MAJOR ARTICLES (Copies of this issue are $7.50, which includees S & H. E-mail the Administrative VP or the Editor. The entire issue is available in over 60 seminary libraries which subscribe to the journal.) If readers want to contact the authors of articles, please communicate with the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Robert Cornwall, drbobcornwall@msn.com or the Academy's Administrative VP, Rev. Dr. Paul Binder, pjbinder2@juno.com. An annual subscription to the journal is $30.00, and may be obtained through Dr. Binder. Identification of authors and reviewers as APC (member of the Academy) and FAPC (Fellow of the Academy).
Preaching Apostolicity to the Church on the Margins. by Rev. Dr. Matthew Braddock, APC. Writes the author: "I believe that the church faces a crisis of apostolicity. The term 'apostolicity' describes the affirmatiion that the church is elected and sent by God into the world to convey God's blessings to others." The author, in broadly describing some of the voices embracing new positions on the borders of society, follows by how he preaches apostolicity to churches on the margins. He then raises the question: "What if the disestablishment of the church is really an opportunity for us to be faithful to God's call to apostolicity?" He concludes his article by proposing questions for the beginning of his theological and textual inquiries and some implications for parish ministry. The author is the Pastor of Trumbull Congregatiional Church, UCC, of Trumbull, CT. He is a member of the APC Board.
The Sermon as Doxology, by Dr. Arland Fiske, FAPC. Recognizing that there is no one correct way to structure a sermon, the author then writes of some of the things of importance to be observed in preaching a sermon that encourages faith, hope and love. He first views the sermon as a ministry of pastoral care. After prayer and scriptural meditation, he uses both auxiliary resources (including literature and history), listening to parishioners and participation in colleague groups. He always presents sermon themes and then closes each sermon with the congregation singing the "Gloria Patri." He always looks forward to sermon preparation. The author is a "retired" United Methodist pastor and a member of the Academy's Book of the Year Committee.
Because I Stayed, by Rev. Peggy Nowlin. "The only way to become part of a community is to stay. The longer you stay the more work there is to do because you care more about the people and see more ways to connect." She learned that one shouldn't leave just because things get tough. She suspects that one's problem is neither unique or original and that the next church will likely have some of the same problems - just different people. Finally, don't assume that the entie congregation is part of the problem. Leaving further proves that any pastor is expendable. So, become the "non-anxious" presence and not the "identified patient." (Note: a confidential, case-history method, ecumenical colleague group would be a great asset for any pastor.) The author is an American Baptist pastor serving First Baptist Church of Lafayette, IN.
A Power Greater than Ourselves, by Warren Taylor, APC, with Jerry Gladson, APC. "Would introducing the element of religious faith into an A.A. style program make a difference? Would the Power Greater than themselves, even Jesus Christ, be a spiritual Force capable of leading them to recovery?" Taylor knows that the congregation's work with recovery has not been one continuous line of success. "As I witness [what is happening], I humbly remember that, as a recovering alcoholic, and now a Pastoral Associate in my church, I am simply watching the power of God at work. Awestruck, I merely try to get out of the way and serve however I can." Warren Taylor is a Pastoral Associate for Recovery Ministry at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Marietta, GA. He is a Certified Anger Management counselor (CAM) and is currently working toward his Certification in Addiction Counseling (CAC). Jerry Gladson is Senior Minister Emeritus at the same church and Adjunct Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA and Richmont Graduate University, Atlanta, GA.
Madonna with Child, by Rev. Dr. Charles J. Lopez, Jr., APC. A Mother's Day reflection on his mother's death and all the works of the great masters depicting Madonna with Child.
BOOK REVIEWS, highly abbreviated from the journal, Sharing the Practice. (Copies of any issue are $7.50, which includes S & H. E-mail the Administrative VP or the Editor. The entire issue is available in over 60 seminary libraries which subscribe to the journal.)
A SHORT WORLD HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, by Robert Bruce Mulllin. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. 283 pp. (An APC Top Ten Book published in 2008.) Beginning with the claim, "The Story of Christianity . . . is about one man, Jesus of Nazareth. It is also about what peole thought about him and what he did, and responded to his life." His goals: to offer a new narrative that will make 2,000 years of Christianity comprehensible and interesting to the general reader; to be inclusive in his sources; to include the work of previously neglected scholars such as women, laity, blacks, etc.; and to balance his writing with internal issues such as prayer and sacraments with the changing political and intellectual world. An exciting book which reads well. Reviewed by Dr. Arland Fiske, FAPC, United Methodist Church, Moorhead, MN.
THE COMPELLING FACES OF JESUS, by William Powell Tuck, FAPC, Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 168 pp. The author responds to the hunger of people today to see Jesus as "more than a man" and to reclaim the affirmation of the early church that "Jesus is Lord!" The book is an inward journey to aid the reader in answering the question Jesus asks of everyone, "Who do you say that I am?" The author is a past president of the Academy of Parish Clergy. Reviewed by Dr. David Nash, FAPC, Presbyterian Church (USA), Nashville, TN.
MARKING TIME: Preaching Biblical Stories in Present Tense, by Barbara K. Lundblad. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007. 120 pp. Professor of Homiletics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and having been a regular preacher on The Protestant Hour, the book comprises her Lyman Beecher Lectures of 2000, plus five sermons used to illustrate her methodology. The lectures are actually more like sermons! With creative imagination and pictorial imagery she shows how to make each biblical text address not only its own time but our own day. The book is about preaching biblical stories in the present tense. Reviewed by Dr. William P. Tuck, FAPC, The Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond.
JOHN CALVIN: Reformer for the 21st Century, by William Stacy Johnson. Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2009, 142 pp. and DISCIPLES: Reclaiming Our Identity, Reforming Our Practice, by Michael Kinnamon and Jan Linn. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2009. 146 pp. Johnson does not idolize Calvin but rather shows how Calvin has a message for our times, believing that reform is an ongoing process and that Calvin would strongly object to a harden orthodoxy. Kinnamon and Linn argue that the Disciples, if they are to be true to their witness to unity, need to reconnect and recommit themselves to their heritage so as to redevelop a sense of identity, not as superiority, by why they came into existence. Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Robert Cornwall, Central Woodward Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Troy, MI.
MINISTRY AND MONEY: A practical Guide for Pastors, by Janet Jamieson and Philip Jamieson. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. 216 pp. The authors are husband and wife, Janet as Associate Professor of Accoounting at the University of Dubuque, Iowa, and Philip is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. What pastor, unless having a prior vocation which involved accounting, wasn't overwhelmed in coming out of seminary and serving a congregation where the budget and the process was either secret or written in stone based on the previous year? Or, how many congregants really were aware of the budget and finances? The Jamiesons offer an excellent guide covering such topics as the church's understanding of money over historical periods, and the current forms of reports fitted into someone's computer program. Throughout the book, the integrity of the process toward financial transparency, honesty and forthrightness is stressed. Reviewed by Rev. Lawton Posey, FAPC., Presbyterian Church (USA), Charleston, WV.
CONTEMPORARY MORMONISM, by Claudia L. Bushman, Westport, CT; Praeger Publishers, 2006, 256 pp. The author, professor of American studies at Columbia University, is a practicing Mormon. One interesting chapter is on the overwhelming interest Mormons have in genealogy. The faith's emphasis on progressive revelation allows the Mormon establishment to accommodate to the many changes in the modern world. Reviewed by Rev. Lawton Posey, FAPC., Presbyterian Church (USA), Charleston, WV.
PROGRESSIVE AND RELIGIOUS, by Robert P. Jones, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2008. The author has interviewed articulate representatives of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism to get a grasp on a progressive religious movement in our own country. It is not a wamed over liberalism, or an attack on hidebound fundamentalism, but concerned about changing the systems that have dominated American culture over the years - the accumulation of wealth, the stratification of society, and a growing, and often unthinking patriotism. An interesting read, and useful as the basis for an adult study group on issues of current religion. Reviewed by Rev. Lawton Posey, FAPC., Presbyterian Church (USA), Charleston, WV.
REFLECTIONS ON MY CALL TO PREACH: Connecting the Dots, by Fred Brenning Craddock. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2009. 117 pp. Truly about the author's reflections on his life and his eventual "ache" to enter ministry, he writes: "I learned long ago that in turning one's life over to God even dark threads can be woven into a pattern that could not be anticipated then, nor fully understood even now." What more can be said about one of the greatest preacher/teacher of our time, and what it can say to everyone called into ministry. Reviewed by Dr. Jerry Gladson, APC, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Marietta, GA..
THE ART OF LISTENING: Dialogue, Shame, and Pastoral Care, by Neil Pembroke. Grand Rapids: Williama B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002. 218 pp. This book is at once captivating to the pastor who counsels, whether a few minuts after Sunday worship, during the coffee hour, in a Deacon's meeting, a drop-in conversation in the office, or over several sessions. More than "useful" in the technique sense, it confronts the pastor with the spiritual, biblical, theological, moral, psychological, and "the aft, practice and skill" dimensions of ministry. In an increasingly individualized culture, as the author notes, in-depth listening is even more essential for wholesome relationships and healthy communities. And it all begins with the pastor being truly "available" or "present" to the other. And how little we may be present, distracted by so many other responsibilities or escapes. The subject of shame and guilt in counseling (counselor as well as counselee) is insightful, and rarely addressed. Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Paul Binder, United Church of Christ, Sarasota, FL.
50 WAYS TO HELP SAVE THE EARTH: How You and Your Church Can Make a Difference, by Rebecca Barnes-Davies. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. 127 pp. The author, a consultant for Environmental and Social Justice Ministries and a former director of Presbyterians Restoring Creation, offers fifty different ways that we can help save the earth. Though brief and readable, it challenges churches to take one step at a time, as well as thinking theologically and biblically in a green direction. And it is far more than changing a few lightbulbs! For study groups in church, for home use, and for making a social difference. Reviewed by Rev. Dr. Robert Cornwall, Central Woodward Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Troy, MI.