Today we were selling
books at a local Parish Nursing conference, an event we do every year, an
event that inspires us as we hear of good folks doing innovative work in the
local church.  It is a delightfully
ecumenical event, with Mennonites mixing with Methodists, conservative
Catholics and liberal Episcopalians. 
I’m not sure who first came up with the idea of parish-based
nurses—probably Lutherans—but this event is a delight.

There is the aspect of thinking
Christianly about a field of science (nursing and health care), missional vision casting as they consider how to serve projects arising from vibrant congregational life, and the practical good that we
see—folks who care for others in their illnesses, chronic pain, grief and
sadness.  Congregations that hire parish nurses often have a good number of older members, or elderly neighbors, so they are attentive to the spirituality of aging; yes, to issues of hospice, death, and dying. This is salt of the earth work, and we are humbled to offer resources for them. 

Obviously, we need those
who are involved in health care in any venue to think Christianly and act with
spiritually-based integrity and innovation — that is the weight of the offer we make here, often, inviting everyone to read about their careers and callings in so-called secular jobs or public institutions.  But seeing folk do this within a
local church is very nice indeed.  We have
quite a few books on spiritually-informed health care, books about the human
body, Christian critiques of how we think of medicine, and, of course, books on
the ministry of prayer and healing. 
From the Catholic gem The Nursing’s Calling: A Christian Spirituality of Caring for the Sick by Mary Elizabeth O’Brian or The Healer’s Calling: A Spirituality for Physicians and Other Health Care Professionals by Daneil Sulmasy (both Paulist Press; $12.95) to a very thoughtful one we often recommend, Reclaiming the Body: Christians and the Faithful Use of Modern Medicine by Brian Volck and Joel Schuman (Brazos Press; $22.00) we enjoy sharing these kinds of books, and are glad for friends at the
Parish Nursing event who care about them.

DR. SCOTT MORRIS

The main speaker today
was a real saint, a guy who we have heard of often over the years.  Perhaps you have heard of Scott Morris,
too.  Paraclete Press released a
book years ago that he wrote about his Memphis, Tennessee, urban health clinic; his
mentor William Sloan Coffin mentions him in his own lovely memoir, Credo.
Philip Yancey dedicates an eloquent chapter to him in the excellent What Good Is God? a recent book which we’ve
raved about more than once.   Morris is known for founding the Church
Health Center in Memphis. The center, formed in 1987 to
provide healthcare for working, uninsured people, and has grown to
become the largest faith-based clinic of its type in the United States.

To see a Christian family practice doctor, who serves an under-served population, whose
work is endorsed by such a wide array of folks, from charismatics who write on health and Godly wellness to mainline Bible scholars like Walter Brueggemann, to prestigious faith-based scientists
like Harold Koenig, M.D. of the Duke University Medical Center, well—-he’s our kind of guy!  And he has written a set of guidebooks for taking charge of various medical issues, and a great, basic book (more on that in a bit), one with a bit of cultural diagnosis, a bit of Biblical vision, and a whole lot of good medical sense.  Phyllis Tickle, known for being one of the most astute readers of our time, rarely says this about a book but she has said that “every single person” should read his book — especially those whose work impacts our health, such as “politicians, clerics, social workers, insurance executives, physicians or medical administrators.” 
So Dr. Mo was the right guy to bring the message today about the need to localize our health care and re-imagine what it could be like to work on daily preventive health and changing the nature of health care services.  Local churches are key to public health, and his free clinic is a great example. And (wow!) does he know a lot about the art and science of wellness.   Geesh, this guy is like Patch Adams, almost, although he is a solid ordained United Methodist clergyman as well. And doesn’t wear a funny clown nose.

We hope you enjoy knowing about this Central Pennsylvania event (maybe it will inspire you
to consider starting something like a parish nursing ministry in your church, or getting others
together to learn more, praying and brainstorming a bit, perhaps scheming up starting some clinic to meet needs in your community.)  And, of course, we thought you might like to purchase
some of the great books we have left over from the event.  There’s not too many left, but we have to tell you about them — on sale for 25% off, good for one week, or until we run out. 

DUST & BREATH

What was
especially fun was that we got a large shipment of a brand spanking new book
about health care and congregation culture, a splendid read, that when we
ordered it, didn’t even quite realize that it was mostly about Dr. Morris!  Morris himself told everybody to get it as it really does do a great job raising questions about health care in our time.

This pale reproduction doesn’t do the cover art justice.  Sorry.  It’s very striking.

Dust & Breath: Faith, Health — and Why the Church Should Care About Both is written by Kendra Hotz, Matthew Mathews, and Gary Guderson (Eerdmans; $14.00.) This great new book makes a very, very
important case, in truly lovely prose, inspired by Morris’ story and including
reflections for his own journal, that God’s church simply must be involved in
caring wholistically for the needs of people.  Not only are initiatives like parish nursing helpful to equip
and encouraging church members to live in greater wellness and health, but our
missional vision should compel us to reach out with social projects that aid
the poor, that advocate for normative proposals for public health.  Yes, the church must help us deepen our faith, enhance our health, and care about it all, seeing how we are to be stewards of all God has given us, including our bodies, health, relationships and such.  This little book is truly fantastic, and we have it at a good discount, hoping to get a buzz going about it.  It is the kind of book that could get lost, I’m afraid, but it really deserves to be widely read and considered.  We are among the first to promote it.  Don’t you know somebody who might care about such a book?  Hope so!  Order it now at 25% off, making it just $10.50.

GOD, HEALTH, HAPPINESS

God, Health, and Happiness: Discover Wholeness in Body and Spirit Scott Morris (Barbour
Books) $5.99

We don’t often
promote such inexpensive, handy mass market paperbacks, but this is a slightly
abridged version of Morris’ earlier hardback, Health Care You Can Live With: Discover Wholeness in Body and Spirit (Barbour; $19.95) which we also have stocked. With our BookNotes discount, you can
afford to give out a few of these inexpensive paperbacks, although the expanded hardback might be best for a lending library.  The perspective and great information Dr. Morris brings is something you need, I’m sure of it! It is very, very responsible — not quite the radical organic living perspective of, say, Dr. Jospeh
Mecula, but certainly a bit more insightful and useful than standard old-school
AMA or industry approaches. (And, happily,
even the most traditional docs these days are aware of the usefulness of complimentary
medicine and are open to more wholistic approaches, even prayer and spirituality, which is
increasingly recognized as a proven asset for healthy living.)  So, we’re fans, and love this little
book as well as the good hardback.

Morris’s health care
clinic of course grapples with big issues of urban poverty, racism,
homelessness and the like.  It
shouldn’t have surprised us that he cites Not All of Us Are Saints: A Doctors Journey With the Poor by David
Hilfiker (Hill & Wang; $21.00) which is still one of the great books about service to the
dispossessed I have ever read. (He also inspired friends in both Pittsburgh and Philly to open Christ-centered practices, clinics oriented towards the poor and uninsured.) Obviously, the systemic problems of urban poverty are
multi-faceted and illustrate the great injustices of race and class in our culture.

(Although Morris wasn’t addressing this, he might have: see, just for one powerful example, Jonathan Kozol’s new Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-five Years Among the Poorest Children in America [Crown; $27.00] for how
unjustly inequitable resource distribution in funding schools in America—what
in another book he calls “savage inequalities”—leads to all manner of
hardships in the lives of children. 
As I’ve reviewed elsewhere, this new Kozol book is exceptionally riveting and so very urgent.  In it, he follows up on some of the
people he so passionately wrote about in earlier books, giving us another
glimpse into the nature of the lives of the poor in our land.  He speaks the truth, up close and tender, and we should pay attention.)

In this God, Health, and Happiness: Discover Wholeness in Body and Spirit — guidebook for healthy living, mostly, Dr. Morris does not write much about his inner city clinic or his insights about public
health.  He is at heart an ordinary family
doctor and he cares about his patients well-being, helping them learn about what constitutes healthy eating, sensible but important stuff that we need explained, and new insights about how the body works.  He offers solid medical insight framed by a mature Christian
worldview, and his counsel is pleasant, helpful, and even inspiring. We need books like this, I am sure of it.

And, as I said, he does offer solid practical information. For instance, check out
these five small books, colorful, upbeat, practical and faithfully produced.  He put these together and they are just great.  We sold a bunch of these today and the parish nurses and pastoral counselors were really impressed about how inviting and interesting they were.  Each one includes a wonderful story of a real person, and walks you through the journey of a 40-day plan for step-by-step improvement.  I won’t tell you more about each one, but they are excellent, fun to look through, and very motivational. While supplies last, we have them at 25% off–now just $5.99 each.

These five small paperbacks are colorfully designed and really nicely produced — better than, say, Prevention, or other similar resources.  They are really interesting.  They guide you through information and action plans,  helping you achieve a God-inspired, balanced, wellness.  The first is on diabetes, the second on depression, the third shown is hypertension while the fourth covers various aspects of optimal health. The fifth, shown here, is about weight management and eating better.  All are very, very nice.

Each regularly sells for $7.99 but at our 25% discount they are only $5.99 each.  This offer is good for one week only, until October 5th.

Health, Healing and the Church’s Mission: Biblical Perspectives and Moral Priorities Willard Swartley (IVP) $24.00  We reviewed this a month
or so ago and won’t belabor it here, but we did feature this, as you might
expect, at the parish nursing event.  Again, it is just tremendous to
have a skilled New Testament scholar reflect deeply on insights about health
and wholeness, prayer and miracles, medicine and congregational life, healthcare and the public good.   Swartley has written an
interdisciplinary book that, frankly, ought to be read by folks in most
every congregation in the land!  It is that good, and so important to our life in these times. 
Who among us doesn’t get sick, doesn’t long for greater health, doesn’t
desire to understand wellness in deeply faithful ways? Who among us hasn’t heard that our current health-care system is changing, for better or worse, and that we need as much Godly wisdom as we can muster?  What does God’s gift of shalom and the
gospel’s fruit of reconciliation imply for our health, for our approach to
health care? What does the Bible say about healing, about wholeness, about caring for the sick?  The times are growing more urgent on these matters, and this mature book is a help, perhaps helping us understand the famous “balm in Gilead.” At our 25% discount offer — good until Friday, October 5th — you can nab this at the sale price of $18.00.

BookNotes

Do you remember a month ago, in my essay preceding the list of books about vocation and work, I
noted that many young adults are interesting in relating faith and career, that
the integration of spirituality and daily discipleship is essential in their
way of doing faith.  (As it should
be for us all, eh?)  I suggested that ordinary churches should be thinking about this, and perhaps buy some of the books we listed.  I noted that there is much about this and one very specific chapter in the fabulous The Next Christians by Gabe Lyon (Multnomah; $14.99) which I think is must reading. And that the important book You Lost Me by David Kinnaman (Baker; $17.99)
documents how a lack of intentional theological conversation about work, art,
science and the like is one of the reasons some young adults drift from church
involvement.  Again, this is a very useful book and we highly recommend it for a number of reasons, not least because of how it reminds of us of importance of this topic of work and calling and thinking creatively about our lives in the marketplace.  

I have relentlessly
talked and taught about this for decades, and there are times (if I may be honest) when I grow
weary: will a work-world revival, or, at least, for starters, a renewed
interest in labor from church quarters, develop and grow in our time?  Should we quite trying to sell books
about vocation, give up on the talk about developing a uniquely Christian
perspective on our various callings and careers?  As I’ve hinted from time to time, these books don’t sell as
well as we might wish, even though few people deny their importance.  We are glad for our best mail order
customers, and glad for those who pursue these kinds of topics.  But I do get discouraged.  I sometimes lay awake and wonder about
our internet work: is there anybody out there?  How can we inspire folks to take up more of these very inspiring and useful books.  I have to admit, I sigh a lot these days…

Well.  I received a wonderful gift of
encouragement this weekend, and want to celebrate it with, since I suspect that you, too, care about these things, and will be glad for some encouraging news.  I want to tell (again) of the extraordinary work of
my colleagues and friends in the campus ministry organization, the CCO
(Coalition for Christian Outreach.) Being around their staff is always energizing!  I just got back from a shindig they put
on in Northwestern Pennsylvania and I want to tell you just a bit about it. You may be interested to know what
books sold at this conference.

For the fourth
consecutive year, CCO hosted a gathering of about 200 students from
colleges around Northwestern Pennsylvania—-if you are from around here, you
know them: Allegheny, Slippery Rock,  Edinboro, Butler
County Community College, Clarion, Penn State Barons, a branch of Pitt up at
Bradford, and more.  Some are
overtly evangelical and Reformed colleges like Grove City and Geneva, some are
church-related like Westminster and Gannon, a Catholic school in Erie.  Most, though, are state universities or community colleges
and the students attending “Leadership Together” were hearing about relating
faith and learning, integrating worldview and one’s collegiate way of life, in
fresh and perhaps new ways.  I
can’t wait to share with you some of the books they bought. 

Three of us were honored
to be the main stage presenters, and each of us ruminated on one of the three
temptations faced by Jesus as explained in Henri Nouwen’s wonderful little book
In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (Crossroads; $14.95.)  The late Father Nouwen, tempered by his move from
Harvard to L’Arche (a shared community household including the able bodied and
the mentally challenged and handicapped), reminds us in this poignant little
book of the Devil’s efforts to seduce Jesus–and us!  It is tempting (especially in this setting, eager young
adults, wanting to make a fruitful Christian witness at their postmodern
colleges, transforming the world, you know) to try to make faith relevant.  Or to over-do our efforts to be
popular.  And to try to grasp for
power, rather than being led by the Spirit of God in the ways of Christ.  Oooh, that was my topic, and it was
more difficult for me to speak about this than those listening may have
realized. 

You see, for God’s greater glory
and the grand hope of wanting to love our neighbors and world well, I want
sharp and innovative Christians to have power.  Oh, I know we aren’t to be like the Taliban, and I can
critique the culture wars “take over” mentality with the best of them.  But, I told the students, I am such a
booster of the CCOs Jubilee conference and advocate reading these sorts of
books about faith and public life so very much because I want do want some sort
of power.  I want to help people be
salt and light and leaven in our needy world, and make a difference.  Yes, truth be told, I am tempted by the
idol of power.  Having to preach on
Nouwen’s rejection of worldly power-mongering, of naming the “gospel of
weakness” and citing passages like Mark 10 (and Jesus’ nonviolence when it
mattered most, in the garden and cross) was a vivid reminder for me that we are
to be leaven, a bit of light, but not heavy handed holy warriors.  As Nouwen reminds us, “it is easier
to want to control people than to love people.”  

If I may, I
would suggest that reading deeply and well allows us to be shaped into the
character and ways of Christ and thinking seriously about how His upside
Kingdom informs how we go about our daily living is one way to prepare for the
proper use of power. We have to hold out a vision of wanting to make a
relevant, winsome difference, but all of those idols can seduce us into doing
the Lord’s work in the wrong ways. 
We want to raise up a savvy group of leaders, but they must be servant
leaders.  Reading books like we
suggest, I think, can help prepare us for this task. 

So, it was great having
the chance to set up a book display–table after table—to help students consider
faithful and properly relevant ways of serving God in all of life.  They were invited to be counter-cultural
in tone and style and methods, but to realize the broad scope of our missional
outreach, living in God’s gracious newness, from the boardroom to the bedroom,
as they say, from how we think about sports to how we think about shopping,
from art to business to engineering to relating to popular culture.  And they were truly interested — it
was inspiring listening in to their table conversations as they developed “take
away” goals and ideas.  Some of
them were even citing Henri Nouwen and seemed to me to be speaking beautifully “in
the name of Jesus.”

Just in case you think
I’m making this stuff up, here are some of the books we sold at the CCOs
“Leadership Together.”  Of course
we sold books on leadership, several on relationships, a few on apologetics (Lee Stroble’s A Case
for Christ and A Case for Faith, Tim Keller’s The Reason for God) not to mention regulars on
prayer and spirituality (The Praying Life by Paul Miller and Sacred Rhythms by
Ruth Haley Barton, for instance.) 
Naturally, they picked up popular evangelical books from the category we
call basic Christian growth—Crazy Love, Love Does, Radical, Not a Fan, Blue
Like Jazz, Discipleship Essentials and Undead: Revived, Resuscitated Reborn by Clay Morgan (Abingdon; $15.99), a very cool new book working on the zombie
theme).  And we often sell books on
social concerns—fighting sexual trafficking, say, or titles like the very
compelling Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle by Kent Annan (IVP; $16.00) (interestingly, a student standing next to the person buying that one raved about it; she had read his other one written after the earthquake in Haiti, Unshaken, as well.  It’s great when a reader does my job for me, telling about hos she loved a book.)  We sold a copy of  Zealous
Love: A Practical Guide to Social Justice edited by Michael Yankoski  (Zondervan; $16.99) maybe because Bob Goff has a chapter in it.  One student picked
up, out of the blue, not noting my endorsement on the back cover, Colossians
Remixed: Subverting the Empire by my friends Sylvia Keesmaat & Brian Walsh
(IVP; $23.00.) I almost kissed her when she said it just looked really
challenging, and she was up for that.

We were obviously glad for these solid purchases, for the wide and relevant interests they represent.  But these young adults really seemed to be drawn to be, as Nouwen puts it, “formed in the
mind of Christ” as it related to their future careers.  Maybe it is because they don’t see
these books at other Christian bookstores, or maybe they don’t hear much about this
in their home churches.  Of course
I highlighted these themes, and their CCO workers and mentors maybe guided them
just a bit.  But, still, I was
profoundly encouraged by these sales. 
I still wonder why we don’t sell these day in and day out, but for now,
I’m glad for the idealism and vision and vibrancy of the students of Leadership
Together.

BUYING BOOKS ACCORDING TO COLLEGE MAJOR: OR, PREPARING FOR LIVING FAITHFULLY IN THE WORK-WORLD

One education major bought
Christian Teachers in the Public Schools: 13 Essentials for the Classroom by Dalene
Vickery Parker (Beacon Hill Press; $12.99) and another chose Making a
Difference: Christian Educators in Public Schools by Donavan L. Graham
(Purposeful Design; $21.99.) Both of these are quite good and surprisingly,
there aren’t too many books like this out there.  I showed Education for Human Flourishing: A Christian
Perspective by Paul Spears & Steven Loomis (in the IVP Christian Worldview
Integration Series; $22.00) to one young lady, but I think it seemed a bit
much—-I can’t blame her, it is heavy. But, wow.  What Teachers Make: In Praise of the Greatest Job in the
World by poetry slam sensation (and former urban, middle school teacher) Taylor
Mali isn’t particularly religious, but it seems to please a gal doing her
student teaching soon. We were glad to sell it. It is published by Putnam
($19.95.)  Google his youtube
spoken word piece called “What Teachers Make” (and, while your at it, the
spectacular “Speak with Conviction”) if you don’t know him.

As a former speech pathology
major myself, I was happy to meet a speech and hearing major.  And she was interested to see  a few special education themed
books.  For instance, Disabilities
and the Gospel: How God Uses Our Brokenness to Display His Grace by Michael
Beates (Crossway; $15.99.) Warmed my heart, I must say.

A science major was
thrilled when I described Francis Collins as the former head of the Human
Genome Project and he snapped up his co-authored (with Karl Giberson) The
Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions (IVP;
$20.00.) It wasn’t the only book on science we sold, and I was glad to see a
guy pick up another favorite, the reformationally-minded Science and Grace: God’s
Reign in the Natural Sciences by Tim Morris & Don Petcher of Covanant
College (Crossway; $17.99.)  I’m not sure we sold any this time, but we did have some books about technology, Christian insights about engineering, and Mathematics Through the Eyes of Faith by Russell Howell & James Bradley (HarperOne; $19.99.)  Love the religious conversation about that STEM stuff.

My friend Jonathan
Merritt’s first book Green Like God: Unlocking the Divine Plan for Our Planet
(FaithWorks; $16.99) was stacked up, and at least one environmental science
major got one. It wasn’t the only book we had on creation care, but I remember
selling Merritt’s.  Yay.

I have to admit we haven’t sold many of these yet, but one customer couldn’t believe his eyes: a serious and obviously well informed book on urban planning, new urbanism, and what some are calling “the built environment.”  I have reviewed a bit already, and will again, that book that caught his attention: The Space Between: A Christian Engagement with the Built Environment by Eric O. Jacobsen (Baker Academic; $22.99.)  

We sold a couple of books
on sports, like the small Game Day for the Glory of God by Stephen Altrogge (Crossway; $9.99) and The Reason for
Sports: A Christian Fanifesto by Ted Kluck (Moody Press; $13.99.) I tried to sell The Long Snapper by Jeffrey Marx, and of course his book about Joe Ehrmann, The Season of Life (Simon & Schuster; $21.00.)   I heard that the one fellow was a
collegiate athlete, another a big fan. 
One gal got the brand new Men of Sunday: How Faith Guides the Players,
Coaches and Wives of the NFL by Curtis Eichelberger (Nelson; $15.99) as a gift
for somebody she knew.  Nice.

Business majors, and an
accounting major, found Why Business Matters to God (And What Still Needs to be
Fixed) by Jeff Van Duzer (IVP; $20.00) and Business for the Common Good: A
Christian Vision for the Marketplace by Kenman Wong and Scot Rae (IVP; $24.00)
both of which are very substantial.  A thoughtful fellow studying finance looked at The Crisis and
the Kingdom: Economics, Scripture and the Global Financial Crisis by British
economist and pastor, E. Phil Davis (Cascade/Wipf & Stock; $18.00.)  It is the only book like it, and I was
so proud to have it there, and so glad somebody cared. 

One open-minded student
admitted being a bit confused about contemporary politics.  She

purchased the back-and-forth
discussion of Right, Left and Christ: Evangelical Faith in Politics co-authored
by Lisa Sharon Harper & D.C. Innes (Russell Media; $22.99.)  I was really jazzed that two students got
Ronald Sider’s excellent, comprehensive, Just Politics: A Guide for Christian
Engagement (Baker; $19.99.) One was a politico, it seemed, but the other just
wanted to learn.  She admitted to
never really thinking about how her own faith would inform her voting. Thanks
be to God.  That’s why we do this
work, folks….ya know?

We sold a copy or two of
the Student’s Guides in the “Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition”
series that I wrote about a month ago. 
We sold the fantastic  one
called Literature by Louis Markos and the one called Political Thought by Hunter Baker. These are published
by Crossway and sell for just $11.99 each.  Speaking of those little guides, I can’t tell you how excited
I was to have the newest one in the series, Philosophy: A Student’s Guide by my very good
friend, and esteemed philosophy prof from the great program at Dallas Baptist
University, David K. Naugle. It is the fifth in the “Student’s Guides series published by Crossway; $11.99.) 
David—a great teacher, and dear mentor to many—had graced me with an
advance peek at some of this, and it is excellent.  Not just for philosophy majors, I think every serious-minded
student should get this.  And—I’m
not just saying this—the first chapter or two are worth the price of the
book.  Anybody interested in the
life of the mind or intellectual things should read this.  This whole project about the
integration of faith and scholarship, and what it means to have the mind of
Christ about the academic world, well, it is the best.  So we were glad to have a stack of
’em.  I don’t have to tell you that
this isn’t the sexiest title on the table, and the word philosophy may scare
some people away.  As I told one
student, this is as painless a way into this grand tradition of relating faith
and philosophy as one is going to find.

We sold a copy of
Transforming Care: A Christian Vision of Nursing Practice by Mary Molewyk
Doornbos, Ruth Groenhout and Kenra Hotz (Eerdmans; $24.00) who are thoughtful
scholars from Calvin College.  We have other books on health care, of course.

We sold at least one on the arts; it is always fun when artists see stuff like Calvin Seerveld, or the many titles published by Square Halo Books or God in the Gallery: A Christian Embrace of Modern Art (by Dan Siedell) or even the wonderful older book by Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art. I  talked with a
film-studies major about Romanowski and Overstreet.  We sold one of the brand new book of prayers for writers, a delightfully
edited book by Gary D. Schmidt & Elizabeth Stickney called Acceptable
Words: Prayers for Writers (Eerdmans; $16.00)  which is a delight for anyone who loves reading or writing—you may know Schmidt as a popular YA novelist.  We had some other books on lit and writing, sold one which was a religious exploration of Harry Potter, although that student maybe wasn’t even a lit major.   And what a joy to have a young woman pick up the new The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O’Connor by Jonathan Rogers (Nelson; $15.99.)

We sold one book that we took on semiotics — Changing
Signs of Truth: A Christian Introduction to the Semiotics of Communications, fabulously written by the fabulous Crystal Downing, of Messiah College,  published audaciously by IVP Academic for $24.00 — to a communications major. 
A lively, heavy Christian book on
postmodern semiotics — are you kidding me?  Getting to show off this kind of stuff is, as the kids say,
ridiculous!  What a joy!   

I have a hunch that for
some of these students, they were buying these resources because they’ve been
nurtured, over a year or so by CCO friendships, by last year’s Leadership
Together event, by being at the big Jubilee conference in Pittsburgh in February, maybe the Ocean City Beach
Project or a CCO outdoor wilderness trip, perhaps by reading our blog, even.  Like anyone might be in your own circles
of influence, these kids were stepping up to what they’ve been hearing about,
taking the advice of friends, being enfolding into Christian practices like
Christian reading about vocation and culture.  They are allowing a truly Christian worldview to become
their way of life, bit by bit. 
They bought books about various aspects of life and they wanted to glorify
God in fruitful, faithful ways in their life’s work.  They are getting it, because somebody is inviting them into
this Kingdom way of life.

BEING MENTORED, BIT BY BIT

This insight, that lasting growth comes in part through mentors and in friendships, reminds me of another book we sold there on Friday night (in fact, one that was mentioned more than once from up front) Steve Garber’s Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief and Behavior (IVP; $16.00.)  You know this is a thoughtful and important book, and we often commend it for serious readers.  If you want to get a flavor of the sorts of ways Steve gets all this said, earnestly and thoughtfully,  check out this short talk from Q Ideas.  His book comes up often in these conversations and the sort of people Steve has mentored and influenced indicates the caliber and importance of his eloquent book.

So, some students book books because they are being mentored, they are being discipled into intregal ways of missional living.  I hope being reminded of this (and hearing about the books such disciples are buying) encourages you to influence and mentor and teach others who are around you. 

FIRST TIMERS

Others, though, bought
books—or at least looked —for the first time ever.  Granted, reading Christianly, about
these sorts of things, may be a new thing.  Heck, these days, reading anything is a bit of a stretch for
some.  Yet, invited into faithful
leadership in the name of Jesus, they began the life-long journey, committing
themselves to what might be a new practice—reading a bit about something
they’ve never read about before. 
How about you?

Again, thanks to the CCO
for doing stuff like Leadership Together. And a special shout-out to friends at
Grove City College for hosting me so well in the days I was there, too.  We are grateful.

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Not sure why, but my blog platform stopped allowing me to post pictures, and I didn’t quite get this post finished.   I apologize for the text-heavy reading, here, but it is important, and I worked a while writing these reflections of the EfP conference and describing just some of the books we recommended there.  If you want to see the book covers, you can find them at the publisher’s websites, or google images, but do come back and order them from us.  Thanks!  Click on the links below to order, at our special BookNotes 20% off discount.  We show the regular prices in the review, but will deduct the discount for you when you order.

Perhaps the word I’m looking for is ironic. Or poignant. Timely, certainly works; relevant, spot-on. Providential?  Yes, providential.

If you look carefully you can see our books against the back wall under the lights.
Even while the world’s leading news story was the unfolding drama of the savage attacks on US Embassies throughout the Arab world, inspired by stupid anti-Islamic propaganda, a group of us gathered in a small hall at Georgetown University to discuss and debate and learn about the Biblical call to peacemaking.  A major theme of the Evangelicals for Peace conference was Christian-Muslim relations and  speakers included former missionaries to Muslims and relief and development activists who, in fact, have friends throughout the Arab world. Even as we were listening to presentations, asking questions, confabbing away, one speaker was on his cell phone, talking to contacts at Al Jarzeera, begging them to restrain their descriptions of the offensive movie.  He at least got them to stop calling it an “American” film, which he had reason to believe might stop some of the rioting, maybe even save some lives.  Our speakers, our questions, our prayers, and our conversations were weighted with a sense of urgency.
 
And gladness.  For many of us it is rare to hear such a clear witness to the peaceful ways of Christ’s Kingdom, rare to hear evangelicals, especially, with such morally serious and politically sophisticated insights.
 
And what a joy for me to get to talk about Yoder and Kuyper (yes, he came up!) and Hauerwas, etcetera.  And to show off titles like Ron Sider’s new book Just Politics: A Guide for Christian Engagement (Baker; $19.99) and to commend Lisa Sharon Harper’s pro-Democratic back and forth conversation with a political conservative, Left, Right & Christ: Evangelical Faith in Politics, co-authored by Kings College political science prof D.C. Innes (Russell Media; $22.99.) We think the world of the excellent study Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context by Glen Stassen and David Gushee (IVP; $35.00) and enjoyed stacking ’em up with both authors there.  I only wish we had sold more. It’s a great book. 
 
After a few muffled “amens” were heard during one of the impressive keynotes, I whispered to Dave Gushee, “Can’t an academic conference also be a bit of a gospel revival?”  How great that an event designed to help us struggle with questions of global conflict resolution, even when religious differences are at the heart of those conflicts, is also quite intentional about naming the Name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.  Glory, Hallelujah, indeed!
 
Several perspectives and voices and vantage points were prevalent at the Evangelicals for Peace conference.  That it was mostly organized by Rick Love, founder of Peace Catalyst International was evident: there were different sorts of leaders—scholars and activists and missionaries, and a delightful mix of views, Reformed, Anabaptist, charismatic, mainline, and others.
 
We were taught by scholarly but passionate ethicists like Stassen (Fuller Theological Seminary), Gushee (Mercer University) and Eric Patterson (Georgetown University, Regent University.)  They presented heavy-duty lectures, clear and interesting, theologically foundational with huge implications for policy.
 
Lisa Sharon Harper, an old IVCF friend, now active in mobilizing folks for Sojourner’s, kept it real as she talked about the Biblical call to peacemaking and preached a bit about her own evangelically-guided sense of shalom.  Although she tilts to the left, I like the title of her book, Evangelical Does Not Equal Republican or Democrat (The New Press; $24.95.) It carries a nice forward by John Perkins.  
 
There were think-tank scholars who serve as citizen diplomats, working in partnership, even, with the State Department and the Pentagon. Douglas Johnston (President of the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy) has taught courses for our own diplomatic corps on how to be more aware of global religions and has shown in book after book how a lack of religious awareness has caused us to miss cues, creating havoc all over the world.  Recently he has been teaching even in the infamously militant madrasahs of Pakistan; I don’t know if I have ever heard anyone speak that had first-hand friendships with Jihadists and it was extraordinary, and heartening!  Of course not all madrasahs are ultra-conservative or related to Islamic fundamentalism, let alone breeding ground for terrorists.  Yet some are, and it is remarkable that Johnston, who is so esteemed as a scholar, is helping strategic people understand respectful ways to approach faith, even in diplomatic work. His most famous books are Religion: The Missing Dimension in Statecraft (Oxford University Press; $50.00) and the edited collection Faith-Based Diplomacy Trumping Realpolitik (Oxford University Press; $22.95.) His latest book, which he himself nicely explained, is called Religion, Terror, and Error: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Challenge of Spiritual Engagement  (Praeger; $49.99) which is a handbook on these things for anyone who works in international affairs.
 
Similarly, Joseph Cumming, the Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture Reconciliation Program, has extraordinary contacts in the Muslim world, doing profound work building bridges of collaboration with Muslims, Christians Jews—perhaps you know the important book The Common Word: Muslims and Christians on Loving God and Neighbor edited by Miroslov Volf and Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad Bin Talai (Eerdmans; $14.00.) That came out of the Yale Center and has proven to be very fruitful. Cumming has a chapter in it.  What a delight to have an evangelical (and former missionary) at the helm of a prestigious think-tank at Yale.  Doors have opened for him, and he is doing incredibly important work.
 
Most of us
were very deeply touched by Lisa Gibson, Executive Director of the Peace & Prosperity Alliance. A charismatic Christian attorney, her simple message of forgiveness offered to the Libyan terrorists who killed her brother (murdered in the PanAm Flight 103 that explode over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988)—earnestly told in Life in Death: A Journey From Terrorism to Triumph (Xulon; $15.99)—moved us all.  That she now does workshops on forgiveness all over the world, including in Libya (and had a rare race-to-face encounter with Muammar Gaddafi before his execution) is clearly an indication that God is blessing her, opening doors to preach the gospel, to talk of grace, and to call enemies to reconciliation.
 
It was a delight, and felt like an honor, to be around the wonderfully esteemed Mennonite gentleman missionary, David Shank, who has worked his whole life on these missiological issues. He has had his book, co-authored with Badru Kateregga, A Muslim and Christian in Dialogue (Herald Press; $14.99) translated into Arabic, and he has been invited to share his it with radical Muslim leaders (who reported being astonished that a Christian could be so gracious, and that Jesus spoke so much about peace and love of enemy.) His Journeys of the Muslim Nation and the Christian Church: Exploring the Missions of Two Communities (Herald Press; $14.99) is nearly as classic and the riveting Teatime in Mogadishu: My Journey as a Peace Ambassador in the World of Islam by (Somalian convert to Christ) Ahmed Ali Haile as told to David Shenk (Herald Press: $14.99) is fabulously inspiring.  I hope you consider these, perhaps for a book group or adult ed class as they are really quite interesting.

 
And what a joy it was to recommend titles to Texas mega-church pastor and author Bob Roberts, whose books Transformation: How Glocal Churches Transform Lives and the World (Zondervan; $19.99) and Glocalization: How Followers of Jesus Engage a Flat World (Zondervan; $18.99) help ordinary churches reach out in more global ways.  We laughed about the word “glocal” which he borrowed from Len Sweet, who maybe swiped from VisaCard.  Check out his Domains video  to see how Rev. Roberts equips the folks in his Northway church to use their

ordinary job skills and workplaces–domains, he calls them—to

serve the world.  His preaching and teaching this missional vision has paid off: the government of Viet Nam asked them to help create a curriculum to teach special education teachers; he is sending short term workers from his church to Afghanistan, too, doing simply extraordinary work. If you are inspired by that video idea, order his useful book Real-Time Connections: Linking Your Job with God’s Global Work (Zondervan; $16.99) which is pretty darn great. His flock are the real deal, doing stunning stuff in hard places.
 
And how we enjoyed the conservative Republican former Governor of SC, David Beesley, telling stories of talking about Jesus and the Koran with radical Muslims in Yemen.  His administrative assistant is an acquaintance of ours and even while we were talking books at the book display, his cell phone went off—it appeared that their flight to Yemen was on time: yes, despite the ugly and threatening uprisings there in the previous 24 hours, they were heading into the conflict zone.  Beesley is a real character, happy to admit he wasn’t very internationally astute, but that he knew the One who was: Jesus! 
 
And to think that the always-grumpy journalist Mark Tooley of the Institute of Religion and Democracy reported at Frontpage online that this was a lightweight gathering of lefty pacifists, complete with a snarky graphic shouting “surrender” as if the EfP was advocating a position (against whom?) of appeasement.  I thought of his disapproval of this event when one speaker said that it is often the case that those who are most vivid in their anger and alarm against the threat of radical Islam have never met any Muslims, let alone have  they ever been imprisoned or stoned by hostile Muslims, as he had been.  No, these EfP speakers did not romantically idealize “the other” or gloss over the violence of those who do grave injustices to others, enemy nations or violent terrorists.  Yes, there were concerns about religious freedom — of course, we had Paul Marshall’s must-read, sobering book about the growth of blasphemy laws and religious repression in Islamic countries called Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide (Oxford University Press; $35.00.) Many of the speakers at Evangelicals for Peace have indeed seen the harsh ugliness of human sin up close; there was little naïveté or political idealism (although there was confidence in the goodness of God and the hope of the gospel.)  There was, again, in the exciting conversations about building peace, a weight, an urgency, and a sense of realism and of the potential costs of our proposals.
 
Jim Wallis told us of the day he was with a church in Ohio, decades ago, doing a talk about peace-making. During his visit, he got word that Ocotol, a town in Nicaragua, had just been attacked and children massacred by U.S.-backed contra rebels.  As Jim reported the grim news to this congregation, they started to sob: some of them had recently been to Ocotol as part of the Witness for Peace efforts (where US Christians nonviolently went into war zones to serve as human buffers against the bombings) and so they had new friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, even, in that town. Did they survive, they wondered?  How was Manuel, or Roberta, or her little child, Sofia? (My own sister-in-law was with a Witness for Peace group when that massacre had happened, and they took bloody clothes of children to the U.S. Embassy, who mocked them. So the story was particularly poignant to Beth and me.)
 
Wallis’ point is a good one: as we do these kinds of ministries of reconciliation, as we travel in short-term mission trips and learn the names of others, even others that our government calls enemies, it changes everything.  Our view of international diplomacy, foreign policy, and warfare, is no longer abstract.  As we try to discern the truth of things, the best we can, we consider not just the briefings offered by the State Department or White House, but from friends on the ground, brothers and sisters who can give us feedback that is less colored by U.S. foreign policy goals.  Sometimes, our own friends are under assault and such a “human face” tempers us in profound, important ways.
 
Of course, this is stil
l tricky, and there are nonetheless differences of opinions about the ethics of violence, the role of military action and war.  And, among those who favor some military involvement, there are obvious disagreements as to when that is most appropriate or acceptable.  I have said before that our bookstore carries many books from a variety of viewpoints on these issues, even though few people seem to care to study much about such things.  It was an honor to display some of them at the EfP gathering, and we were glad to meet folks seriously rooted in the Biblical material about peacemaking and reconciliation. We were glad to learn more from those who have taken the gospel message, including its political implications, into hard places.  Scholars, activists, organizers, prayer-warriors, missionaries—what a gathering!
 
Two other speakers (besides the favorites I’ve mentioned) left their mark on the gathering.  Eric Patterson is an astute just war theorist, one who holds to the tradition’s legitimizing of state violence (often called “force” since it isn’t considered to be inappropriate or antinomian in this school of thought, so it to be considered differently than raw violence.) He reminded us quickly of the jus ad bello and the jus in bello criteria, and recommended the well-informed, no-nonsense book, War, Peace and Christianity: Questions and Answers From a Just-War Perspective by J. Daryl Charles & Timothy Demy (Crossway; $25.00) which we carry.  I somewhat prefer, by the way, and featured, Charles’ earlier book, Between Pacifism and Jihad: Just War and Christian Tradition (IVP; $21.00) as it seems to me to be written with less caricature of the pacifist view, a bit of a downfall of the feisty Crossway one. We stock most of the standard just war theory texts, too, Walzer, Elshtain, Weigel, James Turner Johnston and the like.

Patterson’s own academic books are quite astute, themselves, especially as he makes a major contribution regarding how the jwt relates to ending wars and their aftermath; see, for instance, his important edited collection Ethics Beyond War’s End (Georgetown University Press; $29.95) and the highly regarded, recent Ending Wars Well: Order, Justice, and Conciliation in Contemporary Post Conflict (Yale University Press; $55.00.)  It was good of the conference to have this heavy call to attend to the serious questions raised by the just war theory.  And it was good of Dr. Patterson to speak to this tradition within this gathering.
 
Glen Stassen also was very important as he implied that one need not be a hawkish just war theorist that justifies nearly every war or a pure pacifist that refuses to engage the details of realpolitik.  Rather than endlessly debate the matter about violence, why not work together to find ways to actually reduce the likelihood of armed violence?  His edited volume–including 23 scholars, each offering a chapter on one of the just peacemaking principles—called Just Peacemaking: The new Paradigm for the Ethics of Peace and War (Pilgrim Press; $18.00) is a vital resource showing, from serious research, just what sort of things might happen to prevent warfare, to minimize injustices, to develop diplomatic pressures for human rights, all of which can help us find alternatives to war.  Some may derisively dismiss this as “crypto-pacifism” but it is a good start, I think.  Just war theorists and pacifists alike should agree that we should work to find solutions to conflict so that war would be, at least, usually, a last-ditch resort.
 
Stassen, by the way, has a new book coming out soon, and we are taking PRE-ORDERS for it at almost half price.  The publisher is giving us a bit of a deal, and we’re happy to pass the savings on to you.  For a just a few weeks, we are offering A Thicker Jesus: Incarnational Discipleship for a Secular Age (Westminster/John Knox; $25.00) at a special pre-publication price. If you order it now, it is $10.00 off — just $15.00.) I’ve read some of the early version and it is serious, intense even, and draws on Bonhoeffer a bit.
 
Here are a handful of other good books that illustrate this exact point, books that show that Christian peacemaking is viable, that the science of faith-based diplomacy is advancing, and that “overcoming evil with good” is not only a Bible mandate, but a sensible approach that, sometimes, it seems, actually works.  I think it is sad that these kinds of books—-proving that lives can be saved and faithful efforts can work—are so little known among us.  Spread the word, friends.  If most Christian bookstores don’t carry this kind of stuff, we have to try harder to get the news out: Christian peacemaking is alive and well.  God’s people are leading the way, in quiet and experimental ways, to help us deal with the human propensity towards violence.
 
Thanks to friends old and new at Evangelicals for Peace.  Thanks to co-sponsors Peace Catalyst, Evangelicals for Social Action, Sojourners, The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, and the WEA.  May it be that through God’s merciful grace, we may be called—as promised in Matthew 5:9–the very children of God.

War: A Primer for Christians Joseph Allen (Southern Methodist University Press) $5.95  When asked for something basic and simple on this complex topic I often recommend this first of all.  The “crusades” chapter condemns holy war as unacceptable. Then the pacifist chapter seems to embrace nonviolence as the best Biblical option.  But wait, the just war theory is not only clear, but rather compelling.  Hmm.  Yep, he is fair and clear and allows readers to think it through for yourselves.  Not nearly enough, of course, but for an inexpensive, short primer it is nearly perfect.

Peacemaking: Resolving Conflict, Restoring and Building Harmony in Relationships: A Study Guide Dr. Rick Love (William Carey Library) $19.99  This is an 81/2 x 11 workbook style book, a fabulous Bible study guide and a thorough resource by a seasoned missionary and church planter.  Endorsements on the back are from David Powlison (a leader in the Biblical Counseling movement, formerly of Westminster Theological Seminary) and Dr. Greg Livingstone, founder of Frontiers and one of the great missionary figures of the last 40 years.  Love has searched the Scriptures well, and offers here 21 units (sessions) on all manner of instruction on how to be agents of God’s reconciliation, resolving conflict and building harmony in relationships.  A must for every church who wants to equip people to know how to act like Christians even in interpersonal conflict. Very positive, a wonderful gift for the church — not so much on international affairs or military concerns, but still a wonderful intro to the grand themes of shalom and reconciliation. 

  
Just War, Lasting Peace: What Christian Traditions Can Teach Us  edited by Dolores R. Leckey (Orbis) $16.00  There is much debate these days in some circles about the just war theory, and many of the most rigorous scholars are, well, exceptionally scholarly and quite detailed, seeming to some to be a bit too arcane to be inspiring for ordinary folks.  And, of courses, there is the common accusation that too often the theory is used to justify sadly gross things, civilian causalities and such.  (And, also, some make rude pot shots at all just war theories, as if they are merely glossing over all injustices and the horrors of war, a view that I find ill informed at best.)  Here, Catholic thinkers with a clear hope to inform lay people (there are good discussion questions to ponder) try to garner the jwt for peaceable purposes.  As R. Scott Appleby (of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame) writes, this book “brings together many of the leading authorities on the ethics of the use of force, makes their ideas accessible to a wide audience, shows them thinking on their feet in conversation with others, and provides a kind of “how to” manual for those who want to go deeper… this smart survey is a reliable and exacting starting point for an intellectual and moral journey that may inspire a lifetime vocation.”   
 
Just War as Christian Discipleship: Recentering the Tradition in the Church rather than the State  Daniel Bell, Jr. (Brazos) $21.99  Well, this is a book unlike most just war resources.  As Chaplain Lt. Col. Scott Sterling writes in the forward “Bell has written a book that I wish I had during my deployments…contributes to the Christian soldier’s desire to embody the principles as a lifestyle…”  Bell studied at Duke, teaches at a Lutheran seminary, and is ordained in the United Methodist church.  I know of know book that does what this does, and we highly recommend it for anyone studying this topic.  As Hauerwas says, Bell has “breathed new life into these debates…we are in his debt.”
 
Reborn on the Fourth of July: The Challenge of Faith, Patriotism and Conscience  Logan Mehl-Laituri (IVP) $15.00 My brief chat with Logan was one of the great pleasures of the conference for me, although pleasure might be overstating it.  You may recall my rave review of this important story in my summer list of favorite memoirs.  A serious soldier in Iraq as a forward observer/fire support specialist he had a change of conscience and applied for conscientious objector status.  After his discharge he was involved in peace-building efforts in Palestine (and involved with Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove in their “Gospel of Rutba” episodes.)  His testimony of embracing a nonviolent sort of discipleship, and a devout patriotism that calls into question hurtful nationalism, is riveting.  Regardless of your views on these volatile subjects, I highly recommend this book.  As he says, finally, it is not a book about war, it is a book about God.  Thank you, Logan, for the hard work it took to share this hard, hard stuff.
 
Alone with a Jihadist: A Biblical Response to Holy War Aaron D. Taylor (Foghorn Publishing) $18.95  Probably not too many people recognized Aaron Taylor when he was thanked from the main stage at Evangelicals for Peace.  Rick Love gave the shout out and noted that it was Aaron’s vision to do this, and his compelling plea that so touched Rick’s heart.  This is a stunning story, plainly told, and I cannot recount it all here.  The short version is that Taylor was a fundamentalist missionary, trying to convert Muslims.  We evangelicals, naturally, appreciate such missionary zeal and applaud those who risk much for the sake of the gospel.
 
Yes, but what happens if our approach is essentially hostile?  (Brian McLaren explores this in his own fascinating way in the brand new Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha  and Mohammad Cross the Road? Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World published by  Jericho; $24.95)  Well, Aaron, with the surprising help from a secular filmmaker, and seven solid hours in a room face to face with a Jihadist, came to realize that he was perhaps missing a profound love for his Islamic targets. He had to reevaluate his views of the Kingdom of God, the politics of the Middle East, the role of nationalism, and, supremely, the call of Christ to love even our enemies.  What an honest, powerful story, by one of the behind the scenes organizers of Evangelicals for Peace. Thanks be to God.
 
Just Policing, Not War: An Alternative Response to World Violence  Gerald Schlabach, editor (Michael Glazier) $27.95 Schlabach is a Mennonite pacifist who has long been engaged not only in conflict resolution studies, but it fabulous conversations with just war theorist of the Roman Catholic tradition.  Here, he offers the mutually agreed upon legitimacy of policing as a paradigm for thinking about some common ground, a different model than the conventional military one.  There are serious ideas floated here, and solid debate.  There are ten good chapters, from Anabaptists and Jesuits, Presbyterians and Catholics, both more conservative and more liberal.  Nicely dedicated to both John Paul II and John Howard Yoder.
 

Transforming Violence: Linking Local and Global Peacemaking  Edited by Robert Herr & Judy Zimmerman Herr (Herald Press) $12.99  This is another excellent, mostly  (but not exclusively) Anabaptist, collection, pulled together expertly by old friends of ours from Pittsburgh.  Noted writers from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas weigh in on both the theories of conflict resolution and on specific case studies. The late Walter Wink has a chapter here as does the German Dorothee Soelle, both ecumenical, mainline Protestants.  Roman Catholic (although now orthodox) Jim Forest pens a good piece as do others who are involved in the international Fellowship of Reconciliation.  What a fine ecumenical conversation, both on the questions of violence and how to influence the world’s hurtful systems in ways that are faithful to the nonviolent ways of Jesus. Fascinating!
 
At Peace and Unafraid: Public Order, Security, and the Wisdom of the Cross  Edited by Duane Friesen & Gerald Schlabach (Herald Press) $19.99  This includes robust (Mennonite) peace theology, dozens of case studies of conflict resolution, and ways to consider the foolishness of the gospel and the need for justice, order, freedom and security. 21 chapters, 455 pages. Excellent.
 
Getting in the Way: Stories from Christian Peacemaker Teams  edited by Tricia Gates Brown (Herald Press) $18.99 There are other books on this, but this is the one to start with — stunning, honest accounts of those who boldly, in faith and humility, entered war zones to offer a Christian presence with victims, and to with their bodies say no to war.  These are thrilling, courageous and informative telling of ordinary women and men who do some
pretty amazing ministry.  This is vivid and harrowing and unlike nearly anything you’ve read before.
 
The Early Church on Killing: A Comprehensive Sourcebook on War, Abortion, and Capitol Punishment  edited by Ronald J. Sider (Baker Academic) $27.99  Harold Attridge of Yale Divinity School notes that it is “racing to be reminded of this cloud of witnesses from the early church of the value that early Christians places on human life.”  This is a definitive study, a sourcebook including bits from Christian writers before Constantine (The Didache, First and Second Clement, Tatian, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Cyprian, Lactantius and the like.) It includes relevant passages from the Church Orders and Synods, and describes the evidences of Christian soldiers before Constantine (and their martyrdom.)  It is historical research of excellent quality with, I’d think, considerable implications.  The acknowledgements are remarkable as he drew on help from Patristic scholars and translators who studied inscriptions.   It was neat at EfP running into Rob Arner whose Consistently Pro-Life: The Ethics of Bloodshed in Ancient Christianity (Pickwick) is cited in Sider’s valuable sourcebook.  Ron’s book, by the way, Christ and Violence (Wipf & Stock; $15.00) was the first book I ever reviewed professionally — back in the ’70s when my little review appeared in Sojourners.  It is still one of my favorite books, a compelling call to Biblical nonviolence, based, largely on Romans 5.  While we were yet his enemies, Christ died for us.  I am forever grateful for Ron’s solid exegesis and Christ-centered call to radical discipleship.  And I’m glad it is still in print.  Not sure how long it will remain available, so you should order one while you can.  Very, very clear and compelling.

Beauty Given By Grace:
The Biblical Prints of Sadao Watanabe 
Square Halo Books  $29.99  On Sale for $26.99.

I don’t know if it is wise to be so candid in my first line: I don’t know much about art.   I have not traveled to the great
museums and we don’t have much good art in our own home.  We have been privileged to come to know
a few artists and have sold books at conferences and gatherings of groups such as
CIVA and IAM, so we feel close to their righteous efforts. I read a lot about the interface of Christianity and
the arts and have dabbled in studying theological aesthetics; we have more books on these topics in our
small town shop than most bookstores, I guess, and we have several big lists about Christianity and the arts at our website.  (See, here, for instance, or here or here.) 
But I am not schooled in the arts and not very experienced.

I don’t need to write much to convince the well-schooled art experts about the value of this stunning
new book featuring the brilliant work of the late Japanese print maker, Sadao Watanabe, as they already know of him and how impressive a new book about him must be.  The soon to launch
traveling exhibit which inspired this book, curated by Sandra Bowden and
sponsored by CIVA, is getting some good publicity, and the Mr. Watanabe
is, perhaps curiously, known all
over the world.  (His Bible scenes,
portrayed in traditional Japanese folk art prints, are displayed in the
Vatican, and have been in the White House; a large collection is housed at
Valiparaso University* and the World Council of Churches commissioned pieces
for their headquarters.  Many of the world’s finest museums show is work.  His art
has graced book covers and his calendars are in homes wherever Japanese people
have immigrated.)

*For those in the mid-West, the Brauer Museum of Art at Valiparaso University is also hosting this Fall an exhibit of their own large collection of Watanabe works.)

I am more interested,
however, in promoting this good book among those who may be unsure if it is a necessary purchase for them (given the long wish-lists and short budgets so many of us have.)  I’m eager to help persuade people who are…well, people like me, who are not terribly
well-schooled in the arts, to see the immeasurable value of this wonderful book,
and to invite you to celebrate (and assist) the publisher Square Halo Books in getting
this work to a broader audience.

It is, I want to announce, one of the great (if under the best-seller radar) publishing events of the year. 
That I sat outdoors at a nearby cafe and, embarrassed, quickly wiped
tears from my cheeks as I read, is some indication of my profound gratitude that a book
like this exists, and that we are privileged to sell it.  I hope you can share my joy in honoring this faithful
Christian culture-maker, the story and work of a man who came to Christian faith amidst the ugliness of
World War II and the grim post-war years.  He was baptized at age 17 after considerable investigation and internal struggle, and, once committed to Christ, offered his
talents and gifts to God for the next 60+ years.  

The book title itself is rich with meaning, beyond the obvious. Beauty Given By Grace is a line from one of Wantanabe’s early teachers, an intellectual mentor to a movement of Japanese print makers who founded an influential arts journal, uniting Buddhist principles of art, but often citing the West’s best spiritual traditions, the likes of Thomas Aquinas or even William Blake.   It was this “people’s philosopher,” Soetsu Yanagi, who wanted to recover “beauty in common things” and who called Wantanabe to a deep
humility and spiritual sensitivity, away from fame or the industrial/production
workshop methods.

This 111-page,  9″ x 12″ book is mostly a collection of brightly colored, intriguing,
allusive

curious, (even funny, at
times) Bible pictures.  As a
coffee-table type art book, it excels—great printing, glossy paper, expertly
designed and arranged with color on every page! It will be a lovely addition to your end-table stack (and as I suggested last year with the fabulous Art That Tells a Story compiled by Chris Brewer) it will surely be a fruitful conversation starter for guests in your home or office.  Yet, it is more than an intriguing, handsome, art book, as there are four
well-written, informative, inspiring essays scattered throughout the book. 

The artwork, as we’ve
said, mostly portrays Bible episodes, and the designers helpfully chose to arrange
the prints not chronologically (not showcasing the artist’s oeuvre as it grew over the more than
half a century he worked) but rather corresponding to the Biblical chronology, showing artworks illuminating passages from
Genesis to Revelation.  A few
pieces were purchased specifically to fill in a few vacancies in their
collection, assuring attendees at the show and readers of the book a truly helpful visual
Bible, with over 50 artworks, and their corresponding Bible texts, capturing the unfolding drama of promise and deliverance, from creation to new creation.

Families could use this, I’d think, in creative family devotions.  Some
readers might find it helpful in their prayerful lectio divina practices;  resourceful church
educators will find it invaluable. 
If it included only these colorful, playful, moving, depictions of Bible
stories, it would be well worth the reasonable cost–we need good and creative
art to help us see things anew, and who among us doesn’t need some
right-brained help in hearing God as we see His Word?  But there is more here, much more.  There is plenty for devout art lovers, certainly, but I think especially for us who
don’t know much about the details of the international art world.  This book will expand your horizon and, as C.S. Lewis put it, “baptize your imagination.”

The four essays in Beauty
Given By Grace are excellent, informative and inspiring. What joy to get an
inside glimpse into the life of a quiet Christian artist and those who collect
and promote his work.   Included
first is a fabulous introduction to the traveling CIVA Exhibition project told with insight and
enthusiasm by Sandra Bowden (who has one of the finest collections of
Biblically-informed art in North America. 
She has been a leader in CIVA, a trustee of the MOBiA, the Museum of
Biblical Art, and a generous supporter of many of the best recent initiatives for
faith-based creatives.) Bowden tells fascinating stories of Watanabe’s work,
compares him with the French Catholic painter George Rouault, and tells us
about Wantanabe’s only private student. She mentions his large Last Supper piece,
found in a church in Schenectady, and, later, takes us to the massive (and
only) stained glass installation done by Watanabe, a part of the sanctuary of
Westminster Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The 1987 stained
glass work, more than 12 feet long, is called The Covenant Window and was
fabricated by Willet Hauser Architectural Glass, Inc. of Philadelphia.

This opening chapter is so very
interesting and informative, one cannot be feel graced, knowing that there are
people like Ms Bowden who offers pieces from her own collection, and gets things like this done.  She initiates and networks, promotes and shares, teaches and tells
of the many good things that art and artists can do and that back-story itself should energize us.  I have read this chapter more than once and am moved, made
glad, and feel a bit better for knowing about her curating and promoting of this
humble Japanese Bible artist. 

Why? 

Maybe it is this: we hear about so much bad stuff done in the name of Christ — religious
work that is manipulative, Christian art that is bad, political efforts that are contentious, preachers that are creepy,  authors that are crude.  And in my own life I discern shallowness and boredom and
despair (it is easy to point the finger at religious knuckleheads, but my own heart and lifestyle, well….you know.)  So I rejoice in the decent hope
that this book represents, the legacy left to us by the likes of Sadao, the efforts of Ms
Bowden, the organizational witness of CIVA, the publishing projects of Square
Halo, all witnesses of beauty truly given by God’s great grace.  May it please Him that this book be
bought and used, shared and discussed, that we all might resist the worst of
our religion, and enhance the best of it. 
Yes, that is it: this book and all it stands for gives me hope!  I believe it is hope you may need, too. Am I
right?

Well, these four chapters are
good, even if they aren’t trying to be spectacular — they examine and point to the artist and his work, after all.  But they are good.

There is a deeply
poignant piece by the contemporary Japanese-American artist (whose work is, in
fact, grounded in another traditional Japanese style of painting) Makoto
Fujimura.  How touching to hear
Mako tell of his own boyhood studies in Japan, his return there as a graduate
student to study art and begin his career,  his involvement in a campus para-church fellowship group, and
his own struggle to find his own artistic voice, wanting to honor his ethnic and cultural background and his own new-found evangelical faith.  His chapter is entitled “My Journey With an Artist I Never
Met” and is a tender, honest piece for artists or fans.  Or any of us, really: we all must walk
that road, don’t we, journeying alongside heroes and mentors—some whom we’ve never actually met—grounded in our
place and ethnicity, and yet wanting the gospel to seep through in beauty and
truth as we take up our vocations in the world. Fujimura’s chapter is an example
of the kind of thoughtful and faithful memoir that sounds a bit like testimony. 

The longest and most
substantial essay is written by John A. Kohan.  Kohan is perhaps the world’s leading scholar on Sadao
Watanabe and his chapter serves to tell us more about Watanabe’s background,
conversion, his interesting and circuitous route in finding tools and mediums that
allowed him to bring Biblical insight and narratives naturally to his countryman. 

Interestingly, and importantly, in a
story that speaks volumes, it is told that Watanabe went into a Christian
bookstore in Japan shortly after his conversion.  The book-covers, he noted, were often poorly designed, or
had exclusively Western art.  He
had a passion to find ways to show forth the gospel and capture the energy,
emotion, and sensibilities of Asian culture.  Without having the serious missiological vocabulary, the young Japanese artist understood incarnation and
contextualization.  (A 1980 print,
one of the few that are not Bible scenes, is called The Padres Are Coming and
shows the ambiguities of Western religious colonization.)

Kohan obviously cares for
Watanabe and explains his body of work well, by telling us about his
marriage, his studies, his artistic teacher and mentors, a bit about how he
created these stunning prints. The process, which you will enjoy learning about,
is related to katazome, the ancient ways Okinawan artisans created print blocks
for cloth, especially for kimonos. Watanabe was, in this sense, a folk artist,
developing skills in an age-old trade, developing his craft, and allowing fresh
winds of creative grace to blow through his innovations in the use of paint and
color on the kappazuri prints.  All
natural methods were used, of course, including using paper made from the fibrous bark of the paper mulberry tree grown by farmers in northern Japan.  Read this amazing description.  Persimmon tannin??

 His shibugami (stencil paper) consisted
of three-ply sheets of kozo paper, hardened with persimmon tannin, then dried
and cured in a smokehouse, which gave it a brown coloring. The small-format
prints were made on plain mulberry paper known simply as washi.  Watanabe preferred the textured look of
momigami (wrinkled paper) for his folio-sized stencil art.  Momigami is a type of paper once used
for lining clothes, coated on both sides in konyaku (devil’s tongue root), a
gelatinous ingredient in Japanese cooking, which gives the paper strength and
flexibility.  The treated sheets
are kneaded, crumpled, rolled, and stretched to create a creased, textured
surface.  Wantanabe hand-painted
his momigami sheets before applying the stencil patterns, using solid colors
with occasional variegated lines.

Kohan tells us a lot
about the artistic vision and meaning of Watanabe’s work, (and explains why
James Michener’s explanation of the meaning of a 1960 piece, Listening, is
surely wrong) but these details about the doing of the craft are equally fabulous to read.  I found his telling utterly
absorbing, creating a real appreciation for the dedication of artists who do
these kinds of things–curing paper in a smokehouse!—with such patience and integrity, slowly getting the
whole process right, working hard with hidden treasures buried within God’s creation.  One story
tells how Watanabe had to learn how the natural color pigments were (or were
not) absorbed by the handmade paper. 
We learn about the protein in the milky binder his wife Harue prepared
from soybean dripping and how it helped fix the color to the paper.  And the ingredients!

 Black was made from pure carbon and
white from crushed seashells.  Red
came from the pulverized bodies of the female cochineal, a cactus-feeding
insect, and blue came from the leaves of the indigo plant.  Wantanabe’s favorite color was king’s
yellow, made from the mineral orpiment, containing arsenic trisulfide.  This beautiful but poisonous pigment
has proved the least stable of Watanabe’s natural colors; older momigami prints
with yellow backgrounds often show signs of fading.

Perhaps most interesting
to some theologically-minded readers will be the chapter written by I. John
Hesselink, emeritus professor of Systematic Theology at Western Theological
Seminary in Holland, Michigan (where he served as President from 1973 to
1985.)  Hesselink studied under
Karl Barth in Basel, and discerned a call to teach Reformed theology in Japan.  He and his wife moved there as missionaries for the Reformed Church of America (RCA)
in 1953 where they studied the language, until they returned to Switzerland to complete his PhD studies.  They then moved back to Japan in
1961.  Providentially, while
getting a Japanese wood block print framed near his home in Tokyo, Hesselink overheard the non-English
speaking framer/gallery owner struggling to serve a US customer;
after offering his informal translation help, the frame shop/gallery owner
“hired” Hesselink to translate for showings and lectures at his shop, paying
him in art pieces.  So began Hesselink’s immersion in the
Japanese art world and, soon, a life-long friendship with the up-and-coming
young Christian artist whose Bible scenes were so very striking. 

(Included in the book, by
the way, is a rare piece that Watanabe was commissioned to do in his unique
style—a portrait of John Calvin! 
Hesselink was part of a commission doing translation work, painstakingly
translating Calvin’s writings into Japanese, and Watanabe’s portrait graced their
offices.)

Hesselink tells wonderful
stories about the workspace in Watanabe’s home, and his partnership with his
wife and children.  “It is
amazing,” he writes, “that he could be so effective and productive, given the
crowded conditions in which he and his wife worked. I don’t think they ever took
a vacation.  Except for Sunday
when they went to church, they spent all their time fulfilling their calling:
making prints that could serve as a witness to the gospel.”

As I
got to know Watanabe better, I would occasionally suggest biblical subjects to
him that he had not yet covered.  He
respected me as a theological professor, but I don’t think he ever followed my
suggestions in his artwork.  He
knew the Bible very well and was not about to let anyone tell him what biblical
scenes his art should portray. 
His quiet self-confidence in what he was doing, however, was not a sign
of arrogance – he was one of the most humble men I have ever known – but was
born of the conviction that he was an instrument of God and that whatever he
was able to accomplish was through the grace of God.

All four authors note
that although Mr. Watanabe’s work is esteemed — known world-wide, collected and
studied in the prestigious art world, Sadao and his wife (and, eventually, his
son, Tatsuo) were committed to these works being widely seen by common people; he was a
folk arts/craftsman and an evangelist or sorts, wanting Bible stories to be known in ways
that Japanese folk could appreciate. 
This lead him to make his work available as popular pieces, calendars,
even Christmas cards.   As the great artist himself put it, “I don’t want my works simply
decorating churches.  I would most
like to see them hanging where ordinary people gather, because Jesus brought
the gospel for the people.” 

The gospel for the people.  May
this book, lovingly produced by Ned Bustard of Square Halo, be used for this
very purpose.  The gospel for the
people, indeed. Thanks be to God.

It dawns on me that some who browse this BookNotes blog may not realize that we recently posted a huge bibliography over at the monthly column part of our website.  There was a Labor Day reflection, sharing (again) why we sell books about calling and vocation, work and careers, and why these resources are urgent and valuable, for church groups and for individuals.  The list is pretty ecumenical, something for everyone. 

They are mostly listed in four categories:

-books about the Biblical and theological vision of calling

-books about the theology and structures of work

-books that are more practical about daily issues at work

-books about discerning God’s call into a particular vocation or career

Here is some of what I wrote there as an intro to that big list.

Having a few of these suggested titles in your church library (on on
your own shelf if you mentor college students or professionals) is a
good witness; essential tools for your own toolkit.  Helping people
learn about these life changing books will bless them and bless you as
you encourage them.  Maybe you can step up to be a bit of an informal
mentor, inviting a couple of thoughtful folks to read about vocation and
calling, careers and work, and see how it goes. You’ll love doing that,
I bet.  And God’s Kingdom will be advanced.

If you are a pastor
or work with collegiates, dare I say that not having some of these kinds
of books around is nearly ministry malpractice?  Yes, I dare, because I
believe it.  Unless you are in children’s ministry or are a chaplain at
an retirement home, if you are a pastor and you haven’t read these
kinds of books and haven’t shared a few with anybody in your circles of
influence, I believe you are not doing your job.  There isn’t much shame
in that, mind you; most clergy aren’t taught this in their seminary
training.  But you are invited here and now to remedy this.  Get on this
train, as it’s on the move.  Not a few analysts predict that this will
continue to be a vital aspect of ministry in the next decades.
 
Younger
Christians, especially, long to see their faith integrated into their
deepest passions, using their gifts in meaningful employment and to have
their local church help them with this.  It may be a deal-breaker or a
game-changer for some. In fact, the important research on why
20-somethings are leaving your church presented in You Lost Me
by David Kinnaman (Baker; $17.99) indicates that this is exactly one of
the reasons.  Additionally, consider the good chapter “Called, Not
Employed” in The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons (Multnomah;
$14.99) if you don’t believe me that this is a passion of some of the
folks who now feel excluded from your congregation.  Or come to Jubilee
2013 this February in Pittsburgh and see for yourself as 2000+ college
students show their enthusiasm for taking up their vocations and
callings corem deo, Soli Deo Gloria. Yep, they talk like that there.  At least if I have anything to do with it.  Ha!

So.
Pray for us as we try to sell these sorts of books, please.  We long to
have conversations about these very things. We have inventory here,
waiting to be utilized, dispatched to places where, we believe, there
are leaders who need an easy way to start some conversations and cast
some vision.  We know that you resonate with this aspect of our
bookstore work, and trust you see yourself as part of this story.

SEE THE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON VOCATION, CALLING & WORK, HERE.

By the way, just to show you that new stuff keeps coming out on this, we just yesterday got in a new book that carries a bunch of vibrant endorsements and looks useful and fun.  Dave Ramsey says of Wisdom Meets Passion “A solid, comprehensive plan for attacking your life and career goals.”  It looks great.

Wisdom Meets Passion: When Generations Collide and Collaborate by Dan Miller & Jared Angaza (Nelson; $16.99) is refreshing, upbeat, and offers a good approach to discerning a call, seeking new life and career objectives.  I wish it had been on my desk when I was compiling the September Labor Day column–I would have listed it.

Dan Miller is known to some for his 48 Days project, helping folks increase their job satisfaction and find greater success and his down-to-business books like 48 Days to the Work You Love and No More Dreaded Mondays. We’ve stocked them for years. 

Jared is his edgy young son, a branding consultant, philanthropist, and blogger. He founded KEZA, an ethical fashion company and works on contemporary issues (in Africa, on gender equality…)  They’ve brought their different generational styles and social visions together here in a perfect combo.  Bob Goff has a blurb on the back and notes that after reading it and taking in its help in releasing our own unique wisdom a passion, “you might be surprised by what you end up doing.”  If Goff might be surprised, well, hold on…

I don’t think you, or the people you influence, want to live in mediocrity.  Even in this tricky economy, God may be inspiring some of us to new entrepreneurial projects or ways to find more meaningful work. There are ways to draw on solid thinking and great vision, living inspired by both our wisdom and passion. 

As creative novelist and motivational speaker Andy Andrews puts it, Wisdom Meets Passion “is the book you’ve been waiting for!  Dan and Jared have created a treasure map just for you.  Read and be amazed as they peel back the mystery of tapping into the wisdom and passion that you and I have overlooked for so long.” 

Is this just motivational hoopla?  Just a whole lotta pizzazz?  Yeah, I worry about that, too.  But as I skim the cool design and layout, I want to give it a try.  And when I look at the pull quotes and the footnotes, I realize they’ve done good work creating an upbeat guide that isn’t about formulas, but not just “follow your bliss” either. They help us set life goals and discern a call in ways that integrates thoughtfulness and emotional intelligence, that brings together principles and passion, conventional motivational styles and more postmodern, youthful energies.  They draw on solid sources like Os Guinness and Dan Allander, use interesting citations from everybody from Eleanor Roosevelt to Richard Rohr to Frederick Buechner, remind us of scenes from popular films (from the requisite Braveheart to Dumb and Dumber.)  They tell stories of Proust and they talk about Bono and give links to great TED talks.  My, my, this is going to be interesting.

Like the others on the big bibliography over at the September monthly column, we are offering this at the BookNotes 20% discount.  Order it at our website or give us a call.  Thanks!