I Am a Church Member: Discovering the Attitude That Makes the Difference by Thom S. Rainer

Best-selling author and ministry leader Thom S. Rainer drew an exceptional response when he posted a 500-word declaration about church membership to his daily blog. "I Am a Church Member" started a conversation about the attitudes and responsibilities of church members -- rather than the functional and theological issues -- that previous new member primers all but ignored.

Thoughtfully expanded to book form, I Am a Church Member begins to remedy the outbreak of inactive or barely committed church members, addressing without apology what is expected of those who join a body of believers. When a person's attitude is consistently biblical and healthy, matters of giving, serving, and so forth will fall into place more naturally.

Six intentional chapters with study questions guide this rising discussion:

1. I Will Be a Unifying Church Member
2. I Will Not Let the Church Be About My Preferences and Desires
3. I Will Pray for My Church Leaders
4. I Will Lead My Family to Be Healthy Church Members
5. I Will Be a Functioning Member
6. I Will Treasure Church Membership as a Gift

My Review:
Each chapter in this little book of only 96 pages is followed by a pledge for the reader to consider and sign. Next come questions to study and discuss, lending the book perfectly to a group study.

I liked Rainer's illustrating church membership by comparing it to country club membership. His way of thinking helps make his points.

Thank you to B&H Publishing Group for my copy.

Dolled Up To Die by Lorena McCourtney

The Cate Kinkaid Files (Book 2)
 
When Cate Kinkaid receives a frantic call about a triple homicide, she drives to the scene against her better judgment--aren't triple homicides more up the police department's alley?--only to find that the victims are not quite who she expects. Now she has a new rule to add to those she's learned in her short stint as an assistant private investigator: always find out if the victims actually have human DNA. Because these three do not.

But who would shoot this nice lady's dolls? What possible reason could the shooter have? And then there's the startling discovery of another victim, who definitely does have human DNA . . .

With tension that is matched only by humor, Dolled Up to Die is the exciting second book in Lorena McCourtney's The Cate Kinkaid Files. Mystery fans won't find a place to stop and take a breath in this fast-paced and intriguing tale.

My Review:
Olivia, the cat isn't the only curious one in this light-hearted mystery. Cate Kinkaid's curiosity takes her into some scary, dark places. This "assistant private investigator" fumbles and stumbles over clues, and eventually manages to solve the case, but not until she has this reader holding her breath.

Unassuming,  Cate tries to help anyone who needs her; however, she gets in over her head right at the beginning of this novel. You see, Belmont Investigations handles "routine matters only"--no murders. Yet bodies are found all over the place! Cate plunges ahead and goes to whoever calls her: Jo-Jo first about the "massacre," then, Robyn, who needs Cate to serve as a last-minute fill-in bridesmaid. Well, you'll just have to read the book to see for yourself.

I really like the character of Cate. I also like Olivia, the cat, who owns Cate, and I like Mitch, Cate's romantic interest. And, need I say? I really like this series!

Thank you to Donna Hausler at Baker Publishing Group for my copy.

Available July 15, 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.