Coffee Tea and Thee Summer Book Club

Six Books. Vote for one. Vote by commenting or by emailing me. Your choice will be announced a week from today, Monday, June 7. Book Club will begin on Thursday, June 17 with comments, questions, observations, items of interest and action points. Questions? Let me know what I’ve forgotten to include and I’ll be sure to cover it in our summer schedule. Enjoy!

Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins we Tolerate by Jerry Bridges

As Christians, we believe that all sins are considered equal in God's eyes. Yet while evangelicals continue to decry the Big Ones--such as abortion, adultery, and violence--we often overlook more deceptive sins. It seems we have created a sliding scale where gossip, jealousy, and selfishness comfortably exist within the church. In short, some sins have simply become acceptable. Acclaimed author Jerry Bridges believes that just as culture has lost the concept of sin, the church faces the same danger. Jerry writes not from a sense of achievement, but from the trenches of his own personal battles. Drawing from scriptural truth, he sheds light on subtle behaviors that can derail our spiritual growth. Paperback.

Forgotten God: Reversing our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan

The author of the bestselling Crazy Love pleads passionately for the church to live by the power of the forgotten God: the Holy Spirit. Calling Christians to more than just a better life, Chan says he wants to live a life unexplainable without the Holy Spirit, so dependent on the Spirit that, he says, if he doesn't come through, I'm screwed. He offers vivid personal stories and illustrations about how the church ought to help Christians discern the powerful gifts of the Spirit, rather than toning down radicals. Biographies of people keeping in step with the Spirit conclude each chapter. Intended for application, Chan's aim is to end ceaseless talk and follow God's lead to assist the poor, the abused and anyone without hope. Chan himself has given all royalties from Crazy Love to a ministry to children trapped in sex trafficking, explaining that God said to him, I want you to love them as your own children. Chan's voice is fresh, earthy and fiery. Paperback.

These Strange Ashes: Is God Still in Charge? by Elisabeth Elliot

Elliot, author of numerous books (including A Path Through Suffering) as well as a conference speaker and host of the "Gateway to Joy" radio program, treats readers to more than a bare-bones description of her first year (1952) as a missionary to the Colorado Indians in Ecuador. Elliot tells her experience so vividly that readers will likely envision the cockroaches climbing the walls, the next-door latrine field's noxious odor, the fight against food spoilage, rusting utensils and molding walls. More acute, however, than these descriptions are the many spiritual lessons and feelings of inner gratification that she found in this jungle setting. The author speaks freely of her own joys as well as her heartfelt struggles to accept losses in life, in materials, in work. Although she encounters many obstacles in her mission to translate the Colorado language into written form, she is able to complete a substantial body of work by year's end. In her own engaging, plainspoken style, Elliot concludes each chapter with a spiritual insight she gained from the event recounted. Paperback.

Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

Hannah Hurnard suffered from many fears and phobias. She even developed a stuttering problem that got worse when she had to speak in front of strangers. By the time she was 19, Hannah was deeply depressed. Over time, however, Hannah found deliverance as she continued to follow the Lord in obedience. Later, she was to write the best selling Hinds' Feet on High Places as a result of her experiences with the Lord. She went to Israel as a missionary to the Jews in 1932, and lived there through the war for independence in 1948. In Israel, she served as a housekeeper in a hospital--a kind of work she had detested before her surrender, but now loved. This timeless classic tells the story of Much-Afraid and her journey to the High Places with the Shepherd. Filled with exciting adventure and a triumphant conclusion, this story will teach every reader the importance of following the Shepherd. Paperback.

Lost Women of the Bible by Carolyn Custis James James

James (author or When Life and Beliefs Collide) was compelled to this search of "lost" biblical women because she has felt lost at times—when marriage and family were delayed for her, or when trying to minister within a church culture which often constrains women's ministry. She begins by studying the "helpmeet" role that Eve was assigned and discovers that the Hebrew word ezer has stronger connotations than usually allowed, meaning strong helper and even warrior. James unearths the stories of eight additional women, including Sarah and her abused handmaid Hagar, the deceitful—or righteous?—Tamar, infertile Hannah, beautiful Esther, Jesus' mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. Each story reveals the critical, powerful roles these women played in the biblical narrative, confirming every woman's calling to be an ezer. James concludes with a chapter on Paul and his close relationship with the women leaders in the church at Philippi. Paperback.

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

The Screwtape Letters (a collection of letters written by the devil), are set in a series of fictional correspondences between Screwtape, a high ranking demon, and his young protégé Wormwood, a young demon that has been sent out on his first assignment to ensnare a human. The seemingly gentle and fatherly advice to the young demon from his patron exposes the true designs of the masters of Hell, as well as the frailties of the human psyche that they seek to exploit in their attempts to gain a convert for their side. Paperback.