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By Stan Telchin This true story begins with a telephone call; a call that shocks and divides a family. The Telchin family is Jewish. The phone call Stan took was from his older daughter, Judy, who had called to say that she had become a Christian.
What follows is an exploration of how devastating this was for the family – the impact on relationships within the family and on their historic and cultural context as Jews – and how Stan seeks to rebuild his family [not least the canyon that had opened up between Judy and her sister Ann]. Stan is a successful businessman and his plan to rebuild his family is as carefully prepared and mapped out as any business plan. So great is the goal of reuniting his family that he even puts this above his business interests.
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by Philip Yancy During a conference on comparative religions, C.S.Lewis walked into a protracted debate on what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. The assembled experts had gradually eliminated various possibilities. On hearing the topic for debate C.S.Lewis said, "Oh that's easy. It's grace." This is one of many stories and anecdotes recounted by Philip Yancy in his excellent book "What's so amazing about grace?", which unpacks this little word with huge meaning. It seems that Yancy, an American, wrote the book because he became concerned and frustrated by a disconnect which he observed between the theology of evangelical Christians and their enactment of it in their own lives. In other words, though we preach a gospel of grace, we are nonetheless often very judgmental of others. On the very first page, the author tells a story of a friend of his who worked with the down-and-out in Chicago asking a prostitute if she would ever consider going to church said: "Why would I ever go there? I was already feeling terrible about myself. They'd just make me feel worse". |
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by Rob Parsons An easy and enjoyable read which packs a punch. It made me laugh and it made me cry. It’s short too!When I was told about this book, and how good it was, I was a little sceptical. Who does Rob Parsons think he is? I wondered. I thought his expertise was in “family matters” and things more relational. I realise, of course, that money problems are “family matters” and he must counsel many people who have financial difficulties. As a money advisor, I felt I needed to read it as it would be widely available and I didn’t want to miss out on anything which might help my clients. |
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by Brother Yun The Heavenly Man is the autobiography of Brother Yun, a Chinese House Churches’ group leader. It is an amazing book, literally reading like the Acts of the Apostles – complete with dramatic dreams / healings / and a miraculous release from prison. At times the book was almost unbelievable, because what I read is difficult to see in the UK. It was and is a great challenge to my Christian experience and how much I care about Christians around the world who are persecuted for their faith, and whether I would stand firm in such circumstances. Reviewed by: Maggie Reeves, March 2005 |
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by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen Light Force is another “difficult to put down” book written by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen. I read Brother Andrew’s first book, God’s Smuggler, when it was first published in the 60s and it made a deep impression on me. It described Brother Andrew’s mission of organising and distributing millions of Bibles to Christians mostly in Communist countries. He later founded Open Doors, an international organisation dedicated to supporting persecuted Christians. |
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Book reviews 
