YOUR ADVENTIST NEIGHBORS
Richard H. Utt, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, 1978, 64 pages, 75 cents.
Adventist pastors are often asked, "What do you Adventists believe?" or "How did your church originate?" or perhaps, "What is your attitude toward other churches?" After discussing the question a bit, you may have wondered, "Just what should I give that person to read?" You may have wanted something short enough to be read, yet interesting and factual. Richard Utt's 64-page paperback is just the thing.
The first six chapters introduce the reader to the worldwide work of the church and what its message has done to change lives, its emphasis on the second coming of Christ, its belief in the Book, in the blood of Christ and in His holy law, including the fourth commandment, and its emphasis on health. Chapter seven gives brief answers to seventeen often-asked questions about Adventist work and belief.
The book closes by extending to the reader an invitation to take advantage of such Adventist-sponsored services as the Five-Day Plan to Stop Smoking, TV and radio programs, and free literature or to explore the benefits of Adventist Christian education, to attend an Adventist church, or to engage in further study.
Orley Berg
BREAKING UP
Wayne Judd, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, 1978, 31 pages, 60 cents.
Are there teen-agers in your church that have dating problems? Do you sometimes find it difficult to get through to them with the right answers? Maybe they don't come to you for counsel. Wayne Judd has developed an approach to youth problems that gets attention and offers welcome help. He shares some of his insights in this readable little booklet, which once you start reading you can't put down. This captivating approach applies equally well to the teen-age group he is trying to reach.
His discussion centers around these propositions: Why date? What is a good relationship? Why break up? When should you break up? How to break up, How to survive, Beginning again, Can marriage be good?
Every pastor and youth leader would do well to have extra copies of Breaking Up on hand to share with the youth of the church.
O. M. Berg
JEREMIAH THE IRON PROPHET
G. T. Dickinson, Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tennessee, 1978, 128 pages, $4.95.
Following the great revival of King Josiah of Judah (in which Jeremiah was unquestionably associated), an apostasy set in that resulted ultimately in the invasions of Nebuchadnezzar, Judah's captivity in Babylon and the destruction of Jerusalem. During this fateful period of Judah's history, Jeremiah stood boldly and faithfully as God's man. He was indeed the "iron prophet," as Dickinson has chosen to designate him.
In this volume the author draws from Jeremiah's experience practical lessons appropriate for our times, particularly in the light of the crisis to precede spiritual Israel's entrance into the New Jerusalem.
The chapters of the book do not follow the account of Jeremiah as it appears in the Bible, but are arranged to fit chronologically into the successive periods of history to which they apply as suggested by the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary. These are the periods of Josiah, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah.
The twenty-three chapters are short, captivating, and inspiring. Jeremiah emerges as a courageous prophet not only of doom and judgment but of radiant hope. The limited scope of the book does not permit the use of the wealth of historical background information that has been brought to light in recent years through the discovery of contemporary accounts oh ancient tablets, but the purpose of the book—to provide spiritual lessons for us today who face similar circumstances—is well served. The reader will be richly rewarded. Ministers will find much homiletical material from both the historical account and the modern-day application.
O. M. Berg
ORIENTATION FOR NEW ADVENTISTS
Dick Jewett, Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tennessee 37202, 1978, 63 pages, 95 cents.
Author Dick Jewett is no Pollyanna and Orientation for New Adventists does not sidestep issues. It is a realistic appraisal of some of the problems, discouragements, spiritual traps, and temptations new Christians, and specifically new Adventist Christians, can expect to meet.
Orientation for New Adventists is not designed, however, to overwhelm the reader with despondency. In clear, colorful, conversational prose, the author encourages the new Christian with practical suggestions for daily living the Christlike life. Chapter titles give an idea of the range of counsel: "Nobody Told Me It Was Going to Be Like This," "There Is More to Submission Than Being a Yes Man," "What to Do With Your Illegitimate Maybe," "A Little Faith Is Not All You Need," "You Don't Have to Help God Worry," and others.
Dick Jewett is a pastor and an author of numerous magazine articles as well as a columnist for These Times magazine. He has hosted radio talk shows in New York and California and has directed the Lifeguard Problem Clinic—a counseling and referral center specializing in first-aid-type treatment for people with problems. Orientation for New Adventists, written from this background of experience, will help any struggling Christian novice.
Russell Holt
