Review of "With" by Skye Jethani

I love the concept, the pitch, argumentation and delivery done by Skye Jethani in his book "With". It is very well written and refreshing in the way it promotes the main point of the book: namely that God wants us to spend our lives WITH Him and not in any other way (more on that later). 

I was happy to receive this book in an important period of my life as I am trying to reprioritize to seek more of God's presence daily. "With" came in very timely for me to this end!

The book's main concept revolves around prepositions. Rather than living "over", "under", "from" and even "for" God, we are encouraged to - as the subtitle states - to reimagine the way we relate to God. Reimagine in such a way as to bring back the ultimate preposition. With. To live with God.

Beautiful, simple and powerful book - much like a relationship WITH Jesus. Thank you Skye Jethani for bringing back the WITH with you to my world!

I'm grateful to Thomas Nelson Publishing for providing a complimentary copy of this book via the BookSneeze program.

OT Książki: "Put your dream to the test" John Maxwell

I love reading inspiring books by John Maxwell so I jumped at the opportunity of laying my hands on his "Put your dream to the test". It came in a very opportune time in my life as I'm chasing my life dream of planting a life-giving church.

No wonder I skipped the body of the book on day one and plunged head-first into "the test" at the back end to see where I was. I scored 74 out of 100 for starters, which only whetted my appetite for the book contents in order to make realistic progress on my way to reaching my goal.

Having finished the book, I must say it was very helpful, insightful and practical. Even though, as a business trainer and coach, I was aware of most of the principles mentioned there, it was beneficial that someone with a fresh perspective helped me assess MY dream. The book centers around ten questions that every dreamer needs to answer to make sure they will live to see their dream fulfilled :). There is also a dream map, an extra chapter as it were, that brings together all ten questions again and helps delineate a personal route and set realistic goals to be able to check one's progress.

Since I can't give it a 4,5 score, I will settle for a very solid 4.

I’m thankful to Thomas Nelson Publishing for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book.

PS. Już po polsku - w międzyczasie przeczytałem też "Blink" Malcolma Gladwella, świetną książkę na temat m.in. siły oceny impulsywnej i pierwszego wrażenia.

OT Książki: "The Jesus Inquest" Charles Foster

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this para-scientific book on – as the subtitle points out – the case for and against the resurrection of the Christ. I liked the premise of the book, which sets out to collect and present available material for both sides, leaving the reader with the responsibility for making the for or against decision.

Since Charles Foster, apart from being a writer, is also a barrister, the information he presents is laid out by two fictional parties, an X – being against the resurrection and a Y – a Christian counterpart and believer. This gives the author an opportunity to examine, much like in the court of law, the available evidence from both sides: prosecution and defense. And there is plenty of material – as we might surmise – to go through: archaeological, historical, as well as stemming from extrabiblical sources and Jewish traditions, etc. Contrary to what it could look like at the first glance, it makes the reading quite enjoyable and the process of arriving at one own conclusions – captivating.

While I thought I was pretty well versed in the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, I still found the new material “against” very intriguing: access to documents, pictures and theses from the latest archeological discoveries shed new light on the arguments against resurrection and helped me formulate new apologetic insight. If the value of a book of this kind can be judged by the number of passages highlighted in color, my underlines, colors and side notes prove it to be a very good read.

I’m thankful to Thomas Nelson Publishing for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book.

OT:Książki - "The Hole in Our Gospel" Richard Stearns

The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns

Even when I first picked up “The Hole in our Gospel” by Richard Stearns I somehow felt it would destroy me. And I am glad to say it did serve its point of destroying the cozy little Christian mindset of mine very well.

Stearns is the President of World Vision US and shares the story of his coming to grips with the answer to the question: “What does God expect of us?”. This is the challenge that he, while still a successful businessman, had to tackle, when asked to consider the top position at World Vision several years ago.

It is in a very low-key, humble and amiable manner that the author shares his thought processes from the standpoint of a very decent American Christian church-goer. We can pick his brains about what it takes to transform one’s mind to the degree when one is able – and willing – to forsake all, including comfort and reputation, to bring the full Good News to our neighbors - be it next door or next continent.

According to Stearns, until we give it all to play our part in the transformation of communities ridden by hunger, disease, injustice and lack of hope, we continue to offer to the world a gaping hole in our gospel. I salute you, Mr Stearns, for patching this hole in your gospel and providing me with tools to do likewise in mine!

I’m thankful to Thomas Nelson Publishing for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book

OT Booksneeze: "The Map" by David Murrow

The latest book by the author of „Why Men Hate Going to Church” takes the search for biblical spiritual masculinity to another level, as it seeks to give contemporary men a map to follow in order to climb the proverbial mountain of manhood. To one’s surprise (and delight), the map has been hidden – and discovered by the author – in the Gospel of Matthew.

This book caught me in the right moment of my life as I have been fumbling for a non-conventional spiritual discipleship material for fellow men. Enters „The Map” - a very intriguing narrative combining adventure/thriller-type setting in the first part of the book with biblical interpretation of the three journeys every man must take in the second part. While very different from each other, both parts provided me with enough metaphors and visual aids to get me thinking about the new-found traits within Matthew. Submission, strength and sacrifice and the turns men need to take at the cross-roads of subsequent paths of their Christian journey make much more linear sense with „The Map” in hand. I definitely recommend this book for men interested in fulfilling their destiny - for their own sake, their families and the world around them. David Murrow’s website www.threejourneys.com is also worth checking out for additional resources.

I’m thankful to Thomas Nelson Publishing for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book.

Below you will find two short youtube clips of the authors explaining his concept of The Map:

OT Książki / Booksneeze: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Donald, who just wrote his autobiography, is offered to help co-write a script for a movie based on his book. The new project gives him a chance – as he puts it – to edit his life, look at it from a new perspective and make decisions about life’s priorities for years to come. In the process he finds he can still become a protagonist capable of overcoming conflict to achieve what he always wanted.

The story itself is not a page turner – but for all the right reasons. Following Donald’s reflections and life edits I felt compelled to scribble on the margins and put the book aside for a while to think about my life and necessary “edits”. One of the biggest advantages of the story is how various colorful characters, by virtue of their lives crossing Donald’s path, influence the protagonist to constantly edit his best self, to drop the assumption of himself having arrived at some final version of life. All in all, by the process of putting together the movie version of his autobiography, Donald successfully drops his „couch potato” lifestyle and embarks on a bike trip across the Southern US. Somewhere between the start and the finish lines, he arrives at better himself - of all audiences: mostly for his own sake.

I’m thankful to Thomas Nelson Publishing for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book.