From Revell books comes The Gospel Unplugged: Turning Up the Volume on Songs that Rock Your Soul. An in-depth look at how you can extract biblical truth and the gospel message from the lyrics of modern day contemporary Christian songs by artists like Jars of Clay, Switchfoot, Stephen Curtis Chapman, and the Newsboys. Author Rich Wagner gives an analytical interpretation of the lyrics and he offers tips on daily application.

The Gospel Unplugged makes for an excellent bible study for any youth group, offering a plethora of topical subjects that youth can relate to. Wagner dives deep into each song lyrically with scripture references, and then provides action items at the end of each chapter. The book is broken down into five parts that explore God’s love; daily issues, and remaining true to your walk with Christ.

Wagner, a former V.P. in the technology field, has written several For Dummies books including Christian Prayer For Dummies, Christianity For Dummies, and C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies. Additionally he is the creator of Digitalwalk (www.digitalwalk.net), a discipleship-based web site relating to Christianity in the digital age.

Contemporary Christian music played a huge role in my growth as a new Christian. It allowed me to connect to other believers, gave me lyrics to ponder on, and encouragement when things got tough. The Gospel Unplugged is a really cool book in that it takes these songs and gives you a better perspective of where the writer was coming from. My only “could have been better” comment is that many of the songs are more contemporary than what I would expect for someone who would be interested in this book. Wagner covers songs from Switchfoot to Chris Rice, two artists who are generations apart when it comes to their audience. Of course with so many great songs out there, I don’t know how you could pick just a few to talk about. I guess that leaves the door open for Unplugged 2 – 3 – 4 etc...

- Ken W.