I can hear you now. How in the world can I do a review of my own son's book objectively? Well, I probably can't, but the next few books I will review are too good for me to ignore just because of that. We are a book writing family, evidently, and we help one another and encourage one another, and our purpose is to help and encourage others as well. So I will do my best to tell you the plain truth about these books, what they contain and what they are meant to do, all of which have authors who bear the same last name—Ward.
This small book (119 pages) came from a series of sermons Lucas preached at the church in Navarre, Florida, where he labors as an evangelist. He called them lessons on self-improvement. I don't know why no one has used this terminology before. Our secular bookstores are full of "self-help" books. And surely, Christians should be striving daily to improve. What we seem to do, instead, is read verses with big words in them and say, well, we are doing our best. How about something very practical that will actually help you do your best?
Lucas takes the lists in 2 Peter 1 and Galatians 5, and makes them accessible. First, he defines the words Biblically, undoing several simplistic definitions "we" have come up with through the years. Then he makes it practical, giving concrete examples of both appropriate and inappropriate behavior exemplifying that Christian trait, and methods for improving that behavior. He uses colloquial language easily understood with a few pop culture references that make the point clearly. He also has his tongue firmly planted in cheek occasionally, using humor to make the point. If you know his brother and father, you should be expecting it!
A good teacher could easily turn this into a Bible class book by adding a few discussion questions. A good preacher could make the same series Lucas did and have all his research done for him. Anyone can read it and understand it and use the examples within to improve as a Christian. Anyone who thinks he doesn't need to improve will find out otherwise.
Make Your Calling and Election Sure is published by DeWard Publishing.
Dene Ward
This small book (119 pages) came from a series of sermons Lucas preached at the church in Navarre, Florida, where he labors as an evangelist. He called them lessons on self-improvement. I don't know why no one has used this terminology before. Our secular bookstores are full of "self-help" books. And surely, Christians should be striving daily to improve. What we seem to do, instead, is read verses with big words in them and say, well, we are doing our best. How about something very practical that will actually help you do your best?
Lucas takes the lists in 2 Peter 1 and Galatians 5, and makes them accessible. First, he defines the words Biblically, undoing several simplistic definitions "we" have come up with through the years. Then he makes it practical, giving concrete examples of both appropriate and inappropriate behavior exemplifying that Christian trait, and methods for improving that behavior. He uses colloquial language easily understood with a few pop culture references that make the point clearly. He also has his tongue firmly planted in cheek occasionally, using humor to make the point. If you know his brother and father, you should be expecting it!
A good teacher could easily turn this into a Bible class book by adding a few discussion questions. A good preacher could make the same series Lucas did and have all his research done for him. Anyone can read it and understand it and use the examples within to improve as a Christian. Anyone who thinks he doesn't need to improve will find out otherwise.
Make Your Calling and Election Sure is published by DeWard Publishing.
Dene Ward
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