Currently I'm reading a book by Steve Turner called Popcultured.  The book is designed to help Christians  navigate the postmodern pop culture pathways.  One paragraph that I found particularly helpful for the Christian consumer of pop culture came in the chapter "Celebrity Culture,"

"So how should we approach celebrity as Christians?  We need to maintain our perspective.  Because someone can write memorable songs, tell gripping stories or design wonderful clothes doesn't mean they are worthy of reverence or deference.  We can respect someone who has a basic gift that they have subsequently developed, but we shouldn't glorify them as though they had invented the gift it self . . . it came directly from God" (105).

Good stuff.  Keep perspective and remember to keep the main thing, the main thing.

We all deal with failure, practically everyday. Sometimes when we do experience failure we question our faith and even God's love for us.  HERE is a great article on what to do when you fail.

Biblical literacy is essential in today's Christian life.  Sadly, we are failing the test of Biblical literacy on a day to day basis.  So HERE is a link to a layout of the parables of Jesus, showing which Gospels each shows up in and a reference verse for each parable.

Hey all - I'm hoping to post a weekly book review/introduction  for all my readers (oh yeah - topping 100 a day - rock star :).  The books will vary from devotional material, Christian culture, music, and even academic texts.  I'm mostly doing it for me so I can discipline myself to write more often.  A side benefit is introducing you to new books that I believe will enhance your life.

So the first book I'd like to introduce you to is Hidden in Christ by James Bryan Smith (click here to buy it).  Bryant is an accomplished speaker, professor, and writer.  I was introduced to him through his "Good and Beautiful" trilogy in his Apprentice Series - I love it.  He is a writer in the vein of Richard Foster, particularly in his devotional material.  Since I loved his other stuff I went ahead and bought this new one.

Hidden in Christ in more of a devotional than his Apprentice Series.  Based on Colossians 3:1-14, Smith walks the reader through a word by word (a new word or phrase each day) study of the passage.  Each chapter (3-4 pages in length), along with the analysis of a particular word, has an affirmation, prayer, and reflection passage.  These passages are supportive and based on the word or phrase that is being looked at in the chapter.  The chapters tie together nicely.

The book should be used as a devotional, as Bryan suggests in the introduction.  His Apprentice Series is more of a hybrid of devotional, spiritual disciplines, and small group discussion material.  Nevertheless, its a great tool to use in your daily reading.