Review: Life in Student Ministry by Tim Schmoyer

LIFE IN STUDENT MINISTRY by Tim Schmoyer is a great book for anyone starting out in working in youth ministry. He covers many foundational and practical topics such as what to do in your first youth meeting, determining if you're called to youth ministry, how to recruit volunteers effectively, and how to handle youth ministry finances, among many others.

Schmoyer has been writing a blog on youth ministry for many years that has been a very helpful resource for those who work in youth ministry. The book is a compilation of his most important pieces of youth ministry advice. He writes in a very conversational style, which has the blog entry feel.

Another unique feature of the book is the inclusion of comments by other youth ministry workers after each section. While I liked the idea of this, many of the comments gave me the feeling of being at a youth pastors' conference. Specifically, I've found that many times as I'm sitting in a youth ministry conference led by a credible voice in youth ministry, many of the youth pastors in the room seem to feel the need to interrupt the speaker and inject their thoughts into the time allotted to the speaker. It has always struck me as arrogant, and the comments in the book gave me that same feel. Of course, I realize that these were genuine comments to posts on the blog, but I think the book would have been helped without many of them. For example, in a section about parents grounding their teens from youth ministry, one commenter mentioned that parents grounding their teens from church because it's fun for them was one of the lamest excuses he's ever heard. I can understand his frustration, but without understanding what the parent goes through, having that mindset is a complete invalidation of what the parent is going through, and it's not very helpful.

Other than the comments throughout the book, I thought LIFE IN STUDENT MINISTRY was a great resource for youth ministry workers.

I received this book for free for review from Zondervan.

Review: Chosen But Free (3rd Edition) by Norman Geisler

The Bible presents two very important, yet seemingly contradictory truths:
• God is sovereign and his will is ultimately accomplished
• Human beings have a degree of freedom and are responsible for their actions

Whole theological systems have been developed in church history to explain how both of these could be true or how one redefines the other--Calvinism and Arminianism being the most well-known, with Open Theism and Molinism gaining large followings in recent years. In the third edition of CHOSEN BUT FREE Norman Geisler seeks to present a balanced view, a view that is neither Calvinist nor Arminian, yet is somehow a middle ground between the two.

Ironically, Geisler calls his balanced view Moderate Calvinism, a term I'm confident all genuine Calvinists would reject. If the Balanced View were to be given a label, it would probably be most in line with 4-point Classical Arminianism.

There is a sense in which no one will be truly satisfied with anyone's particular presentation of the issues of divine sovereignty and human responsibility/free will, no matter how biblically thorough or well argued. CHOSEN BUT FREE is a great book, and Geisler argues his case well by looking at all the biblical evidence and coming to the conclusion that Calvinism as it is normally defined fails to live up to the biblical witness. Obviously, he doesn't cover every single verse meticulously. No one ever does, and Calvinists will no doubt be able to deconstruct many of his arguments through standard Calvinist logic. Yet he raises some very important questions.

For example, Geisler shows the clear biblical evidence of humanity's ability to choose otherwise and compellingly argues that the standard Calvinist view of human freedom redefines it in such a way as to completely obliterate human responsibility. He includes several quotes to show that church fathers up to the time of the later Augustine believed in the freedom to choose otherwise. He presents a compelling case for humanity's ability to cause their own actions.

The cornerstone of Geisler's balanced view is the rejection that God's determination is based on his foreknowledge or that his foreknowledge is based on his determination. Because God is a simple being, these two attributes have to be simultaneous in him. For example, believers are elect according to foreknowledge rather than based on foreknowledge. His view sounded somewhat similar yet clearly different from Molinism. The similarity to Molinism, though Geisler doesn't expressly state it, is that God actively uses his foreknowledge of human free acts as he orchestrates the history of the world to his desired end. Though he uses the word determination, he's quick to point out that God is not the cause of all things. If that were the case, then God would be the author of evil, a belief the Bible rejects. The existence of evil logically and biblically leads to the existence of free creatures who determine their own acts. Since God determined that creaturely freedom would exist, he made evil possible, yet wasn't the cause of it. Though all of this is compelling, I'm not sure that it was adequately explained and illustrated, or even if it could be. I was left wondering what exactly he meant when he said that God "knowingly determined and determinately knew" all that would happen. It still seemed quite close to the Arminian position that God's determination is based on his foreknowledge. Still, because it is a biblical mystery much like the Trinity, Geisler makes a good attempt at describing how human freedom and divine sovereignty are both true. I think I still rest on a view that has God actively using his foreknowledge to orchestrate history to his desired end, though not Molinism.

CHOSEN BUT FREE is packed with just as many appendices as regular chapters, covering topics such as faith preceding regeneration, the five points of Calvinism, John Calvin's view of unlimited atonement, and faith as a gift.

The book, of course has its weaknesses. At times it seems that the author is trying to rescue John Calvin from the theological system that bears his name. What he calls Extreme Calvinism is actually Calvinism as it has been commonly known. Geisler calls himself a Moderate Calvinist, and no one who heard that term would imagine any other system than 5-point Calvinism, so it's a little deceiving, if not entirely unhelpful in the conversation among believers about the issues involved. What he calls Extreme Arminianism is more commonly known as Open Theism, which could possibly cause people to confuse Arminianism and Open Theism when they ate two radically different systems.

Being another book that no one will be completely satisfied with, CHOSEN BUT FREE is still a great resource for anyone trying to wrestle through the divine sovereignty/human responsibility debate.

I received this book for free for review from Bethany House.

Review: Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley

Guilt. Anger. Greed. Jealousy. Emotions that inhabit the human heart and poison healthy relationships. In ENEMIES OF THE HEART (formerly titled IT CAME FROM WITHIN), Andy Stanley tackles the inherent sickness of our hearts that causes us to miss out on a life filled with joy and enduring connections with other human beings and God. People who often do things that cause them to ask where that action came from, which includes everyone, often aren't willing to face the simple truth that our hearts are sick. We do what flows from our hearts. And it's not working.

Guilt causes us to feel that we owe those we've offended. Anger causes us to feel like everyone owes us. Greed causes us to want more and more. Jealousy caused to feel that God owes us. Guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy can only be combatted by confession, forgiveness, generosity, and gratitude. These four habits, Stanley says, will bring healing to our hearts and to our relationships.

Stanley is a compelling communicator, and he faces the enemies of our hearts head-on.

I received this book for free for review from Blogging for Books.

Review: The Disconnect by Doug Franklin

In churches there's been a frequent dynamic in which the senior pastor of the church and the youth pastor of the church don't see eye to eye on many things. It's troubling because it's one of the primary reasons many youth pastors don't stay long at a church before moving on to the next unhealthy senior pastor/youth pastor relationship. If you're a youth pastor in this position, you may wonder if there's any hope for a good relationship and why your greatest hopes and dreams for ministry are being stifled. If you're a senior pastor in this position, you may be at your wits end of not understanding why every youth pastor does what he does and why it feels like he's trying to usurp your authority. Because it's a tension I've seen and experienced, I was excited to see that Doug Franklin wrote a book called THE DISCONNECT: BRIDGING THE YOUTH PASTOR AND SENIOR PASTOR GAP.

Franklin covers five foundational areas that will improve any Youth Pastor/Senior Pastor relationship if both are intentional about putting the books concepts into practice. The book covers:
• Communication
• Understanding each other's core values
• Money perceptions
• Aligning expectations
• Having a shared mission

The idea of understanding the core values that drive each other's decisions and actions alone would improve the relationship tremendously.

The book is actually conveniently divided in half--one half for youth pastors and one half for senior pastors. They cover the same material from the two different perspectives, and it would be a helpful idea for a youth pastor and senior pastor to go through the book at the same time. The book even includes exercises at the end of each chapter for the youth pastor and senior pastor to go through together.

THE DISCONNECT is a great and timely resource to help youth pastors and senior pastors understand each other's point of view and build healthy mutually beneficial relationships that will make ministry more of a joy than a tug of war.

I received this book for free for review from Group Publishing.

Review: 31 Days To Finding Your Blogging Mojo

If you've ever wanted to start blogging but aren't sure where to begin, or you've been blogging, but you're not sure how to maintain a blog people would be interested in, then you'll definitely want to check out Bryan Allain's new book 31 DAYS TO FINDING YOUR BLOGGING MOJO.

Allain has been blogging for years, and this book is an insightful and practical guide on how to be a successful blogger. Allain believes that everyone has something important to say from their own unique perspective, and his book is an intensely helpful contribution to helping people learn how to communicate powerfully and authentically through their own blogging platform.

The book covers topics such as target audience, blogger perspective, content, gaining readers, guest posts, and more. Allain is a humor writer on his blog, and his ability to make others laugh shines through in his book, which made it a very enjoyable read even as I was learning the ins and outs of running a blog.

This will be a vitally helpful book for anyone who currently blogs or is interested in blogging. And you can read it a chapter a day the way it was written, or you may find yourself wanting to keep going because Allain is so funny and you're loving the learning process he presents. Either way 31 DAYS TO FINDING YOUR BLOGGING MOJO will make you a better blogger if you follow its advice.

You can buy the book as a PDF file at 31daystomojo.com or for Kindle at Amazon.com

I received this book for free for review from the author

Review: Earthen Vessels by Matthew Lee Anderson

EARTHEN VESSELS by Matthew Lee Anderson is a biblical exploration of how the human body matters to our faith. Our bodies are the medium through which we interact with the world and the people around us, yet few evangelicals consider the theological implications of living through our bodies. Anderson points to the incarnation of Jesus as the pattern for viewing the human body as vital to our spiritual journey with God.

Anderson addresses topics such as sexuality, tattoos, death, the effects of social media on the human body, and our culture's drive to alter the human body into an image we'd be more pleased with. Using ample Scripture quotations and quotes from both the most respected and the most controversial of Christian thinkers, Anderson puts forth a thought-provoking dialogue on the most important aspects of being human in a human body.

I especially loved the chapter on spiritual disciplines and the role of the body in our spiritual transformation. This is an insightful book to get people thinking about important issues concerning the body.

I received this book for free for review from Bethany House Publishing.

Review: Four Views on Divine Providence

For centuries theologians and philosophers have studied, formulated, and debated how God can be completely sovereign over the totality of events and creatures of his creation, yet human beings maintain a degree of freedom required for them to be morally responsible for their actions. Is God's sovereignty defined as a meticulous causal determination of all things in creation, or does God's sovereignty rule over a creation where humans have a degree of limited and derived freedom where they are the genuine cause of their own actions? If God's control is meticulous, what is the logical conclusion to the problem of evil? Are human beings really responsible for actions they did not ultimately cause? These are the questions people have wrestled with and a new book published by Zondervan brings together four Christian thinkers with four views of how God's providence actually works in the world--FOUR VIEWS ON DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

The book features Paul Kjoss Helseth with the view "God causes all things," William Lane Craig with the view "God directs all things," Ron Highland with the view "God controls by liberating," and Gregory A. Boyd with the view "God limits his control."

Helseth's view is clearly Calvinist as he describes God as "omnicausal," predetermining everything in his creation exactly as he wants it. The problem with this view is that it logically leads to God as the author of evil and human beings are held responsible for something God planned.

Craig presents the Molinist position, which states that God exercises his meticulous sovereignty primarily his omniscience, specifically God plans the world factoring in the actions of free creatures utilizing what Molinists call "middle knowledge." While this view has its appeal because it appears to allow for genuine human freedom, I think it ultimately fails because what "free" human decisions people make are decided by God beforehand. Craig's view of libertarian freedom is decidedly different than the way it is usually defined and really falls more in line with Calvinism's compatibalist
freedom of inclination.

Highland's view isn't labeled as Calvinist, but it clearly is from reading it, which makes the book only three views of divine freedom. Highland's view suffers the same problems as Helseths, though he presents some important insights about the freeing nature of salvation. His discussion on what evil is and its place in our world is very contradictory in that he defines evil as that that God does not will, yet God's will controls all things. The logical conclusion from his argument is that evil doesn't even exist, a statement he comes just short of making.

Finally, Boyd presents us with the open theist position. This position states that God cannot know for certain what free actions human beings will perform because they are impossible to know until they happen. Open theism redefines God's omniscience as the ability to know all things that are possible to know. Boyd makes the mistake of misinterpreting the biblical witness that God know that future, including all free actions, infallibly and for certain. Open theism denies one of the core attributes of God's nature. That bring said, Boyd is a warm and thoughtful writer, and I enjoyed his essay. I felt that it lacked the arrogance of the Calvinist writers, although I found much disagree with. However, Boyd presents some interesting insights on libertarian freedom. I also enjoyed his discussion on character solidification.

Each of the four essays are followed up by a critique by the other three presenters. These do a great job of exposing the inherent weaknesses of each view.

Though I don't subscribe to the Arminian view, I think this book would have been improved by including it. All in all, this book is very thought-provoking and a great resource for evaluating your own conclusions about God's providence.

I received this book for free for review from Zondervan.