As I read through books I personalize them.  I underline, make notes, cross things out I disagree with, and write arguments to the author in the margins.  This is why I can’t read books from the library.

When I’ve read through the book, I place it on a separate book shelf for books I’ve already read.  As time allows, I later grab books off my ‘already read that’ shelf and sit down with them in front of my computer.  I will open a fresh Word document and flip through the pages of the book I read a month or year ago.  I look at anything I underlined, stared, or made notes about and copy it into the Word document.  For a good book I will usually end up with about five or six pages of notes.

These notes are most of the time quotes from the book but could also be references to what page(s) to go back to if I want to study that topic further in the future.  It may also be a thought that the book provoked in me though it was not directly in the book.  I then title the file according to the book’s title and author and save it in a desktop folder for book notes.

This process has allowed me to save and quickly access notes on all the books I’ve read.  It makes that information so much easier to locate if I want to refresh my memory or reference it at a later date.  Doing this also allows me to get rid of those old books if I want without fearing that I will one day wish I had the information from them.  This has saved a lot of room in our basement.

Do you have a system for retaining information from the books you read?

Worst:

Safe in the Arms of God by John MacArthur – I have read several MacArthur books and yet to find one I liked or agreed with.  With this book I agree with his big point (that babies go to heaven) but think that his logic was poor and he came across as arrogant in a book that just really was not that good.  He also makes leaps from Scripture to points I do not think are true, such as the age of accountability.  Perhaps you have to be a parent who just lost a child to appreciate this book.

Doing Virtuous Business by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch – I accepted this book for free in return for doing a blog post about it.  In the last year I’ve become more interested in reading business books.  This one promises to show the value of religious morals in secular business.  I thought it did not accurately portray strong morals or true business.  No CEO would read this book.  You can read my full review of it here.

Detox by David Putman – There was nothing horrible about this book, it simply under-delivered.  I try not to only read books by big name authors so I gave this one a try after visiting the church where the author is on staff.  It promises to be a cleansing “experience” for those caught in the rituals of religion.  I think the idea is great, the book is just inadequate.  Also, it’s a book.  I am turned off when authors say that reading what they write will be a life-changing experience.  It was not.

Love Wins by Rob Bell – I do not list this book here simply because I disagree with it.  I was actually disappointed in the logic and Scripture use in this book.  I expected better from one of the most followed pastors in America.  You can read my full book review of Love Wins here.

Best:

From The Top Down by Michael Lukaszewski – A simple, short book on the details of church planting.  Many of the church planting books I read are idealistic and general strategies.  This book is the more nitty gritty stuff and the specific resources and stories that went in to the church the author planted.

The Grace of God by Andy Stanley – This book was much more simple than I expected.  When I anticipated theology this book provided stories.  Stanley answers those who claim the Old Testament does not show God’s grace and then applies the message of how grace should be shown in the church.  A great read!

Jim and Casper Go To Church by  Jim Henderson, Matt Casper and George Barna – This book is basically a story of a Christian and a non-Christian going to several American churches together and writing their thoughts on the services.  The book does well to point out all the shallowness and façade that goes on in churches in order to appear “cool,” however, it is only one lost man’s opinion.  He does not speak for all seekers, mainly because Casper does not even claim to be a seeker.  Though the book is certainly challenging, I would not change everything in your church based on this book alone.

Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendrix – This book was recommended by the marriage counselor my wife and I see.  The book teaches amazing principles and the new edition includes a section of exercises to help you improve your marital communication.  Warning – if you are a conservative Christian, you may be put off by a few things in the introduction, but give this book a chance.  I would recommend it for every engaged or married couple!

Radical by David Platt – Though the other books on this list have been great, none have challenged my thinking or made me aware of the heart of God as much as this book.  I know understand why Radical is changing the lives of so many within the church today.  It also saddens me when people accuse Platt of saying what he’s not saying and writing him off rather than listening to all the great points he makes.  There is no way I could even try to give you an accurate summary of this book.  You simply have to read it for yourself!

What are the best and worst you’ve read this year?

The short book was very obviously written from the same burden for the poor, un-reached and spiritually dead as Radical.  Actually, Platt refers to his first book so often throughout Radical Together that I’m not sure I would have understood as much of this book had I not read the other first.

Radical Together delivers what it promises though, as Platt writes to reveal how so much of what we do in church-world today is more American than Christian.  He challenges the notion that a church service is meant to be a performance by professionals and argues for an involvement of all people in the mission of the church; reaching the world.

Platt’s messages challenges readers to evaluate the how and why of their ministry while encouraging them to become part of a community for the sake of taking the message of Jesus to those on the other side of the world who have never heard of Him.  In doing church in a way Platt sees as closer to the method of Jesus, we would certainly be radical, together.

But because Platt’s message is so unique and grassroots compared to what modern Christianity looks like today, he is constantly interrupting his own message to “clarify” what he is not saying.  Perhaps he is doing this to protect himself from those who may take his words to an unhealthy extreme, but it hurt the flow of the book and also made his logic seem more cautious than confident.

The back of the book contains thirty pages of small group study text.  These sessions are meant to create conversation around the ideas of the book and help the readers have direction on how to apply what they read.  I appreciate that Platt is not asking people to buy an additional study guide but rather includes this in his book.  I find this appropriate for a book and a message that is all about challenging the reader to movement rather than just giving them more information.

Radical Together, along with Radical, have certainly had a deep impact on me as God is using Platt to point to an entire part of the message of Jesus that has been mostly ignored by many American churches in recent years.  The books have challenged my beliefs and caused me to consider what my responsibility and the responsibility of the church is when it comes to giving of our abundance toward a much more worthy calling.  Caring for those who are in physical and spiritual need is the most worthy cause for which we could spend our money.  Platt challenge to Christians to leave their comfort zone, spend time ministering in a foreign context, give painfully of their resources, and depend on God through intense prayer is causing some major shifts within our Christian culture.  I consider this a very good thing and is why I encourage you to pick up both these books and wrestle with these issues yourself.

You can click these links to purchase Radical and Radical Together.

Sadly, I allowed myself to get caught up in much of the controversy and followed the story way too closely.  I later tried to distance myself from the subject until recently when I finally felt I was removed enough to read the book without any biases or external influences.  The book arrived and I read it in three days while taking many notes and keeping a Bible at my side.  The following is my review as well as my thoughts on the book, the author, and the ideas presented.

First, allow me to share what my feelings were toward Rob Bell before this book was ever released.  I liked him.  I thought he was a nerd, but I liked him.  I listened to his podcasts (and still do) and attended one of his speaking events in Atlanta.  In some ways, Bell and I are alike.  We have both been accused of being purposefully vague and speaking on important subjects using generalities.  We both also use controversy to make our points and generate discussion.  So when I heard that he was releasing a controversial book that hinted at a lot of uncomfortable ideas, I figured it was nothing new.  I actually expected to agree with quite a bit of it.  But I was quickly surprised.

Asking questions is normal of Bell.  Creating doubt is not.  Yet he seems to go that next step as in the first chapter Bell works hard to paint salvation as complicated and confusing.  He also points out many instances in which he makes it sound as though Scripture contradicts itself as well as using quotation marks when using words like truth and right.  In chapter one he makes some good points though and says that many pastors today point to a “personal relationship with God” as the key to salvation, yet this phrase is nowhere in the Bible.  He later contradicts himself on page 178 where he says God’s love creates “a relationship.”

In chapter four Rob asks a great question.  He says, “Does God get what God wants?”  At first you want to say, “of course.”  Then he goes on to point out all the verses that say God desires all to be saved and longs for the redemption of everyone.  So if some go to hell, and not all are redeemed or saved unto Him, then God actually does not get what He wants.  It seems as through Bell already had his case for this answer so He sets up the question in a way to present the ultimatum that God is either weak or mean.

At the end of chapter four he talks about how we may not know if God gets what God wants but that ultimately we get what we want.  If we choose to reject God and put ourselves in hell, God’s love, which provides freedom, allows that.  And if we choose to trust God then God accepts that too.

Rob talks about the different views Christians have about after life.  He represents the view that you choose in this life and then it’s settled by the time you die – heave or hell.  He then represents the idea that there may be choice after life, perhaps even an ongoing choice and the opportunity for all to eventually be saved.  He never seems to strongly take either stance so I don’t think you can say he is building his case for the more universalistic view.  However, he does give more scripture references (or parts of Scripture verses) that appear to support that argument.

He quotes Old Testament verses about God redeeming His children and delivering them from punishment to say those things occur for everyone and they occur in the afterlife. He also takes a lot of time emphasizing how original Biblical words could be translated different ways and could mean different things.  He does this with a New Testament word translated “age.”  He says it could mean a day, a set period of time, an undetermined but temporary set time, or an ongoing, possibly unending set of time.  He notes that the common Christian belief about this word when used referring to afterlife is that it is translated “eternity” – never-ending.  He says, “It’s important that we don’t read categories and concepts into a phrase that aren’t there” (p.92).  Though he is correct in that point, he seems to be saying this to challenge the idea that this word shouldn’t mean eternity and suggest that it mean temporary.  If it’s wrong to insist it means one thing, is it not equally wrong to insist it means the other?

For most of the book Bell simply appears to be listing differing opinions about heaven and hell with biblical support for each.  He seems to be questioning the traditional beliefs about these subjects without categorizing himself as a part of any one stance.  While I realize this is normal Rob Bell, he is dealing with such serious subjects that his fence riding becomes irresponsible as he does not come off as a pastor with concern for the spiritual wellbeing of others.

I said that for most of the book he seems to be riding the fence, simply detailing options.  For most of the book that is true.  Until you get to chapter seven.  Though I wanted to be able to defend Bell, in his chapter titled The Good News Is Better Than That Bell gives reason for all the criticism he has received.

Bell uses chapter seven to say that many people have legitimate reasons for doubting or rejecting God (I agree).  He says that others have been treated on earth in a way that breaks God’s heart (I agree).  He says that because God loves all He wants to “retell” our individual bad stories, and in doing so create an ongoing opportunity for everyone to change their eternities (I disagree).

He uses the entire chapter to expound on the story of the prodigal son.  In my understanding, this story is about neither heaven nor hell (directly) yet Bell goes into great detail, nit-picking the smallest parts of the story to make the point that heaven and hell are both present “at the party” whether they accept it or not.

Within the chapter he makes the statement, “A discussion about how to ‘just get into heaven’ has no place in the life of a disciple of Jesus.”  Huh?  He also goes on to basically make fun of preachers who twist the Scriptures to say what they want about heaven and hell when in reality his usage of the story of the prodigal son is doing the exact same thing he correctly finds fault with in legalistic preachers.

Chapter seven made me visibly mad.  So much so I had trouble calming down to read the following chapter, which closes out the book.  In it he tells his own salvation story and challenges his readers to take advantage of this present opportunity, noting that Jesus was always calling his hearers to take a step of faith immediately.  Though his closing call to acceptance is good, the short chapter has no leading in how or why to “experience” this love.

In summary, I will admit that I was hoping to be able to defend Bell.  I had the words lining up in my head to discuss how differences over post-salvation doctrine does not make one a heretic.  But because the book was different than even I expected, I cannot in good conscience say Bell is simply representing another view within Christianity.  I think he speaks in general enough terms and refuses to take a stance just enough to still explain his presence in Christian circles, but it is not without reason he finds himself having many new opposers.

As always, I would challenge you to read the book before whole-heartedly accepting mine or anyone else’s thoughts about the matter.  I would simply ask you read this book like we probably should read every book, cautiously and with a Bible near.  We can learn from anyone and should not use disagreement as an excuse to close ourselves off from others.  We should also not gullibly accept the words of others just because they have the same beliefs as ours.

May we all learn to be more Biblically discerning.

Whether you have read the book or not, I would love to hear your comments on Rob Bell, Love Wins, Heaven, Hell, etc.  Please share!

Before receiving the book I looked up some of its online reviews, both good and bad.  Sadly to say, most of the negative reviews were right on.  This book does read much like a text book at times and comes across as very dry.  I realize books written for CEO’s are not supposed to resemble comedic literature, but Malloch’s message is one that should have been written with more feeling and passion.

The first couple chapters were the hardest to get through as Malloch becomes quite political and feels the need to defend capitalism against unmentioned critics.  He finally gets into his message but I don’t feel his backing is especially strong.  He sites random small businesses that have had successes and quotes few recognizable business industry sources.

The gist of the book is incorporate religious, moral principles in your business habits and God will bless your business. I’m being simplistic of course.  That is the main idea though and I feel like it’s a pretty good one.  But in trying to be open to all religions, he never relies on one religions sacred documents alone or argues well for doing right simply because it’s right.  His argument is more that it works, where, again, his examples are usually on a small scale.  I give the book two stars and would not recommend it to a general audience.  Despite my critiques though, there were a few good quotes and solid business principles.  Not enough to validate the time a CEO would spend fishing them out of this book.

Below were what I found to be the best quotes or take-aways:

Take ownership of your ideas.

“Faith changes business for the better, just like it changes lives”

“The successful entrepreneur is one who knows how to take risks, assume responsibility for their outcome, and act responsibly toward those whom he includes in his gamble.”

“In referring our decisions to that higher power, we become more confident in making them.”

Morals eliminate the need for rules

“By honoring God in your actions, you change them from a routine to a sacrament.  And once you see them in that way, you perform them cheerfully, rightly, and profitably.”

“Success…comes because you are prepared for it and because you have the character that can achieve it.”

This book was completely different than I expected.  Rather than expounding on principles or ideologies, Stanley tells the story of grace.  He propositions that grace is not strictly a New Testament idea.  Each chapter of the book is about a Bible story or character with eight of the thirteen chapters coming from the Old Testament.  Stanley retells these stories with incredible clarity and insight.  He draws from background information and emphasizes the grace of God throughout these stories.

As only Andy Stanley can do, he makes just one point with each chapter so though at times his words may seem repetitive, they are also memorable.  And even with the focus on characters and true stories of grace, the book is sprinkled with incredible quotes about grace.  Such as:

Grace acknowledges the full implication of sin and yet does not condemn

God’s promises are not anchored by the behavior of the recipient, but by the grace of the One who made the promise

Grace is inviting to the unrighteous and threatening to the self-righteous

Grace plus anything is anything but grace

Overall, this was an inspiring book and a smooth read.  I would recommend it to both the person trapped by guilt who needs to see God’s perspective and the religious person who is caught in the trap of judging others and needs to see what grace looks like.

*I received this book free with the agreement of writing a book review.  If you have a blog you can sign up to receive free Christian books to review by clicking here.

I’m not one for devotionals, but I found this book/journal to be simple and helpful.  A critique I often hear of Maxwell is that he focuses on business leadership without ever speaking much about spirituality.  Well that could never be said after just a few days in this book.  For example, the title for just a few days ago was “God’s Economy,” focusing on what God values and looks for in a leader rather than our society.

This hard back book may be a bit pricey for some but I found it helpful as it was easy to work in the page a day, bite size thought layout into my busy mornings.  If someone is looking for a daily motivator that will show the clear connection between leadership principles and Biblical truth, I would recommend this book.

That being said, here is a list (as well as links to check out) my favorite reads so far from 2010:

• “Put Your Dream To The Test” by John Maxwell – an absolute must for anyone considering pursuing a dream, passion, calling, etc.  Will give you great guidance and insight into developing that dream and determining if it should be followed.
• “Too Busy Not To Pray” by Bill Hybles – somewhat of an oldie but still a goodie.  A short, easy read with some good thoughts that changed the way I pray.
• “Developing The Leader Within You” by John Maxwell – another Maxwell great with one leadership principle after another.  Buy this book, don’t borrow it, because you will want it as a source later.
• “Getting Things Done” by David Allen – A non-Christian book given to me at church planting school that at times is a little repetitive and common sense, but has helped me develop a better way for setting up projects and using my calendar.
• “Speaking My Mind” by Tony Campolo – Tony is one of the only people I know who I agree with on most religious AND political issues.  Whether you like him or not, Tony is very intelligent and will challenge the way you think about today’s issues.
• “A Comedian’s Guide To Theology” by Thor Ramsey – Thor is a Christian comedian who has written with a perfect balance of humor and insight.  This book really did make me laugh a lot as well a present some theological basics in a way I wish most pastors could.

What have you been reading?  I’m still working on my list of 30 books for next year, so what suggestions do you have?

The book is divided into seven chapters (or “sections”) each, in typical Maxwell form, dedicated to one principle or practice of leadership.  The layout is gift-book like with each chapter drawing out its message amidst pictures, quotes, stories, etc.  I occasionally found the quotes to have little to do with the subject of the chapter.  The largest part of each chapter was basically a copied and pasted selection from one of Maxwell’s previous books.  So though the content of the writing was good, if you are familiar with John Maxwell, it was certainly not new.

Though there are certainly solid teachings and motivational stories within The Right to Lead, again, I thought some of the quotes to be random and the fact that the book contains 40 pages of content stretched out over 125 picture filled and large print pages in a hard back format, I feel the book is probably over-priced……but maybe I’ll let you borrow mine!

As soon as the paper back NT arrived I reviewed the preface and introduction.  I think doing this was crucial as it tells the heart and story behind Chris Seay’s motivation for finally making this project happen.  Those who are critical of new Bible versions and look for traditional, exact translation should read those opening sections to understand what The Voice claims to be and what it does not claim to be.  These sections discuss how previous translators have “flattened out” the personalities of the 40 original Bible authors and how in not doing that they brought together a group of diverse scholars so some of the controversial passages would not be bent toward a single doctrinal view.

I then chose to read through the book of Romans.  I found this translation to be thought provoking and easy to read though, to me, it did not have the power or richness of my favorite Bible translation, The Message. If you are looking for a new take on things and are fans of Brian McLaren and Chris Seay (both contributing writers) I think The Voice would be worth checking out.