At the same time, he warns that "…giving things to the poor does much more to make the giver feel good than it does to fundamentally address and improve the condition of those in need." (p 126) The fundamental issues which must be addressed are injustice that results from corrupt governments and the disparity between the wealthy of the world and the poor. Those systems "…must be challenged to achieve any lasting escape from poverty…" (p 127)

Unfortunately, Stearns gives limited attention to the role of education in helping poor people to solve their own problems although he concedes that "…no long term escape from poverty is possible without…the education of children." (p 155) He also insists that "…the single most significant thing that can be done to cure extreme poverty is to "…protect, educate and nurture girls and women and provide them with equal rights and opportunities…" (p 157)

Stearns sharp criticism of the American church is on target when he writes, "…the church in America must confront the uncomfortable challenge of being endowed with an abundance of blessings in an extremely poor world." (p 172)

The Hole in Our Gospel is a challenging read for those who are willing to be confronted with the uncomfortable truth and with Jesus' unequivocal mandate to serve the poor.
Reviewer --> D. J. Westermann - President of Godparents for Tanzania

Have you been faced with caring for a grieving child? You will appreciate how helpful and accessible this book is. Some things are obvious, but hearing them again from Pastor Long Lasher is so helpful. Is it helpful to try and 'protect' a child from death? Not really; they will figure it out anyway. Is there some magical formula? No. We all grieve differently and children are no exception. These and many other insights assist you in listening to and journeying with a child who grieves.

Repeatedly Pastor Long Lasher provides the best and latest information on grief work and how children do it. There is great variety. Yet, there are things you need to know, like the appropriate developmental stages of children. Each child is individual, but will most likely exhibit some of the characteristics of the five groups she discusses. This, again, is an example of the helpfulness of this book. Accurate information helps you and the child. It is in these pages.

As people of faith we can be "ministers of presence." Children need significant and loving adults in their lives as they grieve. Pastor Long Lasher places us in the community of faith and reminds us of the promise and power of God's love for us in the cross. While our Christian hope does not remove the sadness or loneliness, it is key to bringing comfort and hope. This is a faithful book when so many books on grief are not.

My suggestion to you is buy it, read it, and give it to anyone you know who can benefit by having it as they respectfully and lovingly walk with a child who grieves.
Reviewer --> Pastor Robert F. Holley, Summerville, South Carolina

Far more significant is the discussion in the opening chapter of desire. Wanting and always wanting more, better and newer are deeply embedded in the American culture. We are always taught that what we have is not good enough and whatever it is we need something newer and even more awesome. How does that shape your life?

While there are times when the work gets bogged down, weighty with arguments difficult to follow do not fear. If the discussion of Hans Urs Von Balthasar in chapter four leaves you cold, just skip ahead, there is still plenty to chew on and plenty that is accessible to you.

Particularly in these times of economic distress it is important to consider where and how we spend our money. It is even more important to consider how our spending choices are a reflection of the faith we confess. What do your checkbook and credit card statement and mortgage bill reveal about what you believe in?   Reviewer --> Pastor Paul Walters

Smoke Screen, by Kyle Mills, is a fun and fast read, but there is depth here as well. This is good because it takes away some of the guilt of reading such a fun and funny book.

Smoke Screen is the tale of Trevor Barnett, heir to a tobacco fortune, which he only inherits if he remains in the employ of big tobacco until the ripe old age of 60. At 32 this seems like a lifetime and more away. Throughout the book we watch Trevor wrestle with his guilt of working for an industry that produces a popular product that makes many millions of people sick. In time we watch him become a truth telling industry spokesman. A rarity in the industry. On live television Trevor tells the world that cigarette companies know their product makes people sick. At the same time, Trevor argues, in a country that values freedom, Americans should have the right to choose to buy and use the product. If they have such a freedom they need to let go of the need to sue big tobacco out of existence. What should the limits on our freedom be?

The book also considers the hypocrisy of the government's position with regards to tobacco. On the one hand the government claims the high moral ground being against cigarettes and labeling big tobacco as evil. At the same time the government is more than happy to receive all the benefits of taxing cigarettes and individual politicians enjoy generous campaign contributions.

How often do we do this in our own lives? How easy is it to decry low wages and poor and dangerous working conditions in the third world factories while enjoying the benefits of those great low, low prices?

How much as we willing to trade for our comfort? What values go right out the window when the deal is just right?

This is a fun read, and it still manages to make you think! Enjoy.    Reviewer --> Pastor Paul Walters

Consumers of advanced heathenism need read no further! Martin Clarke's novel Plain Heathen Mischief does feature a cast of conniving, law-twisting, crooked schemers-but our main, character, Joel King, isn't really such a bad guy. Sure, as a former pastor he had some inappropriate contact with a girl who was just the wrong side of eighteen-but it was innocent, in some ways, and even when he gets out of jail, having served time for his errors in judgment, he is still committed to the straight and narrow. He's lost his church, his friends, his family, and any hope of a reasonable income, but he intends to keep his head low, his hands clean, and his heart right with God.

He intends.

But what Joel King learns in the course of the mess he makes of his life after prison is that a host of good intentions can't undo the damage of a few small sins. Throughout this brilliantly funny novel, Joel tries in so many ways to make things right-almost as though he's already planned how to make up for every little error before he commits it-so that by the end, we have to admit how hard this man has tried. And yet, the little errors-a lie to his sister, a begrudging, minor role in a scam, reaching out to the girl he sinned against-eventually overwhelm him.

Evil corrodes. A moment of deceit unwinds years of faithful honesty. When Joel finds himself again facing prosecutors and investigators, it finally begins hitting home, that criminal justice sees people every day who are mostly good, but who must be judged for their crimes. And when it comes to a crime, good deeds don't count for much.

We want to take Joel's side. We want him to keep his menial jobs, to get a break from his foul-mouthed parole officer, even to find love again. We can see how he's pushed into corners as an ex-con, how sometimes it looks like the only way he can keep the damage from spreading is to tell one lie, to help out one crooked friend. And at every turn, we really do believe that he's just trying to make things right.

There's a lesson here. Not just about how evil creeps in, like a weed, and takes over-but more importantly for Christian readers, how feeble our attempts can be to right a wrong. Joel's bugaboo is his self-righteousness-his belief that his godly intentions will reign supreme over his petty indiscretions. It's the old Christian problem, where we want our good works (or worse, our belief that we're the good people) to elevate us over our inevitable sinfulness. God is on our side-almost in our pocket, really-bringing us everything good, and if we stray, from time to time-well, how about some quick and easy grace?

Two thousand years, and we still don't get it. God-and only God-can conquer sin. And the more we connive and justify and shade the truth of this, the more we screw up. Even a mighty man of God, like Joel, is no match for 'plain heathen mischief.'

The final irony is how quickly we judge Joel. While we struggle, like him, to stop trying to do God's job when it comes to our own sinfulness, to allow God to reign in our lives when our backs are to the wall, we're so ready to condemn another for doing the same! This wonderful novel, written by a circuit court judge in Stuart, Virginia, who's seen sin destroy so many people who have tried to do better, is finally not so much a warning to Joel, but to us: Joel is driven to his criminal desperation in large part because he has almost no other option. In the end, the heroes of this novel are the people in his life who are willing to forgive him, to give him a hand. We might wish that our Christian duty was to simply correct ourselves and others, to try to create a less sinful world. It's harder than that, though. The battle against evil is God's-and all God asks is complete authority in our lives. I suspect what God will watch is not how closely we try to judge as he judges, but how fully we forgive as he forgives.
Reviewer --> Paul Shepherd, author of the novel    More Like Not Running Away

In an attempt to connect with his Jewish roots and discover just what this religion thing is all about A.J. Jacobs decides to spend a year following the laws of the Bible as closely as possible. As a testament to his commitment the inside cover of the book contains a series of photographs documenting the growth of his beard during the year.

It is not too surprising that Jacobs chronicles a significant amount of absurdity in trying to follow all the laws of the Bible in modern day New York City. In addition the to the beard, Jacobs carries a small camping chair with him wherever he goes because he cannot trust that an unclean person has not soiled a potential seat without his knowledge. He also finds a suggestion from King Solomon in Ecclesiastes: “Let your garments always be white.” His outfits lead him to conclude he has officially “become I’d cross the street to avoid.”

While there is much absurdity, by the end of the year Jacobs also discover that things like daily prayer, fasting and even wearing tassels (to remind him of the ten commandments) really do have an impact. These ancient practices have the power to draw us away from ourselves and connect us however distantly to God.

It is good to be reminded that taking things too seriously and without any sense of perspective or humor for that matter is never a healthy thing. And yet, these things, these simple and ancient things are important. Reading scripture, praying, remembering the commandments and what they mean for our lives, these things are important and meaningful. And if this light hearted book can remind us of that to any degree it is worth the time.    Reviewer --> Pastor Paul Walters