Ordinary by Tony Merida (Book Review)

Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down by Tony Merida

Genre- Christian / Nonfiction

Published by- B&H Publishing

Copyrighted- 2014

Number of pages- 140

Age Group- Adult (older teen)

Description of book- hardback, list price $12.99, ISBN: 978-1783970438

Do you feel the need to be a flashy Christian and go to a flashy church?  Tony Merida shows us a different way in his book, Ordinary.

As Christians we need to live humbly and fulfilling lives with acts of hospitality, service, and neighborly love.  Merida show us how to do that with chapters focusing on hospitality, orphan care, advocacy, and more.

About the author- Tony Merida currently lives in North Carolina with his wife and five adopted children.  He is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Church.  He has written several other books.

My thoughts- Ordinary might be small, but it contained more helpful information than many larger and longer books.  There are many books in the market that want us to be extrodinarely extraordinary, but Tony Merida wants us to be ordinary.  Do not worry, we can and should be ordinary in an extraordinary way.

We should be there for the widows and the orphans.  We need to be there for the less fortunate.  Merida gives us specific instructions and details on his life to tell/show us how to love our neighbors and care for those are unable to care for themselves.  There is a list of websites at the end of the book.  This list will give you a good place to start, so you will know who and how to support.

The one thing I would change about this book would be the addition of some awesome chapter questions to go with this awesome book.  The questions would help guide people in the right direction.  I know it would help me to know which way my family and I need to go.  I know there is a Bible study available from Lifeway, but questions would be able to help those who cannot afford the Bible study.

If you read one book this year, Ordinary is the one to read.  As Christians we need to help make this a better world and we can do it in very ordinary ways.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down, by Tony Merida, for free from Cross Focused Reviews. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. All links were current when posted.

Salt, Light and Cities on Hills by Melvin Tinker

Salt, Light, and Cities on Hills by Melvin Tinker

Genre- Christian / Nonfiction

Published by- EP Books (Evangelical Press)

Copyrighted- 2014

Number of pages- 119

Age Group- Adult

Description of book- paperback, list price $10.99, ISBN: 978-1783970438

Salt, Light and Cities on Hills, by Melvin Tinker, discusses social action and evangelism in Britain today.  He uses writings from John Stott and Tim Keller.  He also references Isaiah and the Sermon on the Mount. 

Some questions answered are:

• Can evangelism and social action work together?
• Did the disciples use evangelism and social action?
• Should we be doing what the disciples did?

About the author- Melvin Tinker is currently married and has three sons and six grandchildren.  He is the Senior Minister of St. John, Newland, Hull.  He is a speaker as well as an author.

My thoughts- I know this book is about the church in Britain, but I feel this book would work in any country in the world.  Our churches need to learn how blend evangelism with social action.  The disciples and those in the book of Acts knew exactly how to do it so all learned about Jesus.  This is something that we need to do as well.

I think this book would be good for ministers and those who are involved in evangelism and social action in the churches.  Some of the reading was tedious to me, but I knew how important it was and I kept reading.  I thought the last couple of chapters were the most interesting, because they involved Melvin Tinker’s opinions  I thought reading about his views were much more interesting than reading a discussion of the different view points of John Stott and Tim Keller. 

One of my favorite parts of this book were the notes at the end of each chapter.  I learned a lot of extra information about evangelism and social action.

I think Salt, Light, and Cities on Hills is a book that everybody who is involved with evangelism and social action in the church must read.

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Salt Light, and Cities on Hills, by Melvin Tinker, for free from Cross Focused Reviews. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. All links were current when posted.