Jeff McLain

This is a review of Praying with Power, a book on the Lord’s Prayer, by John Ortberg. This book is part of the New Community Bible Study Series from Zondervan . - a series that looks to explore biblical perspectives in community with a small group. In looking at the Lord’s Prayer, John Ortberg offers six sessions each with reflection and commentary, reflective questions and journaling moments, and additional leader notes. Ortberg’s intent throughout Praying with Power , is to help the church see that “at the feet of Jesus we can learn to pray with a new depth, passion, and fruitfulness.” As a people who live by very busy and demanding schedules, we follow Jesus who “when his schedule got demanding…made space for prayer.” This workbook is about learning to quiet our hearts and speak to Jesus, simply so that we can say “Teach me to pray” and then alongside others, learn what that prayer looks like in our world of abundance and distraction. This book is written very simply and for a ...

This review covers Excellence in Teaching with the Seven Laws by Carl Shafer. In this book, Shafer offers a contemporary adaptation of John Milton Gregory's original seven laws of teaching. First published in 1985 by Baker Book House, this updated edition was released in 2015 by Wipf & Stock Publishers . Notably, this edition includes a preface by Philip E. Runkel, the current Superintendent of Public Instruction, who occupies the position once held by Gregory, the originator of these foundational teaching principles. I will note that this reprint features an unremarkable generic cover and a fairly large font size.  Carl Shafer was known as an author, life coach, mentor, and teacher.[1] Holding a doctoral degree in education degree from Western Michigan University, Shafer had a passion for teaching and had taught at numerous universities.[2] In addition to his academic contributions, he served as the Human Resource/Public Relations Manager at The Dow Chemical Company for 34 ye...

This is a review of Not In It To Win It by Andy Stanley . Released in 2022, into the politically polarized divides of the post-pandemic world, Andy Stanley addresses why choosing sides, no matter what the side, sidelines the church. Though  Not In It To Win It  is certainly contextualized in the conversations following the pandemic, the book reaches beyond this conversation into many other areas of polarization, division, and disunity in the church.  In  Not In It To Win It , Stanley helps pastors and followers of Jesus realize that they are writing their own pandemic story, that others are reading, and each response adds to it while people are watching. It is his hope to help the church write a good story in this divided and polarized world. Throughout the book, Stanley helps individuals realize that the uncertainty of our time isn’t the problem, nor is it what created problems, but rather it merely exposed what we value most as individuals, and exposed the mis-pr...

This is a book review of How to Revive Evangelism by Craig Springer. Released through Zondervan Reflective (an imprint of Zondervan ) in 2021, How to Revive Evangelism includes a collaboration with the Alpha Course and insights and research from the  Barna Group . Craig Springer explores seven vital shifts to show we evangelize our faith. Overall, How to Revive Evangelism is a short read. It includes stories, research, and exegeting stories from the scriptures. This small book, just shy of 200 pages, features seven main chapters corresponding with the seven vital shifts needed based on the research from the Barna Group . In addition, there is a chapter on the book's front and back end to open and close the chapters on the seven shifts. I also appreciated the Forward from David Kinnaman . Known for his work as an author and the CEO of the  Barna Group , David Kinnaman shares that though we long to see “people’s hearts come alive to Jesus,” we realize that “so much stands...

This is a review of Lord, Teach Us: The Lord’s Prayer & the Christian Life by  William H. Willimon  and  Stanley Hauerwas . Published in 1996 by Abingdon Press , the book thoroughly examines each line of the Lord’s Prayer, as taught by Jesus and revered by the church through the ages. As a resource, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord’s Prayer & the Christian Life offers unmatched historical, theological, and practical insights from two esteemed theologians who have been renowned for their collaboration and their collective work in academia.  Featuring an Introduction and ten chapters, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord’s Prayer & the Christian Life is just a little over 100 pages, but is an exhaustive look at the pattern of prayer taught by Jesus and instituted for the disciples and early church. In the Introduction, the authors state that this is a prayer “you must learn to pray,” because each line marks the journey of the Christian.[1] From the start they suggest, we pray...

This is a review of The Lord’s Prayers by Elton Trueblood. Released in 1965, on Harper & Row Publishers, Elton Trueblood’s classic work was developed after he gave a presentation at St. Paul’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, in 1964. Though he was supposed to present on another topic for the week, he felt nudged to announce a series on the prayers of Jesus. He shares that the book, The Lord’s Prayers emerged from that experience. After that week he shares that he was determined to “put my meditations on this important theme into book form,” and that presentation with “a number of weeks, mostly alone in the wilderness, have made the writing possible.”[1] This reflective book and work has, as he states, a universal appeal and application to more than just that singular context. Though theology is shared, this is not a theological book, and at the same time it is not a general Christian living book either. Elton Trueblood’s The Lord’s Prayers walks a fine line between those two wor...