Tommy Mann

Randy Pope, the founder and pastor of Perimeter Church in Atlanta, has written an eye-opening manual called Insourcing. Based on his 45 years of making disciples, Insourcing presents a case for what the author refers to as the Life-On-Life Discipleship Model (LOLMD). For too long the church has outsourced discipleship to parachurch organizations, and it is time to begin to insource once again. While this is not the first book on discipleship I have read, it is the first one that includes a composite of what could take place in a discipleship group setting. With admittedly smooth results and quick answers to prayer, these composite sketches give a glimpse into what the reader can hope for; beyond just reading the how-to, these composites show that each disciple is a real person with real needs. These stories are broken up and scattered among the other parts of the book, which include Pope’s advice and teaching on discipleship. The author makes the case th...

Ajith Fernando, who led Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka, for 35 years, has written a commentary over 1 Corinthians 13, the “love chapter” of the Bible. Reclaiming Love teaches believers how to have “radical relationships in a complex world,” and the author picks apart the characteristics of love as penned by Paul. With chapters covering patience, honor, and perseverance, as well as chapters on not boasting, being angry, envious, or arrogant, Fernando takes the reader step by step through the world’s greatest teaching on what true love looks like. This book is written in a scholarly tone and would probably be best for believers who are older in the faith. The author cites many church historians as well as leading theologians of today, but what I appreciated the most was his sticking to the Bible and letting Scripture interpret Scripture by relying heavily on cross references. I would recommend this book to any student of the Bible who wants to examine his own lif...