The Church of Facebook

Jesse Rice

David C. Cook

softcover, 240 pages, $12.99

978-1-434-76534-5

The social networking site that has exploded in popularity is the subject of The Church of Facebook: How the Hyperconnected Are Redefining Community. The author calls attention to how the online world is reshaping community, focusing on the need for connection.

Rice has done his homework, offering examples of game-changers, such as the invention of air conditioning and man-made islands in Dubai, that lead to changes in community. Unlike other points in history, Rice supposes, Facebook allows connection based solely on beliefs rather than geographical or familial bonds.

Drawbacks to social networking are also explored, such as shorter attention spans and natural connections that sometimes get overlooked. In the end, however, Rice shows how believers can make an impact in cyberspace, focusing on the needs that draw participants to social media in the first place. The Church of Facebook is an excellent and captivating read.

—DeWayne Hamby

Our Invisible Allies

Ron Phillips

Charisma House (Strang Book Group)

softcover, 224 pages, $14.99

978-1-599-79523-2

Pastor of Abba's House in Hixson, Tenn., Phillips attempts to bring clarity to the sometimes—misunderstood subject of angels, God's messengers, in Our Invisible Allies. Rather than the childlike cherubims depicted in art and media, the author presents a case for strong, protective guardians who fight battles for God and His children.

Phillips has collected a variety of stories, including personal ones, where witnesses credit angelic intervention in crucial or worshipful moments, such as one who said a group of angels protected the foundation of his flooding home. He also relates Scripture that addresses the characteristics and duties of the heavenly warriors and identifies specific angels mentioned in the Bible such as Michael and Gabriel. Satan and his followers, who are fallen angels, are also discussed.

In Invisible Allies, Phillips is careful to highlight that believers should follow the Creator of angels and not angels themselves. At the same time, he gives instructions on how God uses angels to provide strength and comfort.

—Hamby

Sacred Waiting

David Timms

Bethany House Publishers (Baker Publishing Group)

softcover, 160 pages, $14.99

978-0-764-20678-8

In Sacred Waiting: Waiting on God in a World That Waits for Nothing, Timms explains the difference between God's perfect timing and society's view of waiting.

In an age when waiting is looked upon with frustration and anxiety, Timms encourages readers to be aware of God's presence in such moments. Through examples such as Noah and Abraham, Timms explains the value of waiting in order to experience God's truths and guidance. He teaches that in solitude, God's voice is most clearly heard, and each waiting process enriches life's journey through lessons learned.

Sacred Waiting offers a fresh perspective in a time of great hurry.

—Vickie B. Mathews

The Magnificent Obsession

Anne Graham Lotz

Zondervan

hardcover, 288 pages, $19.99

978-0-310-26288-6

With a foreword by Rick Warren, Lotz's The Magnificent Obsession: Embracing the God-Filled Life digs into the story of Abraham, relaying to readers lessons that will enhance their own lives.

Not only is Abraham the progenitor of three faiths—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—but he is also known in Genesis as a "friend of God." Abraham serves as a reminder that God can be trusted.

Lotz incorporates illustrations from her own life and tells how the "magnificent obsession"—or craving for God—is passed down through the ages. Readers will be inspired and refreshed to pursue a God who guides them through the peaks and valleys of life.

—C. Brian Smith

Bo's Café

Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol and John Lynch

Windblown Media (Hachette Book Group USA)

softcover, 256 pages, $13.99

978-1-935-17004-4

Fans of The Shack will welcome the first follow-up novel from the publishers of William P. Young's best-seller, which plows similar territory of the heart.

Like The Shack, Bo's Café is a message about the unplumbed depths of God's grace, similarly relayed through a series of conversations between the central character and others. But this time the truths are revealed not in an abandoned hut, but at an open-air diner by the sea.

As his work and family life are imploding, Steven Kerner is befriended by an unlikely, cigar-smoking mentor and his buddies, beginning a painful but hopeful journey. He learns that only by facing who he really is—in all his brokenness, and finding God's grace there—can he hope to become the person he wants to be.

While Steven's new friends talk a lot, they mostly avoid sounding preachy and offer him a welcome and wisdom many readers would be glad to experience in their real-life relationships. Ultimately, Bo's Café is a touching, gentle invitation for Christians to discard the masks often used to hide from ourselves, each other and God.

—Andy Butcher

Double Cross

James David Jordan

B&H Books (B&H Publishing Group)

softcover, 400 pages, $14.99

978-0-805-44754-5

In the thriller Double Cross, the sequel to Jordan's Forsaken, security specialist Taylor Pasbury and the daughter of late televangelist Simon Mason, her former client, seek to discover the truth about money missing from Simon's ministry.

Taylor's mother, who left when Taylor was 9, comes back. Trying to develop a relationship with her unstable mother while finding Simon's money and avoiding danger occupy Taylor, though she finds time for a little romance.

A compelling story that moves like an action movie once it gets going, Double Cross has some decidedly mature content, including violence and references to sexuality, though not explicit.

—Allison Hyer

CORRECTION: Our Aug. 10 review of Cathy Marie Hake's That Certain Spark (Bethany House Publishers/Baker Publishing Group) which said that "at times the story is not quite believable—such as when the author recounts a more modern medical procedure than is appropriate for the period" should have been noted as the personal opinion of the reviewer.