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Book Reviews

The Cost of Moral Leadership: The Spirituality of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

By Geffrey B. Kelly and F. Burton Nelson

Eerdmans. 2003. 317 pp. Pb. $25. ISBN 0802805116

— Review by James L. Mechem, Santa Fe, N.M.

There are a lot of people who know something about Bonhoeffer; many know a lot about him; two men who know a great deal about him, Kelley and Nelson, have produced an excellent study of the relation between Bonhoeffer's life, and the theological and ethical dimensions of his thought.

Editorials

New Begininnings 1

The year 2003 marks the 20th anniversary of the reunion of the United Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. (UPCUSA) and the Presbyterian Church, U.S. (PCUS). The uniting Assembly was held in Atlanta in June 1983, amidst high hopes and expectations for the future.

Voices

Are We There Yet?

In his travel classic, Blue Highways, William Least Heat-Moon recounts this tale:

A woman in Texas had told me that she often threatened to write a book about her family vacations. Her title: Zoom! The drama of their trips, she said, occurred on the inside of the windshield with one family crisis after another. Her husband drove a thousand miles, much of it with his right arm over the backseat to hold down one of the children. She said, "Our vacations take us."

Voices

Of Flag and Faith on the Fourth of July

I rise to speak to you this morning as an elder of the church but not for any other elder or the session. I speak as an individual, a Christian, and a Presbyterian in a faith tradition going back thousands of years. I speak because, at the beginning of the service this morning, a member of our congregation, without permission, carried the United States flag down the aisle and placed it beside the altar.

Voices

America: the Last Best Hope of Mankind

Note - The following sermon was sent by Denton as a response to the guest viewpoint "Of Flag and Faith."

At a recent meeting of the Presbytery of the James, the Peacemaking Committee had stricken from its report this commendation to all the churches — "pray for those fighting in the name of our government. Pray for their protection and safe return home;" in its place was a more generic motion to "pray for all engaged in combat and for their safe return home.

Voices

A Reflection on the life of Edward A. Dowey Jr.

Like almost every pastor, my early years in preparing for ministry were somewhat chaotic, even a bit on the bipolar side, swinging from one theological pole to another — not unlike a steel sphere in a pinball machine — accompanied by swings of mood and attitude.

Start with a centrist Sunday-school theology from my home church; add some revivalist leanings from summer mission experience; then the shock of "higher criticism" in college religion courses, etc.

Movie Reviews

Life of David Gale

'The Life Of David Gale' is a polemic against the death penalty. It raises, and then answers, the question of 'What if someone executed by the state is actually innocent?' But the viewer finds out all the information only in bits and pieces, that is, at the same rate as the main character, Bitsy (Kate Winslett). She's a big-time magazine reporter who gets chosen for the exclusive rights to interview former philosophy professor David Gale, during his last three days on Death Row.

We, the viewers, get to witness her initial skepticism about the innocence of someone who was accused of rape and murder, and then convicted by three courts. She agrees to do the interview because they have appealed to her pride, as someone suitably high-profile who has proven that she will maintain confidentiality of sources (by going to jail). So she listens to the Gale (played by Kevin Spacey) unfold his story, and it's not pretty.

Uncategorized

Peaks Presbytery dismisses Lynchburg congregation

LYNCHBURG, Va. — Peaks Presbytery has voted to dismiss the almost 900-member Rivermont congregation to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The action came Tuesday, July 1, during a special meeting at First church, Roanoke, in response to an administrative commission recommendation of terms for the dismissal.

Voices

Leech defends as good stewardship abrupt changes in foundation’s focus

Ushered onstage with a glowing introduction at the 215th General Assembly in Denver in late May, Presbyterian Foundation chief executive officer Robert E. Leech asked the elders in the auditorium to remember the church with a gift in their wills. "Make it 10 percent — it's only money," Leech said.

Leech asked the ministers at the assembly to push their congregations to give even more generously. "Make it 20 percent — it's only money."

Editorials

A Steady Course

The recently concluded 215th General Assembly, convened in Denver, held to a steady course in this time of continuing division in the life of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). We are and remain deeply divided, and the annual meeting of the General Assembly frequently becomes the arena in which the contending forces do battle.

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