Neil Postman certainly knew what he was talking about. Although he passed away several years ago, his ideas are as relevant today (and even more so with the advent of the internet) than they were when he penned his words a quarter century ago. A well-credentialed expert on the subject of communication in its sundry shapes and subtleties, Postman takes aim on the “dumbing down” effect that television has had upon society. In fact, the visual medium of TV has caused its watchers to unwittingly place style over substance, entertainment over education, and theatrics over thinking.

Artfully (and with a refreshing historic approach) Postman details the danger of uncontextualized information. Americans tend to want information now in spite of its relevance or accuracy–a trend which began quite interestingly with the invention of the telegraph. You’ll have to read the book to follow the logical timeline. And I promise that it will fascinate you.

The author is not an anti-television crusader; rather, he seeks to educate his readers as to the true nature of television (entertainment) and its appropriate place in our lives as an amusing diversion. Sadly, the invasion of television with its encroachment into the lives of virtually all Americans has left our people in a sad state of affairs indeed. In fact, the book brought to mind as observation Richard Nixon once made in his book entitled Leaders. In that book he asserted that leaders are always readers, and that reading is active while television watching is passive.

The book is not for the faint of heart, but it is a “must read” for those who think (or are willing to start!).

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For those of you who have not had a chance to read Tedd Tripp’s excellent book on child rearing, I would encourage you to put this one at the top of your list. Child rearing books tend to lean unnecessarily to one side or the other. They sound either like a warmed-over psychology tome on sensitivity, or like a “Bless God! Just spank the kid till the fire alarm goes off” kind of book.

Tripp emphasizes the aim of child training as that of the heart.  After all, the heart is the soil from which actions grow. Sometimes in our well-meaning zeal to implement high standards of conduct for our children (a noble and right goal), we make the sad mistake of being satisfied with mere adherence to the standard without regard for the heart of the child in obedience.

For example, we can force our children to share their toys or suffer the consequences. Consequently, children may learn to share because they fear the retribution of not sharing. But have they learned how to deal with the below-the-surface selfishness and resentment that often attach themselves to such outward obedience?

A provocative statement Tripp made in the book was this: The genius of Phariseeism is the setting of an achieveable standard. God gives His children impossible goals to achieve in order that they might run to Him for the power necessary to complete them. Children that have not been consistently brought to face their sinfulness and the life-transforming power of the Cross are doomed to the slow spiritual death of self-sufficiency.

With a refreshing emphasis on training and a balanced defence of corporal punishment, Tripp provides parents with an excellent workbook for the greatest job on earth: parenting! You will be refreshed by his  thematic approach to embracing and applying Biblical methods in dealing with children of any age.

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Randy Alcorn’s little 93-page book is a must read and re-read for every man. In a world fraught with sexual temptations and pitfalls at seemingly every corner, Alcorn provides some Biblical, practical strategies for living pure in an impure world. So strongly do I feel about the information in this book that I have a case of them in the office from which I regularly distribute copies to any man that will read it–and every man should!

The book itself covers all of the bases.  Trust me, Alcorn knows how to get your attention in chapter 1! Christians wage a constant spiritual battlefield on the ground of the mind. The enemy has targeted all of us and, without a strategy for victory, will inevitably do much damage.

In our church I have a special burden for our singles. It seems that many Bible-believing churches have failed in providing resourcing for the incredibly vulnerable 18-24 year old range. Without the adequate accountability that many thriving youth groups provide, singles often fall easy prey to a world system enamored with sex. Alcorn does a great job offering practical accountability principles for singles.

A short book, The Purity Principle can be read in one sitting, and should be re-read on a yearly basis in my opinion.

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From time to time I would like to offer some simple thoughts about books that I have read.  I love reading! Obviously some books are better than others, but I always seem to glean something from the books I read. Typically I read books that have been recommended by others and always seem to have 7 or 8 books in waiting… Anyway, if I can pique your interest about a book or two, great! If I can save you some time on reading a book that turned out to be a dud, better still!

Last Friday while traveling to preach a stewardship banquet in Tulsa, OK for my good friend Troy Dorrell (www.pastordorrell.com), I read the book, The Church of Irresistible Influence. By many standards, Robert Lewis was a successful pastor of a large, growing church in Little Rock, Ark. Yet he realized that people–good, grounded, discipled people–were growing stale in the ministry. Although they were involved as workers, teachers, ushers, etc., they were missing out on something. Add to this the fact that, although the church had grown to a substantial size, the city reamained relatively ignorant of the church’s presence among them. Coupling these concerns and seeking the Lord’s help for solutions, Pastor Lewis decided that his church was simply not the model of the dynamic chuches of the first century. It was not effectively influential as salt and light upon his community.

Lewis coined the abbreviation i2 (the “2″ is actually supposed to look like i squared, but I can’t figure out how to do that on my keyboard!) Anyway, he radically reconsidered the way by which his church was structured and assured that his people would be ultimately steered toward what he calls “common cause”–or, the using of one’s gifts to invlove oneself in and thereby be an influence upon the community around him. The process included discipleship and a more intensive approach to gift discovery and utilization. As a result, the church is making a real difference in the lives of its people on many fronts including mentoring programs, community projects, volunteer tutoring in the public school system, and many other similar projects.

At first glance it appeared to be a warmed-over approach to a social gospel–this is wasn’t–and you’ll have to read the book to see the distinction. Although I did not agree with some of the ways by which he encourages members to be involved in the community (I thought them to be a bit too ecumenical), I certainly came away with a renewed awareness as to the need for our church to be more actively, purposefully, and visibly involved in our community in ways that perceptibly(the community’s perception) benefit them. After all, didn’t the Lord often address physical and relational needs as a bridge to segue into spiritual needs?

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