Wilson covers all the major concerns of shaping boys into real men: laziness, sex, secret sin, courtship, girls, friends, fights, school work, and sports to name a few. Each section is written with that ‘serrated edge’ he is known for, so you need to read with a smile and not take offense if you are to gain from many of his good insights. —Paul W. Martin @ kerux noemata

Interestingly, Wilson notes that the abandonment of the Psalms in worship means that the church has discarded a songbook, that is throughly masculine in its lyrics, in favour of the effeminate hymns of the 19th and 20th century. The result being that the church is dominated by females as men are put off attending divine worship. The author also has lots of helpful advice on how parents should instruct their boys with regard to work, sports, education, friendship, sex, courtship, fighting, bearing firearms and the use of money; which, all in all, makes for a very stimulating read. —Daniel Ritchie @ Reformed Covenanter

This is a book on raising boys? Wow, I think I came away from reading Future Men with more instruction on raising myself! Not that it was necessarily Wilson’s aim, but his lessons are of the sort that I need to put them into practice myself before I can raise my own boy in them. This one is so insightful that I need to read it again; there’s just too much to soak up in the first reading!

There is much in this book that is edifying. It helped me understand Mark Driscoll and showed how he grew a megachurch in a largely unchurched city in only eight years. He is clearly a passionate, focused man who is genuinely seeking hard after God. He has much to offer the church. I wonder, though, how long his message will be heard as long as it is wrapped in a sometimes vulgar, always sarcastic, package. It may endear him to some, but it will surely alienate him from far more. —Tim Challies @ Challies.com

Driscoll seems very reflective on the way his church runs. He writes about his epiphanies he has and how things in the church needs to change. He certainly is dynamic, not in his writing, probably in his speech, but more so in the way he kicks the church into movement. —Kevin @ Tension Treatises

After the firestorm that erupted among Godbloggers last year over some of the contents of this book, I’ve been following Mark Driscoll (and listening to his sermons via podcast). The guy who I used to know only as “Mark the Cussing Pastor” (thanks to Blue Like Jazz) is quite a character, but this book showed me just how much he’s gone through. This ain’t no spring chicken on the church growth scene; he’s perhaps been through fiercer battles than most small-town preachers will ever see. In and through all of that, he’s being forged into a pillar of the Church, mark my words.

And that’s what this book is all about: it’s an autobiographical take on Mark’s work with Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. He walks us through the good an bad times he’s experienced during his tenure there. I’d say not only is this book great for pastors looking for some inspiration or encouragement, but church members would do well to read this and understand just how rough it can be to pastor a church.

Some people have complained about how Driscoll talks about some things in the book, but honestly? I consider the transparency in here a breath of fresh air – it’s a level of authenticity rarely reached by clergy, who all too often seem to prefer erring on the side of hypocrisy. I mean, the way I see it discretion is just plain way overdone among pastors these days. (It’s worse than the upper management in large corporations, where every little statement has to be scrutinized by a team of lawyers before it’s released to the public.) Driscoll just isn’t afraid of the potential backlash for telling it like it really is, and I respect him for that.

But today, I have found just such a something. Go, read this analysis and commentary on Mims’ This Is Why I’m Hot. (HT: Seth Godin) This is what music reviews ought to be.

Happy Friday!

Dear Travis,
I’m writing to you from Bridge Worldwide, a relationship marketing agency that’s working with the makers of Folgers® to promote the launch of their new Gourmet Selections^TM coffees.

Get Free Gourmet Coffee!
We would love to send you free samples of new gourmet-inspired, deliciously aromatic coffees. Why? Because we recognize that others value your opinions, and that you take the time to share your insights.

What’s the catch? There is none. All we ask is that you post an honest review on your blog.

Of course, we hope that you like the product, but we’re most interested in your opinion. And we would appreciate a link to your review after you have posted it online.

That was September 14th. Soon after (and before the coffee arrived!), I decided to step away from the blog for a while. I must say, my furlough was delightfully coffee-filled! I was sent three 10-ounce bags of their new coffees to try, and this series will be spent reviewing each one in-depth. In the meantime, you can get your free Gourmet Selections sample at Folgers’ web site.

I figure it’s the least I can do, what with making them wait so long for their review.

Coming Soon: Part 2: Morning Café

David recently had an interview with Jen Contino at Comicon.com, whick includes a bunch of cool preview art for our Walt Disney Treasures book! I stumbled on this tidbit, too:

Newspaper strip source materials often tend to be in worse shape than stories originally created for comic books. In the case of Walt Disney Treasures‘ Brer Rabbit story, which came from newspaper strips, the line art looked beautiful, but there were dozens of specks on almost every panel. Our fearless art director, Travis Seitler, did a magnificent job of cleaning it up: so perfect that you wouldn’t guess it had been repaired, which is as good as repair work gets!

Source: Comicon PULSE: Gerstein & Walt Disney Treasures

Oh, David — you shouldn’t have!

Meanwhile, commentor Bring Back Zot wants hardcover editions of our books. How about you? Would you like a hardcover edition of Treasures, The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck or our DuckTales books?

Augie de Blieck at Comic Book Resources just gave a glowing review of Carl Barks’ Greatest DuckTales Stories, vol. 1:

“This is an important book and one which should be an easy sell to more than just Duck readers. For those who got the bug from Rosa’s LIFE AND TIMES last year, this is the next logical step. These are great self-contained stories in the classic mold that are easily accessible.”

“The print quality of this book is exceptional. It’s amazing what you can get for $11 these days. Gemstone didn’t skimp on anything to get the book down to this price point. It’s a full-sized full color book, with a solid spine and everything. It sold out at my shop — get it while it lasts at yours today. Special order it if you must.”

Augie also had some kind words to say about Kneon Transitt’s exceptional coloring in Uncle Scrooge #354‘s Passport to Lisbon:

“The coloring for the story is credited to ‘Egmont and Kneon Transitt.’ It’s different from any other Duck story I’ve ever seen. The Duck stories use mostly flat colors. You might get a slight gradient in the background when there’s no detail in there, but that’s about it. This story, though, looks like it was colored by a Marvel or DC colorist.”

So go check out the whole column… and then buy the books!

“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.” — Proverbs 18:17 (ESV)

If you’re entirely convinced that the MSM properly covered the “10 Commandments standoff” in 2003, you ought to hear the other side of the story. Contrary to the straw-man the news outlets potrayed, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore’s goal was the acknowledgment of a higher authority than the courts… and the courts didn’t like that.

What we had in ’03 was the result of our idolatry of man: howling and gnashing his teeth when he’s told that he is not God. All claims of “tolerance” aside, there is one thing fallen man simply cannot tolerate: submission to the authority of God. This was shown to be the case when the U.S. Supreme Court said that a state courthouse could not display the Ten Commandments in such a way as to imply that it had any greater authority than any other set of ancient laws or codes.

So Help Me God is an autobiography, and as such it provides an overview of Fmr. Justice Moore’s life, his priorities, his goals, and his God. Not only that, but (citing numerous historical documents) Moore builds a strong case for the Founding Fathers seeing “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” as the basis of all law. If such is the case, then the sort of tolerance which denies the superiority of God’s revealed law is, in its very nature, unlawful.

“And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.’ When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.” — Acts 5:27-33 (ESV)

Moore was removed from office for refusing to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion. Perhaps it’s time to learn why he chose to do that. And may Jesus Christ be honored by this Hananiah’s refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s image.

…because it’s not wise to simply pass along what everyone else is saying, right?

Nicole and I went to the library last night, and I found two “Christian living” books I’ll be reading specifically because of the negative reviews they’ve received on a number of Christian web sites I frequent. Hopefully there’s some good that can be taken from these books, as they’ve both been extremely popular titles. (I know Christians can be as dumb as sheep, but I’d like to think American believers aren’t totally ignorant.)

Once they’re read I’ll post my reviews. Until then, feel free to guess what they might be. Who knows; you might add to my list of “must-reviews”!

Landon Snow is my kind of kid. He wants to figure things out; to "know the reason why." He’s not content to let things be; no, he is uncomfortable with mystery.

"Landon liked to have reasons for everything. But he tried not to ask too many questions. Instead, he came up with reasons on his own. It felt good to explain things, at least to himself. If he knew the reason for something, he was happy. If not, he was uncomfortable. For instance, even though he would have preferred to sit by a window and even more than that would have liked to ride in his mom�s SUV, he understood the reasons for his current situation. These were that his mom�s car was in need of repair and he had been too slow in remembering to call for a window seat. The first reason wasn�t due to anyone�s fault, really. And he could only blame himself for the second."

I can identify with Landon. Things that don’t make sense bug me… a lot. So needless to say, when I read the above, I was hooked. I’ve never felt so much like I was the character I was reading about.

Landon Snow is a young man who is given two gifts for his eleventh birthday — two gifts which send him on a whirlwind adventure into the "Book of Meanings" much like Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole. As with Alice’s adventures in Wonderland, the places Landon discovers are strange (and sometimes frustrating). It’s a crazy trip, and by the time Landon had met his first Odd, my head was spinning.

That would be my main point of dislike with the Auctor’s Riddle: we spend chapters upon chapters on what seems, in the end, to have simply been the "rabbit hole." Hopefully there will be a return to these landmarks in future books, because there seems to be quite a universe waiting to be fleshed out there; but it felt more like weak editing.

My other "huh?" moment was at the end of the book: I was left unconvinced at how the "Grandpa got hurt" thread got "resolved"; it’s essentially, "I’m back now… and oh yeah, Grandpa was at the hospital. Oh, he’s here now, and we’re going to the library later. Okay, I’m happy."

Even with those gripes, though, I absolutely fell in love with this book! The characters are written well, the plot isn’t corny, and (surprise, surprise) the distinctive Christian elements came across cheese-free! As another blogger noted, it’s like Alice in Wonderland, but with a point. (Shoot! I knew I should have kept that window open. For the life of me, I don’t know who said that! Sorry!)

The theme of the book is coincidence… chance. We so often live as if the universe is guided by chance, but what if there is a God, and He is sovereign over the affairs of the universe (let alone man)? What does that mean when life gets crazy? What does it mean when loved ones are hurt?

As I said in my pre-review, I give Landon Snow and the Auctor’s Riddle 4½ stars. I recommend it for anyone between 10 and 30, and fans of Alice in Wonderland, too.

You can find out more at the official website, or by checking out the author’s profile on Barbour’s web site and the illustrator’s blog.

Edit (November 16, 2007): I’ve taken it off completely now.

So… I give it 4½ stars, but I’ll have to get back to you on an actual review. (Sorry!)

Really, though, my review will be up soon!

Read this book.

If you can afford to, buy it. If you can’t, root through every library in your state until you can get your hands on a copy.

Seriously, folks. If the sequels hold up, this series is like Harry Potter meets The Chronicles of Narnia. Or even just The Chronicles of Narnia set in 16th-century England. I dunno, it’s just good.

You can read all sorts of reviews, so I won’t repeat their efforts. The best I can do (without ruining the best parts) is to highly recommend it!

Sex isn’t primarily about procreation, partnership or pleasure. First and foremost, it’s designed to bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ.

From the very beginning John Piper and Justin Taylor make it abundantly clear that this book will blaze a trail almost completely ignored in other "Christian sex books": namely, that if "all things" are to be done to the glory of God, and sex must logically be included in "all things," a Christian must learn how sex brings glory to God, and then seek to thus glorify him.

In the first two chapters Piper lays out and expounds on two main points: "sexuality is designed by God as a way to know God in Christ more fully," and "knowing God in Christ more fully is designed as a way of guarding and guiding our sexuality." While I was immediately ready to assent to this thesis, I was blown away by Piper’s unpacking of it. I honestly felt as if the scales had fallen from my eyes: where before I would have casually agreed with the statement, now I was overwhelmed as I began to finally understand its implications.

Chapter one opens with beheadings—not what one assumes will launch a book on Christian sexuality. But Piper has a good reason, based on chapter 5 of Matthew’s gospel: "there is something far more important than to keep your eye or your hand—or your head—namely, to receive eternal life and not to perish in hell. And Jesus links it with the war that we are waging not in Iraq but in our hearts. And the issue is sexual desire and what we do with it." While most books in this genre are—at best—books where God has been invited as a guest speaker, this is a book about God. All of the authors do a fantastic job of making sure He stays at the forefront of each discussion.

As the “book form” of the Desiring God 2004 National Conference, chapters 6-9 serve as “breakout sessions” for four groups of people: single men, married men, single women and married women, respectively. Sadly, I think these chapters fail to address much of anything in a new light; readers of these chapters will find what amounts to condensed versions of Not Even a Hint Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is), Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God: What Every Christian Husband Needs to Know, Feminine Appeal, and Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? Trusting God with a Hope Deferred — books which this title’s audience are likely to have read already, and were already listed as recommended reading for the conference. But perhaps you haven’t read those books. In that case, these chapters are excellent summations of that material (and for a fraction of the price).

Other chapters cover topics such as the goodness of sex (Chapter 3), why battling lust is so difficult (Chapter 4), how Christians should approach “homosexual marriage” (Chapter 5) and how Martin Luther and the Puritans really viewed sex (Chapters 10 and 11, respectively).

This is a book I would highly recommend for the first two chapters alone! While I wasn’t crazy about the repeated efforts of the “breakout session” chapters, they served as a good refresher, and none of this content disappointed me. Therefore, I heartily recommend Sex and the Supremacy of Christ to you.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or [make love to your spouse], do all to the glory of God.” — 1 Corinthians 10:31