by James C. Howell

Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky. 178 pages

reviewed by ROY HOWARD

I  have read plenty of books on the art of preaching. I would sacrifice most of them for this one by James Howell.

by Wendy Farley
Westminister John Knox Press. Louisville, KY. 438 pages

reviewed by DEBRA AVERY

Anyone who comes to this book with the hope of finding THE answer is likely to be surprised.

by Benjamin T. Conner
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Paperback. 129 pages

reviewed by JEFF KREHBIEL

Two of the most important movements in the mainline church in recent decades have been the focus on Christian practices represented by the Valparaiso Project on the Education and Formation of People in the Faith (represented by Practicing Our Faith, 1997), led by Dorothy Bass and Craig Dykstra, and the emergence of “missional” theology out of the Gospel and Our Culture Network, led by Darrell Guder and George Hunsberger (represented by The Missional Church, 1998).

by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson
Wm. B. Eerdmans, Minneapolis. 312 pages

reviewed by JOSEPH DELAHUNT

Wesley Granberg-Michaelson stepped down recently from his position as general secretary of the Reformed Church in America.

by Timothy Beach-Verhey
Baylor University Press, 320 pages

reviewed by ROGER J. GENCH

In this fine book on public theology, Timothy Beach-Verhey seeks to find a way for American Christians to contribute to public discourse without seeking to dominate it (as in the past) or to accommodate to its assumptions (our current temptation).

by Nicholas Wolterstorff
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 282 pages

reviewed by DAVID LITTLE

Sometimes, a book comes along that entirely reshapes consideration of a key topic in theology and philosophy. Such a book is Nicholas Wolterstorff’s “Justice in Love.”

by Allister Sparks & Mpho Tutu
HarperOne. 368 pages

reviewed by CAMERON BYRD

Toward the end of this book, written on the occasion of Bishop Desmond Tutu’s 80th birthday, the authors raise this question: “What kind of person do we have here in this humble high school teacher who became a lukewarm priest and eventually grew into a turbulent peace activist and Nobel Laureate (1984) and is now entering his octogenarian years not just as a man for all seasons but for all faiths and all humanity?”

A Sense of Being Called
by Richard Stoll Armstrong
Wipf and Stock Publishers. 192 pages.

reviewed by MELANIE HAMMOND CLARK

I was in the ninth grade, in the last few weeks of communicants/confirmation class,
and the new senior pastor of our 2,700-member congregation came to get to know
us and to let us know him.

by Allan Hugh Cole Jr., ed.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. 249 pages.

reviewed by KENNETH E. KOVACS

This is a sumptuous banquet offering rich food for our souls.