The history of Israel’s kings is marred with wretched idolaters, backsliders, and reprobates.  When you study the various regimes of Judah and Israel you will discover a pattern.  With each passing generation the leadership grew more corrupt until God rose up another man to start over with a renewed passion and commitment to things divine.  This pattern was not coincidental, it was the result of apathetic influences, or as Steve Farrar contends, failed fatherhood.

In King Me, Steve Farrar parallels the current cultural failures of fatherhood with the ungodly kings of Israel.  His affirmation is simple: there are certain …

I have been curious about the work of Richard Swenson for some time.  He has written best-selling books Margin and In Search of Balance.  I typically read an author’s first books before reading a recent release; so when I saw his latest book, Contentment I was reluctant to purchase it without having read his previous works.  Something however compelled me to go ahead and buy it, and I am glad I did.  To be honest, I was not impressed with the title (c’mon, we could have come up with something a little more impressive than “Contentment”), but when you …

I have read many parable books on leadership throughout my ministry, but this is the first one that features the dynamics of a church staff.  In the fictitious setting of the “Community Covenant Church” author Dave Kraft describes how various personalities affect the overall synergy of the typical church leadership team, and how we have replaced various aspects of genuine leadership with superficial aspirations.

The format of the book is comparable to the writing styles of leadership gurus Ken Blanchard and Patrick Lencioni.   As a matter of fact, Lencioni gives Kraft a nice endorsement in the book.  Kraft does a …

Jerry Bridges uniquely joins together the seemingly opposing forces of grace and discipline in this classic book on spiritual formation.  The Discipline of Grace is just one of many books by Bridges, but I believe it is by far his most convicting and piercing work.

The premise of the book connects our role with God’s role in the pursuit of holiness.  Bridges unapologetically promotes grace as the ultimate catalyst for righteous living; and the very grace that saves should cause us to live yielded lives under the direction of the Spirit.   Therefore, there is a great union, as Bridges puts …

Bill Hull is one of today’s leading aficionados when it comes to discipleship.  His literary contributions to the subject has awakened and reignited a passion among many believers in this generation.  Some of his other works include The Disciple-Making Pastor, The Disciple-Making Church, The Complete Book of Discipleship, Choosing the Life: Exploring a Faith That Embraces Discipleship, and Jesus Christ Disciplemaker.  He has given much of his life to the development and training of authentic followers of Jesus Christ.

In his most recent book, Christlike: The Pursuit of Uncomplicated Obedience, Hull challenges the church to lay aside …