Book Review: What Works - Common Sense Solutions for a Stronger America

Political books are a dime a dozen. They mostly follow a familiar pattern. If written by a liberal then everything a conservative stands for is bad. If a conservative is writing the book then they use the book as an opportunity to rail against liberals. Too often politicians are focused on scoring political points and preserving power rather than finding solutions to problems.

What sets syndicated columnist Cal Thomas' latest book What Works: Common Sense Solutions for a Stronger America is that it provides exactly what the title promises: common sense solutions that seek to solve America's problems rather than score points for a particular political party or viewpoint.

What's missing from our political discourse is an agreement among our leaders to work together to seek solutions that work and that can be supported by a broad public consensus. Ironically, many of the solutions to our most pressing problems are things that in the past we have tried and used successfully. A brief look back at our nation's history (which Thomas helpfully provides) shows that some of the solutions have already been created. We only need the courage to actually try them again.

The other most compelling message of the book is that our solutions do not necessarily need to come from Washington, D. C. In fact, many solutions can be found in the vibrant laboratories of state government. By embracing innovation at the local level we can find a way to solve our most pressing problems.

Regardless of your political point of view you are likely to find much to agree with in What Works. I highly encourage you to read it and see that the solutions that we seek to our everyday problems are right in front of us - if we only have the courage to break out of our tired political ruts and look for ways to improve the common good.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Prayer, Politics, and Rick Warren

Much has been written about Pastor Rick Warren's invitation to give the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration in just a few weeks. Many on the left have been upset about the selection of Pastor Warren because of his stance against homosexual marriage. Some on the right are suggesting that he may be compromising the gospel for the sake of political influence.

Pastor Warren is symbolic of what's happened to evangelicals over the past 30 or so years. The church has forsaken the gospel in favor of gaining political and cultural influence. As a result, principles have been compromised.

If Pastor Warren truly wants to be effective, then he should take Cal Thomas' advice and be more like the prophet Nathan:

If Obama plans on having Warren as a presence in his presidency, Warren should seek to model himself more after Nathan the prophet. Nathan confronted King David over his affair with Bathsheba, whose husband, Uriah the Hittite, David sent to the front lines to ensure he would be killed so that David could have his wife. God sent Nathan to David. Nathan told David a story about a rich man who stole a poor man's lamb rather than take one from his own flock to feed a visitor. Nathan asked David what should happen to such a man. David replied, "that man should surely die." To which Nathan replied, "You are the man." (2 Samuel 12)

Nathan's confrontation led to David's repentance and one of the most beautiful Psalms ever written (Psalm 51). The point is that Nathan did not compromise Truth, but confronted David with what he had done wrong. How many modern preachers would confront a president like that? Probably not many if they wanted to maintain access.

Former Governor Mike Huckabee wrote this in his book Do The Right Thing quoting his mentor James Robison:

The prophets of old were rarely invited back for a return engagement. In fact, most of them were never invited the first time. They came to speak truth to power regardless of the consequences.

Governor Huckabee goes on to note that one can be a politician or a prophet but never both. My hope is that Pastor Warren will take this opportunity to be a prophet and not worry about being invited by President Obama for another speaking engagement.