By C. E. Moore

GENRE: RELIGION
PUBLISHER: HARPER ONE
PUBLICATION DATE: APRIL 20, 2010

Listen up people. I’m only going to say this once. We are not all worshipping the same God. All religions do not teach the same thing. We’re not all working towards the same goal. We’re not all mountain climbers ultimately ascending towards the same peak. People get so upset when I tell them this. It’s sad that I need an esteemed religious professor to side with me in order to not seem like an idiot when I make this valid claim. Still, I find a wonderful ally in the form of Stephen Prothero’s most recent title, God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World—and Why Their Differences Matter.

Prothero does an excellent job of presenting each religion on its own terms. He does not set out to praise or demonize any one religion. He explains each religion “as is,” warts and all. He is admittedly selective, choosing to focus on the world’s major religions while skipping others altogether. But, he provides heavy footnotes for anyone who wants to delve deeper into any one religion he presents.

I am a Christian, so I read this book as such. When I read Prothero’s treatment of Christianity I nod at some points, cringe at others, and feel he has gotten certain aspect a little wrong. But, where I feel he gets things wrong, I freely admit it comes from viewing things through a particular theological lens. Other than that, Prothero seems to unders the essentials of Christianity as they are. He does not try to misrepresent the faith, even if I do not think he understands if fully. But, then again, neither do most of us.

Furthermore, Prothero was right to claim that most people, especially Americans are religiously illiterate. We demonize other faiths, claim our worldview is better, but know nothing about the world’s other religions to truly compare. Yes, I take Jesus at his word, so I do need to study other world religions to know the truth of his words. Still, given the pluralistic world we find ourselves in, people of disparate faiths owe it to thmselves to attempt to understand the different truth claims made by other religions. How much more mileage am I going to make speaking to a Hindu or a Muslim from a place of understanding rather than from a place of Fox News punditry?

So, who is this book for? I’d say this book is for those members in the pop culture machine who are willing to think a little deeper than their peers, refusing to buy into the bumper sticker platitudes we spout in order to not rock the boat too much. No one wants to seem intolerant, but tolerance is about respectfully putting up with something you disagree with, not blindly choosing to agree that we all “basically believe the same thing.” Having taken a world religions course during my undergrad work, there wasn’t much new that I found in God Is Not One. Then again, is there anything really new about the world’s religions to consider anyhow? Still, Prothero does a bang up job explaining the competing faiths for the rest of us.

God Is Not One focuses on Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoruba Religion, Judaism, Daoism, and includes a “brief coda” on the rising “religion”of atheism.

Review title provided courtesy of Harper One

You can listen to (or download) the full episode here.

You can browse our entire TCM Audio Archives here.

Questions:

1. Victoria Carswell (Boiling Springs, SC):  Of all the moments through your writing career, what has been your favorite so far?
2. Jeremiah Zaldarriaga (Forest City, IA):  What author has inspired most of your writing?
3. Brian Coultrup (Yorba Linda, CA):  Would you ever consider co-writing a novel with another Christian fiction author such as Ted Dekker, Eric Wilson, Robert Liparulo, etc?
4. Garrett Pletcher (Chipley, Florida):  What was the first book you wrote, what was it about and how long was it?
5. Troy Tennard (Parsippany, NJ):  Have you been approached to have any of your books adapted into a movie?
6. Jennifer Bruce (Salem, OR):  Are you going to be writing any more novels in the ‘romance’ genre again soon?
7. Brian Pierson (Lebanon, MO):  Which is harder to pen:  horror or emotionally-driven romance?
8. Christine Pappas (Burbank, Illinois):  Where does Travis Thrasher come up with the storylines for his books? Does it come from personal experiences?
9. Tom Farr (Huntsville, TX):  How do you think the complete story of LOST will impact storytelling in all its forms for years to come?
10. Kevin A. Denis (Mountain Grove, MO):  You’re becoming more well-known for your supernatural suspense thrillers (“Isolation,” “Ghostwriter,” etc.) but you also have written touching “love” stories and Indiana Jones-style adventure stories. “Out of the Devil’s Mouth” is a favorite of mine, and I’m wondering if we’re going to see any prequels/sequels featuring Henry Wolfe?

Michael Spencer & Mere Churchianity

In 2004, with great sadness and sense of deep heartache, we left the church we had attended for 15 years. We should have left two or three years earlier, as my wife kept urging, but I was the one who was trying to hold on to the relationships and community we had, especially with our “small church” or adult Sunday School class.

From the outside, our church met every definition of “success” – dramatic growth in attendance and membership; two major building programs; expansion of the staff; expansion of ministries and programs. It was all the criteria that the American evangelical church had for determining results and success. It appeared our church was firing on all cylinders.

From the inside, it was a different story, and it happened gradually.

Adult Sunday school classes moved away from teaching the Bible to teaching “The Prayer of Jabez” and other popular books. “The Prayer of Jabez” found its way into small group Bible studies and even a sermon series. The church’s Prayer Commission was dismantled and not replaced. Hymnals disappeared without so much as an explanation, replaced by slides of songs on the Jumbo-Tron. The worship music changed, becoming more repetition of choruses than songs of praise. There was more talk about becoming a place for “seekers” and less about “disciple-making.” The worship service became a time for plays, dancing, acting out of roles, and showing of clips from popular movies.

When asked about these changes at congregational meetings, and if the plan was to transform our church into another Willow Creek, the elders always said no. When asked why staff people were being trained at Willow Creek, and why Willow Creek programs were being adapted, the elders continued to deny there was any desire to become a Willow Creek.

As the church “dumbed down” the content, growth began to taper off and then stop. With each new innovation, more of the longstanding members left. Giving declined correspondingly.

Michael Spencer could have told us what was happening. It’s all in Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality. The title is a nod – perhaps more than a nod – in the direction of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. But Spencer’s subject and thesis is very different – that people are leaving the church to find Jesus.

Like so many other churches, our church had embraced the American cultural definition of success. People who raised questions or objections were ignored or flattened. Community was disrupted and, in some cases, destroyed.

And we did what he would have completely understood. We left. We left “churchianity” to find our way back again. And it has not been easy.

“When you view evangelicalism from a distance,” he writes, “it becomes clear that almost all the problems can be traced back to evangelicalism’s unquestioned commitment to be successful and relevant.” We are “swimming in a sea of mediocrity, worshiping in a church captivated by consumerism, and deeply affected by a skewed view of God that the Bible would call petty idolatry.”

No, this is not a treatise in favor of the “emerging church.” Spencer experienced all of the ways one leaves the church –from belonging nowhere to considering Roman Catholic and Orthodox, to emergent and house churches and all the other possibilities that exist within a Christian context. And he doesn’t advocate not attending church.

Instead, he speaks to those who have left or are considering leaving the church, he explains why this is happening, and then he takes great care in pointing to a different way.

Yet Spencer doesn’t offer a “solution” or prescriptive antidote; instead, he points to something else, something radical in our evangelical context – the pursuit of what he calls Jesus-shaped spirituality, not church-shaped spirituality. And he describes what that is by explaining what we can know about Jesus, what it means to accept the real Jesus, and what Jesus is doing in the world.

For someone like me, who’s been associated with one form or another of evangelicalism for nearly 40 years, everything Spencer writes and says is a challenge and an affront to what I’ve long believed. Yet my own experience with the church in the last 10 years tells me he’s right, as uncomfortable and wrenching as that is. His book is incendiary, and it needs to be.

Spencer, best known as the “internet monk” for his blog of the same name, died of cancer in April. “Mere Churchianity” is the gift he left for all of us. The question for me is, what will I do with this gift?

By Melissa Willis

GENRE: FICTION
PUBLISHER: LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
PUBLICATION DATE: JULY 19, 2010

Hermes Diaktoros (the fat man) came to the Island of Thiminos to determine who was responsible for Irini’s Asimakopoulos’ death.  Her death was hastily ruled a suicide by Police Chief Zafiridis, but the conclusion was based largely on rumors and a nice family payoff—no investigation, no autopsy.  It didn’t take long for Hermes to discover this small island had numerous secrets and one of them was what happened to Irini.  Was her death suicide, accident, or murder?  Was it her husband, her lover, or her lover’s wife?  In a sordid tale of adultery, secrets, and double standards, The Messenger of Athens is less a mystery and more a small island drama where murder might be the lesser of hidden secrets.

My research and the opening chapters led me to believe this was going to be an investigation type story.  That’s not the case.  The majority of the book is set in the past leading up to the death of Irini.  As a result, the book is more a drama depicting life on the island with the local gossip and sexual escapades of the various characters.  The presentation is not displeasing, but not typical murder mystery either.

I struggled a bit dating this story.  The Messenger of Athens feels like it is set during 1950s or 1960s, but I don’t think that is correct.  Towards the end, there are indications the book is set in the late1990s.  Probably my lack of familiarity with small Greek island culture is the reason for my difficulty placing its date.  This might seem like a minor issue, but ultimately it affected my reaction to the characters and their actions.  I lacked sympathy for Irini.  She made terrible decisions.  She opted to follow lust rather than stay committed to her husband who truly loved her.  I do not believe she was in love since essentially all she and Theo did were smile and wave at each other.  Additionally, I felt as though Theo was unfairly judged.  It took both of them to decide to stray from their spouses, not just one.  Perhaps if I could better place the time period or understood the culture, my opinion might be completely different.  As it stands, I see someone who had options available to them that were both healthier and kinder than the ones chosen.  Irini’s choices were selfish and mean spirited.  While her death should have evoked some sympathy, instead I felt only apathy.

The writing is absolutely beautiful.  I loved Zouroudi’s voice and the elegance of her style.  It had a gorgeous flow without being overly dramatic.  Though I struggled to date the story, her descriptions of the location and people had an intimate, realistic quality.

Even though this wasn’t the mystery I expected I enjoyed the story.  In addition to the question of what happened to Irini, there was the nice mystery of the Chief of Police and the eccentric Hermes.  While there were parts I didn’t connect with, over all it was engaging and kept my interest.  The strength was definitely in the writing though.  Zouroudi’s talents carried the book.

Disclaimer for sensitive readers:  This is a general market book.  There is moderate language, but little violence.  However, readers sensitive to sexual content might want to pass as there are numerous references and descriptions of sexual acts.

Review title sent courtesy of Little, Brown & Company

By Mary Twomey

GENRE: FICTION
PUBLISHER: CROSSWAY BOOKS
PUBLICATION DATE: APRIL 30, 2010

The Sword by Bryan M. Litfin is book one in the Chiveis trilogy. It details the events of a culture four hundred years in the future after an unknown virus wipes out much of the population, and then is followed by a nuclear war that clears out most of the world as we know it. The lack of functional technology throws the surviving clusters of people back into an age of swords, chivalry and savagery. One society, the people of Chiveis, is seemingly protected by a slew of gods that keep their land at peace because of the sacrifices offered to them regularly. The Christian God has been forgotten until a scholar and local army hero teams with a beautiful farmer’s daughter and happens upon an ancient copy of the Bible. Together they work to understand its strange words of love and hope, and things begin to change in Chiveis. A small cell of believers band together to learn more about this Christian God in hopes that the pantheon that is currently worshipped in the realm will be defeated.

I’m not sure what I expected of a professor of theology from Moody Bible Institute, but it certainly was not orgy sacrifices to false gods in the woods. The choice to include such taboo topics as temple prostitutes, excrement sacrifices, molestation and the like were brave choices on the part of the author. In the beginning half of the book, I was glad to read a novel that dealt with hard to discuss visuals instead of shying away toward more G-rated offenses. I felt the author kept a good balance of describing the events without going into sickening detail, which is often a difficult and narrow writing road to go down.

This bravery did not extend, I fear, to the quintessential romantic relationship that drove most of the heart of the novel. With the author not shying away from orgies, one would think that the two characters being paired together would at least share a kiss, but no such luck. The man goes from being a participant in the wanton lifestyle that is never thought to be a true sin to falling in love with a girl and suddenly growing a set of manners that the verses in the Bible’s he’s read thus far doesn’t even address. They confess their love for each other, run off together on countless missions, but there is no physical connection that binds them together. With all the swoops and dives the plot of the book takes head on, I was disappointed at the idealistic relationship that was not based in the reality of the story that the author created. For book two in the series, I hope that he takes more chances and is not held back by the high level of piety pushed unnaturally upon the two.

The language choice I still have not reconciled with even after finishing the novel. More in the vein of courtly idioms instead of a harsh, illiterate society that one might assume a broken down world might adapt, the lofty language left me dissatisfied. If the author wanted to write a book about horses, swords and courtly love, I would have been all for it. Putting it four hundred years in the future was something I just could not accept as realistic. When the rabble of the day uses words like “consort” and “blunder”, you know you’re not in Kansas anymore.

When book two comes out, I will still pick it off the shelves and give it a read. The adventures were well thought out and executed. The perils of the people were heartfelt. The Bible was put in a fiction novel in an interesting light. I simply hope the author is not afraid to take the chances he needs to in order to make his novel truly stand out.

Review title sent courtesy of Crossway Books

By Jake Chism

GENRE: THRILLER
PUBLISHER: THOMAS NELSON
PUBLICATION DATE: APRIL 15, 2008

Matt Bronleewe shines in this thrilling debut. Archaeobibliologist August Adams has made a living collecting and selling rare books. While on a flight from Germany to New York his passion for his work unexpectedly leads him into a deadly game. The mysterious blond next to him seems to be calling the shots, and if August doesn’t do what she asks then his family will be killed.

August must use his skills and expertise to decipher an ancient code that Johannes Gutenberg himself has hidden in the illuminations of his famous Gutenberg Bibles. The search for the hidden clues will lead August and his family down a dangerous path full of conspiracy, deceit, and mystery that will ultimately lead to startling revelations.

As I flew through the pages of Illuminated I was stunned by the realization that this is Matt Bronleewe’s first novel. This is top-notch suspenseful writing that is nothing short of thrilling and entertaining. Bronleewe effortlessly combines elements of history, suspense, and mystery that result in a powerful story. Nonstop action, heroes worth rooting for, relentless villains, gut-wrenching suspense, heart-pounding adventure….this one has it all. Grab a copy and clear your schedule because it is impossible to put down.

Review title sent courtesy of Thomas Nelson Publishers

By Melissa Willis

GENRE: FICTION
PUBLISHER: REVELL
PUBLICATION DATE: AUGUST 1, 2010

The sinister ‘game’ began with the brutal murder of a prominent Congressman’s daughter.  Two killers, both desperately wicked, who torment others in a game of conquest and power.  They’re smart and they know how to leave no evidence, but plenty of misdirection keeping the authorities off balance and unable to discern what clues point to their true intent.  The puzzle pieces are many but few fit into place.  Are Patrick and his colleagues overlooking the key or is the key what’s not there?  As the mystery deepens, a pattern begins to form—one that’s familiar to Patrick, but it requires believing the impossible to be possible.  In an absolutely amazing book, Steven James once again proves when it comes to serial killer novels, he is the master.

I loved The Knight.  Those who know me are probably tired of hearing me say that, but it was the best book I read last year.  It was amazing and I simply could not imagine James writing anything better.  Well, believe it or not, he topped it.  The Bishop is all I hoped for and more.  Not only is the serial killer aspect amazing and virtually impossible to figure out, the themes are spectacular.  This book has it all—an excellent blend of themes, story, characters, dialogue, and suspense.  I loved it, from the first page to the last I could hardly set it down.  James is a brilliant storyteller and once again set an impossibly high standard.

As with the previous books in the Patrick Bowers Series, the plot is incredibly well developed, protecting the multilayered mystery.  Each book has been wonderfully researched and once again, James presented a story that was believable on all levels.  Every angle of the story made sense and each plot point was presented with realism.  The detail in his books has separated his work from other writers and has made him one of my favorite authors.

James included some amazing themes in this book, some almost as frightening as the killers themselves.  Preemptive justice has been explored in prior books, but it’s taken further in this one, and leaves the reader with something huge to contemplate.  Additionally, The Bishop explored questions of what separates humans from animals and the struggle with the evil inside.  Every bit as good as the main story is the dialogue and subplots that explored these themes.  It’d be nice if the scenarios that James proposed were simple fiction, but the truth that runs through them is real and the natural conclusions unsettling.

It was nice to spend some more time with Tessa as she reconnected with her biological father.  Throughout this series, James has done a brilliant job of developing this story line and I was once again impressed with how he handled this portion.  Even in this part of the story, there were plenty of surprises.  This has been a great part of the Patrick Bowers Series and I look forward to seeing how future books develop it.

At only 520 pages, The Bishop was too short.  Okay, maybe not too short, but I was not ready for it to end.  I love this series and am once again in awe of James’ amazing talents.  I’m grateful for the time and effort he puts into these books to make them the incredible masterpieces they are.  It’s a privilege to read them and I can’t wait for The Queen.  It can’t get here soon enough.

Review title provided courtesy of Revell.

You can listen to (or download) the full interview here.

You can browse our entire “Talkback with C. E. Moore” library here.

About Travis Thrasher:

The author of a dozen works of fiction, including Isolation and Ghostwriter, Travis Thrasher has been writing since he was in the third grade. His writing is known for its honesty, depth, and surprising twists. Thrasher lives with his wife and daughter near Chicago.

By Melissa Willis

GENRE: FICTION
PUBLISHER: BETHANY HOUSE
PUBLICATION DATE: JULY 1, 2010

Paramedic Jonathan Trestle had a promising future.  After serving the city of Reno for several years, he was accepted to medical school with a full paid scholarship.  However, his path took a sudden detour when his ambulance was summoned to help a man who awoke long enough to give Jonathan a note and a cryptic message.  Wanting to help deliver the man’s dying message, Jonathan quickly finds not only his future endangered, but his life and the lives of his friends.  In a remarkably suspenseful and magnificently written book, Tomorrow We Die is action packed with just enough down time for the reader to occasionally catch their breath.

My intent was to read Tomorrow We Die until The Bishop arrived, which I was expecting any day.  The Bishop arrived, a few hours after I began reading this book, and well it’s still waiting for me to start.  I anticipated this book to be pretty good, but not nearly as suspenseful and intriguing as it turned out to be.  It only took a few pages to be completely immersed in the story and whisked away to the world of racing ambulances and life threatening emergencies.

I love it when authors capitalize on their experiences.  More often than not, I have no experience in fictional character’s occupations and I find it fascinating to read about their jobs.  The emergency response scenes in this book were executed perfectly, with great insight, generating nice suspense that fit beautifully with the rest of the story.  Instead of using the paramedic scenes sparingly, there were several, each unique, which kept the story centered and focused.  Grady did a nice job of giving the reader a glimpse into a paramedic’s life and I enjoyed every second of it.  However, I do hope the pay rate given was pure fiction.  Paramedics are worth a lot more than that.

It’s hard to believe this is only Grady’s second book.  The pacing was spectacular, like a seasoned veteran.  Additionally there was no attempt to prolong suspense beyond what the reader had most likely figured out.  The small romantic story line was kept well in check and maintained just enough for those that want that softer side, but did not interfere with the main plot.  Grady did a thorough job of setting up and executing each subplot and building just the right amount of suspense to set up the fantastic finale.

Needless to say, I was pretty impressed with Tomorrow We Die. I was originally drawn by the title, which ended up fitting perfectly into the story, but quickly found a book that had an intriguing story line with good characters and an engaging mystery.  I would like for there to be more books featuring Jonathan, but the ending seems to be pretty conclusive with little room for a sequel.  Regardless, I’m very excited to have discovered this book and can’t wait to see what Grady has in store next.  He’s definitely an author to watch.

Review title provided courtesy of Bethany House

By C. E. Moore

GENRE: CHRISTIAN CHURCH/LEADERSHIP
PUBLISHER: ZONDERVAN
PUBLICATION DATE: MARCH 19, 2010

I’ve been reading a lot of leadership books lately. Sticky Teams, by Larry Osborne is one of the best I’ve come across so far. As a general rule, the more loudly nationally recognized pastors endorse a book or the more heavily it is promoted at some leadership conference, the more I tend to avoid it. Stick teams has met both those criteria, being praised and promoted by some of the most prominent names “in the business.” Is it worth all the hype? You bet it is. So, I’m throwing my meager voice into the arena of those clamoring for you to purchase this book.

Face it, teams are hard to form and even harder to maintain in a healthy way. Look at the Detroit school board. ‘Nuff said, right? But, imagine if it didn’t have to be that way? Imagine if you could your entire team on the same page, supporting the same vision, serving the church with the same mindset. That’s the kind of unity you can’t buy. That’s the kind of unity that has to be worked hard for. Sticky Teams practically helps pastors and lay ministers to see those hidden things and messed-up thinking that cause so many teams to fall apart at the seams. Additionally, Osborne offers readers time-tested truths and strategies to move from error to truth, disorganization to organization.

Osborne does take a more anecdotal approach to things and I am more of a “numbers” driven kind of person. So, you’ll find a lot of stories to bolster a point, but not a lot of statistics to explain why this book is needed or to measure the results of others who have tried what Osborne is suggesting. Be that as it may, no one can argue that Osborne’s story is untrue and that North Coast Church is not healthier for the approach he and his leadership team have taken for the last two decades.

The book is divided up into three sections: Landmines and Roadblocks, Equipped for Ministry, Communication. In the first section, the author takes a look at how many church’s existing organizational structures and practices can unintentionally create more problems than solutions for the health of the leadership team and the church overall. He gives some good counsel for how to avoid these stumbling blocks. The second section is the “nuts and bolts” section of the book and looks at how to get everyone on the same page, whether staff, elder board, or congregation. The final section is probably the most valuable portion of the book. So many teams break down not because people hate each other or have different goals, but because of lack of communication. It is an age old problem and Osborne gives practical insights into how to keep communication open and sometimes brutally honest. The chapters “Talking About Money” and “When Things Go Wrong” are well-worth the price of the book.

Two thoughts. First, is it legitimate to suppose that the organizational structuring of a local church body creates more problems than it solves? I would say sometimes. What causes tension and disunity in a larger church structure that has more systems and people to worry about might not cause those same problems or tensions in a church that operates on a much smaller scale. Which brings me to my second thought. I wonder how this book will apply to those men and women who find themselves in the trenches of local church work alone. Thousands of pastors across America and the world have no team to speak of. They’re the pastor, the counselor, the secretary, the lone elder, the whole deacon board, and so on and so forth. I wonder if Sticky Teams might be a source of inspiration for them to see the importance of building a team to be a part of. The rest of the counsel can follow from there.

In the end, Sticky Teams is, by far, the best leadership book I’ve read this year. I still have a few more in the pile to read, but for now Larry Osborne is king for a day. I’ve heard many pastors remark, “I wish I’d had [insert thing here] when I was starting out in ministry.” If more people write more books like Sticky Teams, I believe far less pastors will be uttering those sentiments.

Review title provided courtesy of Zondervan Publishers