Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter By Michael White and Tom Corcoran Reviewed by Peter DeHaan Are things not working at your church? Is your congregation aging and attendance dwindling? Are people just going through the motions and not engaged? Do folks arrive at the last minute and scurry off as […]
Three Gospel Meditations on Jesus By Henri Nouwen (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)Heart Speaks to Heart is three prayers to Jesus from Henri Nouwen. The prayers were written in the days preceding Easter, with an eye towards Jesus’ death and resurrection. As such, the prayers are suitable for the Easter season, but they are also appropriate […]
Spiritual Insights from a Real Shephard By Phillip Keller (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)The idea of a shepherd overseeing his flock is a powerful metaphor of the relationship between God and his people. Unfortunately, today’s world has largely lost touch with its agrarian roots, missing much of the deeper meaning of a shepherd’s watch and care over […]
Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices By Frank Viola and George Barna (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)Pagan Christianity? is an eye-opening delineation of how numerous traditions, customs, and practices have been erroneously introduced to the church that Jesus’ followers started. This lengthy list lacks substantive biblical support. Among the things we got wrong are the […]
How People Grow: What the Bible Reveals About Personal Growth By Henry Cloud and John Townsend (reviewed by Peter DeHaan) This book is intended to help people grow and is applicable even when other common approaches have fallen short. The underlying premise is that all growth is spiritual growth, therefore viable growth has a spiritual […]
Hope for the Flowers By Trina Paulus (reviewed by Peter DeHaan) Hope for the Flowers is a delightful allegory offering messages on multiple levels and applicable to all age groups. It is a short book that can be read in about fifteen minutes and is simply, yet effectively, illustrated by its author Trina Paulus. As […]
Between Two Worlds: The Spiritual Journey of an Evangelical Catholic By Mike Timmis (reviewed by Peter DeHaan) The subtitle of Between Two Worlds serves as an apt and accurate summary of what the book is about: “The Spiritual Journey of an Evangelical Catholic.” At first consideration, the phrase “Evangelical Catholic” seems to be a contradiction […]
10 From the Past Who Speak to Our Future By Chris R. Armstrong (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)In Patron Saints for Postmoderns: 10 From the Past Who Speak to Our Future, author Chris Armstrong examines the lives of ten extraordinary people whose examples transcend time and teach us today. While they may have preceded us in […]
The Aedyn Chronicles: Chosen Ones By Alister McGrath (reviewed by Peter DeHaan) In tween fantasy book, The Aedyn Chronicles: Chosen Ones, Peter and Julia’s parents send them to live with their grandparents in rural England. Amid their bickering, they discover a mysterious garden and its enchanted pool, which transports them to an ancient mythical island. […]
Joining the Revolution to Lift the World Out of Poverty By Peter Greer and Phil Smith (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)Over half of the people in the world live on less than four dollars per day and one billion of them live on less than a dollar a day. Most of them reside in developing countries. […]