PUSH: Pray Until Something Happens (Jurgen Matthesius)

TITLE: PUSH: Pray Until Something Happens: Divine Principles for Praying with Confidence, Discerning God's Will, and Blessing Others
AUTHOR: Jurgen Matthesius
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: Thomas-Nelson, 2014, (256 pages).

Two things about this book grab my attention. The first is the acronym for PUSH which I think is brilliant. The second is that this is a book on prayer, in particular, persevering prayer. According to author Jurgen Matthesius, this book is essentially an exposition on biblical truths he had learned, surrounding persistent prayer. He intends this book also to push every button of ours so that we can be motivated to pray more. As founder of C3 San Diego, he is part of the leadership team for the global C3 Church network, with its origins from Australia, known for its impact on youths. He led the C3 Church and planted the San Diego plant in 2005. Today, they have three campuses in San Diego.

In this book, Matthesius uses a series of popular movie names to title his chapters. He uses "Inception" to point out the overall strategy of the movie. Instead of extracting information from people in their most vulnerable state, the movie centers on how the protagonist plants information into the minds of individuals. Matthesius then uses this example to show us that the Word of God planted in us will teach us rich truths of God to sustain and hold all things together. It motivates prayer. He teaches us that prayer is not about our own opinions about God but what the Word of God says about God.

"Philippians" Bible Study Guide (Sue Edwards)

TITLE: Philippians: Discovering Joy Through Relationship (Discover Together Bible Study Series)
AUTHOR: Sue Edwards
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2015, (80 pages).

The New Testament letter to the Philippians has often been called the letter of joy.  What makes it more intriguing is that it was written by someone who was persecuted, tortured, and imprisoned. Modern readers will tend to wonder how that can all be possible in the first place. What consumes Paul? How can he continue to be so passionate even when persecuted? What drives him to do what he did? Many believers have studied Philippians either individually or together in groups. There is no lack of materials. So, readers may ask: What's with this newest Bible study resource? Here are some of the features:

• It offers in-depth study at a "minimum time commitment"
• There is a "digging deeper" section that challenges readers and students on where and what to probe.
• It can be used together with web resources provided to supplement the study.
• It is packed with contextual information on the sidebars
• There are 8 lessons in all, not too long, not too short.

Each week, readers follow a familiar framework. First, there is a brief introduction to the study, something that groups with or without leaders can easily benefit. When group members read something together, they can best appreciate the contexts together. Second, there is the important task of reading the passage of study.This is followed by questions to guide the discussion. Here, I would suggest the group decide together as a group which questions to focus or study in depth, given the limited time. Well and clean, the Bible study booklet contains generous space for personal notes to be written directly into the book. The sidebars contain interesting notes, quotes, challenge prompts, and occasional commentary by Edwards herself.

The Discover Together series of Bible studies have been put together by Sue Edwards as an "Inductive Bible Study" resource to promote in-depth Bible study.  Edwards is Associate Professor of educational ministries and leadership at Dallas Theological Studies and has thirty years of experience in the classroom as a Bible teacher, curriculum writer, and overseer of several women's ministries. This resource is written primarily for women's studies but I think the study is useful enough to be used by both genders. The subtitle "Discovering Joy through Relationship" should entice groups to seriously consider studying Philippians.

This is a great resource and I warmly recommend it for all groups!

Rating: 4.75 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book is provided to me courtesy of Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

"Blue Note Preaching in a post-Soul World" (Otis Moss III)

TITLE: Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World: Finding Hope in an Age of Despair
AUTHOR: Otis Moss III
PUBLISHER: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015, (136 pages).

There is much we can learn from the different kinds of preaching. My preaching professor once shared about the dynamism of Black Preaching, which according to Otis Moss III, is not about "preaching with a Black face" but a completely unique style that mixes preaching with storytelling; theology and technique; rhetoric with exposition; and vocal variety with bodily posturing. Moss adds that it is a "unique cultural narrative and theological enterprise where African motifs meet diverse western influences of North America. A beautiful, bold, homiletical voice, poetry, prophetic witness, southern storytelling, lament, blues, and celebration are born out of this tradition." What exactly is "blue note preaching?" For Moss, it means three things.

First, it means the traditional Black Preaching in a blues-filled environment. This requires the use of style and substance to speak the gospel of hope in an age of despair. With lots of bad news that stream through the news and social media nowadays, this need has grown more acute. Instead of preaching a form of private capitalism for the affluent, speak the gospel publicly to hungry souls. Move away from the "clamor of material blessings, success without work, prayer without public concern, and preaching without burdens." Re-embrace the literary beauty of the art of preaching. This mood is encapsulated in the history of the Blues art form, rooted in African cultural legacy that looks at life from the side of the marginalized in society. For Moss, this is well expressed by two theologians, August Wilson and Zora Neale Hurston. Wilson believes that "Blues Speech" has the "power to save" in the sense that the individual can be liberated from "spiritual isolation." It is prophetic preaching that is bold to speak about tragedy, yet hopeful enough not to fall into perpetual despair. Hurston takes the role of storytelling, whose novels give subdued emotions an eloquent avenue for honest expression. Blue-Note Preaching is like Isaiah's preaching that is filled with "poetic power and prophetic boldness" coupled with "Blues sensitivity." It opens the path for seekers to envision the Christ the Giver of all Hope. It creates a new world that is open to all, out of the shackles of the old world that is closed to many. Those who preach it know the pain of oppression, like Martin Luther King Jr. Those who understand it nods like Maya Angelou who refers to it as "sweet brutality." In such a preaching mood, Blue Note preaching not only makes Jesus central, it makes Jesus real.

"A Commentary on 1 and 2 Chronicles" (Eugene H. Merrill)

TITLE: A Commentary on 1 & 2 Chronicles (Kregel Exegetical Library)
AUTHOR: Eugene H. Merrill
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2015, (640 pages).

What can we make of the two books of Chronicles in the Bible? Are they merely re-telling the story of the historical exploits of Israel? Is the author simply copying the historical narrative of the writers of Kings and Samuel? These questions and more are tackled in this very comprehensive exegetical commentary on two Old Testament books. The underlying conviction in this volume is that the inspired writer is uniquely called to remember the history of Israel and how this plays into the unfolding biblical drama of God's greater plan for salvation.

Eugene H. Merrill is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and has previously written a commentary of Chronicles under the Lamplighter publishing label. This latest commentary not only updates the original, but includes greater theological content and exegetical insights. With meticulous care, Merrill begins by explaining what the names "chronicles" mean. In fact, the Greek LXX calls chronicles as "things left out" while the Latin Vulgate renders the title as "chronichon" from which we get our english titles for the two books. It is set from as early as 530 BC to as late as early 4th Century. It is a book about political re-establishment, social reforms, religious reforms, and also a powerful glimpse and reiteration of God's bigger plan for salvation. Apart from the discussion on the authorship of the book, there are useful insights pertaining to the canonical placement of the book; the literary forms; genre description; the sources and historiography; the compositional structure; textual criticism; an overview of major studies; the theology of the book; analytical outlines; and of course the main body which is the commentary itself.

"Malestrom" (Carolyn Custis James)

TITLE: Malestrom: Manhood Swept into the Currents of a Changing World
AUTHOR: Carolyn Custis James
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015, (224 pages).

The Bible, especially the Old Testament has often been accused of patriarchalism. For many contemporary ears, the language, the culture, and the social status of men in the ancient near east have become out of date with modern sensitivities. Not only that, most people nowadays will be up in arms with women over equal rights and equal treatment, anyone using the Bible to justify masculine superiority will be in for a big fight. Worse, when we let cultural norms both past and present to define how we read the Bible, we will fail to interpret what the Bible is actually saying to us. The single biggest point in this book is this: Reject distorted models of patriarchy. Beware of the hidden dangers of the "malestrom" which is a play of words of a wind whirlpool phenomena called "maelstrom."  Carolyn Custis James writes out of her comfort zone to write about males issues, stating what "malestrom" is. She writes: "The malestrom is the particular ways in which the fall impacts the male of the human species — causing a man to lose himself, his identity and purpose as a man, and above all to lose sight of God’s original vision for his sons. The repercussions of such devastating personal losses are not merely disastrous for the men themselves, but catastrophic globally."

"Hollywood Jesus" (Matt Rawle)

TITLE: Hollywood Jesus: A Small Group Study Connecting Christ and Culture (The Pop in Culture Series)
AUTHOR: Matt Rawle
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2015, (128 pages).

How is pop culture influencing the world? Are Christians able to counter this pervasive reach of Hollywood with the gospel? If all things were made through Christ, and Christians called to reach the world for Christ, why does it seem that more people know about Hollywood stars than the person of Jesus Christ? How do we reach a people who have been so thoroughly indoctrinated with Hollywood philosophy that oozes worldliness? According to author Matt Rawle, we are not called to reject the pop culture around us. Instead, we need to "re-narrate" them. Just like Jesus who did not reject the cross but endured the shame and transformed something very bad into something so powerful. The purpose of this four-session small group study is to learn to engage the culture around us by opening our eyes to the "spiritual truths" flowing through many different channels of communications today. Key to the whole book is the question: "How are we portraying Jesus to those in our circles of influence?"

One common theme throughout pop culture is the story it tells. Many Hollywood movies depend on good stories that moved from books to screens. In fact, Rawle asserts that the story of Jesus Christ has been portrayed from explicitly Christian titles like "Jesus of Nazareth," "The Gospel of John," "The Passion of the Christ," "Jesus Christ Superstar," to other less obvious titles like "Tommy," "The Matrix," "Ratatouille," "Man of Steel," and even "Star Wars." The sessions are entitled as follows:

"A Vision For Preaching" (Abraham Kuruvilla)

TITLE: A Vision for Preaching: Understanding the Heart of Pastoral Ministry
AUTHOR: Abraham Kuruvilla
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015, (214 pages).

Three words anchor this book: "Preach the Word." The purpose is to let the Word shine in this world biblically, pastorally, amid an "alchemical and distillatory tendencies of this generation." This means not submitting to humanistic desires for newness but to re-tell God's story faithfully regardless of old or new. This means not succumbing to tendencies to reduce to Word to what it is not, but let the Word speak clearly, insightfully, and powerfully. As far as the author is concerned, it involves eight questions based on eight preaching thrusts:

1. Whose words were these words originally? (Biblical)
2. Who said it? (Pastoral)
3. In what context? (Ecclesial)
4. What should these words convey? (Communicational)
5. What is the general thrust of the text? (Theological)
6. Who was the audience? (Applicational)
7. Why was it said? (Conformational)
8. To what ultimate end? (Doxological)
9. By whose power? (Spiritual)

All of these are summarized in one vision statement: "Preaching is biblical (Biblical) - by a leader of the church (Pastoral) - in a gathering of Christians for worship (Ecclesial) - is the communication of the thrust of a pericope of Scripture (Communicational) - discerned by theological exegesis, (Theological) - and of its application to that specific body of believers, (Applicational) - that they may be conformed to the image of Christ, (Conformational) - for the glory of God (Doxological) - all in the power of the Holy Spirit (Spiritual)."

"Happiness" (Randy Alcorn)

TITLE: Happiness
AUTHOR: Randy Alcorn
PUBLISHER: Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015, (496 pages).

What defines the way we live? Most likely, it is the search for happiness. Put it in whatever way or whatever terms, there is an innate desire in many people to want to be happy. Parents want their children to be happy. Husbands and wives want a happy marriage. Communities that thrive are those that celebrate happy moments. Who doesn't want to be happy? In dealing with this oft-pursued attribute of life, people try all kinds of ways to search for happiness. In many societies, especially in the West, the three primary ways are the philosophies of individualism (All-I-want); materialism (things-I-want); and the insatiable pursuit of success (All-I-Desire).

Happiness is what everybody want. If only the world could be a happier place, happier than the "happiest place on earth." Randy Alcorn has written a breathtaking overview and treatise on what happiness means to a Christian. He knows what it means to be happy or sad. While there are cases in both extremes, the majority of us live in the tensions in between. Alcorn observes that "numerous Christians live in daily sadness, anger, anxiety, or loneliness, thinking these feelings are inevitable given their circumstances. They lose joy over traffic jams, a stolen credit card, or increased gas prices. They read Scripture with blinders on, missing the reasons for happiness expressed on nearly every page."

"Five Views on the Church and Politics" (various contributors)

TITLE: Five Views on the Church and Politics (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology)
AUTHOR: J. Brian Benestad; Robert Benne; Bruce L. Fields; Thomas W. Heilke; James K.A. Smith; Amy E. Black; Stanley Gundry
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015, (240 pages).

Should Christians participate in politics? If it is no, is it a responsible way to live in this world? If yes, how should Christians relate to the political leaders of the land? What about the separation of Church and state? What does it mean? If a Church totally abandon all forms of involvement, what happens when the government makes decisions that negatively impact the Church? While most believers will tend to walk the middle way, to be involved only when absolutely necessary, Christians in general are split right down the middle generally, and at least five ways theologically. In this book, we learn of five such ways in the relationship between Church and state. In fact, when we read the gospels, we see how the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus with the question of whether the Jews ought to pay tax to the Romans. Either way, Jesus would be trapped. If Jesus answered 'yes,' the Jews would be unhappy. If he said 'no,' the Romans would come after him.  Life nowadays are a lot more different than the first century. Moreover, Christians living in the modern world now have the benefit of hundreds of years of theological reflection. This book distills five different points of view surrounding relationship between Church and state. Editor Amy Black calls it the five historic traditions of Anabaptist, Lutheran, Black Church, Reformed, and Catholic. Five contributors have been invited to this discussion and after one proposition, there would be four other responses. This gives readers multiple dimensions of each proposition and alternative viewpoints. Each political thought begins with a historical background of the denomination and how they arrive at the current political thought. The names of key founders and significant leaders are mentioned, together with the unique circumstances they face. Then comes the theological distinctivenesses and how these shape their interactions with politics. Each contributor would then propose their model of political engagement and their specific concerns. They all deal with the common case of poverty. This would be followed by four respondents from the other schools of political thought.

"I Am Strong" (John S. Dickerson)

TITLE: I Am Strong: Finding God's Peace and Strength in Life's Darkest Moments
AUTHOR: John S. Dickerson
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015, (211 pages).

Those of us who have been Christians for a while will remember the verse in 2 Corinthians 10:12, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” What does that mean? More importantly, what happens when we encounter hardships and troubles? How will our faith look like in these circumstances? Whether expected or unexpected, this world is certainly not an easy place for many of us. While we hope that things would be always sunny, we all know that it is only a matter of time before we experience low moments. It is nice to talk about hope when the times are good. It is very hard when the bad times come. This is where author John S. Dickerson comes right in. Starting with a moving story of Joy Veron, whose self-sacrificial act saved her three young children, Dickerson points out that true strength appears during moments of crisis. A widely sought after speaker and author of several books, Dickerson helps us appreciate the deeper meaning of what it means to find strength in Christ. He probes questions from the school of hard knocks:

• If God is good, why is there pain and disappointment?
• If one truly believes, why is one not healed?
• Is pain and suffering a type of punishment from God?
• How can God bring about good in the midst of terrible evil? 

"Disappearing Church" (Mark Sayers)

TITLE: Disappearing Church: From Cultural Relevance to Gospel Resilience
AUTHOR: Mark Sayers
PUBLISHER: Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2016, (192 pages).

Why is the Church disappearing? In terms of young people, there are more of them leaving churches and not returning compared to young believers entering churches. In terms of culture, Western secularism has largely replaced the Judeo-Christian worldview in society. With decreasing numbers in attendance, and the passing of an old generation, some churches are even shutting down for good.  What is happening? Is this the end of Western Christianity as we once knew before? Author Mark Sayers believes that there is still hope for the Church in spite of the perceived decline. The way forward is not to tailor Church according to what the prevailing culture expects but according to what Jesus had intended for the Church all along, put by Sayers as a journey from "cultural relevance" toward "gospel resilience." The Church must resist the temptation to wear the costume expectations of the world. We ought to be welcoming of people but not necessarily accommodating of the cultural values, especially those that are godless or relentlessly trying to dilute the gospel. Many of these are the idols of the age. There are the self-enthronement where humanism reigns supreme. For example, personal freedoms have become so treasured that the Bible's teachings have been conveniently displaced. Along with that is the unfortunate strategy of "cultural relevance" in which gospel people are no longer any different from the people of the world. The irony is, in wanting to be "relevant," they lose their gospel relevance. Sayers skillfully helps us understand the history of cultural relevance, the reasons for our fascination, the philosophy, the symbols, and the various cultural types. With great insight and scholarly knowledge, readers have a real treat just going through each chapter.

"Delighting in God" (A.W. Tozer)

TITLE: Delighting in God
AUTHOR: Aiden Wilson Tozer (compiled by James L. Snyder)
PUBLISHER: Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2015, (208 pages).

What does it mean to delight in God? For Tozer, it means being engaged in the pursuit of God. It means having the knowledge of the Holy. It means longing to be in the presence of God. Though he has never gone to seminary, he has published more than 40 books, which continue to impact many readers today. His voice is a consistent clarion call for Christians to take their faith seriously and to take their worship of God even more seriously. How can we worship someone if we have not known Him? Tozer's passion is to preach about God in everything he does. His passion for God is unmistakable. Ask him to speak or write about any topic and he would eventually come back to God. This book is meant to stir our hearts with deeper longing for God.

The eighteen chapters in this book deal with perceptions that would affect how we delight in God. A man of God will naturally gravitate to want to love God. The basis of all of our perceptions in grounded in the theology of God. It is the foundational truth that enables us to pursue rightly after God. The Church incubates the Christian education needed by believers. Tozer prefers the word "reformation" over "revival" because true growth in the evangelical church comes not from charged up energy but from a renewed sense of God. Our worship can only grow when our perceptions of God are accurate. He points out some of the mistakes that lead to our erroneous perceptions of God.

1. Wrong Presumption: We assume what was in the Bible will automatically be in us. We need the Holy Spirit to convict us with the Word.
2. Spiritual laziness: How do we get people to thirst for God when they are too lazy to think?
3. Love for the World: We let the world standards define our levels of spirituality.
4. Unwillingness to die to the flesh.

"Devotions on the Hebrew Bible" (Milton Eng and Lee M. Fields)

TITLE: Devotions on the Hebrew Bible: 54 Reflections to Inspire and Instruct
AUTHOR: Milton Eng and Lee M. Fields
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015, (192 pages).

After the "Devotions from the Greek New Testament" was published, there have been calls to publish a similar one from the Old Testament. One of these calls resulted in this book, excitedly put together by editors Milton Eng and Lee M. Fields, both biblical scholars and professors of Old Testament from William Paterson University and Mid-Atlantic Christian University respectively. Together with 36 other scholars and theologians from Universities from Canada, USA, Israel, South Africa, publishing houses, and mission agencies around the world, they have put together 53 reflections on the 39 books of the Old Testament. All of them pay special attention to exegesis of the Hebrew language. All of them want to encourage more students and pastors to continue learning Hebrew even after seminary studies. All of them urge the study of the Hebrew text and demonstrate in this book not only the beauty of Hebrew but the profound wisdom contained in the ancient texts. All the contributors hold a doctorate degree and are evangelical in their theological orientation. They begin each devotion from a recommended English translation and gradually try to do their own translation of the selected passages.

"Generational IQ" (Haydn Shaw)

TITLE: Generational IQ: Christianity Isn't Dying, Millennials Aren't the Problem, and the Future is Bright
AUTHOR: Haydn Shaw
PUBLISHER: Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015, (304 pages).

The predictions are gloomy. Will Christianity be dead three generations from now? Will our young become more secular? Will traditional marriage be a thing of the past? Why are the young avoiding coming to Church? How do we pass down our faith if there is no one to pass to? What exactly is wrong with regard to each generation? These questions are more continue to cause much concern among leaders, parents, and adults about the faith. Not only that, the mass media are contributing a lot of pessimism. There are many books, news articles, and doomsday predictions of the lost generation. Older generations reminisce on the good old days while others look forward to a better tomorrow. With regards to hope, there is a dire sense of pessimism about the future of Church. Older Church members are concerned about the decreasing level of interest in the Christian faith by their young. Still, many people complain about the rising cost of living, the growing unemployment, the lack of good jobs, and the general sense of helplessness with regard to the rising materialism, individualism, and secularism happening all over the world. Yet, when we ask the younger generations of today, we realize that the difference in perceptions are not only stark but grossly overstated. In this book, author Haydn Shaw, a consultant for FranklinCovey organization and an expert in inter-generational communications seek to help readers understand the contexts across generations.  At the heart of the problem is the lack of understanding between the different generations. Shaw calls this "Generational IQ," a term that is used to describe the intelligence necessary to connect the different generations. Without this IQ, there will be continued misunderstandings leading to tensions. Facts are not enough. We need the intelligence to understand and apply these findings. We need to understand how history impacts individual generations uniquely. The context in which one generation grows up in will colour the way that they interpret the world. The two tasks before us are: 1) Understand our own generations; 2) Try our best to understand others.

"Imagine Heaven" (John Burke)

TITLE: Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God's Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You
AUTHOR: John Burke
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015, (352 pages).

Many books have been written about heaven and the Near-Death-Experiences (NDEs). What can we make of them? What are the legitimate ones? What is heaven really like? Are the testimonies too good to be true? Where is the biblical support for such incidences? In a book that has been incubated over 35 years of questioning, pondering, and experiencing, the author has heard over 1000 NDEs. Intrigued by the frequency of occurrences, Burke realizes the acute difference between "reported experiencing" and "interpretation" of the experience. Keen to understand all of these from a biblical perspective, author and pastor John Burke invites us on a journey to experience heaven. He believes that people who fail to imagine heaven will be unable to live for it. People must have at least that glimpse of the heavenly kingdom in order to have their faith revitalized and hope rekindled. "If you only knew what awaits you" starts the enticement toward heavenly matters.

George Ritchie was clinically dead for nine minutes. When we came back to life, his whole perspective to life was changed. He started a Peace Corps after experiencing a heavenly moment of glory and lament about things undone when he was alive. He came back with a powerful sense of purpose to ensure that the life he had would be well lived. Unlike medical skeptics and doubts among most people, the NDEs are not just about scientific explanations of subjective experiences. They are about a profound change of a person after their encounters. Studying the range of NDEs, Burke highlights some common things. Many of these NDEs are not profit driven and feedback from people do not necessarily gain them anything. Moreover, the experience is global. Mary Neal, an orthopedic surgeon came back from an NDE after a kayaking accident, with a renewed and even more purposeful sense of living. Jeff Olsen who had a low emotional point of life after experiencing heaven, returned with an amazing sense of joy. Pilot Dale Black started building orphanages, churches, and medical clinics after a plane crash in which he returned from an NDE with fervent desire to make a difference. Eben Alexander, a Harvard neurologist personally experienced and knew that the human experience lives far beyond the grave. These stories and many more occupy the bulk of these books, accompanied by professional opinions as well as interpretations, with the author as an interested participant as listener. Burke draws in biblical insights to show us that the Bible has already referred to lots of such experiences. We do not need to personally get an NDE just to believe. If we believe the Bible, surely, there are already lots of evidence and stories of Jesus that we can hold on to.

"Kingdom First" (Jeffrey Allan Christopherson)

TITLE: Kingdom First: Starting Churches that Shape Movements
AUTHOR: Jeffrey Allan Christopherson
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2015, (280 pages).

What is the meaning of the kingdom of God? What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God? How do we live as kingdom people? For author and pastor Jeffrey Allan Christopherson, it begins with four paradigm shifts. First, the Church is to be the means to the kingdom, not the ends of the kingdom. In other words, the kingdom does not exist for the Church. The Church exists to usher in the Kingdom to come. Second, the principle is more important than the model used for Church planting. Once the principle is set, the model will follow suit. Third, Church plants must learn to fund themselves rather than to be dependent on being funded. This is what the author calls the need to launch more "intentionally bivocational church planting teams." Fourth, planting churches comes from evangelism and not for evangelism. The rationale is that only churches that were planted from evangelism will know what that means. With these four assumptions in place, the author launches with the descriptions of his eight steps to practicing "Kingdom First" method of Church planting.

"#Struggles" (Craig Groeschel)

TITLE: #Struggles: Following Jesus in a Selfie-Centered World
AUTHOR: Craig Groeschel
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015. (256 pages).

Many of us are familiar with the images of technology. With modern smartphones, tablets, and mobile devices, most information are being distributed online instead of the traditional channels of print or even TV. Like most things in life, there is always a price to pay. With the convenience and speed of information dissemination comes the proliferation of other social problems like inattentiveness, distractions, addictions, and psychological problems never seen before. The irony is that even if we can be easily connected, that does not mean we are more relatable, or less lonely. With constant change happening to the technological world, what is happening inside our hearts and minds? How is technology helping and not helping us today? How is communication improved or deteriorating in a Twitter age? How is social media changing us? These issues are looked at by Craig Groeschel, founder and senior pastor of the second largest megachurch in the United States, Life.Church. As the lead pastor of the Church that popularize one of the most downloaded electronic Bibles (Youversion) on the Internet today, the author is uniquely qualified to write about the struggles of e-addiction in a technology world. He looks at eight fundamental struggles and how eight biblical principles can help restore some sanity into our crazy world. He begins each chapter with an honest look at what technology is doing to us, and how it can bring out the worst in us. He points out how some things dissatisfy us and gradually introduces the biblical paradigm.

"Unstoppable Gospel" (Gregg Matte)

TITLE: Unstoppable Gospel: Living Out the World-Changing Vision of Jesus's First Followers
AUTHOR: Gregg Matte
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015, (224 pages).

What causes ordinary people to embark on extraordinary adventures? What do we do with the negative perceptions people have about the Church? Can one really follow the path of Jesus that is completely independent of the Church? In a book that oozes with passion for the gospel, compassion for the people, and impassioned defense of the Church, author and pastor Gregg Matte puts into words what he normally speaks in this 224 pages book for the benefit of readers. After a firm affirmation of the place of the Church, he also acknowledges that the Church is not without her weaknesses. People in churches are also sinners and thus will have weaknesses that are symptomatic of sin. That does not mean we apply the label "hypocrites" indiscriminately on every single person in the Church. Anchoring this book on the book of Acts, Matte sees the story of Acts as a "spiritual earthquake" and how the Holy Spirit enables the disciples to go to the ends of the earth with the gospel. The mission in Acts 1:8 that inspires the Early Church is the same mission that can empower the Church to do the same today. In order to experience this "unstoppable gospel," begin with prayer and fasting. Acknowledge that it is God who inspires us. Have a global mission. Remember that all roads lead to the Cross of Jesus Christ. Recall how God moves the Early Church with three words: "Prayer, care, and share." The amazing thing is this: When we do our best to be generous and show grace to others, God uses the recipients of our generosity and blesses us in many different ways. In other words, the gospel's blessings are bi-directional or even multidimensional!