Blog Archives
Spiritual CPR
Spiritual CPR, by Dr. Shaun Jester, takes the urgency of emergency medicine and applies it to spiritual crises within the Christian community. Drawing on his experience as an obstetrician and gynecologist, Jester argues that Christians often recognize a physical emergency immediately but can overlook someone who is struggling spiritually until the damage has become much harder to address. His answer is a framework called WASH PIGS, which asks readers to consider the whole story, a person’s awareness, whether help has been solicited, the potential harvest of an intervention, prayer, personal influence, individual gifting, and special circumstances. That framework gives the book a practical backbone. Rather than simply telling readers to confront sin or offer encouragement, Jester wants them to slow down enough to understand the person in front of them and decide what responsible help might actually look like.
The book puts that approach to work across eight substantial chapters covering pornography, sex outside marriage, elective abortion, LGBTQIA+ issues, idolatry, chronic sins, estrangement, and apathy. Each chapter opens with a scenario involving people whose circumstances are usually more complicated than they first appear. From there, Jester mixes biblical interpretation, medical or social research, personal observations, case-style questions, examples from Scripture, and concrete suggestions for intervention. The repetition is intentional. By returning to WASH PIGS again and again, the book trains the reader to ask questions before reacting. Some of the subjects are emotionally and culturally charged, and Jester approaches them from an explicitly conservative Christian understanding of Scripture. At the same time, one of his most persistent themes is that biblical conviction should produce compassion, dignity, patience, and a willingness to help.
What gives Spiritual CPR its personality is the combination of a doctor’s problem-solving instincts with the voice of someone writing directly to fellow church members. Jester frequently thinks in terms of diagnosis, intervention, risk factors, warning signs, and appropriate levels of care. That works especially well when he discusses situations involving abuse, addiction, pregnancy, trafficking, burnout, or circumstances where professional help and legal responsibilities may be involved. The scenarios also keep the book from becoming purely theoretical. Readers are repeatedly asked, in effect, “What would you actually do if this person showed up in your church or called you for help?” The later chapters broaden the idea in an interesting way, particularly the discussions of estrangement and apathy. By the end, spiritual CPR isn’t presented merely as correcting somebody else’s obvious moral failure. It becomes a call to examine one’s own passivity, motives, habits, and willingness to remain involved when helping another person becomes uncomfortable.
I’d recommend Spiritual CPR most strongly to Christians who take biblical authority seriously and want a practical framework for responding to difficult situations in their churches, families, and friendships. Pastors, elders, small-group leaders, ministry volunteers, Christian counselors, and mature church members could especially appreciate its scenario-based format because it naturally lends itself to discussion and training. It would also work well for a church study group willing to wrestle with sensitive subjects. Readers who share Jester’s theological starting point will probably get the most from the specific conclusions he reaches, but the book’s larger challenge is broader and memorable: if Christians say spiritual health matters, they should be prepared to notice when someone is in trouble, learn the whole story, and care enough to respond wisely.
Pages: 136 | ASIN : B0HD52QW3T
Effective Leaders
Faith in Flux is a collection of Christian leadership essays that frame leadership as a moral practice shaped by change, faith, critical thinking, and service. Why was this an important book for you to write?
Writing this book was important to me because it was an outlet for my reflections on my doctoral journey. I authored these essays while attending Liberty University’s School of Education, studying for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Educational Leadership. Postgraduate students can get overwhelmed by the volume of scholarly reports, peer-reviewed studies, and primary sources they must scrutinize before drafting their own academic prose. While reviewing and preparing for my dissertation, I decided to revisit my journey and share some of the leadership knowledge I had amassed, curated, and synthesized during my four years of study. I think education’s purpose is more than a simple knowledge transfer; it is knowledge shared to encourage deep thought and spark honest debate – a true collaborative effort.
Why do you believe listening is such a foundational leadership skill?
Listening is a foundational leadership skill because it builds trust, encourages diverse perspectives, informs decision-making, and mitigates potential conflict. As a child, adults told me that God gave us two ears and one mouth because we should listen twice as much as we speak. Although it’s commonly attributed to the ancient Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus, the quote “We have two ears and only one tongue so that we may hear more and speak less,” was written by Diogenes of Sinope, the founder of Cynic philosophy. The Cynics were a precursor philosophy to the Stoics; therefore, it makes sense that they share core beliefs. Likewise, Hellenistic culture influenced the Christian Bible. In the Old Testament, there are two references in Proverbs 10:19 and 17:28 advising to “hold their tongues.” Also, the New Testament has a similar quote in James 1:19: “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.”
Mentorship feels central to the book’s worldview. What makes a mentor truly transformative?
Mentorship is a critical component of education. The mentee determines whether a mentor is truly transformative. As my favorite mentor once said, “I’m not training you to do your job, I’m training you to do mine.” Anyone can be a mentor: family members, friends, coworkers, classmates, neighbors, or authority figures. Mentorship is a relationship. Both parties are responsible for nurturing any healthy relationship. However, a good mentor inherently has the mentee’s best interest at heart. Mentorship is not a self-serving endeavor, and sincerity is difficult to fake in the long term. All relationships take effort and time. However, not all advice is prudent or actionable. Mentors provide guidance while allowing the mentee to make mistakes without achieving total failure. As General David Goldfein wrote, leaders share success but own failure. I think effective leaders are mentors, and good mentors are leaders.
What audience did you most hope would connect with this book?
I view education as a collaborative effort with educators as mentors. My intent is not to proselytize but to share academic literature from my studies and personal anecdotes from my military experiences. Although I wrote this book from a Christian lens, ethics and morality are human ideals. Ethics is a branch of knowledge focusing on virtues, obligations, and consequences. It originated from the Greek ēthos (character or custom). Morals are one’s particular values concerning right and wrong that inform one’s conduct. It is derived from the Latin word mōs (custom or habit). Culture, traditions, customs, and religion influence both societal beliefs. Anyone who wants to behave ethically and morally (in the classroom or the boardroom) is my target audience.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Website | Amazon
In a world of constant change, this collection of essays distills four years of doctoral research at Liberty University into a practical, faith-grounded exploration of educational leadership, ethics, and modern pedagogy.
Author Michael W. Cook bridges the gap between rigorous academic scholarship and accessible prose, weaving in candid military anecdotes and a distinctly Christian worldview to make complex ideas both relatable and actionable.
From the timeless wisdom of Saint Augustine and the Founding Fathers’ vision of an educated citizenry to today’s most urgent challenges—campus ideological tensions, academic freedom battles, STEM integration with robotics and maker spaces, game-based learning, bureaucratic hierarchies, and technology ethics-—the essays show Christian leaders how to navigate constant change (life is flux) while staying firmly anchored in biblical morals and principles.
More than a scholarly exercise, this book serves as both an engaging narrative and a practical reference guide, equipping educators, administrators, ministry leaders, and professionals with biblical wisdom for faithful leadership in the classroom, boardroom, and daily life.
Ready to lead with conviction when the ground is shifting beneath your feet?
Faith in Flux shows you how.
Faith in Flux: Christian Leadership Lessons From Classroom to Boardroom
Faith in Flux is a wide-ranging collection of Christian leadership essays drawn from Michael William Cook’s PhD studies in educational leadership, moving from classrooms to military teams to higher education debates and organizational ethics. Cook frames leadership as a moral practice shaped by change, faith, critical thinking, and service. He writes about Heraclitus and “life is flux,” Augustine’s belief that education should form virtue, Jefferson and Rush’s competing visions of public education, Freire and campus speech, conflict resolution at work and home, mentoring in the Air Force, project-based learning, bureaucracy, STEM, technology, and the educational damage left by COVID-era distance learning. It’s less a single-argument book than a cabinet of essays, each one turning over a leadership problem under a Christian and academic light.
I liked how personal the book becomes when Cook steps away from the machinery of citations and lets experience do some of the teaching. His memory of Mr. Miller stopping trigonometry class to measure a basketball hoop, then a water tower, and a church steeple, has a lovely plainspoken power because it makes his point before he explains it. The same is true of the Air Force satellite exercise, where students worked with a transparent little box, test equipment, diagrams, and failure itself as a teacher. Those moments gave the book warmth. I felt the author most clearly there, not just as a doctoral student assembling scholarship, but as someone who has been changed by good teaching and wants to pass that change along.
Cook’s convictions are sincere, and I respected the moral seriousness behind his concerns about campus speech, leadership legitimacy, and education without virtue. Some passages land with more force than nuance, especially when discussing Marxism, Freire, and contemporary university culture. The writing can become compressed by its academic scaffolding, with names, theories, citations, and conclusions arriving in a steady march. I appreciated that the book doesn’t pretend to be neutral. Its best ideas are grounded in responsibility: leaders should listen before correcting, delegate without abandoning accountability, protect children, teach for mastery rather than mere grades, and treat authority as something earned through character rather than title.
Faith in Flux is thoughtful, earnest, and often thought-provoking, especially when Cook connects leadership theory to lived moments of mentorship, classroom discovery, and moral choice. The prose is strongest when it breathes, and the ideas are strongest when they’re embodied in stories. This is a passionate book about becoming the kind of leader who can stand inside change without losing his ethical center. I’d recommend it to Christian educators, school leaders, military mentors, and readers who enjoy reflective essays that blend faith, leadership theory, and practical experience.
Pages: 247 | ASIN : B0GWWNC92F
Pursue the Exceptional: Decoding Three Thousand Years of Proven Principles to Confidently Navigate Leadership and Life
Pursue the Exceptional is a motivational manual blending modern leadership strategies with timeless wisdom. It merges personal anecdotes, insights from bestselling business and self-help literature, and biblical references to craft a guide for achieving meaningful success. Structured around ten principles, the book aims to simplify the complex journey of leadership and life, making it accessible and actionable. Whether discussing servant leadership, relentless hard work, or leaving a legacy, Fudge roots his guidance in stories that resonate with the ambitious yet overwhelmed professional.
I appreciated this book’s honesty about leadership challenges. Fudge begins by sharing his own insecurities and struggles as a newly appointed CEO, making it easy to connect with his journey. The Rubik’s Cube metaphor from the introduction immediately hooked me. It framed life’s puzzles not as impossible challenges but as solvable with the right patterns. His recounting of early leadership lessons from mentors and his realization that truth often transcends time felt relatable. In particular, I found his reflections on servant leadership inspiring. His partner Frieda’s example of rearranging a conference room for a graduation ceremony struck me—small gestures often have the biggest impact.
Fudge’s writing style is engaging. When he dives into the principle of hard work, for instance, his anecdotes, like dedicating countless hours to transforming a used bike into a gift for his son, are moving. Yet, similar lessons on diligence recur in multiple chapters. That said, his unwavering commitment to showing instead of telling is refreshing. As someone seeking motivation, I appreciated how he shared not just successes but also setbacks. For instance, his admission of initially making BAL’s leadership overly centered on himself before evolving into a more inclusive leader felt authentic and powerful.
What I found particularly unique was how the book ties modern practices to biblical principles. Fudge argues that concepts like accountability or dreaming big are echoed in ancient texts, lending them credibility and depth. While this perspective might not resonate with everyone, it enriched my understanding of leadership’s roots. His comparison of present-day leaders like Simon Sinek and Jim Collins with the teachings of Jesus might sound ambitious, but it worked for me. The juxtaposition of timeless truths with actionable advice made the content both meaningful and practical.
Pursue the Exceptional is a gem for those striving for clarity in their careers or leadership paths. It balances wisdom with real-world application, never losing sight of its core message: success stems from service, effort, and vision. I’d recommend it to ambitious professionals, faith-oriented readers, or anyone feeling lost amid the sea of leadership literature.
Pages: 256 | ASIN : B0D7FNRSSJ
God’s Focus on the Fatherless: A Lens to Inform Spiritual Impact in the Local Church
In God’s Focus on the Fatherless, author Dwight David Croy delves into the nuanced interpretation of the term ‘fatherless’ within biblical scripture. Croy meticulously examines how this term transcends its literal sense to include a broader spectrum of individuals facing disenfranchisement and neglect, such as orphans, widows, prisoners, and the mentally ill. This approach underscores the book’s central theme: understanding and addressing the needs of the fatherless through the compassionate lens of God’s perspective.
Croy’s exploration is anchored in a thorough analysis of forty-three scriptural references. These references illuminate the varied ways in which God attends to marginalized groups, offering insights into his empathetic nature. Notably, the book refrains from proposing solutions to the issue of fatherlessness. Instead, it focuses on highlighting God’s vision for engaging with those who are fatherless and how this vision can guide various ministry efforts.
The author distinguishes himself through a clear and direct narrative style, effectively communicating complex theological concepts in an accessible manner. Using specific scripture to bolster key arguments adds depth and credibility, aligning Croy’s interpretations with established biblical teachings. Additionally, the simple structure of the book ensures that readers can easily follow the narrative without being overwhelmed by intricate theological discourse. Croy emphasizes the active role everyone can play in ministering to and supporting the fatherless. He asserts that society bears a collective responsibility towards these individuals, a poignant message in a world grappling with widespread social challenges.
Croy’s work is enlightening, urging readers to deepen their understanding of God’s compassion, commit to addressing profound societal wounds, and engage in ministry with a focus on eternal priorities. God’s Focus on the Fatherless is a compelling read for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of biblical teachings and their application in modern society.
Pages: 148 | ASIN : B01ESAXJN2
Be A Giant Killer
Presented alongside verses in the Bible, the book is separated into the seven giants you will face in life. You need not be religious to understand the clear message that author Ed Norwood has laced throughout the pages. That is, to overcome these giants we must not run from them but towards them. It is the only way to truly transform and benefit the next generation of lives, but doing so is not pleasant.
Norwood begins his book with his shocking personal experience and the giant he faced which was Jim Jones, a cult leader, and a murderer. He lost twenty-seven family members in the Jonestown massacre. A situation that turned others away from God and all religion instead was used as a source of strength and survival for the author. I immediately connected with Norwood as he overcame an experience that many will find hard to come back from. Norwood’s writing is inspiring and uplifting as he makes you feel like you can do anything.
The author doesn’t force religion upon the reader but he does provide examples of how having strong faith can give you the strength you need to overcome your giant. The seven giants that the author lists are very common giants that we all face in our day-to-day activities, such as fear, dissatisfaction, unforgiveness, addiction, laziness, procrastination, and folly. I enjoyed reading the real-life examples that the author shares about his own battles with each giant. I feel this brings authenticity to the author’s words and allows readers to make a personal connection as they may find a story similar to one of their own.
Be A Giant Killer: Overcoming Your Everyday Goliaths is a self-help book based on Christian religion for those that want to take a hard look in the mirror and unpack their true fears. It captures readers’ attention from the first page. A must-read for those seeking guidance through the use of biblical power and to overcome the demons in their own world.
Pages: 302 | ASIN : B09CVCTB4F
New You! Who Knew
New You- Who Knew, by David R Edwards, is a powerful self-help book that will inspire anyone who believes life can be better than the status quo. Often times people are too focused on the mundane life; they are not motivated to leave their comfort zone. Especially today, it is super easy to get entangled in worldly affairs; this book can be the North Star to guide us to a more enriching and fulfilling life.
Edwards’s work is well polished. Even though this is his first book, he has presented everything like a seasoned writer. He has logically planned everything. The chapters are simple with to-do lists, home takeaways, and previews. As a reader, you can read the book, work on the chapters and become thoroughly acquainted with the topic. You cannot go wrong with this book. As you read through the chapters and move forward, Edwards makes sure you understand the material and are able to produce high-quality work with simple language and detailed explanations. Even though I have read so many books in this category, what strikes me the most about this book is Edwards’s approach to writing. The style is straightforward, but it feels like you are sitting in class with your favorite professor. The information is presented in a manner that readers will feel they are actively involved in the learning process rather than just being lectured on how to do things.
New You- Who Knew is full of life learning skills that you can teach yourself with patience and practice. Each chapter has a worksheet – which encourages readers to test their knowledge and put into practice whatever they’ve learned. I find it quite adventurous and helpful. There is a lot of review of concepts to reinforce the ideas and put them into practice. This is because the concepts are interconnected, and the steps build on each other. This book offers concise chapters and is an inspiring read.
New You- Who Knew is an engaging book in the nonfiction and self-help genres. This educational book will inspire readers to improve the quality of their work, thus improving their own self-worth.
Pages: 319 | ASIN : B09Q9CFPKX
