A popular adage dictates that those who are heavenly minded are of no earthly good. Buchanan, a pastor and freelance writer, begs to differ. He convincingly demonstrates that unless Christians cling to the hope of the hereafter with a grip so fierce and purposeful that everything else dims in comparison, they will become so earthly minded that they are of no heavenly good. Buchanan (Your God Is Too Safe) writes with persuasive elegance as he implores fellow Christians to "fixate" on the promise of heaven. This stance will do more than get believers through the humdrum monotony of life; it will energize and excite them to face inevitable tragedies with more than mere resignation. Says Buchanan, "We fix on it [heaven], and it fixes us." A heavenly compulsion, he writes, will alter one's own vantage point and also transform the world in which Christians find themselves. Buchanan details how God uses the trivial, the boring and the tame to transform Christians from the inside out. As they quietly go about their daily business, faithful to the vocation to which they're called, believers are slowly changed. Buchanan exposes a pastor's heart as he painstakingly explores difficult topics through the lens of heaven. Generous, heartrending anecdotes expose Buchanan's own disappointments and the trials of loved ones, but always within the hopeful and eternal context of heaven. Written to exhort, encourage and bolster his fellow Christians' faith, Buchanan's book hits the mark with finely turned phrases that make reading this a joy. (July)
