Bad Girls of the Bible

by Liz Curtis Higgs

This book is at once a fun read without being irreligious, a fresh approach to serious Bible study, and a sobering reminder that there's nothing new or far-away about sin-including ours. With a flair for sparkle and contemporary imagery, the author picks 10 of "those other women" in the Bible to examine: Eve, Rahab, the Woman at the Well, and others-along with some of the men in their lives. This is real-life stuff. The stories have a point, and she concludes each chapter with a series of questions designed to make sure the reader "gets it." | Ed Plowman

The Rock & Roll Rebellion

by Mark Joseph

This book casts yet another stone into the already rippled Christian music pool. But what makes this wave-maker different is its conclusion: Christian music as a category should cease to exist. As the head of MJM Entertainment, the company that marketed Sixpence None the Richer overseas, Mr. Joseph makes a convincing argument that the genre's "separate but equal" philosophy sequesters Christian music from the very society it seeks to influence. Not everyone will agree with his premise, but most will find his description of the industry's evolution from hippie-era "Jesus music" to a slickly packaged, half-billion-dollar business an entertaining read. | Candi Cushman

Roaring Lambs

by Bob Briner

At a standing-room-only Capitol Hill press conference last month, Christian heavyweights like columnist Cal Thomas and U.S. House leader Dick Army rallied around an obscure little book called Roaring Lambs. Written by the recently deceased Emmy award-winning television producer Bob Briner, the book chastises Christians for apathetically surrendering cultural arenas like film, literature, and art to the forces of secularism. Rather than just finger-wag though, Mr. Briner presents an intriguing strategy for reclaiming lost ground, challenging Christian parents and churches to commission their children as cultural missionaries. This is a must-read for any Christians concerned with affecting mainstream culture. | Candi Cushman