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The Presbyterian Outlook

Creating and curating trustworthy resources for the church, the Presbyterian Outlook connects disciples of Jesus Christ through compelling and committed conversation for the proclamation of the Gospel.

More Stories from this Author

God’s Wisdom: Toward a Theology of Education

By Peter C. Hodgson
WJKP. 1999. 168 pp. Pb. $20.

ISBN 0-664-25718-6

Reviewed by Daniel L. Migliore
Princeton, N.J.

In recent years the question of the purpose, content and reform of theological education has been widely discussed. While Hodgson's book is related to this discussion, it has a broader concern. Its primary focus is not theological education, or even religious studies, but the educational process itself.

Proposed amendment to delete ‘chastity/fidelity’ may impact per capita contributions

Congregations angered by the 213th General Assembly's controversial recommendation to lift a ban on gay and lesbian ordination are expected to protest with their pocketbooks in the coming months, withholding contributions to the Presbyterian Church's per capita budget.

Homosexual Ordination: What Must We Do?

What has been going around seems this year to be coming around -- and with a vengeance. Given the so-called "Confessing Church Movement," a plethora of overtures and more deeply drawn lines of controversy, it is clear that the General Assembly will once again be faced with the question of homosexual ordination.

Considerin the Case for a Theological Commission

Two overtures before this year's General Assembly callfor the appointment of a theological commission assigned with charting a new path beyond the present impasse regarding homosexuality. The intense feelings and widely divergent perspectives on this issue demonstrate both the need for such a new path and the challenges standing in its way.

Neshaminy on Our Minds and Hearts, 1726-2001

Nobody really knows exactly what the Native American word "Neshaminy" means. It was the name of a creek in Bucks County, Pa., after which William Tennent named a Presbyterian church in 1726. The congregation, now Neshaminy-Warwick, celebrates its 275th anniversary during this calendar year.

Presbyterians embrace a new way of doing mission work around the world

When Faith church in Medford, N.J., decided to start a new church in Romania, its members prayed hard and went to work. They didn't ask the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for money or permission. They used their own contacts to track down a South Korean missionary working in Romania, a Presbyterian who helped them find a pastor for a new church in Timisoara, Romania's second-largest city.

Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers

By Joan S. Gray and Joyce C. Tucker

Geneva. 1999. 204 pp. Pb. $17.
ISBN 0-664-50018-8

Reviewed by James E. Andrews

The third edition of Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers by Joan Gray and Joyce Tucker is an improvement of a resource that has been essential for Presbyterian leaders since it first appeared in 1986.

Heart of Flesh: A Feminist Spirituality for Women and Men

By Joan D. Chittister

Eerdmans. 1998. 187 pp. $20
ISBN 0-8028-4282-8

Reviewed by Freda Gardner

If you are a feminist, female or male, you will find convictions and new insights resonating deep in your being. You will also be challenged to think through again the broader and deeper dimensions of life lived on the basis of feminism rather than the patriarchy that has so long dominated the culture of much of the world.

Kissed by the Coach’s Wife

I don't tell many people I quarterbacked my high school football team because I do not like the incredulous look that appears on their faces just before they laugh out loud. However, there are a few living witnesses, albeit with fading memories, who could testify to the fact that I never received the athletic glory I so richly deserved.

Hopeful Realism: Reclaiming the Poetry of Theology

By Douglas F. Ottati

Pilgrim. 1999. 134 pp. $14.95.

ISBN 0-8298-1322-5

Reviewed by James G. Kirk

If you are looking for a book to use this fall with your adult education class, look no further! This is a wonderful resource that lends itself to an eight-week class on "How a Church Can Engage the World."

Praising God: The Trinity in Christian Worship

By Ruth C. Duck and Patricia Wilson-Kastner
WJKP. 1999. 207 pp. Pb. $22.

ISBN 0-664-25777-1

Reviewed by Gene Huff
San Francisco

"The Trinity are a grammar problem," according to an answer once noted on a theology exam. The authors of this remarkably useful book suggest it has too often also been a worship problem and they assume the task of showing how we can more adequately speak to and about the Trinitarian God in worship.

What Presbyterians Believe about the future, Part 3: Our Distinctive Theological Voice

It is no wonder that few Presbyterians know exactly what our church believes about the end of the world. The issue is complicated and there is no clear consensus within our denomination. It has also been 20 years since our denomination has spoken about these matters.

The Spectacle of Worship in a Wired World: Electronic Culture and the Gathered People of God

By Tex Sample

Abingdon. 1998. 141 pp. Pb. $18.
ISBN 0-687-08373-7

Reviewed by Stanley R. Hall

Tex Sample's volume on electronic culture and Christian worship is popular in the best sense: it is clear, concrete, accessible and not too long. Believe Leonard Sweet's book cover blurb: "It's the next best thing to Tex Sample live!"

Sundays Down South: A Pastor’s Stories

By James O. Chatham
University Press of Mississippi.1999. 248 pp. $25.

ISBN 1-57806-175-X

Reviewed by Louis Weeks, Richmond, Va.

"Exegete the biblical text, exegete the congregation, and exegete the community in which you serve." This profound advice for pastors and others who would lead the church I have heard constantly from seminary professors and from wise old hands in presbytery.

Telling the Truth: Preaching about Sexual and Domestic Violence

John S. McClure and Nancy J. Ramsay, eds.
Cleveland. United Church Press.1998. 162 pp. Pb. $15.95
ISBN 0-8298-1282-2

Reviewed by Gail A. Ricciuti

This challenging book, a collection of essays emerging from a 1997 Presbyterian Consultation on Preaching and Sexual and Domestic Violence, may be the most helpful resource available on preaching with integrity in the face of the violence that, often invisibly, permeates our congregations.

Good News in Exile: Three Pastors Offer a Hopeful Vision for the Church

By Martin B. Copenhaver, Anthony B. Robinson
and William H. Willimon
Eerdmans. 1999. 116 pp. Pb. $12.

ISBN 0-8028-4604-1

Reviewed by Angela L. Ying, Seattle, Wash.

In a word, it is a gift. Martin B. Copenhaver, Anthony B. Robinson and William H. Willimon's book, Good News in Exile: Three Pastors Offer a Hopeful Vision for the Church, is a genuine gift to the church. Unlike other "gifts" where we get exactly what we ask for, where there are no surprises, and where we know what to expect, Good News in Exile offers the church -- and thus offers us, as people of faith -- one of those rare gifts.

The Dynamic Congregation

By Robert H. Ramey Jr.

Chalice. 1999. Pb. 139 pp. $15.99

ISBN 0-8272-0626-7

Reviewed by William Hawkins

Out of his "25 years of pastoral work, 16 years of teaching ministry in a theological institution and more than 200 seminars with churches and judicatories," Robert Ramey offers congregations the distilled essence of his considerable wisdom.

Going to the Dickens

My friends -- both of them -- have just read Evelyn Waugh's weird little short story, "The Man Who Liked Dickens" with the hope of understanding my latter day enthusiasm. Although I have absolutely no desire to become any kind of expert on Dickens' 14 great novels, I find, to my surprise, that I enjoy immensely an hour a day in his company.

Rachel’s Cry: Prayer of Lament and Rebirth of Hope

By Kathleen D. Billman and Daniel L. Migliore
United Church. 1999. 174 pp. Pb. $18.95.

ISBN 0-8298-1353-5

Reviewed by Fane Downs
Midland, Texas

We live in a time of increased interest in things spiritual -- practices, techniques and theologies -- many sincere, some shallow. Our days are marked, moreover, by suffering and awareness of evil in our midst -- manifested in ethnic cleansing, wars, school shootings, family violence, etc.

Putting the Amazing Back in Grace

By Ann Weems
WJKP. 1999. 112 pp. $14.95.

ISBN 0-664-22150-5

Reviewed by Jane C. Perdue

Pay attention, lay people, ministers and Christian educators! Putting the Amazing Back in Grace is another Ann Weems collection of poems to use in reflection, preaching and teaching!

The Church as Moral Community: Ecclesiology and Ethics in Ecumenical Debate

By Lewis S. Mudge

Continuum. 1998. 176 pp. $19.95
ISBN 0-8264-1048-0

Reviewed by Clifton Kirkpatrick

Lewis Mudge, professor of systematic theology at San Francisco Seminary, is one of the greatest gifts the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shares with the ecumenical movement. His vision and insights, matched by his gracious and generous spirit, have decisively shaped all of the major ecumenical movements in which our church has been engaged for more than a generation.

Home By Another Way

By Barbara Brown Taylor
Cowley. 1999. Pb. 212 pp. $ 11.95.

ISBN 1-56101-167-3

Reviewed by Elisabeth Lunz

When I first met Barbara Brown Taylor more than 20 years ago, she was becoming a writer. We were both at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, where Barbara worked in administration during her postulancy for the Episcopal priesthood.

Mustard Seed Versus McWorld: Reinventing Life and Faith for the Future

By Tom Sine
Baker Books. 1999. 249 pp. Pb. $14.99.

ISBN 0-8010-9088-1

Reviewed by Elizabeth Dodson Gray

Watchman, tell us of the night,
What its signs of promise are.

-- Advent season hymn

It is seldom that we find a Christian preacher or writer like Tom Sine, who can stand like an Old Testament prophet on the parapet of the city and tell us of the present and the future without losing his own footing in the Christian faith.

The Millennium Myth: Hope for a Postmodern World

By N. T. Wright
WJKP. 1999. 128 pp. $12.95.

ISBN 0-664-25841-7

Reviewed by Michael D. Bush

While too much of the Christian world is coming off the rails in expectation of a divine cataclysm on Jan. 1, 2000, N. T. Wright offers us a challenge to celebrate the millennium as a Christian festival, rather than standing by passively or ex-citedly, waiting to see if the world will end. He issues the challenge in few words, with the clarity and good sense we have learned to expect from him in his New Testament scholarship.

Here I Am Lord, Now What? Transition and Survival in the First Parish

TAS2TE of Ministry Inc.

$24.95

Reviewed by Edward A. White

The big problem is that theological seminaries do not and probably cannot fully prepare people for parish ministry. Seminaries can provide theology, Bible, church history and certain skills training in homiletics. They can give attention to the spiritual and emotional development of the person.