by Landon Whitsitt
Alban Institute. 176 pages.
reviewed by Leigh B. Gillis
What is this book about? Is it about church structure? It can be. Is it about church growth? Sure. Is it about the culture in which we live and the freedom we have in Christ? Definitely.
Edited by Nicholas Perrin and Richard B. Hays
InterVarsity Press. 294 pages.
reviewed by David Renwick
N.T. (Tom) Wright, formerly bishop of Durham and presently at St. Andrews University, Scotland, is undoubtedly the most prolific New Testament scholar of recent years, and arguably the most important.
by Rob Bell
Harper One. 198 pages.
reviewed by LOUISE G. WINFIELD
“I’ve written this book for all those, everywhere, who have heard some version of the Jesus story that has caused their pulse rate to rise, their stomach to churn, and their heart to utter those resolute words, ‘I would never be a part of that.’”
by Gregory A. Love
Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books. 259 pages.
reviewed by DIETER U. HEINZL
In a time when the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) continues to debate what might be causing the decline in membership in American mainline denominations, Gregory Love takes a page from Karl Barth’s playbook to remind us of the Christian’s vocation: pointing to the risen Christ who reconciled all creation (which happens to include us human beings) to God’s self through his death on the cross.
edited by elizabeth Steele halstead, Paul Detterman,
Joyce berger and John witvliet
grand rapids, mich. william b. eerdmans. 288 pages.
Reviewed by Roy W. Howard
This extraordinary biblical commentary is like no other. What kind of commentary combines poetry, art, prayer, exegetical comments and theological reflections along with liturgical insights that strengthen communal worship?
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell
New York: Simon and Schuster. 688 pages.
reviewed by LOUIS B. WEEKS
Grace. The English noun, as we Christians use it, alludes first to the saving grace God provides in Jesus Christ — “Amazing Grace.”
After Shock: Searching for Honest Faith When Your World Is Shaken
by Kent Annan
InterVarsity Press. 137 pages.
reviewed by KIM MONTROLL
“‘Where were you?’ I ask the Haitian teacher I’ve known for years.
God Is Not A Christian: Speaking the Truth in Times of Crisis
by Desmond Tutu
HarperCollins Publishers. 2011. 223 pages.
reviewed by Sterling Morse
This book by Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu is a defining statement of his ministry and life. It is a treatise on interfaith tolerance.
Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction
by John Fea
Westminster John Knox Press, 2011. 320 pages.
reviewed by HENRY G. BRINTON
Political commentator Glenn Beck has devoted a great deal of television time to his exploration of America’s Christian heritage.
Holy Conversations: Spirituality for Worship
by Jonathan Linman
Fortress Press, 183 pages.
reviewed by MARGEE IDDINGS
I recently had dinner with a Roman Catholic woman friend who is an artist.
Drawn to Freedom: Christian Faith Today in Conversation with the Heidelberg Catechism
by Eberhard Busch, translated by William H. Rader
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2010. 392 pages
reviewed by DEBORAH A. MCKINLEY
Christian practices are in and doctrine is out, so it seems. Confirmation classes for teenagers are moving away from doctrinal teaching to education in living Christian faith.
by David Kelsey
Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press (2 volumes). 1496 pages.
reviewed by ERIC O. SPRINGSTED
David Kelsey, longtime beloved teacher at Yale and author of numerous widely respected books, such as “The Uses of Scripture in Recent Theology” (1975), has delivered two important volumes that lay out a Christian understanding of human being.
by Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook and Fredrica Harris Thompsett
The Alban Institute, 2010. Pb., 193 pages. $18.00
reviewed by MARY HARRIS TODD
Picture this: a small Episcopal congregation of seven members goes to visit its bishop to request closure, and the bishop replies, “No! You still have a mission in your community!”
by Miroslav Volf
New York: HarperOne, March 2011. Hardcover, 336 pp., $25.99.
ISBN 978-0-06-192707-2
reviewed by Douglas A. Hicks
It is hard to imagine a more timely topic than Christians’ and Muslims’ understandings of one another and of God. It is equally difficult to identify a Christian theologian better situated than Miroslav Volf to tackle the questions he raises. In brief, this book deserves all of its hype, and I recommend it heartily to every pastor, theologian, layperson, and citizen who reads the Outlook.
by Christopher Morse
New York: T & T Clark 2010. 145 pages.
reviewed by CURRIE BURRIS
Most of us carry around in our minds either an image of heaven shaped by popular culture, pictures, images, stories or movies, or an image shaped by the modern scientific world view in which heaven is nowhere to be found. We either imagine a heaven filled with clouds, harp-playing angels and golden mansions somewhere up in the sky, or we find the notion of that kind of heaven wholly at odds with the real world.
by Martin Thielen
Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. 156 pages.
reviewed by JEFF KREHBIEL
I remember speaking with a young man from a fundamentalist background who was trying to understand my faith as a liberal mainline Christian.
by Joseph D. Small
Louisville: Witherspoon Press. 157 pages.
reviewed by MARTHA MOORE-KEISH
For years, Joe Small has provided Presbyterian and Reformed Christians wise interpretation of the Reformed tradition for an ecumenically diverse and increasingly post-denominational world. His most recent volume is a significant reworking of God and Ourselves: A Brief Exercise in Reformed Theology (1996).
by Eugene Peterson
HarperCollins, New York. 336 pages.
When asked what he liked most about being a pastor, Eugene Peterson responded, “the mess.”
Reviews by Roy W. Howard
Outside Looking In:
Adventures of an Observer
Viking Penguin. 195 pages.
It’s easy to like the Flaherty family. Mike (Paul Giamatti) gets up and jogs in the morning, and comes home to a loving wife, Jackie (Amy Ryan) and two cute little girls, and the older one is starting to imitate the slang-slip words of her parents, but she’s still adorable enough for that to be amusing instead of alarming.
The Art of Curating Worship: Reshaping the Role of Worship Leader
by Mark Pierson
Sparkhouse Press, November 2010. 240 pages.
reviewed by DEBRA AVERY
Don’t read this book if you are looking for the next big thing in worship that guarantees growth in attendance, or if you are looking for liturgies and songs to plug into your standard order of worship.
Unsqueezed: Springing Free
from Skinny Jeans, Nose Jobs, Highlights, and Stilettos
by Margot Starbuck
InterVarsity Press. 2010. 229 pages
reviewed by Leslie Klingensmith
Pull up a comfy chair, brew a pot of tea and sit down with your most candid and hilarious girlfriend to kibbitz about the ways that we women buy into the cultural stereotypes of beauty.
The Dangerous Act of Loving Your Neighbor
by Mark Labberton
InterVarsity Press, November 2010. 236 pages.
reviewed by NEIL CRAIGAN
In The Dangerous Act of Loving Your Neighbor, Mark Labberton challenges readers to consider what it means to be a faithful follower of Christ in the world today. The subtitle says all that needs to be said: “Seeing Others Through the Eyes of Jesus.”
In Defense of Civility: How Religion can Unite America on Seven Moral Issues that Divide Us
by James Calvin Davis
Westminster John Knox Press, September 2010, 216 pages
reviewed by SHARON CORE
One has only to look to the last election to realize that civility has taken a back seat in our political process.
The Gifts of the Small Church by Jason Byassee
Abingdon, 2010.
reviewed by Mary Harris Todd
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