Wednesday, April 22, 2015

A.D. The Bible Continues: The Revolution That Changed the World by David Jeremiah

A.D. The Bible Continues: The Revolution That Changed the World by David Jeremiah, is based on the new popular TV series.  Part documentary, and part theology, this book melds the best of David Jeremiah's well known biblical commentary into an easy to read and easy to follow drama.  For new Christians or for audiences not familiar with the bible, I believe readers of all backgrounds will find value from this new book.  Part of a two book series this book can be read independently.  For those who have not watched the television series, this book can still be followed as an independent work.

This is a wonderful outreach opportunity to read those millions of readers and television enthusiasts who may not respond to the message of faith delivered in a more formal method.  For those who don't have the interest in reading the bible or sitting through a sermon, this book and the documentary series provides a wonderful opportunity to educate even more people about the bible and to share the gospel message of hope in a modern and non threatening way.  Jeremiah writes in an easy to understand, animated style that appeals to readers of all ages and educational backgrounds.  One needs not be a theologian to understand and apply the lessons learned. For those who like drama and entertainment, this book is written in a unique and fast paced point of view.  I support any new method to get the gospel message out to as many people as possible.  As a blogger for Tyndale, I received a copy of this book for the purpose of writing this review.

John C. Maxwell's The Complete 101 Collection

Many readers of modern Christian classics are familiar with John C. Maxwell's works. He is a best-selling author of many books.  His newest release is the compendium: The Complete 101 Collection which is the widely used  series of leadership books.

This easy to read book presents leadership skills in light of scripture. This book belongs on the book shelf or office of any leader: pastor, teacher, professor, store manager or  CEO.  Whether you are leading a large corporation, small business, bible study group or even a family this book will provide scriptural thoughts and inspiration.  Countless numbers of people assume a "leadership" role and many more strive to do so, simply for the sake of power.  Yet there is more than leadership than the obvious high profile primary gains. SO many abuse their perceived power.  Leadership takes responsibility and those in leader ship roles owe it to their constituents to be prepared. this down to earth book provides direction.  It is like a mentor and course in one volume.  As a blogger for Booklook, I received a copy of this book for the purpose of writing this review.


As with any "course", registrants may wish to look at the curriculum or syllabus before purchase.  The following topics (taken from the editorial marketing summary) are covered in this single volume.  This book can be read at a pace similar to a course, or it can be read all at once as an "accelerated" learning experience.
  • Attitude 101 Attitude is contagious, so make sure your team is catching the right one.
  • Self-Improvement 101 To improve your life, improve yourself.
  • Leadership 101 No matter who you are, you can lead?
  • Relationships 101 Great leadership is built on great relationships
  • Success 101 Success may look different for each person, but the principles remain the same.
  • Teamwork 101 Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships.
  • Equipping 101 Leaders with an equipped team possess an edge that will help them win.
  • Mentoring 101 Multiply your impact by increasing the number of leaders on your team.

Friday, April 3, 2015

The Mother and Child Project by Hope for Healing Hands

The Mother and Child Project Raising Our Voices for Health and Hope

 Compiled by Hope for Healing Hands. Foreword by Kay Warren, Preface by Melinda gates is an eye opener about the injustice and the epidemic of child marriage and child birth which is common in third world and impoverished countries. This book contains a number of short, simple articles by a variety of authors and contributors.  In this modern day, there is no shortage of campaigns, projects and missions ranging from autism awareness, AIDs benefits, and animal rights organizations. Yet buried beneath all the social propaganda to promote more popular awareness agendas, the young women in impoverished countries in Africa as well as India and many others, are often forgotten- and they have no voice or advocate.  There are teenaged girls and even younger girls forced into early arranged marriage and childbirth.  Without going into the psychological and emotional trauma, these girls must bear physical trauma and even death as their bodies are not ready for marriage and childbirth.  These women and girls have no access to health care, much less prenatal care.  Furthermore, if something goes wrong during labor, which is likely considering their young age, and the fact they themselves are not fully grown, then these  girls may face hours and even days of painful, non productive labor, which often ends with maternal death and stillbirth. Even if the mother is "unfortunate" enough to survive- and I say "unfortunate" because who would want to survive in such impoverished and oppressed conditions-  these women face permanent debilitating injury such as fistulas which result in ongoing infection as well as urinary and fecal incontinence. Furthermore, to add insult to injury, these women and girls are shamed and abandoned  as a result and forced out of their homes to lead a life of begging on the streets. These girls are denied an education, autonomy, health care and simple methods of birth control. 

This is an issue that not many Americans are made aware of as it has not gained much publicity.  I recall years ago when I first researched this issue, there was very little presence on the internet and not too many resources available.  Any information available was presented from the secular point of view, and the Christian voice remained silent.  It is wonderful to se this book written with a biblical perspective on this issue.  Many "traditional" religionists may simple choose to ignore this growing world problem.  In fact many hypocrites may ignore it in their erroneous belief that birth control constitutes a sin.  Such rigid critics choose to ignore the suffering of these women and girls, in order to maintain the charade of their own hypocrisy when it comes  to the complexities of the suffering faced in the world. 

This book is simple to read.  For such an urgent issue, it is crucial that the message is not lost in excessive wordiness or theology.  Each essay literally takes minutes to read and is easily understood.  There is focus on the plight of individuals as well as the perspective from a general point of view.  It is important that this book has been published to make the world aware of this inhuman condition that women and girls face.  As a blogger for Booklook I received a copy of this book published by Zondervan for the purpose of writing this review.