Know Who You Are: Live Like It Matters

By Tim Tebow with A.J. Gregory (WaterBrook)

Readers will recognize sports icon Tim Tebow as Heisman Trophy-winning football player at the University of Florida, former NFL quarterback and now an outfielder with the New York Mets. Tebow shares his heartfelt journey of loving Christ, no matter the cost.

Tebow’s message, “The only identity worth having—is found in Jesus Christ,” is seen throughout the pages of Know Who You Are: Live Like It Matters. As he shares his successes and failures, readers are drawn into the events of his life. Tebow journeys back to his childhood and introduces his parents, emphasis the significance of family.

This book is intended to speak to the heart of homeschoolers. Even so, being more than 60 years old and stepping out of my comfort zone with a new adventure, I was encouraged and reminded identity is from Christ and not from this world.

The author guides readers through 36 lessons. Each begins with a Bible verse and concludes with the opportunity to journal thoughts, feelings and opinions. The interactive guide is set up in four parts with nine lessons each.

It is a great resource for discovering or confirming our identity in Christ. In a world searching for significance, readers are reminded our identity is from Christ and Christ alone.

Bobbie Bomar-Brown

Nederland, Colo.

CSB Study Bible

Edited by Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (B&H Publishing Group)

Think of the CSB Study Bible, featuring Holman’s Christian Standard Bible translation and extensive notes, as a multi-purpose encyclopedia.

This Bible includes study notes, maps, charts, word studies, illustrations and photos. It also has introductions to the books of the Bible, timelines and essays on major biblical and theological issues. Finally, it includes a concordance to the Christian Standard Bible.

One note to readers: The font for the scripture is 9.5. The peach-notes on each page are a bit smaller.

Because it has so many helpful features, this hardcover Bible is very thick and heavy. It is designed for personal study at home or in an office. It’s not the kind of Bible most worshippers would carry with them to church. However, as a resource Bible, it has it all.

Skip Holman, minister of discipleship

Northeast Baptist Church

San Antonio

Beauty, Order, and Mystery: A Christian Vision of Human Sexuality

Edited by Gerald L. Hiestand and Todd Wilson (IVP Academic)

Evangelicals often are criticized—fairly—for being known more by what we are against than by what we are for. This tendency especially is pronounced in current cultural conversations regarding sexuality and gender. Evangelicals—myself included—hold strong opinions on the topics, but we tend to have a hard time articulating a reason for these opinions beyond “this is what Scripture teaches.” This isn’t a bad answer per se, but it presents two problems. First, many in our society don’t accept the Christian Scriptures as authoritative. Second, we don’t all read the Scriptures in the same way or have the same interpretations of important passages. For this reason, further dialogue is needed on these issues beyond a simple appeal to biblical texts.

Beauty, Order, and Mystery: A Christian Vision of Human Sexuality, an upcoming collection of essays on gender and sexuality from the Center for Pastor Theologians, seeks to make a positive, well-reasoned, scripturally faithful case for traditional evangelical views on these issues, and it does it masterfully. Beauty, Order, and Mystery is the best book I have ever read on human sexuality in general, but particularly from a conservative evangelical perspective. For those convinced that Scripture restricts marriage to two heterosexual individuals and that biological sex does not exist on a spectrum, or for those who object to these conclusions but want to interact with the best possible defenses of these positions, Beauty, Order, and Mystery is second to none.

Jake Raabe, student

Truett Theological Seminary

Waco

Growing Up

By Rob Gallaty with Randall Collins (Broadman/Holman)

Rob Gallaty’s book not only talks about discipleship, but also about disciples making disciples. He writes from personal experience.

David Platt, who wrote the book’s foreword, tells how when Platt taught a seminary class, he asked one of his students, Gallaty, to pray with him. Platt now is president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board, and Gallaty is disciplemaking pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn., and president of Replicate Ministries. 

Among Gallaty’s distinctive approaches is the D-Group, a small discipleship group. He believes it is better to have four or five in a D-Group rather than trying to disciple one-on-one.

Each chapter in this valuable book has one or more questions to consider. Every chapter includes a memory verse.

Don’t stop reading when you finish the final chapter. The back of the book is rich, as well. Appendices are related to the chapters in the book, and two bibliographies include virtually every book a disciplemaker should read to know more about discipleship.

This book is a must for every pastor, minister of education and/or discipleship and any Christian who believes in the need to make disciples.

Skip Holman, minister of discipleship

Northeast Baptist Church

San Antonio

Waking Up Slowly:

Spiritual Lessons from My Dog, My Kids, Critters, and Other Unexpected Places

By Dave Burchett (Tyndale) 

In Waking Up Slowly, Dave Burchett describes the results of his efforts to “quit going steady with my device and just be friends.” However, the Texas Rangers TV director’s experiment occurred prematurely when he lost his phone at the airport with no time to snag a replacement. Day One confirmed addiction. Day Two, better. Day Three, Burchett realized its negative impact on relationships.

From there, the Emmy-winner offers engaging lessons ranging from “busyness is not next to godliness” and “time to rethink Sabbath” to “kindness really is contagious” and “powered by prayer.” He sprinkles in personal stories, relatable examples, relevant research, and appropriate Scripture, concluding each chapter with “God’s Take” and “A Dose of Grace.” Personal black-and-white photos complement the text.

Half-way through the book, I recognized Burchett’s son as a friend. The connection might have made a difference in this review had I not already been hooked on “chatting with the author” during my daily devotionals. Waking Up Slowly relates to any Christian who enjoys sports, pets and/or family, whether or not he or she makes the decision to “quit going steady with a device and just be friends.”

Kathy Robinson Hillman, former president

Baptist General Convention of Texas

Waco

Supervising and Supporting Ministry Staff: A Guide to Thriving Together

By Kevin E. Lawson and Mick Boersma (Alban Institute: Rowman & Littlefield)

Many churches have no process for supervising ministry staff. They tried it, but it wasn’t worth the relational friction it caused. Other churches have no one who knows how to provide supervision or evaluations, so they never even try.

The authors hope to create a better option by using both their individual experiences, and their research, to create a guidebook that can provide helpful tools and guidance for “supervising and supporting ministry staff.” The book’s primary target is pastors, to assist them in helping their subordinate ministers. Nevertheless, personnel committees would be helped if they knew what a pastor could and should be doing, and if committees would implement some of the suggestions themselves. 

Lawson and Boersma use a helpful, three-part approach in each chapter. They explain their points well, they illustrate their points from real-church stories, and then they offer testimonial quotes from others. Taking a team approach to church staffs, they cover team building, staff meetings, one-on-one meetings, supporting ministers in their duties, supporting ministers in their personal lives, annual performance reviews, providing for performance improvement, and terminating staff ministers. The book ends with a chapter on self-care for the pastors they are addressing, to counter the emotional and spiritual drainage that comes from these duties.  

This book would be a good one to read and then keep at-the-ready for anyone providing supervision to church staffs. 

Karl Fickling, coordinator

Interim Church Services

Baptist General Convention of Texas

The Wise Owl: A Story of Jesus

By Boots Brizendine (Westbow Press)

In this wonderful children’s picture book, author Boots Brizendine shares the birth of Jesus in a unique way—from the viewpoint of an owl. Readers meet Mary and Joseph as they enter the stable in Bethlehem, and through the eyes of the barn owl experience the wonder of the Christ child’s birth.

In addition to the well-written story, the author concludes her book with simple A-B-C steps to salvation:

• A—Admit you have done something wrong.
• B—Believe Jesus will forgive that wrong in your life because he loves you. Jesus loved you so much that he died for the wrong things you have done.
• C—Confess with your mouth your belief that Jesus loves you and has forgiven the wrong things you have done.

The colorful illustrations depict biblical scenes of the Christmas story, which the author says should be shared all year long. This book is so beautiful and simple, it would be a wonderful gift or a treasure to keep.

Bobbie Bomar-Brown

Nederland, Colo.

As Kingfishers Catch Fire

By Eugene H. Peterson (Waterbrook)

For nearly three decades, members of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Md., enjoyed a rare privilege. Week by week, they listened to wordsmith Eugene Peterson preach. Over his 29 years as the congregation’s founding pastor, those worshippers undoubtedly heard some of the most skillfully crafted sermons delivered in the past generation. In the process, they learned what God had to say to them as a specific group of Christ-followers in their unique context. Peterson has described the sermons as a collaborative effort—an ongoing conversation between the pastor and his people, as they collectively listened for a word from God.

Those of us who did not have the opportunity to hear the sermons delivered now have access to the next-best thing. As Kingfishers Catch Fire collects 49 sermons—seven each grouped under the names of Moses, David, Isaiah, Solomon, Peter, Paul and John. By Peterson’s reckoning, each biblical personality offers a distinctive approach, and sermons preached in their company together help to constitute “the whole counsel of God.” The sermons span his three decades at the Maryland congregation, and glimmers of the congregation’s personality appear.

After all, Peterson consistently refused to accept God’s self-revelation simply as a set of high-flown propositions. Rather, he insisted on the Mystery of Incarnation—God taking on flesh and blood and moving into the neighborhood. And that means the church, the Body of Christ, likewise must live out its faith in the common day-to-day routines of the workplace, the home and the streets.

So, the sermons seem simultaneously directed to a specific congregation in Bel Air and universally applicable to all God’s people, wherever they live. And they do it with poetic sensitivity. Peterson writes: “Poetry is not the language of objective explanation but the language of imagination. It makes an image of reality in such a way as to invite our participation in it.”

As any reader of The Message translation of Scripture knows, Peterson has a love affair with well-chosen words. Few use language with the grace and skill he exhibits. At the same time, the sermons collected here make it clear Peterson’s preaching was not mere performance art. Instead, they grew out of a pastoral sensitivity to the people in the pews. The book takes its title from a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, which Peterson reads as a series of metaphors about congruence. The poem describes the rightness and wholeness found when what one is and what one does are seamless. This collection of sermons by pastor-poet Peterson has that sense of congruence.

Ken Camp, managing editor

Baptist Standard

The Cat Burglars

By Max Elliot Anderson (Elk Lake)

Author Max Elliot Anderson quickly grabs young readers’ attention with his main character, Kurt Benson. The 11-year-old’s exuberant personality adds to the story. His neighborhood friend has been burglarized, so he rushes off to his summer job at a doggie/cat kennel and shares the news with his two best friends, Riley and Jordan. This sets the stage for the drama throughout the pages of Anderson’s novel.

As the home burglaries escalate, the trio team up to solve the crimes. Anderson masterfully mixes humor and suspense, keeping readers engaged. In their determination to catch the villains, Kurt, Riley and Jordan struggle balancing work, sleep and parents.

Young readers will find the adventures of the three boys entertaining and funny.

Bobbie Bomar Brown

Nederland, Colo.

For the Glory

By Duncan Hamilton (Penguin Random House)

Read some biographies, and the life story of the subject seems too good to be true. However, a rare few individuals are so indisputably good, the truth of their noble lives remains unmistakable. Eric Liddell fits the latter category.

Many Americans know Liddell only as the hero of Chariots of Fire, the 1981 Academy Award-winning motion picture best known for its stirring theme song. The movie focused on how Liddell, a devout Christian, refused to violate his principles regarding Sabbath-keeping by competing on a Sunday at the 1924 Olympics in Paris in the 100-meter race, which he was favored to win. Instead, he ran in the 400-meter race, winning a gold medal. Everything that followed of Liddell’s life was summarized in two sentences on the screen at the movie’s end: “Eric Liddell, missionary, died in occupied China at the end of World War II. All of Scotland mourned.”

In For the Glory, accomplished sportswriter Duncan Hamilton devotes less than one-third of the book to events surrounding the 1924 Olympics. Rather, he devotes more than two-thirds to stories of Liddell’s unselfish missionary service in rural China and to his time as a prisoner at the Japanese-run Weihsien Internment Camp in Shandong, China. Before the Japanese occupied China, Liddell put his pregnant wife and children on a boat to Canada, and he remained at his missions post. As a missionary and as a prisoner, Liddell lived for the service of others, giving all he had—possessions, time, energy and inspiration.

Hamilton clearly shows why all who knew Liddell loved him. He held himself to rigorous standards and treated others with grace. Guided by the Sermon on the Mount, he prayed for the Japanese guards at Weihsien. The committed Christian who refused to race on the Sabbath for personal or national glory refereed Sunday-afternoon games at the internment camp to lift the spirits of young internees. The paragon of virtue who refused to cash in on his 1924 Olympic triumphs participated in the black market at Weihsien—never for his own benefit, but rather to secure essential supplies for those who he believed needed them more.

Liddell died at age 43 on Feb. 21, 1945—less than six months before the internment camp at Weihsien was liberated. Until a series of three strokes and an undiagnosed brain tumor left him incapacitated in his final days, he continued to minister to the needs of other prisoners.

Hamilton paints a compelling portrait of a great and good man. Liddell’s personality shines through, and it is easy to see why all Scotland and much of the United Kingdom mourned his death. It’s a wonder the whole world didn’t.

Ken Camp, managing editor

Baptist Standard

The Women of Easter

By Liz Curtis Higgs (WaterBrook)

In her latest book, writer, speaker, conference leader and media personality Liz Curtis Higgs encounters The Women of Easter, just as she previously examined The Women of Christmas. While Jesus’ mother appears in both titles, Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene play prominent roles in the Easter story.

Higgs’ informal informational style and feminine perception combine with solid biblical and practical research to lead the reader from the death of Lazarus to the resurrection of Christ. The author manages to tell these important stories from the perspective of the women closest to the Savior and in so doing, affirms their roles and testimonies.

The eight chapters begin with an Easter poem or song. As each story unfolds, Higgs presents Scripture, personal anecdotes and insights that make the reader feel she is both observer and participant in the Lord’s final week on earth. A study guide and notes close the volume, which could be used in any season.

In The Women of Easter, Liz Curtis Higgs invites women “to be joyful, hopeful, faithful” in God’s clear call to “go, tell.” She closes with encouragement to “be Easter women every day of the year, living in the freedom of his resurrection and singing out with all our hearts, ‘He lives! He lives!’” However, that call and her book aren’t just for women but for all Christians.

Kathy Robinson Hillman, past president

Baptist General Convention of Texas

Waco

Lost Island Smugglers

By Max Elliot Anderson (Elk Lake)

Author Max Elliot Anderson does a wonderful job creating three lively characters in his novel, Lost Island Smugglers. Sam Cooper, an 11-year old Christian boy, often relocates because of his dad’s job. The latest move lands the family in Florida. Sam makes two new friends at church—Tony, an instigator, and Tyler, a follower. Young readers will identify easily with the peer pressure challenges the boy’s face.

After the three finish scuba diving lessons, they sneak out for an ocean adventure. Lost Island is their destination. But the dream of scuba diving quickly changes when a huge storm rips their boat apart and throws the trio on shore of a deserted island. The team must work together to secure shelter and food. However, they soon learn they aren’t alone on the island and fear for their lives.

Lost Island Smugglers proves to be a page-turning novel. Biblical principles are woven throughout the story, as the author takes the three young boys on a journey of suspense and mystery. It’s enjoyable and sure to capture the hearts of many younger readers.

Bobbie Brown

Nederland, Colo.

Witnesses to the Baptist Heritage

Edited by Michael E. Williams (Mercer University Press)

Michael Williams, professor at Dallas Baptist University, has compiled and edited the ideal Baptist history book for people who don’t think they are interested in Baptist history. He and 25 other historians have crafted concise—typically about seven-pages—and compelling biographical sketches of “Thirty Baptists Every Christian Should Know,” in the words of the book’s subtitle.

Many of the writers—such as Karen O’Dell Bullock from B.H. Carroll Theological Institute, David Holcomb from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Melody Maxwell from Howard Payne University, Kelly Pigott from Hardin-Simmons University and Doug Weaver from Baylor University—will be familiar to Texas Baptists. So will some of their subjects, such as George W. Truett, T.B. Maston and Herschel Hobbs, along with William Carey, Adoniram Judson and Lottie Moon. Expect to gain new insights about and appreciation for some of these well-known Baptist figures.

Also prepare to learn about other significant Baptists even long-ago graduates of Baptist Training Union may not know well. Get acquainted with women like Anne Dutton, Helen Barrett Montgomery and Nannie Helen Burroughs. If you don’t know them yet, meet Johann Gerhard Oncken, a 19th century European church planting catalyst, and Benjamin Keach, who made congregational hymn-singing a key part of Baptist worship in the 17th century.

Worried you’ll be bored by dry dates and dull doctrine? Don’t be. Well-told stories of compelling characters will capture your attention. Read one biographical sketch a day, and begin the next month with a greater appreciation for Baptist history, heritage and distinctive Baptist principles.

Ken Camp, managing editor

Baptist Standard

A Week in the Fall of Jerusalem

By Ben Witherington (IVP Academic)

Ben Witherington’s A Week in the Fall of Jerusalem is a cross between a New Testament textbook and a novel. The book presents a fictional account of various biblical and extra-biblical characters fleeing Jerusalem during the destruction of the city by the Roman army in A.D. 70. The story is largely incidental, serving as a means to orient readers to the world of the first Christians. Frequent set-apart boxes provide historical and cultural details about Palestine in the first century, often with accompanying pictures.

Witherington’s purpose clearly is to teach about the background of the New Testament in a way that may be more accessible than a traditional history book. This method didn’t quite work for me, but I read very little fiction and am already familiar with the subject matter. For those who are interested in the background of the New Testament but intimidated by the often technical and sometimes difficult books of the subject, A Week in the Fall of Jerusalem will be an accessible introduction.

Jake Raabe, student

Truett Theological Seminary

Waco

Abandoned Faith:

Why Millennials are Walking Away and How You Can Lead Them Home

By Alex McFarland and Jason Jimenez (Focus on the Family)

Apologetics author, speaker and writer Alex McFarland and Stand Strong Ministries founder, pastor and apologist Jason Jimenez collaborated in writing this book for the Focus on the Family parenting series. The book explores reasons why Millennials—young people born between 1980 and 2000—are leaving the church and provides suggestions about how to get them back to worship and fellowship.

Abandoned Faith is exhaustive and highly researched. It begins with “From Christianity to Atheism” and concludes with “Jesus is the Key.” The authors move from “What Went Wrong?” and “Forces Shaping Our Sons and Daughters” to “Steps to Mend and Move Forward” and “Winning Back Your Millennial Child.” 

The book explores how the church is failing in its attempts to reach Millennials. It deals with the struggles Millennials face and how parents can strengthen their relationship in stressful times.

Abandoned Faith closes by emphasizing prayer and a foundation for biblical truth. This book is applicable both for the church and parents, but it also would be a great read for Millennials.

Skip Holman, minister of discipleship

Northeast Baptist Church

San Antonio

To the Cross

By Christopher J.H. Wright (IVP)

“Preaching about the cross of Christ is one of the greatest privileges and responsibilities any preacher can have,” Christopher J.H. Wright writes in the preface to this book. Yet for the veteran preacher—and the veteran congregant—it can begin to seem like you’ve already heard everything there is to say on the subject.

As if in response to that conundrum, To the Cross offers fresh, biblical insights into familiar stories. Each chapter is a sermon Wright preached to his congregation at All Souls Church in London, beginning with the Last Supper and concluding with Jesus’ final words from the cross.

Particularly enlightening is the way Wright connects Old Testament passages to the events of the cross. In doing so, he eloquently depicts the cross as the fulfillment of a plan for salvation that stretched back long before Bethlehem.

Preachers and teachers also may be interested in the appendix, where he briefly describes his process in preparing each sermon. But whether pastor or layperson, any Christian will find something to appreciate in this slim book—and perhaps even learn something new about a story so familiar.

Daniel Camp, pastor

Shiloh Baptist Church

Crawford

We Stood Upon Stars

By Roger W. Thompson (Waterbrook)

Fishing and camping outdoors in the national parks of western America is the backdrop for We Stood Upon Stars, a collection of essays that reads like pithy prose poems. Written by Roger W. Thompson, a successful entrepreneur and adventurer, it is a memoir of a father of pre-teen sons who attempts to implant in them his Christian faith, along with his love, understanding and reverence for nature’s magnificence.  

Thompson’s poetical style appeals to the senses. He describes mountains standing “as pinnacles tickling the feet of heaven.” He engages all the senses, writing how the “silence of crisp winds gave way to roosters and birds.” Along the way, he drops in philosophical observations, such as: “A boy’s dream is for himself. A man’s dream is for others” (p. 67). Theological statements pepper the essays: “Death is a road best ridden with no regrets and with relationships restored. With an understanding of who our God is and a peace that we know him.” Love, loss, joys, fears and accomplishments are expressed through generational stories told with humor and wisdom.

We Stood Upon Stars leads the reader to say with Thompson, “This is what lasts forever: character and faith passed from generation to generation.”

Alice Stone Thomas

Conroe

Killing Us Softly: Reborn in the Upside-Down Image of God

By Efrem Smith (Navpress)

Efrem Smith, teaching pastor at Bayside Midtown Church in Sacramento, Calif., and president of World Impact, an urban-missions and church-planting organization, pens this work about how to have an upright image of God and the gospel message.

Comparing the lack of a relationship with Christ to being in the upside-down image and world, Smith guides readers through the correct steps to get to the right-side-up world and relationship.

A right-side-up remnant occupies the upside-down world, Smith notes. The world’s upside-down status can be corrected only by the remnant bringing the rest of the world to faith and helping them grow in Christ.

However, the individual has to die to self, hence the title, Killing Us Softly. Smith goes on to explain Christian maturity and love are the only forces that advance the kingdom of God.

The book is bathed in urban culture. It is a wonderful tool to see how anyone in an upside-down relationship and world can enter the right-side-up relationship and world.

Skip Holman, minister of discipleship

Northeast Baptist Church

San Antonio

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About God (but were afraid to ask)

By Eric Metaxas (WaterBrook)

I jotted down some basic questions before I began reading. I wanted to see if author Eric Metaxas would address my concerns.

He did more than answer all my questions. He inspired me to rethink how I answer the uncomfortable questions. And he reminded me of the profound mystery that all questions don’t have an answer.

Metaxas’ style, utilizing a question-and-answer format, is easy for readers to follow. The author’s humor draws readers into the story as the questioner pushes for deeper meaning. The dialogue continues until the answer is clear. Readers come away with a better understanding of who God is and who he isn’t.

Metaxas makes clear just how serious he considers the topic of this book: “From where I stand, no subject under the sun is more important than the truth, but the subject of truth, especially as it concerns God, has fallen on hard times in our culture.”

Topics from creation to the cross are covered in this inspiring book, as the author writes about common subjects including miracles, prayer, angels, demons and the afterlife. Metaxas also addresses difficult subjects—Islam, hell, gays, the role of women and the spiritual realm.

The author does a wonderful job engaging readers with thought-provoking questions. The book is divided into 20 chapters, each focusing on important issues, such as: “Why would a loving God allow suffering? How can you prove God’s existence?”

Metaxas’ blend of theology and biblical history supports his answers and reinforces the central event of the Christian faith—Jesus’ death on the cross. The author’s message is clearly threaded through out the pages of the book: It is Jesus’ grace toward us that allows us to go to heaven, and this grace is available to everyone.

Bobbie Bomar Brown

Estes Park, Colo.

Holding Forth the Word of Life

By Walter Brown (Page Publishing)

Walter Brown was at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla., when a pastor from his hometown of New Orleans introduced him to Christ as his Savior during a long-distance phone call. After completing his service in the U.S. Navy, Brown became an insurance agent/broker and a Bible teacher.

Holding Forth the Word of Life, written by Brown and edited by his wife, Kathy, is a compilation of concise devotionals. Each begins with a title and Scripture, which serves as the topic of that particular devotional.

Holding Forth the Word of Life would be great for individual quiet-time devotionals or simply as inspirational reading. Brown’s assortment of devotionals does justice to its purpose, as referenced in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and captured in the book’s title.

Skip Holman, minister of discipleship

Northeast Baptist Church

San Antonio

Not Born Gay and the Zebra Effect Illusion

By Iter Tracy Green (Westbow Press)

Writing under the pseudonym “Iter Tracy Green,” the author’s true identity is not revealed “as to not reveal the names and places of the persons involved.” It may be that anonymity protects the author, too, for this book certainly will not be well-received within the current cultural tidal wave in support of same-sex relationships. The book will be appreciated by those affirming Texas Baptists’ official stance on this topic. 

The author covers three main areas.

First, the book tries to counter the official positions of psychological organizations that find no fault in having been “born gay.” Not Born Gay insists those organizations did not base their decisions on science or medicine. Instead, they made their decisions with no proof, due to political pressure for those wanting acceptance all sorts of nontraditional sexual relations, the author says.

Second, the book’s alternative explanation for the origins of same-sex attraction is found exclusively in family and social-environmental factors. The author cites many personal experiences and encounters that fall under that premise.

Finally, the author surveys biblical support for heterosexual marriage and prohibitions of same-sex marriages and relationships. 

While I don’t disagree with the author’s traditional position, I want to caution readers this book is not an in-depth treatment of this subject, and it is not likely to change anyone’s position. It relies heavily on the author’s testimonial evidence, so do not look for an exploration of the more challenging debates regarding same-sex attraction. Think of it as a primer to see if you want to read further on the subject.

Karl Fickling, coordinator

Interim Church Services

Baptist General Convention of Texas