John March

Category: Book Reviews

  • Wild Goose Chase

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    This is a book that makes you want to go out and conquer the world.  Friends of Mary’s and mine previously attended Mark Betterson’s church in Washington DC, and they kindly gave this book to me.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.   The Wild Goose that he challenges us to chase is…

  • Justification, God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision

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    There has been a little bit of evangelical in-fighting going on recently.  Many in the traditionally reformed camp have criticized the theology of justification that N.T. Wright (and other NT scholars of his ilk) espouse.  John Piper wrote a book summarizing these criticisms, and N.T. Wright replied to Piper’s book with the one I am here reviewing.…

  • Life of Pi

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    This is a postmodern tale if I’ve ever read one.  For the first hundred pages or so, I wrestled with whether or not this ludicrous story was true.  The author indicates as much in his preface, but slowly I came to see even that as part of “the story.”  The story is not true, as in it…

  • Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

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    This is a helpful book for anyone wanting to grow in their understanding of race and racism in America.  In the book Dr. Tatum defines racism as a “system of advantage based on race”.  She differentiates between racism and bigotry by emphasizing the systemic nature of racism.  She then calls on people to be those who resist…

  • Magic Parenting

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    This book/DVD is worth its weight in gold.  It’s about disciplining your children in a way that is both effective and stress-reducing for the family system.  Mary, my wife, checked out the DVD version from our local library and we watched it last week.  We have since put it into practice, and so far we’ve…

  • Made to Stick

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      This book is about sticky ideas—stories, facts, and anecdotes that are inherently memorable.  In the book, the Heath brothers break down 6 elements of that make stories sticky.  They are: -Simple: have a core idea that is simple -Unexpected: If you say something unexpected, it get’s people’s attention and it is more memorable. -Concrete:…

  • The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime

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    Sometimes I get soul ache.  I start to feel disconnected from Christ.  I feel far from God.  I don’t like it, but I struggle to know how to solve it.  Greg Boyd recently blogged about just such an experience.  In his post he recommends leaning into Jesus more. I’ve found his advice to be right…

  • Monkey and the Fish

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    This is a book about becoming water.  It is a call for churches and ministries to become adaptable, flexible, and fluid with their cultural surroundings.  Gibbons points to the increasing globalization occurring as the primary reason driving the need for churches to become this way.  Neighborhoods are becoming more diverse, and the amount of cultural information…

  • Resident Aliens

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    This book is written to challenge churches to avoid become places filled with nice people, pastors, and purposes.  Too often in the American church landscape, the church co-opts the language and issues of the day and then simply rephrases them in Christian speak.  They don’t say anything too controversial or counter-cultural.  Willimon and Hauerwas challenge…

  • Moltmann, The Trinity and the Kingdom

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    I wish I would have discovered Jurgen Moltmann sooner.  What a fantastic theologian he is.  He writes with depth of insight, historical perspective, and a commitment to scriptural consistency.  He embraces the passion of God in a way that is sadly absent from many theological works on God, and writes in such a way that…