Book reviews

image_pdfimage_print

Posted: 2/29/08

Book reviews

How to Talk to Your Doctor: Getting the Answers and Care You Need, by Patricia Agnew (Quill Driver Books)

On a recent Sunday, I visited a church where a surgeon is one of the deacons. He operated on me more than 30 years ago when I was in pain, and he solved the problem. I never had talked with him since, and this gave me a chance to say “thank you.”

Patricia Agnew is almost my age. She has written this how-to book of less than 100 pages to focus on the awkward patient-to-physician position. Witty but clear, its thoroughness almost guarantees your next appointment will be better than the last one.

What are you reading that other Texas Baptists would find helpful? Send suggestions and reviews to [email protected].

So, I’m going to write down some questions. Take a list of my medications. Ask somebody to go with me so that I don’t misunderstand. Bring up first the main reason I came. Make the most of my 15 minutes with the doctor. And if I still need details, use the computer or the public library for follow-up.

Dealing with the pharmacy. Undergoing a battery of tests. Options about surgery. Reading the bill. All those things are covered, with an emphasis on needs of those of us who are in the last half of life.

Bob Beck

Intentional interim pastor

Fort Worth


The Ten–Second Prayer Principle, by Mark Littleton (Howard Books)

The Ten–Second Prayer Principle is a great encouragement to those of us who feel we need to pray more.

I have always been convicted by the prayer lives of David Brainerd, John Hyde and Martin Luther. I could never measure up! But Mark Littleton has assembled and illustrated 16 ways to redeem those small segments of the day that seem lost and convert them into times to pray. I see these as “triggers” or reminders to pray without ceasing.

Walk with “Tom,” Littleton’s example of an ordinary man who learns to use simple techniques like the A-S-K principle, the Shift principle and others that enabled him to become a significant prayer warrior.

The Ten–Second Prayer Principle is a refreshing and practical way to enjoy small bits of time all day in prayer. This book is a good read.

Leo Smith, executive director

Texas Baptist Men

Dallas

The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary, by Mark Sanborn (Currency/Doubleday)

The Fred Factor is a system of evaluating life and work through a comparison to the author’s mail carrier, Fred. Mark Sanborn views Fred as “a gold-plated example of what personalized service looks like and a role model for anyone who wants to make a difference in his or her work.”

Sanborn identifies four Fred principles—everyone makes a difference; success is built on relationships; you must continually create value for others, and it doesn’t have to cost a penny; and you can reinvent yourself regularly. He spends the majority of the book describing these principles and providing examples.

He concludes the most important thing about the Fred Factor is to love others, just as Fred does. In a sense, he urges us to ask, “What Would Fred Do?” While the book is enjoyable reading, a better book with a better role model is familiar to most Christians.

Van Christian, pastor

First Baptist Church

Comanche






News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.


Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays



We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.

Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.

More from Baptist Standard