Ron's #10: Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman

My friend John recommended this book to me and I ordered it immediately. John is one of those guys who is smarter than most people, and he has an outstanding knowledge of literature, pop culture, and sports. I enjoy discussing opinions on 2 out of 3 of those topics, but I still don’t know what a running back does that differs him from a linebacker. After finishing this book, I understand why John enjoyed it—Klosterman is a doppelganger for John, an expert on all three of these areas.

Eating the Dinosaur is a collection of 13 essays about modern life discussed in terms of popular culture. Klosterman is the uber-hipster with a writing style that is sharp, funny, and biting. Here are some of my favorites:

  • “Oh, the Guilt” connects Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain’s and David Koresh’s messiah complexes.
  • “Tomorrow Rarely Knows” is one of the best discussions on time travel that I’ve read.
  • “ABBA 1, World 0” about the phenomenon of ABBA Music
  • “ ‘Ha ha,’ he said. ‘Ha ha.’ ” discusses what the laugh track on sitcoms says about its viewers and our culture.
  • “FAIL” gives insight into the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski that I never before considered.



The power of this book is not reading about topics that I enjoy (advertising, Lost, time travel), but also about those subjects in which I usually steer clear from in choosing my literary selections. He has two essays that are sports related, one about Ralph Sampson and one about football. It was the longest piece dedicated to football plays that I’ve ever read..and I enjoyed it. The next time I talk to John, I’m going to discuss the feasibility of the 4-3 and Wildcat plays, and how the forward pass changed the face of football for good.

In the Ted Kaczynski piece, Klosterman offers this conclusion of the effects of technology that coincide with the Unabomber’s views:

Technology is bad for civilization. We are living in a manner that is unnatural. We are latently enslaved by our own ingenuity, and we have unknowingly constructed a simulated world. The benefits of technology are easy to point out (medicine, transportation, the ability to send and receive text messages during Michael Jackson’s televised funeral), but they do not compensate for the overall loss of humanity that is its inevitable consequence. As a species, we have never been less human than we are right now. And that (evidently) is what I want.

This is a clever collection of essays that will be worth your time to read.

Ron's #9: In, But Not Of by Hugh Hewitt

Picture Life's Little Instruction Book written for young, Christian professionals, and you'll get close to the feel of Hugh Hewitt's In, But Not Of. And while it may not sound like it, I mean this as a compliment.

Hewitt's premise is that Christians must be an influencing force in the world through work in churches, politics, education, and culture. This is not a "Take over the institutes with force" battle cry; rather, it is a plea for Christians to be the best as they can be in their respective spheres in life. With chapter titles like "Make Frequent Deposits in the Favor Bank," "Always Be Prepared to Admit Error," and "Ask at Least a Half-Dozen Questions in Every Conversation," this book offers practice advice that a wise mentor, your grandfather, or Yoda would give you. Again, this is a compliment.

A law professor and radio host, Hewitt seems to have the young, college-bound crowd or the newly graduated in mind for his intended audience. This practical advice is a must for Christians and non-Christians alike as they figure out ways to navigate in the world of career, ambition, and power. Amazon should sell these gift wrapped with Congrats, Graduate wrapping paper for gifts in May.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading each of these short chapters. They were morsels of advice to put perspective on how to be "in the world, but not of the world." I especially loved his literary references throughout. Hewitt is a sharp guy with lots of allusions to great works of literature. My favorite chapter was titled, "Learn How You Got There," an earnest request to read about the formation of western civilization through the Jews, Greeks, Romans, English, and Americans. He encourages all to read one book about each, and offers suggestions. Currently, I am searching for Churchill's  A History of the English Speaking Peoples.

The shortest chapter is chapter 9, "Tattoos: Don't."  In it, he says, "These permanent displays of youthful exuberance trigger at best mild amusement, but in some a serious concern about your maturity."

I heartily recommend this book to you. It's a perfect tome to place at your bedside to read a few chapters before the sleep you'll need to go to work tomorrow and influence the world.

Ron's #8: Adopted for Life by Russell Moore

A few months ago, two of the blogs that I follow regularly both commented on this book, and I was interested. While Kristie and I have talked about adoption from time to time, I’d never really wanted to read a book on the subject. For some reason, I thought it would be a list of ways how we can navigate through of tower of bureaucratic paperwork and nefarious dealings overseas, while making the newly adopted kid feel at home in his new bed. Perhaps this idea of adoption books reflected my view of adoption itself. More recently, our good friends Mark and Jennifer are planning on a temporary move to Thailand next week to finalize the adoption of their daughter. This pulled the topic of adoption to the forefront of my mind, and I ordered the book.

Adopted for Life is primarily a work of theology, using the doctrine of divine adoption as a framework for the book. Moore uses the idea that we, as Christians, have all been adopted into a family, leaving behind the filthy orphanages of the world and becoming heirs of the living God.

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:4-7).

Since we are no longer orphans but sons, Christians should have an especially sensitive heart for the orphans in the world. We are told to care for the widows and orphans as an act of justice. This focus is the one in Moore’s book, not telling us the best agencies or the most accommodating countries for adoption. We should adopt mainly because we were adopted.

Our worldview leads us into being a part of families and churches where adoption should be the norm, not the exception. Who more should care for the fatherless than the ones who were once themselves fatherless and homeless?

In addition to the powerful content, Adopted for Life is creatively written. Moore has a readable style that is concrete and vivid, funny, and honest. I feel like I know this man after reading this, or, at least, I feel like I want to know him more. Because of this, I highly recommend this work wherever you are in thinking about adoption.

As soon as I closed the book, I was online looking into agencies to see what God has for us because I am grateful to no longer be in the “cosmic orphanage.”

Ron's #7: Why Johnny Can't Preach by T. David Gordon (108 pages)

The quick answer to why Johnny can't preach is this: "The average American adult reads fewer than nine books annually, and spends seventeen times as much time watching television as reading" (35).

I heard the author on The White Horse Inn podcast a few months ago, and I was eager to read this book. Mark made it easy when he bought it and lent it to me. See his review here. After reading my last book on preaching (Today's Gospel), I thought this would be a perfect follow-up.

T. David Gordon makes a case in this book that the reason preaching in America is so flaccid is that those preaching lack skills to read and write well. Because of the culture around us switching from print-based to image-based, we are not reading well or much at all. We have become what he calls "aliterate," in that we know how to read but choose not to. When men are not reading well or learning how to write in an orderly fashion, is it any wonder that our sermons are filled with banalities, trivialities, and disorder?

Gordon's advice to fix the problem makes me as an English teacher smile: get a degree in English literature before moving to seminary. If we are to teach the Word, we need to know how to read words well.

I've met many young men and women recently who are passionate about ministry, and I have suggested to take literature and writing courses before going to online programs from Moody or Liberty. Nobody seems to listen, as they think there is a divide between sacred and secular. This is not the case, as we must toil at improving our minds so that we can accurately present the Word of God to His people.

If you are in full-time ministry, or you think that you want to be someday, please order this book. Do it right before enrolling in an introductory literature course. Your congregation or your youth group will benefit from this training.

Ron’s #6: Today’s Gospel: Authentic or Synthetic by Walter Chantry ( 92 pages)

“Though it is proper to reason with men, persuade men, beseech men, there will be no response unless God in His grace attends with enabling power the words we speak. Our evangelism must be based upon a dependence on the Lord…it pleases God to raise dead sinners through the foolishness of the Gospel preaching” (86).

Today’s Gospel:Authentic or Synthetic is a book I read over ten years ago when I worked at Pilgrim Book and Bible. It was one of the first books I read after becoming a Reformed Christian. It helped me to see how preaching and evangelism fits into the larger picture of the sovereignty of God without merely handing out the “Four Spiritual Laws” booklets. It guided me in seeing how evangelism is not about slick presentations or fancy ploys to rush someone into faith. Rather, it focuses on relying on God Himself to bring lost sinners to Himself through preaching and sharing the Gospel.

Walter Chantry uses the encounter of the rich young ruler (Mark 10) as the frame story to contrast Jesus’ method of evangelism to modern evangelistic techniques (“modern” is relative; Chantry writes in 1970. I can’t imagine how this book would read if he used today’s techniques from Joel Osteen’s ilk). Rather than pushing for a “decision for Christ,” Jesus shows how he violates the Law in his “righteousness,” and that he is unwilling to repent. He allows the young man to leave to ponder the Gospel instead of having a quick decision. “To impress hearts with the gravity of the decision before them, we would do well to say, ‘Sit down and consider,’ rather than, ‘Stand up and come forward.’ (65).

I highly recommend this short book for those who are looking for a clearer picture of evangelism, an antidote to the poisonous moralistic, therapeutic Deism that runs rampant in our churches and our youth groups. While an excellent book for us lay people in churches, it is a must for you professional Christian workers.