Category: Reviews of Books & Movies

Book and movie reviews of Christian friendly content.

Book Review: Kingdom Journeys

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date November 9, 2012

Kingdom Journeys: Rediscovering the Lost Spiritual Discipline

By Seth Barnes (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Seth Barnes begins Kingdom Journeys by relating one of his own—a journey both physical and spiritual—one he first took as a 20-something college graduate.

It resulted from restlessness, an inner desire to do something that mattered. It bubbled up inside.

He needed to be more, to be part of something greater. “I had trusted Jesus to save me from hell,” he recounts, “but I hadn’t begun to understand the life he offered before death.”

Not content to simply share his own story, Seth relates the accounts of many other kingdom sojourners, of Jessi, Claud, Eugene, Miguel, David, Marlena, Matt, Tiffany, Ruth, Keturah, and many more.

He weaves in practical biblical teaching and the wisdom of others to support the practice of pursuing a kingdom journey, which asserts Seth Barnes, is a spiritual discipline.

Although there is renewed interest in pursuing spiritual disciplines, one often overlooked is the discipline of a kingdom journey. The first such journey happened about 2,000 years ago.

Jesus sent his followers out in groups of two, with no provisions and no plan other than to heal the sick and proclaim his kingdom. We will do well to emulate their example and follow Jesus’ instructions. “God is not in the destination,” teaches Seth, “but in the journey.”

Over several decades, Seth has encouraged thousands, including his own children, to pursue their own kingdom journeys.

Embarking on an extended kingdom journey—not a short-term mission trip—is not just for young adults but is for people of all ages and at any stage in life.

Seth wraps up his thoughts on the importance of taking a kingdom journey, saying:

“To end well, we have to fight our natural tendency toward self-preservation and control. Jesus tells us that losing our life is the only way to discover it.”

[Kingdom Journeys: Rediscovering the Lost Spiritual Discipline, by Seth Barnes. Published by Ashland Press, 2012, ASIN: B009EW6MUW, Kindle.]

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Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

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Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Divided by Faith

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 26, 2012

Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America

By Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Divided by Faith investigates race relations between whites and blacks in the United States.

Although white evangelicals have a well-intentioned desire to end racial inequality, their efforts can—and have—unwittingly serve to do more harm than good, “actually recreating racial divisions and inequalities,” (p 1).

A key issue is that the actuality of racial issues is largely invisible to—and therefore misunderstood by—most white people.

Compounding this is the reality that 90% or more attend a church that is predominately comprised of people of their same race, producing congregational segregation.

This racial isolation exacerbates the tension.

Emerson and Smith give a detailed historical perspective of this issue as it relates to U.S. churches and church activities, specifically from evangelicals.

They then look at the present situation, sharing numerous detailed accounts from the people they interviewed in the course of their research.

The differences in perceptions and understandings of race issues among most whites and blacks are stark and in sharp contrast.

Succinctly, most white people lack the ability to comprehend the reality of struggles and obstacles that most black people face on a daily basis.

For white people, “race is not a focal point in their day-to-day lived experience,” (p 71).

To illustrate the point, Emerson and Smith share a profoundly effective parable that explains this disconnect in a poignant and most enlightening manner (p 110).

A reoccurring discussion in the book is exploring the source of the black/white socioeconomic gap. Is the gap individual in nature (ability and motivation) or structural (education and discrimination)?

Answering this question would provide much-needed guidance in dealing with and overcoming the socioeconomic gap, but the answers are both complex and evasive.

In addition to the book’s many recorded and enlightening personal interviews are numerous facts and statistics produced through research.

As such, much of the book has a formal and academic nature that may unwittingly obscure clear solutions to racial issues in American society, in general, and the evangelical church, specifically.

What is clear is that “good intentions are not enough. But educated, sacrificial, realistic efforts made in faith across racial lines can help…” (p 172). And that is a good place to start.

[Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America, by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith. Published by Oxford University Press, 2000, ISBN: 978-0-19-514707-0, 212 pages.]

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Tags church, faith

Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Stark Raving Obedience

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 19, 2012

Stark Raving Obedience: Radical Results from Listening Prayer

By Ted Kallman and Isaiah Kallman (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

“The only way to have a personal relationship with anyone is to talk with them, to build trust and have a history with them,” (p 12).

This is a fitting perspective for Ted and Isaiah Kallman’s book Stark Raving Obedience: Radical Results from Listening Prayer.

The father and son duo then devote the rest of the book to relating their experiences—which are both encouraging and challenging—and sharing the lessons they have learned as they journeyed down the path of listening to God.

With chapter titles such as “Listening,” “Earplugs,” “Intimacy,” “Authority and Healing,” and “When You Pray,” the direction and intent of Stark Raving Obedience is aptly mapped out.

As a bonus, the book contains an appendix packed full of relevant Bible passages on the subject.

However, Stark Raving Obedience is about more than just listening prayer; it’s about really knowing God (p 18).

Listening prayer, although similar to centering prayer or contemplative prayer, is different (p 28). Of course after listening, comes obeying.

As we do so, God “will make us uncomfortable and stretch our faith,” (85). The Kallmans do warn that “not every voice is God,” (p 116), so discernment is critical. Fortunately, they provide guidance in that area as well.

Stark Raving Obedience is a quick and easy read, but is packed full of challenging teaching on what a truly vibrant life of listening prayer can look like and mean.

For those of us whose spirits yearn for more, Stark Raving Obedience moves in that direction.

[Stark Raving Obedience: Radical Results from Listening Prayer, by Ted Kallman and Isaiah Kallman. Published by PrayerShop Publishing, 2009, ISBN: 978-1-935012-09-2; 140 pages.]

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Tags author, obey God, prayer

Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Deep and Wide

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 12, 2012

Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend

By Andy Stanley (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Is your church all that it can be and should be? Do you ever wonder what’s missing or long for more? Are you serving those who are churched or seeking those who are unchurched?

Andy Stanley’s new book, Deep and Wide provides answers to these and other church related questions. His book is part autobiography, part case study, and part teaching—and is fully engaging.

He writes as one who knows, who’s navigated these waters and seen results, affirming the direction he and his team have taken. Deep and Wide, however, is not a step-by-step master plan to promote outreach and generate growth, but instead it’s a narrative.

It’s not a look-at-me self-promotion, but an encouraging you-can-do-it-too practicum.

Andy doesn’t intend for others to replicate what he did, but “to closely examine what you’re doing,” applying and adapting his lessons to your specific church and situation (page 148).

To guide us on our journey, Andy divides his book into five sections, showing us what to expect: 1) “My Story,” 2) “Our Story,” 3) “Going Deep,” 4) “Going Wide,” and 5) “Becoming Deep and Wide.”

Andy asks, “Are you really content to spend the rest of your life doing church the way you’ve always done it?” (page 311). If not, we need to “do stuff that draws the attention of unbelieving people” so we can point them to Jesus (page 313).

To do so, our church needs to spend every dollar “with the one lost person in mind rather than the found ninety-nine” (page 316).

This book is primarily written for ministers, but applies to all church leaders, both paid and volunteer. It’s also for the laity, for all who want to create churches that unchurched people will love to attend.

Read it, apply it, and then do it. Your church will never be the same.

[Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend, by Andy Stanley. Published by Zondervan. 2012; ISBN: 978-0-310-4948-3; 350 pages.]

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Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: King of Rascals

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 5, 2012

By Rob Link (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Rob Link’s, King of Rascals, is essentially a book about Jesus—and about us. We are rascals and he, our king. As rascals, we have issues, but as our king, he loves us anyway.

In part one of King of Rascals, eight chapters reveal who Jesus is and our relationship to him—or perhaps more correctly his relationship to us.

He is not the misguided Jesus often represented in movies, the hate filled sovereign portrayed by the media, or the fictional Jesus created by a culture intent on re-inventing him for their own purposes, but the Jesus who is revealed in the Bible and readily accessible to all who seek him.

The second and final part of King of Rascals contains an additional four chapters that add a pleasant twist to the rascal reality.

While we are indeed rascals, Jesus transforms us into royalty, revealing a new—and higher—understanding of our connection with him and purpose in life.

The King of Rascals is a book about the real Jesus. It is a quick read that presents profound spiritual truth in a most accessible manner.

It is for those who don’t know Jesus, those who think they know Jesus, and even those who do know Jesus.

Regardless of perspective, King of Rascals will better inform our understanding of Jesus—transforming us in the process.

[King of Rascals, by Rob Link. Published by Reformed Church Press, 2011, ISBN: 0-916466-12-4, 124 pages.]

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Tags spiritual growth

Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Warfare Prayer

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 28, 2012

Warfare Prayer: How to Seek God’s Power and Protection in the Battle to Build His Kingdom

By C. Peter Wagner (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

The subtitle of Warfare Prayer is How to Seek God’s Power and Protection in the Battle to Build His Kingdom. The book is the first in Wagner’s trilogy series entitled, The Prayer Warrior.

Wagner’s purpose of the book is to address “strategic-level spiritual warfare and the warfare prayer necessary to engage it,” (p 12).

To set the foundation for his teaching, Wagner identifies three levels of spiritual warfare. The first is “ground-level,” which is essentially “deliverance ministries.”

The second, “occult-level,” takes things beyond “ordinary demons,” stepping things up a notch.

The final level, the most ominous, is “strategic-level,” confronting territorial demons.

This is the focus of the book, (p 16-19). It is these territorial demons that control entire areas, keeping them under bondage and thwarting evangelistic efforts.

To effectively go into the world for Jesus, often the territorial demons must first be identified, confronted, and overcome. “The real battle for effective evangelism,” Wagner notes, “is a spiritual battle,” (p 37).

Although Wagner’s formal training and education did not prepare him for this, time in the mission field did confront him with the reality that the enemy was at work, effectively opposing outreach efforts in many areas.

To elucidate readers, Wagner fills Warfare Prayer with personal experiences regarding the existence and power of territorial spirits, then backing these encounters with scriptural support.

After identifying the reality of territorial demons and providing sound biblical support, the last three chapters of the book offer practical instruction on how to optimally move forward.

First, Wagner teaches how to name and map territorial principalities and powers.

Then Wagner advances six rules to effectively engage in warfare prayer. He concludes by detailing the pitfalls to avoid. Failure to avoid these common traps can have serious and even deadly consequences to the spiritually weak, naive, or careless.

The practice of warfare prayer is not for everyone, but everyone should be aware of it. Warfare Prayer was written in 1992 and has admirably withstood the test of time, proving to be as valuable now as it was then.

[Warfare Prayer: How to Seek God’s Power and Protection in the Battle to Build His Kingdom, by C. Peter Wagner. Published by Regal Books, 1992, ISBN: 0-8307-1534-7. 204 pages.]

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Tags evangelism, prayer

Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: True Story

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 21, 2012

True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In

By James Choung (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Caleb is questioning God, faith, and what he has been taught. “What if we’ve settled? What if Jesus did more than we think?”

Pastor Dave is unnerved by the questions, wanting to give pat evangelical answers—or to dismiss the questions altogether.

Caleb’s friend Anna isn’t helpful either; she is skeptical and antagonistic.

So begins James Choung’s narrative story of a young follower of Jesus who yearns for more. Fortunately, he finds a willing mentor in Shalandra, one of his professors.

She patiently takes him on a spiritual journey to rediscover and reinvigorate his faith.

The good news about Jesus is much more than just about going to heaven when we die; the good news starts here and it starts now.

Shalandra helps Caleb deconstruct the incomplete gospel that he has been taught, rebuilding it on the foundation of Jesus and the whole Biblical narrative, that is, the “true story.”

Although Caleb is a willing traveler on this journey, it is at times too intense, too much for him to absorb, yet he keeps going.

Anna’s a different story. Having rejected Christianity for the hurtful things that some of Jesus’ followers have done, she doesn’t want to hear what Caleb has been learning, even though the causes she is passionate about nicely fit into the “true story.”

Will Shalandra’s tutelage succeed? Will Caleb accept this new gospel of “a Christianity worth believing in?” Can the rift between Dave and Caleb be mended? And what about Anna; will she ever be open to listen?

True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In is a cleverly woven narrative, providing insightful instruction in story form. True Story is ideal for the postmodern thinker who is seeking real answers and practical solutions to their place in this messed up world.

It also aptly serves the modern thinker who wants to understand today’s younger generations.

Either way, if you want to have a Christianity worth believing in, check out James Choung’s True Story.

[True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In, by James Choung. Published by InterVarsity Press, 2008, ISBN: 978-0-8303-3609, 231 pages.]

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Tags postmodern, salvation

Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Thrift Store Saints

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 14, 2012

Thrift Store Saints: Meeting Jesus 25¢ at a Time

By Jane Knuth (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Jane Knuth never set out to help the poor; that wasn’t her plan and wasn’t her calling.

She was merely trying to buy a rosary at the local thrift store—and was frustrated with the whole ordeal—when a spry octogenarian asked her to help them out.

Reluctantly she agreed, but only on a temporary basis, until other help could be found. But what was she to do there? Emptying the trash and cleaning the toilet were the first areas of need mentioned.

However, they assigned her the job of ordering the religious gifts they sell, a task she felt most unsuited for.

Fifteen years later Jane is still volunteering at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Kalamazoo Michigan. Along the way she has become a full-fledged Vincentian—and she has stories to tell.

Her first story was written to share with family and friends, to help them better understand the typical happenings at the thrift store. But it was soon passed around in larger circles and eventually published in a magazine.

More stories followed and a monthly column was birthed.

Along the way, Jane’s faith became deeper and wider as she continued on her journey; it was one that included many unexpected turns and was full of surprises.

Jane volunteers at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store to help the poor, but they help her too.

Every day they teach her (teaching is a primary precept of the St. Vincent de Paul Society) and their stories, which have become part of Jane’s story, are able to teach us as well—if we will let them.

[Thrift Store Saints: Meeting Jesus 25¢ at a Time, by Jane Knuth. Published by Loyola Press, 2010; ISBN: 978-0-8294-3301-2; 159 pages.]

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Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 7, 2012

The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit: Encountering The Power of Signs and Wonders

By C. Peter Wagner (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

C. Peter Wagner begins The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit by identifying the first two waves: the Pentecostal movement that opened the twentieth century and the wider Charismatic movement that followed it some 50 years later.

The third wave is a moving of the Holy Spirit among evangelical circles in which divine power is used to enhance and speed the spread of the Gospel—succinctly stated, “Miracles help people believe,” (p 92).

The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit: Encountering The Power of Signs and Wonders

Wagner notes that the general lack of supernatural power in many churches, circa 1988, is “due to the pervasive influences of secular humanism through all levels of contemporary American culture” (p 21).

Indeed, the worldview of most non-Westerners’ contains three tiers of thought, with the middle level freely embracing supernatural phenomenon—be it good or bad.

The Western worldview lacks this awareness, persisting in a two-tiered perspective, effectively denying the signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit.

The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit addresses four levels of faith, with the fourth being signs and wonders. This opens the door for “power evangelism,” with performing miracles as a means of attracting people to Jesus.

Wagner goes on to warn that those who experience the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit need to guard against esteeming themselves as super spiritual or viewing others as lower-level Christians.

Wagner continues by teaching on the real and tangible power of the enemy, but confirms that the power of God is greater; followers of Jesus can—and should—cast out evil spirits.

He also addresses specific moves of the Holy Spirit, which are denied by some Christians: healing, deliverance, language, prophecy, and even raising the dead.

Aside from their use to facilitate the spread of the Gospel, these signs and wonders are not an end to themselves, but a means for a deeper walk with God.

Towards this end, Wagner teaches on our response to the three types of death, ministry to the poor, dealing with suffering, and bearing fruit and cultivating intimacy with God.

Although The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit was written in 1988, its truth is timeless and its message is still relevant today.

[The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit: Encountering The Power of Signs and Wonders, by C. Peter Wagner. Published by Servant Books, 1988, ISBN: 0-89283-601-1, 133 pages.]

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Tags evangelism, heal, Holy Spirit, supernatural

Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: The Slave Across the Street

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date August 31, 2012

By Theresa L. Flores, with Peggy Sue Wells (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

The Slave Across the Street, by Theresa L. Flores puts a face—a middle-class American face—on human trafficking, specifically for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.

This real-life account of Theresa’s recruitment, manipulation, and coercion to become a sex slave will surprise and shock. The result is a poignant portrayal of a reality that many would deny or choose to ignore.

Coming from a well-to-do middle class family, having both parents present, and living in an affluent neighborhood, Theresa Flores does not fit the stereotypical image of a girl who is unwillingly sucked into a life of forced prostitution.

Wisely sparing graphic gratuitous details, only enough is shared to allow readers to begin to comprehend the horrors that Theresa endured during her two years of sexual exploitation, physical violence, and emotional threats.

Even with these minimal details, it is at times too much.

The purpose of The Slave Across the Street, however, is not to shock or overwhelm, but to inform.

First, human trafficking for the sex industry is an evil reality in the United States.

Second, no one is truly immune from being forced into this insidious practice. Third, many people could have prevented Theresa from being pulled into it or helped extricate her from it, but they didn’t.

They chose to look the other way, to be passive and avoid doing the right thing.

This included the very people who should have protected here and kept her safe: teachers, school counselors, security guards, police and the even moms living in the houses where her abuse took place,

How does the story end? This isn’t a spoiler; the subtitle makes it clear: “The True Story of How an America Teen Survived the World of Human Trafficking.” Most girls in situations like Theresa’s are never freed from it.

Many remain inextricably mired in it until they die, often by suicide or murder. Theresa Flores, however, is a rare exception.

Once liberated, Theresa’s road to recovery was long and painful, but now she is a powerful voice, speaking out against the horrors that she endured as a trafficked teen.

The book concludes with a list of ten ways concerned people can get involved.

The Slave Across the Street is a book that I didn’t want to read, but couldn’t avoid—and neither should you.

[The Slave Across the Street, by Theresa L. Flores, with Peggy Sue Wells. Published by Ampelon Publishing, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-9823286-8-2, 183 pages, $14.99]

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Tags memoir