The Month in Reviews: April 2026
Introduction
One of the treats of this month was to read two excellent self-published works, one a memoir and the other a very substantive devotional work. I revisited a couple of the works of Dallas Willard and a book from 2001 on practicing theology. Sometimes, the backlist books are well worthwhile. I opened the month reviewing a book on demons, and a few days later a book on the Holy Spirit and the arts. The “w’s” were well represented with books on welcome, wayfinding, and work. I finally tackled and completed Tom Holland’s Dominion as well as a lengthy commentary on Matthew.
Then there are the mysteries. In this case an Abe Lieberman mystery and the third installment of the Thursday Murder Club. George Saunders Vigil was one of those books I was thing about when I wasn’t reading it. That was also the case with Josiah Hesse’s memoir of growing up in a conservative evangelical/pentecostal environment in a small Midwest town. We both were influenced by the Jesus Movement, but in very different ways. I think the AI/tech revolution is one of the major changes sweeping our society, so I read a book on the high tech firms behind it and how they have sought political and cultural dominance. Finally, it’s baseball season again and I read Frank Deford’s classic The Old Ball Game and how a great pitcher and a great manager changed baseball.
The Reviews
Spiritual Warfare and Deliverance, Harold Ristau. Baker Books (ISBN: 9781540904393) 2025. A biblical and pastoral account of how demons oppress and possess and how ministers may exorcise them. Review
On Fire for God, Josiah Hesse. Pantheon (ISBN: 9780553387292) 2026. A memoir of growing up in a troubled family amidst a toxic mix of conservative Christianity, and escaping it. Review
Matthew (Kerux Commentaries), Darrell L. Bock and Timothy D. Sprankle. Kregel Ministry (ISBN: 9780825458255) 2025. A Kerux Commentary combining exegesis of Matthew with communication insights for teaching and preaching. Review
Naming the Spirit, W. David O. Taylor and Daniel Train, eds. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514013489) 2025. An essay collection considering the different names for the Holy Spirit, using works of art to deepen our understanding. Review
Not Quite Kosher (Abe Lieberman, 7), Stuart M. Kaminsky. Forge Books (ISBN: 9781429912631) 2002. Lieberman juggles two murder cases, one with multiple deaths including a cop, a bar mitzvah, a partner’s wedding and more. Review
Vigil, George Saunders. Random House (ISBN: 9780525509622) 2026. Jill Blaine is a spirit who consoles the dying but her current charge needs no consoling, leading her to reexamine her short life. Review
Stones Still Speak, Amanda Hope Hailey. Revell (ISBN: 9780800746483) 2025. Shows how biblical archaeology helps us understand the context of scripture, sometimes correcting misunderstandings. Review
Knowing Christ Today, Dallas Willard. Harper Collins (ISBN: 9780062311795) 2014 (first published in 2009). Why the knowledge of Christ is real knowledge of true things on which one may base one’s life and confidently speak. Review
The Joy of Solitude, Robert J. Coplan. Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781668053423) 2025. A study of the complexities of solitude and how it can enrich our lives and relationships. Review
Enabling Grace, Susan Mathew. Langham Global Library (ISBN: 9781839732782) 2025. A disability reading of Paul’s letters focusing on 2 Corinthians 12:7b–10, asserting the grace of God amidst human weakness. Review
The Tech Coup, Marietje Schaake. Princeton University Press (ISBN: 9780691241197) 2025. An expose’ of how tech companies have seized power from government and the danger this poses to the public interest. Review
The Old Ball Game, Frank Deford. Grove Press (ISBN: 9780802142474) 2006. A dual biography of John McGraw and Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants and their partnership in elevating the game. Review
Worth Doing, W. David Buschart and Ryan Tafilowski. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514009482) 2025. Addresses unrealistic theologies and ideas of work that do not reckon with our finitude and fallenness. Review
The Divine Profile, David J. Claassen. Self-published (ASIN: B0FKZQ14Y4) 2025. Thirty-one short reflections on the attributes of God, distilling deep theology into a succinct and accessible form. Review
Spiritual Wayfinding, Deborah Gregory. InterVarsity Press | Formatio (ISBN: 9781514011966) 2026. Thirty-three creative, walking meditations integrating mind, body, and spirit to discern God’s direction in our lives. Review
The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, 3) Richard Osman. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780593299418) 2022. The Thursday Murder Club investigates the murder of a TV journalist while Elizabeth must kill an old spy friend. Review
Dominion, Tom Holland. Basic Books (ISBN: 9781541675599) 2021. A history of Christianity describing its cultural and moral impact over two millenia from its shocking beginnings in a crucifixion. Review
She Teaches Me Still, Andrew T. Le Peau. Fill Us Publishing (ISBN: 9798993671819) 2026. A memoir, by her husband of 47 years, of Phyllis Strong Le Peau, a nurse, campus minister, writer, and church leader. Review
Becoming a Person of Welcome, Laura Baghdassarian Murray, foreword by Tod Bolsinger. IVP | Formatio (ISBN: 781514011942) 2025. Hospitality as embodying a posture that we carry with us rather than just an activity at our “place.” Review
Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard. NavPress (ISBN: 9781641584425) 2021 (cover image and review are of the 2002 edition). How Christ is formed in us as our hearts are transformed and six aspects of human life are integrated under God. Review
Practicing Theology, Miroslav Volf and Dorothy C. Bass, editors. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802849311) 2001. Essays answering the question of what theology has to do with real life, how our beliefs translate into practice. Review
Best Book of the Month
It is not often that I can remember choosing a self-published book as best of the month. However, The Divine Profile by David J. Claassen is an exception. He writes on the attributes of God and knowing God, arguably the most important of all knowledge. In thirty-one short reflections he distills thousands of pages of theology into a few readable pages without sacrificing substance or orthodoxy. Written by a pastor of fifty years, this book reflects the “simplicity on the other side of complexity” that comes of knowing and walking with God for decades.
Quote of the Month
Another wonderfully profound and succinct statement about God comes at the end of Becoming a Person of Welcome by Laura Baghdassarian Murray. Murray grounds our hospitality with that of God when she writes:
“We can always find our home in God. And our world needs reminders that we can always come home. God constantly welcomes us home, whether he walks toward us or we walk toward him. May we become people who carry welcome wherever we go and help others find their home in God” (p. 125).
What I’m Reading
Leslie Baynes has a scholarly new book on C.S. Lewis and the Bible titled Between Interpretation and Imagination. While we find Lewis’s imaginative portrayals of biblical truth in his fiction gripping, many will find his views on the Bible weren’t quite what theirs are. Baynes also points out that Lewis’s memory of texts, often celebrated, was not without gaps and he made errors in citing others. Then Louis Markos in From Aristotle to Christ shows the ways Aristotelian ideas helped clarify Christian belief among the church’s foremost early thinkers. However, I need a break from heady discussions. Sabino Chialà’s Silence and Speaking Freely is a series of meditations, from the monastic tradition on the relation of silence and speech.
Then, on the fiction side, I’m currently on my third Jane Austen novel, Emma, on my way to reading the novels of Jane Austen this year. There seems to be quite a bit Emma has to learn about the world of love. In my reckoning, she is also oblivious to her own vanity. Lastly, The Prodigal of Leningrad by Daniel Taylor is a fictional account of the siege of Leningrad, lasting 900 days during the Second World War. We glimpse the conditions through the account of a museum docent from the Hermitage, where Rembrandt’s Prodigal hangs. In addition, the story helps us understand the invidious nature of a totalitarian government that restricts even freedom of conscience.
I’ll leave you with this thought of Annie Dillard, whose birthday was yesterday:
“I worked so hard all my life, and all I want to do now is read.”
If that’s you, I hope you’ve found some good suggestions for future books.
The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014! It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book. Thanks for stopping by. and feel free to share this with others!