Fresh Power: Experiencing the Vast Resources of the Spirit of God

This third book in Cymbala's bestselling trilogy (Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire and Fresh Faith) explores the third person in the Trinity: the Holy Spirit. Like its award-winning predecessors, it combines unforgettable anecdotes culled from Cymbala's ministry as pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle with deep theological and biblical truths, many of which are not easy to hear. It is clearly the edgiest, most cutting book of the series, with Cymbala's passionate voice urging Christians to abandon their comfort zones in favor of the unpredictable leadings of the Spirit. He criticizes churchgoers who neglect the power of the Spirit, chastising, for example, Christians who are so fixated on end-time prophecies that they neglect God's work in the here and now. His harshest words are reserved for the ""the disastrous `church-growth' movement,"" which, he says, has convinced Christians everywhere that worship must be entertaining and inoffensive. Cymbala utilizes the Book of Acts to explore the early Church's practice of complete dependence upon the Spirit, citing not just the famous Pentecost scene of Acts 2 but also many other examples of transformation throughout the book (particularly Peter's metamorphosis from a fair-weather friend of Jesus into a committed, Spirit-led apostle). Some readers may be made uneasy by Cymbala's hard-hitting, take-no-prisoners approach, but others will cheer his prophetic call to reformationDand, more importantly, be changed by it. (Feb.)