Book Reviews

In a world where secular thinkers are increasingly recognizing the reality of evil, the challenge remains: What is the appropriate response to evil? In Evil and the Justice of God (InterVarsity), N.T. Wright argues that Jesus' death is the culmination of God's solution to the problem of evil. The book includes a DVD with Wright discussing the topic.

What would happen in your church if each member invited one unchurched friend? In his book Ignite (Baker), Nelson Searcy talks about how to help your church become aligned with the heart of God, resulting in reaching people for Christ.

In his wonderful new book The Pastor as Minor Poet: Texts and Subtexts in the Ministerial Life (Eerdmans), M. Craig Barnes argues that the pastor's work involves helping people peer into and underneath the biblical text in order to see truth for their own lives and congregations.

In Why You Think the Way You Do (Zondervan), Glenn S. Sunshine shows readers how the Western worldview developed and how to understand their own worldviews and those of other people. This is a useful tool in recognizing what a biblical worldview should look like and how it can be a tool in transforming culture.

Michael Milton's new book Small Things, Big Things: Inspiring Stories of Everyday Grace (P&R) is a delightful collection of brief epistles Milton wrote to his people while he served as a pastor. (He is now President of Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, as well as a contributing editor of Preaching magazine.) Preachers will find a treasure chest full of great stories in this wonderful book.

Alan Nelson's new book Spiritual Intelligence (Baker) can be a helpful resource in guiding your church toward greater spiritual growth. The book includes a spiritual health and assessment plan. The January-February 2010 issue of Preaching includes an article for pastors based on some of the book's insights.

At the start of this busy new year, you're probably busy formulating a profitable business strategy, taking inventory, organizing your books and evaluating what you did right (and not so right.) Dave Anderson has a suggestion: Instead of focusing solely on financial matters, why not take a good hard look at the character of your company?

Niall Ferguson's book The Ascent of Money (Penguin Books) isn't about religion or ministry, but it nevertheless would be a useful guide for church leaders in understanding how our financial system came into existence and why the economy got into such a mess at the start of the 21st century.

Written for younger readers, The Book of Books (Lion) by Trevor Dennis is an imaginative and contemporary retelling of many biblical stories. Church leaders will find it to be a helpful resource for children's worship, small-group studies and other uses.

From Eden to Jerusalem (Kregel) by T. Desmond Alexander is an introduction to biblical theology which helps the reader understand the "meta-story" of Scripture and how the Bible answers two questions: Why is the earth here? and What is the reason for human existence? Alexander addresses many of the central themes of the Bible, drawing extensively on the final chapters of Revelation as a foundation.