Book Reviews
Book Reviews
WHAT COMES NEXT:
40 Days of Healing After Heartbreak, Burnout,
or Brokenness
Author: Jess Connolly
Binding Type: Hardback
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 9781540902559
Retail Price: $21.99
From the Publisher:
Renewal and Hope for When You Can't See the Way Forward
· Author has a combined social media following of
more than 150,000
· Author's previous books have sold more than 300,000
copies
· Author is a sought-after speaker and the host of The
Jess Connolly Podcast
In the hardest seasons of our lives, we often get stuck
on the question "Why me?" It's difficult not to feel
defeated when we're overwhelmed by life and plagued
by feelings of weakness and failure. But what if we
changed the question? What if we stopped asking
"Why me?" and started asking "What's next?"
Jess Connolly wants to help you make that crucial shift
because she knows it makes all the difference for
those of us who are heartbroken by our circumstances,
burned out from the hamster wheel of life, or broken
because of who we are, what we've done, or what's
been done to us. What Comes Next is a 40-day
experience of learning to
· receive rescue and care from the hand of God
· process the pain of the past so you can press onward
in wholeness
· pick up the kingdom rewards that are yours for the
taking
· move forward, agreeing with your powerful Spirit-
filled identity
Ready to replace what could have been with a fresh
vision of what God has ahead for you? Discover how
your breakdown just might be the beginning of your
breakthrough.
Jess Connolly is the author of several books, including
Tired of Being Tired. She and her husband, Nick, planted
Bright City Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where
they live with their four children. As the lead coach and
founder of Go + Tell Gals and the host of The Jess
Connolly Podcast, Jess wants to leave her generation
more in awe of God than she found it. She's passionate
about her family, women, God's Word, and the local
church. Find her on Instagram @JessAConnolly or on her
website, JessConnolly.com.
THE MENTAL HEALTH HANDBOOK FOR MINISTRY:
A Practical Guide for Supporting the Church's Mental and Emotional Well-Being
Author: Dr. Mark Mayfield
Binding Type: Softback
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 9781540904782
Retail Price: $32.99
From the Publisher:
Biblical and Clinical Guidance for Understanding and
Navigating Common Issues
· Editor has been featured by prominent media such as
Woman's Day, NBC, and Reader's Digest
· Editor is connected with AACC and is editor of Marriage
& Family: A Christian Journal
· Equips pastors, church leaders, and church members
with a quality mental health resource from a biblical
worldview
Poor mental and emotional health are two of the great
crises of our times, and yet most pastors and ministry
leaders are not adequately trained or equipped to
understand and come alongside the hurting. As a
result, our efforts to help those who are wrestling with
mental or emotional health struggles are at best
inadequate and at worst harmful.
Combining the best of clinical research with a biblical
worldview, The Mental Health Handbook for Ministry is a
practical and accessible resource to help pastors,
church leaders, and others who are called on to offer
counsel
· identify the symptoms of particular mental and
emotional health challenges
· express love and support to those who are hurting
· recommend healthy coping strategies
· discern when to offer help and when to refer someone
to a mental health professional
With chapters dedicated to common manifestations of
mental and emotional distress, including depression,
anxiety, trauma, suicide, self-harm, addiction,
personality disorders, grief, and more, this will quickly
become the go-to resource for ministry leaders who
long to offer help to the hurting.
Dr. Mark Mayfield is an author, speaker, leadership
coach, counselor, and professor. He is an assistant
professor of clinical mental health counseling at
Colorado Christian University and also partners with the
AACC as the director of practice and ministry
development and editor of Marriage & Family: A Christian
Journal. Dr. Mayfield lives in Texas with his wife and their
three children.
THE STORY OF THE TRINITY:
Controversy, Crisis, and the Creation of the Nicene Creed
Author: Bryan M. Litfin
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 9781540904829
Retail Price: $18.99
From the Publisher:
The Biblical and Historical Basis of the Church's Most
Universal Creed
· Author's BPG books have sold more than 46,000
combined copies
· Author is a professor of Bible and theology in the
Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University
Christians believe in the Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. Yet many would be hard-pressed to explain why
they believe this, or even where it might be found in
Scripture. But that doesn't mean we're blindly following
a merely human tradition. It just means we don't know
the story of how the early church came to understand
the triune nature of our God--or why it matters to
believers today.
In engaging, accessible prose, The Story of the Trinity
relates the settings, characters, and conflicts that led
to the creation of the Nicene Creed, a simple yet
beautiful statement of faith that helped early
Christians express their beliefs. Rather than getting
bogged down in dry semantics, this book recounts the
dynamic story of how the one God revealed himself as
trifold in both biblical testaments. The Trinity emerges
from the pages of Scripture itself. Litfin unfolds this
core doctrine of the church so that it not only makes
sense, but it brings glory to God and expresses the true
nature of the gospel.
If you've struggled to understand this essential yet
often overlooked doctrine, The Story of the Trinity invites
you to discover one of the most beautiful expressions
of God's love for us, laid out in one of the church's most
elegant and edifying creeds.
Bryan M. Litfin is the coauthor of Herod & Mary and
author of Early Christian Martyr Stories, After Acts,
and Getting to Know the Church Fathers, as well as the
Constantine's Empire series of historical fiction. He
earned his PhD in ancient Christianity from the University
of Virginia and his ThM in historical theology from Dallas
Theological Seminary. A former professor of theology at
the Moody Bible Institute, Litfin now teaches in the
Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University. He and
his wife have two adult children and live in Virginia. Learn
more at BryanLitfin.com.
WHAT WE’LL SEE IN HEAVEN:
Glimpses of Our Eternal Home from the Bible
and the Holy Land
Author: John A. Beck
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 9781540903846
Retail Price: $19.99
From the Publisher:
A Unique Exploration of How the Bible Describes Heaven
· Author's books have sold more than 150,000 copies
· Fascinating biblical and Holy Land insights about
heaven and the afterlife
· Includes full-color photos
There are times when eternity presses in and we feel
drawn to know more about the place we or our loved
ones will be going when this life ends. We don't want
guesses or pious platitudes; we want specifics. We
want certainty. Heaven, paradise, the new heaven and
new earth, the new Jerusalem. Whatever you call it--
and the Bible uses all those terms--there has to be
real, solid information in the pages of Scripture that
paints the full picture, right?
In a word, yes. And What We'll See in Heaven was written
to bring these biblical pictures of our heavenly home
together in one book. Drawing on his decades of
teaching, study, and travel in the Holy Land, John A.
Beck points us to the many Bible passages that unpack
the realities of heaven using the things of this earth
the original Middle Eastern audience would have
understood, including
· royal settings, such as throne rooms and banquets
· daily living, such as the design of a Galilean home
and the nature of Roman citizenship
· the natural world, such as relationships between
animals and humans
· the human experience--those things we see, do, and
experience every day that will be reflected in our life to
come
Whether you're experiencing the grief of bereavement
and long to know what your loved one is seeing and
doing, or you're just curious about the eternal home
that awaits you, this book will bring comfort, peace,
and encouragement.
John A. Beck (PhD, Trinity International University) has
taught courses in Hebrew, Old Testament, and the
geography of Israel for more than 30 years, many of
those years spent conducting field studies in Israel,
Jordan, and Egypt. Beck spends most of his year writing
and is a permanent adjunct faculty member at
Jerusalem University College in Israel. He is the author
of many books, including The Holy Land for Christian
Travelers, The Holy Land Devotional, and The Basic Bible
Atlas. Learn more at JohnABeckAuthor.com.
THE LEGACY LIFE:
How to Build Generations of Influence and
Impact
Author: David Green with Bill High
Binding Type: Hardback
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 9781540904805
Retail Price: $28.99
From the Publisher:
Live a Life that Makes a Difference for Generations
· Leadership Not by the Book sold more than 90,000 copies
· Author is the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby and has
appeared on Fox and Friends, CBN, CBS, Joni Lamb, and
other national media outlets
· A clear call to a countercultural, biblical view of
personal and family life
We all want to live a life that matters--a life of
meaning and significance. The problem is, when we
think of a life that makes a difference, we think way
too small. Our lives can and should make an impact
today--and we should also be working toward building
a legacy that lasts for generations to come.
Rejecting the current work-hard-then-retire mindset,
David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby, and Bill
High call us to a biblical view of ourselves and our families--a generational mindset. With a paradigm-
changing perspective, this book helps you
· develop a legacy perspective on your life and family
· articulate and live out your mission and values
· recover from failures and celebrate successes
· tell your stories from generation to generation
It may feel strange at first, but when you shift your
mindset to understand your life in generational terms,
you'll discover that while you are not the story, you are
part of a story that matters for eternity.
David Green is the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby,
which employs 50,000 people at 1,000 stores in 48
states and grosses nearly $8 billion a year. Author of
Leadership Not by the Book and The Leader's Devotional,
Green received the World Changer award and the Ernst &
Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. David, his wife,
Barbara, and their children, grandchildren, and great-
grandchildren all live in Oklahoma City.
Bill High is CEO of Legacy Stone and the author or
coauthor of several books, including Leadership Not by the
Book. Bill lives with his wife, Brooke, in the Kansas City
area.
YOU CAN LET GO:
Make Peace with Your Past, Break Free from Offense, and Move Forward with God
Author: Alexandra Hoover
Binding Type: Softback
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 9781540904881
Retail Price: $19.99
From the Publisher:
Moving Forward with Confidence and Living from God's Love
· Author regularly speaks 15 to 20 times a year,
including events with LifeWay, the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association, and more
· Author has an engaged social media following of
more than 150,000
· Author is well connected with many authors, including
Jess Connolly, Lysa TerKeurst, and Lisa Whittle
Let's face it: people are often disappointing.
Sometimes they're downright hurtful. And in our
reactionary culture, it's easy to feel wronged, offended,
and weighed down when people trample our feelings.
But living in hurt and resentment can steal our God-
given joy. The good news? We actually have more
control over how other people make us feel than we
might think.
In You Can Let Go, Alexandra Hoover dives deep into our
willingness to be offended, uncovering our wounded
pride, our insecurities, and our misplaced trust in the
things (and people) of this world. With great
compassion, she helps us
· get to the root of why we feel offended
· understand why certain offenses hit harder than
others
· find our identity in Christ rather than in how others
view or treat us
· handle offenses with confidence, grace, and
acceptance
· turn our insecurities into sources of empowerment
· embrace a life marked by deep acceptance and
emotional freedom
Offense is something that we can not only get over but
also live free from. Discover how to make peace with
what's happened in the past and learn to live unoffendable.
Alexandra Hoover is a compassionate writer, a sought-
after speaker, and the author of Eyes Up and Without Wavering. With a heart for inspiring others, she combines
biblical wisdom, practical insights, and a deep passion
for helping people navigate life's challenges with faith
and hope. A proud Latina, Alexandra serves her local
church and is pursuing a master of arts in women and
theology at Northern Seminary. As a wife and mother of
three, she treasures balancing family life with ministry,
finding joy in serving, and inspiring others. To learn
more, visit AlexandraVHoover.com or connect on social
media @AlexandraVHoover.
