April 2005

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A RESILIENT LIFE: You Can Move Ahead No Matter What
Gordon MacDonald
Nelson Books,
243 pp., $19.99

Confessing he's always had a "quitter's gene," Gordon MacDonald (Ordering Your Private World) reflects on how he has cultivated resilience.

MacDonald builds the book around his school years as a runner mentored by an exacting coach. The lessons he learned on the track become starting blocks for living the Christian life.

Resilient people, he writes, envision the big picture—looking forward but also backward at how the past has shaped them. They know the importance of spiritual disciplines such as a quiet time. They also know they can't do it alone: They gather around them a "happy few" for sharing concerns, laughs, and accountability.

Resilient people are always pushing themselves to improve—spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. "I don't want to be the myself I was yesterday," MacDonald writes. "I want to be the myself that is developing each day to be more of a Christ-like person."

He also examines our need to repent, to repair the past, and to trim our egos. These well-known truths are made fresh by MacDonald's blend of humor, wisdom, and humility.

This book will invite multiple readings.

THREE VIEWS ON EASTERN ORTHODOXY AND EVANGELICALISM
Stanley N. Gundry, series editor;
James Stamoolis, general editor
Zondervan,
304 pp., $14.99

Are Eastern Orthodoxy and evangelicalism compatible? In this scholarly dialogue from the Counterpoints series, five contributors respond across the spectrum—with illuminating results.

After each contributor answers the question, the others respond in turn. North Park University theologian Bradley Nassif answers the question with a ...