I was in Barnes and Noble yesterday and there is so much Christian reading out there that it can be hard to know what we should be reading, what we should be cautious of, and how to tell the difference between the two. Well, I have developed a little system that I use, and I figured I would pass it on. This is by no means fail-proof, and this may weed out some good books, but if you are checking out an author for the first time, this might help you differ between God-honoring writing and theologically poor mumbo-jumbo.

Here it is

Look at the cover  - or the back of the book - or maybe a few pages from the front. There, you will usually find some critique from people who were given the book, prior to its publishing, to read through it and give their thumbs up.

Now - how does this help us? Well, I think it helps us filter out junk. People who have sound doctrine don't usually promote garbage, and if a book is crap you probably can't get anyone to promote it. So, here is the filter.

1 - Does anyone have anything to say about the book?
Sometimes you might run into a title that does not have any input for other authors or experts on the subject. This should be a warning. Now, I'm not saying that you should totally disregard this book, but if no one has commented on it, either they had no good things to say, or the author/publisher knew no one would have anything good to say, so they didn't let anyone comment on it.
Disclaimer - Again, this is not 100% full-proof. John Pipers new book has no such remarks and is awesome and theologically sound. 


2 - Are the people that are saying things about the book without name?
Often times there will be remarks on a book from a local magazine or newspaper. For instance, "Through Painted Deserts," by Donald Miller has only 2 remarks - one from a local Oregon newspaper, and Publishers Weekly. So that makes me think, "huh, do I really want what I reads validity to come from some no-name newspaper person in Oregon? Do we have any idea what they believe, what they think, or how they might align with our belief system? Those are good questions to ask. If no one is putting their name on it, they might be doing that for a reason.

3 - Are the people supporting the book people you know or are they at least sporting credentials?
I mean, lets be honest about it - some people just know people, and they often know people that think like they do. So their buddy reads the book, gives it 2 thumbs up, and they slap it on the cover. If I wrote a book, and put my bosses name on their, I would assume most people would have no idea who Rick Eimers is. So, ask yourself that question - who in the heck is this person?
And if you don't know the person, maybe look at who they are and what they bring to the table. If the guy has 2 masters and an M Div from universities that you agree with, maybe his praise is legit. If the person is actually a volunteer youth leader that they asked to write something out real quick, be a little skeptical.

Example - Brian McLarens new book, "A New Kind of Christianity," has 4 pieces of flare tied onto the back page.
           1 - Time Magazine  -1 point
           2 - Phyllis Tickle    - who?
           3 - Richard Rohr    -like a lion rohrs?
           4 - Adam Hamilon

Now, you may say, well Joe, you are just not versed in culture and who these upstanding and insightful people are. Well, you might be correct, but on this one I win cuz this book is full of crazy talk.



4 - A Good Example
Mark Driscoll has a new book out called "Doctrine." It is a guide to Christian Doctrine and belief. On the back, there are several quotes and these names and credentials follow:

Wayne Grudem, research professor of theological and biblical studies, Phoenix Seminary
Randy Alcorn, author of "If God is Good," and "Heaven."
James Macdonald, Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel, Chicago.
Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor; Lifechurch.tv
John Frame, Professor of Systematic theology and philosophy, reformed theological seminary.
Daniel Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary


Then, on the inside pages there are 8 pieces of feedback from other people in christian leadership, theology, academia, and  literature.

That is a very good example.

Be careful little eyes what you read!