a little shelf wear. Some may have frayed edges or dog-eared pages. Many have writing and highlighting in them.  DISCLAIMER - I have not read some of these books, so I cannot say that by giving them away I am approving of all their content.

In the following list, the ones with an asterisk (*) are hardcover; all others are paperback/softcover. The last 5 books in the list are small booklets/gift books.

First come, first served!  They are in roughly alphabetical order by author's last name.

1. Baucham, Voddie “The Ever-Loving Truth” (2004)
• An interesting book written by an African-American church leader. This book examines how Christians are to boldly but humbly proclaim God’s unchanging truth to a culture that does not believe in absolute truth.
2. Beebe, Wally “All About the Second Man” (1971)
• A Sword of the Lord publication about the Assistant Pastor position.
3. Beebe, Wally and Winifred “All About the Church Music Director” (1996)
• This Sword of the Lord publication was later combined with “All about the Second Man” by the same author, and it was republished as “The Second Man”.
4. *Briggs, S. R. (compiler) “500 Bible-Based Outlines” (1976)
• A collection of sermon outlines, in bare form, to aid study of the Bible.
5. *Burkett, Larry “What Ever Happened to the American Dream” (1993)
• Larry Burkett examines the “American Dream” of the Pilgrims through the Founding Fathers and examines just how far America and Americans have fallen since then.
6. *Bullock, C. Hassell “An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books” (1979)
7. Hagee, John “The Beginning of the End” (1996)
• Subtitle is “The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Coming Antichrist”
8. Ham, Ken “The Lie: Evolution” (first printing 1987, this printing 2003)
• Ken Ham examines the pitfalls of modern society, and how they are rooted in rejection of God’s Word – particularly the book of Genesis.
9. *Handford, Elizabeth Rice “Me? Obey HIM?” (1972)
• A Sword of the Lord publication about the obedient wife.
10. Hunt, Mary “Debt-Proof Living” (1999)
11. London, H. B. with Neil Wiseman “They Call Me Pastor” (2000)
• These two authors have over 50 years combined experience as pastors. They write this book to help pastors foster a Christ-like love for those in the congregation they lead.
12. McDowell, Josh “Evidence that Demands a Verdict – First Revision” (1979)
• In its fifteenth printing in 1979, Josh McDowell’s “Evidence…” has been a classic of Christian apologetics since it was written. It began as a series of lectures. McDowell has also recently written “The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict.”
13. Naifeh, Steven (with Gregory White Smith) “The Mormon Murders” (1989)
• A true account of a series of murders and the forgery scheme they were meant to cover up.
14. *Robinson, Haddon “Biblical Preaching” (1980, this printing 2000)
• Haddon Robinson popularized a technique of preaching called propositional exposition, also known as preaching the “Big Idea” of a text.
15. Sheldon, Charles “In His Steps” (this printing 1996)
• This great novel, written in the late 1890’s by a creative pastor, is the origin of the famous line “What would Jesus do?” If you’ve never read this book, you owe it to yourself to get it. I’m only giving it away because I have three copies already!
16. *Slaughter, Frank “Upon This Rock” (1963)
• A novel that I’ve never heard of by an author that I’ve never heard of. This author apparently wrote many other Biblical, historical, or medical novels as well as a few non-fiction works. The book seems to be well-researched, and some of the quotes I saw while glancing through appear to be verbatim from Scripture.
17. *Vos, Howard (editor) “Religions in a Changing World” (1959)
• A survey of the world’s major religions, with each chapter written by a veteran missionary who has had a first-hand experience with the religion.
18. *All-American Church Hymnal
19. *Great Hymns of the Faith (hymnal)
20. Wiersbe, Warren “Be Faithful – a commentary on the Pastoral Epistles” (1982)
21. Wiersbe, Warren “Be Complete – a commentary on Colossians” (1981)
22. Wiersbe, Warren “Be Free – a commentary on Galatians” (1981)
23. Wiersbe, Warren “Be Rich – a commentary on Ephesians” (1983)
• NOTE – Wiersbe’s “BE” series of commentaries has been repackaged for sale as a 6-volume commentary set called “The Bible Exposition Commentary.”
24. McGee, J. Vernon “Isaiah” (2 volumes) (this printing 1982)
25. McGee, J. Vernon “Jeremiah and Lamentations” (this printing 1982)
• NOTE – McGee’s commentary booklets based on his radio program have been repackaged for sale as a 6 volume commentary called “Thru The Bible Commentary.”
26. Devotional: Chambers, Oswald “My Utmost for His Highest” – Classic paperback edition
27. Booklet: Murray, Andrew “199 Treasures of Wisdom on Talking with God” (2007)
28. Booklet: Carroll, J. M. “The Trail of Blood” (2002)
• History of the Baptist people from the time of Christ.
29. *Gift book: Murphy, Elspeth “Recess - Prayer meditations for teachers” (1988)
30. Booklet: Hawkins, O. S. “Antology: Lessons from the ant for our own financial future” (2007