Christian fiction that reads like the Apostle Paul's memoir

World Upside Down: The Life of Paul, God's Chosen Messenger by Louis McCall, while fiction, is written like the Apostle Paul’s memoir. Its conversational tone and easy-to-read format filled with Paul’s words from the Bible are paired with interesting historic tidbits garnered from reliable sources regarding times and places visited on his missionary journeys. I think one of the things that makes this account come to life is McCall’s extensive travel in the region. His experiential knowledge adds the magic that comes from firsthand familiarity. 

 

With all that said, while the book reads like a biographical account, it is not. It is fictional but “based on a true story.” As a person who has studied the Bible for more than 40 years, I gained new historical insights into what Paul experienced on his travels and found no errors in things attributed to Paul’s words.

 

I recommend World Upside Down: The Life of Paul, God's Chosen Messenger for readers who enjoy biblical history and those interested in learning more about the life of the Apostle Paul and his journeys. I’m happy to give this book 5-stars. Other books by McCall include: He Chose the Glory: The Life and Legacy of Obed-Edom, and The Epic of God.

 

 

@donnasundblad World Upside down Book Review #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookrecommendations #booktok #booktoker #bookworm #Christian #christianbookrecommendations ♬ original sound - Donna Sundblad

As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer. I received a free review copy of this book from BookTasters and have not received compensation for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

About Author Louis McCall

Louis McCall was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended Northwestern University where he received a Ph.D. Later, he also attended the National War College of the National Defense University. Louis was an Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University prior to a 36-year career in the U.S. Department of State, first as a Foreign Service officer and then as a foreign affairs Civil Service employee where he served as Consul General in Florence, Italy, Chargé d’Affaires in Brunei, U.S. Representative to the Republic of San Marino, and Assistant Inspector General. He lived in or worked in, at least temporarily, 60 countries on six continents. Whether in academia or as a diplomat, Louis found opportunities to live his faith, including part-time ministry of the good news in word and in song, including co-laboring with missionaries, national church leaders, and the underground church. When ministering early in his diplomatic career from the pulpit of a great church in Calcutta, India, Louis said to those in attendance that he had determined not to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. That has been a commitment he has endeavored to keep over the years. In his final two years at the Department of State he organized and led the National Day of Prayer observances in the Department.

Now, in his new career as an author, he has the pleasure of greater freedom in sharing what God has placed in his heart. Louis is active simultaneously in two churches in Washington, D.C. One is a multi-site non-denominational church, where he is an elder, and the other a Catholic church where he is a regular cantor, though not a Catholic himself. He has managed this with the blessing and full knowledge of pastors and priests. This has been an outgrowth of his early association with a mixed protestant-Catholic charismatic house-based worship group, his association with the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta, his Catholic charismatic wife, and guest ministry in churches and bible schools of various denominations while living in or working in other countries.

 

 

 

 

What If Jesus Meant What He Said by Nate Bramsen - 5 stars

If you are looking for a book that challenges you to become more of the person Jesus wants you to be, What If Jesus Meant What He Said by Nate Bramsen is such a book. In my case, I read it as part of a small group. Each week we read through a chapter out loud and talked through the discussion questions at the end of the chapter. The book points out, through Scripture, that following Christ is never about how prepared we feel. Rather, it is about an invitation—an ultimatum--echoed in Christ’s words. “Follow Me.”

 

Each chapter builds on the truth of what this means. In chapter 2, Bramsen states that trusting Christ isn’t about a profession of faith but rather a life of faith in Him. It’s not about trying harder but about knowing Jesus. Chapter 3 discusses the ultimate invitation, “If anyone desires to come after Me…” and how it is an inclusive
invitation that isn’t about permission to follow Him but about the path of following Him. Chapter 4 shines a light on our response to the invitation as one of complete surrender. When we answer the call to follow Him, the starting point is Christ. Not us. Either we deny self, or we deny Christ. Chapter 5 builds on this and talks about laying aside every weight that entangles our walk with Christ. This includes dreams, passions, and pursuits. With each of the 27 chapters, Bramsen uses Christ’s words and real-life examples to shine a thought-provoking light on what it means to follow Him. The handful of "reflect and respond" questions at the end of each chapter guide the reader to see the reality of their walk with Christ and how it complies with His invitation to follow Him or how it does not.

Author Nate Bramsen

I give this book 5 stars. Its easy conversational tone and short chapters hold the interest and leave time for reflection. It centers on Christ’s words and obedience to those words.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to become more obedient in their walk with Christ. It is a book you can read individually, but it also makes a perfect choice to be read together as a small group. The chapters are short, and the few questions found at the end of each chapter offer thought-provoking insights. In our small group setting, the questions generated meaningful, honest discussion.

* * *

Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites. 

 

Biblical Church by Beresford Job - 4 stars

Every now and then a book comes along that challenges the foundations of accepted Christian practice and offers something completely new. Biblical Church: a Challenge to Unscriptural Tradition and Practice! by Beresford Job does exactly that. It strips away traditions that man has added to the concept of Christian practice and points back to the original blueprint found in Scripture. 

 

Biblical Church: a Challenge to Unscriptural Tradition and Practice!

This book challenged me to reconsider my understanding of the New Testament teaching on church life and practice. It combines meticulously researched scholarship and exegesis with Job's more than thirty years of practical experience pioneering New Testament church life and practice. It's a journey of discovery to regain lost biblical truths and understandings.

This book is an easy read, a little wordy for me, but well worth the read. It pinpoints traditions and practices that are un-scriptural in a thought-provoking way that completely revolutionizes the teaching of Scripture. Questions covered include:

• What was the conflict between Jesus and Israel really about?

• What is ‘the Tradition of the Elders’?

• Why is it that for 1800 years churches have been so completely different to those we see in the New Testament?

• What were the New Testament churches actually like?

• Does the New Testament teach and prescribe a particular way for churches to be?

• Why did the Early Church Fathers reverse the teaching of the New Testament about church life?

• What do leading evangelical scholars have to say concerning these issues?

For three decades Beresford Job, has been involved on both sides of the Atlantic in helping to start and nurture churches which are based purely on the teachings and practices revealed in the New Testament. He argues powerfully that what history has come to refer to as the Reformation is not yet complete, and that the restoration of biblical truth regarding justification by faith needs to now be followed by a similar restoration concerning the way in which church life is experienced.

As this books turns to the New Testament church it argues that there are four simple things that differentiate biblically based churches that align with scripture rather than mere human tradition:

1) Each New Testament church was numerically small and therefore needed nothing other than homes to meet in. The idea was to have as many small churches as possible in any given geographical area rather than fewer numerically large ones.

2) When a church met for its weekly Sunday gathering the format was strictly that everyone was free to take part as the Spirit led them. All present were used by the Lord in different ways to edify their brothers and sisters and each person was seen to have a unique contribution to make. Unbelievable though it may seem to the vast majority of Christians there is no such thing in the New Testament as a church ‘service.’ Further, because of this format and design passed on by the Lord to the Apostles, there was also no need for anyone to lead the proceedings from the front. Indeed, in a lounge or living room in someone’s home there is no ‘front’ to lead from. Equally unbelievable is that neither is there any such thing in the New Testament as ‘the Minister’ of a church.

3) The other aspect of their weekly Sunday gatherings was that the Lord’s Supper was an actual meal which those present ate together, the loaf and cup being shared together as part of it. Basically a church was seen as an extended family of the Lord’s people, and the New Testament format for church gatherings was such that those present could actually function as such. Here believers experienced spiritual intimacy, close, genuine and significant fellowship, and the freedom to truly gather together around the Lord to celebrate his presence in their midst.

4) When it came to church government the New Testament clearly shows that decisions were made collectively by all in the church with leaders, referred to as elders, shepherds or overseers, being merely part of the decision-making process rather than the process itself. Further, this function of local church leadership was undertaken by brothers raised up from within, and recognized by, the church of which they were a part. Itinerant ministries from outside of each church augmented such local leaders church.

However strange the above description of church life may appear no serious Biblical scholar would disagree with the simple proposition that it is simply, and quite unarguably, what churches in New Testament times were like while the teachings of the Apostles of Jesus held sway. Quote after quote from top evangelical scholars confirm that the burden of the book is fully aligned with Scripture, and all necessary textual, cultural and historical relevancy are dealt with in detail in its pages.

The only thing I didn't enjoy about this book is, like I said, it is a bit wordy. For this reason I gave it 4 stars. I recommend this book to Christians who enjoy church history, for people who love the Lord but have walked away from church (for various reasons), and for those who seek to walk in the Light of truth. I think people will be amazed at what they discover.

* * *

Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

Order through www.house-church.org