Education Books - Page 6

When God Weeps

Joni Eareckson Tada, Rev. Steve Estes

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

If God Is Loving, Why Is There Suffering?

When suffering touches our lives, the questions it raises suddenly demand answers. It’s one thing to break a leg and wait for it to heal. It’s another to experience the kind of wrenching pain that can disable our hearts, our minds, our attitudes, and our faith. If God is there and he’s good, how can such suffering exist—and what purpose can it possibly serve?

After almost forty years in a wheelchair, Joni Eareckson Tada’s intimate experience with suffering gives her a special understanding of God’s intentions for people in their pain. In this ZondervanGroupware™, she and lifelong friend Steven Estes guide you and your group beyond glib answers. Through six powerful group sessions that include video clips and penetrating discussions, they share glimpses into Joni’s personal journey as well as the struggles—and triumphs—of others: children with disabilities, a woman who lost two sons and her marriage, a friend with a debilitating disease. When God Weeps will help your group discover a God who is big enough to understand suffering, wise enough to allow it, and powerful enough to use it for a greater good than any of us can ever imagine.

When God Weeps sessions:

1. A Good God in a Suffering World
2. What Can Suffering Accomplish in Our Lives?
3. How We Respond to Suffering Matters
4. Jesus Gives Us Hope
5. Finding Contentment
6. A Look Toward Heaven

Making Small Groups Work: What Every Small Group Leader Needs to Know

Henry Cloud, John Townsend

Amazon Price: $24.99 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Zondervan Amazon Marketplace: 16 new & used starting at $15.75

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A great disappointment... 2 out of 5 stars.
16 of 20 people found this review helpful.

I bought the unabridged audiotape version of this book, hoping to utilize some significant portions of road-trip time to learn more for my leadership role with our church's small group ministry. Though not normally a Cloud/Townsend fan, I was pleased to hear them introduce the book by indicating that they would discuss two questions that all church leaders are asking: how do we find more small group leaders and how do we train them. They proceeded to spend the next eight hours completely ignoring those key questions. I only wish they would have answered them.

Instead of offering strategic, visionary, thought-provoking advice for ministry leaders and small group leaders, Cloud and Townsend rambled on about how to deal with people's feelings and emotions. This type of book is exactly why I generally avoid books written by Christian counselors. I couldn't begin to count the number of times that they referred to feelings and emotions. While I know that emotional understanding is important to leading people in groups, there is so much more to it. I agree with an earlier reviewer who suggested that this book is primarily geared toward leading support groups. While important, that is only one type of legitimate group within the church. The title of this book presumes to be too broadly applicable, when their focus is very narrow.

I was also annoyed by their insistence on using the word "facilitator," rather than "leader." I think that every lousy group that I've attended resulted from the mindset of the leader that they wanted to facilitate and not lead. What groups need is passionate, committed, and competent leadership, not just facilitators.

As another irritation, despite the multitude of fantastic small group resources available, Cloud and Townsend did not refer to a single resource other than their own books. It's as if they feel specially enabled to speak with authority about small groups, and no one else in the world has anything to add. That's nothing if not arrogant.

Finally, they included innumerable scripts for precise wording that leaders should use within the group context. The suggestions that they offer are so wooden and trite that any leader who would actually say those things to people would yield nothing but laughter. It is so much more helpful to describe concepts and ideas, rather than pat one-liners.

The best part of the book came near the end, when they discussed the plague of spiritualization that often happens in Christian small groups. Those few minutes were very worthwhile, and I wished they had covered the topic more thoroughly (though they were kind enough to suggest that I read another one of their books on the topic!!).

Quite frankly, I would not recommend this book to anyone, with the possible exception of a support group leader. It was boring and lacked any substantive strategic help for church and small group leaders. Check out Donahue and Robinson's "Walking the Small Group Tightrope," Frazee's "The Connecting Church," or Willits' "Creating Community" instead.

Editorial Review:

This book provides small-group leaders with everything they need to know to help their small group of any kind. It's an operating system for small groups. You'll get the most out of your group, no matter your topic, from divorce recovery to marriage enrichment, from grief recovery to spiritual formation—grow spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. Read by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend.

Changed Into His Image: God's Plan for Transforming Your Life

Jim Berg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

My review from www.CompleteInChrist.net 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Jim Berg, the author, will give you the 'big picture' of sanctification (the believer's growth in holiness). He uses Ephesians 4.22ff as his outline for the book. In that passage, the apostle Paul gives us God's plan for growth in Christlikeness. Three parts of sanctification are given: putting off the old man, having your mind renewed, and putting on the new man. These 3 parts of sanctification could also be called 3 responsibilities for the Christian. This is the blueprint that God gives us for growth in holiness; if a man should expect to see any growth in the Christian life, it is only reasonable that he 'follow God's plan.'

Berg's first chapter is an introduction to the book. There he highlights the goal of sanctification - Christlike humility, and tells us in a nutshell how we reach that goal. We are to work hard (putting off, renewing our minds, and putting on) while we trust the "Person of Change" (the Holy Spirit) to produce the fruit in our lives. The rest of the book explains what it means to put off, renew our minds, and put on. Berg gives 4 chapters per responsibility.

Berg does an excellent job explaining Scripture. He is clear and interesting. His illustrations are very helpful. Not only is he clear, he is applicational. Truth from God's Word is never meant to be only 'understood.' The job of a teacher of the Word is to teach others 'to observe.' Berg does that. He shows the reader how to apply the truths. He intends, as much as he is able, to make it easy to obey by giving simple steps to follow.

This book will be one that you will go back to over and over again. You will use it for your own life. You will use it as you disciple your children, encourage your husband/wife, give counsel to your co-workers, and on and on. It will give clarity to your thinking about the Christian life. It will give you much hope as you see how God intends for you to change to be like Him. It will give you wisdom as you know how to better counsel others from the Word.

Jim Berg is from Bob Jones University. Expect to see some 'separatist fundamentalism' coming out of him. It is unfortunate that Berg uses the King James Version throughout the book. He is not KJV only, but he does prefer the translation for some reason. He does though, explain the out-of-date words for the reader.

Berg assumes that rock music is wrong. He does not make a big deal about it by trying to prove that it is so. He gives an illustration describing a boy that listens to rock music. Most readers will stumble at that point not getting Berg's point. Remember that he assumes rock music is wrong. He does not think that some rock music is wrong, but that all of it is - the very beat itself.

Berg also says that every Christian should be a part of a 'fundamentalist' church. Just assume that the word, 'fundamentalist,' means 'biblical,' and you will be fine.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, inspite of these things, and I am sure you will too.

Hard Questions, Real Answers

William Lane Craig

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

One of the Best Apologetics Books Ever! 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 12 people found this review helpful.

I have always respected the brain power of William Lane Craig. He is quite simply one of the most brilliant Christian men alive today. For this reason, I was afraid to read this book because I thought that his thinking would be so superior to my own that I would never be able to grasp his thought.

But alas, I am happy to report that this book was a delightful read, a beautiful collection of messages that Craig gave on hot potato topics such as the problem of evil, abortion, homosexuality, doubt, failure, and unanswered prayer. Craig is very practical and pastoral (and often quite humorous).

This book encouraged my faith so much that before I was done, I ordered a copy for my mom and a copy for my sister in law.

I especially appreciated the powerful chapter on unanswered prayer, where Craig gives a number of solid reasons why a person's prayers often go unanswered (personal sin, lack of passion, lack of persistence, self-centered praying, and praying for something that isn't God's will (1 John 5:14). He also highlights some New Testament prayers as paradigms for how we should pray.

I also profited greatly from the two chapters dealing with the problem of evil, as this issue has always stumped me when trying to reason through this issue with atheists and agnostics.

The chapter on failure was also insightful, as I learned how God's most profound lessons in life are learned through failure.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is easily one of the best books I have read in the year 2006.

Rev. Marc Axelrod

Editorial Review:

Nonbelievers, and even Christians, are often troubled by questions about suffering, doubt, failure, and unanswered prayer. Yet careful, compassionate answers are hard to find, in part because evangelicals have not taken the life of the mind seriously enough. The intellectual currents of our day are just too strong for simplistic responses.

In Hard Questions, Real Answers, William Lane Craig doesn't offer trite phrases or pat answers he offers honest insights gained from a life of study and ministry. Readers in the midst of doubt and confusion will find real answers to these perplexing questions and learn to stand on the only sure foundation for hope God Himself. This expanded new edition includes chapters on abortion and homosexuality to help readers know how to think about these volatile social issues.

One Minute Wisdom

Anthony De Mello

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Outstanding Work 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 14 people found this review helpful.

For those among us in the hunt for a deliverance of some sort, the late Fr. Anthony de Mello delivers the goods right here. My first exposure to Anthony de Mello was via his book titled Awareness. I don't want to spend time reviewing another book here, but it likewise is a must have. One Minute Wisdom is a book filled to the brim with sharp, charming, and sometimes outright hilarious axioms from all-around the world. De Mello dips into the treasure fields of the Gospels, Eastern and Western mysticism, et cetera. He unabashedly borrows from any spiritually sound tradition, be that a Christian or even Buddhist source. As he once put it rather succinctly in another work of his titled Taking Flight, "Truth only calls for an open mind." And an open mind he most indubitably did have! These parables/allegories cut straight to the heart of spirituality. No commentary by de Mello, no personal interpretations of his own here (though his insights in other works are always very insightful). No, he leaves commentary up to us readers in this one. He literally covers just about anything you can visualize people setting out for a voyage into the spiritual plateau could need. Buy the book. Your going to absolutely love it.

Editorial Review:

Whatever your religious persuasion--or even if you have no religious beliefs at all--you will find in these pages needed and helpful direction in the ongoing process of self-discovery and the satisfying riches that lie deep within you.

10 Great Dates to Energize Your Marriage Leader's Guide

David Arp, Claudia Arp, David

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wonderful Ideas 4 out of 5 stars.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.

There are some really wonderful ideas in this book -- although, in all honesty, some are rather ordinary. Take what is meaningful to you and put it into practice. My wife and I still "date" after 17 years together.

If you are looking for more creative dates I'd recommend you check out 300creativedates. com -- I came across the site and the material was outstanding.

Marriage builder 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

My husband and I have gone thru this book twice. It's so easy to read and fun to put into effect. Who ever said you couldn't have romance AND marriage!?

Not what I was expecting 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Don't buy this book as a gift, unless you want to tell the recipients their marriage is on the rocks.

I got this book as a present for my sister-in-law and her husband, thinking it would be a lighthearted list of FUN ideas for things to do in their new free time. Wrong-o.

This book might be excellent for couples who are really, really fixated with their relationship, but for couples who just want to enjoy each other's company ... keep looking!

Editorial Review:

This is the Leader's Guide for the 10 Great Dates to Energize Your Marriage curriculum.

God's Pursuit of Man

A.W. Tozer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Just a Closer Walk with Thee. 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

AW Tozer's works have one aim in sight; that the believer walk with God in Spirit and in Truth. His holy zeal is for nothing more than for the believer to have an experience with the living God, and not be content with what Paul called "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof."

It is fitting that Rev. Tozer would begin this work with the scripture from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12 v. 12 "And further, by these, my son, be admonished : of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh."

One merely has to go to their Christian bookstore and see that there is an endless supply of spiritual books, promising everything from wealth and riches in this life, deliverance, a Godly marriage, prayer, etc. However Rev. Tozer's writings are on an altogether higher spiritual plain. His Christianity is without pretense or promises. His one aim is to "know Him in the power of His resurrection and in the fellowship of His sufferings." Tozer's words cut to the quick. You can see that as he received his insight by revelation it required that he go to the same Cross he is pointing the rest of us to.

Tozer spares not what he calls "the Adamic ego." Whether we refer to this as "the flesh," or the "old man," the fact remains that there MUST be a death if we are to ever become what God ordained us to be.

Tozer is a firm believer in prevenient grace; God is on the throne at all times. Approaching this great and august Being presumptuously is to do so in vain. To Tozer, God was not an inference, a deduction, but rather a reality.

I can honestly say that I can only read a page or two of Tozer's writings at one sitting. He condenses spiritual truth so that if you do not read in a prayerful way, it is easy to miss his point, it is that sublime.

I have long recommended his works to those who want a closer walk with the Lord. Tozer's book "The Pursuit of God" was written first; this book is billed as a prequel written two years later. Both are worthy of intense study and incorporation into your daily quiet time.

You won't be disappointed. I know what Tozer's works have done for me.

Editorial Review:

Tozer's profound "prequel" to The Pursuit of God. Previously published as The Divine Conquest and The Pursuit of Man, WingSpread Publishers has released this book with a new title that better describes Tozer's original intention for this book. Although written two years after the publication of The Pursuit of God, Tozer's God's Pursuit of Man speaks fervently of God's desire for man to be saved and the action He takes as He "invades" the human soul. A beautiful new cover will reach a whole new generation of readers.

Gift of the Red Bird: A Spiritual Encounter

Paula D'Arcy

List Price: $16.95 By: Crossroad Publishing Company, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 34 new & used starting at $0.05

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Short but beautiful book . . . 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Gift of the Red Bird, a Spiritual Encounter, reads like a journal from Paula D'Arcy's life. On August 18, 1975, on a return trip home to Connecticut, Paula's car was struck by a drunk motorist. Her daughter, Sarah, died of head injuries on August 20, and her husband died three days later from a ruptured spleen. Paula was alive and three months pregnant with her second baby daughter, Beth. For this reason, she went on living.

Gift of the Red Bird tells of a story of extreme loss and ache, of searching for answers, of making sense out of the pain, and of looking for some light in the darkness.

This is Paula's journey, and when she goes on a wilderness retreat -- where it's just her, God, and nature -- she begins to get some comfort for her wounds.

A deeply moving narrative, this book may be short, but the message is deep and lasting. It's a journey well worth taking for anyone who has ever had a tragedy hit their lives where they've had the same questions.

Editorial Review:

When Paula D'Arcy lost her husband and baby in a car crash, she began an inner search for a faith that was stronger than fear. In Gift of the Red Bird she shares her remarkable spiritual adventure.

Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany: Liturgies and Prayers for Public Worship

Brian Wren

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Leading Life-Changing Small Groups

Bill Donahue

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Help for all phases of small group life. 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 15 people found this review helpful.

Whether you have led small groups for years or you are just starting out, you will find practical advice in this great resource. The text is easy to follow and can easily be used by small group leaders as they "group" together to learn to lead.

Most of the Church is now focussed on relational evangelism. What better way to cultivate a personal relationship than in the small group. The group offers the opportunity to really know each other. Once strong relationships are in place, people begin to grow, multiplication takes place, and lives are changed.

If this is what you want to accomplish you will find easy to understand technique in Leading a Life Changing Small Group.

Small group training manual 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Our congregation has used Bill Donahue's Leading Life-Changing Small Groups as our primary reference manual for training small group leaders for over 5 years. It gets right to the heart of the organization and leadership issues needed for successful ministry. It is also an excellent reference for avoiding and resolving problems that may occur as people get to know one another.

Editorial Review:

Now revised, a comprehensive leadership tool for small group leaders and for churches seeking to structure their ministries around small groups.