134 - Wisdom Meets Passion

I work at a multigenerational church, so I decided this book would make an excellent read for my context.  And I was right on.  The book is less of a how to guide and more of a go-do guide.  It motivates the reader to get up and do something.  It's about finding a passion and putting everything you have into it.  It's a easy read and Jared's stories from his life in Africa are really interesting.  The only challenge is that it may make you feel like you live a materialistic life.  I'm not sure if that's a bad thing, but some readers might be offended or upset that someone would challenge their way of life.  I found it powerful, and it caused me to examine how I spend my money.

I got the book for free from BookSneeze in exchange for a fair and honest review.

133 - A Year with G. K. Chesterton

G. K. Chesterton is a genius.  Working through some of the very best of his writing has been quite incredible.  The man is a genius, but still puts his theology within the grasp of anyone.  The book offers short expanded writing based on the Chesterton quote of the day.  Highly recommended for anyone interested in this amazing man.  He influenced Lewis and now you have the chance to let him influence you.

132 - Red Letter Revolution

Excellent book written by two excellent authors.  Incredible men who have backed their words by their actions.

It's a challenging read but is also laid out very well in a dialogue format; it's like you're in the same room while they're talking through the questions and answers.

I appreciate the theological and practical balances of the book. As Campolo says, "The Gospels provide us a prescription for a kingdom lifestyle, and the other books of the New Testament provide us with a solid theology. Red Letter Christians need both. (p.9)"

131 - Love Does

This is one of those books you have to read slowly to really absorb all the great thoughts in it.  Goff does an excellent job of making that possible by using short chapters that can easily be consumed in one sitting.  Without ever getting into doctrinal debates Goff tackles what  it means to really live like Jesus.  This book will inspire you to live differently.

130 - Why Church Matters

In a culture that loves Jesus but hates the church this book is desperately needed.  Needed because someone has to defend the bride of Christ.  Harris does an excellent job of pointing to the church not as an institution, but rather a group of believers.  He takes this classic thought, and puts some new modern spin on it making it a great book for young and old believers alike.  He addresses our need for the church, why it helps us grow spiritually in ways we can't on our own, and points us back to the community of faith, rather than the individualistic beliefs of many in our culture.

129 - Empty Promises

Pete Wilson is a great author.  With his sophomore book he's kept his conversational tone, tightened up his writing, and hits a home run.  Empty Promises addresses the issue of idols in our lives, and why they seem to be a struggle for us.  Wilson talks about the broad topic of idols letting the reader identify the specific ones in their own life.  It was a great read, but a challenging read.  Wilson has done a good job of almost reinventing the Christian Living genre.  His books come across as solid, rather than just another fluffy "read your Bible and pray" kind of book.  This book would be a great fit for a small group study, or just to read on your own.

128 - The Jesus We Missed

Rarely do you find a book that's written on the humanity of Christ is such a way as this book.  Without ever watering down the divine nature of Jesus, Reardon does an excellent job of probing into what it means that Jesus was also fully man.  While approaching the subject from a quite scholarly position, Reardon never talks over the reader's head.  Rather, he makes his points in each chapter as he walks us through the life of Christ.  From his birth to baptism to ministry to death.  Each step of the way pointing out the interesting points of Jesus being fully man.  Great read that I'd highly recommend to anyone studying Christ's life.  Would make an excellent addition to a book on Christ's divinity.

127 - Viral

Could the next revival be based on a tweet? Or a Facebook status?  Or any form of digital media that goes viral?  Leonard Sweet dives into the question of the future of revival in the viral generation.  The book does  an excellent job of laying out how Christians can begin to use social media to build relationships with people, not just post photos of their cat.  Sweet takes time to hit on all the major social media tools, and breaks down how they can be used for advancing the gospel.  His book is well thought out, and isn't just another "Christians should use social media" books but rather a theological defense for using these tools.

126 - Surprised by Laughter

Surprised by Laughter isn't quite what it first appears to be.  Rather than being a book about the humor of Lewis (which is what I figured) it's about his wit, and serves more as a biography than anything.  Weighing in at 486 pages the book takes an exhaustive look at Lewis' life and writings.  The book isn't bad, but still was a little frustrating considering I was expecting something else.  It is one of the better biographies on Lewis though, so if you haven't read anything about this great man, I recommend you check this book out.

125 - When Work and Family Collide

Andy Stanley has recently re-released his book previously known as "Choosing to Cheat."  When Work and Family Collide is an excellent book about learning to not only talk about your family being your #1 priority, but to actually make them the priority.  Stanley presents ideas on setting boundaries and establishing priorities to help keep your life in rhythm.  If you struggle with trying to figure out the balance between work and family this book has some great insights you can put into practice to help you improve.  Also, it includes plenty of pointers for those who think they have things under control, but want to put up some extra road blocks.  As a pastor, this book was excellent at helping reinforce some of my habits to make sure my job doesn't become my mistress.  I'd recommend it to just about anyone and everyone.