Book and Music Reviews

Earlier this week, U2 did something that would seem a little crazy.  In the middle of their 360 concert tour, they livestreamed their show from the Rose Bowl on YouTube and then made it available for viewing.  Jenni and I saw the concert in Charlottesville, and it was an incredible experience.  Here are a few thoughts. I think this is

Over the past 13 years in ministry, I’ve heard a lot of young bands.  In the past six months, I’ve had the opportunity to hear this new band twice and I really like their music. I have a lot of blog readers in the southeast, so I wanted to let everyone know about this band from Greenville, South Carolina. I

I shared about our walk with Christ this past weekend at Cornerstone.  How our life is full of small steps that determine our direction. I also mentioned Andy Stanley’s new book, The Principle of the Path.   He makes the statement that our direction, not our intentions, determines our destination. I was in New York City several years ago for

Over the past few years, I’ve really neglected reading fiction books.  So when I had a chance to read and review The Noticer by Andy Andrews, I jumped at the chance.   This is a book that people are talking about, and I can see why.  It’s an encouraging book that is easy to read.   It was also the

I’ve been reading through Frank Viola’s latest book, From Eternity To Here. The publisher says that this is a perfect follow-up to Francis Chan’s Crazy Love and in some ways I agree. Chan’s book is about why we should be Crazy in Love with Christ, and Viola’s book explains how we get there. I started reading this book with a

I’m excited about a new book that is coming out.  Today is the big book bomb on Amazon for Shawn Wood’s new book, Wasabi Gospel: The Startling Message of Jesus.  Help us get the word out to as many people as possible, because this is definitely a book that is worth your time and money to read. Shawn is the

I wanted to share some thoughts about another book I’m reading as part of the Father’s Day Blog tour.  The Disappearance of God by Dr. Al Mohler is a book about culture, the church, and our response.   First of all, I have the utmost respect for Dr. Al Mohler and his leadership at Southern Seminary.  I feel that reformed

I just finished reading the latest book by Jud Wilhite. Eyes Wide Open is a great book about grace.  Let me share a question that Jud asks in the book, “Is it possible to be a Christian and be a miserable, life-draining, and negative person?”  As you have heard me say before, the church has become so well known for

Through the Blogger review program at Thomas Nelson, I had the privilege to review the Next Generation New Testament.  Anytime I can take a look at how companies are combining technology with youth ministry I get excited.  It contains CD’s full of mp3 files of the entire International Children’s Bible New Testament, read and dramatized by an all-star cast of

I found myself watching the end of Jon & Kate plus 8 last night, and like many of you, I found myself both saddened and upset that their marriage struggles were on national tv for everyone to see.   I hope and pray that they can work through the tough times they are experiencing. At the end of the show,

If you have read through my twitter updates, you know that I have not been a big Adam Lambert fan on American Idol. I get tired of hearing every song turned into a screamfest.  But I was excited to see two worship leaders, Danny Gokey and Kris Allen, end up in the top three.   Kris surprised many by winning,