It was Jill Brown’s experience as a church youth worker and volunteer that led her to start paying attention to how teenagers use Facebook, text messaging and other social media tools. Because she wasn’t their parent, teenagers would sometimes talk to her about their online experiences.
by Wendy Farley
Westminister John Knox Press. Louisville, KY. 438 pages
reviewed by DEBRA AVERY
Anyone who comes to this book with the hope of finding THE answer is likely to be surprised.
by Benjamin T. Conner
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Paperback. 129 pages
reviewed by JEFF KREHBIEL
Two of the most important movements in the mainline church in recent decades have been the focus on Christian practices represented by the Valparaiso Project on the Education and Formation of People in the Faith (represented by Practicing Our Faith, 1997), led by Dorothy Bass and Craig Dykstra, and the emergence of “missional” theology out of the Gospel and Our Culture Network, led by Darrell Guder and George Hunsberger (represented by The Missional Church, 1998).
by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson
Wm. B. Eerdmans, Minneapolis. 312 pages
reviewed by JOSEPH DELAHUNT
Wesley Granberg-Michaelson stepped down recently from his position as general secretary of the Reformed Church in America.
by Timothy Beach-Verhey
Baylor University Press, 320 pages
reviewed by ROGER J. GENCH
In this fine book on public theology, Timothy Beach-Verhey seeks to find a way for American Christians to contribute to public discourse without seeking to dominate it (as in the past) or to accommodate to its assumptions (our current temptation).
by Nicholas Wolterstorff
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 282 pages
reviewed by DAVID LITTLE
Sometimes, a book comes along that entirely reshapes consideration of a key topic in theology and philosophy. Such a book is Nicholas Wolterstorff’s “Justice in Love.”
by Allister Sparks & Mpho Tutu
HarperOne. 368 pages
reviewed by CAMERON BYRD
Toward the end of this book, written on the occasion of Bishop Desmond Tutu’s 80th birthday, the authors raise this question: “What kind of person do we have here in this humble high school teacher who became a lukewarm priest and eventually grew into a turbulent peace activist and Nobel Laureate (1984) and is now entering his octogenarian years not just as a man for all seasons but for all faiths and all humanity?”
Beauty Will Save the World:
“The PC(USA) is ____________ .” What would you use to fill in the blank?
Sometimes we make church too complicated. And in the process of impressing ourselves and others with our erudition, we lose focus.
It’s time to recover the word my mother taught me never to say: “Stupid.”
The Rev. Silas G. Kessler Louisville, Ky. (PNS) The Rev. Silas G. Kessler, the senior former General Assembly moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), died Nov. 15 at the age of 100 in Hastings, Neb.
Pakistan's parliament has condemned the killing of three Hindu brothers at a medical clinic in what observers said was an unusual show of support for religious minorities.
Berlin (ENI) Religious leaders representing the Protestant and Catholic churches in Germany called this week for further ecumenical cooperation and said that the two churches should stand together as a common base for Christians.
OMAHA, Neb. (Special to Presbyterian News Service) Joy of the familiar and joy of the new marked the seventh annual Russia Mission Network conference, which recently concluded here.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – What is the most common type of job at which young adults are working? Retail – including, for many, Sunday morning shifts.
The Fellowship of Presbyterians has named a chief operating officer, Brenda Smith.
Vatican City (ENI) Pope Benedict XVI began his second papal trip to Africa on Nov. 18, visiting the West African country of Benin for three days, where he was expeced to address economic justice, peace-building and interfaith dialogue.
Louisville, Ky. (General Assembly Mission Council) Charles B. Hardwick of Bloomington, Ill., has been named director of theology, worship and education for the General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC).
MONTREAT, N.C. (Conference Center news staff) Lynn Tuggle Gilliland has been named Montreat Conference Center’s new vice president for development. Gilliland will begin February 13, and until April 30 she will work jointly on development with the current development officer, Bill Straughan, who is preparing to retire.
LOUISVILLE – Doing ministry in a time of “shifting sands” – when pretty much everything is changing – has become the reality of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).
The Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Stated Clerk Nomination Committee (SCNC), elected by the 219th General Assembly (2010) in Minneapolis, is accepting applications for the four-year term (2012-2016) of the General Assembly stated clerk, the top ecclesiastical position in the denomination.
Pastors and staff of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s 4 million-member denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), have testified to the violence and intimidation that they have suffered over the past two years at the hands of Madagascar’s regime.
Durham, N.C. (Presbyterian News Service) With changed ordination standards and the adoption of a new Form of Government, 2011 has brought much change to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — a fact that some bemoan and some celebrate.
© Copyright 2026 The Presbyterian Outlook. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement. Website by Web Publisher PRO