A helpful book, perhaps; just a bit on the academic side for this pastor.

This is a book review I find myself not wanting to write. It’s not because I disliked the book or found it harmful or flat out “wrong.” No, it’s because I found the book to not be what I expected. It’s also a college-level book, perhaps an advanced college-level sociology book and this is what made it difficult. I had a difficult time grasping concepts (counter to this was one reviewer’s comments on Amazon.com that said this book was “easy to read”). I don’t know why this was the case, other than I’ve never cared for sociology courses, teachers and textbooks. And this read more like a textbook to me.

Now that that’s out of the way, I think there are some who would find this book helpful. Those in Christian leadership, especially for those in “missional” churches, mission organizations and, of course, college students will probably find Christina Contours helpful. Huffman does a fine job stating, at the outset, what this book is meant to do: to call all to a biblical worldview through Christianity. To say this is a large task might be to understate it just a bit.

From there, the book is divided into two parts. Part One seeks to give the reader an understanding of what “worldview” is and what a biblical worldview is all about. Part Two gets more practical and helps the reader to know how to develop a Christian worldview. There are also sections devoted to helping one with this worldview to take on personal responsibility and carry it out. Huffman also provides some very good appendices for clarification.

I wish I had more to say about this book; I just don’t. I am obviously, either not the intended target audience or I am the intended audience, but just didn’t “get it.” Many others will, no doubt.

I can neither recommend this book or not recommend it. You’ll simply have to determine that on your own. You can download a pdf of the Table of Contents here.

Christian Contours may be purchased from Kregel Publications.

About the Book––What does it mean to think and live Christianly in a world of competing worldviews? Christian Contours answers this question by inviting readers to consider the understanding of reality proposed by the Bible. Though it is easy to divide life into separate compartments (religious and secular, theological and practical), faith invites us to view all of life in the light of that Biblical understanding. Presenting a clear, compelling case for unity in essential Christian tenets, the authors of Christian Contours guide the reader through developing, internalizing, and articulating a biblical worldview. This robust worldview enables the Christian to be a critically-thinking participant in culture and to be a faithful disciple of Christ with both heart and mind.

About the Author––Editor Douglas S. Huffman is professor and chair of the Department of Biblical and Theological Studies at Northwestern College in Minnesota. He is the coeditor of God Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents God. You can read more about him here.

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Kevin Sorenson

I’m a sinner saved by grace. I’m simultaneously justified and a sinner. I’ve been called by God’s grace to be a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m joyfully the husband of one wife and the father of three children.

I was born in central Iowa, raised in a godly home with two first generation Christian parents. The Evangelical Free Church of Madrid, Iowa was where I heard the teaching of the Word of God all my “growing up” years. There were some of the most dear and faithful servants of our Lord serving there, who will never be known around the world, but will hear (or, as is the case for some already, have heard) their Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into your rest.”

When I was between the ages of 12 & 13, I attended Bible camp at Twin Lakesin northwest Iowa. Pastor Don Stover (another of those saints who has entered God’s rest) was telling us the story of Pilgrim’s Progress using blacklight flannel graph (really cool high-tech in 1970!). When Christian gets to the foot of the cross and his burden of sin rolls away into the empty tomb, God had me. I was gloriously converted to Jesus Christ, my Savior.

God’s call to the ministry was a long, gradual process through which He used many people to lead me and confirm within me His will to be a minister. He also used one or two key people to bring me to the doctrines of grace. I had been in ministry for about 6 years when the light of these truths were shown so brightly to me. I trust that I have grown in my understanding of them and have caused others to rejoice in the absolute free sovereign grace of our God.

I have been married for 29 years and have three children.I have earned a B.A. from Trinity College (now Trinity International University)in Biblical Studies, and later earneda MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, have served four Evangelical Free churches since 1986, and am currently the Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Rochester, MN since 1997.