Runaway Radical, by Amy Hollingsworth and Jonathan Hollingsworth

Jonathan Hollingsworth lived full of passion and a desire to do more, to live radically in obedience to Jesus.  He and his mother chronicle his adventure of faith in Runaway Radical: A Young Man's Reckless Journey to Save the World, in which he reveals a dark side of service on the Dark Continent.  After a life-changing trip to Honduras, where Jonathan met with deep poverty and a deeper helplessness, he came home to his comfortable, middle-class American existence with a renewed determination to change the world.

For Jonathan, changing the world began with asceticism, giving away material possessions, living simply (under his parents' roof), and making plans for a life of service among the poor.  He found a place to serve in Cameroon, raised money and made plans in record time, and settled in with a pastor in an active ministry.  Within days, Jonathan's hopes of having an impact in Africa were dashed.  The pastor with whom he worked was controlling and manipulative.  His movements and interactions with non-Christian Cameroonians, as well as with other missionaries and local Christians not affiliated with his host church, were limited.  Many promises made to Jonathan during the planning of his stay in Africa were broken.  Against the wishes of the pastor, he only served four months of his one-year commitment.

Once he returned home, the manipulation continued.  Jonathan had serious concerns about the African ministry, the use of funds there, the leaders' treatment of church members and others, and the falsehoods about the ministry presented to their American partners.  Jonathan's American pastor  threatened to defame Jonathan if he chose to go public with his concerns.  All of this amounted to Jonathan's feeling distant from church, and, ultimately, from God.

Jonathan's story is a cautionary tale about the dangers of the new radicalism, which fosters a new kind of legalism.  He writes, "The legalism I rejected proclaimed, Look how good I am because of what I don't do.  The legalism I accepted proclaimed, Look how good I am because of what I do."  Either legalism puts the self in the center, and attempts to put self in control.  Many young Christians have become disillusioned because they can't meet the demands of the new radicalism.  They are "challenged to impact and serve the world in radical way, but we never learned how to be an average person living an average life."

I was sickened by the way trusted leaders in Jonathan's life stole his passion and quenched his desire to serve.  Instead of teaching him to share grace, they taught him that he wasn't submissive enough--to them.  Instead of fostering a passion to follow Christ, they taught him that serving God means following manipulative, controlling church leaders.  It was a failure of discipleship, a failure to teach, a failure to lead, and Jonathan was a victim of their failure.

Jonathan's story is certainly heart breaking.  He does a service by shedding light on the dangers of legalism in every form.  More specifically, he offers a warning to others who are making sacrifices in order to serve in Africa.  He has plenty of stories of Westerners who were deceived, abused, or cheated by African ministry partners.  Unfortunately, the tone of his book is very negative about missions altogether.  I know he would acknowledge that there are worthy missionaries and ministries, but it's easy to see that he is suspicious especially of his peers who are radically serving, assuming they are living under a legalistic drive to prove themselves to God by doing good.

Before he left for Africa, Jonathan read many books by and about "passionate do-gooders" who serve in Africa.  He's right about one thing: these stories inevitably focus on successful, life-changing events and ministries.  So I affirm his efforts in telling his story in Runaway Radical.  Christians, and especially missionaries in training, need to know the realities of failure, of conflict, of the fallenness of people in church leadership on every continent.  I wish Jonathan's story had more balance, but I suppose he brings a balance to every other missionary story in print.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Head Lice, by Elise Gravel

So I guess if there have to be head lice in the world, we might as get a laugh out of them.  Elise Gravel portrays the head louse as a cute and friendly creature in Head Lice, another addition to her Disgusting Creature series.  I found it to be very informative, and can definitely see its usefulness in teaching young children about head lice.  Readers will learn that head lice feed on human blood, live in and lay eggs in human hair, but can only travel from head to head by contact, or by catching a ride on a shared hat or clothes.

The head louse.
The epitome of cute and friendly.

Like the other Disgusting Creatures books, Head Lice would benefit from some photographs or more realistic drawings of head lice, at least as an appendix.  I would also like to have seen more advice for dealing with lice.  "Next time you see a head louse . . . RUN AWAY!" is a bit lacking.

Gravel's Head Lice is funny, the illustrations are eye-catching, and kids will actually learn something!  Every teacher will want this to be a part of his or her class reading time, head lice outbreak or not.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

The Gift God Wants, by Lenae Litzinger

Lenae Litzinger had lived much of her life seeking to please God and others through her own efforts.  Gradually she began to relinquish control and enter into more intimacy with God.  As illustrated in the cover photograph of her book The Gift God Wants: Finding Joy and Peace in a Life of Surrender, she visualized taking all her "hopes, dreams, talents, all my fears, sins and failures . . . everything that I am, and placing them in a humble, rugged box with a little bow and presenting my 'gift' to the Savior."  The book records her experiences as she learns to give that gift to Jesus.

What Mrs. Litzinger lacks in theological depth and biblical insight she makes up for with her honest and personal reflections on what God has taught her.  The Gift God Wants is a very personal narrative.  It reminded me of sitting in a church small group with a thoughtful, reflective person who bares her soul as we meet.  The twenty-six short chapters, each followed with several scripture passages, are just right for daily devotional reading.

The Gift God Wants will appeal especially to young women who enjoy narrative, journal-like devotional reading.  But even a middle-age dude like me can enjoy and be inspired by her writing!


Thanks to Lenae Litzinger for the complimentary review copy!

Politically Incorrect Jesus, by Joe Battaglia

Joe Battaglia, a veteran of media and culture, has a few things to say about culture and the culture wars.  As he writes in The Politically Incorrect Jesus: Living Boldly in a Culture of Unbelief, he doesn't have a lot of patience with political correctness, which he defines as "the 'chic' moral ideology of the day advocated and fleshed out in the public square by self-appointed gatekeepers of public opinion to the point where that definition becomes 'fashionable.'"  In 24 short chapters, Battaglia challenges Christians to be salt and light (and fertilizer) in a culture that demands conformity, a version of tolerance, and a rejection of biblical Christian standards.

Lest you lump Battaglia in with "culture warriors" as maligned and caricatured in the media, he makes it clear that he does not "believe the government could actually become the savior of the American society."  He never wants to "raise the flag higher than the cross."  Culture warriors need to "leave Jesus out of it," so that their political agenda doesn't distract from Jesus' mission.

Nevertheless, cultural and theologically conservative Christians will find common ground with Battaglia.  He bemoans the coarseness of the media, which celebrates voyeurism and has removed a sense of shame.  He questions "tolerance" that refuses to acknowledge the obvious.  For example, after 9-11, law enforcement been criticized for paying more attention to the American Islamic community.  But he asks, based on what we know about who has committed acts of terrorism, "Where else are you going to look first?"

Huge problems arise when PC culture would "have everyone believe that moral absolutes do not exist . . . which is absurd. . . . Not only does it promulgate intellectual dishonesty, it asks us to disregard the internal moral compass built into each of us by the Creator."  In spite of our efforts, "we cannot answer the great questions of life by looking inside ourselves.  We cannot find within us that which can only be found outside of us."  The result is violence, societal unrest, broken families, social isolation, and on and on.

Battaglia wants Christians to be known for what they stand for, not what they stand against.  He offers plenty of food for though in The Politically Incorrect Jesus.  Although not heavy on prescriptive norms, he instead leaves the reader with a framework for thinking about engaging culture.  "Living boldly" as a believer begins with recognizing the ways in which culture today tends unnecessarily to silence voices of faith.  As Christ-followers, "Jesus expects [Christians] to actually believe everything He said and be His representative here on earth."  Yes, that is often a non-PC way to live.  But Jesus set the standard for bucking the PC culture of his day.  In following him, Christians should do the same.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

The Room, by Jonas Karlsson

Jonas Karlsson's commentary on modern office life, The Room, is a strange and entertaining little fable.  Bjorn works at an office doing . . . well, we're not really sure what exactly he does.  Writing reports, trying to work his way up the ladder.  In any case, he finds people around him generally insufferable.  Which is OK, because people find him to be insufferable, too.

When he moves to a new floor, Bjorn comes across a room, a small, apparently unused office.  He takes advantage of the fact that no one else seems to be using it, and finds there a place of respite and, in fact, a place where he can get lots of work done.  The catch is that no one can see the room, and when he enters it, others see him standing beside the wall as if in a trance.  Awkwardness ensues, and the rest of the office insists that he not do that.

I'm not sure if we ever know whether there is some portal or supernatural room there, or if it's all in his head, but that's not really the point.  Karlsson's project is exploring our relationships with others and with the world around us, in the office or otherwise.  Bjorn regularly turns conversations and interactions around, viewing himself as superior to the people around him.

I got a kick out of Bjorn's social interactions.  He has an ongoing feud with his desk mate, whose messy habits inevitably intrude upon Bjorn's neat streak.  In spite of himself, he nearly engages in an office romance, although even when meeting this attractive lady his social aloofness persisted: "'My name's Margareta, by the way.' 'Oh,' I said, then thought that I ought to say something more.  She looked as if she were expecting a reply, but what could I say?  What could I possibly have to say about her name?  Her name was Margareta.  Okay.  Good.  Nice name."

Comparisons have been made to Kafka, and I think they're apt.  Karlsson doesn't write with the depth or the utter darkness that Kafka's fiction has, but The Room is an offbeat, entertaining story worth a read.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

The Spider, by Elise Gravel

Nobody really likes spiders.  But Elise Gravel's funny and informative book The Spider makes them cute and approachable.  Gravel describes spiders' habitats, mating habits (the female eating the male) and usefulness.  She reminds us that most spiders are not dangerous, and they can even help us by eating insects.

Did you know some spiders carry their babies on their backs?
Now you do.

I do have two mild criticisms: one, Gravel points out, correctly, that the spider is not an insect, as it has eight legs.  But then she twice says spiders "eat other insects."  This could be confusing.  Second, as much as I like her silly drawings, I think a short appendix with photographs or realistic drawings of spiders would have add a lot to the educational value of the book.

The witty text and silly drawings combine for a great little introduction to our friend, the spider.  The Spider is fun, educational, and sure to be enjoyed by elementary age boys and girls.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Why We Pray, by William Philip

Glasgow minister William Philip would certainly encourage his congregation to pray, but in his new book Why We Pray his concern "is not with an exhortation to pray but with an explanation of prayer."  He writes that "nothing is more important and nothing more difficult to maintain than a meaningful prayer life," so an explanation is in order.

Here are the four reasons we pray:

• God is a speaking God
• We are sons of God
• God is a sovereign God
• We have the spirit of God

Prayer is all about talking.  We speak to people with whom we want to have a relationship.  "Speech is the audible form of a real and living relationship."  We were created for relationship with God, and "we have been redeemed that we might again respond to him."  This, to me, is one of the most important points Philip makes.  We don't pray because we are worthy to approach God, but because of our status as adopted children of God.  Our purity or sincerity are irrelevant to our ability or worthiness in prayer.  Because of our adopted status, "God cannot not hear us."  So when we pray not believing that God hears, or when we don't pray, we are "disbelieving the gospel."

I struggled with Philip's exposition on the third point: God's sovereignty.  I agree that prayer should not primarily about asking for stuff.  Christians have long struggled with "the efficacy of prayer" as C.S. Lewis wrote about.  Responding to the common assertion that "prayer changes things," Philip writes, "People repeating this phrase rather assume . . . that God won't work unless we pray, or (worse) that God can't work unless we pray," implying that "God is, in fact, impotent without the help of our prayers."

A better approach is to think of prayer as agreeing with God.  Because we have the spirit of God, we are alongside him, like a less-skilled player playing alongside the all-time league champion on the same team.  Philips writes, "So if we mean by the phrase, 'Prayer changes things' that prayer takes control of God and his thoughts and his ways, I'm afraid that just won't do at all.  A much better dictum is this: 'Prayer is thinking his thoughts after him.'"

I can't argue with this.  I was nodding right along with him.  But later on, I'm thinking about praying for specific things, about the woman pleading with the judge, about other scriptures that point to asking God.  I have to conclude that this is one of those enigmas of faith.  I don't subscribe to open theism, which Philips links to the idea that we change God's mind when we pray and that God does not know or control the future.  However difficult it is to reconcile God's perfect knowledge and our need to bring our petitions to him, I think we can, in faith, believe both.

Nevertheless, Philip's book is pastoral and readable.  What a great reminder that as God's children, God wants to hear from us.  Now that Philips has provided a rationale for why we pray, well, let's pray!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!