Here’s Benjie! – Frances Walter & Violet T. Pearson

Some years ago my sister gave this book to me, I assumed as a joke. I just finished reading it with my daughter. As children’s books go, it is adequate, though not bound for a place on the shelf with the classics.

Benjie and his family are beavers. He, along with his Father, Mother, brother and two sisters go through the days and nights preparing for winter. During the course of the story, Benjie encounters friends—Cottontail the bunny, the otter family, and a grouse—and some enemies—including wolverines who just want to kill and eat him. The most entertaining of the stories is when a human tries to get a look at the inside of the Beavers’ lodge, only to be frightened away after almost drowning getting to the underwater entrance. The Beavers knew that he was an enemy; they did not know that the humans there were scientists and not hunters.

What children can learn about beavers and their ways is interesting and told in an endearing story that can be read by early readers or (as I did) by parents with their younger children.

—Benjamin Potter, April 28, 2007

Saint – Ted Dekker

Christian suspense has reached a new high. Ted Dekker has done it again, and this time with a spy novel.

Carl Strople does not know who he is. What he knows is that he is trained to kill. He knows that he will kill for Kelly, his wife(?). Carl completes his training and teams up with Kelly to complete his first assignment—to assassinate a dignitary outside the UN.

Dekker keeps you jumping with his trademark twists and turns. He tells you the ending three or four times and then makes you question your assessment. During the course of the book he makes advertisement for previous books: Showdown, House, and the “Color” trilogy. You love and you hate Carl, you find yourself on his mental precipice with him as he learns who he is and who he is meant to be.

Keep ‘em coming, Ted. We want more.

—Benjamin Potter, April 25, 2007

Update! Guardian of Light -- Steven Hunt

Here is the cover for Guardian of Light. Read the review here. And look for it in stores or online July 16.

Endangered Species – James M. Dunn, Ben E. Loring, Jr., & Phil D. Strickland

The men who collaborated on this book have been leaders in Baptist (and Southern Baptist) life for years. Especially Dunn and Strickland are associated with a more liberal version of the SBC than currently exists. Having said that, we should understand that these men were among the pioneers in true Christian ethics. Dunn went from Texas to lead the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, one of the first organizations to address ethical issues on a national and international scale. Strickland was the long-time director of the Christian Life Commission for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. All three men were a part of the Christian Life Commission of the BGCT team when the book was developed.

The book itself is a study in social issues, especially hunger. Royalties from original sales of the book were given to the World Hunger Fund of the (then) Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. The pictures painted as well as the ones used are heart-wrenching. I think that one of the reasons that this book stands out in my reading is the “Fable” introducing chapter 9. The chapter is dedicated to helping readers find what they can do to help combat the problem of world hunger. The fable is one of rich Americans dining sumptuously all the while poverty and hunger stares at them through the window. The solution is at once heartbreaking and thought-provoking. The statistics and stories told within its pages are now over thirty years old, but nonetheless poignant and indicting.

The book will leave the reader with a challenge to do something about hunger—at home and abroad. Overcoming the politics of society and Baptist life in general is a must when reading this volume, but it is an eye-opener that will not leave you alone, if you can find a copy.

—Benjamin Potter, April 10, 2007

Lonely Street – Steve Brewer

Steve Brewer has become one of the lights that shine in the midnight sky of genre mystery writers. A long-time journalist and columnist for the Albuquerque Journal, Brewer is no slouch when it comes to the written word. When he decided to turn his pen to mystery writing the first result was Wilton “Bubba” Mabry, private investigator. Lonely Street is his debut.

It’s no coincidence that Bubba’s first appearance is in a book whose title reminds us of Elvis. The King plays a strong role in the case Bubba is engaged in. His openness to work any case if the money is right—and any money is right, coupled with his family background of kooks makes him the prime target for the likes of Buddy and “Mr. Aaron” who leave Bubba holding the bag with Elvis as his alibi.

This is the best of the Mabry stories that I’ve read to date. It’s a great debut novel, and a good precursor to the Drew Gavin mysteries that appeared a few years later. Brewer’s stories are usually fast-paced, and the characters are fun and loveable. This pbo eventually led to a hardcover career for Brewer. If you read it you’ll know why.

—Benjamin Potter, April 8, 2007

Head Game – Tim Downs

Tim Downs jumped into the fray of suspense writing with his Bug Man novels in 2003. He exploded with last year’s Plague Maker. And now the former cartoonist and writer of the comic strip Downstown has come into his own.

Cale Caldwell is an up and coming ad man who returns to his childhood home of Charlotte to slow the pace of life for his family. Having recently lost his wife, Cale is struggling to be a good father for his young daughter. Grace resents her new school and new friends who become mere acquaintances because of her mother’s untimely death in an automobile accident. And then the bottom falls out. Cale is faced with the news of his boyhood friend’s suicide, a possible lawsuit alleging that his docile family pet has savagely bitten a stranger, and now Grace disappears. With the help of his friend and former colleague in the Fourth Psychological Operations Group (4POG), Cale tries to iron it all out. Their information leads them to believe that Cale is the target of a vengeance-seeking officer who lost half of his troops in a leaflet-driven exodus of personnel from the front-lines in Kuwait during Desert Storm.

Characters are well-developed and action is exciting in this tale of intrigue and psychological puppetry. It is often difficult to determine who is truly in control. The twists and turns are sometimes unexpected, sometimes broadcast, and always welcome. Utilizing his artistic talents, Downs introduces this work to us with a six-page graphic depiction of the suicide note left for Cale’s benefit at his friend Kirby’s New York apartment. This is another page-turner that you won’t want to miss. It’s another edition in the new genre born out of the old Christian Fiction model. This new genre is one that will impress all readers of good fiction. Without the preaching of Christian fiction of only a decade and a half ago, new authors are telling an intriguing story that also is absent the gutter language and scenes that have long been the standard of mainstream publishing. Downs is an author to watch.

—Benjamin Potter, April 2, 2006

Sons of Texas – Tom Early (Elmer Kelton)

Elmer Kelton has long been a shining light in the realm of Western genre writing. It is no mystery that Berkley contacted him and contracted him to pen a series of books dedicated to the developmental days of Texas. The result – the Sons of Texas series. Booklist touted the writing as a “series that brings to mind L'Amour's multi-generational Sackett Family saga”, this first novel in the series is one that will get you hooked.

I picked up a copy to combat homesickness the first time I moved away from my beloved Texas on a permanent basis. It was this book that actually started me down the slippery slope of reading Westerns. I’ve not regretted a moment of it. In 2005, Forge decided to re-release the novels in hardcover and attributing them to Kelton instead of his pseudonym. I'm still debating on adding the new hardcover editions bearing Kelton's real name.

Begin on the journey following the Lewis family. Mordecai and his son break ground in the vast countryside of Texas. Join them as they travel back east only to be forced by a bloody feud to return to the new land that promises dreams. The land that was “there for the taking” turns out to require more blood and fighting. Stephen Austin finds that the Lewis men are up to the challenge and discovers that they, while reluctant to follow military pathways, have a natural talent needed to defend the emerging nation.

Sons of Texas is a gripping, action-packed novel of the American west that contains the grit and gumption required by readers of Western novels. The entire series (started by Kelton using the Tom Early pseudonym) continues for six books, following the growth of the Lewis clan and the growth of the infant nation/state of Texas. The first three of the books were penned by Kelton, other writers (including historical/western novel veteran, James Reasoner) were tapped to extend and conclude the series. Fans of Texas and the Western novel will want to read all six volumes.

—Benjamin Potter, March 29, 2007

The Purpose-Driven Life – Rick Warren

So today has inadvertently become “Rick Warren Day” here at Book ‘em Benj-O. But that’s all right. As I dredged up my thoughts on The Purpose Driven Church, I thought that I ought to do a companion review of The Purpose Driven Life. And here we are.

In The Purpose Driven Church, Warren delineates five major purposes of the church:

• Worship


• Ministry


• Evangelism


• Fellowship


• Discipleship

The follow-up book applies the same kind of appointment to personal life that has been afforded corporate life in the church. The author makes this application in the process of answering the question: What on earth am I hear for?

In correlation to the five purposes of the church, Warren finds five purposes in life:

• Worship


• Fellowship


• Growth


• Service


• Evangelism

If you look closely, you will discover that, according to Rick Warren’s ideology, the Christian’s life and the Church’s life are following the same pattern in their purpose.

What’s missing that was so great in the PD Church is the neat baseball diagram and analogy. Who wouldn’t love to approach life as a baseball game, seeing success each time they cross home plate? Instead we have the graphic picture of a tree—each purpose addresses some component of a healthy oak tree—the roots, trunk, limbs, leaves, and fruit.

If you’re a fan of Warren and the purpose-driven model, this book is for you. If you want to be inspired to become a better Christian, this book is for you. If you view all Christian Living books as so much drivel, you’ll probably be disappointed in this read. I’d offer it anyway because Warren uses the same easy style as with his preaching. You won’t be required to think any deeper than you like. That is a plus about Warren’s writing. You can enjoy the book if you just want to be inspired, or if you want to tear it apart for deep theological thinking. All sorts of readers can enjoy their own level of involvement with this book. And you wonder why it sells so many copies? Get yours today.

—Benjamin Potter, March 28, 2007

The Purpose-Driven Church – Rick Warren

Here’s the book that started it all, at least for leaders and congregations in my denomination. Others had approached the topic of building congregations with a reasonable outcome in mind, moving away from the tradition-driven model, and moving into an era where all the church members see themselves as viable parts of Christ’s Kingdom work, but Warren, the lead pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church in Orange County, California, drew a blueprint that struck at the heart of church-goers all over the nation.

I must admit that I first read the book with a critical, if not skeptical, eye. I had misgivings about anything that seemed to explode into a movement overnight. But the more I heard about what was going on in the movement, the more curious I was about the book that reported it. So I picked up a copy and found an adaptation of the author’s doctoral background study, filled with practical examples from the real-time laboratory that is Saddleback Church. I discovered principles for growth that are grounded in biblical teaching and everyday use. I found language and illustrations that would speak not only to vocational ministers, but also to grassroots, volunteer ministers that line the pews of my church.

I must admit that I still am not ready to accept the premise under which Warren decided to build the church, while at the same time I can’t argue with the success he’s encountered. My beef is the questionnaire used in the initial polling of the community where Saddleback was to be planted. The object was to seek out non-believers and the unchurched, ask them what would be the ideal church for them, and then pattern the new church on the results. I continue to have difficulty with going to those who are not church to determine what church ought to be. Perhaps the greater issue, though is that church members of long-standing don’t really know what church should look like either, because we’ve attached our traditions and trappings to the original in such a manner as to hide what real church really is.

Having said that, can I use the principles marked out in the book? Of course. Should I try to develop a target and implement activity directed toward that target? Without doubt. Is this a resource that will gather dust on my shelves? I pray not. Do I recommend this book? Most definitely; for pastors, teachers, leaders, and church members everywhere. This is the kind of book that will challenge you to be more than you can be. With Rick Warren, I caution the reader, “Don’t try to duplicate, or even imitate what has happened at Saddleback. Apply the principles and see what kind of church God wants to grow in your garden spot.”

—Benjamin Potter, March 28, 2007

Love & Respect – Emerson Eggerichs

“The love she most desires; the respect he desperately needs.” The subtitle sums up the concept of the marriage conference that spawned this book. Along with his wife, Eggerichs began the conferences in 1999 based on his years as a pastor and marriage counselor.

This is another of those books that my wife and I have found helpful in our evening time together. Without giving the whole of the advice away, and attempting not to squeeze all that’s said into one pithy saying, Eggerichs’ premise is that marriage should be based on a scriptural mandate: “Each of you should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.” (Ephesians 5:33) He then explains that most married couples find themselves on “The Crazy Cycle” that destroys feelings and feeds on itself. He offers advice on how to get off the Crazy Cycle and onto the “Energizing Cycle” which allows us to make each other feel good about ourselves, our marriage, and our spouse.

I recommend this book for two kinds of couples—those who see their marriages going down the drain but have a deep desire to rescue it; and those who want to enrich their already great marriage, making it better still.

—Benjamin Potter, March 2007