Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy- by Eric Metaxas
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 591 pages, $29.99
reviewed by Cynthia Bolbach
Neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.
Against the Tide: Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities- by Miroslav Volf
Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.
reviewed by Henry G. Brinton
In 1969, feminist Carol Hanisch popularized the phrase “the personal is political.”
The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder- by William P. Brown
Oxford University Press, January, 2010. 352 pages, $29.95.
reviewed by D. Mark Davis
Bill Brown’s latest book strikes me as an invitation; specifically, an invitation to persons of Biblical faith and to persons devoted to science to communicate with one another as what he calls “cohorts of wonder.”
Thinking With The Church: Essays in Historical Theology- by B. A. Gerrish Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2010.
reviewed by Roger J. Gench
After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters- by N.T. Wright New York: HarperOne, 2010. 307 pages.
reviewed by James Cubie
by Derek Maul; Nashville: Upper Room Books, 2009.
reviewed by Judith Fulp-Eickstead
Derek Maul, award-winning columnist for the Tampa Tribune, issues an invitation to anyone looking for a deeper level of commitment to Jesus Christ in a culture where “doing just enough to get by defines life for too many people and in too many contexts” (p. 17).
The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels
by Janet Soskice
Alfred B. Knopf. New York. 2009, 366 pages.
reviewed by Leslie A. Klingensmith
by David Bentley Hart
New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. 272 pp., $28.00.
reviewed by Richard R. Crocker
The Business of the Church: The Uncomfortable Truth that Faithful Ministry Requires Effective Management
by John W. Wimberly Jr.
Alban Institute, 2010, p.b., 164 pgs.
reviewed by Robert Harris
A Field Guide to U. S. Congregations: Second Edition
by Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce
Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p.b., $19.95,
Book in review: Hannah’s Child: A Theologian’s Memoir
by Stanley Hauerwas
Eerdmann’s 2010. 287 pages
reviewed by Roy H. Howard
An Introduction to the Christian Faith
by Diogenes Allen
Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2010. 223 pp.
$19.95. ISBN 978-0-664-22322-9
reviewed by Ronald Byars
by Harvey Cox HarperOne. September 2008. 256 pages.
Reviewed by Susan R. Andrews
When I served as a parish pastor, I found new member classes particularly challenging.
by Alister McGrath HarperCollins. 2009, 288 pages.
Reviewed by Neil Craigan
Several years ago I used the word “heresy” as part of a statement I was making on the floor of our presbytery.
Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers: A Handbook
by Joan S. Gray
Geneva Press, Louisville, Kentucky 2009
reviewed by Roy W. Howard
In the Acts of the Apostles Luke describes the beginning of the Church: On the day of Pentecost when the believers were gathered for prayer, the Spirit of God came upon them; they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Transitional Ministry: A Time for Opportunity
edited by Molly Dale Smith. Foreword by Loren Mead.
Church Publishing, 2009. Pb., 194 pp. $20.
reviewed by Joel A. Alvis Jr.
When a church is without a pastor, there is anxiety and uncertainty. For many years a church in this situation was referred to as “vacant.” But it was obvious this did not mean the church was empty. Rather it meant the pulpit did not have a “permanent” occupant.
Frances Taylor Gench took on the assignment to lead the Bible studies for the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church.
by Brian McLaren
HarperOne. San Francisco. 320 pages.
reviewed by Jan Edmiston
Brian McLaren first came on my radar in 2004 when Time magazine named him “One of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America.” James Dobson and Rick Warren were familiar names and faces. But Brian McLaren was not only an unfamiliar name; his message sounded very different from his fellow “Influential Evangelicals.”
by Kimberly Bracken Long
Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009. 130 pp. $19.95
reviewed by Ronald P. Byars
Whether it is playing the piano or soccer, doing so with a measure of grace requires both coaching and practice, and that is equally true for skills such as preaching, reading Scripture aloud, or presiding in worship. Few find leadership in worship comes naturally, but it can be learned.
by Lillian Daniel and Martin B. Copenhaver
Eerdmans, 2009, Pb., 235 pp.
reviewed by Stephen r. Montgomery
Ever since Barbara Brown Taylor wrote her critically acclaimed book Leaving Church, I have been waiting for someone with equal eloquence and theological depth to respond with reflections on why, given all the shortcomings and problems of churches, one would choose to stay in church.
by Bill Tammeus and Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn
University of Missouri Press, Columbia Missouri, 2009.
reviewed by Leslianne Braunstein
I saw the movie, Schindler’s List in 1993. I thought Oskar Schindler was incredibly brave and appropriately recognized by the State of Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations – a non-Jew who risked his life to save Jews from Nazi extermination.
by Kenneth McFayden
Alban Institute 2009
reviewed by Roy W. Howard
This book can be read in an afternoon; but for the attentive reader who practices what it teaches, the insights will last a lifetime. The premise of the book is simple: “the church both yearns for and resists effective leadership, particularly transformational leadership.”
All the Living: A Novel
Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (2009). 208 pages. By C.E. Morgan.
A finely written novel that portrays the deepest connections of love, land, grief, friendship, marriage, and faith. The author deftly and accurately renders the language and culture of those who tend the land. Theological and pastoral insights are subtly woven into the narrative. An extraordinary story by a skilled young writer.
University of California Press, 2009. Hb., 360 pp. $26.95.
Louisville, Westminster/John Knox Press, 2010, pp. 415.
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