A RESILIENT LIFE: You Can Move Ahead No Matter What Gordon MacDonald Nelson Books, 243 pp., $19.99
Quitter-Gene Therapy
Confessing he’s always had a “quitter’s gene,” Gordon MacDonald (Ordering Your Private World) reflects on how he has cultivated resilience.
MacDonald builds the book around his school years as a runner mentored by an exacting coach. The lessons he learned on the track become starting blocks for living the Christian life.
Resilient people, he writes, envision the big picture—looking forward but also backward at how the past has shaped them. They know the importance of spiritual disciplines such as a quiet time. They also know they can’t do it alone: They gather around them a “happy few” for sharing concerns, laughs, and accountability.
Resilient people are always pushing themselves to improve—spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. “I don’t want to be the myself I was yesterday,” MacDonald writes. “I want to be the myself that is developing each day to be more of a Christ-like person.”
He also examines our need to repent, to repair the past, and to trim our egos. These well-known truths are made fresh by MacDonald’s blend of humor, wisdom, and humility.
This book will invite multiple readings.
THREE VIEWS ON EASTERN ORTHODOXY AND EVANGELICALISM Stanley N. Gundry, series editor; James Stamoolis, general editor Zondervan, 304 pp., $14.99
East Meets West
Are Eastern Orthodoxy and evangelicalism compatible? In this scholarly dialogue from the Counterpoints series, five contributors respond across the spectrum—with illuminating results.
After each contributor answers the question, the others respond in turn. North Park University theologian Bradley Nassif answers the question with a passionate “yes.” He grew up Orthodox, but evangelical Christians had a profound influence on his faith while he was in his teens.
Michael Horton, editor in chief of Modern Reformation, and Orthodox pastor Vladimir Berzonsky answer “no.” “Maybe,” say Orthodox priest Edward Rommen and evangelical pastor and Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary adjunct professor George Hancock-Stefan.
Orthodox and evangelicals largely agree on the person of Christ, the nature of the Trinity, and the necessity of redemption, points out general editor James Stamoolis. “But there are still differences in theology, as well as in governance, worship, and tradition,” he notes.
Stamoolis, an evangelical who was previously Greek Orthodox, also briefly looks at why people convert either way and poses an intriguing question: “Will the postmodern world find the Christian faith it needs in the various forms of evangelicalism, or will the Eastern Orthodox Church fill a spiritual void for postmoderns?”
48 DAYS TO THE WORK YOU LOVE Dan Miller Broadman & Holman, 224 pp., $19.99
Scoring a Better Job
What if “going to work” meant doing what you enjoy the most each day? The president of the Business Source, a consulting firm for both personal and business development, takes a fresh look at our work, including how we end up in disagreeable jobs and how we can make changes.
Dan Miller cautions against “sanctified ignorance”—the belief that if we love God, everything will work out on its own. “The truly godly life is one of focused purpose,” Miller writes. With this in mind, he urges readers to create a written life plan, setting financial, physical, family, spiritual, social, career, and personal goals.
Miller then offers concrete advice on forming and attaining vocational goals, right down to the best day and time to interview for a job. He includes sample résumés, ideas for dealing with job search discouragement, and questions for reflection.
Those who are unemployed, unhappy with work, retired and restless, or finishing high school and college will find sound advice.
TO FLY AGAIN: Surviving the Tailspins of Life Gracia Burnham with Dean Merrill Tyndale House, 224 pp., $19.99
Jungle Wisdom
In her follow-up to In the Presence of My Enemies, former missionary hostage Gracia Burnham offers short homilies on living the Christian life in the face of difficult circumstances. “The truth is, trials and trouble and tribulation come to us all,” Burnham writes.
She draws on Scripture, flashbacks to her 376-day ordeal in the jungle, and especially anecdotes from her childhood and post-hostage days. Her martyred husband Martin’s survival kit reminds her of God’s “spiritual survival kit,” the promise that we can manage any situation with his help. After wrecking her teenage son’s car, she muses over our need for grace. The welcome surprise of receiving a can of Coca-Cola in the jungle leads to talk about praise.
Burnham’s suffering and loss give added weight to her writing about joy, gratitude, anger, and eschewing revenge. “The times when life seems unmanageable to us are the times when we find that our God is truly good,” Burnham writes. “His goodness shines through in the times when we are uncomfortable, when all of life seems to have gone crazy.”
Cindy Crosby is the author of By Willoway Brook: Exploring the Landscape of Prayer (Paraclete, 2003).
Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
A Resilient Life is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.
Author Gordon MacDonald is an editor at large and regular contributor to our sister publication, Leadership.
More information is available from the publisher.
Three Views on Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.
More information is available from the publisher.
48 Days To The Work You Love is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.
More information, including a sample chapter, is available from the publisher.
More about the author and his message is available from his website.
To Fly Again is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.
More information, including a sample chapter, is available from the publisher.
Our full coverage of Gracia Burnham’s earlier book and her captivity is available on our website.
For more books, our Books & Culture Corner weekly reviews books. More reviews and interviews are available from our Book page, as well as our 2004 Book Awards page.
