MAJOR ARTICLES (Copies of this issue are $7.50, which includes S & H. E-mail the Editor or Admin. VP)
Generation to Generation: Honoring Generational Differences in Ministry, by Bob Wells. Church leaders and generational researchers say younger pastors, like other younger workers, tend to be more collaborative and less interested in hierarchical forms of authority. They are insistent about observing boundaries between work and home life. And their denominational loyalties don't prevent them from reaching out to other groups. Bob Wells is staff writer for Faith and Leadership, as well as being a staff member of Duke Divinity School. Faith and Leadership is a new venture launched by Duke Divinity School. Article is used by permission.
Praying with the President: Pastoral Reflections on the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service, by Rev. Lawton W. Posey, FAPC. Is this service one of worship, or is it a political statement in the guise of worship? In other words, was the National Prayer Service a way of gently setting forth certain agendas, or was it a heartfelt time of praise to the Creator of the Universe, or Cosmic Ancestor, or, God? The Rev. Lawton W. Posey is a retired Presbyterian (USA) pastor living in Charleston, WV. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Parish Clergy.
Darwin, Dawkins, and Dowd: An Evolution of Theology, by Dr. David Moffett-Moore, APC. If we understand God to be Ultimate Truth and Ultimate Reality, then any pursuit of truth that is sincere and thorough must lead inexorably to God. It has been argued that studying creation is an effective way to learn of the Creator, with evolution as one of God's tools. "Dawkins claims that a well-educated scientist, who is an expert in his field, has no need to study theology or philosophy in order to write about those fields. He makes an error in logic that is far too common: believing that his area of expertise is larger than it actually is. . . . The God of Dawkins is simply too small, and certainly smaller than the God of Darwin." Michael Dowd writes: "When I say 'God', I am not talking about something or someone that can be believed in or not bellieved in. I'm talking about the Ultimate Wholeness of Reality, seen and unseen, . . . which is infinitely more than anything we can know, think or imagine." We don't believe in things that are undeniably real (e.g., water or the universe). Here is a God that is larger than my mind, my intellect, my experience, my existence. A God I can believe in. David Moffett-Moore, APC, is a pastor of St. Peter's United Church of Christ of Frankfort, IL. He holds a Ph.D. in Theology from the Graduate Theological Foundation and a D. Min. from Chicago Theological Seminary. He is also the author of Life as Pilgrimage: A View from Celtic Spirituality (South Bend: Cloverdale Books, 2007).
BOOK REVIEWS, in abbreviated form from the journal, Sharing the Practice. The full review is available in over 60 seminary libraries which subscribe to the journal. A valuable resource in making book purchases.
Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, by Rueben P. Job, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007. 77pp. This devotional book, in small hardback and paperback forms as well as electronic form (with accompanying helps for discussion), is being discovered by other Christians than Methodists. The Wesleyan rules are simply stated: 1) Do no harm, 2) Do good, and 3) Stay In Love with God. The book is completed with a simple "Guide for daily prayer, " and brief prayers. Great for laity and clergy in their daily lives. The author is a United Methodist bishop. Donald W. Shilling, FAPC, United Methodist, Kent, OH.
The Shack, by William Paul Young, Los Angeles: Windblown Media, 2007. 248 pp. "A gripping novel of tragedy, eternity and redemption," according to Eugene Peterson, "(which) has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress did for his." The novel centers on an encounter with the Trinity in three distinct persons who meet the central character, Mack, some several years after the killing of his daughter. The result is a reneewal of trust in God, and more. A book which could be used by a discussion group. Donald W. Shilling, FAPC, United Methodist, Kent. OH.
Practical Theology: An Introductiion, by Richard R. Osmer. Grand Rapids: William B. Erdmans Publishing Co., 2008, 246 pp. As a most welcome and significant addition to the literature of practical theology, Osmer presents a model that opens up the dynamic interpretative task of practical theology for the church. Four key tasks are to be considered in any congregational event: What is going on?; Why is this going on?; What ought to be going on?; and How might we respond?. One of this years' Top Ten Books of the Academy of Parish Clergy. David Nash, FAPC, Presbyterian Church (USA), Asheville, NC.
Cross Talk: Preaching Redemption Here and Now, by Sally A. Brown. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, 2008, 167 pp. When do we preach the cross? Brown's answer is that mainline preachers usually do not preach the cross except during Holy Week. Yet the preaching of the cross is central to the faith and life of the church. Though not a book on atonement theology, Brown's text examines various approaches to atonement and critiques them for preaching. David Nash, FAPC, Presbyterian Church (USA), Asheville, NC.
God's Tapestry: Reading the Bible in a World of Religious Diversity, by W. Eugene March. Louisville: WJKP, 2009. 113 pp. The author explores how the church embraces diversity in ways that honor God, our traditions, and one another. March presents his hermeneutic for seeking clarity in dealing with the realities of living in a religiously diverse society. Matthew Braddock, APC, Presbyterian Church (USA) & United Church of Christ, Trumbull, CT.
Crazy Faith, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives, by Susan K. Williams Smith. Valley Forge: Judson, 2009. 126 pp. "By human standards, crazy faith is stupid," so concludes the author. There are three levels of faith, she asserts, "mere faith, real faith, and, finally crazy faith." This UCC pastor and former news reporter and talk show host, Smith recounts the thrilling stories of triumphant faith in the lives of both biblical and contemporary persons, including Nelson Mandela, Chris Gardner, Harriet Tubman, Mother Theresa, John Roebling, Yunus Mohammed and Mary McLeod Bethune. God can and will do great things through human beings. An inspirational book. Jerry A. Gladson, APC, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Marietta, GA.
The Gift of Years: Growing Old Gracefully, by Joan Chittister. New York: BlueBridge, 2008. 240 pp. This book of meditations is not to be read straight through. Recommended for a pastor's study or for devotional use in a church group of older persons. Lawton W. Posey, FAPC, Presbyterian Church (USA), Charleston, WV.
Nature's Witness: How Evolution Can Inspire Faith, by Daniel M. Harrell. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2008. 165pp. The author begins with the premise that if "all truth is God's truth," then that "truth" includes not just theological knowledge but also scientific knowledge. He questions the validity and value of pursuing "alternative sciences." An easy to read and digest look at this issue from a Christian perspective. Good for curious and concerned parishioners and written for the open-minded evangelical. (The author is the pastor of Park Street Church, Boston, and a prominent evangelical.) The book builds bridges for our day. Robert D. Cornwall, APC, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Troy, MI.
Borderland Churches: A Congregation's Introduction to Missional Living. by Gary V. Nelson. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2008. 166 pp. The author invites the reader to embrace a new model of church, one that sends us out into the neighborhood - both the neighborhood around the church and the neighborhood in which we the body of Christ inhabits - that place where we live and work and have our lives. In both places God is calling the body to live incarnationally. Not just about missional theory, it is about missional living. Robert D. Cornwall, APC, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Troy, MI.
The Great Emergence: How Christianity and Why, by Phyllis Tickle. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2008. 172 pp. The book asks, and responds, to three questions: What is Emergence? How did it come into being? Where is it going? The author's premise is that the church stands on the edge of a "great emergence," a time of transitioning into a new way of being Christian. Tickle introduces two overarching questions: one has to do with the nature of human consciousness, or what makes a human a human, and the other has to do with religious pluralism. Written expecially for the emergent church. Robert D. Cornwall, APC, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Troy, MI.
Communitarian Ethics: Later Writings of Walter G. Muelder, edited by J. Phiilip Wogaman, Plymough, MA: Preachers Aid Society of New England, 2007. 102 pp. Two chapters in this small book of Dr. Muelder's writings and addresses are worth far more than the time (and the money) one would invest in it. The other chapters are bonuses. On chapter is "Ethical Issues in Business." Same issues (auto and financial), only more dramatic, today as when he addressed the Clergy-Industry Relations Department of the National Association of Manufacturers in 1963, a speech icily received. Muelder challenges economic powers, "Humanakind must never be made a mere means for political or economic ends." The other superb chapter is "Authority of Church Social Pronouncements and Rsolutions." Paul Binder, APC, United Church of Christ, Sarasota, FL.
The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa and ASian - and How it Died, by Philip Jenkins. HarperOne, San Francisco, 2008. 262 pp. Jenkins, a renowned scholar, takes the reader through the history and importance of a church that is all but lost, existing only as a remnant in a few countries where the church once provided the dominant culture in the Middle East, and parts of Africa and Asia. More than a history, this is an analysis why those once flourishing and vibrant churches which have ceased to be what they once were. One of this years' Top Ten Books of the Academy of Parish Clergy. Arland O. Fiske, FAPC, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Moorhead, MN.
Beyond Tolerance: Searching for Interfaith Understanding in America, by Gustav Niebuhr. New York: Viking, 2008. 218 pp. This journalist/professor (and progeny of the famous Niebuhr brothers), he explores the growing religious tensions in this country and around the world. Global peace requires that we rirst recognize that religious differences often are triggers for hatred, separatism, and violence. Also, these same religious forces may be key to achieving that hoped for peace. "While its normal to privilege one's own religious group, its not necessary to see total darkness in the others." Even if one "has the true path," we can draw together in service to the world in community. Robert D. Cornwall, APC, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Troy, MI.
Hope Endures: Leaving Mother Teresa, Losing Faith, and Searching for Meaning, by Colette Livermore. New York: Free Press, 2008. 253 pp. This is about Mother Theresa's witness inspiring young woman to taking up the cause and abandoning the things of this life. But this autobiography is about a woman who ended up disillustioned and with loss of faith over what were the methods and unwillingness to admit doubt or give opportunity for others to express their doubts, concerns, and visions. To question authority was demonic. Obedience had primacy over compassion. A disturbing and hopeful book. Robert D. Cornwall, APC, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Troy, MI.