January 27, 2012

Book Review: Sherman, Ruthless Victor by Agostino Van Hassell

If I didn't know that author Agostino Van Hassell was of German origin I would be tempted to suspect he was from Georgia.

I picked this book out in hopes that it would shed some light on one of the greatest figures in the Civil War. I was deeply disappointed. Far from giving a "fair-and-balanced" view of the life of William Tecumseh Sherman, this book relied on heavy speculation as to what motivated him, and presented an overwhelmingly negative view of the man who--together with General Grant--made the northern army a victorious fighting force.

The author seemed unable to get past the warts and see the genius. His formative years were emphasized, his Civil War experience was spoken of in the broadest of terms, and his post-war years were given the briefest treatment. An example: no mention at all is made of his lasting friendship with his Civil War foe General Johnston.

I suspect that if Sherman himself were to read the book, he might say something like "Vox biographer, vox humbug!"

Brief Legal Notice: The book was free, the review is me.

The Astonishing Adventures of Missionary Max, Parts 1 and 2 are now available for Kindle and Nook!

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January 17, 2012

Book Review: Our Last Great Hope by Ronnie Floyd

It's only fitting that, as a missionary, every once in a while I should review a book about missions. And Our Last Great Hope: Awakening the Great Commission, by Ronnie Floyd, bleeds missions. His purpose is to stir the hearts of believers for the task at hand.

If I had to summarize it in one phrase, it would call it "every missionary conference you have ever been to, between two covers--and then some."

First, the "every missionary conference" part. I must confess that I was a little disappointed at first. Not in what Floyd was saying, mind you--this successful pastor is right on the money when he speaks of the need for the Gospel in today's world, and for the resources necessary to meet that need. However, I was expecting some innovative ways to meet that need, and at the outset there seemed to be more of "here's what" than "here's how". So while I found myself nodding in agreement--and even voicing the occasional "amen", I came away feeling like I had read nothing that had not been written or spoken many times before.

But then came the "and then some" part. In chapter 5 he begins talking about "capturing our communities", and this is where the book really soars. In fact, I would say that chapter five is worth the price of the book for it's practical and innovative approach to missions. It has me re-thinking the way I look at the city of São Luís, looking for "people groups" and "cultural clusters". This section is peppered with details of his own church's ministry to people from the Marshall Islands and...cowboys. It is good reading for anybody considering missions.

So, I would recommend Our Last Great Hope. You will likely read some "more of the same", as well as some "new and improved."

Here ye, here ye: I received this book at no cost from Thomas Nelson Publishers, in return for a review. I am in no way obligated to give a positive evaluation.

The Astonishing Adventures of Missionary Max, Parts 1 and 2 are now available for Kindle and Nook!

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December 15, 2011

Book Review on SI: Worship and the Reality of God

The good folks at Sharper Iron have again published one of my book reviews. This will be my last book review with them for a while, as Missionary Max is taking up most of my writing time, but it has been a pleasure reading the books they have offered and taking in the feedback at the site. Hopefully, once the Missionary Max project is complete, I will be able to take up the SI reviews once again.

Don't forget to get your adventure fix with The Astonishing Adventures of Missionary Max, Part 1

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September 1, 2011

Book Review: The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse

There are some books you read, say "that's nice", put on your shelf and forget about. "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse" (Bethany House Publishers) is not one of them. In fact, the reader should be forewarned: this book will mess with you.

And that's not at all a bad thing. In fact, as author's David Johnson and Jeff VanVonderen winsomely walk the reader through the definition and symptoms of spiritual abuse it can be disturbing at first, then tremendously freeing.

The authors define spiritual abuse as "mistreatment of a person who is in need of help, support or greater spiritual empowerment, with the result of weakening, undermining, or decreasing that person's spiritual empowerment." This is accomplished through abuse of authority, guilt, rules of silence, preservation of image, and the trap of increasing levels of legalism. And the purpose of all this is to maintain a kind of spiritual dictatorship over the life of the victim.

Or, as a very wise man put it to me often, "The issue is seldom the issue. The issue is control."--in this case, men and ministries who seek to control the spiritual lives of others. And as one turns the pages of this book, the conclusion is inescapable: there are many such men and ministries. The authors are careful not to name names, but as they describe the methods and motives of the abusers it was hard to escape comparisons to groups both here in Brazil and in the United States.

As I read through this book (and indeed, I had a hard time putting it down) I was appalled by two things: 1) how easy it is for respectable men and ministries to succumb to the temptation to spiritually abuse those in their sphere of influence, and 2) how easy it is for me to fall to the same temptation. It is a lot easier to lead by guilt than by grace. The behavioral effects of "laying down the law" are much more immediate than those of meting out mercy.

And as a missionary, this passage, from page 164, made me squirm:

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the time has come for us all to examine ourselves and what we mean by "spreading the good news" about Jesus Christ. Are we evangelizing--that is, spreading the heavenly message that begins, "Peace on Earth, good will towards men"? Or are we recruiting?...Are we seeking to liberate the burdened and lost--or...are we still trying to validate ourselves?

Ouch.

The subject matter of this work is so important, I would highly recommend it for everybody in ministry, and only somewhat less strongly for everybody being ministered to. I do have one caution: on pages 69 and 70, in a section called "Identifying the Abusive System", the authors talk about "extreme objectivism". It soon becomes clear that they mean a cessationist view of divine revelation. They even resort to the tired coninuationist slogan about being left with "a Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Bible." While I'm sure there can be extremes in the cessationist position, when it comes to spiritual abuse I believe a far greater danger lies with leaders who claim to have direct communication from God. And to be fair, the next section of the chapter deals with just this problem.

With that one caveat, I highly recommend this book. Read it, and let its words sink in. The spiritual life you save could be your own.

Related Posts:

The Tyranny of "Almost There"

Houston, We Have a Problem

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August 27, 2011

Book Review: The Seraph Seal

An alternative title for this review could very well be "Left Behind for Amillennialists". The Seraph Seal is a apocalyptic literature sans rapture, tribulation and millennium. It does have an antichrist, of sorts--and prophecies galore, from the Maya to Jeremiah. The authors make use of a technique called engaged fiction, for which there is a lengthy explanation at the beginning. Basically, it is using current events as a basis for fiction.

The Seraph Seal is Dan Brown meets Jerry Jenkins meets Glenn Beck. The main character--a history professor who specializes in ancient symbols--discovers that he has been chosen to save the world and confront his arch enemy--an American president bent on betraying America and amassing power for himself. Authors Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola manage to keep the story hopping, and kept my attention during most of the time. I found the ending to be somewhat of a letdown after so much buildup--but then the twist at the end perked me up a little.

Authors Leonard Sweet and Lori Wagner obviously put a lot of research into the writing of this work, and have come up with a convincing scenario that could very well happen that way...if it weren't for the fact that it certainly will not happen that way. Still, I was able to suspend disbelief and enjoy most of the tale.

On a writing level, I thought they could have spent more time developing the personalities of the main characters. The hero and heroine go from being work colleagues to passionately in love in an amazingly short period of time.

Quick rating: some good escapist reading, don't base your eschatology on it.

Declaração de imparcialidade: O autor recebeu uma cópia gratuíta do livro em troca de uma resenha escrita neste blog. O autor não tem nenhuma obrigação de fazer uma avaliação positiva. E se você tem tempo para ler e traduzir isso, precisa é de um hobby!

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