Against Nothingness

Calvin Miller, The Vanishing Evangelical: Saving the Church from its Own Success by Restoring What Really Matters . Baker Books, 2013.  Herein lies an examination of the current state of that somewhat nebulous entity known as "Evangelicalism.' An analysis which hops from worship to mission to the information age to the attack of secularism and preaching in the church. An analysis and, nearly, an obituary.  In his first chapter Miller notes "Generally I have noticed that the events of any movement that has been moving in one direction continue to move in that direction until they reach a conclusion. Great movements like American evangelicalism rarely come to a complete and final stop. They end in a reduced state of trickled down vitality. There will always be evangelicals, of course; the question is how many and for how long?" Yes, indeed. Wait... what? I'm afraid the confusion here is basically carried through the whole book. If there will alway...

Bob Fu, God's Double Agent: The True Story of a Chinese Christian's Fight for Freedom . Baker Books, 2013 Herein lies the tale of Bob Fu. Born in China, full of ambition and a desire to improve his home, Bob eventually became involved in the protests which ended in Tiananmen square. The resulting punishment and depression were the context for his conversion and the beginnings of a ministry that would lead him to found China Aid.   I don't want to give away too much more of the story; you should read it for yourself. And that, I suppose, gives away the rest of this review. I find a good Christian biography to be a very encouraging and challenging thing. Good in the sense that it is well written but, more importantly, good in that it displays the work of Jesus in the life of one of his followers. This, God's Double Agent, was a good Christian biography. And you should read it. Did I say that already? It's worth saying twice.  Conclusion: 5 Stars. Rec...