WHOSE LIFE IS IT ANYWAY?
By Neil Hood
Authentic Lifestyle. 160 pages. £7.99
ISBN 1 85078 461 2
This is a book about stewardship - of time, talents and money. It's a searching read for people in any age group. Commendations on the cover from both pastoral ministers and senior businessmen reflect how useful it will be for a wide range of readers.
Neil Hood has long roots in Christian ministry, in Send the Light Trust (which he chairs), Scripture Union and Blythswood. But his work experience has taken him into a much wider theatre, both in the UK and internationally. Given this background, he knows all about the need to make choices and prioritise; about pressures of travel on family life; about the problem of stress.
I found the use of Scripture helpful in considering principles, and being urged to apply them. (It isn't a comfortable book to read.) He looks at the 'macro' of constants in a changing environment and at the 'micro' of personal work patterns. He calls the reader to examine attitudes to ambition and personal success, and to work at building a godly worldview.
My congratulations to the book designer. He has made an excellent job of presenting the text in a slim 160 pages with shaded boxes, tables and pull-quotes interspersed in a contemporary layout. It is helpfully beguiling to draw in busy people. For this seemingly easy-to-read book has no shortage of substance. It deserves to be on church bookstalls and discussed over coffee. My one slight concern was the point size of the further reading titles and endnotes. Hardly worth mentioning.
