Hudson Taylor: An Adventure Begins.

The publishers of this book very kindly sent me an e-copy for me to review.


This book is part of the 'Trailblazers' series produced by Christian Focus 4 Kids (CF4K).  It is aimed at 9-14 year-olds.  I had previously read 'A man in Christ', which is one of the 'grown up' biographies of Hudson Taylor by another publisher.  I therefore came to the book with a knowledge of and interest in the life of Hudson Taylor.


I am a huge fan of Hudson Taylor.  This book reminds us that he, 'longed after holiness, usefulness and nearness to God.'  The book is a clear reminder of God's faithfulness.  Hudson himself was quite a sickly boy, and yet God used him in an extraordinarily powerful way in circumstances that were more often than not very difficult.  God's strength in our weakness is one clear message of the book.

However, I didn't personally like the way in which the book was written.  First of all, a large proportion is devoted to Hudson's life before his move to China, which seemed to me to be disproportionate.  Also, the style of writing didn't work for me personally.  The book is written largely in the form of journal entries and conversations between key characters.  My understanding from the blurb is that many of these are based on actual events, but are not actual journal entries or conversations.  For me, this style is unnecessary, as I think a straightforward recounting of events could be written in a way that appeals to young people.  The book is also written through the eyes of Hudson's sisters and mother (mainly his sister Amelia).  I did wonder if this might make it more appealing to girls than boys, as it may provide a different 'slant'. 

Furthermore, there are a number of mistakes (editorially, not factually) in the text, which I found a little frustrating.  I suppose a number of young people wouldn't even notice these, but I felt it suggested the production of the book had been a little rushed.  If a story is worth telling, it's worth telling well, and this is certainly a story worth telling.

On the plus side, the book tells the story of a man made remarkable by his complete reliance on God.  It shows that he had a perspective on this life that allowed him to see beyond personal tragedy to the God that holds all things together.  His faith is testimony to the way in which God is able to work in His people.  His desire to serve the people of China and bring the gospel to them is an example each Christian can learn from.  He had a sense of urgency in the task God had given him. 
Also on the plus side, there are questions at the end of the book to get young people thinking around some of the topics raised.  It's great to see publishers encouraging readers to engage with the text rather than just read it!

I would encourage young people to read about and learn from the lives of Christians who have served God both in their own countries and overseas.  There is much to learn from someone who follows God closely, and Hudson Taylor was one such man.  However, given my reservations about the book, I'm not 100% sure that all those who read this particular book will necessarily be enthused by it.  That said, there are others who have found it helpful.

The Vicar of Baghdad.

"Some people are dead.  It is another normal day."
Life in Baghdad:  not exactly a walk in the park.
This book is the remarkable story of Andrew White, whose ministry has taken him to serving God and people in Baghdad.  It is a story of a man who has relied wholeheartedly on God as he struggles to see peace brought to a place synonymous with violence.
He meets with politicians, military personnel, terrorists, civil servants, religious leaders and countless others and all the while seeks to draw them together.  It is so refreshing to see someone who's cottoned on to the fact that religion is a vital part of society in some countries, and who recognises that peace will not come unless religious leaders are engaged with and encouraged to support the process.
He says, "Everyone needs to be involved in the quest for peace.  Peacemaking of the old woolly-liberal kind no longer works, if it ever did.  We cannot succeed if we do not engage with the military.  By the same token, we have to engage too with the people who choose to kidnap women and children and blow up buses.  We cannot confine ourselves to sitting down and drinking tea with nice people."
The progress that has been made over the course of the last decade is testament to an extraordinary man who serves an Almighty God.  It is a story of hope in the depths of despair.  A story of trust at all times.  A story of God at work.
It is also a story that may help us to understand better the situation in Iraq, as well as to understand better those of other faiths.  He argues that, "The mutual incomprehension between the Islamic world and the West is certainly one of the biggest problems facing humankind today."  It's also refreshing to see a man whose faith has been strengthened, not diluted, by his work with those of other faiths.
There's not a glorification of risk or danger, though both are presented throughout the book.  They tend to be dealt with in a matter-of-fact sort of way.  You don't get a sense that he is a man who thrives on such things.  Rather, he seems to thrive despite them.
I'd recommend the book for anyone who wants to have a better picture of life in Iraq, a fuller understanding of those of other (particularly Muslim) faiths and a greater realisation God's work in His world, even its most difficult parts.

How is God at work in our world today?

What responsibilities do Christians have for seeking peace?  Are those responsibilities being taken seriously?

What can you do to bring peace to an area of conflict in your own life? 

Getting Your Kids Through Church Without Them Ending Up Hating God.

Now, I have lots of people telling me that I'm a great parent.  Flip, I even had people telling me that I'd make a great parent when I was still in my teenage years.  Nothing like a bit of pressure, eh?  But the thing is, these people don't get to see all my parenting, and I can assure you that plenty of it is below par.  Downright poor, in fact.  The people who DO get to see the full gamut of my parenting are my kids.  (Thankfully, Little Boy is a bit too small to discern some of my more minor errors...  Big Boy, on the other hand, I think is getting a pretty good grasp of my ineptitude)  Therefore, I, like most other Christian parents, (I would say all, but I'm guessing there are probably a couple of deluded ones out there...) sometimes worry that my kids will be put off God by me.  The juxtaposition of telling them you love God, and then living in close proximity to them, carries with it inherent risks.

Of course, there's a danger here.  Writing a book like this runs the risk of making people think that if their kids end up hating God, they as the parents are to blame.  But that's absolutely not the viewpoint of the book.  Rather, it's more a question of doing what can be done, and avoiding what is best avoided, in order to give your children the best chance to grow up into adults who desire to see their own faith nurtured and grown.  As such, this book is tremendously important.  It's written by Rob Parsons, who's part of the Care for the Family setup.  He writes well, and makes some really clear points about parenting.

Two church clones (I spent ages on it)

One of Rob's first points is to avoid the danger of trying to fit everyone into the same mould.  (That's not the green, furry stuff on top of old food, you understand, it's the jelly-mould variety)  The point being that God didn't make us identical, so why do we try so hard to turn people into church-clones?  Sometimes we need to see and support our kids' strengths, rather than suggesting (verbally or otherwise) that they can only flourish in church once they've got the right look/Bible knowledge/guitar skills/way of praying/etc.  Linked to this, there's the idea that we shouldn't be making mountains out of mole-hills.  Ok, so a lip-piercing might look gross in our eyes (perhaps that's the wrong phrase - I'm not suggesting having a lip-piercing in your eye...), but Jesus wouldn't look at them and say, 'once you've sorted out your gross facial adornments, I'd love to save you', would he?!  Yes, our kids need to be sensitive to others in the church, but it's not a one-way street.  I remember failing in this respect, when I was running the Youth Band and I squashed an idea that probably wasn't such a bad one, because it didn't seem the right way of playing the song...  The positive side of this (the do, rather than the don'ts) is to make sure our kids feel they belong in church.  It's OUR church, after all.  Given some of the sinners that Jesus hung out with, it would be pretty daft to fail to ensure there's a good welcome for our own children in our own church :)

Rob then goes on to talking about five things that could endanger our kid's desire to pursue the with-God life.  These are:  cynicism, hypocrisy, judgmentalism, over-busyness and over-familiarity.  Each of these, in its own way, has the power to rob our kids of the desire to follow God.  Each one can result in God getting short shrift from our kids, because of how we seem to live for Him. 

Arghh, the burning fiery furnace...

Rob goes on to say that we should be preparing our kids for disappointment.  Disappointment with others, with themselves, and with God.  We need to support them through disappointments, not hide them away from them.  One of my favourite aspects of many Psalms is the 'and yet' of the Psalmist.  Life sucks, yet will I praise Him.  My enemies want to kill me, yet will I praise Him.  That's precisely what we need to teach our kids.  Rob refers to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who say to the king, (slight paraphrase) 'Our God can save us from the furnace, but even if he chooses not to, we're not bowing down to your statue'.  They trusted God completely, even without knowing whether or not he would save them.

He finishes by calling us to prepare our kids for the world.  The nest might be a safe place to be nurtured, but we've got to teach them to fly.  He challenges us to give them a vision.  Both we and they need to get a grasp of what they could be.  We need to get them to a point where they will fly without us.  Give them a vision and the foundations to realise it.  As he says, it's not really our desire to have kids that don't hate God.  Our real desire is to have kids that love Him.
I think it's a great book.  I guess a fair bit is pretty obvious in some ways, but it's all brought together really well, and could be a really helpful resource.

The Litigators.

A Grisham.  A mighty fine Grisham at that.
Having said that, I've never read a Grisham that's disappointed me.  I'm a big fan.  I even loved Theodore Boone, which received very mixed reviews (although I'm convinced that about 80% of negative reviews were written by disgruntled people who couldn't work out that 'Grisham for a new generation of readers' meant that it was for a more junior audience...)
A couple of comments on The Litigators said that it was funny/amusing.  Personally, I didn't see that as a particularly noticeable aspect of the story, but there we go!
Absolutely loved the plot.  Amusing 'break down' of a character early on, some entertaining character development throughout.  I found the storyline predictable, but that didn't bother me in the slightest (just inflated my ego a little bit!)  The trial is portrayed in a great fashion.  There's a sort of inevitability to the course of events, but that doesn't detract from it being a great piece of storytelling. Absolutely loved his work. Again!