Going Deep, Becoming a person of Influence by Gordon MacDonald is a book about a minister that realizes his church is in for trouble down the road if things don’t change. 

Church as normal i.e. Come at 9, sing, sit, listen, greet your neighbor, give your money leave at 10 or 11 isn’t going to cut it today. Why are we meeting like this? Why don’t the people in the church know each other better? 

Gordon’s answer comes from outside the box, his unsaved neighbor, who challenges him to have a good concise story of what his church is all about. He realizes that depth is what is missing. 

People actually taking the time to invest in each other and their faith. Caring whether or not each other is going deeper in their faith.

The Grace Effect by Larry Alex Taunton was no less than spell binding, quick, masterfully written. This book is about the adoption of a ten year old girl from the Ukraine by a Christian Family whose father is no less than a famous apologist for the Christian Faith. He learns up close and personal the truth of God’s fingerprint on us as human beings. He witnesses the impact of an atheistic society on this child and environment. It was truthful, educational and very real. I didn’t put it down until I had read it in full. A story of great patience and apologetics without mixing words. “How many dictatorships, genocides, purges, wars, famines, gulags, economic disasters, morally bankrupt leaders, and impoverished nations must the world suffer before its people realize that belief in God is necessary for the stability of civilization? I especially loved the debate at the end with a well know atheist befriended by the author. The question was: “Are all religions the same?” he chose to speak of the Christian doctrine which separates Christianity from all of the other faiths. Grace. While other religions offer salvation via “to do” lists, Christianity alone offers salvation through a Person who is accessed by the grace he so freely offers. Without grace, he argued, we are all without hope.  Amen, Larry Taunton, Amen I would have loved to hear the conversation as the atheist and Larry went for coffee after the debate.

I have never read any of Andy’s other works but I will now because of the impact his Final Summit has made on me. This is about a supernatural travel through time to gain answers and insight from the worlds most valued people. Andy has woven suspense, time travel, supernatural beings, historically key people, and God himself into an Ingenious and Powerful book on the state of the human race and what can be done to turn the destructive tide.  Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln just to wet your curiosity. The wisdom that the main character receives from the various historical figures is timeless.