The Grace Effect

Due to busyness of life (the good kind) and computer issues, my regular posts have been sporadic.  I'm having to use a loaner for this post until my computer returns home!  We've had lots of fun things going on that I want to share with you - Fall Festival and Legoland to name just a few!  In the mean time, while my right arm (computer) is in the hospital, I'll be sharing about some books I've read lately.

The Grace Effect:  How the Power of One Life Can Reverse the Corruption of Unbelief by Larry Alex Taunton was sent to me by Thomas Nelson for the purpose of review.  I just finished reading this book yesterday.  When I turned the last page, the thought in my mind was "Wow"!  Mr. Taunton is a historian and Christian apologist who lives with his wife and children in Birmingham, AL.  He is the founder and executive director of Fixed Point Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to the public defense of the Christian faith.  Mr. Taunton has engaged some of the most vociferous opponents of Christianity, including Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Peter Singer.

In The Grace Effect, Mr. Taunton seeks to explain concepts like "common grace" and what he calls "the grace effect", which is an observable phenomenon simply defined - "that life is demonstrably better where authentic Christianity flourishes".  Mr. Taunton makes his argument beautifully as he tells the story of his family's adoption of a 10 year old girl, Sasha, from Ukraine. 

The Grace Effect is a good blend of the story of the adoption, history and the theology of grace.  While some parts of the book are hard to take in due to the emotional subject matter of the state of the orphanages in the Ukraine and the corruption of the government there, Mr. Taunton does a tremendous job of painting a picture through his words.  The reader sees clearly what a society without any regard for God looks like.

The book includes a discussion guide with recommended reading suggestions after each chapter discussion.  In The Grace Effect, Taunton provides many excellent discussion starters with which to engage those the reader may encounter who question the validity of the Christian faith or who are searching for an understanding of grace.  The book with the built in discussion guide and reading list would make for an excellent book club selection or for use in small group meetings.  The book can be ordered at Amazon.com by going HERE.

Blessings,