IVP Books, 128 pages Reviewed by TJ Remaley “It was a life-changing trip!” So goes the all-too-common refrain of those returning home from a short-term mission experience. Perhaps the trip has challenged paradigms or broadened perspectives. Maybe it has suggested a need for shifting priorities or reallocating financial resources. Regardless, the rush of the post-trip enthusiasm tends to fade quickly upon reentry to the daily grind of life, and often, this reversal leads to the painful realization that what was once described as life-changing ended up changing far less than imagined or hoped for. In his new book, “After the Trip: Unpacking Your Crosscultural Experience,” veteran trip leader Cory Trenda suggests that we have cheapened the phrase “life changing” by using it before any change has taken root. He surely speaks from experience, having led hundreds of cross-cultural trips in his work for World Vision. He has learned that a more faithful response to those asking about … [Read more...]

Karen Swallow Prior Brazos Press, 272 pages Reviewed by Marlise Burr-Asher Karen Swallow Prior’s second book, “On Reading Well,” is an intriguing read if for no other reason than because the reader is confronted with antediluvian language in a modern context. Words like “prudence” and “chastity” just don’t pop up in our everyday vernacular. Prior, an English professor from Liberty University, deconstructs 12 influential pieces of literature. Each novel is scrutinized through the lens of a different virtue. For example, Prior examines justice in “A Tale of Two Cities.” She revisits “Huckleberry Finn” and considers what it teaches us about courage. She unpacks “Pilgrim’s Progress” and what it has to say about diligence.  Beating at the heart of her analysis is the belief that virtue can be found in literature, and therefore consuming great literature has the potential to make us more virtuous. Virtue, according to Prior, is excellence and is perceived in the Aristotelian … [Read more...]