Mark Galli Eerdmans, 192 pages. Reviewed by Andy Nagel Mark Galli, editor-in-chief at Christianity Today, has written an engaging and readable portrait of a towering figure, showing how Barth’s voice and thought presents an incisive critique to the ways the Christian faith is perceived of and practiced in the United States today.  Though it is aimed at encouraging evangelicals toward a more receptive posture to Barth, it is relevant to and raises questions for people across the theological spectrum. Galli leads us through Barth’s pugnacious life from boyhood through his early pastorate in Safenwil and his theological reorientation away from liberalism after World War One.  Two chapters are devoted to the Romans commentary, famously described as the “bombshell on the playground of the theologians.”  These chapters and the account of Barth’s early academic life paint an arresting picture of Barth as “an unknown pastor [writing a] manuscript [that] went completely … [Read more...]

Casey Tygrett IVP Books, 192 pages Reviewed by Emily Berman D’Andrea We often hear quotes and platitudes about change: change is not for the faint hearted, change happens, it’s all about change, embrace change, live into the change… you get the idea. I think these sayings that get passed around on social media (and in former days hung on guidance counselor walls) lead us to the conclusion that change is inevitable and change is one thing you and I need to figure out how to live with and deal with. In “Becoming Curious,” Casey Tygrett offers a novel approach for how you and I can live with, confront and think about the inevitable change that happens in life. Tygrett likens the process of change as similar to the process of becoming curious. Neither of these processes is for the faint-hearted. For the moment, let’s just get rid of the word “change” and exchange it for “curious” or “curiosity.” Tygrett says, “Let your curiosity be a good thing, a blessing, even if it doesn’t feel … [Read more...]

Rowan Williams Bloomsbury Continuum, 240 pages I have often thought that Rowan Williams becoming Archbishop of Canterbury was the best thing for the Anglican Communion. That tenure lasted a stormy 10 years until Williams resigned, returning to his first love: teaching theology and writing on contemporary concerns. Since that time, there has been considerable effort to collect his various essays. Those collected in this book display Williams’ theological and pastoral depth and is accessible for a wide range of readers. His main theme is living into “holiness,” an old-fashioned word that Williams brilliantly recovers for contemporary Christians. He discusses prayer and spirituality from several angles including that of Teresa of Ávila and Julian of Norwich, two women who hold a special place in his rendering of the Christian life. For those wondering about health and healing, Williams writes, “We need to recover the sense that the Gospel is always about healing, because it is … [Read more...]

Tim Shapiro (with Kara Faris) Abingdon Press, 156 pages Reviewed by Allen D. Timm Tim Shapiro, a Presbyterian minister and the president of the Center for Congregations in Indianapolis, along with Kara Faris, who is on staff at the Center for Congregations, have issued a challenge in this book. They call the church to reach people who do not attend a traditional congregation. The authors give numerous examples of faith communities that have heard a call to share faith in unique ways. Most of the examples are not affiliated with denominations. But there is also a challenge to the mainline church to spin satellites that reach people in our community that churches are not impacting. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has a national program that fits this effort called 1001 New Worshipping Communities; they are formed as an outreach of a congregation or independently, and are included as examples in this book. What makes these divergent churches unique are three things. First, they … [Read more...]

Joshua W. Jipp Eerdmans, 220 pages Reviewed by Sharon K. Youngs The title is enough to catch one’s attention after commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. To those who have John Calvin’s sola fide emblazoned on their Reformed beings comes Joshua Jipp’s engaging work that adds et hospitium to the formula. And it works. Jipp, assistant professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois, maintains that while faith alone by God’s grace is foundational, “both faith and acts of mercy are ultimately necessary for salvation.” Such acts are not to justify works-righteousness, but to give visible evidence of having incorporated the message of the Messiah. His argument is this: The God of the Christian Scriptures is a God of hospitality (defined as the process where stranger is transformed into guest) who extends hospitality to all of God’s people. Having become God’s guests and friends, we are then expected to embody hospitality to … [Read more...]

Zac M. Hicks Zondervan, 224 pages Reviewed by Aaron Fulp-Eickstaedt Zac Hicks, the canon for worship and liturgy at Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, has served as a worship leader in a variety of contexts over his years in ministry. He writes out of that experience. The book grows out of his desire to help worship leaders of all stripes — ordained pastors, worship teams and volunteers from a variety of denominational and worship traditions — to conceive of the role of the worship leader in a deeper, more theological way. The first thing he affirms is that every regular worship leader, ordained or not, serves a pastoral function. Worship leaders help shape people’s faith by training them to relate to God. They are looked up to as examples and as leaders. Worshippers do invest pastoral authority in the worship leader. Hicks then defines the worship pastor using 17 different frames, which include church lover, corporate mystic, prayer leader, caregiver and … [Read more...]