Joel B. Green, Thomas G. Long, Luke A. Powery and Cynthia L. Rigby, editors WJK Press, 400 pages What a marvelous commentary that will go right alongside the popular “Feasting on the Word” series! The nine volumes belong on the pastor’s shelf. Why? Because preaching is crucial to the life of the church, always and especially in turbulent times.  A wide variety of teachers, preachers and scholars bring the depth of the Scriptures into conversation and connection with both Word and world. The biblical texts for each Sunday are interpreted within the context of the whole canon as well as the world to which they speak. The preacher looking for a path forward that takes both Word and world seriously will find skilled companions in this collection. Imagine being in a lively seminar each week! What’s even better is an added feature of the commentary connecting the Psalms with Scripture and weekly worship. As Barbara Brown Taylor said, “there are diamonds to be discovered each week.” That … [Read more...]

Peter Wohlleben Greystone Books, 288 pages About worship, David Gambrell once said, “I like to think of worship as an organic, dynamic thing — like a tree that is rooted, growing, bearing fruit for the world.” I have no idea whether Gambrell, associate for worship in the PC(USA) Office of Theology, has read “The Hidden Life of Trees,” but doing so would certainly confirm his use of trees when referring to worship. In fact, Peter Wohlleben has opened wide a window on the life of trees that evokes wonder and awe akin to worship. Not worship of trees, of course, but worship of the living God whose presence is made visible in the beauty of creation. Our ancestors in the faith reveled in scientific discovery. This joy is what I experienced reading the author’s description of how trees actually communicate with one another using fungal networks. He goes on to the describe how trees protect themselves by clever use of toxins. I will never look upon the skin of trees – or trees themselves … [Read more...]

Being Human Rowan Williams Eerdmans, 112 pages Rowan Williams’ recent small books “Being Christian” and “Becoming Disciples” have been helpful in describing foundational Christian belief and practice. Here, Williams turns his attention to what makes us human and how we can sustain what is humane when it is being increasingly threatened. Taken with the other two, it makes a trilogy worth reading together. By the author’s admission, these essays are perhaps more intellectually challenging. Yet they are worth the effort. As Williams says, “Unless we have a coherent model of what sort of humanity we want to nurture in our society, we shall continue to be at sea over how we teach, how we vote … how we think about the beginning and end of life.” It concludes with a sermon on the ascension of Jesus. Anxious to Talk About It Carolyn B. Helsel Chalice Press, 128 pages Helsel wants ordinary white folks to engage the conversation about race in a way that propels them forward into … [Read more...]

Karl Barth Baker Academic, 192 pages To call this a commentary on Ephesians would certainly be accurate. It would also barely scratch the surface of Karl Barth’s extraordinary theological reflections on this epistle. What is even more astonishing is the contemporary relevancy of Barth’s theological interpretations written in 1921-22 while he was teaching at the University of Gottingen. (This is the same period during which Barth composed his shattering-all-things commentary on Romans.) The reader is led deeper and deeper into the depths of Paul’s letter with line-by-line, word-by-word exposition. (Yes, Barth takes the contrary position that Paul is the author of Ephesians.) Occasionally, one is left breathless by the interpretation and compelled to rethink everything in light of it. While it’s accurate to say that Barth stays close to the text, it’s more like turning an infinite kaleidoscope to reveal the theological treasures of God that he finds laden in Scripture. Along the … [Read more...]