Book Reviews: Entertaining Angels

Entertaining Angels by Annie Chapman and Heidi Chapman Beall

Guests sometimes may seem the opposite of angels, but Chapman and Beall show hosts how to prepare for their arrivals so the stress of having company can be reduced.

The book gives recipes, shares problems that can be avoided and how to avoid them and tells how the gift of hospitality can affect you and others. The authors share instances about serving others during sickness, the holidays, a time of need, a wedding and other times people need to feel loved.

Hospitality does not solely rest on the host, however. The book teaches how to be an enjoyable guest, as well.

Whether you want to have a few friends over or plan an event for 100 or more, this book gives you the tools needed to be a wonderful host while showing Christ through your actions. Matthew 25:40 says, “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

Lauren Heartsill, Communications Intern

Baptist Standard, Dallas

Conversational Evangelism: How to Listen and Speak So You Can Be Heard by Norman Geisler and David Geisler (Harvest House Publishers)

In this age and culture of pluralism and spiritual consumerism, it’s helpful to remember that evangelism is a process (1 Corinthians 3:6), and groundwork usually is needed for a person’s ears to listen to the grace-filled message of Jesus Christ.

Norman Geisler and son David Geisler set out to challenge followers of Christ to understand and practice relational pre-evangelism—“tilling the soil of people’s minds and hearts to help them be more willing to listen to the truth.”

Some readers initially may question the repetitive nature of some of the material, but the Geislers’ purpose is to teach the average and largely under-trained believer to be skillful and prepared to talk about the gospel in normal everyday encounters with people. If a practical method is what the reader desires to learn, this book, with suggested questions and responses to use in certain conversation settings, will not disappoint.

Add to the experience by reading Conversational Evangelism and discussing it in evangelism classes or with home study groups.

Greg Bowman, Minister to Students

First Baptist Church, Duncanville

Give Me Your Heart by Cliff Lea (Crossbooks Publishing)

“My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways” (Proverbs 23:26).

This Old Testament verse is the inspiration for the touching and wonderfully instructive new book, Give Me Your Heart by Cliff Lea.

In an easy-to-read style filled with personal stories that are humorous, down-to-earth and quietly profound, Lea describes how the example of his earthly father—Tommy Lea, a seasoned pastor and later dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth—still is influencing his life, years after his death. Using his dad’s example, he unfolds a host of lessons he is still learning from his father. In doing so, he drives home the sobering point that all parents teach important life lessons daily, whether good or bad, planned or indifferent.

Give Me Your Heart is a “must read” for young parents. Cliff Lea is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Leesburg, Fla. He and his wife have five sons, ages 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15.

Bernie Hargis, Associate Pastor

Travis Avenue Baptist Church, Fort Worth