Review of SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World, by Douglas Estes, Zondervan, 2009, 256 pages (paperback), $16.99 In his book SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World, Douglas Estes gets defensive about an accusation that no one seems to be leveling. I, for one, was only peripherally aware of the “virtual world”... Continue Reading

Jane Love, buyer of books in the religion category for Barnes & Noble, calls the mega best seller a “crossover,” meaning the book isn’t being bought by just evangelical Christians. Colton Burpo is having a late lunch at a T.G.I. Friday‘s in Manhattan. He orders a Mountain Dew, then shares some baby back ribs with... Continue Reading

Book Review: Vampire Defanged, The: How the Embodiment of Evil Became a Romantic Hero, Susannah Clements, April 1, 2011, Brazos Press Clements’ analysis requires an active reader who doesn’t mind thinking. This comes out further in that her conclusions are inevitably controversial….But for active, curious readers, Clements may be the most lucid, readable critic to... Continue Reading

Radical by David Platt is one of the books that has been enjoying lots of word of mouth among American Calvinists since its release. When I had the opportunity to get a review copy, I took it. I wanted to read it to see what the buzz was about, and the topic interests me. “I... Continue Reading

I confess I read this book because of all the hoopla on the internet. John Piper hates it, Mark Driscoll wants to say how much he hates it but is tired of launching his enemies onto the New York Times bestsellers list so he talks about it without talking about it. People everywhere are talking... Continue Reading

If it’s true that a book takes on a life of its own, then each has a life story waiting to be told. So let the telling begin–starting with books that have sought the divine and rocked history, one soul at a time. That’s the ambitious idea behind the new Lives of Great Religious Books... Continue Reading

If you are looking for something new and trendy, this book isn’t it. Evangelism is as serious as the Gospel and as practical as a conversation. Dr. J.D. Payne is the Associate Professor of Church Planting and Evangelism and Director of the Center for North American Missions and Church Planting at SBTS. He was brand... Continue Reading

So, it’s the late fourth century, and you’re a British monk named Pelagius. You travel to Rome and are appalled by the low moral standards of the place. Maybe you’re stuffy, but you attribute the general air of laxity to Augustine, who believes man can attain perfection only through divine grace, not human effort. This... Continue Reading

I’d recommend this book to women who are young, naïve and/or in the habit of making consistently destructive choices when it comes to dating or evaluating potential suitors. (Editor’s Note: Dr. Ryan is a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Harrisonburg, VA) When I received a review copy of Ken Ryan’s Finding Your Prince... Continue Reading

This book is not a poem. It is not a piece of art. This is a theological book by a pastor trying to impart a different way of looking at heaven and hell. Whether Bell is creative or a provocateur is beside the point. If Bell is inconsistent, unclear, or inaccurate, claiming the “artist” mantle... Continue Reading