TOP PICK

Now I Walk on Death Row

Dale S. Recinella

Chosen (Baker Publishing Group)

softcover, 320 pages, $14.99

978-0-800-79505-4

Autobiography

Recinella was a high-powered attorney with endless money and big dreams, but his heart was empty and broken. On the heels of closing a huge deal for the Miami Dolphins, he gave his life to Jesus in a rock-bottom decision, a moment in which “I will lose every illusory thing I have thought important, and be given everything that really matters,” he writes in Now I Walk on Death Row: A Wall Street Finance Lawyer Stumbles Into the Arms of a Loving God. 

Recinella records his long journey from penthouse to death row is this powerful tale of asking, “Did Jesus really mean what He said?” and receiving answers only God can give. He and his family move from mansion to inner-city apartment, from Florida to Rome and back again. They make decisions together, serve the poor and reach out to the mentally ill. He finds his true heart ministering to Florida’s prison population and, eventually, its death-row inmates. 

Recinella’s faith shines brightly in this memoir, with a foreword by Dallas Willard, that will have readers asking themselves how they can truly serve Jesus. —Ann E. Byle

CHRISTIAN LIFE

My Heart, The Holy Spirit’s Home

Lynda Hunter Bjorklund

Regal Books

softcover, 224 pages, $14.99

978-0-830-75753-4

My Heart, The Holy Spirit’s Home: A Woman’s Guide to Welcoming the Holy Spirit Into Your Daily Life should be read with Bible in hand. Author and speaker Bjorklund offers it as a guide to Christian women of all denominations on developing a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Rather than debating the subject of tongues, she asserts that the Spirit-filled believer can use the gift as a means of worship and communication with God. She then introduces the work of the Holy Spirit as Helper, Power and Authority, and leads the reader to explore His work in building character, assigning abilities and fulfilling one’s purpose in life.

While encouraging women toward a more dynamic relationship with God, Bjorklund closes with a caution to trust, but verify with the Scriptures all guidance on this subject. My Heart, The Holy Spirit’s Home serves as a resource for women who truly want to welcome the Holy Spirit into their daily lives. —Eilene Ishler

To Be Perfectly Honest

Phil Callaway

Multnomah Books

softcover, 224 pages, $13.99

978-1-590-52917-1

In To Be Perfectly Honest: One Man’s Year of (Almost) Living Truthfully Could Change Your Life. No Lie., readers are in for plenty of insightful, laugh-out-loud humor. Callaway, best-selling author and popular conference speaker, begins by recounting a fateful assignment from his editor: to be entirely truthful for a year, and to record the entire experience.

But the result is not merely funny. As his journey into the honesty dare unfolds, Callaway offers a humble, perceptive look at the falsehoods in our hearts and in our churches. No ground is safe from inspection—among other things, Callaway examines sermons, church members, annual Christmas letters and how we read the Bible.

Though Callaway was reluctant to take the assignment—as a humorist, “I lie for a living,” he says—readers will be glad that he did. His delightful knack for mingling hard truths with sheer hilarity will appeal to a wide range of readers, including those who appreciate year-of books such as A.J. Jacobs’ The Year of Living Biblically. —Dave Stuart Jr.

FICTION

A Place Called Blessing

John Trent with Annette Smith

Thomas Nelson

softcover, 192 pages, $15.99

978-0-849-94618-9

A Place Called Blessing: Where Hurting Ends and Love Begins brings the five elements from Trent’s classic best-seller The Blessing to life in story form. When 5-year-old Josh’s parents die in a car accident, he and his two older brothers find themselves placed in foster care and living in separate homes. 

Later, as a young adult, Josh’s desires are simple—find a job, a place to live and buy a car—and at 18 he strikes out on his own. When his ability to trust and love again is put to the test, the story takes a seemingly impossible twist. With God gently at work in Josh’s life, he ends up in a place where he receives the gift of the blessing.

Trent’s fans as well as readers of Andy Andrews’ parables will appreciate this short but powerful read. The book also includes discussion questions, allowing readers to apply the five elements of The Blessing. —Jean Breunle

The Ambition

Lee Strobel

Zondervan

hardcover, 288 pages, $24.99

978-0-310-29267-8

A name well known in Christian publishing, Strobel crafts a gripping legal thriller in his debut novel, The Ambition. In it, the former Chicago Tribune legal reporter demonstrates his intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the justice system. 

When the Illinois governor needs to fill a vacant Senate seat, Chicago megachurch pastor Eric Snow sees a new arena for his ministry. Viewing his evangelical image as a political liability, Snow’s advisors push him to resign from the church as atheist investigative journalist Garry Strider plumbs the church for Pulitzer-grade scandal. 

Strider finds nothing to report besides a series of miraculous healings. Meanwhile, a disgraced mob lawyer with a secret that could devastate Snow’s main opponent seeks absolution at the church and inadvertently embroils both Strider and Snow in a murderous plot.

Strobel’s multiple viewpoints can be disorienting, and some of the myriad subplots do not resolve. Still, the plot is engaging and exciting while staying grounded in the Christian faith. —John Leatherman

LEADERSHIP

Passing It On

Myles Munroe

FaithWords

hardcover, 256 pages, $19.99

978-0-446-58047-2

Servant leadership, a contradiction to some, motivated Jesus to wash His disciples’ feet. Munroe, a motivational speaker and business consultant, expounds on this topic and encourages mentoring in Passing It On: Growing Your Future Leaders.

Challenging leaders to build on their legacy, he asserts that it is only in appointing a successor that they will truly succeed. Rather than waiting until retirement nears, leaders should identify their replacement early, Munroe says, since doing so is “the first act of a visionary leader.”

Offering biblical examples of mentoring, Munroe shows that Jesus prepared Peter and his disciples for the cross by helping them see that they were to continue His vision. The greatest test for a leader is the willingness to love, he asserts, seeing this principle as one that guided each of the biblical mentors in choosing their successor.

Passing It On is an inspiring call to action for any who desire to become an effective leader in any vocation, including those in developing nations. —Jennifer Toth

The Irresistible Church

Wayne Cordeiro

Bethany House (Baker Publishing Group)

hardcover, 176 pages, $19.99

978-0-764-20885-0

A best-selling author and pastor at New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, one of the nation’s fastest-growing churches, Cordeiro lays out a strategic framework for pursuing change and improvement, in The Irresistible Church: 12 Traits of a Church Heaven Applauds. 

With a foreword by Willow Creek’s Bill Hybels, Cordeiro’s book defines an irresistible church as a body of believers that is “alluring, magnetic, and relentless in its persuasion.” It is an attractive community that cannot be ignored. Cordeiro outlines a dozen traits of an irresistible church, including that it continuously learns, hungers for the presence of God and follows a plan.

Each chapter concludes with an action item, and Cordeiro includes a study guide with discussion questions and Bible studies. This work will make an excellent year-long curriculum or simply serve as a tool to get small groups or church leadership talking. Readers will appreciate Cordeiro’s humble, God-dependent insights and his emphasis on making church irresistible to God, not only to people.  —Brian Smith McCallum

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