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Sean I

Sean I

has 11 followers and is following 11 people

Lead Pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in New Albany, OH

www.JesusOurCornerstone.org
  • New Albany, OH, USA
  • member since November 18, 2007

Reviews

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Displaying 1-10 of 14 reviews
  • Franchising Mcchurch: Feeding Our Obsession With Easy Christianity
    • Rated 4 stars

    An excellent evaluation of how modern American consumerism has affected the way we do church. The authors propose that in our efforts to be successful for God, we have adopted methods that are more consistent with running a burger franchise than a spiritual enterprise. Overall, a very useful book, although I wish that it had spent a little less time on the current satellite church phenomenon (3 chapters) and a little more time on what we should be focusing on instead (only 1 chapter). Nevertheless, I heartily recommend the book.

    Sean I wrote this review Tuesday, January 12, 2010. ( reply | permalink )
  • Church Is a Team Sport: A Championship Strategy for Doing Ministry Together
    • Rated 2 stars

    I was very disappointed with this book. Part of the reason for that was my own expectations. Based on the title, I thought the book was going to be more about how to effectively work as a team. Instead it turned out to be another person's version of how to administrate a church program similar to "The Purpose Driven Church" or "Becoming a Contagious Church". Also, in my humble opinion this version is not as useful as the others I have read. There are a lot of personal anecdotes about the author's personal journey -- nothing wrong with that, I guess, but I didn't find it to be all that interesting. Also it seemed to me that the author took the sports theme a little bit too far; biblical references are sparse and almost always overly nuanced to make them fit the sports motif. Unless you are really interested in how to run a church like a sports team and less interested in what the Bible has to say, I would not recommend this book.

    Sean I wrote this review Tuesday, January 12, 2010. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Ever-Loving Truth: Can Faith Thrive in a Post-Christian Culture?
    • Rated 3 stars

    Not a bad book, overall, although it seemed to me a little bit to lack focus. It started out as an examination of the influences of postmodernism on the church, then became an apologetic for the Christian faith in the middle, and ended as an evangelistic how-to. These topics are all certainly inter-related, but to my mind the transitions between them were not seamless and seemed more appropriate for three separate audiences. Still, in all, there's some pretty decent stuff in here. I found the first section on post-modernism to be the most useful to me personally. It's worth a read.

    Sean I wrote this review Tuesday, January 12, 2010. ( reply | permalink )
  • If I Were God, I'd Make Myself Clearer: Searching for Clarity in a World Full of Claims
    • Rated 4 stars

    You could think of this small book as either a good introductory-level apologetic for Christianity, or the longest Christian tract ever published. Great for the skeptic/seeker, the author style is very easy to read, yet still does an excellent job of making the case for Christianity against all the other religions of the world. And at just under 80 pages, the average reader could probably finish the whole thing in a couple of hours.

    Sean I wrote this review Wednesday, October 14, 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • If I Were God, I'd End All the Pain: Struggling with Evil, Suffering and Faith
    • Rated 4 stars

    A good, but highly accessible primer on the so-called "problem of evil", primarilly written for skeptics/seekers of Christianity. Not very deep, but written in an engaging conversational style that is great for the average joe. At 70 pages, it's not a daunting task either. Includes a list of books for further study in the back for those who might want to dig deeper.

    Sean I wrote this review Wednesday, October 14, 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Fathers & Daughters - Raising Polished Cornerstones

    Fathers & Daughters - Raising Polished Cornerstones

    by David Barrett, Elysse Barrett
    • Rated 2 stars

    I read this book over a period of months with a small group Bible study, so I've had a lot of time to interact with it; and yet, I still find that I am undecided about the book's value. It's too bad that Shelfari does not offer a rating in between "I liked it" and "I didn't like it". Ultimately, I decided to give it the latter rating, but on another day I might have leaned the other way; who knows?
    The author makes excellent observations about our culture and the challenges facing families today. I have issues with his treatment of some Bible texts he uses -- sometimes I think he puts more interpretation into certain verses than he pulls out -- but his conclusions are not heresy. They're just not as Biblically imperative as he makes them out to be.
    My biggest problem with the book is in his application. I have a feeling that most families would be horrified of the family structure that he proposes. That doesn't make it necessarily wrong -- there are some good ideas here. I wish he would have presented it more from the perspective of a good alternative for those that are strong enough to handle it, rather than that this is the only possible conclusion you could come to if you have a Biblical worldview. I beg to differ.
    The tone of the book is a bit melodrammatic, which tends to assume the worst in each possible scenario. This leads to an awful lot of straw men arguments. And those who are not still living in an original, traditional nuclear-family arrangement (as so few are today) will find most of his suggestions virtually impossible to apply.
    I admire the author's strong, uncompromising stand, and I am glad that it seems to be working for his family, but I don't think his arguments that this is for all Christian families who want to obey Biblical mandates hold water. I will have a hard time recommending this book to most.

    Sean I wrote this review Monday, March 23, 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • unChristian
    • Rated 4 stars

    I'm not normally a big fan of books that are based on polling; but I thought this one was pretty good. The authors' premise is that Christianity as a "brand" in the early twenty-first century has acquired six significnat negative perceptions in the minds of "outsiders" (those who do not self-identify as adhering to the Christian faith) and, to a lesser degree, even among the younger generations who think of themselves as Christians. The analysis is thought-provoking and intended more to raise awareness of the problem, rather than to advance any particular solution. A very worthwhile read to anyone who wonders where post-modernism might be taking us.

    Sean I wrote this review Wednesday, March 18, 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Activating the passive church : diagnosis & treatment
    • Rated 3 stars

    Written by one of the "founding fathers" of the church growth movement, this little book deals with the issue of what to do with those who seem to believe that their only responsibility to the church is to show up when it's convenient and (maybe) put a check in the offering plate. Considering it's age (my edition was published in 1981), this book is not bad. The "diagnosis" sections are excellent and alone make the book worth reading. The "treatment" sections are a bit out of date, but still have some value in terms of jump-starting the thinking process.

    Sean I wrote this review Friday, March 13, 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • No Man Left Behind: How to Build and Sustain a Thriving, Disciple-Making Ministry for Every Man in Your Church
    • Rated 4 stars

    An excellent resource from the author of "Man in the Mirror". What I really like about this book is that it avoids telling you how to create a men's ministry through some sort of step-by-step formula and instead gives you the underlying principles, then guides you through the process of determining what it will look like in your church. It is especially encouraging for those who have tried to build a men's ministry and either failed or wondered if they were just wasting their time. Very highly and enthusiastically recommended!

    Sean I wrote this review Wednesday, January 21, 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Unity Factor

    The Unity Factor

    by Larry W Osborne
    • Rated 5 stars

    If you have had persistent disharmony on your deacon board -- or are just struggling to get everyone moving in the same direction at the same time -- you may want to add this little book to your collection. Based on years of experience, the author provides useful advice to diagnose what keeps us from working well together as well as tips for how a pastor can work with his board for maximum effectiveness. This would be a great tool for brand new board members, or even to work through with the entire team.

    Sean I wrote this review Tuesday, January 20, 2009. ( reply | permalink )
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Displaying 1-10 of 14 reviews