Review: Permission Is Granted to Do Church Differently in the 21st Century

Permission Is Granted to Do Church Differently in the 21st Century by Graham Cooke
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Most reviewers who gave this book 5 stars probably would be of the same mindset as the Cooke and Goodell- one of an uninstituitional Frank Viola type of church. This book suffers from the same fatal flaw as its cousin Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore by Thom Schultz, Joani Schultz. The latter simply seems to adopt a highly critical and proof-texting approach to support their lifetree cafe model, and the former, third day church model.

While my background of growing up in a dysfunctional, legalistic and dogmatic church should incline me to agree with Cooke, Goodell and the Schultzs, I'm not convinced by the pages after pages of criticism against the church as we know it. I did agree with some of the criticisms, but I struggled to get past the weak hermeneutics and puzzling reconstructions that were utilised to explain why we have to do church exactly the same way as in the new testament. I could only bring myself to read until page 111 on my kindle before I gave up.

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Review: Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission (New Studies in Biblical Theology

Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission (New Studies in Biblical Theology by Andreas J. Kostenberger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The book is full of extremely "heavy" theological content and is difficult to skim through quickly. It is great for academic study and research purposes but a little too in depth for lay readers.

The last chapter (concluding synthesis) provides a "light" and easily comprehensible summary of the topic, and should possibly have been included as the first chapter. I would recommend that non-bible-scholars borrow this book from their church or public libraries and head straight for the concluding synthesis.

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Review: Posers, Fakers, and Wannabes: Unmasking the Real You

Posers, Fakers, and Wannabes: Unmasking the Real You by Brennan Manning
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Honestly I could only force myself to read until page 75. I simply could not connect with the author. I can roughly guess what he is trying to convey but I found that I had to guess what he was trying to imply. It have been quite popular to have been translated into many different languages, so maybe my brain is just wired a little differently.

Unfortunately Manning's approach did not interest me after reading other theologically rich titles on spiritual formation, by James Bryan Smith (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...) and Kenneth Boa (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...) for example. These two I heartily recommend.

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Review: Givers, Takers & Other Kinds of Lovers

Givers, Takers & Other Kinds of Lovers by Josh McDowell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One would assume that a book so dated would not be relevant to 2015. I was sincerely surprised to find how a book written 35 years would speak to us today? I've read Joshua Harris' best selling I've kissed dating goodbye, but it seemed to speak to a different kind of audience. McDowell and Lewis speak authentically and loving, and the postmodern Christian thinkers of today appreciate that. The how-to books of today, just simply do not cut it.

A pity it has gone out of print, but you still can use bookfinder.com to grab a second hand copy!

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