Books of the Term!
Making Faith Magnetic by Dan Strange
This is an exciting book for me because it’s all about how to connect Christ to the big things our friends, family and colleagues can’t stop talking about! Which is one of the hardest things to do I think when it comes to sharing our faith. So often it feels like we’re crow barring the Gospel into a conversation and it just feels ‘awks.’
In this book Dan identifies 5 themes or magnetic points which are deeply rooted in the people all around us and from which we can begin talking about Jesus.
They’re taken straight out of Romans 1 from our suppression of the truth of God’s invisible qualities: his eternal power and divine nature!
They are…
1. Totality: a way to connect?
2. Norm: a way to live?
3. Deliverance: a way out?
4. Destiny: a way we control?
5. Higher power: a way beyond?
Dan explains what each of these magnetic points are and how they show themselves in our everyday dealings with people.
Like ‘Champing’ and the ‘Chimp Paradox’ and why you might need a ‘Q’ specialist – now you’re interested!
And then he takes each one and shows us how Jesus is the answer to each of them and how to explain that with our friends, family and colleagues.
If you want to be better equipped to talk about Jesus in a natural and ongoing way – this is a must read!
For those who prefer listening to reading checkout some of the resources below:
Background to where Magnetic Points came from/scene setting:
https://crosslands.training/recording/the-magnetic-points-grounding-the-magnetic-points/
Talk on Magnetic points: https://www.globe.church/resources/magnetic-points
Q&A with Dan on Magnetic Points:
https://www.solas-cpc.org/making-faith-magnetic/
Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin
This is a wonderfully engaging, beautifully written, and fabulously illustrated book. Rebecca addresses 12 key questions that our friends will have about Christianity. This book equips us to answer these questions in gentle, clear, compassionate, and faithful ways. The author is careful to understand the worldview of those critiquing Christianity and then clearly shows how Christianity provides a better answer.
Rebecca has a wonderful writing style, (you can tell she has a PhD in English!), and a deep intellect, which means she engages with the latest academic theories and approaches, to provide a compelling defence of the Christian faith.
This book is for Christians to help them understand our culture and how we can give a better story by answering our friends’ questions and pointing them to the Lord Jesus Christ.
This book is for non-Christians to help them see if Christianity has a persuasive answer to their objections to the faith.
I read a lot of Christian books; this is certainly the best apologetic book I’ve ever read. Buy it, listen to it, watch videos about it – then be prepared to lovingly point those you meet to the unique message of hope and salvation found exclusively in the Lord Jesus Christ.
For those who prefer listening to reading check out some of the resources below:
Rebecca has her own website with a number of really helpful podcasts: https://www.rebeccamclaughlin.org/podcasts
A TGC podcast:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/podcasts/tgc-podcast/need-confront-christianity/
A talk delivered at the TGC 2019 National Conference: