The Stars Shine Brighy, by Sibella Giorello

Our main character Raleigh Harmon works for the FBI, the only problem is she thinks outside of the box and often does not follow protocol. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? For the FBI they feel that is a bad thing. Only bad things will happen when you bend the rules. You should always follow protocol. The problem is she gets results when she bends the rules. She never violates someones rights, she never blatantly breaks a law, she just goes about things a bit different.

Because of that she is under investigation by the internal affairs department of the FBI for how she works. During that investigation though she is asked to take an undercover assignment at a Horse Racing Track where it appears that there is organized crime rigging the races. Raleigh knows very little about horses, but she does know people.

Our author does a good job of weaving a story together that is not only realistic but downright frightening in a sense. I won't give you the part that is frightening because that would give away some of the plot of the story and be a spoiler, but let me just say that I enjoy how the author brings you along with the story and keeps bringing in new sub-plots that add and build the tension.

There are no major action/adventure/shoot outs that many of these books have, but that doesn't lessen the thrill of the read. Giorello develops her characters well and just when you want to dislike someone you actually end up liking them, or vice versa.

There are Christian undertones at places in the book. Raleigh has a deep faith and she thinks through what her values and stands ought to be based on her beliefs. She seeks God's help at times, but it is not overly done. So, I believe all readers will enjoy the book and not be offended by the mention of faith, it is part of the character of Raleigh and adds to what we know about her.

I enjoyed this read enough that I am going to backtrack and buy her other books. She held my interest, keep me reading and was just down right entertaining.

Enjoy!

Mistakes Leaders Make, by Dave Kraft

I first of all want to thank Angie Cheatham and Crossway Publishing for sending me a copy of this great little book, I appreciate their generosity and their trust in my giving an honest review.

Dave Kraft brings over forty years of ministry insight together with his work in eight different churches and para church organizations to give us a good little book on mistakes that leaders, especially pastors, often make in their ministries.  He tells the story of one fictitious church and it's multiple ministry staff.  Each staff member has a different mistake that they fall into and either overcome that mistake through prayer and Godly intervention or they fail and their ministry pays the price.

Some of the mistakes are allowing ministry and pride replace Jesus as the main point of our life.  It may look good to be so heavily involved in ministry, but at what cost?

Another mistake is comparing yourself and your ministry to others and always trying to improve so that you can be "just like" or "better than" the other ministry.  Instead Kraft points out our need to be humble and be content in our assignment from the Lord and to do our best to bring Honor and Glory to God instead of trying to "one up" some other ministry.

Other mistake is when we allow harmony amongst our body of believers and the staff to replace the real task of addressing conflict, addressing errors and at times making the hard decisions that might mean letting a staff person go or asking and Elder to step down.  Why do we so often try to sweep issues under the rug instead of dealing with them?  Usually everybody sees the "Elephant" on the table, so why not just address it.

This book is filled with practical ideas, practical solutions and down right honest writing that for some of us pastors may hit a little bit too close to home for our comfort.  I know that it left me asking myself about my motives, my work, my work ethic and most importantly my relationship with Jesus.

I would highly recommend this quick read for any Pastor or Elder, especially recommended for those in Seminary who are preparing to enter into ministry, this book may help you keep from stumbling out of the gate when your race starts.

Enjoy!

Jonathan Edwards and Justification, by Josh Moody

Moody does a good job of bringing several writers together to put together a short work describing the issue of Justification and Jonathan Edwards view of the subject. Each author looks at a different angle of the written work of Edwards and brings to light his thoughts and energy in relationship to Reformation Theology and specifically Justification.

The work is fine, but I felt that it was repetitious at times. I felt that the subject was delivered in a dry academic way that will, I believe, not keep the attention of many lay readers. Pastor's and academics will find it interesting, but nothing startling new comes to light.

I found myself left just wanting to read Edwards himself and not someone else view of the material. I kind of felt like I have with many Christian Books lately, so many books on the Bible saying so much of the same, why not just read the Bible itself and saturate my mind with the words of God?

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