My (two) latest: reviews of Morell and Huerter, in CT

Last Tuesday Christianity Today published my review of Clare Morell’s new book The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones. The title is “Finally, a Tech Book That Doesn’t Pull Punches,” and that captures the tone of the review, which is overwhelmingly positive. Morell has officially joined my personal Mount Rushmore of tech books to assign and recommend to others—alongside Crouch, Haidt, and Newport.

Michael Huerter’s new book is not among them. This morning CT published my review of Huerter’s book, titled The Hybrid Congregation: A Practical Theology of Worship for an Online Era. In fact, “Just Say No to Online Church” is probably the most negative book review I’ve ever written. The opening sentence is a single word: Nein! That probably tells you all you need to know. But it’s worth reading on for the issues that Huerter raises for pastors and theologians alike. If DJ Soto, bishop of the metaverse—i.e., “Virtual Reality Church and MMO Church”—didn’t exist, we’d have to invent him. But he does, and the claims he makes call for an answer. For the time being, this review is mine.