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Ok, here’s the deal with this post.  I agreed to read and review the newly-released book”How Would Jesus Vote?” here on the blog, and I can honestly say that it is probably one of the worst decisions I’ve made in the past few months.

The book is awful.  Simply awful.  I can’t stress to you how amazingly awful this book is.  Do not buy, read, or borrow this book.  I will likely use my copy for kindling in the fireplace this winter.

The authors use the book as a chance to push their agenda.  Scripture is used out of context; presumptions are made about what Jesus might think about today’s issues; they make the religious right look like a bunch of nut jobs.  It was just awful.

I honestly can’t use the word awful enough in this post.

My friend Chris, who was also one of the unfortunate ones who volunteered to read and review this awful book, did a much more in-depth review than I’m willing to do.  Honestly I just don’t want to spend that much time reviewing such an awful book.  You can read his great review (about the awful book) here.

You can go get it here if you still aren’t somehow deterred by this review.  (I only post that link because I agreed that I would.)  Don’t buy it.  It’s awful.  Just awful.

I saw this photo online a few days ago and found it wonderfully distubing, almost as fun as the Calvin & Hobbes snowmen.

I hope you have a great day dressing up, begging for candy, ignoring festivities, or preaching against evil today.  Whatever you do, enjoy it.

Idiot Phillies Fan #1: “Hey, we just won the World Series.  Let’s go destroy stuff!”
Idiot Phillies Fan #2: “Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!”

Idiots.

So baseball season is over.  Today begins the long, cold winter of the off season.  Spring training is 17 weeks away.

I don’t mind that the Phillies won.  I’m happy for my friends the Matticks - real Phillies fans - who have waited a very long time to celebrate something related to baseball. And I’m glad that Chase Utley gets a World Series ring.  I’ve followed his career pretty closely since back when he was in the minor leagues.  (He once threw me a baseball when we were at a Spring Training game in Tampa.)

I was pulling for the Rays in the series, and I think that might have been what brought them down.  Follow this:

• I pulled for the Yankees in the regular season.  They lost.
• I pulled for the Cubs in the NLDS.  They lost.
• I pulled for the Dodgers in the NLCS.  They lost.
• I pulled for the Rays in the World Series.  They lost.

So I guess it’s my fault (at least in part) that the Rays lost the series.  Sorry, Tampa, I’ll pull for the other team next time.

Recently I picked up Seth Godin’s new book, Tribes, on iTunes.  I spent a couple of days in our 2nd office this week, and on the ride there and back, I listened to Tribes.

Wow.

You must read it.  Then give it to your boss and make him read it.  It should be required reading for everyone who works in your company/church/organization.

Go get it now.  It’s now just $6 in the iTunes store.  Or pick up a more tangible copy at Amazon.com for $14.  Either way, get it.

It’s not too late…if you’re in the Conyers area (or if you can get there by 8pm), there’s a free Andrew Peterson show at Rockdale Community Church on Old Salem Road.

“Churched” is just an amazingly awesome book.  I loved every bit of it.  It is a compilation of stories from the life of the author about growing up in an independent Baptist church.  I jumped at the chance to review this book because I too grew up inside the walls of an independent church/school and figured I would really appreciate the humor.  (I knew there would be good humor because it was an independent Baptist church…you Indies know what I’m talking about.)

The stories Turner told are (though somewhat unbelievable to an indie outsider) funny, thought-provoking, and about 70% of them happened to me.  Pastor Nolan was exactly like the pastor I knew growing up.  The Sunday School teachers were the ones that taught me.  The things they said, the things they did…it was all extremely familiar to me.

If you didn’t grow up in the Indie realm, then you may not appreciate this book as much as I did.  If you did, I’d say this is a must read.  Pick it up at Amazon here.

My wife wanted to read this one, and since my stack of things to read is growing by the day, I asked her to read and review it.

The Shape of Mercy was a very thought provoking story.  The author explored some very tough topics including how stigmas placed on people by society can affect how they are treated regardless of whether they are based on fact or fiction.  The specific stigmas studied in the book had to do with the Salem Witch trials as well as the different perceptions of rich and poor people in our modern day society.

Lauren, the main character of the book, is the daughter of a very affluent family and wanting to prove she can make it on her own.  In an effort to help support herself she takes on an odd job transcribing the diary of Mercy, accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.  She becomes very emotionally attached to Mercy as she is writing her story, as well as the owner of the diary, Abigail.  As she transcribes this journal and is learning about how the stigma affected both the life and death of Mercy she also is learning about her own perceptions of the people surrounding her and how they affect her treatment of them.  The experience causes her to do some deep thinking making her realize that she was as guilty of placing stigmas on those around her as the  accusers of Mercy had been.

This book really make me evaluate how I treat others around me.  There are those that intimidate me because they look so put together, but on the inside may be falling apart.  If I never reach out to them because they seem to have it all, then I too am guilty of allowing stigmas to affect my treatment of others.  Sometimes I read a book and at the end am feeling the warm fuzzies and have learned nothing, but this book actually had some meat to it that made me stop and think.  That’s the best kind of book!

You can pick it up at Amazon here.

You can download “All the Years” from Randall Goodgame’s new EP “Bluebird” here.  I love the piano in that.  Randall on a piano is a fun, fun, fun thing to hear.

“Bluebird” releases on Nov. 4, so after you go vote (3rd party!), don’t forget to get your copy of the full EP.

Recently I was asked to read and review “For Young Men Only.”  I’m only 31, and that’s pretty young, so I should be a good fit for this book.  Right?  No.  I’m not even close.  I’ve read it though, and now I am fully qualified to date teenage girls. 

The target audience for this book is probably the 10-15 year old boy.  Most boys younger than that wouldn’t be interested, and most older than that would be too “cool” (or whatever word they use these days) for the content.

The premise of the book is basically this:  “you’re a dumb kid who’s stressed to no end over figuring out girls, so we went out and asked a bunch of girls about certain topics, and we’ll explain to you what they said.”

Sounds simple enough.  I won’t say there was anything I read in the book that was groundbreaking for me, but I’m significantly older than 10, I’m married, and I’ve got 2 kids.  I haven’t figured everything out, but I’m doing ok.  I will admit though, that if I was in the target demographic for the book, I probably would have appreciated it.  It was written in a very straightforward manner, and it was an extremely easy book to read.

There are 2 things that concern me about this book.  First, who is going to give a 10 year old boy a book like this?  The parents could, but it would be a little awkward.  “Here, Son.  We don’t want to talk to you about girls, so read this book.”  No thanks.  Maybe a youth pastor could give it away, but then again I’m not sure it’s the place of a youth pastor to give a young boy a book that talks about what young girls think about sex.  Maybe that’s just me.  If nothing else, this is good for the “put it on the shelf and let the boys come find it” category.

Second, the authors are Christians, and they went out of their way to try to write it as a non-Christian book.  The intent there seemed to be that whether you go to church or not, this is the book for you.  It’s great that they’re trying for the broad reach, but in the end, they ended up coming across as Christians trying not to come across as Christians.  If anything, that just weakens your message and your credibility.

Overall, it wasn’t bad.  If you’re 10-15 and male (or if you still have absolutely no clue about what girls think about certain topics), check it out.  I’ve got 2 copies up for grabs here for the first 2 people that want them.  If you want one, leave me a comment or drop me an email (ron(at)moreron(dot)com), and I’ll hook you up.