Kelvin Fowler's Blog, page 7

The Northern Tier

by Lief Carlsen

self-published

[kindle eBook]

[spoiler alert] I liked this book and found it quite educational. The eBook version was not well prepared, however it was well written.

The author had an interesting way of writing about his wife. Though this was often irritating, it often led him to be quite candid when talking about his wife's cycle underwear and saddle-saw. This was not something that I had read before and was helpful preparation for our upcoming cycling trip.

I also learnt a lot about camping in town limits, though sadly halfway across they sent their tent home and opted for motels. This was slightly rescued near the end when they met other camping cyclist.

The Black Book

​Ian Rankin

Orion

[Second-hand paperback]

One of Rankin's better books, I enjoyed this one a lot and it was lovely to meet Big Ger and Siobhan Clarke. Good story as well.

4/5

The Wars Against Saddam:

Taking The Hard Road To Baghdad

John Simpson

Macmillan

[Borrowed secondhand hardcover] 

Factual, interesting and well written. Altogether a very good book that talks about the life of Saddam Husein and John Simpson's reporting from Iraq. The book come with some interesting insights in journalism and also seems to be quite balanced.

4/5

Encountering the New Testament

A Historical and Theological Survey (Encountering Biblical Studies) 3rd addition

by Walter A. Elwell, Robert W. Yarbrough

Baker Academic 

[Kindle eBook]
​
To date I have only read chapters 1, 2, 10, 22, 23 & the epilogue. Excellent book, thoroughly enjoyed studying it and learnt heaps.

Well written and well presented.

4/5

Planting Missional Churches

Planting a Church that’s Biblically Sound and Reaching People in Culture

Ed Stetzer

Broodman & Holman Publishers

[Kindle eBook]

This was not a book that I would like to give our church members. It was misogynistic in the sense of almost totally not acknowledging the roles of women in church-planting. It was also very ethnocentric, I had to filter through chapters of material that either simply did not apply or the numbers had to be drastically scaled to fit our non-USA/Canadian location.

There were things in the book that I did find useful and by the end I started to like the author.

However it still ends up with a two out of five.

The Prophet's Voice

Hebrews - Prophecy, Rhetoric, Interpretation

(Kingdom Theology Series)

Derek Morphew

Derek Morphew Publications

[kindle Ebook]
 
Excellent wee book, not only did it open up Hebrews, it also brought me into worship.

What is Worship

Experiencing the Life-Changing Presence of God

Vineyard USA

[Paperback]

A warming booklet portraying the intimacy and simplicity of Vineyard Worship. This book is another good example of who we are in the Vineyard.

Come Holy Spirit

Living Our Lives Guided bu God's Presence

A Vineyard Distinctives booklet

Vineyard USA

[Paperback]

Like the other Vineyard Distinctives this message carries a very freeing and simple message. The booklet seems to suggest that the Disciples actually prayed 'come Holy Spirit', does anyone know is this is actually in the Bible or am I missing something?

Again, this was a good book.

Everyone Gets to Play

Why Every Person can Participate in God's Kingdom

A Vineyard Distinctives booklet

Vineyard USA

[Paperback]

An empowering little book. It was also very freeing, though I wonder how some of these principles will be worked out in our local churches. I also would have loved to have heard 'the priesthood of all believers' mentioned. Again this is a must read for anyone interested in Vineyard.

What is the Kingdom?

A Vineyard Perspective on the Kingdom of God

A Vineyard Distinctives booklet

Vineyard USA

[Paperback]

Good, maybe even a great read. It was a little wordy in places, I would have perhaps liked it to be a little simpler. The booklet explains the kingdom of God well through many different voices.