Edited by Grace Ji-Sun Kim Orbis Books, 256 pages Reviewed by Sterling Morse The offerings in “Keeping Hope Alive” remind me of what I was told by a homiletics professor at the Interdenominational Theological Center when he saw me struggling with the preparation of a message I was invited present at a non-religious event: “Whenever a preacher gets up to speak, he ought to preach.” The missional journey of Jesse L. Jackson Jr. is the embodiment of this directive. The difference between his preaching and speechmaking is minute. This book is a collection of some of the finest prophetic preaching in the historically black church tradition. His messages are aimed at the head and heart of his listeners and speak truth to power, providing voice for, in his words, “the desperate, the disinherited, the disrespected, and the despised.” In an increasingly polarizing world, Jackson’s sermon, “The moral center,” still resonates calling those seeking racial and socioeconomic healing to … [Read more...]
Kaleidoscope: Broadening the Palette in the Art of Spiritual Direction
Edited by Ineda Pearl Adesanya Church Publishing, 256 pages Reviewed by Ethel Hornbeck Over the last several decades, there has been an explosion in programs and resources designed to equip those who would companion others on their spiritual journeys. Despite increasing interest in the practice of spiritual direction among people of color, these resources remain stubbornly white and Eurocentric. This book, from the Spiritual Directors of Color Network, is the third volume in a series designed to address this deficit. True to its name, “Kaleidoscope” is a beautiful book, made all the richer by the diversity of perspectives that it includes. In a series of essays, it explores the basic principles of spiritual guidance while centering the voices of an experienced group of spiritual directors of color. Various themes, including community, storytelling, remembering and relationality, thread their way like bright colors throughout, appearing in a variety of forms, stories and … [Read more...]
How to Lead When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going: Leading in a Liminal Season
Susan Beaumont Rowman & Littlefield, 184 pages Susan Beaumont has written a primer for leaders in a time of radical unknowing. Never in recent times have church leaders been so compelled to lead in a liminal season. Perhaps it is in the inscrutable providence of God that this book appeared just prior to the advent of the coronavirus pandemic. Beaumont is perfectly equipped to guide pastors and leaders as they navigate emotional turbulence. Well-known for her organizational knowledge and consulting skills, she has added a deep sense of the theological, emotional and contemplative dimensions of ministry. She is convicted that we are living in a time of radical unknowing — a “liminal season” that requires unique skills from leaders. Much like the work of Gil Rendle, Ronald Heifetz and others, Beaumont knows we must leave behind models that no longer work for churches. She encourages attention to what some might dismiss and shares multiple stories from congregations going … [Read more...]
Preaching to Teach: Inspire People to Think and Act
Richard W. Voelz Abingdon Press, 134 pages Reviewed by Paul Rowland Jr. When asked what to do about the dire concerns regarding Nazi persecution, missiologist Henrik Kraemer declined to tell the desperate Dutch laity what to do. Instead, he read 1 Peter 2:9-10 and told them, “If you know who you are, you will know what to do.” So, what is a preacher? Richard Voelz begins his slim volume with a review of images of those who seek to proclaim the mighty acts of God. He begins with a pithy review of preaching roles — from Augustine’s purposes of preaching “to teach, delight and persuade” to a 12th-century “public instruction in faith and behavior” to Tom Long’s more recent “witness.” Then, Voelz suggests a particular kind of teacher and subject matter. The role of preacher-as-teacher was revived in response to congregational decline, Voelz says, both in numbers and in knowledge about the Bible and doctrine. He discusses Paul Scott Wilson’s concern that too much emphasis on … [Read more...]
Resilient Faith: How the Early Christian “Third Way” Changed the World
Gerald L. Sittser Brazos Press, 240 pages What does Christian history have to teach us about the faith we practice today? Plenty, according to Gerald Sittser. His overview of Christianity’s first four centuries shows how this religion grew from a small movement in Palestine to infiltrate the Roman Empire, despite opposition and persecution. Christianity did so by being known as the “third way,” a phrase that appears in the second-century “So-Called Letter to Diognetus.” The Romans coined this phrase to contrast Christianity with other religious ways of life, notably Roman and Jewish. According to Sittser, the Roman way accommodated to culture, its rituals observed to ensure the empire’s prosperity. The Jewish way isolated itself from Roman culture. Christianity neither accommodated to or isolated from culture, but rather sought to live differently within the Roman Empire. Christians’ primary allegiance was to Jesus Christ, and this changed everything. It was because of … [Read more...]
Reading Romans Backwards: A Gospel of Peace in the Midst of Empire
Scot McKnight Baylor University Press, 236 pages Reviewed by Neill S. Morgan In an age when Scripture is weaponized for political advantage, how can we calm our hearts and minds to hear what the Spirit has to say to us? How can we, as a traditional prayer of illumination asks, “calm the troubled waters of our hearts, and still all other voices but [God’s] own?” Scot McKnight brings us an old answer, an answer that has stood the test of time in an age of high anxiety: context, context and context. While his answer is old, McKnight brings a fresh approach to entering the context of Romans — beginning with chapters 12-16, then reading 9-11 before reading chapters 1-8. When the end is our beginning, we discover and discern complex and layered identities of those Paul calls the weak and the strong. We meet Phoebe, whom Paul commends as a deacon or minister of the church (Romans 16:1). Phoebe, McKnight argues persuasively, was commissioned by Paul and instructed by him in how to … [Read more...]
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