Review: Equipped for Adventure

Equipped for Adventure: A Practical Guide to Short-Term Mission Trips by Scott Kirby was published in 2006 by New Hope Publishers. It is a handbook for making short-term mission trips happen.  This is a holistic treatment of the process of making short-term missions a centerpiece of your church's ministry. Kirby casts vision, answers criticisms, and then proceeds step by step through the process of planning, organizing, actuating, and following up a mission trip.



I found this to be a helpful text.  Kirby provides the busy minister or volunteer with a guide to make missions a reality in any context.  I thought one of the most enlightening conversations in the book was in reference to partnerships.  The discussion helps to provide a matrix for understanding when and with whom a partnership ought to be formed.

I also found the Appendices to helpful.  These provide the resources to carry out the ideas and concepts taught in the book.  This is key.  So many other books on mission leave out the applicable.  I strongly recommend this book for those who are looking to begin doing short-term missions or bring focus to their church's mission program.

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Review: Spiritual Leadership in the Global City

Spiritual Leadership in the Global City was written by Mac Pier and published in 2008 by New Hope Publishers. This is a book of stories and mission combined to get your mind and heart thinking about what it means to reach a city.  Pier's text looks at twenty different churches and Christian organizations in New York City. He walks you through their development and growth. Each church and organization provides you with a key spiritual leadership insight.  It has a unique, engaging, and accessible format.



Quite honestly this is one of the most encouraging reads I have encountered in a long time. I am pastoring in Metro Detroit which by all accounts is a city on the verge of failure. From what I understand this is similar (on a much smaller scale) to what New York was going through in the 70s and 80s.  Upon finishing this book I was encouraged that there is hope for our city and surrounding region. I came away with a fresh desire to partner with other churches and leaders for the sake of the gospel.

The most helpful part of this book were the discussion questions at the end of each chapter.  The chapters function almost like little parables when paired with the questions.  I think this could be timely to be used with a leadership team in a local church in an urban environment.

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Review: Eyes Wide Open

Eyes Wide Open by William D. Romanowski

Brazos Press, 2001.

Group Discussion Questions

Eyes Wide Open was written by William D. Romanowski the Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences at Calvin College. It was initially published in 2001 and was revised and expanded in 2007. As a Christ-follower seeking to engage culture and to make culture I have found that this little book is remarkably helpful.  Romanowski's style is engaging and accessible.  He is writing from the Reformed perspective and is seeking to see Christians engage the world around them in such a way as to transform culture.

The book opens with a solid discussion of the state of Christian engagement within the culture.  The first eye opening discussion is on the apparent double talk by the Christian world regarding popular culture.  Out of one side of our mouths we decry the debasement of the culture around us and yet we consume pop culture as quickly as anyone else. Why is this? It's because we are members of the culture within which we live and it is through the voice of pop culture that we find a road map for understanding the world around us. While this is not inherently bad we as believers must come to the place where we can evaluate and transform this road map to point people to Christ and the redemption that he offers.

From here we come to a discussion regarding the re-imagining of pop culture. This section points toward the competing and yet similar aspects of the vision of pop culture and the church.  With the core question being: how do we reconcile this reality?

Next, Romanowski evaluates "Christian" art and points out that much of it is missing the point of pop art because it does not communicate to a fallen world. The closing chapters of the text give a framework for how a follower of Christ might be able to engage the arts and culture.

I think that Eyes Wide Open  is must reading for any Christ-follower that is serious about engaging the culture. Along with gaining a vision for how the Church can engage the lost world Romanowski also provides in his Appendix a matrix that is helpful in discerning the good and bad of pop culture offerings.  He also applies his matrix to the film, Titanic.  In conclusion, I think this can be a useful tool for helping train this generation of believers to think about the culture and engage it, as opposed to them waiting to be told what to think.

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