We hope you saw our last BookNotes newsletter, with almost 50 books on a clearance sale dealio. In my annotations I tried to not only describe these (sometimes lesser known books) but explain how they fit into our big book display at the Jubilee Conference in Pittsburgh last week. I didn’t go on and on about the all-of-life-redeemed vision of CCO and their effort to help students connect faith and the collegiate experience (including “learning for the love of God” and “academic discipleship”) by offering them a visions of vocation — integrating faith and the story of redemption as it informs their future callings and careers — but I could have. I mostly just listed those great titles, all on sale. That buy two get one free offer for you is still good until the end of the month, so don’t delay. There’s good stuff there, for sure. And a couple of helpful links of previous essays of mine to remind you of why we think this event is so, so important.
But, alas, in the run up to that demanding event, we only got one previous Lenten posts in (where we described Chris Rodkey’s Coloring Lent, here.) Today we list a few news ones, published in 2017 and a couple of older classics about which we wanted to remind you. We hope there is something here that will help you in you and your faith community’s journey towards Jerusalem, the place of Jesus’s final confrontation with the worst the principalities and powers could throw at Him. This is a rich season of the liturgical calendar, and these books, surely, can help. May this Lenten journey bring peace to your hurting soul, if necessary, or break your heart for the needs of the world, if that needs to happen for you. Not unlike Advent, it is a vital time of waiting, pondering, doing some serious soul-searching. Let’s stay in touch, if we can help you with resources you may need…
Many places in the country get two or three day deliver with US mail, which is cheaper than UPS, and sometimes quicker. Why not place your order right away, in time for this first week of Lent 2017?
Please feel free to use our secure order form page, by tapping the link below. Or send us an email or give us an old school phone call. We’re at your service, and will respond with a personal reply to confirm everything.
Preparing for Easter: FIfty Devotional Readings from C.S. Lewis C.S. Lewis (HarperOne) $17.99 My goodness, I could hardly believe it that no one had thought of compiling a book like this before: truly, this is almost like a brand new Lewis book. It deftly puts together fifty excerpts of great Lewis reflections, each germane in its own way, to our own journey towards the cross and the vindicating victory of Easter. Senior Vice President and Executive Editor of HarperOne Michael Maudlin has a very nice introduction that I’ve already read twice. This book is the embodiment of a splendid idea, a handsome, compact volume, offering seven readings a week for seven weeks (and an extra for Easter Day.) Excerpts are from an array of sources, of course from Mere Christianity and The Weight of Glory and Screwtape Letters and God in the Dock but also from some of the Narnia books, the science fiction “Space” trilogy, from his personal letters, from his own Bible studies (such as Reflections on the Psalms) and even a few poems. Lewis, you know, called the resurrection the “grand miracle.” Enjoy reading all about it in this lovely, lovely, new volume.
Wind in the Wilderness: A Lenten Study from the Prophets DJ del Rosario (Abingdon Press) $12.99 Each year the United Methodist publisher, Abingdon Press, does two 7 week Lenten Bible study guides for small group or Sunday school class use. One is always themed (while the other is a study book for the given Lectionary texts for Lent.) This one is the themed one this year drawing on the prophets and what it means to live into God’s vision of justice. DJ del Rosario is an energetic pastor of a UMC in the Pacific Northwest and works with a project he founded that resources those who work with young adults called Spark12.
Lent 2017 Christ Is For Us: A Lenten Study Based on the Revised Common Lectionary April Yamasaki (Abingdon Press) $12.99 Just like they do at Advent, Abingdon releases not only a themed Bible study guide but a small group resource allowing classes or groups to reflect on the Sunday lectionary texts for the upcoming Lenten season. Yamasaki is the pastor of Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and has written good stuff on creativity (Spark) and one called Sacred Pause, on spiritual formation and personal renewal. Here she offers 7 studies on the upcoming Lectionary texts, offering a few pages of insight, side bars, background, and good discussion questions about how to live in this season which focuses on Christ’s commitment to us, in His grace. Very nicely done.
On the Road to the Cross: Experience Easter With Those Who Were There Rob Burkhart (Abingdon) $16.99 This is not only a useful study of the (shall we say) minor characters who witnessed Christ’s last week (and there are a lot of them — from Simon the Leper to Malchus, from Nicodemus to Simon of Cyrene, to Mary Magdalene, of course) but offers us a creative way to enter into the story: before each set of meditations there is a fiction-like dramatization of the encounter being explored, each offering their own unique perspective. Anybody who appreciates the art of “Biblical storytelling” or creative writing will enjoy this.
There are eight chapters, offering six readings within each, so it can be read one-a-day for 48 days. There is a lot here, not too heavy, but often quite poignant and inspirational. This author is a respected United Methodist clergyperson and church renewal leader.
A Way Other Than Our Own: Devotions for Lent Walter Brueggemann (WJK) $13.00 “We begin our Lenten journey,” Brueggemann reminds us, “addressed by the remarkable assurance that the God who summons us is the God who goes along with us.” If Lent recalls times of wilderness and wandering (from newly freed Hebrew slaves in exile to Jesus’ temptation in the desert) this book will help us explore our journey into uncomfortable places revealing paths we ourselves might not have chosen. And leave it to Walt to help evoke within us a fresh imagination of what that may entail.
With readings on this Kingdom path — short devotionals on humility and justice and peace-making and more — Walt brings his characteristically intense prose that calls forth new images, new imaginations, which help us see Lent as an alternative way of life, alternative to the conventional empire and the pracitices of the American Dream. There is a moving prayer at the end of each entry. This is moving, Biblical, poetic, prophetic…. if you’ve not read Brueggemann, this is a good way into his work. Very highly recommended.
The Good of Giving Up: Discovering the Freedom of Lent Aaron Damiani (Moody Press) $12.66 Although this seems to be designed for those who are not used to the customers of practicing Lent, or who may even be suspicious of such practices, it is ideal not just for beginners but for anyone; I think it is a fantastic read. The author is the lead pastor of Immanuel Anglican Church in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood (and has degrees from Moody Bible Institute and the evangelically-minded Wheaton College.) I love the silk-screened hands on the cover, the hint of purple ink on many pages, the lovely feel of this good paperback. But the big picture it offers — a “mercifully short” history of Lent, some of the basic reasons for honoring this season of the church calendar, some replies to some objections to the traditions — really does provide a “case for Lent” which will be inspiring for us all.
After that introductory sort of stuff (that, again, is good for all of us, no matter how liturgically minded our tradition), Damiani carefully explores “the path of Lent.” Following this central part of the book, there are some wise and exceedingly helpful chapters on how to experience Lent with families and children and how to lead congregations through Lent (written, obviously, for pastors or church leaders.) What a fine, fine book, with endorsements from the likes of Ruth Haley Barton, Bryan Lifton, A.J. Swoboda and other good writers. Good job, Moody Press!
To the Cross: Proclaiming the Gospel from the Upper Room to Calvary Christopher J.H. Wright (IVP) $16.00 Wright is an Old Testament scholar, author of numerous expert books on the unfolding drama of the Old Testament story (The Mission of God and Old Testament Ethics for the People of God are both nothing short of magisterial.) He’s a name you should know.
Now director of the Langham Partnership (and author of another brand new book called Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit), not to mention a brand new book on Daniel) Wright brings in this new one his global concerns and his passion for wholistic mission to the final days of Jesus. He reads the last leg of Jesus’ journey through an Old Testament lens. Although these expositions (on five key texts) are good for either personal study or small group use, there is a good appendix offering wise guidance to preachers using these passages offering insight on sermon preparation. I think this looks very useful, solid stuff, very nicely done.
The Sign and the Sacrifice: The Meaning of the Cross and Resurrection Rowan Williams (WJK) $15.00 There is little doubt that the former Archbishop of Canterbury is one of the most fertile and widely respected minds within the global church; many in various quarters of the worldwide Body of Christ read his books eagerly. In recent years Williams (now a Master at Magdalene College in Cambridge) has done exceptionally weighty volumes on political philosophy and on linguistics and two lovely, brief books published by Eerdmans, one on becoming a Christian and another on being a disciple. Here in The Sign and the Sacrifice Rowan Williams brings his deep thoughtfulness and broad learning to bear in what is a fresh look at the very heart of the gospel.
Sister Wendy Beckett (the art critic) says it is “wonderful” and “life-changing” and Yale Divinity School’s Miroslav Volf says it is “theology at its very best, and easily accessible too.” One reviewer exclaimed the mystery of how Williams can be “both poetic and straightforward” combining eloquence and clarity. I am very eager to read this, and I know many of our BookNotes friends will be too. There are three short chapters on the meaning of the crucifixion and two and a half on the meaning of the resurrection. Just over 100 pages. Order it today.
According to Your Mercy: Praying with the Psalms from Ash Wednesday to Easter Martin Shannon (Paraclete) $14.99 Father Shannon is an Episcopal priest who lives with the Community of Jesus on Cape Cod (home to Paraclete Press.) He holds a PhD in Liturgical Studies from the Catholic University of America and has written the lovely little book All God’s Angels. Don’t let the flowery cover fool you, this is not fluff.
I am teaching an adult ed class at my own PC(USA) church starting in Lent on the Psalms so am very eager to dive into this soon. The popular Catholic writer Bert Ghezzi gives a great review on the back, as does IVP’s legendary editor and small group Bible study writer, Bob Fryling (who calls it “a beautiful spiritual book…” which causes the Psalms to “sparkle.”) If Bob Fryling says it is “a wonderful devotional guide for Lent” I’d believe him. This really does look like a book that is more than lovely, but is substantive and rich.
Coloring Lent: An Adult Coloring Book for the Journey to Resurrection by Christopher D. Rodkey & Jesse & Natalie Turri (Chalice Press) $12.99 Well, I hope you saw our long review of this in a previous BookNotes a few weeks ago. The text of this thoughtful devotional guide and adult coloring book is written by our friend and neighbor here in Dallastown, Chris Rodkey, a progressive UCC pastor who serves his church and our town well. This is such a rich and interesting concept — an ecumenical, adult coloring book that follows the key texts of the Revised Common Lectionary for Lent — that we are happy to promote it. In fact, Chris will lead us through a couple of these devotionals, telling us a bit about the interpretation he brings to the text and the Story at a coloring book party here at the shop (on March 21st — stay tuned!) You can read my longer review of this here.
God Is on the Cross Reflections on Lent and Easter Dietrich Bonhoeffer (WJK) $14.00 Perhaps you have read (as many have) the compilation of Bonhoeffer excerpts, letters, prayers, and readings, turned into a powerful Advent devotional called God Is in the Manger.
Well this, obviously, is the Lenten counterpart to that small book and it is full of powerful wisdom, provocative insights, exquisite challenges about the cost of discipleship, the way of the Cross, and the good grace of our surprising God. What a privilege to read pieces from this 20th century martyrs Easter messages!
Grounded: Finding God in the World — A Spiritual Revolution Diana Butler Bass (HarperOne) $14.99 I’ve read this wonderfully written book twice, and parts even more often. I reviewed it (mostly) favorably when it came out in paperback (and I was honored to see a line lifted from my BookNotes column enhancing the pages of blurbs on the new paperback version that just came out.) I do not agree with everything Diana says, here, and wish she’d have given orthodox, historic evangelicalism a bit better spin, although much of her critique is not only valid, but vital.
Anyway, this newly released paperback is just in time as it includes a 40 Day Lenten Study guide in the back including prayers and devotional resources. This makes it useful for personal use and certainly for book clubs or adult ed forums (anytime, actually — it’s a good study guide — but especially for Lent.) Reading a page-a-day devotional guide not your cup of tea? This challenge to explore a progressive faith which is down-to-Earth (“grounded”) faith that is transforming the nature of the church and its ministry — so that it might be a salt and light and leaven sort of presence in the world that already bears the redemptive marks of a gracious, Creator-God — would make a provocative study, especially during this time of year. What is faith for? Why did Jesus die? What is the resurrection about? What is eternal life? Diana re-imagines these questions and more in light of her deep and beautiful appreciation of “original blessing” and the placed realness of God’s work in the world. You really have to listen to a book that starts with a Wendell Berry poem and is arranged in two major units called “Natural Habitat” (including chapters called Dirt, Water, and Sky) and “Human Geography” (with chapters on things like Roots and Home and Neighborhood and “Commons”.) This won the Religion News Association’s Book Award last year, and we’re glad for this nice paperback. And the thoughtful resource in the back, making it a good choice for those who want a book to read for Lent that isn’t about Lent as such. Like everything, we read any new approach with discernment and generosity, and I am sure this would be great for many of our readers to ponder well.
HERE ARE JUST A FEW FAVORITES FROM OTHER YEARS THAT ARE REGULAR BEST-SELLERS FOR US. WE HOPE YOU KNOW ABOUT THEM.
Between Midnight and Dawn compiled by Sarah Arthur (Paraclete) $18.99 We know many BookNotes readers have ordered Sarah Arthur’s similar prayer guides using good literature (the one for Advent was called Light Upon Light and the one for Ordinary Time is called At the Still Point.) This is ideal for the liturgical seasons of Lent, Holy Week and Eastertide, joined by a company of poets and novelists from across the centuries. Kathleen Norris calls is a “delight… so extraordinary a collection” and the late Phyllis Tickles called it “a thing of beauty.” By the way, Sarah Arthur is getting all sort of attention (as in our last BookNotes newsletter) for her recently released co-authored memoir cum guide to radical Christian discipleship called A Year of Small Things: Radical Faith for the Rest of Us.)
This is a hard book to describe, but I hope it is a big seller this season, a book that can have a huge impact as we learn to give up not the standard stuff like chocolate or designer coffee or facebook, but, rather, stuff like apathy and injustice, resentment and hypocrisy and such. All of the love of God.
Yes, this is a zippy evangelical author (with a degree from George Fox Seminary) and there is a blurb on the back from the even more zippy Hillsong worship Leader Darlene Zschech (who, by the way, says it is “intuitive, prophetic, and profoundly inspiring, calling forth a revolution of soul health”) but also from Reverend Dr. Otis Moss (of the large and famously radical African American congregation, Trinity UCC in Chicago) and from the intellectual, Reformed apologist Ken Boa and the poetic singer-songwriter Sara Groves and the edgy social worker /contemplative, Nathan Foster. In other words, this book — which draws on Russian Orthodox theologian and beloved leader Thomas Hopko, Alexander Schmemann, and Thomas Merton, and quotes historical scholars like Martin Hengel and the ancients like Philo — has a pretty wide following.
40 Days of Decrease invites us to work out this stuff, day by day, with forty good chapters, each day letting go of those things that rob us of meaning and deep spirituality. This helps us move into a time of holy decrease — “holy when its destination is love. We thin our lives,” she says, “to thicken our communion with God.’ What a line, eh? This is a very good, and very nicely arranged book, designed to help.
Reliving the Passion: Meditations on the Suffering, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus as Recorded in Mark Walter Wangerin, Jr (Zondervan) $14.99 I love hand-sized, compact hardbacks and so appreciate the fine, fine writing in this lovely little book. I suppose you know Wangerin who has garnered award after award for his fantasy novels, his memoirs, his Biblical work, his children’s books and more. As a poet and preacher and, formerly, at least, an inner city pastor, this passionate Lutheran leader reminds us through Scripture and storytelling that “we crucify and we are crucified, are condemned and redeemed.” Eugene Peterson, who says he is one of the “master storytellers of our generation” insists that Wangerin “is at his best, writing on and around the Master Story.” This isn’t new and we’ve described it other years here in BookNotes, but wanted to remind you of it again. Not to be missed.
Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter (Plough Publishing) $24.00 This handsome hardback has brief readings from some of the world’s leading literary and spiritual writers, offering just enough meaty and aesthetically rich writing to please and challenge anyone who wants to dip in to a more mature sourcebook. Bread and Wine (like its companion Advent volume, Watch for the Light) draws wonder-full excerpts from C.S. Lewis, Augustine, Phil Yancey, Jane Kenyon; from Frederick Buechner, Dorothy Day, Wendell Berry, Watchman Nee. As you can see, this is really diverse, delightful, thoughtful. A wonderful devotional that you will keep for a lifetime, with each several- page excerpt linked to a brief Biblical text, this is a true gift from the tremendous thinkers and publishers at Plough Publishing.
Reflecting the Glory: Meditation for Living Christ’s Life in the World N.T. Wright (Augsburg) $14.99 Although we’ve fretted about the small print, this is just brilliant, with N.T. Wright doing his exceptional New Testament reflections here on New Testament themes (much from Galatians, actually, and more, for Lent.) Solid and stimulating Biblical mediations, one for each day some have said this is the richest Biblical devotional they’ve ever read…
By the way, we have a lesser known book of Wright’s, a small collection of sermons Tom preached in a depressed coal mining town in the UK where there had been a fateful disaster and ongoing injustice, a powerful little book called Christians at the Cross. (In England it was released as The Cross and the Colliery.) It is interesting to see how these sermons bring hope and comfort and a call to address evil, inviting those with faith to realize the scope of God’s work and to make a difference in the world. It is a book we routinely try to sell here at the shop.
Devotions for Lent from the Mosaic Bible (Tyndale) $2.99 This is a very handsome, pocket sized booklet that has forty short readings, will full color art on creamy paper, with some Latin text, Celtic cross illumination, quotes from ancient saints, and liturgical prayers. The print is very small (but you will still appreciate the nicely crafted fonts and page design, tiny as it is.) We have promoted the wonderful Mosaic Bible which is an “ancient future” sort of product, in the contemporary New Living Translation, that has sacred art, iconography of sorts, and a prayerful, artful feel. This little pocket book is drawn from readings and devotions and prayers from that Bible edition. A treasure to carry around for praying throughout the day, to take to work or school, or to give away prodigally. Kudos to Tyndale for this unique offering.
God For Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter Reader’s Edition edited by Greg Pennoyer & Gregory Wolfe (Paraclete) $18.99 This was once, like its companion Advent book called God With Us, available in a handsome hardback laden with full color art produced on glossy paper. It was expensive and is now out of print. We sadly do not have any of those any more.
However, we are pleased to remind you, as we did last year, that there is now a nice paperback called the “Reader’s Edition” that has no artwork but is offered in an affordable, well-designed paperback.
Here is an edited version of what we wrote last year this time:
In December of last year we did a review of the wonderful Advent book God With Us. We have raved each year about the very handsome, artful, mature volume, and said one of the important things about it was that it “emerged from the mature writing in the pages of our best literary journal, Image, a sophisticated, faith-based quarterly of literature and art and criticism; Pennoyer & Wolfe are extraordinary thinkers and writers themselves, and have put together what is without a doubt one of the most glorious books you could own. (Except, perhaps for the long-awaiting, luxurious sequel, God For Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter…”
Well, it is now Lent and we simply must remind you of this volume, the Lenten sequel to God With Us, called God For Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter with its very good writers offering what may be one of the most thoughtful, ecumenical devotional books for Lent and Easter of which we know.
The introduction to this book is by the respected Catholic writer about spiritual formation, Rev. Ronald Rolheiser (author of the exceptionally good Holy Longing and more recent Sacred Fire.) One could hardly ask for a better preamble to this season, and I suspect it will be read and re-read often through weeks ahead. I actually enjoyed quite a bit the next essay by Beth Bevis (“The Feasts and Fasts of Lent”) which is very helpful for those less familiar with the historic spiritual rhymes of this time of the church year.
Each of the following weeks offers short daily meditations by one author. The first week’s worth of meditations and prayers are by the popular activist Richard Rohr. The great writer (and now Episcopal priest) Lauren Lauren Winner offers the next week’s reflections, followed by a week’s worth of meditations by the Orthodox poet Scott Cairns. Next we read the work of the Dordt College prof, novelist and short story author James Schaap. The entries for the fifth Week of Lent are by the beloved poet Luci Shaw. The remarkable Holy Week reflections are by none other than Kathleen Norris, author of so many moving memoirs about her own faith journey, including her time as a Protestant living among cloister nuns.
An additional feature includes very nice short pieces on the history of various customs and Feast Days within the time of Lent. Beth Bevis offers more than a dozen of these extra one page ruminations that are delightful and inspiring, perhaps especially for those of us not accustomed to thinking much about Shrove Tuesday, the Annunciation, Maundy Thursday or Holy Saturday.
Like the Advent one, God With Us brings to us some of the finest writers of our time, ecumenical, clear, artful. We are very grateful for Image and Paraclete Press for this fine release.
As I noted in our announcement of the book’s release last year in BookNotes, “they insist that Lent is not “a time of vaguely spiritualized gloominess” and who better to help us realize the “bright sadness” of Lent than good poets and deep thinkers and those gifted with artful skills of offering rich and evocative meditations on the Bible?
What an absolutely great gathering of perspectives, from an a Orthodox poet to a Presbyterian contemplative, Catholic mystics, an Episcopalian priest and writer, a Dutch Reformed short story writer and a scholar of Victorian literature. And dear, beloved Luci Shaw — oh how her work thrills us!
On the back cover it says “Lent and Easter reveal the God who is for us in all of life – for our liberation, for our healing, for our wholeness. Lent and Easter reminds us that even in death there can be found resurrection.
Make Room: A Child’s Guide to Lent and Easter Laura
Alary (Illustrated by Ann Boyajian) $15.99 Here is what I wrote when this first came out — even though I really don’t like the cover which doesn’t do the art on the inside or the rich prose and moving insight justice, I really want to remind you of this little treasure. There is nothing like this that we know of, and it is so needed. So, to repeat:
Wow, what a wonderful
children’s book, delightfully illustrated and nicely told. It is an
invitation for children to wonder about the Lenten story, helping
children to experience Lent with all their senses. They are taught to
see it as a special time for creating a “welcoming space for God.” As
it says on the back, “Simple activities like cleaning a room making
bread and soup, and inviting a neighbor for supper become acts of
justice and kindness, part of a life following Christ.”
The story unfolds telling the child what “we” do — meaning the church
of which she is a part. Maybe your church isn’t “dressed in purple” and
maybe you don’t have a Maundy Thursday service (but I sure hope you
do!) I don’t go to a lake for a sunrise service as this parish does, but
kids can realize that it’s the kinds of things some churches do. I
think it is a fine book for almost any kind of Christian and happily recommend it.
As Gary Neal Hansen (author of Kneeling with the Giants) writes,
The
book reveals what is usually hidden: what we knew as penitential is
actually life-giving and faith-building. After reading the book to my
kids, my five year old daughter exclaimed “I can’t wait for Lent! I just
can’t wait!”
The Undoing of Death Fleming Rutledge (Eerdmans) $24.00 This hefty paperback includes a large amount of sermons preached over the many years of the service this remarkable Episcopal pastor and preacher; a few of these are enhanced with artwork and illustration, all are meaty and substantive, drawn from deeper wells of good theological and exegetical study, and proclaimed with grace and wit and occasionally some prophetic bite. Now that Ms Rutledge has gotten more acclaim (Christianity Today awarded her last work, The Crucifixion, their coveted “Book of the Year” award, perhaps this anthology of seasonal sermons will be taken up more widely. We hope so, as we announce it every years. She has a small one called The Seven Last Words from the Cross and even her big book of sermons on Romans (Not Shamed of the Gospel) would be appropriate for reflective reading this time of year. But The Undoing of Death is truly one of a kind, highly recommended.
City of God: Faith in the Streets Sarah Miles (Jericho Books) $16.00 We love the extraordinary writing and remarkable storytelling of colorful Episcopalian convert and author and activist Sarah Miles. We recommend her stunning story in Take This Bread and the exceptionally moving, feisty, raw Jesus Freak. Her City of God (now out in paperback) is a further rumination on her life among the under-resourced in the Bay area of San Francisco, working out of the famously eccentric St. Gregory’s, framed by her experiences on Ash Wednesday, make this a memoir well suited as a Lenten reflection.
Here is just a little of what I wrote in a long review two years ago when it first came out and I first spent time with it:
…. I want to tell you about one of the most interesting books I’ve read in quite a while and it is perfect to read here as we approach Lent; as you’ll see it is a memoir mostly about experiencing Ash Wednesday. It arrived into the shop a few weeks ago, but, because I know this writer is thoughtful and such a very good wordsmith (and would be writing about some fairly intense stuff that I would want to consider carefully) I wanted to hold it until I had time to savor, to appreciate, to ponder, and to grapple with it.
Today I feel a little like Jacob after that long night of struggle, a bit banged-up myself, but blessed for the effort. I read the new book City of God: Faith in the Streets by a truly fascinating person and gifted, remarkable writer, self-confessed Episcopalian “church nerd” Sara Miles. I have read her earlier books and spent a few days at an event with her a year ago. I respect her a lot, as a writer and as a follower of Christ.
The City of God: Faith in the Streets is mostly about celebrating in high church fashion the service of putting ashes on the forehead on Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent.) And doing it out on the streets, for one and all.
City of God is an amazing book for several reasons. Firstly, it chronicles one day in Mile’s life, a busy Ash Wednesday, and three Ash Wednesday services in which she was involved that day.
You can read the rest of that review, here: https://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/booknotes/city_of_god_faith_in_the_stree/
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Every Square Inch: An Introduction to Cultural Engagement for Christians Bruce Riley Ashford (Lexham Press) $14.99 It is no secret that the “every square inch” tagline for Jubilee 2017 was drawn from a famous speech by Dutch public theologian and prime minister Abraham Kuyper. This little treasure of a book works out something like a modern Kuyperian vision for how faith impacts our everyday lives, how we should be involved with culture, and how to think through questions facing you and your church and community in these contentious times.
The Call: Finding and Fulfilling The Central Purpose of Your Life Os Guinness (Thomas Nelson) $17.99 Everywhere I go I meet remarkable people doing extraordinary work, leading conversations about faith and the marketplace, vocation and work, making a difference in big and small ways. Often, those who are the most articulate and passionate and admirable about their vocations almost always tell me, when we get around to talking about those “aha” moments that were most transforming and impactful for them, about their love for this book. It is essential, and we feature it every year at Jubilee, despite it being eloquent and mature in it’s literary style. You know I’ve talked about it before, and even wrote about it as my choice for a “must read” book in my chapter in the collection of book reviews called Besides the Bible: 100 Books… We are glad to offer it in this sale list now. 
Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human. John Mark Comer (Zondervan) $19.99 In recent decades there has been an understandable emphasis in some quarters saying that it isn’t what you do that matters, but who you are. The mid-twentieth century commitment to materialism and corporate culture over-emphasized success, status, prestige, accomplishment, productivity, making us all cogs in the wheels of progress and modernity. So wise people (not least those in the counter-culture) pushed back against that – we need not find our worth in our jobs! Agreed.
Reintegrate Your Vocation with God’s Mission Bob Robinson (Good Place Publishing) $12.00 This small group study guide is worth twice the price and is one of the brand new books I’m most excited about. I’ll tell you more about it later but for now know that Bob caught the Jubilee vision himself (after studying under some of the greatest theological writers of our time) by joining up with the CCO and learning more about the Biblical creation-fall-redemption-restoration narrative and its implications for vocation and work, callings and careers. This has some short chapters, tons of great pull-quotes and sidebars, and some good conversation starters or thought exercises for your own reflection and integration of this content. I am sure it will enhance your own spiritual formation as you learn how to deepend with your own sense of place and calling, work and purpose and, as he puts it, “re-integrate.” Blurbs on the back are from the best leaders in the faith/work conversation these days such as Tom Nelson (Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work), Steve Garber (Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common God), Amy Sherman (Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good), Hugh Whelchel (How Then Should We Work?) and, yes, a small town business guy named Byron Borger (editor of Serious Dreams: Bold Ideas for the Rest of Your Life.) Other rave reviews are by Lisa Slayton (of the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation), Michael Wittmer (Heaven is a Place on Earth: Why Everything You Do Matters to God) and our good friend, Gideon Strauss, now teaching at the Institute for Christian Studies. This is a great resource and you should pick some up now while you can, on sale.
Your Vocational Credo: Practical Steps to Discover Your Unique Purpose Deborah Koehn Loyd (IVP) $16.00 This is one of my very favorite books to promote among younger adults seeking a wise resource to help them determine their own God-give purpose and vocation. This is fun, upbeat, practical, offering insights on everything from overcoming past pains to finding health and wholeness to understanding your own vocational skills and capacities — all of this so you can learn how to develop a unique plan for your own life’s work. One really does need a “vocational credo” and this helps guide you into it, with missional gusto. Nicely done.
Consider Your Calling: Six Questions for Discerning Your Vocation Gordon T. Smith (IVP) $16.00 If the above listed one by Deborah Loyd is upbeat and fun, broad-thinking and a very readable guide, this one is similar but shorter, a bit more intense, and a bit more spiritually-minded. By which I mean that the author is a deep and wise writer of books about spiritual formation and an experienced spiritual director. Although most of his books are about a sacramental sort of prayerfulness and inner transformation (see his hefty and substantive Called to Be Saints: An Invitation to Christian Maturity) he has also written a wonderful book entitled Courage and Calling, that explores this stuff deeply. 
Your Mind’s Mission Greg Jao (IVP) $7.00 This little 30-page book is so potent I wish I could put it into the hands of every Christian person, and certainly of every Christian student. Jao nicely explains what a worldview is, how our lens to see and interpret life and learning is always shaped by presuppositions–including things like race and class and gender – and that we simply must be more self-aware about how we think. Further, he reminds us that the Bible calls us to a transforming vision, to see in ways that propel us to make connections between faith and life, integrating the life of the mind with mission and ministry. As it says on the back, “Discover how you can use your mind to extend the glory of God throughout the world” – and, for starters, at least, in your own life and work. If you believe that Jesus is Lord, you will be dazzled by the implications of this thoughtfully written booklet. Buy a few and give ’em out!
Learning for the Love of God: A Student’s Guide to Academic Faithfulness Donald Opitz & Derek Melleby (Brazos Press) $14.99 Okay, okay, I know that those who have read our BookNotes newsletter for a while know that I keep bringing this up from time to time. The book is dedicated to me, and I am so very deeply honored by that, that I truly want to let folks regularly know why it is so important.
God Loves Sex: An Honest Conversation about Sexual Desire and Holiness Dan Allender & Tremper Longman (Baker) $16.99 Allender’s books on sexual abuse (Wounded Heart and Healing the Wounded Heart) sadly sell well at Jubilee. The many others Allender & Longman do together are also hits; it seems their Breaking the Idols of Your Heart: How to Navigate the Temptations of Life is always popular. This year, though, this open reflection on the good and the bad (and the ugly) of our sexuality which is treated so well in this thoughtful book was their most popular.
Silence and Beauty: Hidden Faith Born of Suffering Makoto Fujimura (IVP) $26.00 Of course we take all of Mr. Fujimura’s books, including rare ones like the Square Halo paperback that compares his work with George Rouault and the brand new paperback edition of his previously self-produced Culture Care:) This one, though, didn’t sell too well at Jubilee, perhaps because it is a bit mature for college students or because they were not familiar with the extraordinary Japanese novel by Shusaku Endo upon which is it based, Silence. (We did get to sell a few of those, by the way.) The recently released Martin Scorsese film adaptation of that novel has been much discussed in the thoughtful religious press but was snubbed by the Academy Awards nominations. In any event, this handsome hardback was named as one of our Best Books of 2016 and we very highly recommend it. Mako, too, has spoken at Jubilee in years past.
Culture Care: Reconnecting With Beauty for Our Common Life Makoto Fujimura (IVP) $17.00 Ha! What did I just tell you? We carry all of Fujimura’s books. We have been privileged to be one of the select stores in the nation to sell Mako’s self-produced version of this when it came out two years ago, but we are thrilled now to offer it in a very handsome, nicely done paperback by InterVarsity Press. It is a great and inspiring book for artists, musicians, dancers, writers, anyone wanting to think about their own creativity and role in doing creative work, but, more, perhaps, it is for any of us who want to be good stewards of the creative gifts around us, who want to be cheerleaders and patrons, seeking the common good by reminding our society how important the arts are. Is it particularly urgent these days. Oh my. There’s a new forward by Fuller Theological Seminary President Mark Labberton, too, affirming that this is a wise and helpful way our deepest theological truths can find traction in the public square. This is very, very nicely done, a wonderful contribution to thinking about societal flourishing, the role of beauty and the arts, and the common good.
Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music Jeremy S. Begbie (Baker Academic) $30.00 This year Jubilee seemed to have a lot of conversations about hip hop – with two electrifying rappers (Propaganda and Sho Baraka) performing and the Grammy nominated Lacrae (yes, the evangelical, Reformed, gospel-centered rapper banned from Lifeway) speaking, so we sold some books like the little Does God Listen to Rap Music and the substantial Gospel. But for those really serious about music or those who want a deeper study, this is simply magisterial, perhaps the best major work on Christian theory of music yet available. I’m fond of the Christian philosophy of aesthetics Calvin Seerveld, not to mention Nicholas Wolterstorff, and Mr. Begbie (formerly a classic composer in the UK) is in their league, with endorsements on the back from Rowan Williams, N.T. Wright, Nick Wolterstorff, John Witvliet, Roger Lundin. Breathtaking in scope and range, written with a mature integration of faith and scholarship.
Why Business Matters to God (And What Still Needs to Be Fixed) Jeff Van Duzer (IVP Academic) $20.00 This really is my favorite book on a Christian view of business. It is thoughtful, inspiring, offering a helpful framework and the “creative dimensions of God’s purposes and meaning for business.” It is thought provoking and I think so good it should be read not only by those in business but for anyone who cares about our corporate culture, economics, or the common good. Very nicely done. Van Duzer, by the way, is the dean of the School of Business and Economics and Professor of business law and ethics at Seattle Pacific. Before that, interestingly, he practiced law in Seattle with an emphasis on finance and natural resources.
Business Through the Eyes of Faith Richard Chewning, John Eby, Shirley Roels (HarperOne) $15.99 We are very fond of this whole “…Through the Eyes of Faith” series, which includes college-level Christian texts on history, music, literature, psychology, biology, mathematics. I am especially fond of this one on business, and recommended it to every business major we could find. It is fascinating to me how few business people who are active in church haven’t read anything like this before, so we are glad for the opportunity to get CCO students at Jubilee who are business or accounting or management majors learning faith-based stuff early one. There are small sections on advertising, profits, marketing, management and more. This is so good, written by three scholars who themselves are from slightly different theological traditions (an Anabaptist, a Dutch Reformed neo-Calvinist, and a conservative evangelical.) Nice.
Business for the Common Good: A Christian Vision for the Marketplace Kenman Wong & Scott Rae (IVP Academic) $26.00 This one is another personal favorite and one I tried to sell to young business majors. It is, admittedly, a bit heavier than the other two mentioned above, has a less interesting cover (it is part of a heady series called “Christian Worldview Integration” which itself seems a bit dry and the covers don’t communicate energy and passion) and is a few dollars more expensive. So it’s a “next level” title, harder to sell, but certainly a must-read for professionals in the field. How many people have bad views of the business community, assuming it is all cut-throat and driven only by greed? (And how often, perhaps, is that the case?) This book is important for all of us. Brian Porter of Hope College, says, in fact, “If you read only one book on faith integration and business, Business for the Common Good should be it.” It is masterful and thorough.
The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction Matthew B. Crawford (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) $15.00 I do hope you recall our rave review of this when it came out in hardback a year ago, an eagerly-anticipated sequel to his must-read Shop Class as Soul Craft. Some years CCO has a workshop or two at the conference for those in trade schools on blue-collar work and this book has been useful in thinking about formative practices, resisting abstraction, and learning from the attention needed in “shop class”– all in pretty mature, philosophical ways. Maybe Jubilee didn’t have such a workshop this year and our extra orders of this standard work are sitting here, waiting for you to order them. Damon Linker of The Week says it is “The most cogent and incisive book of social criticism I’ve read in a long time. Reading it is like putting on a pair of perfectly suited prescription glasses after a long period of squinting one’s way through life.” Another pundit said The World Beyond Your Head could “easily lure any cultural pessimist into considerations that pass beyond the symptoms, deep into the causes of our present ills.” The core of the book, though, is simple: Crawford interviews a handful of workers who are really good at their craft and explores how they’ve paid attention to the details of their work and job.
You Are Not A Gadget: A Manifesto Jaron Lanier (Vintage) $15.00 Last year students loved this book; Lanier was a pioneer of digital media, considered the father of virtual reality technology, now an ” apostate of the internet age” and yet still passionate about programming. Alas, foolishly, in our stress of setting out dozens of such books in the technology section, another book (with a similar cover – The Glass Cage by Nicholas Carr) got stacked on top of these and, alas, we didn’t sell a one. I kept wondering where it was, thinking it was lost or that somebody bought ’em all early on, and while tearing down late Sunday afternoon found this big stack. Drats. Our loss is your gain – this is, as the San Francisco Chronicle puts it, “Thrilling and thought-provoking, a necessary corrective in the echo chamber of technological debates.” The Washington Post says it is “mind bending, exuberant, brilliant.” Lanier is an important voice and I so wanted to get these into student’s hands. Check it out.
The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions Karl Giberson & Francis Collins (InterVarsity Press) $22.00 This book (apparently published in cooperation with the thoughtful BioLogos organization — who was at Jubilee with a great display booth, by the way) is one we so often suggest as a first step in relating faith and science and reminding readers that there need not by a conflict between faith and science. Here’s what the publisher says, briefly, about this fine work: 
God in the Lab: How Science Enhances Faith Ruth Bancewicz (Monarch) $16.99 We think this is one of the best book for young thinkers, those just considering a career in the sciences. I like the title, and that is shows how real scientists of Christian conviction do their work. I appreciate the way it’s described by the British publisher. (Yep, we get this from a publisher in the US who distributes UK books — we think it is that good.)
Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies Marilyn McEntyre (Eerdmans) $19.00 One of my all-time favorite books, I announced this from the main-stage as essential in this current political context. Not long ago I heard a Christian worship leader exhort a congregation saying ad lib that outside of Christ “it is all fake news” — which is patently stupid. No, it isn’t all “fake news” (much about the world as it is, the Bible tells us, declares the glory of God) and we must be shaped in the ways of Christ and the virtues of decency and critical thinking and kindness and honesty so we can do the hard work of discerning real from fake, wise from foolish, good from bad. If only that worship leader had listened to Jubilee speakers!
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption Bryan Stevenson (Spiegel & Grau) $16.00 I have often said, and I still say, that Stevenson should get the Nobel Peace Prize, and very well might, for his extraordinary service for those poor and often minority folks wrongly incarcerated, for his advocacy for youth in prison, and, more recently, for his brave and diligent project documenting the vigilante terrorism known as lynching. We tell folks to read this before, or maybe after, The New Jim Crow, and to be prepared for one of the most riveting reads of your life. We have been one of the early supporters of this book, and certainly one of the handful within the world of Christian bookstores who have promoted it. We have a few extras after Jubilee and we’re happy to offer them in this sale now. The first time I heard of Stevenson, by the way, was from Tony Campolo, many years ago (Bryan was an undergrad at Eastern before going to at Harvard Law.) The first time I heard him speak was – you guessed it – in Pittsburgh at Jubilee before he wrote this acclaimed book and before he was famous. Students at Jubilee really are introduced to some of the most significant speakers and leaders in North America and we’re happy to sell these kinds of serious books to these eager young adults. 
America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege and the New Bridge to a New America Jim Wallis (Brazos Press) $17.99 CCO is passionate about multi-ethnic ministry and knows that the gospel insists upon both justice and reconciliation. They are theologically pretty conservative/mainstream evangelical but on this topic they see the Biblical and theological trajectory towards a multi-ethnic new creation and want to practice now that glorious reality of racial reconciliation. It not surprising that they had rapper activists like Propaganda speaking this year. We stocked a lot of books on racism and civil rights and ethnic diversity at Jubilee and there was almost too much for students to take in. (Ohhh, if only the workshop leaders who facilitate these conversations would have been able to browse more; some have said we have one of the best-curated sections of this kind of stuff in any bookstore they know of and some of the leaders themselves might have benefited from the books in our selection.) In any event, this one is a recent classic, now in paperback, one that is strong and sturdy and sure to generate discussion. Agree or not with all of Sojo or all of Wallis’s past books, I think this is simply a must-read book for anyone working on this topic. As one evangelical leader said it is useful to “rivet our attention and commitment to a different future. This is a sobering and motivating act of hope.” Glad it’s now out in paperback. Pick it up today.
Aliens in the Promised Land: Why Minority Leadership Is Overlooked in White Christian Churches and Institutions edited by Anthony B. Bradley (P&R) $15.99 We carry most of the books by this outspoken, articulate Christian leader (and so appreciated his Sunday morning Jubilee main-stage talk about being ordinary, transforming culture full of the hope of God’s final restoration, less by dramatic gestures of brave innovation by being, well, salt.) We sold his collection of essays called Black and Tired: Essays on Race, Politics, Culture, and International Development evangelical, Reformed critique of James Cone and other black liberation theologians in Liberation Black Theology and the powerful collection he edited called Black Scholars in White Space and had on display his brand new Something Seems Strange: Critical Essays on Christianity, Public Policy, and Contemporary Culture. We even had a book he’s been telling everyone (on twitter) to read, Doctrine and Race: African American Evangelicals and Fundamentalism Between the Wars (by Mary Beth Swetnam Mathews on University of Alabama Press.) I think this Aliens in the Promised Land collection is as good as any, though, put together by Dr. Bradley, offering a fine array of evangelical voices (of differing minority groups) pondering this vital question.
Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times Soong-Chan Rah (IVP) $17.00 Soong-Chan has spoken at Jubilee before and many of us respect him immensely. This is a fascinating resource that you may recall me touting before – it is, truly, a commentary on the book of Lamentations in the Bible, but with a very contemporary application. Rowdy and energetic as Jubilee is, Saturday morning we heard hard truths about injustice and racism and other consequences of “the fall” which form our world in dysfunctional, idolatrous, and very broken ways. The worship team led us in slow, evocative songs and prayers were prayed that lamented our personal and corporate pains. The American church – mainline, evangelical and others, I suppose – avoids lament. This is a nearly prophetic exposition of the book of Lamentations and will help us learn the role of lament, confession, and rejection of “success-centered triumphalism and hubris.” Powerful, necessary stuff.
To Live in Peace: Biblical Faith and the Changing Inner City Mark R. Gornik (Eerdmans) $26.00 There is, happily, an increased interest in urban life, in cities and in a theology of geography, so to speak, especially as we desire to serve our neighbors by being involved in the systems and structures that make up our neighborhoods, commercial centers, and under-resources ghettos. There are bunches of books about urban ministry, about Christian community development, and if anybody wanted anything along those lines we had stuff there. (In a special bibliography we put together for the conference, displayed on the Jubilee conference app, by the way, I described the very serious Beyond Homelessness 
Sidewalks of the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith Eric O. Jacobsen (Brazos Press) $22.00 I’ve reviewed this extensively over the years, as I have Jacobsen’s brilliant sequel to this, The Space Between: A Christian Engagement with the Build Environment, which is more broadly on the built environment and one of our awarded Best Books of a few years ago.) I suppose there aren’t that many urban planning majors at Jubilee but many of us are concerned about the efficiency, aesthetics, justice, and charm of our sidewalks and commercial spaces and the wisdom of our zoning laws and policies that shape our towns and cities. This is a fine introduction for ordinary folks, written by a thoughtful, small town Presbyterian pastor, about how to take up the conversations propelled by the likes of the legendary Jane Jacobs, the feisty James Howard Kunstler (I hope you know his snarky, electrifying books like Home from Nowhere), or the anti-sprawl, new urbanists such as Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Jeff Speck. 
Educating All God’s Children: What Christians Can–And Should–Do to Improve Public Education for Low-Income Kids Nicole Baker Fulgham (Brazos Press) $20.00 One of Nicole Fulgham’s staff from her wonderful, important ministry called The Expectations Project spoke at Jubilee this year (as Nichole herself has many times.) This book is nearly a handbook for any citizen or church group who wants to become allies and advocates for all children, especially those that are in lo0w-income schools. With the recent cabinet appointment of the controversial Betsy DeVos – who I suspect isn’t as bad as some opponents suggest but who clearly is inexperienced in public school work – this book may be more important than ever. Whether you are a teacher who cares about educational policy (inspired in college by Jonathan Kozol, maybe, as I was) or a parent interested in making sure all schools in your area are treated fairly, or whether you are a citizen advocate for justice, this book is important and will be a fabulous and motivational read for you. Glad to have had The Expectation Project at Jubilee!
Same Lake Different Boat: Coming Alongside People Touched by Disability Stephanie O. Hubach (P & R) $14.99 Here in the store we have a good handful of books about disabilities, about how the church should be more aware of and inclusive of those with disabilities, and how we should all be more sensitive to the image of God in those with serious handicapping conditions. We like several books by Brett Webb-Mitchell, for instance, and of course the important books by Joni Earackson Tada. 
Go: Returning Discipleship to the Front Lines of Faith Preston Sprinkle (NavPress) $14.99 I pitched this in front of the crowd at Jubilee but in my short time up front perhaps didn’t explain it well enough. It really is a fabulous book that does two or three things well. Firstly, it reports on the fascinating survey commissioned by the Navigators that helps us understand what Christian people think about the word “discipleship.” Go offers sidebars and charts and info-graphics to explain this large-scale research on what is missing in the common understandings and attitudes about following Christ, making disciples, being salt and light and leaven in the world. Why is it that the church is often seen as weak, not very influential (even among its own members) and how many Christ-followers are drifting from a formerly robust, serious life of faith? How can we understand these deep concerns and how can we find solutions to chronic shallow faith and a privatized faith that doesn’t think much or engage the world well? Preston Sprinkle’s book can help.
The Year of Small Things: Radical Faith for the Rest of Us Sarah Arthur & Erin F. Wasinger (Brazos Press) $17.99 Oh my, if only I had time to tell folks about this book — it’s surely going to be one on the big lists 10 months from now when we celebrate the best books of 2017. In this lovely and wonderfully written memoir, these authors take up practices to make their lives more consistent with the teaching of Jesus. They are inspired by the likes of Mother Teresa who admonished us to do “small things with great love” and here explore how to actually do that. They write about raising kids, searching for community, make choices about diet and food and money and debt and they set out a path towards contemplative sorts of spiritual disciplines.
Comfort Detox: Finding Freedom From Habits That Bind You Erin M. Straza (IVP) $16.00 I am so glad that Erin Straza just released this wonderful book; she is a smart and good writer, the editor of “Christ and Pop Culture Magazine” and host of the Persuasion podcast. I’ve followed her for a bit as perhaps you have, and am sure she has a lot to offer in a crazy book like this.
Faith on the Edge: Daring to Follow Jesus Paul Tokunaga et al (IVP) $16.00 I could hardly believe it but this great publisher, who lives and breathes to serve others with thoughtful resources for evangelical, Kingdom living, offered to keep this book in print in part because they know I promote it at Jubilee this year. It was listed and described in a special book list that was on the Jubilee phone app – so let’s be glad this gem of a book is still available. It is a book I love and hope you consider buying as it will meet needs for your own reading and learning, I am sure. Especially if you are mentoring others or need books that offer short pieces about various aspects of Christian living. Faith on the Edge is a gem.
Pursuing Health in an Anxious Age Bob Cutillo (Crossway) $17.00 We have many books for those in health care fields – starting with Phil Yancey & Dr. Paul Brand’s Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, In His Image, and The Gift of Pain, through excellent books like Called to Care: A Christian Worldview for Nursing, 
Christianity and Social Work: Readings on the Integration of Christian Faith and Social Work Practice (fourth edition) T. Laine Scales and Michael S. Kelly, editors (NACSW) $24.00 What is NACSW, you ask? It’s the North American Association of Christians in Social Work and this is the textbook type reader they produced for use in Christian colleges with social work majors or for any social worker wanting to think more faithfully about their calling into this line of work. Every major should have such a fine, expansive reader, connected to a faith-based professional association like this. We are one of the few stores in the country that carry this, and we are happy to offer it on sale, here, now. 
Rebuilding the Foundation: Social Relationships in Ancient Scripture and Contemporary Culture John Brueggemann & Walter Brueggemann (WJK) $20.00 In many of our off site book displays I suppose we’d display this with the famous Old Testament scholar’s other books of Biblical studies. However, note: the primary author of this is the son of Walt Brueggemann, John. And John is an esteemed sociologist in his own right. (In fact, professor John Brueggemann is the Department Chair of the Sociology Department at Skidmore and has published books such as Rich, Free, and Miserable: The Failure of Success in America and Inequality in the United States: A Reader.)
The Lawyers Calling: Christian Faith and Legal Practice Joseph G. Allegretti (Paulist Press) $12.95 This delightfully interesting book is our first choice for pre-law majors, law students, or attorneys just starting to integrate faith and their vocation in the field of law. The author is a Roman Catholic (who earned his J.D. from Harvard, cum laude) and an M.Div from Yale (summa cum laude, by the way) who, among other things, draws on Niebuhr. He is convinced that many lawyers are facing a crisis of meaning themselves, so need spiritual renewal and thoughtful theological insight about their calling. I like this because it is basic, relatively short, inexpensive.
Redeeming Law: Christian Calling and the Legal Profession Michael Schutt (IVP) $27.00 This, I always say, everywhere we go, is the book for serious Christians thinking about law and legal theory from a Christian viewpoint. Mike is a very, very good friend and even if you don’t agree with every jot and tittle of this large work, you will enjoy the conversation, learn much, and be well on your way to developing an integrated Christian vision of your work and faith by reading Redeeming Law. He understands that God calls us into vocational arenas and wrote about that before the recent batch of books on this, and he then integrates a Biblical world-and-life view with a serious take on jurisprudence and the like. Kudos to Mike not only for writing this important book but for his upbeat work with law students through the Christian Legal Society.
Counseling and Christianity: Five Approaches edited by Stephen Greggo (IVP) $25.00 I love these kinds of four views debates, with varying authors saying how they relate, in this case, faith to their counseling practices. After each position paper, the others offer their feedback, and so by the end you get not only four models of faith/counseling integration, but also the critiques others might make to the faithfulness and viability of the model. I was hoping psychology majors who so earnestly want to help people and want a Godly approach would be eager to struggle through these competing options. Well, we have a few too many on hand, now, so surely there’s some BookNotes readers who would find this helpful. There is another one that is a bit more scholarly/foundational called Faith and Psychology: Five Views and we have a lot of that one left over, too. Any takers?
The Good of Politics: A Biblical, Historical, and Contemporary Introduction James Skillen (Baker Academic) $24.00 I did a major, long review of this when it first came out and I maintain it is one of the essentials for anyone serious about thinking about the quandary of working out a Christian view of public justice in a pluralistic culture. A lot of church history and theology, Skillen is masterful in examining how different assumptions about politics, culture, history, institutions, the fall, the nature of redemption, all conspire to shape (or, more likely, to mis-shape) our views of the task of the state. Neither big government democrat committed to “progress” (whatever that means) nor a small-government conservative, Skillen really does work out political theory in light of a Kuyperian insight about the Bible, redemption, and the role of government. BookNotes subscribers know I’ve developed several lists of the best books about a non-partisan; uniquely Christian view of political life and responsible citizenship and this book is always on those lists. Had I been with any poly sci majors I’d have pressed this into their hands. Glad to offer a few here, now, on sale.
Caring for Creation: The Evangelical’s Guide to Climate Change and a Healthy Environment Mitch Hescox & Paul Douglas (Bethany) $14.99 I hope you recall that we’ve had this dynamic duo in the bookstore here in Dallastown and that we big fans of this easy to read study of climate change and responsible, non-partisan policy ideas. This is such an accessible, balanced, and Biblically-inspiring little book I wanted all the Jubilee participants to know about it. I described it briefly during the main-stage time Saturday morning when we were lamenting what Bible scholars call “the fall” which reminds us that things are “not the way they are supposed to be.” Romans 8 overtly teaches that the whole creation is groaning, that the Earth itself is weighed down, awaiting redemption-at the hands of the new Adams and Eves that, in the Second Adam, can bring healing and hope to the planet. There are more sophisticated books of eco-theology, more urgent books about push us towards climate change activism. This is a great start, though, and in this current political era, it is clear that the Trump administration isn’t going to be funding or enforcing anti-pollution legislation, so things are only going to get worse. This is simply a fact. As pollution increases the church is going to have to be prepared. Get this book now and read it as soon as possible. 
Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical Timothy Keller (Viking) $27.00 Many, many young adults love Keller’s astute sermons, listen to him on line and admire his fairly conventional worship and preaching at Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan. Keller knows that the gospel is for all of life and has hosted conversations at his PCA church on everything from civility to the arts, bringing in folks as diverse as Pulitzer Prize literary figure Marilyn Robinson and poet Christian Wyman and social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson. His gospel-centered call to “seek the peace of the city” encourages many towards civic engagement (and, to be honest, learned some of this perspective years and years ago through figures in the early 1970s who were also seminal in influencing the CCO and Jubilee; Keller himself has spoken for CCO staff.)
A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology J. Richard Middleton (Baker Academic) $26.99 Our friend Richard Middleton helped do some CCO staff training decades ago (back when he was writing with Brian Walsh, doing extraordinary – and still relevant! – books such as The Transforming Vision and Truth Is Stranger Than It Used to Be.) Beth and I got to supply the books for a book release event launching A New Heaven and a New Earth into the world, hosted by Redeemer Presbyterian in New York a few years ago. Some of us were tickled pink when we heard Richard was doing the Sunday morning message at Jubilee that year and ever since we’ve carried a b it stack of this hefty volume. Granted, it is more than most want to know about the restoration of creation and even if most Jubilee kids appreciated the “salvation is creation healed” view of the end, this is a through (not to say tedious) study. Blurbs on the back range from Walter Brueggemann (who had nearly said about his book The Liberating Image that is was the best book on the imago dei in all of church history) to Jamie Smith (who says this book, if widely read would “transform North American Christianity”) to Lutheran Hebrew Scriptures scholar Terence Fretheim, to Biblical scholar and thermaculture farmer Sylvia Keesmaat to Creation Regained worldview author Al Wolters… This is a fabulous contribution and a must-read. The last chapter explores living Jubilee a la Luke 4, by the way, and is nearly worth the price of the book just for that.
Adventures of Evangelical Civility: A Lifelong Quest for Common Ground Richard Mouw (Brazos Press) $24.99 Mouw’s wonderful little book of social wisdom called Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World is certainly a much-needed book these days, but I wanted to remind you of this more recent one – it seemed so germane at Jubilee for young scholars and faculty and others who grapple with intellectual and theological and social issues. This is more or less a memoir by the former Calvin College political philosophy professor whose early books so influenced those of us creating the Jubilee conference in the late 1970s who ended up the President of Fuller Theological Seminary.
Recovering Classic Evangelicalism: Applying the Wisdom and Vision of Carl F. H. Henry Gregory Alan Thornberry (Crossway) $17.99 I’ve heard quite a bit about this bow-tie rocking New York President of The Kings College who ends up in The New Yorker or the Wall Street Journal, making a case for culturally relevant, thoughtful, distinctively Christian ideals, worked out in the real world by energetic, thoughtful young adults.
Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good Steven Garber (IVP) $17.00 Steve spoke at the pre-Jubilee day (Jubilee Professional, or JPro as we sometimes call it) and was, of course, hanging around the conference itself; he used to be the director and brought globally-respected evangelicals such as John Stott and Hans Rookmaaker to Pittsburgh decades ago. So many respect him throughout the country, but he has a special affection for Pittsburgh and for this decades old event. I almost always announce his important books at Jubilee, since they literally emerged, in part, from his years directing the conference and caring about grad students in Pittsburgh via IVCF and CCO; some years I tell of Fabric of Faithfulness, some years Visions of Vocation.
ethical or insightful writers) of engineering to film studies, from health care to mathematics, from urban planning to politics. Of course we take lots of basic sorts of Christian resources for living into discipleship and spiritual formation. I know many of you have read our regular columns the week after Jubilee each year and have expressed appreciation for the good work of the CCO and our role in promoting reading and books to these earnest young adults.
This Jubilee conference — this year using the motto “every square inch” drawn from Abraham Kuyper, whose early 1900s Dutch legacy of an all-of-life-redeemed worldview is always hovering around the edges of this event — is about Christ redeeming all things. The CCO’s main motto, by the way, is “transforming college students to transform the world.” That would be every square inch of the world, since Christ loves and died for and is redeeming it all. 
It is inspiring to know that conversations about this kind of stuff — about work and culture and taking faith missionally into the neighborhoods and “every square inch” of creation — going on all over the country and we feel truly blessed by God to have been involved in some of this kind of work, on and off, for 40 years.
Some of this trend, by the way, was anticipated years earlier when our friends at Paraclete Press published an important book, loved by many, called Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God by Sybil Macbeth. There is a slightly larger size ($17.99) and a smaller, “portable” version ($15.99) and they remain popular, even though they are about ways to organize one’s prayer life. They even did one for those less likely to take up this DIY process called Praying in Black and White: A Hands-On Practice for Men ($15.00.)
