EastCountyBooks

A thorough theological treatise on Providence

Revisado: 04-19-25

For as long as I've been a believer and pastor, I have never considered myself to be a full on tried and true Calvinist. And to be honest, I still don't. That said, I've always been Calvinistic in my thinking with plenty of room for free will in that mix. However, John Piper's work in this book is extraordinary. This was such a thorough, heartfelt, and carefully handled book about such a complicated and controversial issue, and I couldn't recommend it strongly enough for people who want to deepen their understanding of God and His mysterious ways sometimes. Providence is a tough issue to navigate, and an even tougher one to understand, and yet somehow, Piper strikes a perfect chord in how he explains it. It's biblical, passionate, and worth every minute of time you put into listening to it (which is good too, because it's a very long and thick book). For those in vocational ministry, or even bi-vocational, do yourself a favor and read/listen to this today!

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Orderly food on a disordered plate

Revisado: 03-14-25

To be perfectly honest, this was different than what I expected. I was expecting more of a treatise on finding order and a way forward in a world that's seemingly gone mad with "truth," and that's not totally what this book was about. However, what I found instead was very helpful as someone that works in the ministry world. This book is all about creeds and the advantage we have in our current day of being able to look back on church history and developing a clear and concise understanding of Truth as it it actually is--not what we make of it. I found chapter five to be the most helpful, entitled "Confession as Praise," because what it does is explain, very practically, why creeds are not only important but necessary as elements of how we structure our Christian churches. They bring clarity and focus to something that we need to understand, and can help us think rightly about all the most foundational aspects about our faith and beliefs--and helping us develop a proper theology of any number of issues that we need to understand. I'd particularly recommend this book for church leaders and elders.

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Get informed about your school's curriculum

Revisado: 02-18-25

If you take the time to listen to this book and get nothing else out of it, make sure you at least take away this main point: Your kid's education matters! And the truth is that far too often, parents have no idea what their kids are learning in the schools. They figure they should just leave the education of their children to the "professionals." Please don't do this! Our kids deserve so much more than the vast amount of social engineering garbage they get as their main education in far too many schools. Your kids don't need that! They need to learn how to read and write well, and do normal math. They need to build up a good work ethic, along with common sense and a healthy respect for adults and elders. And they need to NOT be pawns in the hands of Marxists and certain academic elites who want to turn them into cogs in some imaginary Communistic or Socialistic utopia.

Inform yourself by starting with reading this book to find out what has been happening in far too many schools for far longer than many of us care to admit. This is a large part of what your tax dollars are paying for and is highly likely making a home at the school near you. We can do better!

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Concisely interesting

Revisado: 02-11-25

Surprisingly enough, I had never read this story before my recent listen, but I can see why it has indeed become a classic. This is not a long story, but it's interesting nonetheless. It is also written beautifully. I will be honest, though, to really make the most of this story upon the FIRST read, I think a person would be better served reading the actual hard copy of it. The narration is absolutely stellar no doubt, courtesy of Richard Armitage, but it's easy to get lost in the listening of it and lose out on some of the vital details throughout the book if you don't give it your full and undivided attention, This audio version is an awesome option. I think, upon the second or third read and beyond. Either way, though, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" is definitely entertaining and worth your time.

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A strange reality

Revisado: 02-04-25

The truth is, much of this book is legitimately sad. As someone who spent many years working in the media, it's uncanny how often people of a certain liberal persuasion truly do sound crazy as you begin to notice the level pf hysteria they will promote in the world of politics, in particular. Obviously this can happen on the right too, but the most unsettling part is how often it happens in the mainstream media that you will hear of rabid and nutty conspiracy theories coming from the far left. And as silly as so much of it sounds, it is often even accepted as fact. This is not a healthy paradigm in our news media. Without spending too much time breaking it apart, the fact is this: Once you hear the sheer amount of "on-the-record" statements and crazy beliefs that have been touted and believed over the last 10-15+ years in this book, your media consumption will hopefully be transformed--causing you to be much more discerning of what you believe in the future. This book is an eye-opening listen.

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Matching faith and action

Revisado: 01-23-25

While on a bigger more expansive scale, I don't agree with Dietrich Bonhoeffer on everything as it related to his theology. But regarding politics and the public sphere, I absolutely do. It's not only irresponsible, but it's dangerous for those of us who call ourselves Christians to check out from our duties to play a role in helping form and design American government and its respective policies. And Eric Metaxas does an excellent job of laying this out for us in part two of the argument he began to expound on in "Letters to the American Church." In a country where we're blessed with the privilege to do so, we cannot leave the responsibility of self-governance to the atheist--as they have no solid and enduring foundation to work from regarding how to lead and take care of others. In the 20th century, specifically, you can see what happens when countries and their people try to do this very thing. Listen to this book to see why this is the case. On top of that, Eric Metaxas also does an excellent job, of course, reading his own book. I highly recommend.

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Know those who are influencing you

Revisado: 11-19-24

I think, more than anything, what I appreciated most about Megan Basham's book is the true journalism she used to investigate, report on, and write about in this book. As someone that was a journalist in a prior season of my life, this is the way good journalism is done. Not only is it well-researched, but it's important. Particularly for those of us who are currently pastoring at our local church, because in a world where so many people rely on social media and its corresponding influencers who have used the platform to carve out a niche for themselves, the influence they have is very real ... and can be very problematic. As Basham shows so well in this book, money and power talks loudly, and both of those things can easily grab hold of the people that are often sheep without a good (and biblical) shepherd to guide them. And this problem gets compounded when you have smart and cunning power brokers who know how to peddle their influence for much more nefarious means than God's perfect plan for our lives. Give this book a listen soon! And as a bonus, Basham does a fantastic job reading her own book as the narrator too. I highly recommend this to my fellow Christians and church leaders in particular.

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An obscure and perplexing savant of a President

Revisado: 08-29-24

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what to make of President Hoover after reading/listening to this biography. I don't gather he would've been an overly enjoyable person to know, but lots of presidents seemed to want his work and intellect in their corner ... for a time ... until they didn't. Hoover is a rather fascinating man who built up an impressive and eclectic resume over his long lifetime. And yet, he also seemed to start the trend of big-spending "conservatives" before FDR decided to put the start of those big-spending ways into hyperdrive and not only prolonging the Great Depression, but making it significantly worse that it could've been. Had Coolidge ran for another term, I suspect the Great Depression would have been more a blip in history than the absolute unnecessary anvil that it was due to Hoover's ways, which were aggressively compounded by FDR. That said, what you also find with Hoover is someone that cared deeply about those in deep need, particularly as it had to do with food and the effects of war and famine. He was definitely a very rich man who did much good with his fortune.

All that to say, this was a great biography that is extremely thorough, well-researched, and well-written. Which as you read it, you'll find out is quite the feat in itself because of how private Hoover was, along with the fact that he destroyed so much of his correspondence and personal effects. In comparison with other presidents, there's so much we don't know about Hoover on a personal level. The narrator also does a very good job of keeping things interesting despite the shortcomings of political biographies. I would definitely recommend this book to people that want to know more about our 31st president.

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A hard, but peace-filled journey through grief

Revisado: 07-09-24

I'll be honest, this is a very hard listen/read. We will all face grief, and many of us already have. Many of us are dealing with significant grief right now. But for those of us who are parents, when that grief involves the unexpected loss of our kid or young adult, that grief takes on an entirely different type of form ... and it can be absolutely excruciating. So as a dad of four kids, including one teen girl and three young boys, this book ripped me up from the inside out. It struck fear into my heart at the prospective loss of one of my own kids, and it gave me all sorts of peace and comfort that I could find a way through it regardless, if ever that day comes that I lose one of my own kids so unexpectedly. Tim Challies as the narrator isn't necessarily dynamic in this book, as I wouldn't expect him to be, but he's honest, authentic, vulnerable, and I wouldn't have wanted to listen to this book being read by anyone else. This is his and his family's story, and by extension, God's story for them ... and there is absolutely no one else that could've communicated it as powerfully. I would 100% recommend this for anyone that's either walking through grief and trying to make sense of how God plays into that process, or even people (particularly Christians) that want to better walk through grief with someone else dealing with it.

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A very necessary read

Revisado: 07-03-24

Regardless of whether you like Voddie Baucham or not, what he writes in this book is hard to argue with. "It's Not Like Being Black" is an absolutely important listen/read because what he's writing about in this book has and is engulfing the society all around us. This isn't necessarily a fun listen/read, but it's necessary in understanding what has happened in our culture, what is going on now, and where it's going ... and the truth is it should serve as an important wake up call to any Christians who have tried to ignore this, or want to deny the facts. The great thing about all of it, though, and Baucham does a good job of wrapping up at the end, is that despite what we're seeing in the world today, there is always hope ... and it's worth fighting for to help try and craft a better world for our kids, and their kids, and their kid's kids--whether that's in the schools, in politics, or elsewhere. For as he makes clear, if one of our main responsibilities as Christians is to bring glory to God by doing what we can to help people thrive, we cannot not do the necessary work of bringing Jesus's wise and good ways to live to all levels of society we can, I'd definitely recommend this audiobook. Unfortunately, the narration is a bit subpar.

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