I’ll try to make this a quick BookNotes, but I wanted to suggest a few titles — including one brand new, long-awaited, short and spectacular one called Easter: The Season of the Resurrection of Jesus by Wesley Hill, the follow up to the very nice first book in the “Fullness of Time” series called Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal by Esau McCaulley.  I didn’t list the Easter one with our previous Lenten list since, well, you know. It seemed early, like highlighting Christmas or Epiphany books even before Advent. But I’ll review it below, now, gladly.

And we simply must first go through the sober time of Lent and the hard Holy Week as we live into the paradoxical story that out of great sadness and death comes the very end of Death; in the unmerited suffering of Jesus (and the subsequent resurrection) the world’s disorder is transformed and creation is restored as His Kingdom of shalom and grace takes hold. In the tragic story of Holy Week there is hope, but we can’t avoid the hard parts just to sneak to the joyous triumph.

During a recent Zoom Lenten class I’ve been doing for a far-away church I quoted from Aaron Damiani’s Moody Press book The Good of Giving Up: Discovering the Freedom of Lent in a part when he worried that we are sometimes half-hearted or awkward on Easter Sunday.

Damiani writes:

In many cases it’s because our imaginations have been malnourished along the way to Resurrection Sunday. We have been secretly snacking on lesser stories — such as politics or our children’s athletic success. In theory the gospel is compelling, but in reality we would rather pay attention to whatever Netflix is offering. We are so full on the junk food of our culture that we cannot metabolize the feast on our Easter plates.

Oh, my.

I’m reminded of a portion from Eugene Peterson’s classic on the Psalms of Ascent, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction noting how our culture too-often wants to avoid suffering;, even talk of grief and sadness is awkward, especially if it goes on “too long.” (This goes on still, today, I think, despite the strides we’ve made in honoring those of us who cope with mental health struggles, depression and the like.) Yet, Peterson reminds us that in so many Psalms — think of the opening lines of Psalm 130 — the Psalmist doesn’t hide or cover-up his anguish. It is voiced as prayer and, Peterson says, “…in suffering we enter the depths; we are at the heart of things; we are near to where Christ was on the cross.”

This is not a simple strategy for finding relief from our distress, some of which, for some of us, is patently horrific. And if Augustine is right that sin serves to curve us in on ourselves, in Christ we must also develop the capacity to bear some of the wounds of the world, as well. It hurts — our pain and the suffering of others — and there is no end in sight. And yet, Peterson is right: when we embrace such grief we are at the very heart of things.

Which is what our fasting and prayer and silence and solitude and Lenten vespers services help us with, experiencing our union with Christ in a way that focuses on His suffering, and the suffering heart of God. I would like to believe it is what devotional reading in this season can help us with.

And so, before my rave review of the little Wes Hill Easter title in the “Fullness of Time” series, let me offer you another chance to pick up a book or two for your Lenten reading over the next few weeks.

As I reflect on the Lenten lectures I did and ponder my own soul these dark days, here are a few resources that arise in my mind. In some cases we don’t have many left, so order now if you want.

As always, just click on the ORDER link at the bottom of the column. We’ll write back, assuring you that we’ll take care of the rest, discounts and all.

A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey (IVP) $12.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

I have recommended this before and as I dipped into it over and over the past few weeks I was again delighted and want to press it into your hands, insisting that it really is worth having. It is a lovely little book, a great resource. Here is how it works.

A Just Passion offers a page or two a day from a previously published IVP author. They very wisely found these brief excerpts and arranged them in a flow, week by week, with breath prayers and a small litany for each week. It is handsomely arranged, brief, and potent.

The voices chosen do what IVP does well: they represent the broader swatch of beautiful orthodoxy, solid and mostly evangelically-minded writers who each have a way of rooting a care for the world in the core of the radical gospel of the Kingdom of God. This book is just wonderful in showing the relationship of Jesus and justice, reconciliation and racism, poetry and politics, liturgy and life. (Okay, enough with my alliterations. Ha.) These Lenten devotions are from some of the finest writers working these days and they include many people of color, lots of women, a variety of ages and social locations. It is a wonderful guide to Christ our liberator and how His passion and suffering points us to the redemption of the world.

As the editors put it, A Just Passion has been curated to hold in tension the immense weight and hope of Lent. The Scriptures, by the way, are often in the First Nations Version.

You will find here authors such as poet Drew Jackson and activist Donna Barber; the elder evangelical justice leader John Perkins and the younger, passionate Marlena Graves.  From Dominique DuBois Gillard to Ruth Haley Barton, From Eugene Peterson to Soong-Chan Rah, from African American counselor Sheila Wise Rowe to Palestinian pastor Munther Issac, from black Anglican Esau McCaulley to the excellent writer Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, and more and more, these are authors you should know and whose brief reflections will offer you a great insight into the meaning of Lent and remind you of the ave of taking time to ponder these things this month. Highly recommended.

A Different Kind of Fast: Feeding Our True Hungers in Lent Christine Valters Paintner (Broadleaf) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

We only have a few of these left but it has been popular among some of our friends these past two years (So much so that while is it designed as a Lenten read, we keep it handy on the shelf all year round.) Illustrated with very cool woodcuts by Kreg Yingst (author of the excellent, creative, moody and colorful Everything Could Be a Prayer) this gentle compact-sized devotional workbook is designed to help us clarify our true hungers even as it invites us to counter-cultural practices that will help make us whole and nourish our souls.

If fasting is an act of letting go, of making more intentional interior space to lisent to Divine whispers, then her invitation and exercises are helping us let go of toxic or hurtful habits and replacing them with an expansive, risky, playful, faith-oriented perspective. For instance, here are a few or the entries — formed as invitations or challenges — from the table of contents

• Fast from Consuming — Embrace Simplicity
• Fast from Multitasking and Inattention — Embrace Full Presence to the Moment
• Fast from Scarcity Anxiety — Embrace Radical Trust in Abundance
• Fast from Speed and Rushing — Embrace Slowness and Pausing
• Fast from Holding It All Together — Embrace Tenderness and Vulnerability
• Fast from Planning and Deadlines — Embrace Unfolding and Ripening
• Fast from Certainty — Embrace Mystery and Waiting.

I bet some of these invitations intrigue you, eh? Come on!

A Way Other Than Our Own: Devotions for Lent Walter Brueggemann (WJK) $16.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $12.80

What more can I say about the prolific and energetic and evocative Walter Brueggemann. He can throw in a line or phrase that will stick with you perhaps for years. The prayers are generous and poetic, the readings short. In my last Lenten class I read out loud two, just to give participants a taste; one seemed quintessential Brueggemann — “On the Road Again” about the way in which a journey from safety through risk is sort of paradigmatic in the Bible, starting with Abraham and Sarah. He says we are “in their wake” and we must travel “beyond safe places the gifted end that God intends, hopefully to be blessed and a blessing along the way.”

I love this short “A Trip, A Temptation, and a Text” which ponders Jesus being led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. We too, have to listen to the voices of promise and seduction and learn to discern which is which.  One offers assurance, the other mocks.

“We begin our Lenten journey,”  Walter writes, “addressed by the remarkable assurance that the God who summons us is the God who goes along with us.”

Invitation to Solitude and SIlence: Experiencing God’s Transforming Presence Ruth Haley Barton (IVP) $25.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.79

I wanted to list this here, now, in case any of our friends from Duke are reading along. You may recall I referred to this more than once and read a long excerpt about Elijah. (I also commended the recent Trinity Forum conversation with Cherie Harder and Ruth, which is well worth listening to or reading the transcript that TF provides at the link.) Ruth’s moving stories about her own life, growing into the need for solitude and the complexities of finding rhythms of silence, linked to key Bible teachings about “being still” and “knowing” make this one of the great resources for anyone interested in deepening their own spirituality. I heartily recommend any and all of Barton’s books, but this one is seminal, vital, very important for us all.

Invitation to Solitude and Silence isn’t a Lenten book as such, but it does seem that in the next few weeks we may want to build extra time into our lives to seek an encounter with God, and reading this book will give you both motivation and some structure, what and how to do it. With a forward by the late Dallas Willard, this book is a keeper. As are, for the record, each of her other important books. Start here, though.

Holy Solitude: Lenten Reflection with Saints, Hermits, Prophets, and Rebels Heidi Haverkamp (WJK) $14.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $11.29

This is another book that focuses on the habits of silence, designed especially for busy, contemporary Christians in these complicated days. A great Lenten resource, this shows how solitude is life-giving and how that “still, small voice” of God can transform us for a life of faith and service.

Haverkamp is a writer, preacher, retreat leader and an Episopal priest. She is a Benedictine oblate at Holy Wisdom Monastery near Madison, Wisconsin (a place my own Presbyterian adult daughter has visited more than once.) Faith and resistance, prayer and politics? This is it! She draws on ancient saints of the church and offers very practical guidance about fasting and silence and simple rituals of self-care and service. Nice.

From Wilderness to Glory: Lent and Easter for Everyone N. T. Wright (WJK) $18.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

For those who like their devotional reading straight up Biblical, and maybe are a tad wary of some of the more mystical encounters or think Brueggemann is too evocative and poetic and progressively interested in the Biblical teaching about economics, this, maybe, is a reliable guide for you. N.T. Wright, of course, is one of the preeminent New Testament scholars who has written both academic commentaries (and major works on historiography and readable books about public theology and cultural engagement.) His lay-reader, accessible commentaries are found in a series called New Testament for Everyone where he has incisive reflections on each book of the New Testament.

Drawn from those popular “For Everyone” commentaries, this From Wilderness to Glory has Bible reflection carefully chosen that highlights not only the meaning of the text but how contemporary Christians might encounter God and experience discipleship today.  There are thoughtful questions for reflection or discussion, too. Carefully reflecting on the life and teachings of our Master really is a good habit these next weeks and this is a very reliable guidebook.

Prone to Wander: A Lenten Journey with Women in the Wilderness Joanna Harader (Herald Press) $16.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

I know I’ve celebrated this before but as I was doing my Lenten class online I kept speaking about the wilderness. Both the literary deserts and wilderness settings in the Bible stories but the metaphoric spaces of emptiness and disorientation. Call it liminal or Lenten, we all face seasons of uncertainty and desolation, knowing (at our best, anyway) that this paves the way for God to show up, big time. God meets us in the wilderness, they say, and that is the very theme of this book.

This includes stories of doubt and questioning, of “dryness and distance” — and, with Harader’s guidance, “we can find guideposts for the inevitable wilderness times in our own lives.”

This lovely book explores the stories of biblical women who encounter “parched and desolate places.”  It is, by the way, written by the same author and in the same style as Expecting Emmanuel, her beloved Advent devotional. Like that one, it is illustrated expertly by Michell Burkholder, who created hand-cut paper artwork for the volume.

Listen to Isaac Villegas (author of the brand new Migrant God) who writes,

“These pages will renew your capacity to recognize the signs and wonders of God’s provision, sometimes as close as the hand of a friend or the generosity of a stranger.”

The Wood Between the Worlds: A Poetic Theology of the Cross Brian Zahnd (IVP) $24.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.20

I have highlighted this spectacular book before and, again, must admit that it is so good that I wish I had time and capacity to do a major review. It is, in short, one of the best books about the theology of the cross that I have ever read. It is luminous and well-written, but not fanciful or chatty. It is lovely and rich, a bit deeper than some evangelical books these days, and draws deeply on the broad range of thinkers (and writers and artists and pastors) from across the spectrum of the Church down through the ages. From early church fathers to Dostoevsky, from N.T. Wright and Fleming Rutledge to James Cone, he draws together many streams into this waterfall of a book, bringing living water aplenty. I can hardly say enough about it.

A main point for Zahnd, one which I have felt and tried to embrace for decades, is that mere theology alone (especially the sort of at is systematic and precise, offering propositions of dogma that sums up such grand mysteries as the Cross in a succinct sentence) are not only inadequate — such huge matters push us to poetry and doxology and worship — bit also wrong-headed. Summing up the endlessly multi-dimensional beauty of the cross in one summarizing doctrine, or abstracting it as one part of “four spiritual laws” or a mere stop on the Romans Road does violence to how God has revealed this epic moment of self-revelation.

The cross, above all, is the clearest revelation of who God is, in Christ, who died.

No one can say (well, I suppose they can say it but it would be seriously unfair) that Zahn has a low view of the cross because he refused to reduce it to a simple atonement theory. No one can properly say that Zahn isn’t Biblical. He is exceptionally grounded in the Bible story, praising the God of Scripture, grateful that God is seen in the person of Jesus. His death and resurrection is the climax of the Scriptural story and the pivot point in history. This rumination on it all is extraordinary.

Secondly, besides this expansive and appropriately multi-faceted theo-poetic approach, there is another stylistic method: each chapter, which holds before us a certain aspect of “the wood between the worlds”, engages a particular writer. From Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship to Cone’s (Christ and the Lynching Tree, from Hilarion Alfeyev to Rene Girard, Zahnd masterfully weaves their insights into his multi-faceted framework. There is a chapter (“One Ring to Rule Them All” that LOTR and Tolkien fans will love  — he interacts with Fleming Rutledge’s magisterial The Battle for Middle Earth) and another plays with John Coltrane (yep the chapter is “A Love Supreme.”) His “God on the Gallows” section starts with a recollection of the gruesome chapter about the abuse and death of children in The Brothers Karamazov but quickly moves to interact with Night by Elite Wiesel. This is neither incidental or frivolous (not even the great quote from “Southern Man” by Neil Young) but deeply integral to his project. Of assembling and honoring the plurality of insights.

And he’s such a good writer, he offers it with profound insight without lapsing into academic parlance. At least he mostly avoids the dense stuff, making these big theories of atonement and sacrifice and paschal drama so very, very real.

And, not surprisingly (you already noticed that he writes about Cone) he allows his Biblically-based, Trinitarian, Christ-centered exploration on the cross to shape what we might call his entire worldview, his social imagination, his public theology. He has a chapter drawing on Shane Claiborne’s Executing Grace in which he ponders questions about capital punishment. There is a chapter about war — he writes movingly on John Lennon’s song with the chorus “War is over (if you want it)” — and shows how the cross is central to the Christian’s call to peacemaking. That succinct chapter is breathtaking in how it draws on the early church fathers, Orthodox theologians and pushes us to realize the horrific and even suicidal nature of modern warfare. I commend it to you for your consideration.

Alongside Pastor Zahnd’s interaction with works of great literature and his ability to play with key insights from various heavy thinkers, he also interacts with visual artists, some well known — Matthias Grunewald, Fra Angelico, Hieronymus Bosch — others that you may or may not know. From frescos to icons to classic paintings, these are all reproduced in full color. (That IVP offers this book at such a reasonable hardback price makes this even nicer as it is a handsome volume you will spend much time with, I’m sure.)  If you have not heard or maybe need reminded that the cross of Christ really is the supreme centerpiece of God’s love, revealing not the anger of God but the mercies of God, this thoughtful, intellectually rigorous but warm book, written with much love, is a must.

Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginners Guide to Holy Week and Witness at the Cross: A Beginners Guide to Holy Friday Amy-Jill Levine (Abingdon Press) $16.99 and $17.99 // OUR SALE PRICES = $13.59 and $14.39

I cannot say too much about these other than to remind you that Amy-Jill is an upbeat and vivacious communicator, a strong writer, a tad snarky, and a Jewish scholar of Jesus. While she remains active in her local synagogue, her day job is teaching mostly Christian seminarians at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Except for a few more academic ones, most of her books are for ordinary readers and she remains popular, especially among mainline denominational folk who appreciate understanding our texts about Jesus from the viewpoint of a Jewish woman who knows much about the first century world.

In Entering the Passion of Jesus it says on the back that she “delves into the history and literature surrounding the last days of Jesus’s life and sets the narrative in historical context.” Many will enjoy how she humanizes the main characters of the plot and how she analyzes the risks and motives of the story’s characters. In the more recent Witness at the Cross she has “brought to life the characters who the Gospels tell us were witnesses to the Crucifixion.”

Dr. Levine offers a close reading of the important New Testament texts, evaluating them in light of her understanding of first century Judaism and her knowledge of the Roman Empire and its politics and methods. She has a strong, respectful, and some would say very helpful (nonChristian) bias, of course, which is part of the fun of these provocative studies.

Her latest book, by the way, is The Gospel of John: A Beginner’s Guide to the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Abingdon; $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19) which stands nicely alongside her other paperbacks on Jesus. Let us know if you need a list…

Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace Throughout Holy Week Jason Porterfield (Herald Press) $17.99  // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

I have raved about this before and seriously recommended it to one and all. It is a study of  the details, teachings, and subtle moves of Holy Week that is unlike anything else you’ve read.  It is provocative and it is helpful. Agree fully or not, I highly recommend it for your consideration.

Porterfield, who has lived among the poor in urban spots in North America and in the poorest slums of Indonesia, wants to recover the radical vision of peacemaking that Jesus taught and embodied, especially in Holy Week. By this exploration of what we now call Palm Sunday and onward, we will study why Jesus Himself wept over Jerusalem. (You know why, don’t you. Through his holy, righteous tears, Jesus lamented “If only you knew the things that made for peace.” If only.

Reading this might please Jesus who continues to weep, I am sure, as we continue to fail to be peacemakers (at home, at work, in our public spaces, and in the world of wars.) In eight solid chapters Fight Like Jesus shows us insights to which we most likely haven’t paid adequate attention.

Two models or approaches to making peace pervade these texts of Holy Week and Porterfield expertly examines them both, helping us become trained in the way of Jesus. Many these days have adopted language about “practicing the way” and this will help us do just that. Perhaps through Flight Like Jesus will we “discover anew why he is called the Prince of Peace.”  At the very least you will deepen your own understanding of Holy Week and be nudged towards more serious fidelity to Christ and His ways.

Praying the Stations of the Cross: Finding Hope in a Weary Land Margaret Adams Parker & Katherine Sonderegger (Eerdmans) $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

We have several small books — some Roman Catholic, but not all — on the custom of praying through the key events of Jesus’s last day, what is commonly called “The Stations of the Cross.” Most have artful presentations or illustrations. Even if you don’t walk through the locations in a church, reading through these stations can be very rewarding.

There is no better book for this purpose than this hardback masterpiece by the famous and beloved Epsiopalian theology professor and writer Katherine Sonderegger educator and artist Margaret Adams Parker.  This is a profound and spiritually captivating book that will — through their collaboration with word and visuals — (in the words of Bishop Michael Curry) “offer “refreshment, and those in need of spiritual nourishment will be amply satisfied.”  A preacher and an artist offer what Ellen Davis calls “the appalling and praiseworthy story of Jesus’s saving death made plain in word and image.” What a book.

Inspired by this book a year ago we invited people in our own medium-sized Presbyterian church to draw or paint or sculpt or build something for one of the stations, and we had the artists read the Biblical text and speak about their work week by week through Lent, showing them all together during Holy Week of last year. We were pleased how God worked through these mostly unprofessional artisans and it just goes to show what ideas come up when you spend time with a good book. Hooray.

The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope Curt Thompson (Zondervan) $29.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

This is another rich and invaluable title that is not a Lenten title as such but certainly resonates with this theme of caring for our deepest selves and honoring the pain we feel for our own broken lives and for the horrid sadness of this broken world. With the political crisis at home and the wars and the cut off of life-saving aid to so many thousands, who among us isn’t troubled, perhaps longing for some fresh word about pain and grief, resilience and hope? I think I quipped in my Zoom Lenten class that we cannot give ourselves away to a needy world if we are not in some measure healed ourselves. There is, during Lenten, both a journey inward and a journey outward, and it seems Curt’s wise book covers so much that comes up as we pursue with greater care our Lenten habits and practices.

Thompson is an excellent communicator and writer and a respected psychiatrist. His first books showed a particular expertise in the interface of neurology and faith formation; Anatomy of a Soul is a great paperback introduction for beginners of a faithful study of neuroscience and how knowing a bit about how we are wired can help us grow as people and as Christians; his second and third books are simply stunning and among my favorites — The Soul of Shame and The Soul of Desire, both published in hardback by IVP.  Now, in this one, he dives deeper into the topic of suffering and as I said in a previous review, man, was I wrong in thinking little new needed to be said about their perennial topic. It is wise and gracious and moving and thoughtful and, I want to say, ideal for Lenten reading.

Hope, by the way, grows best in community. Learn why by reading this remarkable study.

In The Deepest Place, Curt Thompson once again guides us into goodness with the hallmark gentleness and acumen we’ve come to trust in his books. Curt so beautifully translates incredibly complex insights about the human body, soul, and relationships into words that welcome us into wholeness. The Deepest Place will pierce your imagination with the possibility that your groans and grief really might be the place you encounter your greatest glory. — K. J. Ramsey, trauma therapist, author of The Book of Common Courage and The Lord Is My Courage

Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter Timothy Keller (Penguin) $17.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.60

Okay I’ll admit, this one is more about the resurrection accounts of Jesus in the gospels and what they mean for us than on the classic Lenten texts or the Holy Week story. Yet, it seems to me to be a good Lenten read (or, yes, obviously, in the season of Eastertide) because of the very title — this applies the confidence of the new creation promised by God through the death and resurrection of Christ and vindicated by his historical resurrection (with eye witness accounts) to this world of fear and hardship.

It is no secret that the late Tim Keller succumbed to the pancreatic cancer that took his life a few years ago. He wrote this book while coming with his own fears and impending death. Also, it is clear he wrote this in a time of great social upheaval, of polarization and fear, with so many dying of Covid, and “the loss of vision for a shared common good.”

How can we survive this moment together, he asked, as he wrote in 2020 into 2021. If the resurrection accounts hold the key to the hope we need as we face “the desperation of daily life”, then Hope in Times of Fear is a much-needed study. As it says on the back cover

Easter reminds the world that Jesus was physically resurrected from the dead, and that we can be spiritually resurrected and reborn. This is because the resurrection of Christ brings the future power of God — that will someday heal and renew the entire world — into our lives now.

This is not a naive hope or an utopian sort of idealism.

He shows how the resurrection can shape every aspect of our lives — “our inner emotional lives, our relationships, our pursuit of justice, and our attitudes towards history and even death itself.” Set within the loss of hopefulness in Western culture, this is an exceedingly important book.

This is one of the finest studies of the implications of Easter and, especially since it was written in a time of fraught fears and heavy burdens, it is especially urgent for today. Keller most likely knew it would be his final book. If you are a fan of Keller, obviously, you don’t want to miss this. If you haven’t read him, this is an excellent place to start.

Easter: The Season of the Resurrection of Jesus Wesley Hill (IVP) $20.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $16.00

The newest in the great “Fullness of Time” series of hand-sized, succinct hardbacks, Easter is, I suppose, the one many of us have been waiting for. Advent, Christmastime, Epiphany, Pentecost and Lent have all been done (with Ordinary Time coming next year) and yet we’ve been especially eager for this. How excited and glad I was when I heard that Wes Hill was invited to write it. Edited by Esau McCaulley, each of these have been very good, each in their own way, by robust practitioners of the distinctive habits of the church year. Each offers a historical and theological overview of the church season under consideration and draws out practical stuff to do in order to more appropriately and fruitfully experience the blessings of each particular season of the liturgical calendar.

Easter, the season of resurrection, of course, carries a message and realty that we can simply never get enough of. Obviously I hope nearly everyone on our mailing list orders this. It’s that important, and Wes Hill does such a fine job, it deserves your attention. I mean that.

As I started to read Easter: The Season of the Resurrection of Jesus I’ll admit to you, dear readers, that I was a tad reluctant. I wanted to read this fresh, for the first time, on Easter. Alas, an occupational hazard here on the frontlines of bookselling, I had to read it early. I suspect if you order it from us now you just might succumb as well. It is so good.

Hill starts with a moving story (at least it was moving to me; I’ll admit to shedding some tears) of a grand Easter Vigil service where key points of the unfolding covenantal drama of the whole Bible are read in darkness, with the service timed so that the Easter shouts are timed with the rising of the sun, a multi-sensory experience of this new life breaking into human history. Deeply Scriptural and yet liturgically performative, he unpacks this telling of this experience (it doesn’t hurt that N.T. Wright was the Bishop in that church that chilly English early morn) and it reminded me of how some of friends and loved ones who prefer a higher church worship experience are on to something rich. Words can hardly explain the world-shaking and momentous significance of this death-to-life victory pascha, so perhaps the high drama of liturgy is a wise way to celebrate; he draws on a famous argument by Beth Manard for this that is notable.  In any case, the opening of the book was captivating, rich, informative and moving.

Professor Hill — who has written a fascinating book on the Trinity in the writings of Paul and a recent small one on the Lord’s Prayer (The Lord’s Prayer: A Guide to Praying the Our Father published handsomely by Lexham; $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19) — teaches at Western Theological Seminary and knows his stuff. Happily, though, his two chapters on the Biblical basis of the resurrection stories (in the four gospels and Acts) are well told, interesting, and a helpful reminder for those of us who know all four stories well but haven’t taken the time to do a close comparison. Nice.

The rest of the book developed themes of the historicity of the bodily resurrection, why the early church did their baptisms on Easter, hinting at the deeper meaning of it all, and a nice reminder of the reason we have fifty days of Eastertide feasts and celebrations (not to mention some lovely reminders to go all out in joyful partying in this season.) There is a chapter called “World Upside Down” on the wholistic nature of the gospel — word and deed, evangelism and justice, charity and social change — informed by a John Stott-esque, Kingdom vision of embodying hope for the real world. He moves to talk about Ascension (which I didn’t expect  but for which I am very, very glad, convinced that it is not given the attention it is due.)

The footnotes are captivating and informative (always a mark of a good book) citing rare ancient text, well known church fathers, modern liturgical thinkers (hooray for Alexander Schumann!) and well known theologians from Calvin to Wesley to Barth to Rahner, and creative writers from George Herbert to Gerard Manley Hopkins to Supper of the Lamb writer priest and chef, Robert Farrar Capon. In other words, it’s a great, great, read.

He ends the book with the chapter “Let Him Easter in Us” (a nod to a line by Hopkins) and the homily offers four things we can take away from the Easter season. My saying it now makes it wound trite but it is not, although it is succinct. I love this last chapter and commend it to you, to be read and re-read over the months to come. Order it soon, please.

Especially if you are interested in the rituals and symbols of the liturgical calendar and why certain churches make a big deal about this season, you will be delighted to learn. But, after all, every Christian tradition affirms the central importance of Easter, right? Maybe you should order a few extras to share.

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The great new books keep on coming, friends, and despite concerns about book buying — especially from real bookstores like ours — we are ever glad to be a part of the (decades-old, now) renaissance of thoughtful, diverse, Christian publishing. Hardly a day goes by that we are not blessed with fascinating orders from all over the land, eager, curious readers who are sometimes desperate for just the right thing to read or to share, to study or promote. We are heartened and humbled by the chance to serve.

We are honored to play a small role in your own formation and your ministry of book-sharing; ha — I know some of you give away as many books as you buy for yourself. Thanks for reading BookNotes and thanks for watching or listening to our “Three Books from Hears & Minds” podcast. Thanks for sending orders to us here in our south central corner of the Keystone State. We are told that what we do matters, and we are grateful for your support.

ALL 15 OF THESE NEW ONES ARE 20% OFF.

As always, scroll to the bottom of this BookNotes column to see all the books discussed and find that order link which takes you to our secure order form page at our website. Or just give us a call (at 717-246-3333.) We’re here 10 am – 6 pm EST Monday through Saturday and we’re happy to chat.

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In no particular order, here are fifteen recent ones that we’re very eager to highlight.

Remissioning Church: A Field Guide to Bringing a Congregation Back to Life Josh Hayden (IVP) $20.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $16.00

What a good price this detailed book is, so even if your only slightly worried about the health of your local church, give this a read and you’ll be at least a bit more aware of the issues facing congregations in decline. I’ll cut to the chase: it notes, “the Spirit of God is inviting established churches to embrace the cross as a pathway to new life to grow in missional presence and see the flourishing of their neighborhoods.”

I’ve been impressed with so many books that carry the word “missional” in the title or subtitle these days, although a few years ago it nearly became such a buzz-word as to be considerably less meaningful that in the early, heady days of quoting Newbigin and insisting that we follow a radical Christ into our post-Christian culture by serving well even as we embody the reign of God breaking into our midst (within or, more likely, outside the conventional church walls.) I have long admired the extraordinary books by Howard Snyder (like his must-read Community of the King) that in the last century said that the real point of the Biblical narrative is the coming new creation restoration of “all things” (Ephesians 1:10) under the rubric of the Kingdom of God. The local community of worshipping believers is the hub of that broader wheel, with the scattered people of God being spokes of the church even as they head off to various spheres and callings throughout the work-week. That emphasis on strong community and a large sense of sent-ness was missional before missional was a thing.

Yet, despite the missional / Kingdom vision (and very good work in so many books and talks and podcasts and confabs around the world) churches remain in the doldrums. In recent years, those that use the overtly Biblical language of justice or reconciliation or even community service are under attack, sometimes from their own members, fearing their leaders have gone “woke.” Which, of course, is a darn shame, how the MAGA movement has stolen even our Biblical language, as if justice and liberation and reconciliation are bad things!

Enter Josh Hayden, a church leader who runs trainings for various denominational leaders (and within global networks as well.) Without giving up on a missional vision of cultural contextualization and “reading the signs of the times” he does some basic church revitalization stuff “through a transformational process from death to new life.”

This is brand new so I’ve only skimmed it but I think it may be a truly stand-out book in this genre where there is already a plethora of congregational leaders offering programs and plans to help your church get out of the doldrums.

Dying? How’s that for a plan.

Still there are plenty of field-tested and quite practical strategies offered in Remissioning. It is called “a field guide” after all. United Methodist former Bishop Will Willimon, notes how Hayden loves the local church and that his new book “is destined to help scores of churches find their way to the future.” Maybe you need it, or somebody you know…

1 Corinthians: A Theological, Pastoral, & Missional Commentary Michael J. Gorman (Eerdmans) $39.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $31.99

We don’t often write about the many scholarly theological books and serious Biblical commentaries that we carry; not as many of our customers seem interested — I guess the readers who wade in that part of the deep end of the book buying waters don’t follow us, much — but there are a few masters of the work whose work I will always shout about, glad for their continued efforts and how their research and writing serves the body of Christ (not to mention interested skeptics or seekers.) You know some of the biggest working names in Biblical scholarship these days, I assume, and surely, Mike Gorman is on that list. I’d read anything he does, and you should, too.

His last major volumes were on the spirituality of Paul and the call to “cruciformity.” (There is even a book about his work, with great scholars weighing in, mostly in tribute and fine-tuning.) He has a heady book on John and an accesible one on Revelation. He’s done a major project on Romans and now, in an amazingly insight hardback, he brings his Pauline studies to bear on this beloved (if at time perplexing) letter of the great Apostle to the gentiles.

Gorman, who teaches at St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute in Baltimore, MD, has given us in his 1 Corinthians, for those who care about such distinctions, what we might call a theological commentary. That is, he is not limited to merely literalistic and grammatical details and pure exegesis. He moves beyond the simple exegetical exposition and invites us to ponder more carefully what Paul meant and how we can understand this letter not only in its historical and canonical shape but in the framework created by other Pauline letters and the theology that emerges from them. That is, it’s a careful study, line by line, but framed by this bigger, missional concern, for living the truth of the letter in our very 21st century lives.  There is that word missional, again, right in the subtitle, which should alert you to his passion for both big picture theological thinking and very contemporary application.

Here is how Andy Johnson, a fine, emerging scholar who teaches at Nazarene Theological Seminary, puts it: Gorman, he says, “engages with culturally, historically, and theologically diverse voices to bring the concerns of this ancient letter into conversation with challenges facing the church today.” Johnson insists that “it is now my first choice for classroom use and the first recommendation I’ll have for pastors teaching and preaching on 1 Corinthians.”

“…it is now my first choice for classroom use and the first recommendation I’ll have for pastors teaching and preaching on 1 Corinthians.”

Likewise, Lucy Peppiatt (of Westminster Theological Centre in the UK) notes that this volume is “a treasure trove” because Gorman not only “provides a wealth of background information and explanation of the text, but he also captures the spirit and heart of what Paul longs to communicate to this complicated community.”

Paul says (in 1 Cor. 10:11) that this was written “also for our sake” and Mike cares deeply about local contemporary churches of all sorts, hoping they will hear and do what the letter inspires. In this sense he is theological, yes, but also pastoral. It isn’t every major commentary written by a world-class scholar, who offers discussion questions for pondering or even for a group studying together. These are really amazing and very useful for anyone teaching or preaching the text.

(I love, also, how in his “recommended reading” section after the superb introductory chapter, he suggests the most basic titles, the some mid-level ones, and those that are more rigorous or demanding reads. Hooray for this. He offers plenty of good suggestions after each chapter, too. Bibliophiles will love this guy who seems to know something about everything related to this project.)

From his earliest days, Professor Gorman has had a heart for the global church and is aware of the diversity (theologically and ethnically and culturally) of God’s people. He is attentive to this — I hope the word ecumenical doesn’t scare you away — and even as pastoral as he is, Gorman (as Issac Augustine Morales, OP, puts it) “brings out important elements of the text that continue to challenge believers today.”

In other words, this is just what a good commentary can be. Granted, I have not studied every chapter yet, but believe me — if you are a Bible lover and read commentaries at all (and even if you do not) Gorman’s new Eerdmans 1 Corinthians: A Theological, Pastoral, & Mission Commentary is one you will want to have handy. Order it today.

Walking the Way of the Wise: A Biblical Theology of Wisdom Mitchell L. Chase (IVP)$26.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.80

Often when a new volume is released in the Essential Studies in Biblical Theology, I want to whoop about it. This fabulous series of small books {we stock them all] brings a down-to-Earth, Biblically-robust, big-picture overview for thoughtful readers who want to dig in without wading through a 400-page hardback tome. The volumes in the InterVarsity Press ESBT series — a bit like the similarly small “Short Studies in Biblical Theology” published by Crossway — are ideal for those new to focused Biblical study and for anyone who likes the overview vision of seeing how a certain theme is played out throughout the Biblical narrative.

And so, the brand new one in the ESBT series just came out and it is on wisdom. Who doesn’t need more wisdom in their lives, more careful assessment of the many unwise options in our social contexts, more faithful application of Biblical truth in admittedly complex situations? Wisdom is a key to reading Scripture and while the Wisdom literature doesn’t seem to advance the storyline of the unfolding Biblical narrative, we ought to recall that wisdom in the Bible is found in more than the co-called wisdom literature. This book shows just that.

Mitchell Chase here traces the themes of wisdom (and folly) throughout Scripture. This book is, in the words of J. Daniel Hays, “strong academically, but it is also very readable and engaging, enriching to one’s one personal walk with God.”

And, of course, as is the custom in these ESBT books, every text is read in light of the bigger Biblical story and (in the words of Matthew Y. Emerson of Oklahoma Baptist University) “in its culmination in the person and work of Christ.” Walking in the Way of the Wise “sheds light on how every text is written for the instruction of the people of God in every day and age.” Nicely done, with a some study questions in the back.

In God’s Good Image: How Jesus Dignifies, Shapes, and Confronts Our Cultural Identities J.W. Buck (Herald Press) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

You know how I stand on the big stage at the Jubilee conference to highlight important books for the gathered crowd? I regret not having read this before the last conference as I now wish I had highlighted it for one and all. I had a hunch I was going to like it and pondered putting it on the short list of those few I was promoting at Jubilee, but I just hadn’t spent enough time with it in February.

Now I’m ready to say that I love this book, that I found it challenging and entertaining, well-written and hard-hitting, with a perspective that is so solid and good. Culture is all around us, Buck reminds us, and all we think and do and say is shaped by the cultural air that we breath.  But yet, the subtle (or sometimes not so subtle) values that seep into our souls may not be in keeping with a social imagination shaped by Holy Scripture. What would Jesus say about our very identity to those of us stuck in the dominant culture, absorbing it’s deformed values?

This question is the wonderful topic of this beautiful and thoughtful book. I don’t want to say In God’s Good Image is about race and racism, or even ethnicity as such, but that comes close; that’s part of it. It is about who we are and who Jesus was and is (he did embody a particular identity as a Jewish man in first century Palestine, of course.)

Here’s a heads up: as it says on the back cover, “Jesus empowers those from minority cultures to resist pressure to assimilate in unhealthy ways and instead live into their God-given identity.” And of course, those formed by the majority culture are to “humbly embrace their identity as they foster space for others.” Buck explores all that and more.

This is a book about the glories of a robust doctrine of creation — God made us with differences — and it is, also, between the lines, a book advancing social pluralism. Can we get along, making space for others? Can we see God offering dignity as a key aspect of a healthy culture (and how that might allow us to be both at home and sometimes exiles of that very culture)?

After three chapters about understanding culture (including our sacred identity in Jesus) the next 15 chapters are each grounded in a Biblical text from the Old or New Testaments. What an illuminating Scriptural study about culture!

Then, the last four chapters offer what Buck calls a “Cultural Discovery Process” applied first for individuals and then for churches. There is a closing chapter on “God’s Good Image for Pastors” which is good for all of us, but certainly for congregational leaders.

I love this complex and delightful book by this very good and orderly writer. Three cheers for In God’s Good Image! Buck is a film-maker and church-planter, a creative entrepreneur and social activist as well as a family man, now living in Tucson AZ. I previously loved his visionary and yet very practical handbook to social activism called Everyday Activism: Following 7 Practices of Jesus to Create a Just World (Baker; $20.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $16.00) and now hold this new one up as a major, lovely contribution.

The Fix: How the Twelve Steps Offer a Surprising Path of Transformation for the Well-Adjusted, the Down-and-Out, and Everyone in Between Ian Morgan Cron (Zondervan) $29.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

I love Ian Cron and while he may not remember me — he’s a very successful author, now, after all — I highlighted his first book, a fictional novel (or was it?) called Chasing Francis about a disgruntled pastor who made a trip to Assisi and brought back exciting Franciscan wisdom for his boring parish and, well, they mostly yawned. (Zondervan; $19.99 //OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99) I loved that book! Then he wrote one of my all time favorite memoirs, a book I still cite in workshops and gladly press into the hands of anyone interested in this genre: Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir. . . of Sorts (Zondervan; $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19.) What a story!

Cron then grew pretty well known by co-writing one of the most popular (and clear-headed) enneagram books of all time, The Road Back to You, followed by, as his enneagram type must do, I guess, another: The Story of You: An Enneagram Journey to Becoming Your True Self. We’ve got them both although my enneagram type might say we’ve got enough books on the enneagram now. But that second one he did was very moving and I liked that big picture true story stuff.

Which brings us to a book that I think we really, really need. It is a book on the 12-steps (and, iinterestingly, comes out on the heels of another similar book, the wonderful, new, thorough book by John Ortberg called Steps: A Guide to Transforming Your Life When Willpower Isn’t Enough (Tyndale; $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99.) I loved Ortberg’s introduction to the 12 steps of AA (for anyone) and am sure Ian’s new work — written, they say, with “his signature wit, wisdom, and transparency” — will help us understand the importance of these twelve steps and, perhaps, to “see the world in a startling new way.” That’s the promise on the back cover and I’m betting on it.

Look; Ian Cron is a great writer. He’s seen some things and knows both about contemplative mystical stuff and practical psychological stuff. His worldview and social vision remains nearly Franciscan — love God, self, others, and the planet, too — and he is all about transformation (again, for self, others, and the cosmos. Think Richard Rohr.) He is God- centered but knows we all need a fix for the pain of living in a broken world.

Jen Hatmaker, an energetic writer herself, says this book “should come with a warning label” and she insists, “This is not an inconsequential book.” I have hardly ever seen such an enticing and serious blurb on a book jacket (especially one where the author is known for his good humor and wit.)  Not. An. Inconsequential. Book.

Curt Thompson writes of it beautifully and I think he says it best:

With The Fix comes a herald who pulls the curtain back on what we all sense in the deep: that we are people of insatiable longing, that our longing is often brutally and fathomlessly entangled with our pain, and that as a result, we are all addicts. But our author and guide does not leave us there. With the balm of humor that is required if we are to face the bracing reality of our lives as revealed on these pages and with a compelling vulnerability that never seeks its own notoriety, Ian Cron invites us all to come home. And home is where I want to be. Read this book, and begin to find your way there. — Curt Thompson, MD, psychiatrist and author of The Soul of Desire and The Deepest Place

Knowing and Being Known: Hope for All Our Intimate Relationships Erin F. Moniz (IVP) $18.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

I won’t say too much about this as it will be described with much enthusiasm in our next podcast, set to drop any day now. I adore this book and am slowly working my way through it. I gush about it in the “Three Books from Hearts & Minds” podcast saying just why it is so very important.

Firstly, I’ll note that this is just a tad academic, but not too much so. Not a scholarly work, really, it is thoughtful and wise, careful and insightful. As many books on relationships are sort of dumbed down and made almost too chatty and casual, this gives the huge topic of intimacy it’s due. It is serious and wise and well-written and important. Wow.

Secondly, the insights found in Knowing and Being Known have developed based on years of experience — field research, I’d call it — with emerging young adults. She is an Anglican pastor who works as a college minister at Baylor University in Waco, TX. Hooray for her and a shout-out to anyone working with college-age young adults: you need this book as I suspect you already know. But here’s the thing: it is not only for those working with young adults and it is not primarily a book about campus ministry. That is her context and social location but, man, she understands the human condition, our deep need for connection, and the important of intimacy within all of our human relationships.  Sheila Wray Gregoire (author of The Great Sex Rescue and a new one on marriage) puts it, “Erin’s vision of churches transformed by real intimacy is both scary and exciting.” Are you ready for it?

Listen to these two profound authors raving about this marvelous new book.

At one level, this book may strike you as old hat. Yet another book on relationships and faith by an evangelical Christian author? But look closer. Here is a sensitive study of intimacy written by a seasoned pastor, informed by extensive fieldwork, leavened with wit and humor, and — above all — strikingly in tune with the overarching story as well as the micro details of the Bible’s grand story of redemption in Christ. If you or someone you know longs for deeper friendships, and especially if you work with emerging adults, this book will enlighten, instruct, inspire, and equip you for the lifelong work of nurturing mutual love. — Wesley Hill, professor of New Testament at Western Theological Seminary, author of Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian and Easter: The Season of the Resurrection of Jesus

In an American Christian context awash in pragmatic — but often reductive —takes on marriage implying that marital intimacy is the best or only way to address loneliness, Moniz points us to a robust, theologically rich, and biblical understanding of intimacy. Amid our epidemic of loneliness, she expertly offers us humane, approachable, and expansive theological resources to broaden our imagination about friendship, love, and the relationships that shape our lives. This book shows how the gospel is good news for relationships and points the way toward greater relational flourishing for us all. — Tish Harrison Warren, Anglican priest and author of Liturgy of the Ordinary and Prayer in the Night

The God of Story: Discovering the Narrative of Scripture Through the Language of Storytelling Daneil Schwabauer (Baker) $18.99 // OUIR SALE PRICE = $15.19

As one of the great new books of this season, I’m impressed with The God of Story for a couple of reasons, in part because it both understands the bigger picture flow of the Biblical story as a story — the “narrative” of the subtitle — and because it helps us understand better why that is important. The language of storytelling is itself both ancient and, it seems to me, nearly postmodern, which is to say it isn’t merely about communicating data and facts (as if that’s what the Good Book is all about.)  Nope, we need to understand the power of mythic storytelling to understand the power of the Book.

As I sometimes say when I do workshops on the reading life, stories come to us through narrative (but not only through books and literature — a good hip-hop song, a country ballad, an opera or TV show each have narrative elements and count as some of the best storytelling around. You know; of course you do.)

And so, this author (who is new to me) helps us understand what makes us tick as humans, what language is, why stories matter, how they work, all so that we might more insightfully understand our own storied lives and, frankly, to more faithfully read the Bible. Not bad, eh?

Making it even better, the book comes with a fabulous forward by Leonard Sweet, who has said this sort of stuff his whole long life. Sweet notes some great insights from the book — he writes a good forward, believe me — and ends with a fabulous anecdote about a time when Frederick Buechner and Maya Angelou shared a stage.  I’ll let you read how Len tells of what Maya Angelou said, but I’ll quote Buechner, who, reflecting on our shared humanity, despite our differences, said “We all have the same story, and therefore anybody’s story can illuminate our own.”

You understand more about why that is after reading The God of Story. You’ll be thrilled to learn more about this “language of life” (as Schwabauer calls it) and how the core aspects of a good story (whether a novel or movie or epic poem) can illuminate reality for us all. Daniel Schwabauer is an eloquent and good guide and he is both a fantasy and sci-fi novelist and a English prof at MidAmerica Nazarene University.

Novelist Allen Arnold (and author of The Story of With) says that this is “the most important book on story in decades.” He predicts “you’ll never read a novel, watch a movie, or see your own story through the same eyes again.”  Not bad for one book. This is one you should pick up.

Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman Patrick Hutchison (St. Martin’s Press) $29.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.20

Well, speaking of stories, want a rip-roaring one? Okay, maybe not rip-roaring but certainly riveting. Is this office worker dude going to make it in the wilds of the great Pacific North West? And, more to the point, is he going to make his own house? Who would have thought that the narration of a building project could be so darn interesting? Writer Jospeh Menninger (himself author of A Barn in New England: Making a Home in Three Acres) calls it “a hammer-and-nail mini saga.”

I’m a fan of these kinds of books, writers learning to work with their hands — the wood carver David Esterly of The Lost Carving: A Journey to the Heart of Making is just so eloquent and wise about the beauty of his work and the recent bestseller Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman by Scotsman Callum Robinson is so well done about woodworking, building a business, and learning to be responsible. One of our all-time favorite reads is the breathtakingly profound The Sound of Life’s Unspeakable Beauty by German woodsman and luthier Martin Schleske, published in 2020 by Eerdmans, who spends considerable time in the woods. And don’t get me started about the many great books about moving off the grid to farm a homestead or live on the land. Hutchison, too, importantly, learns to love his place there at the end of the gravel road called Wit’s End.

Anyway, Cabin was a hot item in many stores this past Christmastime and we were glad to have a few on hand. It isn’t brand new, but it is new enough that I just had to list it here, now. Part Walden, I guess, but funnier, with that Thoreauvian self-reliance thing.

Bob Drury, a pretty funny and imaginative guy himself, says:

Imagine if Bill Bryson had decided to put down stakes during his walk in the woods and asked Charles Bukowski to help him refurbish a derelict shack deep in the forest of the Cascade Mountains.

The Wages of Cinema: A Christian Aesthetic of Film in Conversation with Dorothy L. Sayers Crystal L. Downing (IVP Academic) $29.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.20

I am not exaggerating when I say that only Crystal Downing could have pulled off such an audacious project as this; her love of semiotics, her brilliant knowledge of all things Dorothy Sayers, her passion for contemporary art and film. Her wit, coming up with that amazingly clever title for this serious book. It’s the latest in the prestigious and fabulously interesting “Studies in Theology and the Arts” series which we gladly keep in stock. Although most in that series are about the visual creativity and the standard painterly arts, one big one (by Malcolm Guite) is on the literature of Coleridge, and now, this new one, on film.

In light of Dorothy Sayers.

One reviewer, Krista Imbesi, of Messiah University, calls Wages… “thought-provoking and insightful” and says “this work offers a fresh perspective on cinema’s artistic and spiritual dimensions.” I’d say that is an understatement! Nobody has done anything quite like this before. I like Jim Beitler (of Wheaton) who says, more vividly, that this is “a blockbuster of a book.” Yes!

I have only begun to skim the almost 250-page work, but I can assure you it has lots about Dorothy Sayers. And lots about movies. Dr. Downing has written scholarly works on Sayers and on cinema, but this new one isn’t just a simple combo,  bringing her previous two together, cobbling together a half-and-half summary of previous work. Not at all. This seems to be a new and major — dare I say landmark or groundbreaking? — contribution to both film studies and Sayers (and therefore, by extension, Inklings) studies even as it skitters around questions of linguistics and aesthetics, culture and society.  Note: we learn that Sayer’s interaction with cinema in the middle of the 20th century was formidable and yet has regularly been dismissed or underestimated; Downing is re-channeling Sayer’s insight. Who knew?

Plus, it sure looks like sustained fun — you’ll get more hours of reading pleasure here than the standard two hours of going to the cineplex. As it says on the back, she explores theological topics “with examples ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Barbie… Downing presents different approaches to film theory and how they can be enriched by the truths of the Christian faith.”

We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine Alissa Wilkinson (Liveright) $29.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

Well, Crystal Downing, in the early pages of her book (see above) The Wages of Cinema quotes my favorite philosopher of film, William D. Romanowski, observing that her method differs from his, but that he indeed pays close attention to the aesthetics of film without implying that serious film criticism must be all about the high-brow “hoity-toity” films that nobody has seen. I appreciate that. Alissa Wilkinson, author of this brand new We Tell Oursleves Stories, loves popular culture — she co-wrote a book about zombies and the politics of apocalypse, after all — but also tends to gravitate to not a few films that few people see; she is one of the rising film review stars in our contemporary culture, now writing regularly for The New York Times. She is well grounded in a profoundly Christian worldview and has written a bit about the implications for a public theology for culture studies. She is a robust thinker, as her last book surely showed, the delightfully imaginative story of four famous women eating a meal together — Salty: Lessons on Eating, Drinking, and Living from Revolutionary Women (Broadleaf; $25.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.19.) She does tend towards the important and profound.

Just released last week, We Tell Ourselves Stories is a major project about the extraordinary writer Joan Didion, who had connections not only to the high-brow New York literary scene, but with Hollywood, and, as one writer puts it, “with politics, and American itself.”  I was at first surprised that Christian film critic Wilkinson was doing a book about Didion but it began to make sense. The more I learned about Didion, the more I couldn’t wait to see what Alissa would do with her storied life. The title itself, as you will discover, is taken from a line by Didion herself…

Emily Nussbaum says the book is “the prefect guide to one of America’s most celebrated literary pioneers.” Perhaps hinting at the theme of the book, she continues, saying that We Tell Ourselves Stories, “explores ways in which Didion taught herself to resist America’s deepest mythologies — even those she had originally embraced.”

Did you catch that? This book is going to somehow be incisive and, as Tracy Daugherty, author of the highly regarded The Last Love Song: A Biography of Joan Didion, puts it “an invaluable education and a timely warning.”  A warning. By way of looking at the movies.

Didion famously wrote books capturing the disillusionment of the 1960s generations. One critic (who has written about Sylvia Plath) says “Wilkinson expertly conjures that time and place” and say the book is a “moving and lyrical account of Didion’s California dreams.”

But, as Wilkinson clearly shows, Didion was not rosy about the human condition and the stories we tell ourselves (most obviously, in films.) What sort of California dreamin’ did she do? Perhaps, I wonder, something like Jeremiah’s nay-saying when thinking about Babylonian exile?

I am looking forward to learning much about this remarkable woman’s evolution and development and how her deepest perspective perhaps influenced her own sense of life and times. As Julia May Jonas says, We Tell Ourselves Stories is “more than an essential contribution to the Didion canon.” She says it “delves into the evolution of American consciousness with dizzying intelligence and insight.” This, my friends, is an important book. You heard it here. I suspect it is going to be rewarded with many serious accolades by the end of the year.

Beautiful, Disappointing, Hopeful: How Gratitude, Grief, and Grace Reflect the Christian Story Drew Hyun (Zondervan) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

This is one wonderful book and we are so excited to tell you about it. I will be brief, but know that this is one of the great books of its kind that I’ve read in a while. It is, in many ways, an apologetics project — a book making the case for Christian truth and the viability of the Christian faith perhaps written for skeptics and seekers. (The author is clear about that, inviting skeptical readers with a hospitable welcome.) Whether you have serious doubts or significant struggles with the legitimacy of standard Christian belief, or you know someone who does (and who doesn’t?) then this book by Drew Hyun is going to be very reassuring.

First, it is not a preachy sermon or strident philosophical push-back against atheists or secularization. It is not about the culture wars. It doesn’t rebuke those with doubts or disappointments. Rather, it is offering a lens through which we can understand real life, a lens that is rooted in the primary themes of the Biblical drama. Some refer to those highpoints of our story as creation / fall / redemption (he doesn’t put it that was as far as I recall) but the primary chapters of this book seem to parallel that same narrative flow.

That is, the world is good — beautiful, even. And yet, we all live East of Eden and in our fallen world we all experience various sorts of disappointments. Life hurts. And thirdly, given the power of the story of redemption and final restoration, we can be hopeful. If the trilogy of “beauty-disappointment-hope” ins’t a parallel to our slogan of “creation-fall-redemption”, I don’t know what is. And therein lies the goodness of this fine book: who among us doesn’t know beauty and sadness and still hold out for some sort of hope? It is all so real; we don’t have to make a “case for…” or argue about it, but we can, as Beautiful, Disappointing, Hopeful: How Gratitude, Grief, and Grace Reflect the Christian Story does, just shine a light to illuminate these distinctive aspects of our human condition. Playful as it is at times (with fun stories and apt allusions to pop culture) the book is deeply, deeply human. It is one of the best invitations to a more real life that I have read in a long while. I hope you buy a few to give away.

The big question throughout this book, then, is how we make sense of a world that is filled with both beauty and disappointment. And, then, given that, where can we find hope? Can the Christian faith give an account for all this stuff we all really feel? Akin to the strategy of Mere Christianity or N.T. Wright’s Simply Christian, can these universal longings point beyond us to something fine?

Rich Villlodas (who knows Hyun from church circles in NYC) is surely right when he says:

Beauty, disappointment, and hope are not words we string together every day, but maybe we should start doing so. These three words capture the essence of life and are core to the Christian story. Drew Hyun has offered a compelling resource for those of us who are longing for a faith big enough to embrace these realities. Drew has brought about beauty and hope for so many people living with deep disappointment. If you read this book, you’ll see why. — Rich Villodas, lead pastor, New Life Fellowship, and author of  The Narrow Path: How the Subversive Way of Jesus Satisfies Our Souls

The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money Is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create A New Way Forward Malcolm Foley (Brazos Press) $21.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.59

Every now and then a book comes along that offers us truly something new, even if we are fairly well-read in a certain topic. I’ve noted that a few times in this very column and I hope you don’t grow tired of me exclaiming when a book truly says something fresh or good or extraordinary. There are lots of good books on lots of important stuff, but it is special — and deserves our support — when a title truly brings innovative insight, fresh takes, a new perspective, offering in a captivating manner. Rev. Dr. Malcolm Foley — I think this is his first book! — is such a writer and thinker and I have rarely read anything quite like this.

That racism is deeply structural in American culture is so self-evident that only the ideologically-captured refuse to see it. Many people may not all be that individually prejudiced but we all live in this system created, historically, with things (not that long ago) like Jim Crow laws, crass red-lining in the real estate business, inequities in home mortgages, injustices in hiring and firing. Read The New Jim Crow or Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy to see how racism is embedded in the courts and prisons. There is no getting around it that those of us wanting to love our neighbors well and stand for justice as the Bible demands that we do, with a passion for social righteousness simply must do an architectonic critique of the systems and habits and instincts, the principalities and powers and politics that have been structured in ways that are harmful for the common good.

Racism, says Foley, is not mostly about hate, as many popular placards say. It’s about greed.

What?

Wow — this searing critique is one that simply must be read, offering (in the words of Christina Edmondson) “a necessary antidote to racism” by putting down “the delusions and temptations of greed.”

I’m going to have to think about this a lot, and I’m still trying to ponder how to relate the work of anti-racism and being anti-Mammon. Major scholars such as Jonathan Tran (who wrote the important but quite scholarly Asian Americans and the Spirit of Racial Capitalism) have weighed in, and Tran’s remarks about this book are weighty:

Tran writes, simply:

Foley reminds us that the church’s fight against anti-Black lynching and its struggle for economic justice and solidarity are the same fight.

MLK said these very sorts of things and the best of the civil rights movement worked for the poor and for workers rights even as they lobbied for equal rights legislation and the like. Rev. Foley is clear — racism and Mammon are not siblings (two different if connected problems) but racism is the offspring of our love of money. Wow.

I love how some authors (like Aimee Byrd) note how very hopeful this book is. She admits says that such hopeful work is “disruptive” but she also says it is “full of wonder.” That’s a take-away I bet you didn’t see coming…

Foley started out a math and science nerd, ended up at Yale Divinity School, until studying the Puritans and reformation thinkers in a PhD program. He calls them his Nineveh, in that he didn’t feel inclined to want to add his voice to the anti-racism and civil rights movement so he ran from that calling. Well, you know what happened to Jonah, who ran from God’s will. Thank God that Reverend Foley (now with a PhD in history from Baylor) stopped running and did what he had to do: he wrote one of the most amazing books on Christian social ethics and racial justice we’ve seen. Drawing on everyone from early church Fathers to the Westminster Divines to the Grimke sisters to Ida B. Wells, he is a fabulously informed historian. How many books cite Herman Bavinck and James Cone, Basil the Great and Walter Brueggemann? Hooray.

The Anti-Greed Gospel is, at least, a book we should be talking about.

The Deep-Rooted Marriage: Cultivating Intimacy, Healing, and Delight Dan B. Allender & Steve Call (Thomas Nelson) $29.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

I hope you saw the book I reviewed up above, the one called To Know As We Are Known, which is about intimacy in relationships. It is less about sexuality and marriage, but is a landmark work on how emerging adults need to think about such things. It really is for all of us and highlights true intimacy within authentic community.

This new Dan Allender book is a similar sort of book, good for nearly anyone, but created for married couples who need to be reminded that marriage is designed (as they put it) “to be a glorious, transformative, joyous union of two imperfect people seeking profound love, empathy and connection.”

(Take note, fans of Elon Musk, I want to interject: empathy is not a bad thing.)

I nearly weep as I write these words as I know several couples — and you do, too — who simply do not come anywhere close to this normative sort of transformational, healing relationship, but are barely hanging on, and maybe doing emotional damage to one another. Is there hope? Is the gospel big enough and powerful enough to heal the hurts and bring couples towards a life-giving partnership? Can deeply-rooted marital intimacy be cultivated?

This book — called “deeply personal and richly insightful” — is a guide to exploring one’s own stories and how those stories have influenced your relationships and then which offers a plan to “quite the whisper of shame and its corrosive effects.” Can we learn to “lay down our weapons and lean into humility?” How can we live well with our past hurts and learn to “repair rupture”? Can we suffer together and bless one another?

Look: marriage is not about “merely getting along or learning to compromise; it reveals who you are and invites you to who you can become.” Such a vision of radically graceful transformation can finally be a place of honor and rest, of play and joy, of delight and home. Maybe, as they suggest, it can be “a taste of heaven.”

I love Dan Allender who has written deep books on the nature of our stories, on how Psalms can reveal and give voice to our emotions, how love calls us to give our lives away in bold, costly service, on the delight of sabbath, on holy sexuality, and — his most famous I suppose— books about healing the hurt of sexual abuse. Dan has co-written many books with his old pal and world-class Bible scholar Tremper Longman, but here he pairs up with Steve Call, a clinical psychologist who specializes in reconnecting couples in marriage counseling. They work well together at Allender’s Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. This book will be a great gift to many, I am sure. Let us hope and pray. Kudos.

The Traveler’s Path: Finding Spiritual Growth and Inspiration Through Travel Douglas J. Brouwer (The Reformed Journal Books) $22.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.60

For those who may not know, The Reformed Journal is an older, historic Christian print magazine from the moderate and wisely culturally-engaged Reformed community, mostly from the old CRC and RCA denominations. Delightfully rooted in their “all of life redeemed” worldview that animates much of what some call neo-Calvinism and mostly in communion with other mainline denominational folks, they, historically, it has been a great journal alongside, say, The Christian Century or Christianity Today. I have no direct connections with the famous Dutch Reformed tradition (folks that founded, for instance, Dordt College, Calvin University, Hope College, and Western Seminary in Holland, MI, say, or the ICS in Toronto) but loved the old Reformed Journal. We even still have a few of the great anthology Eerdmans put out decades ago of some of their greatest articles and essays (by the likes of Cornelias Plantinga, Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen, Lewis Smedes, Nicholas Wolterstorff, Allan Boesak, and Rich Mouw) called The Best of the Reformed Journal, edited by James Bratt & Ronald Wells, back before the print journal folded. You should order that!

I tell you that to invite you to follow the updated, online, 21st century itineration of RJ with contemporary writers like Kristen Du Mez and Debra Rienstra and Wes Granberg-Michaelson and Marilyn McEntyre and a big and lovely array of excellent thinkers and writers, many who are working pastors. You can see their RJ featured pieces and their many bloggers HERE.

And I say all that to celebrate, again, that they have started a little, indie publishing outfit, Reformed Journal Books. Their first release was a stunning and important book by Buechner scholar and earnest storyteller and very fine writer, Jeffrey Monroe called Telling Stories in the Dark: Finding Healing and Hope in Sharing our Sadness, Grief, Trauma, and Pain (which I have previously reviewed at BookNotes – $21.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.59) and now, their second official release just came out, the lovely and wise The Traveler’s Path by PC(USA) pastor and writer Douglas Brouwer. (Yes, Central Pennsylvania friends, the Rev. Doug Brouwer that used to pastor in Harrisburg, PA. Hooray!)

Brouwer has pastored in several US locations, and did a stint in Switzerland and, before retirement, in The Hague, Netherlands. Some of this is described in his lively, touching memoir Chasing the Wind: A Pastor’s Life that came out in 2022. His new book is quite a good read and we’re glad to highlight it here.

I am not much of a traveller — many of us simply can’t afford the time or money to do fancy vacations or exotic voyages. Some of us don’t like the hassle and uncertainty of far-away trips. But you know what? Some of us love reading about those who do venture into the wilds, and it is a venerable sort of writing, a genre with its own section in many good bookstores. Mostly written as memoir-like journalism and many even as self-help sort of guides to awareness and what is learned on the road, there are some (but not that many) that are overtly spiritual and pleasantly theological. We’ve got a handful.

Brouwer’s new book highlights travels of all sorts— including mission trips and spiritual pilgrimages — that open up new vistas of adventure and spiritual self-understanding. Brouwer wrote a fine little book years ago on discerning one’s vocation and calling so he has a very solid perspective on these things. He has a sense of place and values that. But yet…  As one reviewer, a travel agent and tour guide, put it, The Traveler’s Path will “stir the soul, beckoning us to explore the deeper meaning of travel, to walk in the footsteps of the divine, and to serve with open hearts wherever we are called.” Nice huh?

Brouwer thinks that travel can be transformational. Those who have done experiential education or service learning know that this can be so. Getting out of our comfort zones can help us with cultural understanding, too, and he reflects about that. He has one chapter (“Making Room for Those Who Cannot Travel”) about those who are incarcerated, and the poignancy of imprisonment.  It was a surprising and great chapter. In this easy-to-read delight of a book, Brouwer tells us about all kinds of travel (include job relocations, another somewhat surprising section) which allows us, in the words of James Bratt, to be guided toward “going abroad and to searching deeper within.”

From William Least-Moon to Cheryl Strayed, Jack Kerouac to Alain de Botton (and the interior journeys of Annie Dillard and Henri Nouwen) Brouwer knows the best writers and enters into conversations with them in an enriching way. The Traveler’s Path is more than a collection of travel narratives, although there are plenty stories. It is not a philosophical treatise, but he invites some good thinking. Thoughtful readers — travelers or not — will enjoy it, I’m sure.

Jesus Changes Everything: A New World Made Possible Stanley Hauerwas (Plough Publishing) $12.95 // OUR SALE PRICE = $10.36

We love the classy, handsome books done by our friends at the Bruderhof — Plough Publishing, who also does the must-read, exquiste quarterly journal, Plough — and this series of well-printed and designed compact sized paperbacks are on the top of the list. We stock all of their books — their brilliantly conceived graphic stories, their old-school Anabaptist stuff, their poetry and devotionals and memoirs. All of them.

Jesus Changes Everything is edited by the ever-editing Charles Moore, a great behind-the-scenes treasure in serious Christian publishing, and he brings together (but edits) mostly previously published excerpts and chapters and talks by the controversial Duke theologian, picking and updating readable bits and pieces from here and there, making this practically a brand new collection. I am sure even Hauerwas’s biggest fans haven’t seen all of these pieces, and certainly not together in one succinct, portable (and handsome) little volume. Standing well alongside the others in this handsome series of “Plough Spiritual Guides” like collections of the writing of Oscar Romero, Dorothy Day, Amy Carmichael, Clarence Jordon, Simone Weil, and Abraham Heschel, this new release is one to be treasured. Or cussed at, as the case may be. Let him who have ears…

The solid and helpful introduction to this collection is by Tish Harrison Warren, a fellow Texas Anglican (is Hauerwas a cowboy Episcopalian, as singer-song writer T-Bone Burnett once called himself? His theology may be somewhat Anabaptist and he teaches at a United Methodist related seminary, and he is, after all, a philosopher by trade, I think he  is Episcopalian; he father was a Texan brick-layer.)

In any case, Tish’s splendid introduction is long and serious, almost a full chapter, with very insightful and nicely written explanations of the importance of Hauerwas and his core teachings. As she simply reminds us, “Hauerwas is provocative, but not for provocation’s sake. Instead, he calls us back to the disruptive words of Jesus, and to the church.”

Amen?

The back covers notes that while he is known for zinging insights into today’s ethical questions, he says that “Christians should stop bemoaning their loss of cultural and political power. Instead, they should welcome their status as outsiders and embrace the radical alternative Jesus had in mind for them all along.”

If you haven’t read much in Hauerwasian studies, this is a great starting point, drawing from many of his most serious and widely-discussed books. It is accesible and brief and powerful — just what we need as a fabulous introduction. Very highly recommended.

In case you missed them, all our previous BookNotes columns are archived at our Hearts & Minds website so you can see them in all their funky glory there. I hope you didn’t miss our Lenten list, the one about immigration books, and our post-Jubilee conference sale. Of course in January we celebrated some of our favorite books from 2024. What a fun list that was!

In the last few weeks there have been some long-awaited new releases that are quite notable, a few we’re jazzed about from lesser known authors, and a handful of brand newbies we can’t wait to highlight. Here is what we’ve curated for you this week, highlighting some very new releases of all different sorts. Enjoy. And remember, we survive (by the skin of our teeth) from your orders so we are grateful beyond measure for your support. Spread the word, too, if you can. We know there have to me more thoughtful, open-minded readers out there who appreciate our style of Christian bookselling. Thanks.

ALL BOOKS LISTED are 20% OFF.

Scroll to the very end and click on the ORDER tab and tell us what you want. We’ll reply personally and happily. Read on!

Becoming the Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman’s Path to Ministry Beth Allison Barr (Brazos Press) $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

I hope you know Beth Barr’s amazing The Making of Biblical Womanhood a stunning book with some personal storytelling as a Southern Baptist historian — she’s got a PhD and teaches at Baylor — exploring the question of how (and when and why) the fundamentalist assumptions about the nature of “Biblical womanhood” developed. By contrasting other views of womanhood throughout church history, she shows the late 20th-century fetish about such things in some conservative evangelical circles (including her own Southern Baptist ones, which have been too often dreadfully mean to outspoken women) is neither theologically sound or Biblically warranted. It’s a great read.

This brand new one is the eagerly anticipated sequel of sorts, another historical study of how women’s gifts and callings have or haven’t been honored in some quarters of evangelical Christianity. Of course this isn’t relevant to all denominations, but for many, the way women could exercise formative influence is — wait for it —to marry a minister and become a pastor’s wife.

Barr has herself been a pastor’s wife and lived with certain assumptions about “what she should do and who she should be.” This book (as the back cover puts it) “draws on her experience and Barr’s academic expertise to trace the history of an important leadership role for conservative Protestant women.”  There’s going to be illuminating history and what Kellie Cart Jackson (chair of Africana studies at Wellesley College) class “clear, empowering, and unflinching in its critique of the role of the pastor’s wife.”

Here is a faithful, Biblically-informed and gracious alternative; a “better path forward.”

With Child: Encountering God Alongside Mothers in the Bible Danielle Ayers Jones (Square Halo Books) $22.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $18.39

Speaking of the role of women, this little book is a lovely, nicely written, set of reflections on various mom’s of the Bible. From Sarah to Hannah to Bathsheba to Mary and so many more — including some whose names we do not know — each chapter holds up the story of one of these women from Scripture, bringing forth good insights about, finally, your own “joys, triumphs, fears, and griefs” and what it means to bring them all to God.

Often, becoming a mother transformed the Biblical women’s relationship with God. The cultural and historical circumstances may be different “the struggles of these ancient women are not unlike those we face today.” Each chapter not only invites readers into the story of these women and their parenting, but has reflection questions to ponder and a moving, often beautifully rendered, poetic prayer.

Nicely, on the back, it notes that “whether we have been called to motherhood or not — we are all God’s children.”

Daniel Ayers Jones graduated from nearby York College with an arts degree and has served as an exhibit designer for the famed Walters Museum (in Baltimore.) She seems to be a natural storyteller and has published widely in journals and magazines.

Clay in the Potter’s Hands Diana Pavlac Glyer (Square Halo Books) $29.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

Speaking of Square Halo Books, this book arrived just in time for their extraordinary annual conference (just last weekend, in Lancaster, PA) and the joyous gathering there celebrated her legendary presentations on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien — she has written or edited several important books (such as Bandersnatch) about their artful collaboration. Besides being a tireless scholar of the Inklings, Ms Gyler is a potter and in this brand new book (a revision of a previous project) she offers the best theology of ceramics we’ve yet seen.

Of course she does the obvious— the Bible uses images of God being like a potter and we humans being like clay. But she does a bit more than the expected, and — along with very moving black and white pictures by expert photographer Quay San — offers insights from the studio. There’s a cool glossary in the back, even, explaining words unique to this artisan’s craft — wedging and warping and trimming and underglaze and vitrification. You’ll smile learning about clay and torque and you’ll be inspired to deepen your own appreciation for your own creativity; as with many other art-themed books, they are profound in recalling our own call to steward our own creative gifts.  What does it mean to be redemptive in our use of God’s good Earth? What can we learn from artists — and particularly, potters and their wheels— that might inspire our own lives in the world? Kudos to Square Halo Books for once again creating a wonderful book slightly oversized, with lovely touches and moving photos. Thanks to Diana Pavlac Glyer; this is a book many of us have longed for for years. Hooray.

Evangelism in an Age of Despair: Hope Beyond the Failed Promise of Happiness Andrew Root (Baker Academic) $29.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

Oh my, I love books on evangelism (even as I sometimes wonder what more can be said; we have dozens of basic, easy ones and many complex, sophisticated ones and wish more people would ask about any of them.) It’s a topic that is either loved or feared and there is no shortage of useful resources. And, man, we value Andrew Root, one of our most important writers today.

When we heard that the brilliant Andrew Root was taking up this topic — in the context of our current social ethos in this secular age — I was thrilled. I was sure it would be unique, fascinating, sophisticated and probably rooted in the cross itself. (Root is a prof at Luther Seminary, after all.)  One early reviewer called it “astounding.”

This just arrived and I’ve hardly looked at more than the provocative table of contents. It is, I gather, about (as Philip Ziegler of Aberdeen puts it) “the central place of consolidation in the practice and theology of ministry and its power to fundamentally reshape our witness.” And where does this consolation come from? The cross, of course.

Of course within the broader church notions of and even the idea of evangelism is contested. As it promises on the back cover, “Andrew Root contextualized evangelism in our late-modern times and reimagines what the call to outreach means in today’s world.”

The depth of Root’s conversation on the church’s unique and invaluable calling to follow Jesus into sorrow stunned me. No contemporary voice of faith gives me more hope in Christ or sustenance for my ministry. — Rev. Katherine Willis Pershey, co-pastor, First Congregational United Church of Christ, Appleton; author of Very Married: Field Notes on Love and Fidelity

An astounding contribution. I greatly needed this book (and the consolation to which it points). So too, I’d expect, does the world —t o say nothing of the church. Highly, highly recommended. — David Zahl, Mockingbird Ministries; author of Low Anthropology

The Disparate Ones: Essays on Being in the World but Not Of the World Marty Duren (Missional Press) $9.95 // OUR SALE PRICE = $7.96

Wow, are we honored to stock this feisty little book, cool and edgy as it seems. I know that some of you reading this now first discovered our BookNotes and bookstore from Marty, back when he had a popular podcast and blog. I was never on his podcast — a long, unspoken dream, geek that I am — but he often mentioned us, running a little Hearts & Minds logo on his webpage. I owe him, sincerely.

His little book is a collection of his seemingly random essays on this theme which I find so, so generative: what does it really mean for us to be (as Jesus Himself instructs) in but not of the world? One might think there’s be scads of books on this mandate, but there frankly is not. Allow me to say that for all of us, this is one of the biggest questions. There are those who are hardly in the world; they love their religiosity so much that they can’t do what their Lord clearly instructed. And there are those who are in it well enough, but not distinctive. They’ve been swallowed up by ideologies left and right. Just the other day a person made a very mean-spirit quip against a theological project at our church and his Facebook page — he of such theological scruples — shows him with an automatic weapon and a flag. Huh?  Most of us are not that extreme, but the question remains a live one. What does it mean to be engaged in public matters without being beholden to worldly ideologies or ways of living?

Enter the thoughtful evangelical, Baptist Marty D. In this little book — an odd size that I love, small and narrow — with a revolutionary Banksy art piece not he cover, he tries to challenge us to think Christianly and live well, in but not of the ethos of the surrounding culture.

The book has grand endorsements from sharp thinkers and authors (Dr. Emily Hunter McGowin of Wheaton, who just released Households of Faith: Practicing Family in the Kingdom of God, says it has careful research and offers “thoughtful reflections, gritty piety.”  Dr. Todd Littleton says that Marty has “put into print what the rupture of the Kingdom of Jesus means to the questions of our day.” And, also, he’s got ordinary followers of Jesus weighing in — a pastor from Beirut, a guy from Oklahoma, a behind-the-scenes missions writer. Whether you are a sophisticated student of new forms of radical discipleship or a fairly ordinary reader in an ordinary town, this is a writer who you will value as a conversation partner.  The book’s look suggests he is bombastic, or at least a bit provocative. I’d say he is not, although he does offer (as he puts it) some guard rails and GPS coordinates to relieve the traffic jam of “unnecessary confusion.” This is important stuff.

I don’t like a lot of self-published books — they are often tacky in appearance and worse in writing. Not always, but there is too often something itchy about their self-done projects. Duran knows what he is doing, has crafted a brilliant little volume of 17 short essays, with a top-notch design. This is a great little book, after my own heart.

He’s got pieces here to make you think, asking how we can stop allowing the world to “squeeze us into its mold” (as Phillips paraphrased Romans 12: 2.) He looks at Christians in politics, on food and eating (with a quote from Norman Wirzba), on the death penalty, on careers, and he dares to have a chapter on abortion. Kudos to Mr. Duran for exploring the “comfortable injustice” of the US legal system and for a good chapter on poverty.  I appreciated his simple, creative chapter saying “let’s stop saying ‘impactful’” and I loved his chapter on buying books! Yay. His chapter on so-called Christian Nationalism is excellent, if brief. And you’ll love the one on his two tattoos, one of which reads, “Momento Tempus, Momento Aeternum.” Gotta love a Baptist who quotes Latin. Order this rare little book today — you’ll enjoy it, I’m sure.

Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me Glory Edim (Ballentine) $28.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $22.40

Even if you don’t know her “Well-Read Black Girl” online platform or her two previously published anthologies for black girls and women, you should know her now, as a memoirist, storyteller, and lover of the printed page. We have a section of books about books in our store and while this could go under black studies or under memoir — I suppose I will put one there —  it is, like a handful of others that are so beloved by book lovers, truly a love letter to the books. The subtitle says it all.

Gather Me tells the story of this influencer (herself the daughter of immigrants from Nigeria) and on-line book promoter, her coming of age, her being nurtured by books, her studies, her extraordinary navigation of the vast array of black literature. As a voracious reader Edim surely knows something about the process of interrogating one’s own interior life. Readers become good writers, they say, and this is a beautiful example. She writes so well and crafts lines with such eloquence and she does indeed have a vivid story to tell. Her book is, as the great Imani Perry puts it “ a beautiful, deeply introspective, and tender journey.”

Gather Me is a book-lover’s memoir. It’s for those of us who have been nourished, challenged, comforted, emboldened, and transformed by books. — Maggie Smith, author of You Could Make This Place Beautiful

Kitchen Hymns: Poems Padraig O’Tuama (Copper Canyon Press) $17.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.60

I told that this list included some important announcements about prominent authors. Padraig O’Tuma’s fame has grown from his days as a Christian peacemaker in Northern Ireland (and involved with Corrymeela) and Bible guy to international respect as a world-class poet and advocate for the printed page. He recently edited and released on Norton his second anthology of other authors from his Poetry Unbound project (called 44 Poems on Being with Each Other.) It has now been a year since Eerdmans released his collection of collects, Being Here: Prayers for Curiosity, Justice, and Love.

Kitchen Hymns is a handsome, slightly oversized paperback that is nicely designed, suitable for the intense (if sometimes humorous) poems of searching, doubt, faith, yearning, mystery, and trust. Kitchen Hymns repeats and ponders a simple question: Do you believe in God?  As it notes on the back these are poems of “rage, eros, humor, lament, and observation.” There is a lot of sound, of sensation, of feeling. He’s the real deal. It’s no wonder that social activist and poet Ellen Bass says “I want to read these poems over and over. I want to give this book to everyone I love.”

Through its lyric sequences, Kitchen Hymns “reckons with the empty”“in poems filled with skill, force, and questioning.”

I like this description from Lit Hub:

Pádraig Ó Tuama is a person of many admirable hats, including working on peace and reconciliation organizations, and mediation organizations in Ireland. He’s also a public speaker, actively arguing against the abusive “conversion therapy” for queer and gay kids. He is also a podcast host, an event coordinator. He is also a theologian, recently earning his doctorate at the University of Glasgow. His poetry is awash with all of these pursuits and experiences. Kitchen Hymns, just out from Copper Canyon Press, is no exception. . . . It probes faith and its invariable stickiness while simultaneously remaining open to its mystical possibilities.

The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for An Age of Outrage Richard Rohr (Convergence) $27.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $21.60

I’ve got this on my nightstand but haven’t started it yet — it just arrived a few days ago and I’m thrilled to see Rohr — a public intellectual and mystic and Franciscan theologian and social activist — returning to the genre of Biblical exposition. I’m sure he’ll tell plenty of stories and make lots of contemporary applications, but he has not done a Scripture study in a while. He has done a number of these sorts and despite his contemplative tone and writing about aging and spiritual transformation and contemplative themes, he is now allowing his progressive vision of peace and justice to be linked to the Hebrew prophets.

I like Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann’s concise word on this new one:

Rohr brings to his study his long, discerning reflection, his immense pastoral sensibility, and his capacity for close reading. His book is a welcome entry point for us into an urgent  biblical trajectory.

Kirsten Powers says “Rohr brings the voices of the biblical prophets to life.” Anybody that can do that should be valued in our community and we are in his debt if he allows us to underhand the personalities and oracles, the hopes and dreams, the prophetic imagination of the likes of Amos and Isaiah, Elijah and Ezekiel, Joel and Jeremiah, and other of the holy remnant. He offers a “strategy for reading” the prophets and invites us all to our own vocations of speaking truth and love and hope.

Healing Affluenza and Resisting Plutocracy: Luke’s Jesus and Sabbath Economics Ched Myers (Fortress Press) $45.00  // OUR SALE PRICE = $36.00

Well, speaking of the Bible and its power to reshape our assumptions about life and times, how it speaks (sometimes staggeringly bluntly, sometimes in an allusive, narrative way that has to be read closely and in context) about vital matters of our political economy, our public lives, our social values. Ched Myers is one of a handful of scholars who has opened up our eyes to see how this works.

Ched Myers’s 1988 classic, Binding the Strong Man, a study of the politics of the gospel of Mark — written while part of a Catholic Worker community in LA, as I recall — was, it seemed, a turning point for many in the Biblical academy. Richard Horsley was writing similar stuff about that time as was Wes Howard-Brook, and then Neil Elliott. In 2004 Brian Walsh & Sylvia Keesmaat did the breath-taking Colossians Remixed and, then, a few years ago, the must-read Romans Disarmed, which sort of gives you a sense of the astute reading of the first century socio-political of these texts that these sort of interpreters offer and the way they see in these standard (if often misunderstood) Biblical stories, transforming vision and subversive power. Ched — who also wrote Watershed Discipleship, one of the few books relating faith to bioregions and even permafrost farming — has been at this a long time, influenced by everyone from Norman Gottwald to Wendell Berry to Dorothy Day.

Healing Affluenza offers a substantial (over 340 pages) study of the gospel of Luke and shows all that this Jubilee-preaching Jesus intends. Insights from Ched’s little book Sabbath Economics is scattered throughout this big Fortress edition making it nearly explosive. This is socially-engaged Biblical scholarship for folks willing to resist affluenza and take up the sort of stewardly economics Jesus preached. Dare we read it? Dare we even try to live it?

What If Jesus Was Serious About Justice: A Visual Guide to the Good News of God’s Judgement and Mercy Skye Jethani (Brazos Press) $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19

Okay, if Rohr or Myers (above) isn’t quite your cup of tea, how about this one, with colorful illustrations, a bit of tongue in cheek humor, and a solid, concise, and clear call to care about justice as Jesus would want us to.

This — as we said last week — is part of an ongoing series starting with What If Jesus Was Serious… which was followed by What if Jesus Was Serious About Prayer, What if Jesus Was Serious about the Church, and What if Jesus Was Serious About Heaven, which we highlighted (again) last week. In that celebration (I had pushed it at Jubilee, sort of joking that it was “N.T. Wright for Dummies”) I noted that we just got … about Justice into the store that very day.

Hooray. This is excellent, as all four of the others are.  As Rich Villodas warns us on the back cover, we may not “compartmentalize our faith in a way that distorts the comprehensive gospel Jesus taught.” That’s right — we cannot not submit to the Lordship of Christ over all areas of life and that includes being aware of the overwhelmingly prominent theme of justice in the Old and New Testaments. Skye Jethani  (with his clever illustrations and charts) makes this passion for justice clear as can be, showing that we must make sense of the injustices and evil in the world and we can do that in a way that draws from Scripture and solid, caring theology. We love this book.

Truth Matters: A Dialogue on Fruitful Disagreement in an Age of Division Robert P. George & Cornel West (Post Hill Press) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

What a book! We’ve met both of these prominent public intellectuals and Robbie George was very pleasant and encouraging to us, West was in full lecture mode at a conference at Calvin College in Grand Rapids when I met him personally. He was, earlier, backstage, praying with Kendrick Lamar and giving shout-outs to my best friend, Ken Heffner, who had put together this remarkable gathering on faith and pop culture. In any case, we have been blessed, if only briefly, by both of these gentlemen, both who I know are way above my own pay grade.

And yet, here they are, laughing on the cover, in full friendship, arguing about just about everything. West is one of the most astute minds, well read in philosophy and theology (including black liberation theology, not to mention the music of the movements, soul and rap.) Dr. George is a conservative legal scholar, a devout and conservative Roman Catholic Christian. And while they can hardly agree on anything, they are dear friends and esteemed intellectual colleagues. That they’ve done this presentation live a few times — showing how they can disagree and still be agreeable, how they can joust without jeering — and I suppose that is the genesis of the book. For anyone who has seen their inspiring and stimulating debates, this book is a must. If you haven’t seen them live, then, obviously, this book is a must.

There are very few places that even host such diverse debate. (Kudos to our friends at the Trinity Forum for hosting such a conversation between these two opposing voices.) That this book is published by a pretty far right publishing venture is further sign of surprising goodness. From the far right to the far left, there is much to discuss and with these buddies sparring about it all, you’ll definitely want a ring-side seat.

From their smiles on the book cover you know they are friends and are enjoying their stimulating conversations. The title, too, is vital. This stuff matters and they are not going to settle for a polite middle ground (unless, as is sometimes the case, a polite middle ground may be the best option.) Behind their respective views — again, one is progressive, one is conservative, both are Christians — they are asking the biggest question of all. What is truth? And does it matter? And if so, why and how?

Highly recommended.

Take What You Need: Soft Words for Hard Days Aundi Kolber (Tyndale) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

Do you know the previous two big-selling self help books by trauma counselor and licensed mental health professional Aundi Kolber? She has even been on Good Morning America being interviewed about her attentive trauma care and her faith-based orientation. Her first two books were Try Softer: A  Fresh Approach to Move Us Out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode–And Into a Life of Connection and Joy and the follow-up one delightfully called Strong Like Water: Finding the Freedom, Safety, and Compassion to Move Through Hard Things–And Experience True Flourishing.

The new one is a bit smaller and has nice quotes and reflections with some handsome type and graphics, more glossy, durable paper, and a ribbon marker. It’s comprised of quotes from her other writings and is sort of like a daily devotional for those who want just a quick (if profound and sometimes brilliant) one or two to order. What a nice gift this would be, designed to meet readers in their hardships and fears, right where they are.

Money Lies and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy Katherine Stewart (Bloomsbury) $29.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

We were so honored to be the on-site bookseller for the great event at the Lutheran seminary in Gettysburg this past weekend. The fabulous, warm, and brainy Amanda Tyler (author of the fabulous How To End Christian Nationalism) spoke alongside one of the great Bonhoeffer experts (who, among other things, co-wrote the very helpful introduction Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians.) Other important leaders were there and lots of central Pennsylvania clergy and ordinary parishioners. Although the speaker’s books were popular, a number of folks noticed this brand new, magisterial study. Wow.

Stewart has been working on this beat for more than 15 years and wrote the excellent The Power Worshippers which was the basis for the much-discussed documentary “God & Country.” Anyway, this is a vast journalistic report, taking us along to “conferences of conspiracy-mongers, backroom strategy gatherings, and services at extremist churches…” She profiles people from various subsets of this vast movement. from Plato-citing intellectuals to ultra-conservative Catholic reactionaries, from atheist billionaires to seemingly sincere followers of Jesus — all who want to tear it all down. There are so-called Christians who are involved in violent and often racist militias, there are dangerously authoritarian “mom” groups, there are disciples of Ayn Rand, all increasingly networked with lots of money. Some are what the other books warn us about — misguided evangelicals and wild Pentecostals with some mandate to take dominion. And there are those who don’t fit our typical assessment of what Christian Nationalism is about. This book is chilling and important.

Called to to Friends, Called to Serve Paul Marshall (Cascade) $22.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.60

This book which I’ve been eager to see just came and we couldn’t be more thrilled. First, the author, Paul Marshall, is an old friend — we still promote his truly splendid and very entertaining introduction to a Christian vision of “all of life redeemed” and what it looks like to live for Christ in every sector of life called Heaven Is Not My Home: Living in the Now of God’s Creation. His older work on politics (he studied under the great Bernard Zylstra, one of the first faculty at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto) remains wise and useful and his life’s calling has been to stand for religious freedom, especially in Muslim-majority countries, insisting on creative and pluralistic policies and helping global leaders promote this sort of generous agenda. (His brave Oxford University Press book, Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Are Choking Freedom Worldwide complete with a forward by a Muslim Prime Ministry of Indonesia and another Muslim Quranic scholar, is simply a landmark, one-of-a-kind volume.)

In between his global ministry with the Religious Freedom Institute and his astute academic research into religious liberty (and documenting religious persecution of all sorts) through the Hudson Institute,  he found time to tell this extraordinary story. And it is the enchanting and inspiring story itself that makes this book so good. And Paul — who has seen up-close relationships among those with exceptional differences throughout the world — is the perfect author to tell it.

You see, this book is about the friendship of two men, both Christians, both aging, now, and each very different. Called to Be Friends explores the friendship of these unlikely guys — the black, evangelical, civil rights leader John Perkins (who has spent much of his life in poverty, or in solidarity with the marginalized and poor) and the very wealthy (and notably conservative) philanthropist, Howard F. Ahmanson Jr.

Ahmanson’s journey has been a fascinating one (and their funding of so many projects, especially in the arts, theater, and in socially redemptive initiatives — also around housing issues, new urbanism, and projects forging more livable cities has been a great boon) but it has been a far cry from Perkin’s gritty urban activism and community development. John is a fabulously gracious black gentleman, despite his literal scars from racist oppression, and Howard came to admire him greatly. Their friendship — despite differences — was sustained by mutual respect and, as Shane Claiborne puts it, the book is “a gift to the church and to the world.” This really is, as another reviewer put it, “a healing balm in an age of polarization and tribalism.” Despite different stories, vocations, leadership styles and backgrounds, this developing friendship is fascinating and even holy, in a colorful sort of way. What an example their friendship is; Called to be Friends is a good book, surely, for many, many reasons. Pick it up and you won’t want to put it down.

Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People Imani Perry (Ecco) $28.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.19

Imani Perry is an important public intellectual, a beloved black scholar (she teaches at Harvard) and a fabulously important literary voice. I more than respected her last few books, I adored them. (I do hope you know the National Book Award-winning South to America.) After reading that, I swore I’d read whatever she did next, and this new one is on my stack by my couch, anxiously awaiting me to pick it up. Believe me, I can’t wait.

I wasn’t sure I quite understood what she was doing here until I heard her lively interview on Fresh Air (thanks NPR) when the book released at the end of January — it is, or at least much of it is, literally on the color blue. She notes that it is no accident that Coretta Scott King wore a blue dress on her wedding day and Fannie Lou Hamer wore a blue dress when she testified before Congress in 1964.  As Henry Louis Gates puts it, Black in Blues is “a stunningly original journey in search of the historical origins of how Black people became ‘Blues People.’” That blue is both melancholy and a color of hope is fascinating, eh?

From the blue class on trees hung, especially in the South to the indigo of the slave revolts in Haiti to, yes, the art form of gritty music called “the blues” — and don’t forget Kind of Blue by Miles Davis and that great book by Toni Morrison — there is so much to relate here. There are surprising revelations, even for those who know a bit about black history and culture. How did I not know some of this? As novelist Jesmyn Ward proclaims, “This book is a great gift, in that it allowed me to see the world anew with Perry’s clear-eyed insight.”

With Black in Blues, Imani Perry establishes herself as the most important interpreter of Black life in our time. With intellectual skill, an artist’s eye, and the beauty of her pen, she powerfully tells the story of our people through the color blue. This is an extraordinary book. — Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., author of Begin Again and We Are the Leaders

Living Out of Control: Political & Personal Faith in Waning Christendom Rodney Clapp (Fortress Press) $25.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.00

Here is another very new release that I’m itching to dip into, and very happy to announce for you now. Clapp is a storied, thoughtful writer and publishing industry rock star. Okay, maybe he isn’t well known, but for those of us who follow these things, Clapp is emblematic of the best thinking in broader evangelical and ecumenical publishing in the last 40 years. He was an editor in the last millennium at IVP doing very good work; he acquired many legendary authors and his own books include ones we still stock, such as Families at the Crossroads: Beyond Traditional and Modern Options, and a book on consumerism, one on pop culture, and one on the church. He released one on Johnny Cash and the lovely and wise Tortured Wonders: Christian Spirituality for People, Not Angels which I just loved! He founded Brazos Press (now a part of the Baker Publishing Group) and then went to work as editor for Wipf & Stock. With them he did one of our favorite books of late, New Creation: A Primer on Living Between the Times. You really should read that. We’ve got it at 20% off, too!

Just a few years ago he did a major book with Fortress called Naming Neoliberalism: Exposing the Spirit of Our Age which we reviewed here. It was a complex and vital study of the “panoply of cultural, political, and economic practices that set marketized competition at the center of social life.” Naming Neoliberalism was truly amazing, and now this somewhat slimer Living Out of Control seems to pick up where that left off. The neoliberalism critique places that ideology, of course, within the post-Christian era in which we live…. Living Out of Control revisits that, asking how we might engage Christian political life without assuming Christendom, rejecting dominionisms of any sort, inviting us to reject being in control. It is a bit deep, but, whew, it looks mighty. Might it spark our own imaginations? Might this be the sort of public theology we need? We highly recommend it.

Rodney Clapp has given us the book we all need at this moment. With vivid writing, theological depth, and an abundance of wisdom, Living Out of Control will help you make sense of this moment and hear again the call of Jesus Christ to follow within it. Timely and rich. — Andrew Root, Professor of Youth and Family Ministry, Luther Seminary, author of Evangelism in an Age of Despair

 

In his latest book, the inestimable Rodney Clapp offers a great gift to the Christian community for this moment. With remarkable brevity, drawing on his wide-ranging and eclectic reading interests, and always deeply rooted in the biblical text, Clapp diagnoses a major current Christian problem — a desperate grasp for control — and offers a way to get us to a solution: learning to “live out of control.” I learned a great deal from this book and commend it strongly. — David P. Gushee, University Professor of Christian Ethics, Mercer University, author of After Evangelicalism

Your Names Are Written in Heaven: The World of Rose Busingye David Perillo (Slant Books) $19.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.20

This slim and classy book — Slant Books does books of exceedingly good taste and style —is brand new and I think for some of our readers it will be a godsend. It is beautifully told by an excellent and esteemed Italian journalist. (Perillo has a degree in philosophy from University Cattolica in Milan and was for years the editor in chief of Tracee, a monthly magazine of “Communion and Liberation.” In any case, he’s a fine writer and tells of this Ugandan Catholic nurse, Rose, who works in the slums of Kampala.

We learn about women who were disfigured int he civil war, raped, inflicted with HIV or AIDS. Many were refugees, many lost their children. Rose not only cared for these women with modern medicine, but she came to realize she needed to offer them gospel grace, embodied love, acceptance and solidarity. She helped many of these marginalized and wounded women to become leaders in a Catholic movement (“Communion and Liberation”) which has developed world-class fame. She has spent time with the Pope, she has gone to the margins and she has learned to love her women with a bigger heart.

So many books about Christian ministry (especially those of a missionary sort) are told with too much glory and not enough reality of the pain and sorrow. Some tell of social concerns and international development but are not rooted in the tender mercies of the God of the gospel. Your Names Are Written.. is the kind of book many need — a first hand story of good, good work, done by an unassuming Ugandan nurse and her band of empowered women.

I hate to have to say this, but many of us are heartbroken by the awful move of our current administration grossly devasting the often very good and often life-saving projects of USAID. You are praying for the poorest of the poor and you are advocating for some restoration of aid. This book might fit your mood, the telling of a local tale, rooted in the grand ethos of simple Catholic works of mercy. Perhaps Rose Busingye is almost like a Mother Teresa. What a story.

+++

TO PLACE AN ORDER 

PLEASE READ, THEN SCROLL DOWN TO CLICK ON THE “ORDER” LINK BELOW.

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Of course the weight and destination of your particular package varies but you can use this as a quick, general guide:

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• United States Postal Service has an option called “Media Mail” which is cheapest but can be a little slower. For one typical book, usually, it’s $4.83; 2 lbs would be $5.58. This is the cheapest method available and sometimes is quicker than UPS, but not always.
• United States Postal Service has another, quicker option called “Priority Mail” which is $9.00, if it fits in a flat-rate envelope. Many children’s books and some Bibles are oversized so that might take the next size up which is $9.80. “Priority Mail” gets more attention than does “Media Mail” and is often just a few days to anywhere in the US.
• UPS Ground is reliable but varies by weight and distance and may even take longer than USPS. Sometimes they are cheaper than Priority. We’re happy to figure out your options for you once we know what you want.

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BookNotes

SPECIAL
DISCOUNT

20% OFF

My head is spinning, my feet and back hurt but my heart is so full, so very full of that which can only be described as love —love overflowing; gratitude and hope. The annual Jubilee conference out in Pittsburgh had us devoting weeks in mind-boggling prep, taking several days there to set up, a few extra to tear down, not to mention the actual adrenaline-filled three days with over 2000 college students and incredibly gifted speakers and teachers and CCO staff who grace our big book display there. For the record we had some really great helpers, both major volunteers and others who chipped in as they could, unloading or boxing up, and some good helpers waiting on students at the book display, actually doing the work. I most gabbed and gabbed until my throat grew hoarse.

I won’t say much about this Jubilee college-age conference (or the fancy pre-event for adults, Jubilee Professional, affectionately known each year as JPro) other than to say it is unlike most youth ministry events, church camps, college retreats, or evangelical conferences in that it is quite specifically inviting students into the wholistic, redemptive Story of God’s work in the world. With teachings on the goodness of creation, the seriousness of sin, the scope of redemption, and the grand hope of restoration through Christ’s reconciliation of all things, Jubilee highlights topics about higher education, the life of the mind, vocation, calling, employment, and, of course, contemporary discipleship with an eye to faithful social and cultural engagement. Not too many well-known gatherings talk about racial justice and have an altar call for first time commitments to the saving grace of Christ; not too many emphasize the Biblical drama and relate it to callings and careers; many find it extraordinary that we show off over 125 categories of books on everything from engineering to nursing to ecology to sports, prayer to politics, sex to spiritual formation, the arts and architecture and AI as well as all manner of self-help practical stuff, offered through the lens of a winsome, Godly, faith perspective. Students (and speakers!) eat this stuff up, giving me a sense that they just don’t hear this sort of “all of life redeemed” and “whole-life discipleship” in their own churches and rarely see these kinds of books all side by side. That God cares about their majors, the issues they care about, the real world in which we live? It’s great news, eh?

As I said at my own home church recently, if we hope to attract younger adults and young professionals we simply have to present this kind of big vision, wide-as-life, relevant, incarnational vision of God’s Kingdom. If you don’t believe me, read, for instance, chapter four in Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon by David Kinnaman & Mark Matlock (Baker; $21.99 // this week only on sale for 30% off = $15.39.) It mentions our work at the Jubilee book display, in passing, to make a bigger point about the practice of offering vocational discipleship for this particularly ambitious generation.

Other years I wrote more about the conference and its impact and why we should care about such things HERE, HERE, and HERE or even way back to this one HERE. I’d invite you to check it out. Reviewing past post-Jubilee columns makes me teary, so I hope you enjoy the links.

Also I chatted a bit about the event in our “Three Books from Hearts & Minds” podcast two weeks ago, if you want to watch or listen to that. In a special episode of “Three Books…” that just dropped, my host Phil Schiavoni turned on his camera and asked a bunch of students what book they bought and what they liked about Jubilee. It was pretty darn nice, down-to-Earth and sweet, so check that out, too. You can watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify or Apple podcasts.

BOOKS ON SALE — 30% OFF, ONE WEEK ONLY.

SALE ENDS AT MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY, MARCH 9th, 2025.

(After that, they are still sold at our regular BookNotes discounted price of 20% off.)   

Here, then, are a handful of some of the books we seriously highlighted at Jubilee. We’ve got extras and we’re happy to sell them now at 30% off, while supplies last or up until the end of the day, Sunday, 3-9-25. Buy now and get that extra deal.

As always, you can order anything by clicking on the ORDER link at the end of this column. That takes you to our secure order form page at the website. 

I hope this gives you a picture of the sort of bookselling we do and inspires you not only to read widely but to support Hearts & Minds. Thanks for caring. Let’s go!

Birds in the Sky, Fish in the Sea: Attending to Creation with Delight and Wonder Matthew Dickerson and Matthew L. Clark (Square Halo Books) $25.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $18.19

This listing of this brand new compact paperback serves two glorious purposes — first, this was maybe the second biggest seller we had at Jubilee, just because of one quick announcement I made Friday night as we were about to explore the topic of the good, durable, wondrous nature of God’s creation. The gathering loved that I said they were the first customers in North America (the world, really) to see this thing as we had an advanced batch with permission from our friends at Square Halo to feature it at Jubilee. The book will officially be launched this coming weekend at their artsy conference in Lancaster, PA, so this is our first BookNotes announcement of it to the broader Hearts & Minds community. We seriously endorse almost all of the titles from SH and are beyond thrilled to officially celebrate this one. My only complaint is that I didn’t get to add my name to the many exquisite writers who endorsed this lovely little release.

Matthew D is such a fine writer and astute observer of the teeming outdoors and artist Matthew C, himself a bit of a naturalist, does some very, very impressive lithographs and woodcuts for this handsome volume. Its layout and design is really impressive — it captivated me from the first glance as one of the best of the always excellently created SHB titles. So, three cheers — for Square Halo, for Jubilee book buyers, and for the author and artist who actually did this great little book.

Whether you rarely venture into woods and wild or revel in nights under starlight, or simply love the local park, this visually lovely and richly thoughtful book will invite you to look again and be amazed and delighted at the creatures with whom we share the planet and the mystery of being at all, including those “formed to frolic.” The rare combination of personal reflection, poetry, biblical understanding and exquisitely detailed images makes it a book to linger over, reread, and share.
—Marilyn McEntyre, Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies and Midwinter Light: Meditations for the Long Season

On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books Karen Swallow Prior (Brazos Press) $23.00 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $16.10

This is truly one of our most-often mentioned books and for anyone who enjoys reading, or longs to read better, or wonders why we make a fuss about literary fiction, or wants to settle into a wiser, more formative, reading life, this book is simply a must-read. My friend Jonathan Merritt says it is “an engrossing work that will appeal to book nerds and casual readers alike.” Valerie Weaver-Zercher (a Mennonite writer and editor working for Broadleaf Books) notes that she “makes us hunger for a literature — and thus a life — of the good, the beautiful, and the true.”

Each chapter explores a particular classic Christian virtue and how a certain novel might enhance our experience of that virtue. She doesn’t promise that if you read this great work, of literature you will end up with that particular virtue — obviously, it isn’t that simple — but she does relate great writers and serious readers with the process of deepening our ethical worldview, our virtue, and our faith, hope, and love. I had a blast hosting a conversation with Karen at Jubilee Professional; it was well received, I gather, but, wow, was it ever enriching for me. Nicely, my friend Ned Bustard did a striking linocut for each novel mentioned, so it is an artfully enhanced volume. You really should buy this book!

Cultural Engagement: A Crash Course in Contemporary Issues edited by Karen Swallow Prior & Joshua Chatraw (Zondervan) $39.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $27.99

Karen, as you’ve heard, was at Jubilee (and JPro) and did an outstanding job, as you would guess. She co-edited this and it is a great handbook of the very things many of us (including many young adults) care about: discerning the contours of a generous, faithful, view on being salt and light, thinking about cultural renewal — there are great chapters on the arts and work and apologetics and such —  and specific hot button issues (like war and peace, racism, same-sex relationships, global warming, medical ethics.) In each topic they have more than one voice sharing insights and in some cases they offer conflicting views, showing more than one view on an issue. Wow. This makes Cultural Engagements a virtual handbook of fair-minded and fascinating resources, good to have and to study and to discuss. Very highly recommended.

What If Jesus Was Serious About Heaven? Skye Jethani (Brazos Press) $ 16.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $11.89

I’m always on the lookout for books that are really easy to read, even fun, and yet challenging, provocative, relevant to the radical life of faith. We’ve read every Skye Jethani book since his first was written years ago and we profoundly respect (and enjoy) him. I’m not much of a podcast buy [even though I do one, “Three Books from Hearts & Minds”] but my good friends all listen to his Holy Post pod. He’s the man.

His What If Jesus Was Serious… series presents us with a bit of a dilemma — do we line them all up together, cool-looking and colorful as they are, or put them in their respective categories? Naturally we had several of each of these serious (but incredibly playful) titles, What If Jesus Was Serious? (which is about his teachings, like the Sermon on the Mount), What If Jesus Was Serious About Prayer?, What If Jesus Was Serious About Church?

The one I highlighted up front — What If Jesus Was Serious About Heaven? — is a fabulous, fabulous read, with great illustrations and cartoons, a bit of color and really solid information informed by the likes of world-class scholars like N.T. Wright. I maybe said this was “Wright for Dummies” but meant no insult — it presented fairly sophisticated Biblical interpretation and theology made super fun. This really does help us recapture the meaning of Jesus’s understanding of God, God’s reign, heaven, and, yes, the Kingdom of God, coming “on Earth as it is in Heaven .” This is a Christ-exalting study about the new heavens and new earth (as Derwin Gray puts it) and I figured it was ideal for Jubilee kids learning about the Kingdom. Maybe you too? Why not buy a couple.

By the way, when we got back from the big event you know what was awaiting us? Our orders of the brand new one What If Jesus Was Serious About Justice? That would have been a winner at Jubilee, too, but even though we got it early, it just wasn’t here until after the event. The subtitle is “A Visual Guide to the Good News of God’s Judgement and Mercy.”  We’ll sell it now for 30% off, this week only. Like the other one mentioned, it goes for $16.99 and our sale price = $11.89.  Never has such good teaching come in such a creative, fun package. Yay.

Faithful Is Successful: Notes to the Driven Pilgrim edited by Nathan Grills,  David Lewis, and S. Joshua Swamidass (Outskirts Press) $18.95 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $13.26

It was a blast meeting Dr. S. Joshua Swamidass, an MD with a PhD who teaches at the prestigious Washington University in St. Louis. We’ve followed his work over the years (and, of course, had plenty of his thought-provoking The Genealogical Adam and Eve: The Surprising Science of Universal Ancestry; that is now out in paperback from IVP Academic. It goes for $25.99 but our 30% off sale this week makes it $18.19.)

The provocative title of this says much — for those of us driven to achieve and succeed in our careers or service, we need not bow to conventional metrics of how to define success. To be faithful is enough. This is good news, but with a challenge — dare we discern what fidelity looks like, how we can be Christianly successful by working for “an audience of One.” This book —with over a dozen excellent chapters by women and men who have much to offer — is a handbook on integrating faith and working and encouraging practitioners. From the academy to business, from government to the arts, we all labor in various sectors and God calls us to make a difference, wisely, and fruitfully. Some of these chapters are really, really good, by folks who are doing everything from working in disability and chronic disease prevention overseas to teaching history to working for civility between various, conflicting, religious groups to coping with questions of ambition and (yep) the meaning of success.  Very, very nice stuff; highly recommended.

Color Courageous Discipleship: Follow Jesus, Dismantle Racism, and Build Beloved Community Michelle T. Sanchez (Waterbrook) $18.00 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $12.60

We take a lot of books about racial justice issues to Jubilee; CCO has long been committed to thinking about racial reconciliation and multi-ethnic ministry. Old names like Tom Skinner and Carl Ellis and John Perkins (and not so old Lisa Sharon Harper, Ekemini Uwan, and, this year, Lisa Fields) help us understand the Biblical perspective. In this age when DEI and even the word justice have become bad words in some odd circles, we are proud to offer God’s multi-colored worldview and to recall Christ’s bold inclusion of all, and Paul’s mighty counter-cultural stance against forces of Roman hegemony. So, yes, as this book brilliantly explains, race has a lot to do with ordinary Christian discipleship. I could tick off the benefits of this useful, inspiring book, and I hope you trust me that it is one of the berst offers “hope, creative answers, and a path forward both individually and as beloved community.” Highly recommended.

This endorsement by pastor and contemplative Ken Shigematsu puts it nicely:

Poetic, personal, and immensely practical, this book will first awaken you to the sheer wonder of your belovedness and then empower you to engage in the gritty, glorious work of bringing our racially divided world into harmony with Christ and each other. — Ken Shigematsu pastor of Tenth Church, Vancouver, BC, and bestselling author of God in My Everything

Black Women Grief: A Guide to Hope and Wholeness Natasha Smith (IVP) $18.00 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $12.60

I’m sure the Jubilee folks will be sharing online videos of the four main-stage speakers and maybe my three 10 minute book announcements. That’s embarrassing! But I have no regret as an old white guy holding this up Saturday morning and suggesting that it (a) helps black women in their unique American grief, (b) helps any and all of us understand our sisters and be better friends and neighbors to them, and (c) just offers another glimpse of how the wiley forces of evil worm their way into our culture, our imaginations, our souls. Systemic racism is a classic example of what the Bible refers to as “principalities and powers” and if you want to explore one illustration of this structural malformation and what might be done as we attempt to reverse the curse, this is a very, very useful read.

Black Women Grief has been called a “life-line” and a “road-map” and a “love letter.” I so appreciate the many pastors, scholars, counselors and black women who have highlighted how this book has touched them. Listen to this:

Natasha Smith’s voice is safe, prophetic, and deeply necessary. With gravitas and love, Black Woman Grief honors the depths of pain that Black women carry and the collective experience of suffering, while moving the reader towards unapologetic kingdom hope and healing. — Aubrey Sampson, The Louder Song

Becoming Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty Isn’t the American Dream Brian Fikkert & Kelly M. Kapic (Moody Press) $15.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $11.19

Kapic did a fabulous job Friday night at Jubilee guiding us through his excellent book You’re Only Human which makes the case that God made us as creatures, with limits, and that that means we don’t have to expect to “do it all” and burn ourselves out trying to take on more than we possibly can. Man, did students ever resonate with that. We really like that important hardback and are taking pre-orders for the forthcoming devotional version, coming next month, called You Were Never Meant to Do It All: A 40-Day Devotional on the Goodness of Being Human (Brazos Press; $19.99 // this week only 30% off sale price = $13.99.) However, at Jubilee I also highlighted from up front this lesser known one of his called Becoming Whole. It’s so good. Here’s the simple backstory:

You may know Brian Fikkert’s important When Helping Hurts that makes a case that we have to be wise and empowering in helping our poorer neighbors. It has helped scores of anti-poverty ministries, informed many social reformers, guided global development works and those fighting domestic poverty alike. Kelly’s Becoming Whole book asks, simply, if we are helping people out of poverty, what are we inviting them into? What vision of the good life should replace the dysfunction and chaos and addiction and hardships of those living in the underclass? For anyone in anti-poverty work, it is a very, very live question.

Kelly and his co-author ask, “what if we’re spreading our own brokenness to the very people we want to help?” In other words, our own materialism must be renounced, our own loyalty to the idols of the American dream must be renounced, our secularized, pull-yourself up by your own bootstraps ideology must be renounced. In order to offer a full-orbed, grace-based, visionary view of faithful human flourishing, we must help those we serve and influence truly embrace the values of the Kingdom of God. In other words, I think Becoming Whole is, essentially, one of the best easy-to-apply handbooks you are going to find to the shape of a Christian world and life view.

The book is handsomely designed with some color and pizzaz, there’s lots of stories, and it suggest that we really have to reject some of the grand assumptions of the story of Western civilization, refaming the meaning of success and the good life, so we can all find what it really means to be whole and happy. What a book. There’s even a workbooky Field Guide that you can get to go with it if you want. Yes!

Creation-Care Discipleship: Why Earthkeeping Is an Essential Christian Practice Steven Bouma-Prediger (Baker Academic) $25.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $18.19

You know, I hope, that we have a huge environmental science section in our store, next to a category about nature writing and even titles on outdoor education, adventure, and wilderness work. Some of the eco-stuff is truly lovely, others more academic, some offering hope in our time of despair for those knowing the pressures of modern climate change. Some are science-heavy, others mostly Biblical. Some are basic, others more sophisticated.

Of all the many books we have on this topic we are most likely to show off to anyone interested the four or five books by our friend Steve Bouma-Prediger. Of all his books — from the must-read For the Beauty of the Earth ($28.00 // $19.60) to a personal favorite, the excellent Earthkeeping and Character ($27.00 // $18.90) — we were so glad for this recent one that came out last year. We named it a Book of the Year and were thrilled that he was speaking at Jubilee 2025. It is a decisive work, making the case that creation-care is no mere sideline hobby or even a specialty ministry for those called to such things. No, creation care is intregal to — not incidental — to our daily discipleship. If we want to be a faithful follower of King Jesus, part of the big story of God’s redemptive work in the world, working to serve and protect (and restore) our planet is simply part of the calling. It is a delight, come to think of it, but a true part of the job description.  We were honored to have this Hope College professor and wise guy about both outdoor experiential education trips and working within institutions and places for sustainability projects.

Steve’s a great thinker, a very good writer, a beloved prof and mentor and outdoorsman. Creation-Care Discipleship should be on your shelf and — if you’re that kind of reader — in your rucksack to take along on a day hike. You’ll love it. And, by the way, if you are in the business of mentoring others, discipling them formally or informally, get this on your list, helping you expand the very notion of discipleship for those you guide.

It Is What You Make of It: Creating Something Great from What You’ve Been Given Justin McRoberts (Thomas Nelson) $18.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $13.29

I know and really commend Justin, a cool and passionate poet and life coach and indie-folk musician (and, maybe, a soon-to-be recognized playwright and comic.) He may not like it, but I sometimes think he is a hip young mash-up between Bob Goff and Brennan Manning.  Okay that’s weird, but our friend Bob Goff is funny and optimistic and charming, always ready for an adventure of service and whimsy while Brennan (who I was fortunate enough to meet and share a stage with) was intense, focused, deeply loyal to those messed up by their human condition. Justin is hilarious and serious, visionary and yet personal and kind, a tad earthy yet deeply spiritual. I love that guy and would read whatever he writes.

Here, McRobert offers stories of what it means to be creative, teaching about the capacity we have to make a difference, nearly a memoir of his own journey into Christian leadership as an artist. He has even travelled, maybe a bit oddly, with some very hard rock bands, so he knows about life on the road as a performing artist. He knows how to get stuff done.

In this fabulous book he shows that it is not helpful to say “it is what it is.” It is, actually, what it could be, and your own creative agency, fueled by the Spirit of God, just might allow you to say yes to some cool, daunting stuff, and no to being stuck, wound tight from your own failures and regrets. Can you do that, with God’s help, say no to what’s holding you back?

Part soul-shaping storytelling (that will make you laugh), part creative manifesto, and part guide book to taking some steps towards healing, personal growth,  It Is What You Make of It is a hoot and more serious than the goofy cover suggests. And you’ll see why there is a cactus shown on the cover — you won’t want to miss it. I loved this book,

See also, by the way, his extraordinary book called Sacred Strides: The Journey to Belovedness in Work and Rest ($18.99 // $13.29) about the rhythms of work and rest, growth and movement, coming to be animated by God’s very deep and personal love. I adore that book, and active, restful study of the implications of Sabbath.  As noted, it’s 30% off, too, while supplies last or until next week when we go back to the more customary 20% off BookNotes discount.

3 Big Questions That Shape Your Future Kara Powell, Kristel Acevedo and Brad Griffin (Baker) $17.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $12.59

We don’t usually take books for teens to Jubilee since collegiates are now reading serious texts and don’t need youth resources, really, but this is so very good I was intending on bringing it anyway, only to realize that one of the coauthors, Kristel Acevedo, was speaking this year at the conference. What a joy to meet her — we chatted about her forthcoming women’s Bible study coming out from IVP in April (A Way in the Wilderness: Meeting God in the Desolate Places of Scripture–A 6-Week Bible Study that comes with video access.) It was so good to hear her talk about her co-writing 3 Big Questions which offers astute and fun devotional-type reflections on three of the biggest questions high-school and college-age students (or any of us) must ask and answer. 3 Big Questions is a great resource!

The first set of 20 ruminations is on the question “Who Am I?” Who doesn’t need to answer that? The second key question is “Where Do I Fit In?” asking the perennial question of belonging. Thirdly, there are 20 more reflections asking about calling and vocation, so to speak, under the rubric of “What Difference Can I Make?”  If you are like me you may be asking “Where was this book when I was a kid?” We are blessed to have this multi-ethnic team of scholars, spiritual formation leaders, and leaders (from the Fuller Youth Institute) offering these fun, manageable pieces to help readers embrace God’s best answers to these really big questions.

Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious Ross Douthat (Zondervan) $29.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $20.99

Douthat is a sometimes cantankerous, often witty, conservative Catholic, a fine, clear-headed writer (for the New York Times) and the sort of thoughtful guy I want to read regularly. I adored his memoir about having Lyme disease (The Deep Places) and was grateful for his more recent study of / jeremiad against our social disrepair, The Decadent Society. Here, in this brand new one, he offers intellectual humility and a sense of wonder to invite others — whether atheist, agnostic, honest seeker, or serious Christian with doubts, it will (as Tish Harrison Warren puts it) “not only engage your mind and strengthen your convictions but also may even lead you into wonder and worship.” As Stephen Meyer says, he “renders plausible and compelling what many today assume is implausible and untenable.”

I’ll be honest — young students at Jubilee didn’t gravitate to this, although we had a much-perused section on “finding faith” and seeking students got a lot of good resources to help them through their journey. I suspect they don’t know this author, and at the handsome hardback price, wasn’t quite their speed. But I’m sure some of our readers will love it, especially at the 30% off.

Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology Derek Schuurman (IVP) $20.99  // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $14.69

Oh my, we cycle back to this modern classic from time to time insisting that it is simply the best book about computers or for computer users (which is almost all of us, eh?) Granted, some of it seems to be oriented towards those who are in the field of computer science but, again, this question of what bits and bytes have to do with Christian believes and how a Christian framework can help us — engineers or not — grapple well with the little machines we all hold in our hands. As James K.A. Smith notes, “Schuurman roots technology in a biblical theology of culture” and is, I’d say, essential for those wondering how best to think about our everyday digital lives.

Does your church encourage people to live out their faith when they leave the worship space on Sunday? Do they offer any resources to folks on actually how to do this? I think every church in America should have a few of these on hand, inviting us to responsible use, within the framework of the big picture of the Biblical story. Yay.

Science and Faith in Harmony: Contemplations on a Distilled Doxology Sy Garte (Kregel) $21.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $15.39

Well, speaking of Douthat’s call to religiosity (and Christianity, particularly) Dr. Garte was an avid atheist who, fascinatingly, came to faith by his own study of the literature of atheism, and particularly the scientism of Dawkins. (Sy Garte’s first book was essentially his conversion story, called The Works of His Hands: A Scientist’s Journey from Atheism to Faith; the brilliant Alister McGrath, with PhDs in science and in theology, wrote the forward to that one. ($18.99 // $13.29.) We keep it in the faith and science section here at the store, but also under memoir and autobiography.  It, too, is on sale, this week only and while supplies last, for 30% off.

I am currently reading Science and Faith in Harmony as it has been short-listed for an ECPA award (for which I am a reader) and I can see how it came to be nominated as one of the best books of 2024. It is, I’d say, just a great, classic, thoughtful, open-minded evangelical engagement with science and what he calls his “distilled doxology.” It isn’t too academic but it is well-informed — hooray.  I really have enjoyed this passionate book by this fine biochemist and I was so looking forward to meeting him at Jubilee, but we didn’t cross paths. Maybe next time. In the meantime, get this book and be inspired. If you know any science-lovers, it’s a great book to share…

Citizenship Without Illusions: A Christian Guide to Political Engagement David T. Koyzis (IVP) $18.00 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $12.60

Speaking of people I didn’t meet at Jubilee, I was really glad we had Professor Koyzis scheduled to speak this year as both workshop leader and panelist at the fabulous CPJ panel (If you don’t know our friends at CPJ, check them out here.) I so respect his scholarship and his humble demeanor and his remarkable work serving scholars around the globe. Alas, he got quite ill and was unable to join us. Drats.

You probably know that I have raved about his previous political science book, an almost perfect text, the extraordinary Political Visions and Illusions: A Survey & Christian Critique of Contemporary Ideologies ($35.99 // $25.19 — this week only) which calls us away from ideologies of the right and the left, exploring the landscape of political theorists and movements to help us be discerning about them, following by the shattering, compelling claim that followers of the Lamb are not fundamentally loyal to any of these secularizing visions and unwise principles. (I say almost perfect as I might nitpick a bit with some of his astute claims and I might wish it wasn’t quite so academic/philosophical. It is, nonetheless, a very, very important volume!) We have pressed it into the hands of poly sci majors and politicos, but these days we all need to dive deeper into political theory so we’re glad to have it at 30% off this week. I can hardly think of a more important book to read in this season of political and constitutional crisis.

This past fall, right before the election, you probably saw me highlight his new one, Citizenship Without Illusions, the more practically-minded and equally non-aligned, robust study of the nature of ordinary citizenship and how to take up our civic habits without idealistic illusions based on wrong-headed assumptions and expectations.  Man, what a book!

I think this generic overview of the responsibilities of citizenship and David’s generous, wise, and impeccably balanced approach is a good way to offset our typical dispositions of leaning too hard to the right or left. Now that we are in a crisis of statecraft and are facing the largest crisis of our Republic in our lifetimes, I was very eager to hear the calm voice of Dr. K. Now, you can buy his books, sound and careful as they are, and the best price around. Please order a few.

The Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief and Behavior Steven Garber (IVP) $24.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $17.49

Speaking of exceedingly careful authors, writers who have no loyalties to this or that secularizing ideology, but who are truly wanting to think about everything through a Biblically-informed, deeply wholistic, Christian lens, Steve Garber is a one-of-a-kind hero in my book, a dear, dear friend, and a writer who has honed his exceptional word-smithing capacities.

My, my, I do love his books, from his collection of short pieces in the lovely Seamless Life: A Tapestry of Love and Learning, Worship and Work ($20.99 // on sale this week for $14.69) to the popular Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good ($20.99 // on sale this week for $14.69.)

Fabric of Faithfulness, though, was his first and in it he interviewed bunches of folks approaching their midlife years, asking them to recall their cares and commitments in their college years, asking, over and over in different ways, how their first concerns and faith experiences shaped their enduring “long obedience in the same direction.” That’s not a bad question, is it, asking how your earlier days got you going on a certain path (or not)? Interestingly, almost everybody said the same three things and they are — in his nifty, philosophical examination, underscored with literature and films and lots of real-life stories — three things our culture tends not to emphasize (and sometimes outright opposes.) What a book, both reporting how conversion stories influence life-long discipleship and how study and learning shapes our questions and integrity to do something responsible with what we’ve come to know!  There is no book like it.

Garber shows tenderly and thoughtfully what theologians, philosophers, novelists, and activists might hold up as a better way to navigate these big concerns; they knowing it will be a bit of an upstream struggle to endure against the times; the stories of the mid-life interviewees sure get it. Can we really “weave together” what we say we believe with how we live? Can we hold on to truth as a way of life in community with others? How does that work? Steve ran the Pittsburgh Jubilee conference decades ago and his imprint still is present, his thoughtful approach, his care about relating work and worship, liturgy and life, is in our very vocabulary of how we describe the important yearly Pittsburgh gathering.

This rather heavy Fabric book is one that serious students should read — I said so up front! — but I find that some are not yet prepared for its big picture, deeply literate, eloquent approach. Maybe their CCO staffers or church pastors can walk them through it.  I’m sure serious readers and older adults will get it even more. Blurbs are from everyone from James Davison Hunter to Stanley Hauerwas; truth be told, there’s a page about me in there, too. Come on, friends! Garber’s books are on my all time favs list — you should check them out.

The Missional Disciple: Pursuing Mercy & Justice at Work Redeemer City-to-City (Redeemer City to City) $14.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $10.49

Although we have tons of every sort of small group guides and Bible study books here in the shop we don’t often take study resources like that to events. But this — wow! — it is not only designed to help people not only integrate faith and work (it was created by the famous Redeemer Center for Faith & Work) but also to guide readers through a process of discerning where they can make a difference, how and where God might be calling them to show his mercy and justice. We not only have to think Christianly about the ideas that shape our field and the ethos of our workplace but we also have to step up to show kindness and a desire for just practices. There is simply nothing like this out there.

The Missional Disciple is not only a six session workbook sort of study guide, with lots of good questions to ponder, it has links to videos of teaching and testimony from Redeemers sharp folks scattered in several industries and career areas. These are fantastic and this nice study is worth much more than it sells for. It is so good it almost makes me cry — please consider giving it a try.

Kudos to the exceptional leader, Missy Wallace, who was involved in this and graced us at Jubilee Pro and the Jubilee conference. We so love this workbook so while we’re at it we’ll put on deep discount the other handsome Redeemer City-to-City study, too: Go Forth: God’s Purpose for Your Work (Redeemer City-to-City) ($12.99 // this week only, $9.09.)

We are now taking pre-orders, by the way for Missy Wallace’s forthcoming book (coming within the month), co-authored with Lauren Gill, which will be called Faith & Work: Galvanizing Your Church for Everyday Impact (100 Movements Press.) There will be a substantive foreword by their main mentor, the legendary Katherine Leary Alsdorf. Send us a note and we’ll get you on the waiting list; we’ll let you know of the price and our sale offer as soon we know.

Calvinism for a Secular Age: A Twenty First Century Reading of Abraham Kuyper’s Stone Lectures Jessica Joustra (IVP Academic) $28.99 // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $20.29

I am aware that most 20-year-olds at Jubilee don’t know much about the history of theology, let alone the somewhat obscure neo-Calvinism of Abraham Kuyper, spiritual leader of early 1900s Holland who was, for a while, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. His influential “Stone Lectures” at Princeton in 1898 slowly shaped a worldviewish vision of “all of life redeemed” and God’s gracious rule over “every square inch” of life and culture that has been a quiet but viable counter to the right-wing dominionist “Seven Mountains” take-over lingo as well as the too-often less than theologically-sound social gospel movement, now turned progressive.

This “in but not of” the world / beautifully generous orthodoxy, inviting students to surrender to Christ in all of their personal and public, family and vocational choices, is beyond robust, it is transformational. For CCO, its healthy orientation upholding (the best they know how) the broad scope of Christ’s far-reach redemptive story, all began by some early CCO staff reading the dry Eerdmans’s classic edition of Kuyper’s old Stone Lectures in the 1970s and the annual Jubilee gathering is its clearest fruit and flagship event. To be honest, most current CCO staff don’t even understand all this, but their use of Al Wolters’s Creation Regained:The Biblical Basis for a Reformational Worldview (dedicated to CCO in the first edition, btw) underscores their unique space in the campus ministry landscape. Jubilee really is a stand-out event and folks come from all over North America to check it out. In part, because some folks read an old theology book and took its claim seriously.

As you might guess, I was thrilled that Jess Joustra spoke at Jubilee and Jubilee Professional, not only doing am upbeat workshop on one of Kuyper’s comrades and influences (Herman Bavinck) but doing the dynamic the main-stage message on how the future hope of God’s final restoration of all things might shape us now, giving us hope and purpose and grit and grace.

Joustra is the co-editor (with husband Rob) of this fantastic study of what we know about the actual Stone lectures, how they were received, and, importantly, how they have been interpreted and lived out over the last century and, even more importantly, how we might embody such a multi-faceted worldview in our hot-wired twenty-first century today. With authors like theologian Rich Mouw and scientist Deborah Harms and art historian Adrienne Chaplin and public thinker Vincent Bacote (offering a good chapter on what Kuyper didn’t address, namely race and racism) and more, this big volume is a true gem and a great resource. It doesn’t hurt to know this historical stuff, but the application insights are a treasure-chest for all.

Of course, it didn’t sell much at Jubilee. Maybe you can remedy that for us. Come on! If you like what we do here at Hearts & Minds and read BookNotes, you’ll dig this. Yay.

With one eye on Kuyper’s own context and another on the challenges facing Christians attempting to bring their faith to bear on public life today, this volume of essays offers an essential guide to the relevance — and limitations — of Kuyperian thought in our contemporary moment. — Kristin Kobes Du Mex, yahoo of Jesus and John Wayne

Engaging God’s World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living Cornelius Planting (Eerdmans) $19.99  // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $13.99

If one wants a gracious, elegant Christian author who is in the neo-Calvinist tradition of Kuyper and his Stone Lectures, one could hardly find a more lovely example than the ecumenically minded and ever-worse Cornelius Plantinga. (Many know how we have promoted his fabulous Reading for Preaching, and Jubilee-folks know we promoted from up front his Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be, the best book on sin and its horrible “vandalization of shalom” that I’ve ever read.) We have enjoyed his 2024 devotional Under His Wings and his very impressive book Gratitude which is well worth having.

This, though, is one that is custom-made for college students wanting to think Christianly about their vocations and callings in the Kingdom of God. Comprised of a few key chapters on creation, fall, and redemption, Plantinga walks readers through the delights and challenges of the project of relating faith and life, learning and living. I have read it several times and my copy has underlinings on every single page.

Curiously, an esteemed prof of Lancaster Theology Seminary assigned it for a lay-person’s theology course not long ago and I was delighted for this ecumenical nod. Talking to some mainline denominational adults who really enjoyed it reminded me that this book about Christian learning in light of what we might call a Christian world-and-life view is not just for college students. I sometimes offer this with a money-back guarantee. It’s a great, great read.

The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, & Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis Karen Swallow Prior (Brazos Press) $26.99  // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $18.89

The previous two listings, above, noted how this particular image of Christ redeeming all of life — claiming every square inch, as Kuyper so colorfully put it — shapes the CCO’s evangelistic and disciple-making work. In cooperation and collaboration with local churches and other redemptive organizations, they partner to invite students to this wide-as-life view of the Kingdom coming and invite all to a theology of place (as some of the founders of CCO put it in the 1970s.) We are called, all of us, to invest in our communities and build networks of reformation within the institutions around us. Like Jesus Himself, our ministries are incarnational.

That, my friends, is, frankly, a different image of what the Christian faith is about than one finds in some other sectors of evangelical history. The Jubilee vision, shaped by particular images and ideas, is, I think, an antidote to theologically sloppy mainline ecumenism, fly-away, rapture-ready fundamentalism, and domineering, Dominionist white MAGA nationalists. But why isn’t that Jubilee vision the heart-beat of most Bible believing evangelicals, at least?

Karen Swallow Prior, nurtured in the heart of conservative evangelicalism herself, who taught literature to beloved students at the increasingly troubling Liberty University, grossly demeaned and abused by (some) Southern Baptists when she worked for a think-tank ministry at one of their institutions, is very well situated to explore the history of the images that have driven this important 20th century movement. The Evangelical Imagination is one of the best contemporary church history studies we know — and it is such a very good read!

Karen, of course (as shown in her lovely On Reading volume, above) is a lit lover so it is no surprise that this elegantly-written volume focuses less on the bad press evangelicals have gotten of late but, rather, she looks at the Victorian roots of the movement, the literature and art and analogies that have driven past evangelical advocates. This is a book that we have raved about in previous BookNotes and, be assured, that others sharp critics have applauded — there are truly lovely endorsements on the back from Mako Fujimura, the famed artist, Mark Noll, the award-winning historian, Tish Harrison Warren, writer and priest, that, as Tish says, this hardback is “an insightful work of love that aids a holy transformation of our imaginations.”

By the way, don’t miss Karen’s one-of-a-kind biography of the great writer and anti-slavery activist Hannah More, one of the influential members of the early-to-mid-1800s Clapham group of William Wilberforce. Called Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More: Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist published by Thomas Nelson; $24.99 — our 30% off sale price this week = $17.49.) Of course we had it at Jubilee and we only wish we had had time to highlight its true importance. Hooray.

Our Church Speaks: An Illustrated Devotional of Saints from Every Era and Place Ben Lansing and D.J. Morotta (IVP) $24.00  // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $16.80

I’ve highlighted this before as a classy and creative art book full of devotions next to illustrations of some of the “ground cloud of witnesses” that surround us. Drawing on all eras of church history, and folks from all over the world, there are here fifty-two profound images and reflections, showing not only the big world-wide reality that is the global Body of Christ but how the historic witness of older believers is relevant for us today. Their stories reveal to us God’s story and how others have counted on God’s promises as they struggled for contemporary relevance and fidelity.

Last year D.J. (who is an Anglican priest in Richmond whose church orders from us a lot, btw) spoke about his very helpful little book Liturgy in the Wilderness: How the Lord’s Prayer Shapes the Imagination of the Church in a Secular Age (Moody; $14.99 — this, too, is also 30% off this week, making it $10.49.) Artist Ben Lansing attends Redeemer Anglican as well and obviously loves studying, teaching about, and drawing the stories of these saints from all times and places. Kudos to all.

Welcome to the Revolution: A Field Guide for New Believers Brian Tome (Thomas Nelson) $12.99  // OUR 30% OFF SALE PRICE = $9.09

We hope that you appreciate how the curation of our bookstore’s BookNotes newsletter tends to invite folks to live out their faith, using books to explore culture and study up on all manner of things. Even this overview of just a few of the books we featured at Pittsburgh’s Jubilee event shows the “every square inch” of creation being reclaimed by Christ and the need for a seven day a week faith lived out in but not of the world’s cultures. We are often recommending cultural studies, Biblical theology, poetry, books about reading, the arts, and more.

Still, though, I hope some of our readers are the sort of Christians who do evangelism, that see folks come to faith anew, that are mentoring (some call it “discipling”) others into more sustainable patterns of faith formation. Do any of you know brand new Christians or those wanting to start a faith journey from nearly scratch?

This is a book I often highlight at Jubilee for just these sorts of folks. First, I love the feisty title and the energetic writing vibe. Faith is exciting and Christian discipleship is, essentially, signing up for a transforming movement that might be considered akin to a revolution of sorts. So I like the visionary zeal.

More practically, Welcome to the Revolution has upbeat chapters on how to read the Bible, how to pray, why and how to be involved in a local church community, and how to find one’s place in the bigger mission of God’s projects in the world. Nuanced and wise as Tome is about this, that’s it — reading the Bible well, praying and listening for God, being part of a worshipping community and active in church, and joining the mission. Right on! I hope you need a book like this for new believers you may know.

Listen to this from one of the architects of Jubilee in the last century, our beloved and greatly missed friend, and evangelist par excellence, Dr. Tony Campolo:

We need this kind of writing. It’s simple in style, profound in its message. It makes possible for the new Christian to get a handle on what it means to be a follower of Christ in a time when there is much confusion as to what that is all about. — Tony Campolo, Eastern University

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I hope you enjoy our every-other-week podcast, “Three Books from Hearts & Minds” where a host from the CCO invites me to tell about three books, usually on the same topic, giving listeners on Apple or Spotify (or those who watch on YouTube) a description of three books which I recommend on the theme. The last show highlighted three books on immigration and refugee work, drawn from the much bigger list I did in the last BookNotes. These are informal and off-the-cuff conversations about books that matter. We are glad for those who have shared the links with others. Some say it’s more fun than QVC.

The next one, which will drop in a week or so, will be related to the upcoming Jubilee Conference and its adjacent Jubilee Professional event (in Pittsburgh, February 21-23.) You probably know that Beth and I have been involved in Jubilee since we helped plan the very first one back in the late 1970s.  A Dutch neo-Calvinist philosopher in our circles had been reading John Howard Yoder’s The Politics of Jesus in which the Mennonite author makes a properly big deal about Jesus’s first sermon in his old home town (found in Luke 4, a lectionary text a few Sundays ago) in which He fulfills the dream of Isaiah 61, which draws on the Old Testament Year of Jubilee text from Leviticus 25. To be inaugurated on the Day of Atonement, most of the literal text of Leviticus’s Jubilee mandate calls for merciful and Godly social policy— debts cancelled, land restored, prisoners pardoned, animals getting to rest —and this vision of cultural renewal and social reformation gave us not only a name for our student conference but a hope: that students would reject conventional views of typical faith and embrace a wholistic Kingdom vision, at once more Biblical, more robustly engaged in the issues of the day, both pious and political, relevant for every major and academic discipline, across every zone of culture, connecting Sunday and Monday. It’s not a surprise that this year’s Jubilee swipes its tag-line from the great old Dutch Prime Minister, Abraham Kuyper, that reminds us that Christ claims “every square inch” of social and cultural space.

The risen Lord, not unlike Narnia’s Aslan, is good, even if maybe not so safe, and is on the move. Anyway, stay tuned to “Three Books from Hearts & Minds.” I always post links at both the Hearts & Minds Facebook page and my own personal age; in the next one to drop I will name three titles that have been central to and indicative of the Jubilee vision. I think I use the word “emblematic.” Stay tuned!

Jubilee 2025 will be a blast with lots of good speakers and workshops, some by authors, from Kelly Kapic to Karen Swallow Prior, Lisa Fields to Steve Bouma-Prediger, from scientist S. Joshua Swamidass to Kuyper scholar  Jessica Joustra and many more. We’re obsessed with this big event these days.

But even as we here at the shop plan and prep for this huge event — if you are near Pittsburgh February 21st – 23rd, stop by the convention center and say hi! — we also are preparing to enter a sacred season of deeper repentance, solitude, sorrow, even. The energy of Jubilee (and the delight of embodying hints of new creation that drives it) will soon give way to a time of more intentional prayer and practicing spiritual disciplines that allow us to more fully enter in to this significant (and surprising, even daunting) aspect of the Biblical story.

Our King — the Jubilee-bringer himself, what the excellent Bible Project video on “Messiah” calls “The Snake Crusher” — who has in His incarnation inaugurated the Kingdom of God, takes on the brute force of evil and it kills him. Jesus’s triumphant victory comes through laying down His life. What kind of King is enthroned on a cross, with a crown of thorns, after a last supper with friends where he washed their feet? This is unlike any political party we’ve heard of, that’s for sure. Moving into Lent and towards giving our attention to the pathos of Holy Week, is vital for mature Biblical spirituality and authentic Christ-like faith so each year we offer some resources to help you along the way. You can find previous lists from other years here or here, or here, for instance. Find more by using the “search” box at the website.

Moving into Lent and towards giving our attention to the pathos of Holy Week, is vital for mature Biblical spirituality and authentic Christ-like faith

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Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal Esau McCaulley (IVP) $20.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $16.79

Before suggesting some daily resources or weekly studies, we wanted to highlight two that we think are very, very useful to help us all understand this Lenten season, its history, value, and the point. This little square hardback, Lent, was the first released two years ago in the lovely and wise Fullness of Time series. Many adored Tish Warren’s Advent which was followed by one on Christmas (which was excellent, by Emily Hunter McGowin) and the famous Fleming Rutledge’s Epiphany. Last year saw the release of Pentecost by Emilio Alvarez and the brand new one (which we will describe later) is the triumphant Easter by the one and only Wesley Hill of Western Theological Seminary. The senior editor and curator of this whole “Fullness of Time” series is Rev. Dr. Esau McCaulley, who wrote the important Reading While Black and a stunning memoir, How Far to the Promised Land. His small-sized Lent is the first in the series and we obviously couldn’t let the season pass without offering this fine overview. The first paragraph reminds us that “Lent is inescapably about repenting.”

The Good of Giving Up: Discovering the Freedom of Lent Aaron Damiani (Moody Press) $12.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

This is a great read — at a great price — explaining the history and importance of Lent by a former nondenominational guy who is now an Anglican priest. (See also his lively Earth Filled with Heaven: Finding Life in Liturgy, Sacraments, and Other Ancient Practices of the Church, a book we celebrated as a “Best Book of 2023.) Insofar as he was once skeptical of practices rooted in the Catholic liturgical calendar, he is an ideal spokesperson to advocate for this spiritual practice as a key aspect of the Lenten experience.  Even for those practically engaged in some sort of “giving something up” for Lent, Damiani’s easy-to-read book nicely probes a bit deeper, inviting us to not only understand but to be intentional and discerning about our motives and habits, always rooted in grace and goodness. He suggests that, finally, spiritual practices of Lent, including fasting, leads us to greater, richer freedom. Very nicely designed and truly rewarding.

A Different Kind of Fast: Feeding Our True Hungers in Lent Christine Valters Paintner (Broadleaf) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

I have written about this before but it is a lovely, evocative guide to spirituality, including getting in touch with our deepest hungers and longings. Painter is a creative, Roman Catholic mystic and has written widely about spiritual formation (and, by the way, the arts.) There are some great woodcuts and art in this compact paperback by artist Kreg Yingst (who I first learned about from Americana folk rocker Bill Mallonee, and whose own book Everything Could Be a Prayer is itself a standout of graphic design and poignant reflections.)

One reviewer of A Different Kind of Fast says it is “a multistory approach to contemplation that is sensitive, thoughtful, and inclusive.”

From Wilderness to Glory: Lent and Easter for Everyone  N.T. Wright (WJK) $18.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

This is a wonderful collection of daily readings from N.T Wright’s popular “For Everyone” Bible commentaries. I sometimes say that they are not overly academic and truly are “for everyone” but yet, in the middle of almost every page, there is an apt metaphor, a provocative notion, a brilliant insight, making this both basic, but laden with an edge-of-your-seat expectancy that God will speak though his Holy Word.

Turning Over Tables: A Lenten Call for Disrupting Power Kathy Escobar (WJK) $17.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.60

This is a wild and provocative daily guidebook with prayer prompts and reflection questions and quotes and Biblical ruminations, all building up to a humble and prayerful discernment about how we, like JEsus, might disrupt the powerful and do the Godly work of transformative justice in the world. You’ll find lovely Biblical insights, inspiring gentle quotes from the likes of Henri Nouwen, and more prophetically challenging lines from Howard Thurman and James Baldwin, Cole Arthur Riley and Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Prone to Wander: Lenten Journey with Women in the Wilderness Joanna Harader, illustrated by Michelle Burkholder (Herald Press) $16.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

This is a thorough, extraordinary book of wonderful reflections on a very large array of Biblical women, grouped by themes (week by week.) Harader is a Kansas-based Mennonite pastor (and the very impressive illustrator is both artist and Mennonite pastor in Hyattsville, MD.) You may recall that they teamed up on a lovely Advent devotional and if that was good, this is even better.

These pages will renew. Your capacity to recognize the signs and wonders of God’s provision, sometimes as close as the hand of a friend or the generosity of a stranger. — Issac Villegas (author of the forthcoming Eerdmans title, Migrant God.)

Hunger for Righteousness: A Lenten Journey Towards Intimacy with God and Loving our Neighbor Phoebe Farah Mikhail (Paraclete) $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19

There are a few things going on in this lovely, rich, profound new book published by our friends at Paraclete Press. Firstly it is written by a Coptic Orthodox woman, so it is rooted in the seriously spiritual sensibilities of ancient Egyptian fathers and mothers with all the iconography and profundity of their tradition at its best. Also, it is clear about one big thing: authentic intimacy with God surely works on us to make us more loving, more neighborly, more caring. Yes, yes — love of God and love of neighbor are not to be torn asunder and a hunger for righteousness (as Jesus promises in Matthew 5:6) will be fulfilling (and perhaps a bit exciting at times.)

This beautiful book acts as a guide through this hunger in Lent, gently intensifying our yearning for God” — Rev. Daniel Fanous, St. Cyril’s Coptic Orthodox Theological College, Sydney, Australia.

A Just Passion: A Six-Week Lenten Journey (IVP) $12.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

This is one of my personal favorites and I very highly recommend it. It is handsomely done, brief, inexpensive, and full of writers you should know. The short version is that the good folks at IVP collected nice excerpts from a whole bunch of their authors — women writers and authors of color, especially — and created a lovely daily reader drawn from their previously published volumes. (And there is a little thumbnail picture of each person, which is actually really nice, and the info about from which book the reading is drawn.) This really, really works!

Spend some time each day with Marlena Graves, John Perkins, Ruth Haley Barton, Sheila Wise Rowe, Tish Harrison Warren, Terry Wildman, Donna Barber, Eugene Peterson, Sandra Maria Van Opstal, Brenda Salter McNeil, Grace Ji-Sun Kim,Esau McCauley, Christina Edmondson, and more.

Injustice is rampant and we confront brokenness in our own souls even as we cry out about the problems in society. If Christ alone is our liberator, what does that look like? Where are the trails to follow? How can we deepen our walk with Christ in ways that make us useful in this complicated world?

The Bible readings are from the First Nations Version, arranged from repentance, lament, worship, and healing. I’m not kidding or wanting to sound pushy, but you should be a couple…

The Stones of the Last Week: Impediments to Easter Bonnie B. Thurston (Liturgical Press) $12.95 // OUR SALE PRICE = $10.36

Bonne Thurston has quite a story and is a great speaker and writer (and poet.) She is beloved for having taught vibrant classes at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (and is known for having shifted in her own theological orientation, moving from being Presbyterian to Orthodox.) This Roman Catholic publisher did this fabulous little book this season offering Thurston’s retreat presentations, plain and clear (with remarkable application for most of us.) Her theme is as the subtitle asks: what are the stones that get in the way of us moving well towards Easter? What are the impediments?  It does this by exploring the “stones” that impeded Jesus’s own journey; each chapter is on a particular text from the gospel accounts. It is (as Dale Allison puts it, “winsome and wise.” What should be done?

Unrevealed Until Its Season: A Lenten Journey with Hymns James C. Howell (Upper Room Books) $14.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $11.99

This is a compact, small book, full of reflections on classic hymns. It came out a few years ago, I gather, but we just discovered it this season. I am sure some of our BookNotes friends will enjoy it.

Might I be so blunt as to say that older people who love the old hymns will especially like it? And may I be so bold as to say that younger Christians, perhaps attuned only to contemporary praise and worship songs, might benefit from these astute reflections on these often stunningly rich lyrics?

Howell is a long standing United Methodist pastor at a large church in Charlotte, NC. Unrevealed Until Its Seasons explores hymns about praising God, hymns about Jesus, hymns of forgiveness, hymns of beauty, and more. The “Stony the Road” chapter explores hymns of Holy Week and (of course) there is the upbeat last chapter called “Love’s Redeeming Work: Hymns of Easter.” A group could use and savor this and certainly any individual or family could enjoy dipping into these old (and some recent) hymns.

Faithful Families for Lent, Easter, & Resurrection Traci Smith (Chalice Press) $12.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

This is a quick little handbook, chock-full of ideas to help children grow in their faith. It’s a hands-on resource — a practical companion to Smith’s Faitfhful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home — by a PC(USA) pastor and mother of three kids.  There are some common sense ideas here, a few tried and true suggestions, and some that our wonderfully creative. Parents with children of various ages can find prompts and practices for this season of the church calandar. Blurb on the back, by the way, are from Glenys Nellist (a fabulous artist and creator of children’s books), the popular Jennifer Grant, Cindy Wang Brandt (author of Parenting Forward.)  I useful resource to have and use.

The Word in the Wilderness: A Poem a Day for Lent and Easter Malcolm Guite (Canterbury Press) $21.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $16.80

I have written about this before; we enjoy any excuse to highlight the great Malcolm Guite’s work. We have stocked his poetry (and literary criticism and more, such as his lovely exploration of the Christian imagination in a nicely illustrated book from Square Halo Books.) The Word in the Wilderness seems to be one of his most popular, bringing together as it does, classic and new poetry (only a few by Guite himself) and Fr. Malcolm’s thoughtful, devotional explorations on the poem of the day.

As it says on the back cover of the UK Canterbury Press paperback, Each poem and the accompanying rumination, “is a window into heaven to light our Lenten road.” This stretches from Shrove Tuesday to a few springtime saint’s days after Easter.

To the Cross: Proclaiming the Gospel from the Upper Room to Calvary Christopher J. H. Wright (IVP) $16.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

As much as I love the great N.T. Wright, a former Bishop and leading New Testament scholar, pushing us all towards living with a missional vision which embodies new creation realities in Christ, his cousin Christopher J.H. Wright is another extraordinarily prolific church leader from the UK whose work you should know. He has written thoughtful popular titles on any number of topics (including books of the Bible, prayer, the fruit of the Spirit, and more), a few larger works on application of Biblical faith to modern injustices, and an academic project or two. To the Cross is a collection of sermons delivered in the church with which he has been affiliated,  All Souls Church, in London. You may know that the great John Stott was pastor there Wright is a director at Stott’s international ministry, Langham Partnerships. If anyone has taken up the mantle of Stott’s wholistic Biblical passion, applied to contemporary culture, it is Christopher Wright.

This fine book of solid, clarifying, (even, dare I say, inspiring) messages guides readers through Jesus’s journey from the Last Supper to the cross. He uses the lens of the Older Testament to help us understand the Gospel accounts and helps us more fully appreciate Christ’s death and redemption. This is very good news, indeed.

(There is also lengthy appendix for those who may be preparing to preach or teach these passages, offering insight on sermon preparation as he tells his own process of attending to these texts and their proclamation. I’m not even a preacher and I read that part first.)

Where the Eye Alights: Phrases for the Forty Days of Lent Marilyn McEntyre (Eerdmans) $20.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $16.79

We have lauded dear Marilyn’s many books and this little hardback one is handsome to hold and even more luscious to read, enjoy, and ponder. I want to say it is sheer poetry, at times, and the poets do come up. But this is a curious little volume of ruminations on phrases — thoughts that come to mind that are worth pondering.  Here is how she invites us to it all; enjoy this:

“Lent is a time of permission. Many of us find it hard to give ourselves permission to pause, to sit still, to reflect or meditate or pray in the midst of daily occupations — most of them very likely worthy in themselves — that fill our waking minds and propel us out of bed and on to the next thing. We need the explicit invitation the liturgical year provides to change pace, to curtail our busyness a bit, to make our times with self and God a little more spacious, a little more leisurely, and see what comes. The reflections I offer here come from a very simple practice of daily meditation on whatever has come to mind in the quiet of early morning.”

The Undoing of Death Fleming Rutledge (Eerdmans) $26.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $21.59

If Rev. Rutledge’s massive collection of deep and rich Advent sermons (Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ) is one of my all time favorite books, this equally hefty collection of her Holy Week sermons stands alongside it in my heart and mind. My old copy is dog-eared and precious.

There are art pieces included as in several of these many sermons she alludes to scenes as depicted by older masters. One or two are simply brilliant and I’m so glad they show the art (if only in black and white.) Her faithful exegesis and lovely wordsmithing combine to make this a very, very fine book — who knew there could be so much good stuff said about the key events of the last week of the life of Jesus. And then there are a bunch of Easter sermons and several for the week after Easter. Wow. The Undoing of Death is a book to have for a lifetime; it may even be a lifeline.

Coloring Lent: An Adult Coloring Book for the Journey to Resurrection Christopher Rodkey, illustrated by Jesse Turri (CBP/Chalice Press) $12.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

Okay, I’ll admit, I’ve happily promoted this one other years as well. Since I haven’t mentioned it for a while, I thought I’d bring it back out and share it with newer readers. This really is something!

(If you’d like to read my breathy overview of my friend Chris Rodkey — then a UCC pastor and neighbor serving here in Dallastown — and his genius and well down coloring book idea, see here.)

The short version is that this is imbued with a liturgical sensibility you won’t find in any other coloring book — even relaxing ones with Bible verses. This has footnotes of the church fathers and mothers, and if you are attentive, you’ll learn something about the ancient and global church. The art is splashy, moving, at times, and fun to use. Hooray.

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Here are a few that, while they are not about Lent as such, seem to me to be titles you might want to consider in your own reading during this special season. I do hope you make time for some intentional alone time, reading.

Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human Cole Arthur Riley (Convergent) $22.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.60

I have often celebrated the very good, wonderfully, wonderfully written memoir This Here Flesh by former Pittsburgh and friend, Cole Arthur Riley. We named her second (and very significant) book, Black Liturgies, one of the Best Books of 2024; it has been acclaimed all over, with fabulous endorsements from important black leaders (from Imanai Perry to Michael Eric Dyson to Tina Miles, who calls the words “luminous. The beauty of this book is only topped by its utter urgency, “balm for our troubled times” as one black preacher put it.

This is a collection of readings, meditations, of sorts — most written as letters — followed by a set of morning and evening devotionals which follow the church calendar, with citations and poems and lines from black authors, old and contemporary. These new prayers and blessings, meditative questions, breath prayers, spiritual exercises, and proactive ruminations (aided by her fluency of extraordinary breadth in black literary figures and activists) make this exciting (especially, I’d think, for white folks to read) but also, may I say, sobering. There is stuff here about grief and loss, about injustice and realistic hope, about a spirituality that is rooted in beauty and yet not afraid of voicing pain. In the second half which offers liturgies and readings for the liturgical calendar, there are entries specifically for Lent. So this is ideal, truly. It’s a great book to own, a fabulous companion for your journey, and some of it quite directly written for this time of year

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Drawing Near: A Devotional Journey with Art, Poetry, & Reflection edited by John Roth & Eileen Linch (Herald Press) $20.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $16.79

This isn’t a Lenten book but it is brand new and it seems perfect for this list of suggested resources for the upcoming season. At this price, too, this slightly oversized hardback with exceptional black and white linocuts and lithographs is one of the best (and classy) bargains we’ve seen. Congrats to the Mennonite publisher (celebrating soon the 500th year of Anabaptism’s development in reformation-era Europe) for offering this extraordinary, rich collection of devotional writing, essays, open-minded Scripture reflections, poems, and striking art. That the prominent (Anabaptist) poet Julie Kasdorf Spicher wrote the foreword shows the gravitas and importance of this stellar volume.

As I said, it is slightly oversized. The art is by different designers but most have a look that reminds me of old Catholic Worker woodcuts. Do you know the feel of that liturgical folk art? Some of these are classic, others more modern, all starkly and richly black and white. I have to admit I paged through with my mouth agape before I even got to the text, running over to show Beth as we exclaimed to each other how very much we appreciated the whole design and some of the stunning art pieces.

The artists who contributed Drawing Near include a Mennonite Catholic Worker from California, a Goshen College art teacher, an artist from Treaty One land in Winnipeg, Manitoba, a Korean-Canadian artist from British Columbia and a mid-western community organizer/artist and pastor who founded The School for Rural Culture and Creativity in Matfield, Kansas.

The Biblically-based devotional reflections and poems and the prayerful prompts and discussion questions are by nearly 40 contemporary Anabaptist writers, pastors, thinkers, and social activists from around North America. They each invite us to explore the creative edges of our faith; as it says on the back, “allow the Spirit to stir your soul.” Yes.

Midwinter Light: Meditations for the Long Season Marilyn McEntyre (Broadleaf Books) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

I’ll admit I didn’t want to list this among Advent devotionals because, well, it isn’t exactly an Advent or Christmas project (although there is a good piece on “Blue Christmas” which I have read more than once.) And then we did end of the year “best of” lists in January, and important new titles and books about immigration to give us Biblical and humanitarian basis to resist current meanness. Alas, it is now deep mid-Winter — in more ways than one, I’d say — and this lovely collection of eloquent reflections is perfect to help us “slow down, sit, and savor the beauty and wisdom of winter — around us and within.”

I’ve written often about my friend Marilyn McEntyre and I bet a week doesn’t go by that I don’t tell somebody about Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies or its urgent sequel, Speaking Peace in a Climate of Conflict. I love her fascinating When Poets Pray and we stock several of her own poetry volumes, devotionals, little books like Make a List, Dear Doctor, and one Beth read last year, The Mindful Grandparent, which she co-wrote with a woman from Pennsylvania.) She’s a good writer and while she has done a Lenten one (see above) I had to mention this. I think I’m going to start it this week, here in this lousy, cold February. Jeff Crosby writes that it is a book “that teems with wisdom, wonder, and light and prompts us to pay attention to landscapes both internal and external in whatever season we may find ourselves.” Maybe you need to stand on holy ground these days, and, as another reviewer noted, “Marilyn is a trusted guide and gentle witness for the depths of winter.”

Beautiful, Disappointing, Hopeful: How Gratitude, Grief, and Grace Reflect the Christian Story Drew Hyun (ZondervanReflective) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

While not a Lenten book at all, this new title is fascinating, well written, moving, even raw, at times, and, frankly, a very helpful way to retell the Biblical story in emotionally-honest ways. It is written by a Korean-American pastor who, in conversational tones, tells much about his upbringing as a twin son of hard-working and harried Korean- American parents. In a way much of this is a winsome apologetic for Christian belief and in the opening pages (and other times) he says he is writing to those who may not be followers of Jesus; in this sense it is inviting and warm and honest, making a claim that there is a compelling story in the gospel which gives account for three universal human experiences — beauty, disappointment, and the longing for hope.  In a way, he suggests, this is a common grace.

Fascinating, isn’t it, my good friends and close readers, that this mirrors my oft-cited summary of the gospel story in the lingo of creation/fall/redemption, eh? God made a good and beautiful world and due to sin and rebellion we are full of disappointment (what Plantinga calls “the vandalization of shalom” in his must-read Not The Way It’s Supposed to Be high Hyun helpfully cites) and, still, yet, there is a very human hope for better days, which Christ offers in his redemptive plan, including the hope of future consummation of the promised restoration.

These three words explored wonderfully in Beautiful, Disappointing, Hopeful really do capture, as Hyun notes, the heart of the Biblical story, the existential reality in God’s good but broken world. Getting real about this is helpful for any son of Adam or daughter or Eve, I am sure, church-goer or not. If one is a seeker or pondering if the Christian faith is an adequate story for you to live by, BDH is for you.

And here’s more. After each section — beauty, disappointment, hope — Hyun shows how certain responses bubble up from these: you can see them in the subtitle, and he teaches us how to be attentive to gratitude, grief, and grace. Indeed, we can practice habits of being grateful in response to beauty and we can learn lament and grief in times of disappointment. Accepting grace, of course, is the ultimate response to the offer of hope. He draws on Nouwen and Keller’s good books on the story of the prodigal son to help us experience a sense of profound, sovereign grace.

Yep, this lovely, thoughtful, wise book explores beauty, disappointment and hope and gratitude, grief, and grace. At there end there is some lovely advise for new believers or those wanting to trust the Reality of the good story.

Drew Hyun is pastor of a multi-ethnic, diverse church in New York (Hope Church NYC) and head of the organization (using Peter Scazzeroi’s work) called Emotionally Health Discipleship. His friend Rich Villodas calls it “a compelling resource for those of us who are longing for a faith big enough” to embrace these realities.

Humility: Rediscovering the Way of Love and Life in Christ Michael W. Austin (Eerdmans) $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

I have written about this before and it clearly is not a daily devotional or a Lenten book. Yet, try as I did, I couldn’t get it out of my head that I should note it here, now. I suppose Lent is a time of sober reflection, almsgiving, a move away from self and towards the loving service Jesus himself modeled. Right?

This is a mature book,  yet very, very readable. Austin is an ethicist and philosophy professor at Eastern Kentucky University. He is a Fellow of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute. He has written widely about public theology, offering cultural analysis in books like QAnon Chaos and the Cross: Christianity and Conspiracy Theories and God and Guns in America. Most recently he did one on Christian Nationalism suggesting such elevation of faith in the nation is neither good Christianity nor good Americanism. Years ago I reviewed one he did about ethics in the work world. He is one of the leading scholars of character and virtue as it applies to contemporary living.

And so it was a bit surprising to see this gentle, profound, reflection on the spiritual disciplines needed to bear the fruit of humility. As he guides readers through spiritual disciplines (to aid in the formation of this virtue) he asks about how our union with God helps us follow Jesus. Which, of course, means love of others.

Which, yep, is the way of Christ, the way of love. This Christ-like sort of formational discipleship necessarily leads us through Lent and Holy Week, so while this isn’t a Lenten guide, I think it very well should be.

Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep Tish Warren Harrison (IVP) $22.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $18.39

I have written about this so often some readers my roll their eyes — here he goes again. Not if you’ve read it, though, right? We get nothing but very good notes back after folks buy this and it is wise and interesting, a good read, and very, very deeply touching. Written in a hard time in her own life, Prayer in the Night tells stories and offers prayers and extraordinary insight in excellent prose.

Two things are going on in this nice volume. First she is using “night” as a metaphor for pain and darkness, doubt and anxiety. Yes, we lament and cry out and pray, even in the dark. Secondly, she literally explores the fixed hour prayer custom of praying at night, the service called “Compline,” That is where the poetic subtitle comes from and she explores these three word — those who work, watch or weep — will subtle and healing insight. This is a great book to read (even if you aren’t weeping these days) but it sure seems right  as rain to read in Lent.

Prayers from the Cloud: 100 Prayers Through the Ages Pete James (Eerdmans) $22.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $18.39

I know there are some readers who can hardly skim this book review newsletter, let alone find time to read a few of the books I suggest. Maybe you don’t even have time or energy — headspace as we used to say in a previous generation — to do a daily devotional. We’ve got books for that, but, for now, maybe this would help.

My friend Pete James (one of the founding campus evangelists in the very early 1970s who reached college students for Christ through Pittsburgh’s CCO) is a life-long Presbyterian pastor who now in semi-retirement, is a chaplain at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. During the hard times of Covid a relative of his was in the hospital, sick, and alone. She asked him for a written prayer or two and — long story short — he started a blog and developed a following offering a short description of a pray-er, when she or he lived, and what their theological importance may have been, and then, on the facing page, offered a prayer from the great cloud of witnesses. This book of 100 of his most popular prayers is the result. Hooray!

You will discover energetic prayers, quiet ones, eloquent pleas and passionate cries. From Bonhoeffer to Amy Carmichael, from Thomas Aquinas to Benedict of Nursia, from Jane Grey to Dorothy Sayers, from Reinhold Niebuhr to Sojourner Truth.

There are ancient prayers from the likes of Polycarp and a modern one by Madeleine L’Engle; you’ve got Saint Francis and Johannes Kepler and Richard Allen. This is as diverse and rich as any simple prayerbook but the proof is in the prayers. Read them. Pray them. Learning about these voices from the enduring cloud is a quick education. Praying the prayers will be quick, but you will come back, time and again. Prayers from the Cloud might be just the resource you need to deepen your prayer life and to stimulate your Lenten season…

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It is always a good time to reflect on the meaning of the cross of Christ. It is healthy to ponder and rewarding to study, this deep central event of the Biblical story. HERE is one list we put together a while back; HERE is another that is even older, but might be useful for you. The prices may have changed a bit but they are still 20% off.

Here are five to consider:

The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ Fleming Rutledge (Eerdmans) $33.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $27.19

This is Rutledge’s complex and brilliant magnum opus, one of the most discussed Biblical/theological books of the last decade.  Almost 700 pages it strong medicine, exegetical, theological astute, contemporary.

There have been so many inspiring accolades. Read these two:

In this bold, uncompromising, nuanced, and expansive work Rutledge takes us through — and beyond — theories of atonement, avoiding all merely individualistic, spiritualized, religious, moralistic, and therapeutic reductions of the meaning of the crucifixion. Rutledge resolutely proclaims the truth of Christ crucified. To all priests, preachers, and professors: if you care about the church and its mission in history, read this book! — Douglas Harink, The King’s University, Edmonton, Canada, Resurrecting Justice: Reading Romans for the Life of the World

 ‘Who put the roses on the cross?’ asked Goethe, who in fact preferred that the brutal cross be covered in roses. Fleming Rutledge brushes the roses aside and asks us to look at the cross and, even more so, at Him who hung upon it for our sake. This is a book marked by outstanding exegesis, theology, and pastoral sensitivity — a book for thinking Christians and even thinking unbelievers. — Joseph Mangina, University of Toronto, Figural Reading and the Fleshly God: The Theology of Ephraim Radner

The Wood Between the Worlds: Poetic Theology of the Cross Brian Zahnd (IVP) $24.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.20

A contemporary favorite, I’m not the only one who discovered this last year and realized it is, as the subtitle has it, a “poetic theology.” Zahnd is a compelling speaker and writer (pastoring a large church that is neither mainline denominational nor mega-church evangelical.) He quotes Dostoevsky and Schmemann and Cone and NT Wright alongside church mothers and Russian iconographers and Bob Dylan. There are some full color paintings of various images of Jesus which he carefully explores. This multifaceted study of the glory of the cross should touch every part of our lives and, as Jonathan Merritt writes, “the reader cannot look away.”

The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus’s Crucifixion N.T. Wright (HarperOne) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

I love this book and highly recommend it — agree fully or not, it explores all the key uses of the phrase “the cross” in the Apostle Paul and shows how Wright understands them. He makes a very good case that using the lens of new creation — Kingdom coming! — to interpret the “end game” of Christ’s death and resurrection, we see a whole lot more of why Paul used “the cross” as a short-hand for the very good gospel. What a book.

Lamb of the Free: Recovering the Varied Sacrificial Understandings of Jesus’s Death Andrew Remington Roller (Cascade) $39.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $31.20

This is on my short list of important theology books I’d like to work through; he studies atonement and sacrifice in the Levitical system and argues that Jesus is actually doing something else in his sacrifice. And so: “the sacrificial imagery in the New Testament is aimed at grounding the exhortation for the audience to be conformed to the cruciform image of Jesus by sharing in his death.”

There is, I might add, a powerful foreword by energetic, respected Pauline scholar, Douglas A. Campbell. More than 350 dense pages.

Version 1.0.0

The Cross of Christ John Stott (IVP) $35.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $28.79

I still think I want to suggest that if folks are reading one major work on the cross of Christ, this 1986 masterwork by John Stott is my first and emphatic suggestion. This more recent addition has a helpful introduction by Alister McGrath (and a new timeline of Stott’s ministry.) There is no doubt that Stott was one of the great spokespersons of thoughtful and engaged evangelical faith for a generation and this classic study is vintage Stott — serious but accessible, informed but readable, a scholar with a pastor’s heart, helping us all to become what by the end of his life he called ‘radical Christians”

Ajith Fernando says “I have no hesitation in saying this is the most enriching theological book I have ever read…”  J.I. Packer says, “John Stott rises grandly to the challenge of the greatest of all themes.. and is his masterpiece.” Shane Claiborne writes ‘in our world of war and terror there is nothing more important to contemplate than the cross of Christ. May Stott’s reflections give us the courage to fight with all the love within us, the war of the slaughters Lamb.”

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BookNotes

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The President’s executive orders and far-reaching initiatives this past week or so have created lots of political debate and protest; I could go on with my own observations, but you read BookNotes mostly for this bookseller’s reading recommendations. And, boy, do we have some for you this time. I want to focus on books about one topic — international migration, which includes both refugees and immigrants.

Some may know that years ago I had been somewhat involved in efforts to understand the reasons many Central American people fled to the US, sometimes illegally, sometimes hoping for political asylum, in the 1980s and 90s. President Reagan’s deeply immoral (and, with Ollie North et al, illegal) efforts to fund far, far-right military juntas and brutally repressive regimes fueled the revolutionary fires already burning in Guatemala, El Salvador, Niagara and the like. US support of grotesque regimes farther South, in Argentina, say, made things horrible for many there, in those years. Friends at Sojourner’s networked those providing help to migrants with religious activists who created a sanctuary movement, sort of an illegal underground railroad offering safe harbor to those fleeing egregious human rights violations in Latin America.

My very Republican parents happened to be out West in the mid-1980s and during a trip where they met James Dobson in Colorado Springs they also worshiped at a Presbyterian church pastored by James Fife, who famously sheltered refugees and asylum seekers and whose Bible studies had been infiltrated by FBI spies pretending to be spiritual seekers. Meeting Fife was important for my mom and dad as they heard first hand stories of (to use the language of Jesus’s first sermon in Luke 4) those working to proclaim “liberty to the captives” and setting the oppressed free. That their life-long political party was sneaking into Bible studies to expose poor families who had been run off their lands, and seen their own children tortured, was too much.

Years later, here in York County, we helped start a five-year-long campaign to help Chinese immigrants gain asylum in the US. In those years when Clinton was the anti-immigrant President, those fleeing the draconian one-child-only policy (enforced with forced abortions, even late-term caesareans — I’ve seen crumpled photos) were not granted asylum. Hundreds of Chinese immigrants whose ship, the Golden Venture, ran aground near the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, were detained in York County Prison awaiting return to a terrible end in China. Our weekly protests and large entourage of pro bono lawyers fought in what became the largest pro-bono case in American history, to change the laws and save the lives of our detained friends. Left, right, and center, Christian and other, we all had a variety of motivations but our gang allowed me to preach — year after year — in our weekly vigils at the prison. Guns were aimed at us but we kept at it; soon enough we were nearly heros in the eyes of some human rights groups and a lot of ordinary folks. It’s a long story (and there is more than one documentary made on the situation) it showed me that the Bible is (as my friend Pastor Joan would say) the world’s best immigration handbook.

(For those who are interested, in the next “Three Books from Hearts & Minds” podcast, dropping soon, I talk briefly about this situation with the Chinese immigrants detained in York County Prison and our advocacy for them and suggest the award-winning book by Patrick Radden Keefe called The Snakehead, which I describe below.)

Decades later, it seems many in the US now know that there are Bible verses instructing God’s people to show hospitality to those from other countries. Call them aliens, sojourners, immigrants, foreigners, all are essentially fellow humans, often vulnerable and needy, carrying dignity as those made in the image of God. We also learned from our Chinese friends that these were, in some cases, some of the bravest and most noble humans we ever met.  President Trump has used foul language (and dishonest stats) against many people but he seems to have a special animus for those who are poor and certainly for those who are from other countries. He doesn’t know or care what the Bible says about such things.

Do we?

From my earliest memories of my mom helping with a resettled Vietnamese refugee family to my own understanding of how our Central American foreign policy helped stimulate the immigration to el Norte, to our deep experience with asylum law and the Chinese detainees here, we have come to realize that even with the Bible’s general ethic of generous hospitality to immigrants, policy formation in a fallen world is complicated. Good people can disagree about nuances of what should be done. John Paul II, just for instance, spoke out passionately against xenophobia and racism but advised (European countries, in that context, I gather) caution in not causing unintended damage to local economies and the common good with too simplistic border policies. So it is tricky. Many of the books I’ll mention are very aware of that.

Do you want to figure some stuff out, dive a bit deeper, forming a Christian mind on one of the most talked-about topics of the year? Here are an array of books pulled from our shelves here at the shop. One, about Syrian refugees, which looks so good, is listed as a pre-order. You know the drill. 

ALL ARE 20% OFF.

Read through to the end where you’ll see the tab to order. Using that works best — you can safely enter cc digits at our secure order form page (or, there, it invites you to tell us to just send a bill if you’d rather, so you can pay by check later.) Be sure to tell us your shipping preferences, if any.

A FEW BOOKS THAT ARE MOSTLY STORIES

The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream Patrick Radden Keefe $18.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

Keefe is one of the great investigative journalists and authors of our time and it was an honor to discover he was doing the premier work on the whole big picture of the passengers on the ship called the Golden Venture. It powerfully chronicles their dangerous journey out of China, across the seas (including a wreck in Africa) and then their arrests and imprisonment in the land-locked, central Pennsylvania town of York. We later found out from getting documents through the Freedom of Information Act that Clinton and Gore wanted the Chinese out of the county (to hell with due process or  proper translators, let alone legal asylum hearings) and that York was chosen in part because there were no immigration lawyers here.

Keefe’s book studies the underground Chinese mafia in New York, the rich “snakeheads” (something like what they call in central America, coyotes) who arranged the voyage. This is the most revisiting part of the book and will keep you up at night — believe me.

That our diverse advocacy group, led mostly by Christians who were given room to preach and pray, is in the book at all is stunning. That the story of the Golden Venture immigrants’s imprisonment in York and the effort to get them justice is nearly the last third of this great read is a blast. Who knew that my friends would show up in such a major, New York Times best-seller?

That the book remains in print is, I think, indicative of two things, maybe three: first, it is very well-researched and excellently written, so it is a great read by a respected writer. Great creative nonfiction stays in print.

Secondly, the immigration issue remains hot — hotter now than it was then — and The Snakehead gives a front-row seat to the larger complexity of it all (the good, the bad, and the ugly, as they say.) This makes it an important read now as our current President is rolling back policies and (I might suggest) making matters worse overnight.

Thirdly, I’d like to think that the drama of a handful of small town followers of Jesus who gathered friends of various motivations to form a strong coalition to support human rights and advocate for freedom for our detained Chinese friends is also part of the appeal. Regardless of your views on politics of immigration you’ll be cheering us on by the final chapters. There are not that many public affairs books that have as a central part a politically, culturally, and religiously diverse group who defied polarization and ideological differences, to make common cause, save some lives, and reform the immigration system, going toe-to-toe with ICE, Janet Reno, and right to the Oval Office itself. This extraordinary book is still in print for good reasons. We commend it to you.

Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother Sonia Nazario (random House) $18.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

I have led book discussion on this unforgettable story and I’ve reviewed it years ago here at BookNotes. The prestigious journalist (who has won the Pulitzer Prize) tells in magnificent, vivid prose, her accompanying one of many young boys who climb on top of the infamously dangerous trains running from Central America to Texas, postmodern hoboes, catching a ride that — if they are not captured by traffickers or pirates and if they do not fall and get hurt or killed or abused by corrupt cops — might lead them to a new life in the US. Nazario is brave and at times desperate as she makes this incredible journey with young Enrique who wants to find his mother in the United States. (He finds later she is working in a place called Miami, in a province called Florida.)

This is a boy’s journey and pain and hopes and dreams, told with great care. As one reviewer wrote:

“Enrique’s Journey is a book about love. It’s about family. It’s about home.”

Solito: A Memoir Javier Zamora (Hogarth Press) $18.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

This was a much-acclaimed and widely-read book a few years ago. (It was a “Read with Jenna” pick.)  I list it after Enrique’s Journey as it has very similar resonances.

Here is how the publisher describes it:

When Javier Zamora was nine, he traveled unaccompanied by bus, boat, and foot from El Salvador to the United States to reunite with his parents. This is his memoir of that dangerous journey, a nine-week odyssey that nearly ended in calamity on multiple occasions. It’s a miracle that Javier survived the crossing and a miracle that he has the talent to now tell his story so masterfully. While Solito is Javier’s story, it’s also the story of millions of others who have risked so much to come to this country. A memoir that reads like a novel, rooted in precise and authentic detail, Solito is destined to be a classic of the immigration experience.

This has been called everything from a “beautifully-wrought work” to “monumental” to a “new landmark” to “a stone-cold masterpiece.”

I have written before about What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance, the extraordinary and unforgettable book by poet Carolyn Forche about her year in El Salvador. She knows a thing or two and says here Solito: A Memoir is written in “luminous prose.” She says, firmly,

“I cannot recommend this book enough, nor overstate its accomplishment.” — Carolyn Forche

The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You Dina Nayeri (Catapult) $17.95 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.36

Although I am not listing fictional books here, if I were, I’d include the beloved, fantastic, YA novel by Daniel Nayeri, Everything Sad is Untrue (A True Story), about the experiences of a refugee son and his mother and sister, Christians from Iran, resettling in Oklahoma. In a genre-busting display of vivid storytelling, Daniel speaks a bit of his sister Dina.

This, The Ungrateful Refugee, is Dina’s fully nonfiction memoir of her years, escaping from Iran (their mother was a leader of the underground Christian church in Iran and needed to escape) and into Europe — Greece first, then the Netherlands, and I think France — and eventually finding refugee status and landing in small town, rural Oklahoma.

Ms. Nayeri, like her upbeat, gregarious brother, is a Persian storyteller (she has two well-received novels) but her memoir is more sober, more complex, more raw, even as it is at times quite tender. It focuses on the experience — including the interior lives of — those who are in exile. She tells the stories of other immigrants and refugees and asylum seekers and what it feels like to leave everything and have to preform in certain ways to be able to find safety.  In 2022 Beth declared it one of the best books she read that year.

As Jessica Gouda wrote in Guernica:

“The Ungrateful Refugee is the work of an author at the top of her game.”

What We Remember Will Be Saved: A Story of Refugees and the Things They Carry Stephanie Saldana (Broadleaf) $28.99  // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.19

I have not started this one yet although it looks very compelling. I respect the editors at Broadleaf and treasure many of their thoughtful books. This one brings a granular, poignant look at the lives of men, women, and children seeking refuge around the globe; in this case, from Iraq and Syria. Father James Martin calls it “gorgeous” and Ruben Degollado, author of The Family Izquierdo, notes that Saldana bears witness to beauty amid the ashes of war and unimaginable loss, saying “this indelible work should be read widely and deeply.”

On the back cover it nicely says that “there are always historians among the survivors of war — people who carry stories not in books but in small things. A woman sews her city into a dress.

This compassionate, fiercely humane collection of stories is exquisitely composed, an act of deepest grace. It is a compendium of precious preservation. –Naomi Shihab Nye, poet and the Poetry Foundation’s Young People’s Poet Laureate of the United States, 2019-2021

Beautiful, heartbreaking, and full of lush detail of creation and recreation. A profound journey of listening, of honest witness.  — Sandy Tolan, author of the international bestseller The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East

A Journey Called Hope: Today’s Immigrant Stories and the American Dream Rick Rouse (Chalice Press) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

This is a great, inspiring paperback (with a cool forward by global travel expert and anti-hunger advocate Rick Steves.) After several thoughtful chapters exploring the history of the immigration debate (and some good conversation on the American Dream) the heart of the book tells, in each chapter, the story of an immigrant or refugee — from Afghanistan, Africa, Ukraine, Central America, the Middle East, and more. As a Lutheran pastor, Rouse has helped with resettlement of refuge families so he knows a bit. But more, here, he allows each person or couple to tell their own stories. This is a great resource.

Rick Rouse has done an extraordinary job succinctly tracing the history of how American has extended welcome to newcomers and doesn’t shy away from the challenges. — Linda Harte, Past President, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services

It’s tragic, isn’t it, that our current President would interfere with Christian ministries trying to offer legitimate care to people like you’ll find in this lovely, provocative book.

All Saints: The Surprising True Story of How Refugees from Burma Brought Life to a Dying Church Michael Spurlock & Jeanette Windle (Bethany House) $13.99  // OUR SALE PRICE = $11.19

This good book is so inspiring (and, in many ways, surprising) that it became a major motion picture.  The subtitle tells it all as it shows how a newly ordained pastor of a very small, struggling Episcopal church in Tennessee — broke and demoralized — took on a huge project of welcoming a community of Karen refugees from Burma. These were former farmers and, well, this is the true story the inspired the film that also dives a bit deeper into the background of the Karen people, Spurlock’s work in the All Saints church, and “how a community of believers rally to reach out to those in need, yet receive far more than they dared imagine.”

They Come Back Singing: Finding God with the Refugees Gary Smith, SJ (Loyola Press) $14.95 // OUR SALE PRICE = $11.96

Smith worked for six years with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Sudanese refugee camps in Uganda. (An earlier book called Radical Compassion: Finding Christ in the Heart of the Poor, explored his ministry to the poor and disabled in Portland.)

This is, essentially, his African journal, the story of finding amazing faith and forgiveness in a very discouraging and dangerous place. It was, by most accounts, a hard and pitiless place.

Smith’s journal, it is said, is “a vivid, inspiring account of the deep connections he forged during his life-changing experience with the Sudanese people,” who were made refugees by the brutal civil war. Could this be a window to the best sort of spiritual life and the notion of Christian growth, experienced by this humble, thoughtful, priest?

When Stars Are Scattered Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed (Penguin) $12.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

We could do a whole big list of children’s picture books, YA novels, and other kids resources for understanding the need to offer hospitality and welcome, to celebrate God’s plan of diversity and racial justice and the like. This, though — a graphic novel which was a finalist a few years back for the National Books Awards — tells the story of Omar, and his younger brother, Hassan, are from Somalia and have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. The lack of food and adequate medical care is obvious. The day-to-day dullness and struggle is vividly told. This is one you’ve got to read.

By the way, we have highlighted this before noting that Omar ended up in Lancaster, PA, and worked with friends in Church World Service’s refugee resettlement program here in Central PA. This has won a dozen important awards in the book world and we are happy to recommend it.

Separated by the Border: A Birth Mother, A Foster Mother, and a Migrant Child’s 3,000 Mile Journey Gene Thomas (IVP) $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19

I wondered if I should list this here, now, since the politics of family separation is worse — or is it better, with everyone being deported carte blanche? — and foster parents (like this author) may be unable to intervene at all. The President has suggested removing birthright citizenship (as guaranteed by the 14th Constitutional amendment) so even Native American children — from Navajos in the Southwest to Yupics and Inuits in Alaska — could lose their citizenship. How horrible.

Maybe this tender, gripping story really is relevant and it might touch some hearts before it is too late.

Written in 2018, this nicely written but riveting read tells first of five-year-old Julia who traveled to the US with her mother, Guadalupe, from Honduras, in the cargo section of a tractor trailer. Her mother was captured by smugglers who exploited her and, at the US border, when her stepdad was deported, she ended up in a processing center as an unaccompanied minor.

Enter Gena Thomas. Thomas (as it says on the back cover) “tells the story of how Julia came to the United States, what she experienced in the system, and what it took to reunite her with her family.” Gena is a Spanish-speaking former missionary who became Julia’s foster mother. I won’t tell you about all that  happens — it’s an amazing drama! — but Thomas understands the trauma of children and the tenacious power of motherly love. What a read.

Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis Jonathan Blitzer (Penguin) $21.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $16.80

We have a friend who works in a missionary ministry, focused mostly in a certain country Central America. A PK, his wife is from Central PA; they are thoughtful, decent, down-to-Earth folk. In any case, he’s one of the most astute readers we know and he says, if I may quote him, that this one really is a must-read. It is, clearly, one of the most painstakingly detailed accounts of the stories of Central American immigration. It explores this by telling the long and complex stories of four people and why they chose to come to America.

It is (as more than one reviewer observed) searing and gut-wrenching. It is also deeply humanizing, a glimpse into the lives of other human beings and their complex lives, risks, hopes, and dreams.

He offers, vividly, as one reviewer put it, a “a sweeping history of humanitarian crises on the US-Mexico border and of the politics of immigration in Washington” which becomes “a stunning epic.”

I’ll let the reviewers explain:

The masterstroke accomplishment of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here is the way that Blitzer weaves the gripping stories of refugees with the 45-year history of policymaking in Washington, where elected officials and key bureaucrats — some craven and nakedly political, others well-meaning — repeatedly fought the wrong wars and worried about the wrong things to spin the tangled web of policies that caused a humanitarian nightmare. — Philadelphia Inquirer

If anyone is well placed to take on the agonizing story of America’s southern frontier it is Jonathan Blitzer, a writer who has spent the best part of a decade reporting from there.. . . What could be a complex story is a stunning epic woven around the lives of four individuals seeking sanctuary from the death squads and murderous gangs that at different times dominated their homelands . . . this is a novelistic account rather than a tract, and his tale is beautifully told. All four characters, whose lives he has followed over many years, linger in the reader’s mind. — Financial Times

In this urgent, extraordinary book, Jonathan Blitzer takes a crisis we generally encounter in the black-and-white simplicity of sound bites and statistics and reconceives it in complicated, unforgettable color. Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here tells the origin story of our border emergency as both a sweeping panorama, traversing decades and continents, and an intimate chronicle of the lives of a handful of indelible characters. Based on years of unparalleled reporting with migrants, activists, and policymakers, the book offers a profound reflection on one of the great paradoxes of American life —and a tribute to the astonishing indomitability of the human spirit. — Patrick Radden Keefe, author of The Snakehead and Empire of Pain

PRE-ORDER NOW The Asylum Seekers: A Chronicle of Life, Death, and Community at the Border Cristina Rathbone (Broadleaf Books) $28.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.19 // NOT YET RELEASED – DUE MARCH 18, 2025

This looks really good and we hope to have it before the release date. Here is how the publisher tells about it:

From award-winning journalist and priest Cristina Rathbone comes this remarkable work of reporting about a community of people at the US-Mexico border. In The Asylum Seekers, Rathbone renders in blistering detail the story of people camped at the foot of a bridge: the trauma they carry, the community they create, and the faith they maintain.

This book is a pastor’s account of her sojourn among people camped at our country’s southern border, people seeking asylum and rarely receiving it. Rathbone writes with admirable candor about her small triumphs and failures, her doubts and uncertainties. But to me, the great strength of this story is the author’s passionate sympathy for the desperate people she works with. It suffuses the book, like antivenin to the slanders forever thrown at immigrants. — Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Rough Sleepers and Mountains Beyond Mountains

The Asylum Seekers shines with a kind of moral clarity that illuminates not only the horrific effects of the United States immigration system on individuals, families, and children, but the personal toll of working alongside those affected. A must-read. — Alejandra Oliva, author of Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration

These pages are filled with both anguish and uplift, and they depict a religious faith that is anything but ethereal. Nothing I have read about the so-called border crisis has torn up my heart and haunted my conscience like The Asylum Seekers. — Samuel G. Freedman, award-winning author of Upon This Rock, Small Victories, and other books

Nothing I have read about the so-called border crisis has torn up my heart and haunted my conscience like The Asylum Seekers. — Samuel G. Freedman

 

BOOKS THAT EXPLORE THE BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HOSPITALITY TO IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

Start With Welcome: The Journey toward a Confident and Compassionate Immigration Conversation Bri Stensrud (Zondervan) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

I wasn’t sure if I should list this as a story of immigration and a memoir of ministry or in this second category of books about a Christian view of the subject and how to get involved. It is sort of both…. There are lots of stories here, great examples and highlights, intimate details and well-written portraits. It is also the story of the author — hooray for Bri Stensrud — who, as a conservative, evangelical woman who is involved in pro-life work, rallies other pro-life women (with help from Focus on the Family, believe it or not) to expand the definition of being pro-life to include compassion for the poor, the excluded and needy. She thinks being a Godly pro-life evangelical means she simply must be consistent with her standing with and for the oppressed and marginalized. We must, she comes to realize, “love beyond your borders.”

This would be one of the best books to give to a MAGA-inclined person to help them understand the orthodox Biblical view of caring for those displaced from their homes, caring for migrants and exiles, standing with the oppressed.

How does one do this? Stensrud explores the doctrine of human dignity as the director of Women of Welcome, and helps us “understand God’s calling” concerning immigrants. As it says on the back, “She reveals that something is stirring. Something much bigger than platforms, politics, and pundits.” It starts, as she says, with one word: Welcome.

If you are curious what Scripture teaches about how to care for the immigrant and refugee in an incredibly complex world, there is no better place to start than this book. — Sharon Hodde Miller, The Cost of Control

Bri Stensrud courageously decided some years ago that — because immigration is not just a political issue but also a biblical issue impacting people fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image — she needed to engage. I’m so grateful that she did. — Matthew Soerens, Welcoming the Stranger

Beyond Welcome: Centering Immigrants in Our Christian Response to Immigration Karen Gonzalez (Brazos Press) $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19

We have highlighted this before and it remains as urgent now as it was when it was first released a few years ago. This is, perhaps, for those who already are convinced that people of faith and followers of Jesus must work hard to welcome immigrants with hospitality and solidarity. However, she is concerned that many well-intended helpers — God bless them! — are a bit ill-prepared to be faithful advocates for those facing abuse and marginalization. This book really is, as Adam Taylor puts it, “a road map to help all of us fully live out what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves.”

You see, such a goal is more complicated than we may realize and authentic solidarity will “put immigrants at the center of the conversation” even as we come to see ourselves in our immigrant neighbors.

This book really does need to be in the hands of those seeking to love immigrants and of those who are immigrant advocates.

This is a bit of a stretch but perhaps some will understand more deeply what this important book is about by thinking of the shift (in the conversations about race and racism) from being “color-blind” to being delightfully color-conscious, and the the shift from, say, talk of “racial reconciliation” to being anti-racist.

As Matthew Soerens notes, “Whether you agree with Console’s conclusions or not…you will find Beyond Welcome to be challenging, constructive, and helpful.”

The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong Karen Gonzalez (Herald Press) $16.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

Karen herself is a much admired immigration advocate who here, in her first book, recounts her own family’s migration from Guatemala to Los Angeles to the suburbs of South Florida. This is a well-told and important story — she signed the contract with the publisher sitting over coffee in our bookstore, by the way — but, perhaps more urgently, she introduces us to others who have fled their homelands. You know, people with names like Hagar. Joseph. Ruth. Jesus.

The back cover notes that this is “a riveting story of seeking safety in another land… a gripping journey of loss, alienation and belonging. But yet, it is clear that the foundation of all of this is her interpreting her own family journey and story in light of the Scriptures.  This is a fabulous, personal, interesting, study of Scripture and is a great introduction to the issue for people or congregations trying to determine what they think.

As Rachel Held Evans put it, in one of the last books she endorsed before her sudden illness and death in 2019:

“Every single page of this beautiful, timely book pulses with prophetic truth.” — Rachel Held Evans

You Welcomed Me: Loving Refugees and Immigrants Because God First Loved Us Kent Annan (IVP) $16.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

We met Kent years ago and highlighted his very good book Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle: Living Fully, Loving Dangerously about his third world experiences (and then the extraordinary book written after the infamously horrible earthquake in Haiti, After Shock: Searching for Honest Faith When Your World Is Shaken, which I have described as a book for those whose faith is shaken by the sheer horror of the world’s suffering. And then, in 2016 he did a personal favorite, Slow Kingdom Coming: Practices for Doing Justice, Loving Mercy and Walking Humbly in the World.) We stock his books and appreciate his caring heart and really good writing.

As the immigration debates heated up a while back his son asked, innocently enough — are we “for them or against them.” Oh my. This book is the result, basic, yet profound, well written yet clear as a bell. We love because He first loved us, the Bible says, and we are to treat others as we have been treated by the merciful God who died for us.

Look: I was stunned by the animosity that arose against the preacher at the National Cathedral when she did what preachers do: she quoted Jesus and asked for mercy.  Methinks this book, readable, even delightful, might be what some folks need. It isn’t simplistic — it has to look at “othering” and bias and power as it develops a theology of arms-wide-open prophetic hospitality — but even with nuance and first-hand experience of the complexity of these issues, it is a book full of practical guidance and steps for involvement.

Neighbor: Christian Encounters with “Illegal” Immigration Ben Daniel (WJK) $19.95 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.96

I ripped through this, twice as I recall, when it first came out in 2010. The debates about the Southern border were heating up more and more and I was not only intrigued to know what this Presbyterian pastor was doing — he was on the board of Presbyterian Border Ministries and was a tireless advocate — and I was intrigued that Franky Schaffer, son of Francis, had the foreword. Our old Dallastown friend, Rick Ufford-Chase, who founded Borderlinks and was a leader in our PC(USA) denomination, called it “the primer on immigration I’ve been waiting for” since it was rooted in church history, Biblical studies, and included political analysis and, of course, compelling stories.

Ufford-Chase continued,

Those who care deeply about the immigration traditions that have strengthened our country will find themselves caught up in Ben Daniel’s easy, non-preachy storytelling style.

As Frank Schaeffer notes, “At the very least this book will forever strip away the ability of those who have raised their hands against immigrants to say they are acting as Christians and patriots.”

Serving God in a Migrant Crisis Patrick Johnston with Dean Merrill (IVP) $15.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $12.79

If some of the books on this list have been informed, at least a bit, with a progressive sort of inclusive vision that emerges from a careful study of the Bible’s own liberation themes, this book comes to the topic from the front lines of global, evangelical missions. Patrick Johnstone has, of course (I hope you know) inspired a generation of Christian workers and pray-ers with his informative Operation World prayer guides. After sixteen years as an urban missionary in a city in Africa, Johnstone served the WEC International leadership team for thirty some years. He continues to care deeply about reaching the lost, equipping missionaries to reach unreached people groups, doing global mapping, and authoring important volumes such as the jam-packed The Future of the Global Church: History, Trends and Possibilities.

Curiously, in a teaching I have pondered for decades, he insists that “God has used migration for millennia to achieve His purposes for his people…” and God might be doing so again in our time.

As millions are on the move, driven by war, drought, terrorism, poverty, failed states, environmental catastrophes, disease, revolutions, religious conflict, and more, we wonder: what is an evangelical response? We dare not turn our backs on people, or the times. The world is coming to our doorsteps. This short book, from what Stephan Bauman says are “noble and trustworthy guides” we get good data, spiritual vision, and tangible ideas.

Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate Revised and Expanded Matthew Soerens & Jenny Yang (IVP) $22.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $18.39

I sometimes say that this is the one volume in this category that we most highly recommend. It’s hard to say when there are so many good ones, but this is a classic, now in a second edition, written by two vibrant leaders who work valiantly for World Relief, which is the relief arm of the NAE. Rave blurbs on the back are from the late, great, impeccable Ron Sider and Jo Anne Lyon, the global ambassador for the Wesleyan Church.

Reid Ribble, a former member of Congress from Wisconsin, notes that it is “refreshing to read Christian authors addressing a global crisis in a decidedly Christ-like manner.”

This is compassionate, Biblical, logical, addressing the complexities of the moral issues and the theological evaluations of various policy options. This puts a human face on the topic and delves deeply, without being overly arcane or academic. It’s a great, great resource.

The Bible and Borders: Hearing God’s Word on Immigration M. Daniel Carroll R. (Brazos Press) $20.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $16.00

You should know the name of M. Daniel Carroll R. who is an esteemed Old Testament scholar. (I’ve highlighted a number of his books, most recently, perhaps, The Lord Roars: Recovering the Prophetic Voice for Today.) Raised bi-lingually and cross- culturally in Houston by a Guatemalan mother and American father, he is uniquely situated to understand this topic. With personal experience and the passions of one who studies Amos and Micah and the like, he is a favorite go-to spokesperson.

As Dr. Carroll tells it, following the release of his previous book on immigration, Christians at the Border, he spent the next decade continuing to speak and write about the topic and sharpening his understanding about what the Bible does and doesn’t say. The Bible and Borders continues his top-notch (yet very readable) biblical scholarship, providing a succinct Biblical foundation for our talk and work on immigration. One review noted that this combines top-notch scholarly analysis with a pastoral heart.

The publisher has said that this book “sharpens Carroll’s focus and refines his argument” to make sure we hear clearly what the Bible says.

Granted, despite the religiosity of many in the MAGA movement, it seems evident to me that most far-right ideologues do not want to be Biblical people. Like their leader, they may not even know what the Bible does or doesn’t say. But for those who do care about Biblical teaching, this book is, quite simply, indispensable.

Seeking Refuge – On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis Stephan Bauman, Matthew Soerens, and Dr. Issam Smear (Moody Press) $13.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $11.19

Nearly a manifesto of World Relief — Bauman was at the time he wrote this the President of World Relief (and a heck of a great guy), and Soerens was the US Director of Church Mobilization for World Relief (he had been the head of the Evangelical Immigration Table, a coalition of evangelical organizations.) The are solid, creative, energetic guys. Dr. Smear is a licensed clinical professional counselor who has specialized in trauma treatment for refugees, victims of torture, and severely abused and neglected children. (His Master’s is from the clinical psychology program at Wheaton College.) One couldn’t ask for three more capable, professional, informed, and theologically impeccable authors. This book is short and inspiring, belief me.

You may recall a few years back when the flood of refugees was pouring out of Africa and the Middle East into Europe, especially. This book was drafted in that context, insisting that churches cannot ignore the refugee crisis, offering insight about how to respond to displaced people and the very real risks involved in receiving increased numbers of migrants. It’s a fair question to ask, about how to balance compassion and security.

Drawing from history, public policy, psychology, many personal stories, and their own unique Christian worldview, the authors offer a nuanced and compelling portrayal of the plight of refugees and the extraordinary opportunity we have to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Finding Jesus at the Border: Opening Our Hearts to the Stories of Our Immigrant Neighbors Julia Lambert Fogg (Brazos Press) $22.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.60

Kudos to Brazos for bringing to the reading public books that are so germane and powerful. We stock everything they do, and this is a gem. Agree or not, this writer deserves your attention. She is ordained as a PC(USA) pastor and preaches in Lutheran congregations in her home in California. Yet, the heart of this book is about her own journey — interweaving Bible stories along the way —of accompanying immigrants near the US-Mexican border It is no joke or cliche that she was wondering “What Would Jesus Do?” and her creative Biblical exegesis on the ground —the vantage point makes a difference, of course — is fascinating and I think quite compelling.

A beautifully written, well-researched, painfully moving book that invites all believers to read Scripture in a new way. Any church community that reads it prayerfully will never be the same again!  — Justo L. González, church historian, theologian, and author of Mañana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective and Teach Us to Pray: The Lord’s Prayer in the Early Church and Today

Fogg shows that the scriptural trajectory of refugees’ border crossings — out of peril into safety, out of oppression into promise –does not end with Jesus and the Bible but continues today in the living stories of migrants. — Barbara Rossing, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, author of The  Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation

EXCELLENT (somewhat) MORE ACADEMIC RESOURCES

Our God Is Undocumented: Biblical Faith and Immigrant Justice Ched Myers & Matthew Cowell (Orbis Press) $26.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.80

Meyers, as I recall, got his start thinking about all this while living as part of the Los Angeles Catholic Worker community. He became well known as an educator, activist, and writer with Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministry which does serious work enhancing serious Biblical literacy. (Recall, for instance, his groundbreaking  Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus and his brand new, Fortress Press masterpiece,  Healing Affluenza and Resisting Plutocracy: Luke’s Jesus and Sabbath Economics.)

Myers is an esteemed leader in radical Bible study which can fund resistance to the idols of the age found in ideologies of empire and injustice. From Walter Brueggemann to Elsa Tamez, from Brian Walsh to Dorothy Soelle, from Walter Wink to Sylvia Keesmaat, he is a leader in that league, a heavy hitter, in terms of Biblical study and socio-political analysis. You should know his book Watershed Discipleship,  but I digress.

Our God Is Undocumented has a set of well-written narratives about a person who has forged important ground in radical service to others that illustrate the Biblical point being made in each chapter. In this sense, it is a fabulous combination of lived experience and Biblical exegesis. God has no passport, respects no human divisions, and invites us all to deeper views of how to allow a Biblical imagination to shape our perspectives. Wow, what a book. Fair warning — it’s not the simplest study and it presumes some awareness of justice themes in the Bible.

The trials and tribulations faced by the undocumented on the Mexican border represent the greatest human rights crisis occurring in the United States today. What then should be for Christian the proper response to this crisis? Myers and Cowell help us formulate a response faithful to our God, who happens to be undocumented. — Miguel de la Torre, Trials of Hope and Terror: Testimonies on Immigration

Strangers and Scapegoats: Extending God’s Welcome to Those on the Margins Matthew S. Cos (Baker Academic) $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

Vos, a Reformed evangelical with a PhD in sociology (and the chair of the department at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA) is respected in his field and, here, offers a very timely response (most generally described) to the widening cultural divides between “them” and “us.” He explores how the very notion of a stranger “lies at the root of many problems humanity faces, such as racism, sexism, and nationalism.” But if our identity is in Christ, we have the capacity to love strangers as neighbors, even friends. This is very mature and amazingly good stuff.

This big book is learned and informed, fascinating and captivating. As Aimee Byrd (herself no slouch in ongoing education and teaching) said, “I learned so much from reading Strangers and Scapegoats.” You will, too.

Vos knows it isn’t easy to live into the vision of God’s diverse Kingdom or to honor the image of God in others who we have reason to fear.  Yet, he offers a wonderfully written exploration and rumination on how we can — by thinking Christianly and being formed in the ways of God — reject the world’s impulses and develop “a fresh lens by which to consider some of the most polarizing issues in the Christian community today.” Whether it is concern over gender issues or race or certainly immigration, we can resist the harm done by falling into fear and scapegoating.  A few other authors join in with case studies making this thoughtful and full of uniquely Christian sociology.

This bracing book is powerful, eye opening, and hope filled. It empowers us to be good news and a healing force in this hurting world. — Carolyn Custis James, author of Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women and Malestrom: How Jesus Dismantles Patriarchy and Redefines Manhood

A masterful fusion of classic sociology, analysis of contemporary social problems, and personal experience that will support and stimulate Christians toward loving their neighbors. — Jenell Paris, Messiah University, co-author of Introducing Cultural Anthropology: A Christian Perspective 

Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration in an Age of Fear Matthew Kaemingk (Eerdmans) $32.50 // OUR SALE PRICE = $26.00

We gladly named this one of the Best Books of the Year when it hit in 2018 admits heightened tensions in Europe about Muslim immigration. It is a complex and delightfully sprawling work, looking at Abraham Kuyper’s old Holland, how commitment to pluralism shape a generous immigration policy for nearly a century until there was a radical reversal. As a contemporary neo-Kuyperian, Kaemingk does a splendid job looking for sustainable principles that could frame the West’s immigration policies and forges new evangelical ground for robust Christian-muslim dialogue.

Jamie Smith wrote an excellent foreword. Endorsements have been from leaders from various faith traditions who all rave; it was very widely reviewed. What a great book!

Kaemingk is a winsome guide through difficult terrain. He avoids the easy dead-ends–assimilate or stay out–that too often shape responses to the real challenges of Muslim immigration in western democracies. But he also doesn’t assume that we’ll find our way somewhere in the middle of those opposing poles. Instead, he charts an alternative course, using a theological map that takes pluralism seriously. Along the way, he stays grounded in real-world experience while never losing sight of basic convictions. The result: A book that is both timely and compelling. — Kristen Deede Johnson, Western Theological Seminary, co-author of The Justice Calling: Where Passion Meets Perseverance

Migrants and Citizens: Justice and Responsibility in the Ethics of Immigration by Tisha Rajendra (Eerdmans) $26.50 // OUR SALE PRICE = $21.20

The author is a teacher and ethics scholar from Loyola University in Chicago; the important contribution she carefully makes here is she in how she backs up a bit, giving an overview of various schools of thought about the nature of justice and who owes what to whom. This is classic, solid, ethical reflection. One might say this offers reasonable theories and prudent applications.

A creative contribution to the urgent ethical challenges raised by migration today. Drawing on social analysis and Christian thought, Rajendra shows that treating migrants justly will require rethinking and reshaping the social, political, and economic relationships that set the context for the movement of people today. Essential reading for all concerned with ethics and migration. — David Hollenbach, SJ, The Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Refuge Reimagined: Biblical Kinship in Global Politics Mark R. Glanville & Luke Glanville (IVP Academic) $28.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.19

When Biblical scholars like Christopher Wright and M. Daniel Carroll R. rave about a book, you know it is worth having. Mark Glanville is a professor of pastoral theology at Regent College (while Luke is associate professor in the department of international relations at Australian National University.) Both have done exceptional, high-end scholarly monographs ad which this remains a meaty title (and over 250 pages) it is engaging and empowering for anyone interested in refugee issues. As Wright put it, it is, “constructive, creative, hope-filled.”

Discerning Welcome: A Reformed Faith Approach to Refugees Ellen Clark Clemot (Cascade) $21.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $16.80

Wow — this uniquely Reformed, slim, dense volume invites us all to wonder how the Reformed tradition responds to questions of “who is my neighbor” and what the nature of political justice might be even as we promote healthy public theology to enhance the common good. It looks at Calvin on occasion, and has a chapter on the sovereignty of the state and another on civil disobedience. Even United Methodist leader Will Willimon suggest that Clemot “has given the church a wonderful book that encourages churches to welcome on there in the name of Christ.”

Donald McKim (a well known name in the history of Reformed theology) raves, even as Luke Bretherton (of Duke, author of the magisterial Christ and the Common Life: Political Theology and the Case for Democracy) says it “unfolds a Reformed view” that is not only rooted in a fine, broad, understanding of that particular heritage but “distills wisdom born of pastoral practice legal experience, and a clear-eyed analysis of the contemporary situation.”  The author is both an attorney (so she cites the important Robert Heimburger Cambridge text, God and the Illegal Alien: United States Immigration Law and a Theology of Politics) and a PC(USA) pastor. I am astonished she didn’t cite Matt Kaemingk, but it is still a very fine and useful book.

Immigrant Neighbors Among Us: Immigration Across Theological Traditions edited by M. Daniel Carroll R. & Leopoldo A.Sanchez M. (Pickwick) $25.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.00

This is a great ecumenical handbook offering expert theological essays by Latino/a scholars/leaders in various (Christian) faith traditions. You’ll learn about representative theologians from Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist/Wesleyan, Pentecostal and independent evangelical churches making a case for a particularly Latinas/os-shaped theology within these traditions today. Carroll R is at Denver Theological Seminary and Sanches M is at Concordia Seminary in St Louis.

White Borders: The History of Race and Immigration in the United States from Chinese Exclusion to the Border Wall Reece Jones (Beacon Press) $25.95 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.76

I mentioned above our involvement, years ago, with a project trying to get detained Chinese asylum seekers out of jail and to reform the grounds of asylum law. In that multi-year campaign we studied the history immigration law (what did we know here in land-locked central PA?) We discovered the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and, as this book shows, legal efforts against the Chinese went back (especially in California) long before that. This is, as Pulitzer Prize-winner Greg Grandid says, is “a damning inquiry into the history of the border as a place where race is created and racism honed into razor-sharp ideology” It is searing, if eloquent, filled with masterful storytelling.

I have not read this new one yet but hope to soon. It looks important…

Jesus the Refugee: Ancient Injustice and Modern Solidarity D. Glenn Butner, Jr. (Fortress Press) $25.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.00

Is the holy family a refugee family? If the holy family fled persecution today, how would American refugee systems receive Jesus and his parents? This fiesty book combines historical, theological, and legal analyses and attempts to “break down today’s devilishly complex legal regime.” Dr. Butner (a professor of Christian ministry at Sterling College in Kansas who has published texts on trinitarian theology) introduces us to the basics of modern refugee law and raises ethical challenges to our current systems.  Danielle Vella of the Jesuit Refugee Service says it is “a must-read for those who want to turn their compassion into concrete acts of solidarity.”

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Intercultural Church: A Biblical Vision for an Age of Migration Safwat Marzouk (Fortress Press) $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19

We stock the other serious works in the “Word & World” series of books (designed as “theology for Christian ministry” — the first was by Wes Granberg-Michaelson) and this, too, is serious, thoughtful, but written for application for those in religious ministry and Christian leadership.

What does in mean to welcome strangers while living as aliens ourselves? This starts with the sojourners (and settlers) who inhabit the Bible. These folks inspire Marzouk  who is a professor of Old Testament at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminar an ordinary ed in the Synod of the Nile (Egypt) where he has served as pastor. Can the church be a community of resistance embodying God’s vision for a multiethnic “intercultural” politics?

Church on the Way: Hospitality and Migration Nell Becker Sweeden (Pickwick) $28.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $22.40

When excellent authors on the Biblical mandate of offering hospitality such as the late Christine Pohl and Amy One affirm a book like this, we notice. Sweden is a professor of Wesleyan Theology at George Fox Seminary in Portland and in this serious book —not much more than 150 pages — she uses “critical analysis and constructive re-imagining” to offer an ecumenical Christian ecclesiology strong enough to speak to this issue. Amos Yong says it is “neither sentimental nor oblivious to the theoretical-theological and practical challenges.” This really does make a substantive contribution. There’s a forward by Miguel A. De La Torre.

Jesus, King of Strangers: What the Bible Really Say About Immigration Mark Hamilton (Eerdmans) $23.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.19

This is not a scholarly textbook, granted, but it seems a bit more sophisticated than many. It is very nicely written, serious, and invites us to consider the “church’s true language for migrants.” It examines the Bibles’ key ideas about human movement and the relationship between migrants and their hosts. Hamilton argued that reclaiming the biblical language will “free the church from hyper nationalism and fear-driven demagoguery.” 

Hamilton got his PhD from Harvard and teaches Biblical studies in Abilene, Texas. Shaun Casey of Georgetown wrote a powerful forward in which he claims this is a once-in-a-lifetime work.

Eight Million Exiles: Missional Action Research and the Crisis of Forced Migration Christopher M. Hays (Eerdmans) $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

Hays is president of Scholar Leaders, a ministry dedicated to cultivating theological leaders from around the globe. As it asks on the back, “how pastors, scholars, and others can use missional action research to make a real difference for displaced persons abroad.” Rooted in his first-hand research and reform efforts in Colombia, Eight Million Exiles offers a model for “how to put academic research to use to serve those in need.”

As the daily news fills with accounts of migrants who put themselves at unfathomable risk to find safety and support for themselves and their families, we wonder what churches and theological schools can do to help. Christopher Hays and his team in Colombia sought theologically wise and active responses to the agonizing stories of over eight million people displaced by the violence that swept the land. In lively prose, Hays offers a living model for any community that seeks to bring the gospel and justice to those who suffer the consequences of living in a shattered world. This is genuine theology ‘on the road.’ — Gene L. Green, Wheaton College co-author of Majority World Theology: Christian Doctrine in Global Context

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BookNotes

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I have wavered back and forth, wondering if I should even attempt my often massive Best Books of the Year column. Some years it goes on for several posts, multiple parts, as there are so many good books to celebrate. It is stressful narrowing them down, asserting this one over that, when there are so, so many good books released each year. Book buying is down (and our sales have generally fallen each year for years, now) but writing and publishing is fantastic.  I’ve got a huge stack and I’m trying to whittle it down.

And that is just the nonfiction stack. Oh my.

You may have heard me say that it is hard to announce a “best” book as the question always looms large for me: best for whom? Some books are too academic to be much good to ordinary folks while others are simply not that well written. Some are a bit too eccentric (which may be fabulous fun for some of us) and some are a bit too strict. What excites one theologian turns off another; ditto with most topics. Different strokes, you know…

I can tell you the titles that I most remember enjoying these past months. I can remind you of those that I hope folks order and read and discuss because, well, Ioved them.

I will list those that I think should appeal to many of our followers, books that have a vision of life — whether Christian or not — that will be for them wise and good. And fun.

Here, then, are most of my favorite (nonfiction) reads of the last year. I’m sure I’m leaving some out, so forgive me if your fav isn’t on the list. Each year I think I should keep a notebook, and each year in early January I kick myself for not having kept better records. Still, these are most of my very best books of 2024.

Almost all of these have been reviewed previously at earlier BookNotes; we invite you to visit the website and click on “BookNotes” to see the archives of all our previous reviews. Not only are there lots more good items recommended but you can find my original thoughts about most of these described below. That might be fun, or help if your unsure if you really want them. We’re at your service, so don’t hesitate to use the “inquiry” page or email us or call.

PLEASE ORDER BY CLICKING THE ORDER TAB AT THE VERY END. ALL BOOKS MENTIONED ARE DISCOUNTED — 20% OFF.  Happy reading in the New Year.

FAVORITE NONFICTION BOOKS OF 2024

Defiant Hope: Essays on Life, Faith, and Freedom Michael Gerson (Simon & Schuster) $28.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.19

As noted, we don’t really have a “Book of the Year” but if we did, this would perhaps be it. It would be our way of honoring a person who was an acquaintance to us and a friend to many. He worked in conservative politics (and wrote a book insisting that true conservatives should make central a concern for the poor and disadvantage, a title that soon enough caused frustration among many on the right.) Gerson was a speech-writer, a good one, for George W. Bush (and one the back cover there is a picture of the two of them, the President in shorts and a tee shirt and Mike in dress shirt and necktie.) He played an very large role helping the President craft some of the most generous and just foreign aid at a time when AIDS in Africa was still being ignored too many places. As a right-hand consultant to the President, he made a difference.

Later, when he became a full time journalist, with a column in the Washington Post he became a “never Trumper” and spoke clearly about first things, about important principles, about goodness and decency and faith and America.

This book collects some of his greatest work, essays grouped in all sorts of topics. His public discussion of his cancern and his mortality is here, as are some lovely pieces about faith and family, pets and hobbies. But most is public theology, if you will, civic-minded insights, good, thoughtful, inspiring examples of the best of evangelical proclamation.  Agree or not (and I did not, always) it is a grand example of how to write for the general public out of a deeply rooted faith and moral worldview.

As I said when I first announced this, the lengthy David Brooks foreword is wonderful, moving, thoughtful, and frames the book exactly right. It is very, very good. You should get this book.

Stolen Price: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right Arlie Russell Hochschild (The New Press) $30.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $24.79

What makes a book one of the very best books of the year? I find it hard to say, but in this case it is page-turning writing, captivating conversations reported with vigor and grace, a provocative thesis, lots of local color and notable empathy on the part of the writer. Hochschild’s study of right-ward leaning Appalachian folk struggling with so much loss (and resisting the neo-Nazi and KKK march in their town) was riveting, compelling, heart-breaking and in was admirable. Her counter-intuitive thesis about shame became for me a major piece of the puzzle of why so many view the MAGA ideology as righteous and why they like Trump so much.

As I said, I’m not quite into ranking best books but if I did, this would be near the very top of my favorite books of 2024. Very highly recommended.

Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become Like Him, Do as He Did John Mark Comer (Waterbrook) $26.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.80

Comer is one of those engaging, cool writers that I adore and I’ve read all of his insightful books. From the great Garden City to the helpful The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry to the powerful book about sin,  the flesh, and the Devil (Live No Lies) Comer has the ability to write punchy sentences that are culturally-savvy and yet channeling solid, evangelical wisdom about spiritual formation. His main man is Dallas Willard and this recent book invites us to that grand hope of being an apprentice to Jesus, learning His ways, being transformed from the inside out by practicing spiritual disciplines. Sure, others have written about this, and Comer has himself done a years-long deep dive into the mystics and contemplatives.  That this content is shared streaming on-line for free in exceedingly professional, beautifully expert video curriculum makes the book that much more significant. We’ve got the large sized and very classy curriculum guidebook, too. Practicing the Way is accesible, inter-denominational, solid, and a real joy to read.

Rags of Light: Leonard Cohen and the Landscape of Biblical Imagination Brian J. Walsh (Cascade) $23.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.19

When Brian Walsh puts his mind to work and his pen to paper, believe me, I am all in. Perhaps you recall the book done in his honor when we retired from campus ministry at the University of Toronto (A Sort of Homecoming which I reviewed here) or the grand re-issued of his co-authored magisterial volume Beyond Homelessness, which I highlighted here.  The first of the major multi-volume “Christian Origins and the Question of God” series by N.T. Wright is dedicated to him, and his lively, creative commentaries (written with partner Sylvia Keesmaat), Colossians Remixed and Romans Disarmed, are among my all-time favorite books on the Bible.

Rags of Light came in just at the end of the year and immediately look its place as one of the best books of 2014. I had read an early manuscript but holding the book in my hand drew me in and I read it again nearly in one sitting.  And I’m not even that much of a Leonard Cohen fan, but I loved how Brian not only described a bit of the troubled Jewish poet’s life and worldview but, more, how he engaged with the song lyrics, placing them in conversation with the Bible. Not unlike his book on the lyrics of Bruce Cockburn (Kicking at the Darkness: Bruce Cockburn and the Christian Imagination), this new book is perfect for fans, of course, but also useful for those who may not be Cohen aficionados. Through the lends of popular culture — in this case, the work of Leonard Cohen — the Bible comes alive in fresh ways, allowing us to be honest about our fears and foibles, our sorrows about the ways of the world, and to see Jesus as both prophet and priest.

As Walsh puts it, Cohen greets us as a cantor “from the other side of sorrow and despair.” And he turns it all into a liturgy of life. Rags of Light is a great, great book.

White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove (Liveright) $22.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $18.39

There have been several really good books about US poverty in recent years. I think of Poverty, By America, Matthew Desmond’s important follow up to Evicted (and the recent little book Walter Brueggemann wrote about it called Poverty in the Promised Land: Neighborliness, Resistance, and Restoration.)  I think of the spectacular writer Tracy Kidder and his recent Rough Sleepers, which is subtitled: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People.  Last year’s The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America is a serious study of first hand research about regions of poverty (written by three of the best scholars of this topic, Kathryn Edin, Luke Shaefer and Timothy Nelson.) All of these, and more, are fairly recent and to be commended. Given the amount of emphasis Jesus puts upon loving our neighbors by serving the poor, one would think your church library would have some of these serious studies to share with your people.

This year, though, White Poverty stands out for it’s brave vision of racial reconciliation and multi-ethnic values that undergird the Kingdom of God. William Barber is an eloquent, passionate, black preacher and the instigator of the “Moral Mondays” protests and the President of the social change organization Repairers of the Breach. (Assistant writer Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, old pal of Shane Claiborne, mentored by Tony Campolo, has been a small town pastor of a multi-racial church in North Carolina (and now is at the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School.) Together, these vibrant, activist, deeply Christian authors have written a book which brings to the fore the fact that most poverty in America is experience by white folks. Proportionally, poverty weights heavier on black and brown people, but in terms of sheer numbers, most of the poor people in America are white.

To even see some of the photographs in this book of the black gentle giant that is Dr. Barber standing with rural white people as he travelled the country to listen well, is itself quite moving.  That the book is (as Eddie Glaude puts it) “brimming with insight and prophetic fire” it is still laden with facts and information that should be considered by anyone involved in serving the common good. (Why not give one to your congressional representative?) Can we “climb to higher ground together?” Is King’s dream alive? Can we find what Rev. Barber calls “moral fusion”?

White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy by William Barber and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove is surely one of the vital books of our time. Highly recommended.

Makers by Nature: Letters from a Master painter on Faith, Hope, and Art Bruce Herman (IVP Academic) $28.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $22.40

I so enjoyed telling you about this before and will not add much other than to remind you that Bruce Herman is an esteemed Christian leader and a respected painter. His work is really moving to me and his many years as a leader in CIVA and as an art teacher at Gordon College has shown him to be one who is loved by many.

Which makes the structure of this book just perfect: it is written as a serious of mostly fictitious letters. Actually, they are to real people (and often you know exactly who — painter and writer, Mako Fujimura, for instance.) The epistolary formate is so warm and inviting but he instructs us with all sorts of wisdom— about knowing God, about discerning vocations, about coping with disappointment, about making time for one’s passions, about art, color, beauty, goodness. Some chapters are about craft and style and making art; others are more general about making a good life, the “hallowing of the everyday” and coping with loss.

Designed in a exceedingly lovely way with lots of his full-color art throughout, Makers by Nature is truly one of the great books of 2024. Big kudos.

Why Everything That Doesn’t Matter Matters So Much: The Way of Love in a World of Hurt Charlie Peacock & Andi Ashworth (W Publishing Group) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

Speaking of books written as letters, this exceptional little volume is one of the best books of the year (without a doubt) for any number of reasons. It is written by pop star and Grammy-award winning producer Charlie and his very active partner and the wife of his youth, Andi. She are written by him, some by her, and some they penned together. Imagine having this wise, culturally savvy, wide-reading couple across the living room with you, over some good tea or coffee, and they tell stories and answer questions and offer hard-won but artfully shared advice. This is Christian wisdom for today, offered beautifully. Each letter is precious.

I hope you saw the great review we did of Charlie’s recently released memoir Roots & Rhythm and having read that thrilling work, some of the essays — I mean letters — here are even more powerful. I’ve highlighted these through-provoking pieces before and not that they cover a lot of ground. Some are for those of us baffled by contemporary politics. Some are for those wanting to deepen their discipleship by way of stewarding their creative gifts. Some are about marriage, about friendship, about daily life.  There’s a good piece about writing. There’s some advice for public speakers. Several talk about the gift of hospitality and how to be more open to guests and others God brings to your life. There is one very good one about chronic illness and pain, and it is very honest and real.

These letters are said to be “a gentle dude” in the directly of God’s powerful-ordinary purpose of reach of us. We can all join Christ in His redemptive purposes (even though we sometimes feel like exiles from our culture, and, perhaps, from the church.) Even if Why Everything… is told in clear and down-to-earth voices, they are (after all) artists and writers so there is considerable pizzaz here, elegance at time as they move from being graciously charming to heartbreakingly poignant to what I might call nearly prophetic. This book is fun and serious and it deserves to be well known. It makes a great little gift and would be a fine choice for a book club. If I were giving fancy awards this year, believe me, this would get one. Hooray.

Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart: What Art Teaches Us About the Wonder and Struggle of Being Alive Russ Ramsey (Zondervan) $29.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

After what I said on the inside cover — next to blurbs by writers more famous than I and scholars more knowledgeable — how could I not list this as one of my favorites of the year? When I reviewed it earlier I noted that this is the follow up to his very well received Rembrandt Is in the Wind which, like this one, has a chapter on each of a handful of painters, telling of their backstory, their faith (or resistance to faith) and how their work might stimulate or inform our own faith. The first was very good but I found this one even more touching. The first stood alongside a handful of other books — think of Terry Glaspey’s several great volumes — that offer a Christian reading of paintings and painters. But this one focuses on something that few of deeply explored and that is the ache and longing and sadness and pain of the artists and how that came out in their beloved artworks. The point, of course, is not just that we can understand  Rembrandt’s “Simeon at the Temple” or Leonardo’s most famous masterpiece or Gustave More (and “the beautiful sad stories in a complicated world”) or the “delightful horror” of the Hudson River School, but, more, that we ourselves can learn to find solace and insight in knowing these stories and contexts. The subtitle gets it just right — great art teaches us “about the wonder and struggle of being alive.”

Any book that does that from a winsome but candid Christian perspective and is honest about the hurts many of us carry, and offers full color guidance, man, it’s a winner. And Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart is one of the very best books of this kind. It is not off-putting or complex, the chapters are wonderfully told and the stories are more than touching, they are illuminating.

For what it is worth, you may be surprised to read the incredible chapter on Norman Rockwell — don’t miss it. I like the one called ‘Through a Glass Darkly” that tells of contemporary painter and rocker Jimmy Abegg and the impressionists Edgar Degas Chapter Ten is called “Our PersonalCollections: Jeremiah’s Lament, the Works We Carry, and the words on Which we Rest.” The three informative appendices and the discussion guide are themselves nearly worth the price of the book.

Reconciliation in a Michigan Watershed: Restoring Ken-O-Sha Gail Gunst Heffner & David P. Warners (Michigan State University Press) $29.95 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.96

I raved about this when it first came out (admiring that one of the authors is one of the very best, life-long friends of Beth and me) and extolled it for being so very, very interesting, so very, very important. Reconciliation ecology is a branch of ecological work these days and it has to do with…. well, you have to read this thrilling book to understand one of the nuances.  It is, as I said again in another review, a great book about local activism, the ups and downs of these two staff of Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, organizing both college staff and other local folk, to learn ump one of the most polluted waterways in all of Michigan.

To understand the “Plaster Creek Stewards” as the group at Calvin was called, and the multi-dimensional work of restoration the envisions, the book explores the history of the stream (and the name for it — Ken-O-Sha — given by the indigenous people there) and how it got so polluted in the first place. Naturally, settler ideologies and the history of colonialism (not to mention Dutch and Reformed theologies) come into play. Their neo-Calvinist worldviews give them tools to understand creation-care in deep ways, and this book comes full circle as they tell the story of their earliest days of service learning and social concern to becoming national known and hopeful in helping repair the harm done though this visionary movement of reconciliation ecology.

Here, here, and glasses raised to Gail and Dave, for their long years of hard work documented so tenderly (and rigorously) in Reconciliation in a Michigan Watershed and for how it might give us all a vision of caring for what Ched Myers has called “Watershed Discipleship.” It is not every day a publication of an academic / scholarly press gets on my Favorite Reads and Best Books list. This one is truly exceptional. Hooray.

The Eighth Moon: A Memoir of Belonging and Rebellion Jennifer Kabat (Milkweed Editions) $18.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

In a recent BookNotes I listed a few of my favorite memoirs read in 2024 and I did not list this one. I was still pondering what to say about it and knew it would be on this “Favorite Books of 2024” list; as soon as I posted that (full of some titles which were truly some of the most fascinating and finest writing I’ve seen in decade) I knew I should have included this stellar title.

The Eighth Moon certainly goes alongside major, stunningly-written books like 1974 (Francine Prose), Splinters (Leslie Jamison), Biting the Hand (Julia Lee), and Between Two Trailers (J. Dana Trent) and will remain a classic in my mind as a book that is so creatively written and which has left a lasting impression.

I cannot say much, here, now, but The Eighth Moon is a memoir and a history book with a dual story — the woman writer living in a small Catskill Mountain town trying to learn to love her place and what she has learned about the history of this place. Sometimes she writes about the moment and other times, sometimes in the same paragraph, she is referring to what happened on “her land” or “her road” among “her neighbors” in 1840s.

And what happened in the mid-1840s, we learn, was an uprising of Bible-quoting, Year-of-Jubilee enacting, warriors who fought back — dressed with leather masks and calico dresses — against rich people demanding rent from their oppressed tenants. Though careful (tedious) archival work (studying the florid handwriting of old deeds and court documents) she unfolds how grandchildren of the American Revolutionaries became oppressors and those who revolted in what history calls the Anti-Rent Wars.

Jennifer Kabat is a captivating and attentive nature writer and the classy, literary Milkweed Editions is a perfect, classy publisher for her. (They made famous the indigenous writer Robin Wall Kimmerer for her glorious and important Braiding Sweetgrass.) Alongside the extended pieces about waterfalls and flora and fauna and her appreciation of the sunlight on rural sheds or stone walls are commonplace stories about drinking with friends and joining up with the local volunteer fire fights. She’s a left-leaning populist (her father worked as an organizer for co-ops) and cannot understand how to relate to her Trump-supporting neighbors. The journey of her husband and herself making their way as citizens of this upstate New York region is itself splendid reading and brought tears to my eyes as I recognized so much about small towns and rural places I know.

And yet, the real power of The Eighteen Moon is the uncovering of American idealism that popped up before the Civil War, often socialistic, often idealistic, often faith-based, but weird. The Anti-Rent wars that played out in her town — her neighbors are literally descendants of those killed or arrested — are part of a larger anti-capitalist history and her zeal for this is fascinating. This is a colorful, creative, artful book that at once brings pleasure and provokes. One of the most striking and haunting books I’ve read all year.

Even After Everything: The Spiritual Practice of Knowing the Risks and Loving Anyway Stephanie Duncan Smith (Convergent) $26.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.80

When I first described this I trust that I explained it with enough vigor and enthusiasm to show that I was a very big booster of this remarkable writer. The advance praise was great (J.S. Park called it “a soaring memoir” and Shauna Niequist exclaims, “Oh, I love this book.”) Only a few pages in and I knew.

It is a memoir, yes, and it is about the grief of losing a baby in miscarriage, yes, but it is more the narrating of one’s life in light of the liturgical calendar. I have not read a book that so nicely weaves the story of one’s own life and sorrows with the discover of the church year. From the cycles of creation to the forms of the church seasons, Even After Everything brings a beautiful story, beautifully told.

As Kayla Craig (author of Every Season Sacred) puts it, this “expansive offering” is both personal narrative and sacred story.”  It’s a great read, unforgettable, even. One of the best-told stories and finest books of 2024. (See a list of other favorite memoirs, HERE.)

Sacredness of Secular Work: 4 Ways Your Job Matters for Eternity (Even When Your Not Sharing the Gospel) Jordan Raynor (Waterbrook) $25.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $20.00

As you may know, we have long been passionate about helping ordinary Christian folks think well about faithful service in their respective careers, jobs, and occupations. We all must be attentive to the things God gives us to do, and words like vocation and calling have been central to our arrangement of our shelves here at our Christian bookstore. We’ve tried to show books about the integreation of faith and learning, the Bible and daily life, helping folks connect liturgy and life, worship and work, Sunday and Monday, so to speak.

There are many books like this and as passionate as we are and as important as they are, I almost wonder if we’ve had enough, now. After decades of very few resources now there is a glut. Last year saw some thrilling ones (three from the Denver Institute on Faith and Work, Working from the Inside Out (by Jeff Haanen), Women, Work, and Calling: Step into Your Place in God’s World (by Joanna Meyer), and Faithful Work: In the Daily Grind with God and for Others (by Ryan Tafilowski & Ross Chapman.) All deserve medals of honor.

The small hardback by Jordan Raynor first struck me as too basic — saying work matters even if you aren’t doing verbal evangelism on the job seemed nearly unnecessary, since hardly anybody really thinks that, do they?

And then the reviews starting coming in, people I know said they’ve heard folks say stuff indicating a really dualistic worldview, as if all that matters is overtly spiritual stuff, or church life, or evangelism. Just when I thought the conversation had moved on, I realized that for many, this book is simply a game-changer. A life-saving, God-honoring, Christ-centered faith-saver.  I really, really enjoyed it and was impressed with his citations and research and stories. Yay.

As Randy Alcorn — whose big books on heaven and on happiness are both stellar, if a bit long —  puts it:

“The Sacredness of Secular Work is personally relevant and, more important, biblically faithful. Raynor has done his homework and really gets it. I think the smile of God is on this book.”

The Servant Layer: Facing the Challenges of Christian Faith in Everyday Law Practice Robert F. Cochran, Jr. (IVP Academic) $28.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $22.40

Speaking of thinking Christianly about one’s career and about connecting the doctrines of vocation to work, every career should be so fortunate as to have a book as spectacularly good as this. I have written about this before and, in fact, have an endorsing blurb on the inside (which sort of strikes me as funny, since I surely could never pass the Bar Exams or be organized enough to do the work of an attorney.) There are other books that focus on jurisprudence and a theoretic framework for thinking about the practice of law. Cochran and I agree that the fabulous Redeeming Law: Christian Calling and the Legal Profession by the very astute and super fun Mike Schutt (not to mention the slim but helpful The Lawyer’s Calling by Joseph Alligretti) are both must-reads and exceptionally important. But, for ordinary lawyers, thoughtful women and men who serve in fairly ordinary jobs in small-town tax law or ordinary real-estate law or who work in a fairly typical general practice there needed to be a better guidebook for them to think well and develop attitudes and postures and practices of being an attorney of integrity. Plumbing the Biblical themes of servanthood and applying them to professional legal practice makes this book one-of-a-kind.

Cochran has written scholarly books on constitutional law and the history of the field. He has done excellent work in symposia nurturing a Biblical sensibility among his fellow attorneys. He hangs with everybody from scholars like John Witte (at Emory) or James Davison Hunter at University of Virginia to his upbeat pal, Bob Goff, at Pepperdine. Cochran has traveled the world working for religious freedom and serving the poor. But has John INazu says in his lovely foreword:

It turns out that most of the work of maintaining trust and fidelity in law comes from the habits, routines, and dispositions of everyday lawyering.

For ordinary lawyers with fairly ordinary jobs, nobody has written a book like this and it is certainly, therefore, one of the most important books of the decade. Now, if only we had ones like this — rooted in good scholarship and theologically informed, but written for everyday practitioners — for doctors, engineers, farmers, or tech workers. Thanks to IVP and Bob Cochran for this one.

Thriving on a Riff: Jazz and the Spiritual Life William C. Carter (Broadleaf Books) $26.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $21.59

I have a handful of books about popular culture and music that I adore. Music matters a lot to me — see, just for instance, the memoir I raved about last time by the fascinating artist and producer Charlie Peacock (Roots & Rhythms.) We have several books on jazz, including good books written from a solid faith perspective — I often mention Bill Edgar and his fabulous 2022 IVP book, A Supreme Love: The Music of Jazz and the Hope of the Gospel. But 2024 was a great year for this topic because the long-awaited book by Presbyterian preacher and jazz pianist and leader of the hot (or is it cool) Presbybop Quartet, Bill Carter, finally came out. He has been playing piano since he was kid, immersing himself in the jazz scene for decades, and playing clubs and churches, jazz shows and jazz vespers, for a very long time. He’s lectured and written and preached about it fabulously for almost as long.

As a preacher and jazzman, he didn’t have a lot of time to fit in the writing process. And he had some woodshedding to do — he has written other books, but this; this needed to be crafted with the right balanced of story and theology, faith and history, justice and lament, jazz anecdotes and musical magic. He nailed it, I’d say, offering a great survey of the history of jazz from a broadly Christian imagination and, as the book promises, how listening or playing (or reading about) jazz can shape ones human spirituality.

From the very openness improvisation demands to the heart-felt longings of the minor keys, from blues to praise,  jazz really does point us to God and to robust, creative discipleship. As church organist, theologian (and father of one of the Indigo Girls) Don Saliers puts it, “This book is no less than a love song to the art and genius of improvisation.” Saliers continues,

“Thriving on a Riff is also a musical primer about transcendence and the risks of biblical faith… If you love jazz and seek a deep sense of what is spiritual, this is a feast.”

Plundered: The Tangled Roots of Racial and Environmental Injustice David W. Swanson (IVP) $18.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

I invite you to go back to our BookNote archives and read what I wrote about this splendid, urgent, book. I said there and still maintain that there is nothing like this on the market and, as such, is simply a must-read. Nobody has, from a readable Christian perspective, drawn such a vivid and compelling portrait of the injustices of environmental racism and what ordinary Christians might do to resist this double-whammy of harm.

The author is a white pastor of a multi-ethnic, urban church on the South Side of Chicago who has written well about how mostly white churches might need to grow and learn about racial injustice. (See his excellent Redisicipling the White Church that came out in early 2020.) In the beginning of this recent book he tells us that he was an outdoor minded guy all along, majored in wilderness education, and figured he’s take up a career as a park ranger or wilderness guide or adventure educator. Little did he know that God would call him, of all outdoorsy people, to become a pastor and serve a very urban church.

Which situates him quite well to understand the relationship between city dwellers and pollution, toxic waste dumbs and the marginalized communities that often are polluted unfairly by them, and how issues of race come up, over and again, in matters of environmental destruction. That two of our most intractable, urgent problems — systemic racism and pollution — intermingle is (or ought to be) well know. What to do about it is of great concern.

How can the church, especially the thoughtfully evangelical sing, do something about these mutual problems? Racial and ecological injustices are, Swanson shows, symptoms of a deeper more pervasive problem and he shows us how to rethink and live anew in ways that can move us towards the reconciliation of all things promised in Scriptures. 

Great writers and leaders like Randy Woodley and Brenda Salter McNeil and Ben Lowe have raved about this (alongside organizational support from folks in the CCDA and Missio Alliance, say) and we add our names (again) to the list of those insisting that this is a very, very needed and happily beautifully written book. Hooray.

The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary edited by Esau McCaulley, Janette H. Ok, Osvaldo Padilla, & Amy Peeler (IVP Academic) $60.00// OUR SALE PRICE = $48.00

One of the things I highlighted in my essay about this in a previous BookNotes is that there is hardly anything like it in print. It is often said that books make a major contribution but this truly, truly does. There are other Biblical studies texts done by African American scholars, and some important ones that are what we might call critical and progressive. We’ve got a lot. However there is no such New Testament resource, big and thorough, done by evangelicals, bringing the insights of a range of multi-ethnic scholarship to the interpretive  process. These editors have pulled together a very impressive team to create a very, very impressive volume.

Let’s just face it: scholars of color who are trained to think in terms of culturally-informed hermeneutics, and who want to write for the broader body of Christ to help us all get the Bible right, to understand it properly are — thanks be to God — a Godsend, a great gift. This book deserves kudos and should be in every church library in America. Whether you favor strictly traditional processes of Bible learning or are on the broader edge of ecumenical scholarship, this will be of value to you. We can’t say enough about it and are delighted to name it as one of the great books of 2024.

Listen to what Ninjay Gupta writes:

In my own theological education, I was pressured to suppress my ethnic perspective and experiences, to conform to some sort of disembodied neutrality. Since then I have come to learn that my background, culture, and reading lens can actually enhance my ability to understand Scripture. I am thrilled to recommend The New Testament in Color because this ‘library-in-a-book’ reflects the beautiful mosaic of a many-colored hermeneutic. I wish someone had handed this book to me twenty-five years ago, and I hope many will read it now.

Here is an excellent overview of what makes this both reliable and necessary; Max Less says it well:

The editors have done a superb job of gathering scholars from diverse ethnic backgrounds who interpret the biblical text adeptly using the familiar critical tools of exegesis, and who also demonstrate how reading from their particular social location provides theological insight germane to all of God’s people. They show how the New Testament addresses a range of issues important to today’s readers, including topics of restorative justice, immigration and hospitality, racial bias and violence, the priority of families and ecclesial communities, and so much more. Not to be missed are the excellent introductory essays, which trace the ethnic histories of peoples of color and their practice of reading the Bible with a hermeneutic of trust. Exegetically precise, theologically orthodox, and prophetically challenging, this book — in a word –preaches!” — Max J. Lee, Paul W. Brandel Professor of biblical studies at North Park Seminary

Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies N. T. Wright & Michael Bird (Zondervan) $22.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $18.39

If the above listed title — Plundered — illustrates anything it is that many of our most pressing problems are institutional and structural and systemic. That is, being a better individual Christian or doing kindly gestures of charity will not be adequate to reform the very architecture of our social structures. That the Old Testament law addressed things like debt forgiveness and the Hebrew prophets denounced things like unfair interest rates and land speculation further illustrated the complex social nature of injustice in our world and the call to be aware of how the world really works, in it’s beauty and complicated brokenness.

That somehow some of our social systems are deeply distorted and may even have been taken over by fallen (demonic?) powers is something that Bible suggests at times, and says outright on occasion. In Colossians 2:15 Jesus is said to have defeated or disarmed “the powers” and put them to shame. In Colossians 1 it says Christ is reconciling the powers. We are reminded in Ephesians 6:12 that we don’t fight against ordinary flesh and blood but against spiritual powers in high places. That is, Christ seems not to have fully reconciled those destructive institutional structures quite yet.

Few contemporary writers have explored this, although one who did was Walter Wink in his important three or four volume set. About the turn of the century our old friend Marva Dawn did a tremendous set of lectures at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary which explored and reformed Wink a bit that was developed into a book called Powers, Weakness and the Tabernacling of God. Both drew on the Dutch Hendrikus Berkof, a little volume translated by John Howard Yoder in the 1970s. Nobody since Marva has done much on this topic.

Enter Wright and Bird — a Brit and an Aussie — who have finally given us the thoughtful (but fully readable) volume on the subject we have long needed. Yes, they explore a bit some of the authoritarian political movements developing around the world, from Hungary to Venezuela to the USA.  And, yes, of course, they are greatly concerned about the obvious dangers in the extremisms of the nationalist movements. But their socio-political insights are always shaped by how people following Christ must be “building for the Kingdom.” It is a Biblical study of the question about the Kingdom of God as it relates to the social and political upheavals of our day.

Wright has several collections of essays (which we import from the UK) about the principalities and powers, about social witness, about cultural relevance and the reformation of society. But this is his first major work done like this — “part political theology, part Biblical overview, part church history.” If Christ’s Kingdom confronts the empires of this world how do we engage with that? What does it look like as we orient ourselves to Christ’s ways? Is there an approach to current events that is shaped by Christ’s Kingdom? One of the best books of 2024!

At a time when discussions about Christian nationalism and debates over religion and politics too often involve more heat than light, Jesus and the Powers offers something different. Drawing on their expertise in biblical theology and on two millennia of global Christian history, Tom Wright and Mike Bird present a defense of liberal democracy that pushes back against the extremes of the Left and the Right. There are no easy answers here, but readers across religious and political spectrums will find much to grapple with in this sharply written text, and perhaps also a framework for the pursuit of mutual human flourishing in a polarized age. — Kristin Kobes DuMez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

In our unsettled and polarized world, it is as easy to be tempted by the solutions offered by those on the extremes as it is to put our heads in the sand. Bird and Wright remind Christians that Jesus truly is king and the hope of the world, and they encourage us toward steady faithfulness when it is easy to be swept away by the shifting winds of historical and political circumstance. Read this book, remember ‘the old story’ and pursue public faithfulness while resting in truth. — Vincent Bacote, author of The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life

Jesus inaugurated his ministry by proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God. What does that long-ago event have to do with us today? Everything, say the authors of Jesus and the Powers. The fundamental character of authentic Christian political activity, they argue, is ‘building for the kingdom.’ Using their skills as esteemed New Testament scholars, the authors first illuminate what Jesus would have meant by ‘the kingdom of God’ and then explore how present-day Christians can build for the kingdom. I know of no other book that comes even close to locating, so insightfully and in such rich detail, Christian political activity within the context of the coming of the kingdom. Given what is happening in politics today, their call for Christians to engage as workers for the kingdom could not be timelier. — Nicholas Wolterstorff, Until Justice and Peace Embrace

Faithful Politics: Ten Approaches to Christian Citizenship and Why It Matters Miranda Zapor Cruz (IVP Academic) $24.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.20

I have written a lot about faith and politics this past year (and did a multi-week course this fall at my PC(USA) church that one can find on Facebook and YouTube, actually. I could wax eloquent about a dozen good books, old and new. (Brand new, by the way, is the long-awaited Citizenship Without Illusions: A Christian Guide to Political Engagement by the impeccably thoughtful and almost too moderate David Koyzis.)  Please see HERE and HERE or, a bit older, HERE for a few good lists. We need them now more than ever, I’d say.

This one if my vote for best new book about Christian political witness overall. It highlights ten historic and current approaches, postures and styles that have various emphasis or insight, and she offers the Biblical basis for and the social impact of each tradition.  In some chapters she breaks it down even more — in the chapter “Keeping the Kingdom out of the Country’ she dissects three “Separatist” Approaches and in “Keeping the Country Out of the Kingdom” she explores two other “Separationist” Approaches (noting the slight differences in spelling, there.) In, for instance “Keeping the Country Under the Kingdom” she describes two different Calvinist approaches. As she calls us all to “salty citizenship” we recognizes that there are many different voices out there, from what historians call “social gospel” approaches and to these varying nuances of ways to related Kingdom and country. It’s all very, very interesting and very, very wise.

The last two chapters, she insists, are models that are not (like the above ones) viable. They are unfaithful and troublesome, but important so she critiques what some call dominionist approaches and what is known as Christian nationalism.

Jo Anne Lynn (general superintendent emerita of The Wesleyan Church) says it is “the most comprehensive understanding of the role of the Christian believer in national politics from a biblical, theological, and historical perspective to date.”

Chan Woong Shin of Gordon College asks if we really need yet another book on Christianity and politics.. He answers his question saying, “after reading Dr. Cruz’s Faithful Politics, my answer is a resounding yes!”

Dr. Cruz teaches historical theology at Indiana Wesleyan University. She holds a PhD in religion politics, and society from Baylor University and an MDiv from Princeton Seminary.

The Age of Grievance Frank Bruni (Avid Readers Press) $28.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.19

I adored this book, full of care and anguish and wisdom and moderation, even as he skewers Trumpian outbursts and exposes the pseudo-grievances that plague so many. These grievances are growing and (as one rave review puts it) the book offers “an astonishing, alarming catalog” but he gets to the solutions which are “smart and hopeful.” Each political tribe these days seems to be “out victiming” the other. This explores this feature of contemporary culture and why it is so harmful for our body politic.

In the last year or two I have read maybe 15 books on the rise of the extremist far right, from edge-of-your-seat memoirs of guys who infiltrated the KKK or neo-Nazi groups to studies of the wild shenanigans of those who in recent decades took over the Republican Party. I’ve recommended many of these thinking that it is really, really important stuff (and there are a lot to wade through.) Honorable mentions include The Deconstructionists: The Twenty-five Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party by Dana Milbank and When he Clock Broke: ConMen, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked up in the Early 1990s by John Ganz. These are must-reads, in my view.

I didn’t mention the creepy and vulgar Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics by the brave Elle Reeve.  It has been called “a surreal feat of investigative journalism” showing how seemingly weird- online groups sometimes spill out into political violence.  Brian Stelter said it is “powerful and propulsive” and that it is. He explains that she “fearlessly investigates some of the most insidious corners of the internet and showcases, to horrifying effect, how these radical pockets are threatening the rest of us.”

Bit with all this analysis of the dangers of the far right (which, as I have written before, I think are much more vivid and concerning that dangers of the left, these days) it was Frank Bruni who helped me maintain balance and explore this not quite below the surface impulse about grievance-bearing.  It was one of my favorite reads this year.

Jonathan Haidt (himself no liberal of course) notes that,

It can be a pleasure to read about how terrible things are when the writer is Frank Bruni. He gives us a catalogue of absurdities, sparing neither left nor right, along with some explanations of why our current wave of grievance is more dangerous than earlier waves. He also gives us great ideas for making our country less absurd. This is a wise and humane book for our foolish and cruel era. — Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation and The Righteous Mind

They Flew: A History of the Impossible Carols Eire (Yale University Press) $35.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $28.00

This came out at the end of 2023, I’ll admit, but I didn’t pick it up until 2024 and I worked on it, on and off, throughout the year. I want to say it was my pick for the best academic book, from a scholarly press, that I read all year. (The aforementioned Reconciliation in a Michigan Watershed, while on a peer-reviewed, scholarly press, is so very readable that I hardly want to pitch that as an academic title.) This, though, is tedious (in all the right ways.) It is careful scholarship, exploring the ways in which the miraculous was observed at the cusp of the modern world in late medieval Europe. That would be intersting enough, this class of worldviews, this study of miracle and proof and logic and science but there is more, a lot of a very specific more. It is about levitation. And bi-location.  Oh my…

You may have skimmed over those parts in Interior Castle or not allowed these stores to grab you in other well-known works of the mystical life. I recall that bit in one of the volumes of the Philokalia, but figured it was rare and eccentric. I know I never took seriously —I hardly noticed, or it never registered — the many paintings of the levitations of St Francis, Thomas Aquinas,  Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross and more. What was God doing with this rash of miraculous levitations? What is the definition of impossible? What cultural contexts, if any, give rise to such inexplicable things? How did the church respond?

That answer, with some nuances, can be simplified by saying these things were considered either as miraculous (a gift from God) or somehow fraudulent (which was difficult to prove since there were so many eye witnesses) or very real, but demonic. (The Protestant Reformers of the mid 1500s generally thought of these reports as demonic activity.)

Eire won the National Book Award years ago for his much-loved Waiting for Snow in Havana and has been a professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University for year. His colleague (and Calvin biographer) Bruce Gordon says, “Only Carols Eire could take us on this job rent to the impossible.” He calls it a “brilliant feat of scholarship and imagination.” This really could change our attitudes about the early modern world, and I think it was one of the most amazing books I’ve read this past year.

Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See Bianca Booker (Viking) $29.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.20

Holy smokes, what a blast this big book was. I can’t say enough about it (and can’t wait to dive into her older one, the quirky, if similar in approach, Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live.) Get the Picture is both an introduction to the contemporary modern art scene (mostly in New York City) and a bit of a guide to how to understand and interpret modern art. And it is rip-roaring good, caring, funny, honest, well written without being so lavishly done that one gets lost. It is a great read, upbeat and aggravating and inspiring.

Here’s the deal. Bosker, a journalist for The Atlantic, et al, admits she’s the kind of person who wants to like modern art, or contemporary art installations, but has this sneaky feeling “any five- year-old could have done that.” The near pornographic scenes and the arcana deconstructionist lingo leave her cold or clueless. Of course she knows your not supposed to think that, let alone say it out loud, so she studies paintings and sculptures in galleries and museums, and goes to shows and looks and looks and waits for the inspiration to hit. The slanted brilliance and upsetting insight of it all — she learned that “beauty” is not what the contemporary art scenesters are going for — just never hits her. She decides she has to work in the scene, volunteering at a gallery, working with artists, learning about art school and interpretation and performance art and gallerists and, well, nobody trusts her. This is a very elite network (the word “rarefied” comes to mind) and, often, dangerously rude. She is seen, irony of irony for the postmoderns who want to give voice to the marginalized and be inclusive, as “the enemy.”

Get the Picture is, indeed, “the mind-bending journey” of her coming to know these obsessives and even though it almost kills her, she comes to “see” at last. In a manner of speaking. It is really a great, fun read and you will learn a lot. One critic called it “sheer pleasure” and “the best book I’ve ever read about contemporary art.” It also investigates with an open heart, in the words of Patricia Marx, “the questions you are too chicken to ask: ‘Um, how come this is called art and now come I’m supposed to like it?’” It’s a great, great read.

Break, Blow, Burn, & Make: A Writer’s Thoughts on Creation E. Lily Yu (Worthy) $27.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $21.60

You may know of Lily Yu’s fine writing — she has done novels and short stories — and rejoice that she is esteemed in the high-brow world of contemporary fiction. This series, thoughtful, profound work is on a publisher that is know for many evangelical authors and I was surprised at first. And then I was very glad, realizing she is a serious thinker about faith and the arts, and is informed by everyone from Jaques Maritan to Madeline L’Engle to the aesthetics of George MacDonald. She cites folks as diverse as James Baldwin to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to G.K. Chesterton. She is a fine reader and a very fine writer.

I noticed she does not quote my favorite Calvin Seerveld, but I suppose that would be asking a bit much. She does cite N.T. Wright and Mako Fujimura, which is almost as good. She does explore her topic of writing in God’s world, the notion of making, of creating, and (as Karen Russell puts it) has given us “a love letter to God and to language, to writers and readers…” It really is a love letter to us all. As Mako writes, “Yu deftly weaves together beekeeping, catching trout, Rilke, Milosz, and Christ, sometimes in a single breath, and her words illumine like a candle in a neglected church.”

We have a good number of such books and we would quickly recommend any number. This, though, is rich and moving and extraordinarily thoughtful.

To read Break, Blow, Burn, & Make is to behold — to gaze upon the beauty of the fragments and broken remains of our art and our lives, to be gifted the courage to be faithful makers. It is an invitation to hope, to persevere, to recalibrate through despair, to pray and ultimately to love. At times in reading this gem filled book, I wanted to pause and weep, and at other times I wanted to stand up and applaud…. I follow her into that sacred, darkened space, and sojourn into our daily discipline of making there.– Makoto Fujimura, author of Art+Faith: A Theology of Making

Aslan’s Breath: Seeing the Holy Spirit in Narnia Matthew Dickerson (Square Halo Books) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

I highlighted this a time or two in these BookNotes columns this past year and I now want to insist it is one of the Best Books of 2024. I say this for a few reasons; most simply, because it is.

But, also, it is a winner because it is relatively short, but with lots of fresh material; well-written without being dense or audacious; thoughtful without being arcane; lively without being silly or flamboyant. It’s a great read and — get this, with a drum roll please: there is nothing like it in print. I don’t get to say that often but every year or so I find a book that truly nobody else has tackled. Aslan’s Breath is a study, just as the subtitle promises, of how the images of the Holy Spirit show up in the Chronicles of Narnia.

As I have said before, each chapter explores how a certain book in Narnia describes the Spirit For the metaphors and symbols of the Spirit that Lewis uses in that book. For instance,  in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe the Spirit is seen as “transforming power” (says Dickerson, and he shows it.) In Prince Caspian the Spirit is found in the language of “growing bigger.” Naturally, in The Magician’s Nephew the Holy Spirit is “breath and wind at creation.”

You will find some blended symbols and plenty of courage.  You will find gentleness and comfort (especially in a very moving passage from The Horse and His Boy.) This will intrigue anyone who loves Narnia and would be a great book to read together.

There are great lithographs by the book’s editor, printmaker and author Ned Bustard (perhaps most known for his design work and illustrations in the three Every Moment Holy volumes and several other Square Halo titles.)  Together, Ned and Matthew have given us a lovely little book, one we are honored to declare one of the truly fresh books of 2024.

Through Middle Eastern Eyes: A Life of Kenneth E. Bailey Michael Parker (Wipf & Stock) $29.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

I think it could be said that many of us who knew Ken Bailey — not to mention the tens and tens of thousands all over the world who esteemed his great books of Biblical scholarship (especially New Testament studies) — have longed for a book about him. Surely the story of this Western Pennsylvania Presbyterian who ended up teaching in Beirut during the civil war there (1975-1990) and in Cairo and other Middle Eastern cities needed his story to be told. Ken was not only a fiercely ecumenical evangelical and a best selling author in the world of Biblical teaching but was known throughout the world as a scholar of early Middle Eastern Christian literature; he owned one of the very few extant copies of a rare early centuries set of book (I rarely understood what he was referring to when he talked to me about Coptic Christian commentaries and Syrian linguistics and Arabic manuscripts and such. Although he lectured at Oxford and Cambridge, he was at home in Middle East. That one of his major collections of eases is called Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes tells you much about his primary contribution.

Scholars the world over admired him. Ken told me once on the phone, as he was writing Jacob and the Prodigal (an ingenious study of the literary parallels between Jesus’s “Prodigal Son” story and the epochal story of Jacob in Genesis) that after a while he thought maybe he was “seeing things” that weren’t really there. He already had a list of over 50 seemingly deliberate parallels. He said he send the work-in-progress to N.T. Wright to see if Tom might talk him out of this fanciful stuff. Of course Wright was astounded, assuring him this was good stuff, and to carry on. His insights about the ancient far East and the contemporary Middle East — including “the simple villages of upper Egypt” — shaped all that he did.

Chapters in this biography have clever titles that speak to this cultural setting: “The Antiochian Missionary” and “On the Island of Aphrodite” and  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.”

There is plenty here about the travels and ministry of Ken and Mickey and their family. It describes the research done for most of his books (and the Hollywood-inspired movie he made, retelling the story of the Prodigal Son, in Arabic, with mostly professional Muslim actors.)  There is the moving section part way through, about his son, David, a popular singer-songwriter and performer who bravely faced cancer and died in October of 2010. And, of course (for those who known Presbyterian mission stuff) there is a bit about his beloved New Wilmington Missionary Conference.

Author Michael Parker served as a missionary and professor of church history for many years in Sudan, Rwanda, and Egypt. From 2012 to 2020 he was the director of graduate studies at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, Egypt. His dedicated work on this project is to be celebrated. Many are very, very grateful.

This is the remarkable story of a life we can only imagine. Michael Parker’s expert telling of Bailey’s life is enthralling and pulls us back to another era of courageous scholar-missionaries that today are few. Bailey was a missionary to the Arab world, but more, he was a missionary to the West, helping us see our Scriptures through the eyes of a world that originally produced them. — Gary Burge, professor emeritus of New Testament, Wheaton College, co-author of The New Testament in Antiquity: A Survey of the New Testament Within Its Cultural Contexts and Whose Land? Whose Promise? What Christians Are Not Being Told about Israel and the Palestinians

Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age Rod Dreher (Zondervan Reflective) $29.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

I highlighted this in a previous BookNotes and always new I’d say it was one of the most important Christian books of 2024. I am so glad to have read it and so glad a few customers picked it up. I have some resistance to it for a number of reasons but there is no doubt that it was one of the most striking books I’ve read this year. Maybe you too, eh?

Here is the gist: Rod Dreher is a culturally edgy and very widely read, socially conservative, Orthodox Christian. He wrote a thrilling memoir about the death of his sister, and another about how reading Dante helped, literally, save his life. He has been outspoken against the progressive drift of secularized culture and has been a bit controversial in all of that. I enjoy him; he is a good writer, and I either loved or hated his recent books. This one is yet another leg on his journey and it is both delightfully personal with well told stories and deeply aware of and articulate about the roots of Western modernity, the secularizing forces of our contemporary age, and the thrilling sense of wonder that can still be encountered if one has the eyes for it.

Yes, this book includes some fascinating stuff about UFOs and other mysteries about the weirdness of modern life. It wonders how realizing that the world is more wondrous that most know or appreciate right transform our lives. He tells some powerful stories of extraordinary spiritual encounters that he has never told and he invites us to be more deeply aware of the supernatural world.

He gets at all the spiritual stuff not by way of American evangelicalism, let alone Pentecostal or charismatic renewal, although it sounds a bit like that at times. I say bring it on. If a cultural critique and writer about “the secular age” can invite us to his Orthodox practices (icons, the Jesus Prayer, the complexity of ancient liturgy, not to mention the beauty of good literature and such) and get us thinking more broadly about the dehumanization of a stripped down and reductionist world, and offers a bigger account of the really real, then I’m all in.

Living in Wonder is a brave book that will captivate you, even if your are a skeptic. It will touch you even if you are a cynic. It might, as novelist Paul Kingsnorth puts it, “point the way out of the delusions of our modern dream and back toward reality.’  One critic said it is both “disturbing and visionary.” Yep. It is one of the great reads of 2014 and a very important book.

Backroads and Better Angels: A Journey into the Heart of American Democracy Francis S. Barry (Steer Forth Press) $35.00 / OUR SALE PRICE = $28.00

This big, fat, fabulous book came out in 2023 but I didn’t discover it until 2024; a person in my church was this author’s camp counselor years ago and stayed in touch. I somehow missed that he visited our church learning about the history of racism and racial reconciliation in York, PA, several years before and his encounter is in this, his big, fat, fabulous book. That I read in 2024.

I could lecture on this (and have read from it in classes and workshops I’ve done) but the short version is simply this: Barry and his wife get an RV and almost comically, with very good hearts and very good eyes (although not always so good navigation) set out to drive the entire length of the legendary Route 30. Hence the visits to Philly, Lancaster, York, Gettysburg, Chambersburg and off into Pittsburgh early in the book. You know we live right near that Lincoln Highway, even if Amor Towles does not mention us.

Not only is this a fun travelogue across America, it does three extraordinary things and does them delightfully. First Barry reports about the local stuff he sees and learns. He’s a local history buff and so in each town you learn, as he does, interesting (dare I say important) stories, things that matter. He is a politico — a Democrat speechwriter for Mayor turned candidate Bloomberg — and he cares about civic life, the common good, the human scale of politics and the history of folks working together. Not only do we learn a whole bunch of historical things along the way of this huge journey,  Secondly, Barry is constantly asking people what holds America together. Can we get along? The polarization wasn’t even as bad a few years ago as it is now, but, even then, the trip was a brave journey to ask about our better angels. It is an important document about our cultural moment, I think.

Thirdly, that “better angels” line, of course, is from Lincoln, and from the Lincoln Tunnel on out across this land, our driver / author keeps Lincoln stories front and center. Who knew? Who knew, I want to shout! Even if you are well informed about the great, tall President, you will learn things I am sure. And you will be better for it. And it will be a blast since all this learning happens through conversation, day by day, as Francis and his wife drive their way across America in this goofy big rig. I loved this book.  God bless them.

TWO BOOKS THAT I JUST HAD A BLAST WITH, FUN READING WITH A SLIGHT MORAL TO THE STORY…

Rocky Mountain High: A Tale of Boom and Bust in the New Wild West Finn Murphy (Norton) $17.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

I told you about this in greater detail in a previous BookNotes but it is one of those books that I read because I liked the author (his book about being a long haul trucker, The Long Haul, was a heckuva thrill ride) and was intrigued by the story of a guy starting up a business. Despite the goofy title, this is not about pot, exactly, but is about growing hemp (what they called for a year or so in Boulder County Colorado, “the hemp space.”) This trucker has a great heart and a sharp mind but, frankly, knew nothing about said space, or really any agricultural space. That he could Gert a boat-load of money and hire a relative and try to grow hemp (and dry it and sell it to pharmaceutical hotshots) makes for a wild ride, wilder than his long haul trucking book. It is witty and fun and moves with a moral center, even if everything goes wrong almost from day one. It is, they say, “a masterful tael of one entrepreneur’s misadventures.” A fun read that I couldn’t put down.

I like what writer Jessica Bruder (of the powerful Nomadland) said: she said it “brims with wit and pluck and hard-won wisdom.” Yep.

All The Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians Phil Elwood (Holt) $28.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.19

I ripped through this (despite the stupid cover) in almost one long sitting on quiet Sunday and I am thinking about it still, months later. It is the personal story of a guy who worked in Washington DC and eventually became known as one of the great PR guys. He got some very high-paying jobs with some very big firms who do this sort of thing and next thing you know he is baby-sitting Middle Eastern dictators in Las Vegas, flying around the country with world-famous bigwigs, crafting media strategies for some of the worst humans who grace this sad, grisly planet. How could he do such stuff, grease the wells and sell false stories about dictators and other sorts of low level (if well paying) bad guys? How could he live with himself, maven that he was?

Here’s how the New York Times described it:

This memoir by a former public relations operative for the wealthy and the corrupt is greasy fun — stocked with scoundrels, cocktails and guns, and showing off the charm and quick wit that catapulted Elwood to the top of the sleazy, amoral world of high-end spin.”

Listen to this:

If Hunter S. Thompson billed clients by the hour, it would look like All The Worst Humans by Phil Elwood. The pacing and storytelling propel the book’s epic sweep across the dark side of DC and global hotspots. Even the most experienced in PR will learn things they did not know, and Elwood’s gripping personal story is an unexpected and wild ride. — Bill McCarren, former Executive Director, National Press Club

The wild writer and bad boy Christopher Buckley says it is “hilarious and harrowing and hard to put down.” Exactly.

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I’m sorry this was delayed getting out. For those who have visited our store in recent decades you might want to know that our little Bichon Frise, Aurora (“Rory”) who we’ve had for almost 18 years, died a few days ago. It’s been a hard week in many ways…

This was going to be my last BookNotes of 2024 but I thought otherwise, then, and did that post about the incarnation, the humanness of Jesus, and the like. We don’t have that many customers who order theology books from us that often, so it was fun to feature a few important ones alongside the easier-to-read practical ones and have a number place orders. Thanks. It was important.

In this first BookNotes of the new year I want to feature some of the best memoirs I read this past year. Most were released in 2024 but a few are older but were new to me. Scroll down to the very end to see them all. You can easily order by clicking the link at the end.

As I’ve often said, there is much entertainment value and much wisdom to be gained by reading memoir. To learn how people narrate their own lives, how they search for meaning, how they do or don’t live well, it all is so colorfully interesting. To show how very committed we are to this genre, here is a list we published previously of about 50 great memoirs that we recommend. Enjoy.

Here, then is my list of just some of my favs in this genre from 2024. ALL ARE 20% OFF.

Roots and Rhythm: A Life in Music Charlie Peacock (Eerdmans) $32.99 / OUR SALE PRICE = $26.39

Okay, may I list this as a 2024 read? It just came out, but oh yeah, rock on and flash the hook ‘em horns concert symbol — I read an advanced manuscript in 2024 so I’m laying this down, here, now. It just released a month early and we have a big stack. Did I say rock on? We sent out our pre-orders a day ago. Hooray.

Charlie Peacock is a performing artist (across a multitude of genres as you’ll see), a good writer, thinker, advocate for the arts, lover of books, and friend of Hearts & Minds so I’ll tell ya that I’m biased. I like books about the music industry and I like books about the arts and culture-making. This is tremendous insider pop music book (with fabulous blurbs from the likes of Dylan’s old pal T-Bone Burnett to abstract visual artist Mako Fujimura to the hip young artist known as H.E.R.) so if you enjoy name-checking oodles of household names — from Jackson Browne to Bono to Amy Grant) you’ll have a blast turning these pages. There are a few sections that may prove a tad tedious to those not in the know about pop session musicians or studies (or gear! Oh, there’s a lot about gear) but even casual fans should have a go at this. It is one of the most captivating books I’ve read in a while.

And some parts are simply exquisitely written. So good.

I heard Charlie speak at a small conference more than a decade ago, an event sponsored by Square Halo Books in Lancaster, PA. He contributed to their It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God and as he spoke at that event, years ago, about being an artful rock performer and creative record producer he told this marvelously crafted story about growing up in Yuba City in Northern California. About how his sense of place colored how he saw life and shaped his story. No simplistic Christian cliches, no inspirational verses, just a great bit of performance art, lecturing about God’s creative call by way of telling his story. And man, I was surprised (he’d been reading Wendell Berry, I realized) and delighted. I find out now that some of that early rumination on his own place, his family tree, his family systems and DNA, really is vital. This is a storytellers story and it is brilliant.

I loved his early, innovative work in the hey-day of an alternative music scene in what has come to be known as CCM. (Think Exit Records or the new wave band Vector and the legendary 77s.) Hardly a thing anymore, CCM was once a huge industry and, like other music movements, had both the bland and the beautiful, those who were artful and those who were copycats. Decades ago sales reps would try to sell us on a given album release saying this hip, modern gospel singer “sounds just like” the Indigo Girls or Tears for Fears or Michael Jackson. Well, they were often wrong about the similarities, and, anyway, how in the world is that the way to promote a talent stewarding their God given talent? Charlie resisted that cheap “Christian” world the best he could from the get-go.

Peacock — a stage name, by the way — came up in the West Coast, almost punk scene but before that was taken with jazz. His great, great grandfather from Louisiana was a fiddler. His dad was a high school band leader, and good at it. We learn that young Charlie, who married his high school sweetheart, Andi, when they were still teens, was reading On the Road and The Dharma Bums and was serious about drugs and drinking; he was a truly ambitious and multi-talented kid and grew up listening to TV shows like Shindig, American Bandstand and Soul Train. One of the first songs he wrote that got sold went to the producers of The Monkees. He was into Dylan and James Taylor and Jackson and eventually would  perform with and eventually produce some of the edgiest artists of musical integrity the CCM scene ever saw. (They had good equipment, too — Richie Fury, a born-again Christian who left Buffalo Springfield, noted that one of the soundboards Charlie was working on was the one on which they cut For What It’s Worth.  Stop children, what’s that sound, indeed.

And, eventually, others; many others.  He rubbed shoulders with many of the greats from many genres. As white as he seems, he’s got some deep and lasting soul connections. One brief story tells of him pressing the great Al Green for a better vocal for which Charlie was doing takes. Yikes!

The book recalls his coming to faith in one of the very best conversion narratives I have ever read. With intellectual acuity and personal, raw honesty and keen insight into the cultural baggage he explains how he came to embrace the gospel and profess Christ. Testify! His respect for and commitment to principles of sobriety discovered in AA is wonderfully drawn. His honesty is at times raw — more than once he airs some unpleasant feuding with other artists — which is refreshing without being maudlin or gossipy. He has seen some ups and downs and he has matured in ways that have allowed him to mentor many young artists in various settings.

He and Andi started a significant ministry of safe spaces for artists of all sorts — Art House, which they’ve poured their life into — and wrote a couple of books calling for a smashing of the lines between the so-called sacred and secular. He was so ensconced in the CCM world (especially when then moved to Nashville) that it was hard to break fully out of that scene himself, even as he started record labels and championed artists across the divides of perspective and genre.

Roots and Rhythm — is he alluding to a line from Paul Simon’s “Under African Skies”? — is a magisterial memoir, a life story of a public figure (the only guy I know who has to attend the Grammy Awards sometimes.) It is a study of his roots, his family, a history of the stuff that made him, his faith, and his navigating his sense of calling in the music industry.

The book starts not in his early days (he’ll get to that) but with the sadly published break up of a band duo that Charlie helped mentor and helped turn them into Grammy Award winning major rock stars with the critically acclaimed Barton Hollow. The chapter is called “The Uncivil Wars” and is about the break-up of the band The Civil Wars at the very height of their fame. It is anguishing, really, and a captivating start.

As I stayed up late reading an early copy of this 300+ page book (including pictures and discographies and lists) I knew we had a winner. As I’ve said, I love music memoirs — Robbie Robertson’s Testimony and Bono’s Surrender being two fabulous examples — and I felt like this was almost in that league. In a way, it was even better because Charlie (if not quite in the league of Robbie and Bono) worked in their world; the picture of Bono at their Art House using a borrowed guitar leading folks in “They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love” is priceless. The picture of Charlie with Peter Frampton was surprising; there’s the story about a friend who first produced Prince; man this man wore a big man’s hat. If you care about popular music, you will love this, I’m sure.

But, also, he was a major player in the CCM world that was the backdrop to so many of our best friends and customers and events here at the shop. I loved reading the stories of the world-class famous — he’s friends with Vince Gill, produced the daughter of Hank Williams, Jr. and on and on, but Charlie is also an advocate for greater artistry in the very industry that we seemed to play a small role in. He’s worked with the best in this subculture, from Mike Roe to Sarah Groves to Sarah Mason to Switchfoot. In this sense, it is simply a must-read for anybody who cares about this scene.

I do wonder if those who aren’t familiar with Nashville record producers or session musicians, who don’t know T-Bone Burnett from Rick Rubin from Margaret Becker from Switchfoot, who don’t even care about Keaggy or Amy Grant, will care much about this. It is a beautifully crafted memoir but even as it says in the promo, it is filled with “geeky trivia.” So it goes.

Yet I want to assure you, dear and gentle reader, that the stuff about his past, his growing up, the influence of his place and his people’s stories, are gorgeous and significant. The threads connecting his fabric of faithfulness are well written and even without the geeky trivia this is a memoir well worth having. You will be surprised as he reflects on the influence of the Redbone phrase (and at least two recording artists who used that moniker) and his own racial heritage and just cool themes — he talks about a retreat on food and farming led, in part, by Ellen Davis, a Bible teacher at Duke alongside an Alice Waters’ trained chef. How intersting!

Here’s my reply to those who might say that they aren’t into the music scene (or books about the sports scene or the political scene or whatever.) I think there is much to be learned by any story of anybody who takes their faith seriously and lives it out in their particular calling, who has an open mind and an open heart, as they try to be faithful to their sense of vocation in the world. That is a gift and you can be inspired for your own particular vocations and occupations.

In Roots & Rhythms Charlie represents, in full color, an example for us all, pushing the limits of the boxes his industry put him in, being an agent of reformation and reform, wondering about the social and “common good” influence of his own career, standing firm despite setbacks, being faithful as best he could alongside his wife and kids, as a family. This “in the world but not of it” transforming vision is illustrated with story after story of somebody being true to their sense of call, their opportunities and limits, doors that opened, doors that slammed shut. From his earliest days — again, his dad was a music teacher — to his introduction to the feisty California music scene, his conversion to radical faith, to his work as record executive and producer, he tells us how it all played out. Even chapters with a few too many tedious names and titles, are delightfully shared under the rubric of chapter titles like “Imagination, Interdependence, and the Bonds of Affection.”

And who knew political figures like Mike Gerson would show up, or that there would be stories about Eugene Peterson or Shara Worden (aka My Brightest Diamond) and her involvement in urban gardening in Detroit?

It isn’t a big part of this decades-spanning memoir, but he and his wife, Andi, did just release a strong collection of pieces — written as letters — that we’ve raved about earlier this year. Called Why Everthing That Doesn’t Matter Matters So Much. It’s fabulous.

Surely his story, in his setting and context, isn’t your own. Maybe you’ve never heard his famous Lie Down in the Grass or his latest jazz compositions. Maybe you’ll skip a paragraph or two about the tech and recording gear (but you will be amazed by the lovely story of finding his long-lost, vintage electric piano in the home of a band he was visiting, decades after the piano had been sold!) I think you’ll enjoy learning about it all, and maybe take inspiration. He’s a hard-working writer and Roots & Rhythm: A Life in Music is a book for us all.

Roots and Rhythm is the play of youth with the wisdom of age merging into a beautiful fireworks show. We all desperately need the sorts of honest, sage stories Charlie tells about the artful life–to see, in ourselves, the merging of the girl in the woman, the boy in the man, simultaneously growing more playful, imaginative, and wise. — Sara Groves, recording artist and cofounder of Art House North, St. Paul, Minnesota

I wish I could communicate all the admiration and respect I have for Charlie with a fraction of the artistry he possesses. He is an amazing, soulful storyteller at all times — as an author with Roots & Rhythm, as a musician, improviser, producer, songwriter –and a man of faith, family, integrity and more. I am so very grateful to know him!  —John Patitucci, Grammy Award-winning bassist, solo artist, educator, and multi-decade collaborator with jazz legends Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter

Lyrically written and richly textured, Roots and Rhythm is the best sort of memoir: captivating, entertaining, and subtly coaxing readers to live their own lives more wholeheartedly. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez,  Jesus and John Wayne

The truest masters always teach over the shoulder and through the heart, inviting others to come alongside and listen carefully to the storied insight of their years. In his new memoir, Charlie Peacock — musician extraordinaire –invites the wide world into his life, sharing about the music and musicians of the modern world as he reflects on the vocation that makes sense of who he is and, why he is, and what he has done. With rare understanding of the nexus of imagination and the marketplace, Roots and Rhythm offers philosophical and theological insight into Charlie’s unique pilgrimage as an artist of unparalleled creativity and surprising generosity, nurturing the hearts and minds of a generation of singers and songwriters who long to learn from the master.   — Steven Garber, Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good and The Seamless Life: A Tapestry of Love and Learning, Worship and Work

Between Two Trailers: A Memoir J. Dana Trent (Convergent) $27.00 / OUR SALE PRICE = $21.60

Beth and I both were nearly breathless reading this complicated story of a girl raised among drug dealing, on-again-off-again, church folks, written in great prose in what Erin Lane calls a “ludicrously good plot.” This coming-of-age story is about trauma and resilience, witty and amazing. The forward is, curiously, by her friend the exquisitely charming and theologically astute Barbara Brown Taylor. My NYC friend Jonathan Merritt says it is a “tough tale to tell but Trent communicates it with a winsome charm.”

Micha Boyett (who recently wrote Blessed Are the Rest of Us) says it is:

“…in the vein of great literary coming of age narratives like The Liars Club and This Boys Life.”

There is so much I could say about this remarkable memoir. Don’t miss it.

Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story Leslie Jamison (Little Brown) $29.00 / OUR SALE PRICE = $23.20

I want to say that while this may not be for everyone, it was perhaps the most compelling and engaging book I read all year. I cannot believe how moved I was by it, how captivated and interested. It has received extraordinary praise and Ms. Jamison is an extraordinary writer at the top of her craft. She has written literary fiction, memoir, sociological studies, immersive journalism. She is known for writing about recovery in the stunning The Recovering and was world-class famous for a bit after the release of The Empathy Exams. She is a bit postmodern, vivid, at times vulgar, deeply self-reflective, and this memoir looks at some of her life of what Maggie Smith (of You Could Make This Place Beautiful fame) says is “a brilliant reckoning with what it means to make art, a self, a family, a life.” Indeed. Wow.

The writing is, as Smith notes, “as sharp and piercing as its title” but it remains a riveting look into a woman and her writing, her sexuality, her marriage and divorce, her grief, and — this is huge — her parenting. I do not think I have read as moving a narrative about mothering an infant and then a toddler, ever. As an artist with a place in the literary world, she, still, has to deal with her deep, deep love for her daughter and it is nothing short of remarkable.

One reviewer said she is “unstinting in her assessment of marriage gained and lost, of motherhood held close, and of loving oneself in the process…” (Melissa Febos, author of Girlhood.)

In this work of stunning emotional depth, she offers “a portrait of rupture that is at once a page-turner about divorce, a romance about parenthood, a mystery of self after splintering, and a promise that however many times we break or are broken, art and love will never fail to mend us.”

As Heather Havrilsky writes, “No one else I’ve read has evoked so powerfully what it feels like to be pulled by too many competing tethers until you’re half a mother, half a writer, barely a wife, hardly a real person…”

“No one else I’ve read has evoked so powerfully what it feels like to be pulled by too many competing tethers until you’re half a mother, half a writer, barely a wife, hardly a real person…”

If you care about any new mothers who have dangerous marriages and hard living conditions, this book will grab your heart.

I wish that some mature and non-judgmental Christian with insight into the cultural mores of our elite, urban artists and who has psychological wisdom might offer a review of this showing how it captures much of a certain zeitgeist and how a normative, Godly perspective might make a difference for those so caught in this sort of mess. Disapprove of some of her lifestyle choices and values, as you may, this book still has a profound and loudly beating moral heart. I will never stop thinking about it, I’m afraid.

My Life in Seventeen Books: A Literary Memoir Jon M. Sweeney (Monkfish) $23.00 / OUR SALE PRICE = $18.40

I announced this before but didn’t say too much; one could go on and one about each chapter, but the gist of this clever project is, as you might surmise, a reflection on his life by way of books that influenced him. Karen Swallow Prior’s first brilliant book, Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me, was just this sort of thing — an idea I had considered doing myself at various points, unless I did rock albums, which could piece together a life story almost as well — and Sweeney’s considerable intellect and generous spirituality shines through. He is a former bookseller, a longtime publisher, and prolific author and he’s not messing around here..

From Tagor’s Gitanjali to Buber’s Hasidic Tales he has been influenced — carried, as he puts it — by many sorts of books. He has written about Merton, himself, and his chapter on Furlong’s Merton bio (which he took on his honeymoon!) is a great chapter. His piece on Wendell Berry is lovely.  His piece about acquiring a nearly controversial, small book about Saint Francis — he was deep in an obsession at the time, writing a lot about him professionally — is fabulous.

Sweeney makes it clear in the beginning that these are not his favorite books, really, not even the most influential in his life. They are, as he puts it, books he carried. Some of this is sheer magic (or as the back cover says,” ‘enchantment.” What does he mean by having “carried” these? Take up and read and you’ll find out.

Somehow: Thoughts on Love Anne Lamott (Riverhead Books) $22.00 / OUR SALE PRICE = $17.60

I adore the writing chops of this upbeat and thoughtful writer, an old bohemian who came to Christian faith in a colorful manner years ago and has held a space for many of us who appreciate her open-minded soulfulness and her utter candor. Her book about birth and parenting as a single mom, her book about writing (Bird By Bird) and her many collections of essays all strike me as more interesting and vivid than her acclaimed novels. This new collection of storytelling is generally on love. More specifically, it tells of her own falling in love later in life and her recent marriage.

This wonder of a book is about love. She has plenty to say. You will enjoy it and maybe learn a bit, shaking you up and giving you new hope. You will smile along the way, belief me.  She’s right, you know: “One day at a time, and somehow one hour at a time, love will be enough to see us through.” Don’t you need a reminder?

“Full of the compassion ad humanity that have bade her beloved by millions of readers, Somehow is classic Anne Lamott: funny, warm, and wise.”

Even After Everything: The Spiritual Practicing of Knowing the Risks and Loving Anyway Stephanie Duncan Smith (Convergent) $26.00 / OUR SALE PRICE = $20.80

I earlier highlighted this, perhaps more than once, announcing that it surely is one of my votes for a best book of 2024. I love creative memoir and this captures so much, so well. Duncan Smith is a very fine writer and here vulnerably shares essentially a year in her life, a year of miscarriage and loss, of living into the church calendar, of new joy and hope. My, my, what a lovely, poignant, and well-told story. She is a writer to know and to watch.

Called (by therapist and writer J.S. Park) “a soaring memoir” he goes on to suggest it is “a meditation on birth and death, a reassuring theology that does not rush or reduce… Even After Everything is a special work written from both impossibly hard experience and intimate brushes with heaven.” Yes!

Kayla Craig, who has the handsome book for family to do devotions around the church year (Every Season Sacred) called it “expansive” noting that it “beckons us to reflect on our own experiences of time, self, and the One present in every beautiful, broken season.” I am sure that is one of the reasons I was so taken with it, her sense of wonder even admits hard stuff.

Hillary McBride, author of The Wisdom of Your Body and Practices for Embodied Living: Experiencing the Wisdom of Your Body, says, in regard to her own miscarriage and other embodied hurts, writes,

“I have been longing for words that contain the wordlessness of these experiences I found the words I needed in this book, each page undoing my aloneness, creating a choreography of connection to the rhythm of the cycles of nature, and inviting me even more deeply into the sacredness of the path of living as a body. I never wanted the book to end.”

Ghosted: An American Story Nancy French (Zondervan) $28.99 / OUR SALE PRICE = $23.19

I have “hand sold” this to more people than perhaps any book this year, pressing it on anyone even vaguely interested in the art of memoir or anyone even vaguely interested in the conflict among us in these United States, these days. Nancy French tells of her Appalachian upbringing, her legalistic and emotional religion, an abusive situation in college, her meeting the charming but reasonable lawyer and thoughtful Christian apologist, David French, who believed in her. They fall in love and eventually become, together, legendary Christian operatives within the rising Republican Party; she finds herself as a ghost writer (having worked with very well known names of the right-wing of previous decades.)

Ghosted is at times fun and humorous but it is also a complicated and agonizing story — as I’ve written before it is just so gripping — but when they wouldn’t back Trump in his first Presidential bid they became disillusioned with some on the far-right, especially religious friends. More than a few of their Trumpian friends and colleagues were brutally outspoken against them and the story quickly turns harrowing.

Nancy and David were Christians, first, and couldn’t abide Trump’s degrading abuse of women or his dishonesty or his narcism or his cluelessness about the gospel, and, further, they were principled conservatives who couldn’t abide Trump’s odd-ball lack of virtue-based, conservative policy. After a stint in the Army serving in Iraq (a moving section of the book) David stopped writing for the National Review, they experienced ugliness of the sort one can hardly imagine (some of it blatantly racist; they had adopted an African child and the alt-right got grossly involved in trolling them) and, as this story continues, were in the middle of firestorm as Nancy advocated for abuse victims from the country’s largest evangelical camping program. It is a heck of a read.

I recommend this to anybody who loves a good tale, who appreciates the glories of the art of memoir. I recommend this to anyone who is disillusioned with the Christian right as it explores how they did or didn’t manage to keep friends once they shifted away from that stained ideology. And I recommend it to anyone who still holds sway for conservative evangelicalism and/or the MAGA right. It illustrates how some in your circles have treated well-intended, decent, folks, and you owe it to yourselves to realize how bad some of this has gotten; you need to read this so you can work to distance your movement from the sorts of evil harassment and vile mistreatment they faced. Like them or not, this is a book to read and ponder. I encourage you to read it now.

I didn’t know writing could be this haunting and hilarious, heartbreaking and exhilarating all at the same time. I did not want it to end. This tour de force of storytelling and sense-making is one of the most gripping and beautiful memoirs in a generation. In these pages, Nancy French takes us beyond this confusing American moment right into the soul of our shared human condition, full as it is of gore and glory. You will not close this book the same as you were when you opened it. — Russell Moore, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America

I picked up Ghosted only once, not putting it down until I had read every page. This is a captivating account of a child, a girl, and then a woman buffeted by unthinkable betrayals who withstood despair and surrender and remained true to her values. Her uncommon character and integrity educate and inspire. — Mitt Romney

Land of My Sojourn: The Landscape of a Faith Lost and Found Mike Cosper (IVP) $24.00 / OUR SALE PRICE = $19.20

This stunning book came out last February and I have highlighted it often. It tells the painful story of Cosper’s drift from his church-planting circles, a growing sense of disappointment and even betrayal as he realizes that some in his community had become — how to say this? — taken with ideologies of the far right and beholden to funders who did not want to speak about racism or nationalism for fear of being considered woke.

Cosper has published with Crossway, written about orthodox faith and serious worship, and was a leader in an evangelical church planting network, so the shattering of his dreams (and his artsy evangelical ministry among bohemians and other hipsters in his Midwest city) was a shock, a hard, hard shock. He did not see this coming or the emotional toll it would take.

Two things that make this honest reflection a stand out read: it tells what it is like to go through the doubts and confusions when one feels in some sense exiled from one’s own faith tradition and home. That his pain led to symptoms of burnout is not surprising, nor is his sense of being adrift, a sojourner. This well written story is a glimpse that many of us may benefit from and I very highly recommend it.

Secondly, though, as I have noted before, this is superimposed on, or given shape by, a series of every-other-chapter pieces of Bible study set on the ground of the holy land. He literally goes to the land of Jesus and reflects on that place, to give a counter-balance to the narcism and crisis of leadership he was observing in some high-profile evangelical communities.

You may know that Cosper was behind one of the most talked about podcasts of recent yearsThe Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. You may have heard of his brand new book, The Church in Dark Times: Understanding and Resisting the Evil That Seduced the Evangelical Movement which we have also commended. Through all this study of the dark side of evangelicalism, he is not a cynic and he is a caring critic. Land of My Sojourn tells his backstory and it is important and captivating.

Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden Camille Dungy (Simon & Schuster) $19.99 / OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

I wrote about this last year, naming it as one of the Best Books of that year, but it has been released in paperback in 2024 so I am delighted to highlight it again, if only briefly. Beloved by many, this memoir is mostly about a black woman — a college literature professor and esteemed poet — re-doing her yard in Fort Collins, Colorado. The only person of color on her street and the only one turning her downtown lawn into a wilder garden, a natural habitat for native species and critters, it has an edge of drama to it. (Not everyone is at first pleased with her seemingly unusual plantings and yard design.)

So, yes, there are themes about racism and ecology, digressions on environmental racism, rants about uniform lawns, info on invasive weeds and natural history, upbeat encouragement about gardening and important reporting on black history and resilience. And more — written in a usually heartwarming style. Mostly, it is an inspiring book about a black woman (and her husband and child) who learn to love, again and again, their soil.

I love how one advanced review said,

“In Soil, Dungy plants poems next to memoir next to critical analysis next to environmental history next to African American history.”

Upbeat fellow gardener and poet Ross Gay says it is “brilliant and beautiful memoir.” Enjoy!

Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White American Julia Lee (Holt) $26.99 / OUR SALE PRICE = $21.59

Wow, this is a memoir that (in the words of Phuc Tran, author of the great Sigh, Gone, set right here in central Pennsylvania) “that brims with wit, intelligence, vulnerability, and delicious rage.” He continues, saying it is a “firm manifesto of ‘an angry little Asian girl’ that delivers on so many levels.”

Lee’s mentor, the world-famous Jamaica Kincaid (the book title is a line from a Kincaid story) says it is “vivid, powerful, and empathic.”  It is by turns tender, academic, full of insight and rage and a bit of hope.

Yes, Julia Lee is a good writer. And yes, she has a stunning story. But throughout she features not only her own experience as an Asian-American girl becoming a young woman and professional scholar, but shifts to social analysis, cultural studies, American history, and the nuances of experience that many Asian Americans feel growing up “between black and white.”

I love these kinds of books that offer both personal memoir and searing social commentary. We learn a lot about (an) Asian American [Korean] view on all sorts of things making up recent American history — she came of age in LA during the awful uprising caused by the Rodney King verdict — and reflects about her own experiences of racism (even if somehow different than racism against blacks.) The relationship of blacks and Asians (not to mention Latinx and First Nations peoples, which she explores at length, ashamed of how little she knew about indigenous people and how little — even as an outspoken progressive activist in her older years — she cared.) Kimberly Jones (an anti-racist writer) notes that it is both fearless and vulnerable.

As Jones puts it, “this is the book my heart that wasn’t my story to tell, so I’m elated that Lee cracked open her heart for us to travel with her.”

Memoirist Kiese Laymon (of Heavy) calls it “phenomenal” and “a lush treatise on the politics of expectation.”

She is vulgar and passionate, at times frustratingly immature and other times heroically insightful. It’s a great read. Her mother is a character (a first generation immigrant from Korea, born in the North) and, like with any captivating memoir, you are drawn into her family’s drama. Her discussion of her uncomfortable years at Princeton are shocking. (I had no idea that the “Southern most Ivy League school”, as it is often called, was so racially-fraud, so full of caste and class.) Her expose of the dining clubs and frats and ethos there was hard to read, even if at times bitingly snide, and an important part of her story. For anyone that works in higher education, this book is illuminating.

David Chang (of Momofuku) says it is “awe-inspiring.”

Chang continues,

“…this book is a must-read for anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of Korean han, the Asian American experience, and the power of resilience.”

1974: A Personal History Francine Prose(Harper) $27.99 / OUR SALE PRICE = $22.39

I thought this was going to be a fun, broadly conceived study of this mid-70s year that was important for me, and for the country. I graduated from high school in 1972; fell in love a couple of times in college, got more serious about my Christian calling, worked with the handicapped, met Beth and married after college in 1976. Why wouldn’t I want to read this cool memoir? I was told it was “spellbinding.” I was up for that.

I had no idea. No idea at all. And I will tell you now that while it may not be for everyone, it is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. For surprise and intrigue and candor and weirdness and power, it is almost as good as the stunning What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance (set in El Salvador) by poet Carolyn Forche. 1974 has the same urgency, the same political vibrancy, the same revolutionary energy. It feels to me, not unlike Forche’s, that it would be set a bit earlier. Its plot line starts, most directly, in 1971 when the Pentagon Papers were released.

Yes, this is, as one reviewer put it, “a stunningly alive portrait of the artist as a young woman, set during that dizzying time when the hopeful loveliest of the ‘60s morphed into the murky violence of the ‘70s.” It is, as Caroline Leavitt continues, “Heartbreaking, hating, and indelible.” Prose is a writer, artist, professor, and her story is important for anyone interested in the creative arts and integrity as a writer.

Yet, the heart of the book is — to put in simply — her friendship (and romance, sort of) with one of the two men that published the infamous Pentagon Papers. Daniel Ellsberg is a hero to many of us, and his name is well known. Tony Russo, however, did not become as well known, even though he was the one of them that did horrific jail time for his part in being a whistleblower against the lies of the U.S. Government. Tony Russo, once released (and with Ellsberg and his wife distancing themselves from him) was obsessed. He was emotionally distraught, paranoid, perhaps (okay, more than perhaps.) As Prose tells it, she herself didn’t quite know what to make of it all. Russo certainly exemplified at least one aspect of the early 1970s and the aftermath of the anti-war efforts. How could she ever move on after having known him?

Russo saw first hand the horrors of what we did ( and what we covered up) in Viet Nam. The torture, haunting, gross stuff,  all of it. He came back outraged and committed and, soon enough, crazy, maybe. His telling of the tale is vital for us all, now more than ever. Her coping with this wounded warrior of the anti-imperialist left, her loving this unstable man, her effort to be a writer amidst the hard politics (and his own grievances) makes this a book I will never forget. I swear I will never forget.

The MAGA Diaries: My Surreal Adventures Inside the Right Wing (And How I Got Out) Tina Nguyen (Atria) $28.00 / OUR SALE PRICE = $22.40

Back after 9-11 when we all learned about jihadists and suicide bombers many of us read several memoirs or stories about those who were, as we put it, “radicalized.” How did it happen, often ordinary Muslim folks turning viciously anti-American. Some of it was so extreme it wasn’t just an awareness about American militarism or injustices. Something deeply serious was happening as people changed their entire worldviews.

I do not at all mean to suggest (I do not!) that those hoodwinked by the MAGA ideology and the dishonesty at the heart of the Trump movement are like evil suicide bombers. Not at all. I only start with that recollection to say that I have long found it helpful to read books about people explaining why they’ve come to believe as they do. Tina Nguyễn does this in plain but vivid prose, telling her story of growing up in political and socially conservative circles, landing a job in right wing media, coming to know, well, just about everybody in those heady tea-party years. As an Asian American woman she had a certain uniqueness and she only occasionally comments on the racial aspects of her growing disillusionment with the far right ideology she so fully embraced for decades.

This is at once a coming of age memoir — an immigrant’s daughter, striving as many Asian American families do, her ending up in debate and college journalism. What a story — I also love stories about college life and this is a good window into her experiences as a minor (and politically-active conservative) in higher education. She went to the legendary Claremont McKenna College and was involved in the Salvatori Center. (If you don’t know their orientation and vision, get this book immediately!)

Her job search and coming into the adult years is fabulously told. Her first job was with a little known gent named Tucker Carlson. She goes on to Grover Norquist, ReasonTV, dinners with Peter Thiel, “conventions that rival Coachella” and working at The Daily Caller and eventually with the likes of Breitbart and Bannon.

She dated a guy who grew darker and darker, with connections in the growing neo-Nazi movement — this is an important part of the story… As with other thoughtful evaluations of the election-denying, Trumpian extremists, she notes that much of her own conservative formation happened before the Trump thing happened and her own libertarian and principled conservative (she can argue about political philosopher Leo Strauss!) social concerns seemed increasingly foreign to the wild new MAGA movement and their Groypers and QAnon allies. That she is now a critical reporter of Trump’s policies — it took a while for her to get a legit job at mainstream media sources — is quite the conversion story.

One big take-away — and she explores this with passion once she leaves the fold of the MAGA faithful — is how she was enfolded into the movement, mentored, given many (many!) opportunities for networking. She goes to a summer “right wing camp” and assumes this is normal. The think-tanks and financial grants and scholarships and communal housing and paid internships are just everywhere in the right wing ecosphere. Later, she was aghast that Democrats, for instance, have little vision for creating an upcoming generation of well-informed young adults, mentored and guided to a career track in changing the world. There is, clearly, a thought-out, systematized on-ramp for young Republicans to enter the world of new right politics.

This is hugely informative for anyone wanting a glimpse at how the extreme right operates these days (and she spills the beans, in passing, about what billionaires fund what think-tanks, from AEI to Cato to The Rockford Institute to Heritage to the American Action Forum to IHS at George Mason to the National Journalism Center to the Charlemagne Institute (and money from Koch, Bradley, et al.) The footnotes with further documentation — I had never heard of the Bradley Foundation’s influence — is worth the price of the book if you want to know what’s up and who helps play a hidden role in the radicalization of decent conservatives. Besides the scary details, it’s a great read, a fun memoir about a witty woman’s journey finding her way (with her mom looking over her shoulder much of the time. Yep, there’s lots of that, giving it a good feel.) I think The MAGA Diaries is a book we should know.

Motorhome Prophecies: A Journey of Healing and Forgiveness Carrie Sheffield (Center Street) $29.00 / OUR SALE PRICE = $23.20

Wow, this is one of those books that if you pick it up you won’t want to put it back down. There are a number of reasons why this is an important read and I might revisit it eventually. There is much to say, much to ponder, much to care about as a book like this can create not only greater empathy within the hearts of readers, but offer insight on how some parts of our broken world works.

And what grace looks like.

She says it is a story about sabotage. Wow.

This is one hell of a story, the memoir of a woman raised in a family of what some have called “Mormon fundamentalists” or extremist polygamists who have broken away from the fairly staid Latter Day Saints. The LDS church long ago renounced polygamy and other raunchy aspects of their odd cultish legacy. But there are those who with the radical zeal of extremists everywhere take it upon themselves to found a new cult, more authoritarian and wild-eyed than even Brigham Young. (One of the latest fundamentalist Mormons says he is the Holy Spirit and Father of Jesus; they recently left Utah to Montana.) Carrie Sheffield’s family were part of this dangerous tribe of fundamentalist Mormons, akin to the infamous Ron and Dan Lafferty and other “School of Prophets” folks written about so compellingly in Jon Krakauer riveting Under the Banner of Heaven.

Sheffield’s toxic family was not only caught up in a web of cultic religiosity but were, in some cases, mentally ill. Her brother tried to rape her. Her father was dangerous. Etc. They lived in tents, sheds, a motorhome, always on the run. As the fifth of eight children she saw it all.

Her story is hers to tell and she tells it well. Motorhome Prophecies isn’t as violent as Under the Banner but makes Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy or even Tara Westover’s great Educated: A Memoir look like kid’s stuff. Her journey out of abuse and weirdness is nearly miraculous. She ends up at Harvard, involved in conservative politics, struggling with post-traumatic stress and yet becoming a well-loved, positive individual. But there’s more.

Here’s the very short version. She comes to understand traditional Christian faith, attending — get this! —-both Tim Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian (a culturally-savvy but theologically conservative PCA congregation of some fame in Manhattan) and was in part mentored by the gracious and charming, then-presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA, Rev. Michael Curry. (His book Crazy Christian and the sermon he preached for the Royal wedding a few years back touched her deeply.) Rev. Curry baptized her and, she told me, they love talking about their differences in theology, social policy, politics and more. She loves that sort of civil diversity in the church. I figure that if she knows Curry (and he has a rave review on the back of the book) and Tim Keller, she has my attention.

It isn’t every book that has a great blurb on the back from Amy Chia (Yale Law School professor and author if Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) and Dr. David Brat of Liberty University. And Deepak Chopra.  (He writes that her “spiritual transformation from exploited, angry skeptic to a full embrace of God’s transformative, healing power is a powerful witness to the world.”

Bratt writes:

The story of Motorhome Prophecies is a universal one: Jesus heals. Carrie Sheffield’s horrific abuse at the hands of people who should have protected her shows the brokenness of humanity. But Carrie’s story also illustrates our capacity for redemption and renewal by walking with God and trusting in His justice and sovereign grace. Carrie illustrates the heart of God: leading by loving our neighbors who believe differently than us.

What the Taliban Told Me Ian Fritz (Simon & Schuster) $29.99 / OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

I know that not everybody looking for an inspiring and entertaining bit of literary memoir wants to dive into a somber and heady read about the war in Afghanistan. But, frankly, this is an anguishingly beautiful book, compelling and wise. It is hard to read at times but it seems somehow very, very important. Matt Gallagher (who wrote the highly-regarded Kaboom about “a savage little war”) says that What the Taliban Told Me is not only beautifully told (“with rare honesty and seeking”) but that it “introduces Ian Fritz as a powerful moral and literary voice.”

Fritz was an airborne linguist tasked with listening in on suspected Taliban communications and he grew to know them intimately. He perhaps understood them better than most — their wants, their fears, their hopes and dreams. Gallagher suggests that this “transcended the normal boundaries of war.” What that means is the thrust of this book, how a service member deployed to a war zone might come to transcend those boundaries.  Not only does it put a human face on the energy, it tries to actually understand them.

Look — I have little sympathy for Taliban extremists. I do not think Fritz does, either; this is not a book suggesting they really are decent guys. HIs two tours of duty, monitoring on the ground conversations in real time, allowed his fellow soldiers to do deathly battle. In a memorable line he says that much of this book came from “listening to the dead.” He saved lives in some cases, and he caused much death and destruction, people and villages he was listening to, often just moments before they were blown to bits.

As the flyleaf cover tells us, he started his first deployment with the Air Force with great pride. After realizing his role in so much death he ends “with near-suicidal despair that he’s been instrumental in destroying the voices he’s heard in service of a war he and so many service members know is lost.” This is an intimate reckoning, to say the least.

We were involved in this war for twenty years or more. The memoir offers a stark moral perspective, starting with understanding these Afghan rebels and their faith and their desires, and, eventually, coming to learn much about himself. It is, as the publisher notes, “a coming of age memoir in a war that is lost.”

PRE-ORDER Pilgrim: A Theological Memoir Tony Campolo (Eerdmans) $23.99  / OUR SALE PRICE = $19.19 // not yet released – due February 2025 

Oh my goodness, how can I tell you how much I appreciated this, how much I enjoyed it, how many memories it brought back. I could tell you how it made me feel — recalling Campolo’s powerful sermons, his great oratorship, recalling his fun conversations behind the prominent (and not so prominent) stages where I had the privilege to hang out with him on occasion. We did some projects together and while we were not good, good friends (even though he always treated me with enthusiasm) I cared for him deeply. I’ve got a few little stories. So, yes, this book means a whole lot to me.

After his passing this past November (and having lost Ron Sider last year) it feels like the end of an era for me and Beth.

But, frankly, I think I’d have enjoyed this fascinating story and would have been moved by it (even if frustrated by a bit of it) no matter if I had never heard of him or sold his many good books.

Anybody who was part of the evangelical world of the last generation, trying to help it become more social conscious (or maybe then resisting the push and pull towards social engagement) will love his telling of his role in some of what I might call the first battle — when traditional evangelicals thought cultural engagement with the arts and sciences, let alone working to liberate the poor and oppressed, was second-level stuff, not so important as evangelism and praising the Lord; you will love hearing Tony recounting his efforts to meld evangelism and social concern. Hooray for this. He pulled it off and many of us were very glad for his feisty proclamation of the Lordship of Christ over all of life, including his advocacy to alleviate poverty and world hunger.

Secondly, then, once evangelicals did get out of the pews and intro the streets, there was what I might call the second battle; namely, the question of how we do social action, what cultural renewal looks like, what role philosophy and theology and political science and sociology might play in the reformation of ideas and society. How do we “think Christianly” about the implications of the coming reign of God? How do we serve the Kingdom of God within the kingdoms of this world? We were glad when evangelicals conceded that public theology might be important, that we should vote, even.

Yet were distressed when they worshipped money-making and so-called American progress. They backed violent dictators in El Salvador and Chile and Iran and the Philippines. That evangelicals applauded when Reagan cut the budgets for the poor and funded excessive militarism and mocked concern about ecology. The development of the religious right became one of the largest socio-political stories of the last fifty years and Campolo wasn’t having it. He was in it deep and Pilgrim tells some of the backstory of what he did and the price he paid.

How did a young man from a fiery Baptist home end up working with Albert Einstein, run for office as an evangelical, anti-war candidate, and come to do pastoral counseling with a sexually-sinful President of the United States? How did he start and mission group and raise so much money for the disadvantaged? How did he go from being one of the top speakers on the evangelical conference circuit to becoming a persona non grata? How did he feel during all this? How did it effect his wife, his children (who bore the same names as the kids in The Simpsons, a joke almost too good to be true?)

This book elaborates the faith journey of Tony Campolo who was, for better or worse, one of the most lively, entertaining, and influential figures in modern evangelical Christianity. His recent death (November 19th 2024) makes this his last book and will allow millions of those who admired him as a popular speaker to hear him tell his own testimony.

I could hardly put my advanced reader’s copy of this down and swept through all 250 plus pages with ease. I’m sure you will, too. It is not highly crafted, poetic literature and it is not academically dense scholarly prose. It is Tony, after his stroke, talking to his friend Steve Ramey, in the long overdue account of his whole long life. Plain and moving, this is surely a book many will want to get as soon as it comes out. We hope we’ll have it early, before the mid-February release date. Pre-order it now, please.

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We here at Hearts & Minds send Pennsylvania holiday greetings to our subscribers and other on-line friends and customers. With great gratefulness we wish you a merry Christmastime and an upcoming happy New Year.

f you need something to listen to, don’t forget our “Three Books from Hearts & Minds” podcast — in the most recent I describe with enthusiasm an adult book on Epiphany (by Fleming Rutledge) and two beautiful children’s books. Enjoy that by either watching on YouTube or listening at Spotify or Apple Podcasts. The one before that was sort of about the holiday season — a book on hospitality, one on wine, and one on a Kingdom vision for family called Households of Faith. Both of those pods are timely, so check ‘em out.

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/A-6oCpJMTIY?si=3keizbAo_6fT0sDK
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• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Vkig1OukDcJYaFl248AuM?si=f6ee20461cca4122

After that creative review of a bunch of contemporary novels in the last BookNotes, today I wanted to highlight for you a couple of books about the incarnation — God with Us, Emmanuel. We all know the lingo but, frankly, I am afraid some of us haven’t plumbed too deeply into that Earth-shaking mystery. Jesus said the faith of a child is enough, granted, but we know that God has given us resources with which to enlarge our hearts and stretch our minds. Here are a couple that might help do just that.

Christmas: The Season of Life and Light Emily Hunter McGowin (IVP) $21.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.59

Let’s start with this utterly lovely, truly fascinating, must-read, small book in the terrific “Fullness of Time” series. We’ve highlighted the Advent one (by Tish Harrison Warren) and the Epiphany one (by Fleming Rutledge) but sandwiched between the is the marvelous study of Christmastide. It’s not to late to read this and to learn more about this beloved holiday. Highly recommended.

And, of course, she necessarily studies the incarnation. It is astute, if brief, lovely and inspiring, as she explores the great O Antiphon that calls this mystery “the wondrous exchange.”

The Christmas liturgy of the Catholic Church, she shares, puts it like this:

For through Christ the holy exchange that restores our life has shone forth today in splendor: when our frailty is assumed by your Word not only does human mortality receive unending honor but by this wondrous union we, too, are made eternal.

The early church fathers, she tells us, compared this to the burning bush in Exodus 3 or the behavior of iron placed into fire. Its a good section in a lovely little boo and it is a marvelous place to start thinking a bit more deeply about the meaning of the incarnation.

Later in the book she draws forth the implication that God took on flesh in a chapter called “The God of Creation and Recreation.” Later she has a chapter called “The God of the Creche and the Cross.”  It’s so good — don’t miss it.

On the Incarnation Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (Whitaker House) $9.99  // OUR SALE PRICE = $7.99

The small and very handsome paperback published by St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press in their handsome Popular Patristics series is out of stock here, right now, (and they have been closed between Christmas and New Years so we haven’t replenished our stock, yet but will have more of that edition in a week or so. It goes for $20.00.)

For now, I’ll suggest this edition, which is, frankly, several dollars cheaper and has somewhat larger print. Whitaker House is a conservative (and at time Pentecostal) Protestant publisher who realized the importance of this classic from the 4th century. Kudos to them for doing this affordable edition of what is surely one of the most important books in church history.

C.S. Lewis says:

“Only a master mind could, in the fourth century, have written so deeply on such a subject with such classic simplicity.” – C. S. Lewis

One of Us: Reflections on the Radical Mystery of the Incarnation A.D. Bauer (Square Halo Books) $16.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

I have done two different reviews of this new little gem and have each time celebrated it for being accessible, pastoral, practical. A.D. is a Reformed minister and thinker and it’s as if he is chatting with you over coffee or tea.  While it isn’t exactly breezy or hilariously chatty like some edgy/cool books these days, it is substantive, solid, truly interesting, and immensely important.

Does Jesus taking on human flesh really matter? Is he really “fully human” as the Bible says and as the ancient creeds declare? And if so, how does that assist us in our life journey of hardship and sin? So much of the church’s current woes are (in my view) linked to a failure to be formed into the ways of Jesus, and knowing who Jesus is as “one of us” is a really good start.  Short and solid.

The Incarnation in the Gospels Daniel Doriani, Philip Graham Ryken & Richard Phillips (P&R) $14.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $11.99

Again, this is a wonderful read, both deeply theological and immensely inspiring, exploring a spectacular insight — fundamental to our faith, they properly insist — that has deep implications. This is a thoughtful, devotional work, with three authors each presenting twelve readings from Matthew, Luke, and John.

Doriani, whose work I have always liked, explores Matthew under the rubric of “The Hope of Israel” while Ryken explores Luke under the title “Songs for the Savior.” Richard Phillips invites us to consider “The Coming of the Light” with four great chapters on John 1. I suppose this is read by some as an Advent devotional, but I commend it here as it really does exegete and teach directly from Scripture about how the incarnation is taught.

Incarnation: The Surprising Overlap of Heaven and Earth William Willimon (Abingdon) $15.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $12.79

We really, really like these several “Belief Matters” volumes, short and really reader-friendly. (Our neighbor and good friend Ken Loyer did the one on communion, why the way, and we really like the one on creation. Each shows how these core doctrines have huge implications for the formation of our life together as God’s people.)

This is certainly an urgent one, perhaps the most famous since it is by Will Willimon, after all. They did not pitch this as a Christmas book but as a standard topic about which we must all have some familiarity. Jesus — fully human, fully divine — is “God’s Word of promise to be with us.”

From the introduction, Willimon provokes us just a bit, writing:

Jesus defines simplistic, effortless, undemanding explications. To be sure, Jesus often communicated his truth in simple, homely, direct ways, but his truth was anything but apparent and undemanding in the living. The gospels are full of folk who confidently knew what was what — until they met Jesus. Jesus provoked an intellectual crisis in just about everybody. Their response was not, “Wow I’ve just seen the Son of God,” but rather, “Who is this?”

There is a fabulous blurb on the back from classy Presbyterian Bible scholar and preacher, Thomas Long, as well as one by the emergent thinker and hip justice activist Doug Pagitt. This book is fine for anyone, in any stage or style of faith, believer or seeker. Hooray.

Veiled in Flesh: The Incarnation – What It Means and Why It Matters Melvin Tinker (IVP-UK) $17.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.60

This is a truly solid study, a good and reliable exposition of the first two chapter of Hebrews to get at the question of who Christ is as the incarnate One and then, in a bunch of lively chapters, going deeper, “drawing on systematic and historical theology to tease out what the doctrine means and why it is vital to the life and health of the church and for Christian devotion.” It even shows how the doctrine of incarnation is related to two other key Christian beliefs, the Trinity and the atonement.

Tinker is a minister in the UK and a well known author and international speaker. This is not quite academic but does delve a bit deeper than some titles…

The Word Became Flesh: Evangelicals and the Incarnation edited by David Peterson (Paternoster Press) $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

I think we only have one of these left, again, important from the UK. (Ahhh, those British evangelicals are often ahead of US evangelicals on questions of lively theology and justice-seeking social ethics.) Anyway, this brings together a number of scholars to provide a Biblical and theological reflection on the thee. I think these were once lectures given at a conference (at Oak Hill, a prominent gathering at their School of Theology.”

Here you have Michael Ovey on Christ’s Consummator and Lex Mundi theology;  another chapter by Ovey on the Son Incarnate as co-sufferer (and the hostility of a rebellious world); David Peterson writes about how Christ shares our humanity and is “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (from Hebrews.)  Chris Green’s chapters are worth the price of the book as he explores “The Incarnation and Mission” (a meaty exploration, by the way.) Timothy War has a good chapter on “The Word and Words” exploring Scripture and then Carl Trueman (more famous now than he was in more than a decade ago when this came out) writes on the Incarnation and the Lord’s Supper, realizing that it was an “incarnational problem” in the debate between Luther and Zwingli. He shows how the Lord’s Supper can have a positive, formative function and is necessary for us all. I know somebody is going to love this.

Jesus Human: Primer for a Common Humanity Leonard Sweet (The Salish Sea Press) $27.95 // OUR SALE PRICE = $22.36

From out at Orcas Island in Washington state, Len Sweet has been busy mentoring DMin candidates, teaching and preaching semiotics, helping young theologians be bright and culturally savvy, reading the signs of the times. He is a witty wordsmith, a Kingdom renaissance man who cites more interesting books in any of his titles than a half a dozen other theological scholars combined. He’s a blast to read, challenging, delightful, if occasionally amusingly eccentric. He’s beyond postmodern, he’s got a holy imagination on fire with the gospel.

This may be, he says, one of his most important books ever. It is on the humanity of Jesus. I mentioned before it’s creative structure: the first two units are about our identity, and become a Jesus-infused “divine” human. Part Three looks in nine chapters at nice “inhumane” dreams, and this is itself potent. Part Four (which is itself nearly 350 pages) is an ABC arrangement of statements about Jesus, holding up a global Jesusy humanity. Yep, it is a playful and often fascinating abecedarian.

From Maximus the Confessor to Randy Scruggs, from Abraham Heschel to Iain McGilchrist, from Jacques Maritan to Hildegard of Bingen, he draws on Scripture, literary critics, philosophers and pop culture icons.  Sweet is fascinating, invigorating, and important. See the companion / sequel, by the way, Designer Jesus, which deserves its own review, another time…

Divinity and Humanity: The Incarnation Reconsidered Oliver Crisp (Cambridge University Press) $42.99  // OUR SALE PRICE = $34.39

Here is how Cambridge describes this heavy, scholarly study:

The doctrine of the Incarnation lies at the heart of Christianity. But the idea that ‘God was in Christ’ has become a much-debated topic in modern theology. Oliver Crisp addresses six key issues in the Incarnation defending a robust version of the doctrine, in keeping with classical Christology. He explores perichoresis, or interpenetration, with reference to both the Incarnation and Trinity. Over two chapters Crisp deals with the human nature of Christ and then provides an argument against the view, common amongst some contemporary theologians, that Christ had a fallen human nature. He considers the notion of divine kenosis or self-emptying, and discusses non-Incarnational Christology, focusing on the work of John Hick. This view denies Christ is God Incarnate, regarding him as primarily a moral exemplar to be imitated. Crisp rejects this alternative account of the nature of Christology.

The prolific Professor Crisp has degrees in Systematic Theology and Church History, an MTh from Aberdeen, and a PhD from King’s College, University of London. He has taught theology at the University of St. Andrews, at Notre Dame, and at Regent College in British Columbia.

Jesus Through Medieval Eyes: Beholding Christ with the Artists, My stick, and Theologians of the Middle Ages Grace Harman (Zondervan Reflective) $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

When I wrote about this before I raved, inviting you to come to know Christ in fresh ways by learning how those in another era saw him. Even those not fully fascinated with the Middle Ages will appreciate so much about this creative book. It has theological information, historical stuff, art pieces, and some fascinating insights from that era — Jesus slaying dragons, Jesus gestating children in his wounds, yes, Jesus, the lover of your soul.

I have been trained to be mistrustful of pre-Reformation era theology and popular expressions of faith in part because (and this is doubtlessly true, if only part of the story) of the ways Neo-Platonism infused it’s sacred vs secular dualism into the imaginations and worldviews of nearly everyone in the medieval world. The church running society as it sort of did (think of the Divine Right of Kings, and the worst of Constantine’s Christendom) was only one bad example. Think of the “higher” and “lower” callings and the way notions of vocation and calling were used only for the priests and the monks or nuns. In any case, that truncated vision of things rooted in a Greek (page) dualism is only part of the story; actually, there were brilliant thinkers and of course great (religious, at least) art and poetry and more. This feast of a book offers easy-to-appreciate insights about how Jesus — lifted up as King — was sometimes seen as fully human, sometimes seen as incarnate, sometimes understood in ways that can help us now with all of this.

Jesus Through Medieval Eyes is a great read and I wanted to list it here, now, at least for the portions dealing with the Nativity. Hooray — what a book!

Finding Messiah: A Journey into the Jewishness of Jesus Jennifer M. Rosner (IVP) $17.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

If we are going to make a case that Jesus was fully human, that the incarnation really did happen as the early church creeds explain, then, well, we must ask: what was his religion? The Jewishness of Jesus has always been known (how could it not) but both an ethereal piety and some blatant anti-semitism has worked against a full-throated affirmation of His first century Judaism.

So many scholars have unpacked that for us these days, from N.T Wright to Amy-Jill Levine to Brant Pitre to Gaza Vermes and popular writers have helped immensely (think of Lois Tverberg or Ann Spangler, recently.) An enjoyable and inspirational book that pops to the top of such a list is one I’ve mentioned before; I was first drawn (I’ll admit) to it by the enthusiasm of Richard Mouw who wrote a fabulous foreword.

Partially a conversion story, part a study of Older Testament prophecies pointing the way to Christ the Messiah, this roots the coming of Christ in Biblical context, showing how incarnation is, in a way, both expected and yet surprising. What a story.

Marty Solomon and Brian Zahnd and Gerald McDermott are all authors I respect and they rave about this study of how Jesus’s Jewish identity informed his work, words, and witness.

Jen Rosner interweaves her fascinating journey as a Messianic Jew navigating the tensions between Judaism and Christianity with a informative discussion of the Judaism of the earlier believers in Jesus.” — Lois Everberg, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus

The Emotional Life of our Lord B. B. Warfield (Crossway) $8.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $7.19

Last year maybe at Easter-time I highlighted this great pocket-sized book by the famous Preofessor Warfield, published as a “Crossway Short Classic.” It is a singular essay which, oddly, was omitted from his “complete works” of the legendary late 19th century and early 20th century Princeton prof and not widely known. I think it was my friend Steve Garber who I first heard mention it years ago…

Certainly if we are pondering the incarnation we are asserting that Jesus was fully human. It is interesting how little systematic attention has been given to his emotional life. In recent years a number of pop titles have come out (Angry Like Jesus comes to mind) but this careful, short, study, is foundational. What a great little book, written in that older style.

Passions of the Christ: The Emotional Life of Jesus in the Gospels F. Scott Spencer (Baker Academic) $32.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $26.39

In the B. B. Warfield text isn’t enough, let us celebrate this remarkable scholar who, more than a decade ago, founded a working group and track within the Society of Biblical Literature on emotions in the Bible. Other work may have come out of their years of exploration but at least we now have this welcome addition to the study of emotions in the Bible. This hefty volume explores Jesus’s very real anger, grief, disgust, surprise, compassion, and joy.

Blurbs on this 300 page scholarly treatise are significant, from Te-Li Las of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School to Brittany E. Wilson from Duke. Matthew Skinner of Luther Seminary says it “made me realize my own misguided tendency to pass quickly over places where the Gospels highlight Jesus’s emotions” He says it is both wise and approachable.

PRE-ORDER The Affections of Christ Jesus: Love at the Heart of Paul’s Theology Nijay K. Gupta (Eerdmans) $34.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $27.99  NOT YET PUBLISHED / to be released mid-February 2025

If some of the above titles explore the human Jesus, the incarnate One, the Word made flesh, even by exploring his emotional life found in the gospels, this forthcoming volume (by one of our generation’s sharpest stars of Biblical study, Nijay Gupta, a beloved New Testament prof at Northern Seminary) unpacks the love of Jesus as written about by Paul. It is, the publisher assures us, “a new perspective on an often overlooked aspect of Paul’s theology — love.” It is, as many colleagues attest, absolutely excellent. Amy Peeler says it is “”revitalizing.”

I’ve got an advanced manuscript of this and I assure you it is well worth reading. It is very much a study of Pauline theology — the great Paul scholar Michael Gorman has a great forward. But yet, the love that Gupta helps us see at the heart and core of Paul’s teaching about the gospel emanates from Jesus Himself. There is a reason that speaking about love is the “love language” of the great Apostle to the Gentiles.

Do a careful, even provocative, study of Paul’s preaching of the gospel, linking it to the centrality of love, proof to us that Jesus was the Second Person of the Trinity come to Earth. Does it unpack “Veiled in Flesh the Godhead See”? Perhaps not exactly. But, man, it comes close. If the love of Jesus is unique and vital for Paul, and if that is core to the gospel, it surely will help us understand the incarnation. Yes, I’m glad to list this here, now, not only as a stand-alone good contribution to Pauline theology, but to help us piece together the puzzle of Christmas. It will call us, too, to love our neighbors, and, well, when gospel-centered theology takes root, it surely sends us into all corners of culture and society, embodying His love, as it were. I’m convinced a study of love will necessarily lead us to deepen the incarnational nature of our discipleship.

“The Affections of Christ Jesus manages to both brim with information and be an enjoyable read. I will be recommending this to students and parishioners for years to come.” — Amy Peeler, author Hebrews: Commentaries for Christian Formation

Christ Unabridged: Knowing and Loving the Son of Man edited by George Westhaver & Rebekah Vince (SCM) $48.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $38.40

We imported this from the UK because it just seemed so very rich, so thoughtful, so needed. The title “Son of Man” has evoked a number of different takes in theological studies, but it certainly gets at the whole Christ — that is, both His humanity and divinity. Loving Jesus calls us to commune with the Triune God. (And, as this volume reminds us, not just into Oneness with God but with each other within the Body of Christ, and for the life of the world.)

This edited volume includes hefty pieces by N.T. Wright, Rowen Williams, Lydia Schumacher, Kalistos Ware, Malcolm Guite, and Oliver O’Donovan. Wow. This “explores some of the many registers of the story of Christ.” Wow.

Seeing as Jesus Sees: How a New Perspective Can Defeat the Darkness and Awaken Joy Alan Wright (Baker) $24.99  // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

This upbeat and lovely book invites us to lie our lies as followers of Jesus by, literally, nurturing a practice of seeing as He would see. To do that we have to not only immerse ourselves in His teachings but we must understand His heart. How do we see the world knowing John 3:16 — that it is fully beloved by God or entered it? This offers a clear spiritual vision, yes, and is not an argument for the incarnation. But I think if we want to be incarnational we need this nearly sacramental vision of life “for the life of the world.”

Jack Deere (Surprised by the Power of the Spirit) says that Alan Wright “is a superb teacher and a great lover of Jesus.” This nice read will help us see His beauty and thereby see as He sees. This could change a lot, and if the incarnation is not key to our imagination, I suspect we will not fully glean all that this vivid book has to offer. How does Jesus see this? Hmmm.

His Face Like Mine: Finding God’s Love in Our Wounds Russell W. Joyce (IVP) $18.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

I highlighted this moving book previously and it is so, so good I have to mention it here, now. The author had a rare, cranial-facial disorder which took several serious surgeries to create a face that was somewhat more presentable, but it created huge undercurrents of emotional pain and insecurities. In a season of planting a new church, Joyce came to cope with these serious wounds and came to realize the depth of the love of Jesus who understood his pain.

Talk about Christ’s own appreciation of, solidarity with, our very human, material, embodied selves. This invites us into the open arms of a good God who, because of the incarnation, heals us in ways that allow us to be more human, not less so.

An excellent author we respect, A.J. Swoboda, says, rightly:

Joyce’s brilliant, vulnerable, and fierce exploration of the power of wounds and scars will leave you breathless.

Engaging Jesus with Our Senses: An Embodied Approach to the Gospels Jeannine Marie Hanger (Baker Academic) $24.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

Hanger has a PhD from the University of Aberdeen and is an Associate professor of New Testament at Talbot. She’s a stunning, ecumenical thinker and has written a heavy, expensive book (on Brill) called Sensing Salvation in the Gospel of John; this, it seems, while not at all simplistic, is inspired by that heftier work and is considerably more accessible. We adore this in so many ways, for so many reasons…

John Barclay (a very innovative Paul scholar) says it is ideal for “encountering the Word made flesh.” Yup. He insists it is “an excellent resource for a fully embodied life of faith.”

That seems to be a developing theme here in this BookNotes, that a full, orthodox view of Christ as the incarnate One, fully human and fully Divine, can help us embrace our oneness with God but — and this is vital — become more fully human in the process.  As Barclay put it, “a fully embodied life of faith.” Because Jesus was embodied, we realize that the Hebrew worldview is fully right: we are creatures in a wondrous world that (broken as it may be) still praises Him. In this book we use our senses to understand the God of the Bible, made human in the gospels.

Insightful. Intriguing. Invitational. Engaging Jesus with Our Senses is all this and more. Hanger explores the intersection of the Gospels and sensory experience, building on scholarship from both arenas. The results are both thought-provoking and experientially rich.  — Jeannine K. Brown, Bethel Seminary, The Gospels as Stories and Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics

Echoing Hope: How the Humanity of Jesus Redeems Our Pain Kurt Willems (Waterbrook) $16.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $12.80

Okay, this strikes me nearly as a Lenten book, a book pointing to the echoing hope of the resurrection experience in time of pain. Our brokenness does not get the final word and we get to bring a little of “that future thing” — the eschaton fully realized — into the here and now. We can live with real hope, with hope of human-scale transformation, being more fully alive, even in time of hardship.

Willems is a very thoughtful pastor and an eloquent writer. This book is honest and raw, yet glorious somehow. I felt like I should mention it now as it really is a very solid, contemporary study of the full human-ness of Jesus and how we, too, no matter who we are or what condition we are in, can embrace our own humanity, our foibles and limits, as we walk with Him.

None of this would be true without the incarnation; at least we would not know that Christ is redeeming this very planet, the stuff of life, our bodies, even, if he did not so fully embrace the world He made by entering it. This mysterious relationship between creation and new creation is both a Christmas story and a Easter story, and I wanted to commend it to you now as we ponder the human-ness of Christ, seen most clearly in his vulnerability as a baby born at Christmas. Yes, yes, indeed.

Every page of this book asks us to ponder, What if Jesus actually gets it? What if Jesus really empathizes with us because he experienced life just like us? You can see Kurt’s pastoral heart as he invites us into the humanity of Jesus to learn from him and love him anew. — Osheta Moore, pastor and author of Dear White Peacemakers and Shalom Sistas

Shockingly few books truly illuminate the humanity of Jesus. But Kurt Willems has given us a rare gift–a beautifully written account of Christ’s humanity and also a tender, vulnerable account of Kurt’s own. To read Echoing Hope is not only to go deeper into Christ’s story but also to go deeper into yours. — Jonathan Martin, author of How to Survive a Shipwreck and Prototype

Jesus and the Pleasures J. Christian Wilson (Augsburg-Fortress) $14.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $11.99

We’ve had a handful of these for a long time and while I seem to think it is out of print, it’s a fascinating little study by a scholar of first century languages. With a PhD from Duke (and ordained in the United Methodist Church) he has been a professor of religion at Elon University in SC.

Here he invites us to consider how Jesus related to life’s ordinariness, its pleasures. From work to wine, from feasting to song, Wilson explore’s Jesus’s very human side, his Jewishness appreciating the goodness of creation, and the implicit call that Jesus, who would have valued the simple joys of a life well lived, expects us, too, in a distinctively Christian way, to also appreciate the goodness of daily pleasures.

These days there are still those around who do not fully believe Jesus was human and they still do not believe that devout and pious people of faith can be fully alive and fun-loving. If they don’t quite get 1 Timothy 4: 1-5, maybe this book will shake them up a bit. In any case, it, too, is a pleasure, reading a lovely, thoughtful, provocative book about the human life of Jesus. Cheers!

Flesh-and-Blood Jesus: Learning to be Fully Human from the Son of Man Dan Russ (Baker) $14.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $11.99

Speaking of somewhat older books that we have a small stack of (despite having gone out-of-print) this is a gem of a great read, a very fine book that carefully explores the humanity of Jesus. It studies themes such as fragility, the need for companionship, feasting, dying, living with wounds, and responding to authority — human stuff, indeed. Os Guiness has called this “a little gem — rich with quiet wisdom and deep insights, and beautifully written.”

I think you can enjoy, indeed savor, this book which has uncommon power and is what one leader called “stunningly helpful examination of the humanity of Christ, with rich implications for your life.”

At the time of writing this (2008) Russ was the head of the Christian Study Center near Gordon College in New England. The first chapter (“Manger Wetter”) is about the little Lord Jesus, the one who did indeed cry on that first Middle Eastern Christmas. Hooray!

A God Named Josh: Uncovering the Human Life of Jesus Christ Jared Brock (Bethany House) $19.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.20

Here is another great read which we’ve highlighted before and what a fun book it is. It asserts that the question Jesus asked — “Who do you say that I am” looms large and is ever-vital. Yep, we need a good and deft biographer, one who can weave archeology, philosophy, history, apologetics and theology to “create a portrait of Jesus we’ve never seen before.” That Brock is this writer is fabulous because, frankly, he’s a lot more lively than many other such volumes. This really is a solid book, but clever and captivating.

Aussie Mark Sayers says it is good for those who are unfamiliar or overfamiliar with the story of Jesus.

The same wonderful story, the same incredible Savior, the same good news… but written with such clarity that everything you thought you knew about Jesus will seem new and exciting. — Steve Brown, author of Laughter and Lament: The Radical Freedom of Joy and Sorrow

 

The Word Fulfilled: Reading the Bible with Jesus Michael Pahl (Herald Press) $19.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

Oh, my, my, I just started this and am thoroughly enjoying it. It’s a great read, a fun book, and challenging to me (even though I am on board fully with the thesis, which, oddly, may be controversial to some.) The author is an Anabaptist (that is, a Mennonites so a Christ-centered hermeneutic of the Bible is sensible, perhaps nearly revolutionary. It makes it very clear that we are to follow Jesus, even in the way we read Scripture. How challenging and how liberating. It is an art and a science, it seems, and these days folks from various theological traditions — the more sacramentally inclined liturgical folks, the Reformed Bible teachers calling us to a historical redemptive approach, those contemplatives invoking the lectio divina tools — are all noting that Christ’s incarnation is the very heart of the story, that “every chapter whispers His name” and Christ’s coming is the centerpiece of the whole unfolding drama of redemption. Yes, yes, yes.

But this books gets clear and honest about all that, not only arguing for a Christ-centered vision of the larger Bible narrative, from creation to new creation, but actually for Christ-like practices of reading well. If we hold to the doctrine of the incarnation, and Jesus is who who says he is, then this sort of style of reading is essential to learn. What an important book!

In this fine study of crucial scriptures at work in Jesus’ heart, mind, and mission, Michael W. Pahl not only provides a sketch of how Jesus read the Bible — thereby helping followers of Jesus read the Bible — but also provides a template of the formative teachings of Jesus. A splendid book in many ways. — Scot McKnight, The King Jesus Gospel

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BookNotes

SPECIAL
DISCOUNT

20% OFF

Of course not everybody gets a lot of time off over the holidays but I do hope you’ll have a few days of leisurely contemplation these next weeks. Lots of people tell us they read a novel over the Twelve Days or so, and even more (who may not spend enough time with fiction) promise to do so in the New Year. I go in spurts (while Beth tends to read more novels than I do.) I’ve been captivated by some incredibly well written memoirs, too, and, as I often say, they function much like fiction. What stories! What good writing! What imaginative construal of tales rooted in non-fiction.

But for now, here are some bone-fide novels. I’ve curated these sort of following my own flights of fancy. Most are new, a few were new to us and I wanted you to know. A few you’ve no doubt heard of and a few I bet you haven’t. In any case, pick one (or anything else you want) and send us an order. We need to keep our business thriving in this final week of the year and we’d sure appreciate your business.

ALL ARE 20% OFF.

ORDER AND SAFELY PAY BY CLICKING ON THE LINK AT THE VERY END.

All are discounted at the 20% off and we can send them promptly (while supplies last. Just tell us how to ship (as we explain at the secure order form page at the website.) If we run out, we’d be happy to order more of anything we’re short on, and get them to you at the discounted price soon. We’ll write back promptly and confirm everything.

In no particular order, a few fiction fancies for the end of ’24 or beginning of 2025.

James: A Novel Percival Everett (Doubleday) $28.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $22.40

I hope you have considered this; it has been on the year’s end “Best Books” lists from critics around the country. It won the prestigious National Book Award for Fiction this year and was a winner of the coveted Kirkus Award. It is audacious and wild and the mark of a near genius writer, what some call a true American classic.

I suppose you’ve heard that it is a fine retelling of Twain’s Huck Finn, from the point of view of Jim. What fun, what a creative effort, and, frankly, what an important contribution to re-imagining the dignity and roles of the famous runaway enslaved character. The publisher explains, writing that it is “a brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from Jim’s point of view. While many narrative set pieces remain in place, Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new voice.”

“A careful and thought-provoking auditing of Huckleberry Finn. . . [James is] a kind of commentary or midrash, broadening our understanding of an endangered classic by bringing out the tragedy behind the comic facade. And that is no small thing. I expect that James will be spoken of as a repudiation of Huckleberry Finn, but a book like this can only be written in a spirit of engaged devotion. More than a correction, it’s a rescue mission. And maybe this time it will work.” — The Wall Street Journal

Night Watch Jayne Anne Phillips (Hatchett) $22.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.60

Speaking of Pulitzer Prize winners, this took the 2024 award (and a paperback will be released this coming February.) A beautifully written work, mesmerizing, even, if heavy…  It was long-listed for the National Book Award and received all sorts of acclaim.

It is a Civil War era story, about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the chaotic aftermath of the war. One could say it is “a brilliant portrait of family endurance against all odds.”

The publisher described by the publisher like this:

A beautifully rendered novel set in West Virginia’s Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in the aftermath of the Civil War where a severely wounded Union veteran, a 12-year-old girl and her mother, long abused by a Confederate soldier, struggle to heal.

In 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.

Wellness: A Novel Nathan Hill (Vintage) $19.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.20

Who over the holidays has time for a 600-page novel? Well, I stole bits and pieces, late nights and Sundays to finish this extraordinary book by a very, very respected contemporary writer. (He became popular with his literary work The Nix.)

This story is so sprawling and expansive it is hard to explain what it is about, but the plot is fairly simple — two young adults, who we meet in the beginning in a rough, bohemian neighborhood of Chicago, have left their oppressive families (one a rural boy from the mid-West, defined to be an artists, the other a very smart and accomplished daughter of a wealthy and perhaps corrupt New England family) and fall in love. Their art, their studies, their involvement in the underground rock scene, all are beautifully rendered until, well, the troubles start. This book looks at the complexities of modern love, the difficulties of raising a complicated child, and the story swerves in various directions tracing backstories of everything from Elizabeth’s family’s ill-gotten wealth to Will’s tragic farming family. There is sex and longing and what one reviewed called “sharp scale” dissection of the paradox of modern American life. Omar Akkad explains what he means, what he sees in Wellness:

“…this hopelessly broken need to fix what may not need fixing, to reach with utter desperation for a version of better that may not be better at all.”  He warns: “Read Wellness with caution: it lays much of our little self-deceptions bare.”

I don’t want to give too much away but some of the multi-faceted plot delves into Elizabeth’s work as a researcher on the placebo effect, and at a clinic she eventually starts offering (curiously fake) wellness advice, that seems to work quite well. What is really true? What is really right?

And, late in the book, we learn about Will’s relationship with his father (who is new to the internet and falling for conspiracy stuff…) Will’s return to his home church for a funeral is particularly touching, even though there is no little ugliness.

This wry and at times very witty study of American self-improvement is, as Anthony Marra puts it, “one of the funnest, saddest, smartest novels I’ve ever read.”

“…one of the funnest, saddest, smartest novels I’ve ever read.” — Anthony Marra

It is ambitious (to say the least) and readers will stick with it through it all, even as it is (in the words of the great Joshua Ferris) “epic in scope, domestic in scale.”

We have a sturdy hardback or two here which are hefty and nice, They usually sell for $30.00 and we have them at $22.00; while supplies last.

Whole: A Novel Derek Updegraff (Slant Books) $19.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.20

In previous decades our friend Gregory Wolfe was legendary for founding Image Journal and setting up a network of artists, writers, poets, and cultural critics who attempted to express their creative endeavors in light of enduring, historic Christian convictions. A big tent hosting conservative Catholics and radical Protestants and artful evangelicals, Image remains one of the great cultural artifacts (and networks) of our time. (Our dear friend Jamie Smith edited the journal for a few years and did an extraordinary job, filling Greg’s big shoes in wholesome and generous ways.) In any case, Wolfe’s efforts were respected by folks like serious writers Anne Dillard, say, or Catholic novelist Ron Hansen, contemporary poets like Luci Shaw or Scott Cairns, and singer-songwriters like Over the Rhine.

After his departure from Image circles, Wolfe started a print-on-demand publishing venture and it has gathered a stable of exceptional writers, a respected coterie of novelists, short story writers, essayists, memoirists, poets. We carry most of what Slant Books publishes even if some are a bit eccentric, creative, perplexing, even. For those who like the best of cutting edge fiction with some sort of moral center — curated for publication by the widely read Wolfe — you should order nearly anything they do. (If you want a glimpse, by the way, of Wolfe’s own sensibilities, we adore his big collection, published by Square Halo Books, of pieces that early on appeared in Image. It is called Intruding Upon the Timeless: Meditations on Art, Faith and Mystery which includes engravings by Barry Moser) or his Wipf & Stock collection entitled The Operation of Grace: Further Essays on Art, Faith, and Mystery.)

Okay, so I have to tell you about this perplexing, enjoyable, incredibly creative, well-written novel about a weird guy — he talks to himself a lot —and his journey both caring for a homeless guy (who, in the first pages, he hits with his car) and falling in love with a religious woman who teaches lit at a Christian university. Joe’s friendship with the houseless Ronnie (and his dog) and Ashley, is just fascinating and I really was pulling for this guy.

Somebody — maybe Wolfe, who would know — linked it to Flannery O’Connor’s The Violent Bear It Away and, perhaps more closely, to Denis Johnson’s Train Dreams. It really is a novel about solitude, about longing, about what it means to be happy.

The voice of the main character, Joe, is funny, witty, even, and reminds me (I know it sounds like a cliche but I’m trying to give you a glimpse of the style) of Holden Caulfield of Catcher fame. He speaks casually, in circles, sometimes, and it’s a hoot. Or brilliant. Or maybe he’s losing it…

There are between most of the chapters these interludes of creative fiction some of which are very moving (one was so beautiful it literally made me wipe my eyes) and/or perplexing. I’m still thinking how they do (or don’t) fit into the plot, the dreams of Joe, the meandering glory of the power of words. Some might say they could do without these dream-like sequences and others will say they pondered them well. I have mixed feelings about those several page interludes…

But the main story, the crazy, lonely, idealistic, odd-ball character? I miss him.

Bret Lott calls Whole “darkly endearing, calmly frightening, sadly funny and starkly complex.” That’s good. It is a book I can’t stop thinking about.

The Goodbye-Love Generation: A Novel in Stories Kori Frazier Morgan (Bezalel Media) $16.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

If Bezalel Media (the given name of the author’s indie publisher) doesn’t capture your attention, you need to read a book or two on a Christian view of the arts. Or dive into Exodus a bit since Ezekiel is one of the first people in the Bible to be empowered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, that falls on him to give him artful gifts of working with metal and crafting glorious artifacts as his Spirited team of makers were working on the temple. This struck me and as I’ve corresponded just a bit with the novelist, I realize she is a thoughtful Christian that many in our Hearts & Minds circle of friends would appreciate. She knows Image and Hutchmoot and Square Halo and the like calls herself “a literary strategist” which I guess includes professional writing services and such. Her Substack reflects on “where faith, art, and orthodoxy meet.” I’m looking forward to her next big release, a collection of personal essays, coming from Calla Press in late January (Why I Dyed My Hair Purple and Other Unorthodox Stories.)

Okay, I won’t say much about this collection of what almost feels like short stories, all interconnected, moving back and forth in time, but each related to the tragic shooting of college anti-war protestors (and bystanders) by the National Guard during the Kent State University uprising in May of 1970. Even if you were not born yet — and those of us that were have the pictures seared into our brain forever, I’m sure — you’ve heard Four Dead in Ohio” by Crosby, Still, Nash, and Young. Nixon had illegally invaded Laos and Cambodia, expanding the unjust, awful war and campuses all over the country exploded. The Kent State shootings were the worst and most deadly.

The novel is mostly about the music scene in and around Kent State and those of us familiar with the area will be delighted to see towns (and streets and highways) mentioned as the band in the novel — the Purple Orange — travel the scene. From Akron to Ravenna to Stow to Cuyahoga to Canton (and over to Youngstown.) Of course they are booked to do a show in Cleveland. Anybody that follows the rock music scene will dig this, and if you followed any of this in the late 60s you’ll smile as they band rehearses covers of Guess Who or wonders if they should play “No Sugar Tonight” or Thunderclap Newman or The Rascals.

It is a tragic book, full of hard stuff, realistic scenes of sex and drugs and family fighting but the big question that looms is how the the war, and the protests of the war, and the violence that ensued impacted so many lives, even, as one reviewer put it, “becoming part of the DNA we pass down through place and ravaged hearts.”

I so appreciated this colorful novel, the interconnected stories, the power of the tales. Although, as I’ve noted, the author is working out of a comprehensive sort of faith-based worldview, this is not a “religious” novel nor does it offer any overt moral. It is art, it is moving, it is entertaining, it is a novel I won’t forget.

I, Julian Claire Gilbert (Hodder) $11.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $9.59

This book released last year and we had imported it from the UK through a distributor. It got a few great reviews but wasn’t widely known since it was published overseas.

Now, the less costly paperback edition is out and, again, it is being touted. With blurbs on the back even from celebrities like the controversial writer A. N. Wilson (who called it “intensely moving”) to the great actor Jermey irons (who was “completely hooked and considerably moved”) this retelling of the story of Julian (yes, of a monastery in Norwich, England) set in 1347 is sure to captivate those interested in medieval life or contemplative spirituality.

This novel has been called “tender” and “luminous” as it unveils in artful, entertaining ways, an earnest fictional autobiography of young Julian — the sadness of her father’s death, the spreading pestilences, the Church’s heresy trials, her visions. She becomes an anchoress (bricked up in a small room on the side of the church), develops a friendship with a monk named Thomas, and creates what really was the first book to be written by a woman in English!

The author is quite the scholar and activist around ecology and health and faith in public life, having founded the Westminster Abbey Institute. It is a story that is well-informed. Hooray.

Ahoti: The Story of Tamar Miriam Feinberg Vamoose & Eva Marie Iverson (Raven / Paraclete) $22.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $17.60

Paraclete, as I suspect you know if you follow BookNotes, produces lovely, often exquisite, books of faith formation, spirituality, Catholic theology, and sacramental discipleship. They also have a very impressive collection of faith-based poetry, an imprint about faith and the arts, and, in recent years, an imprint called Raven for edgy, thoughtful, provocative, faith-influenced novels. These Raven releases have thus far been very impressive for their aesthetic and their storytelling. Hooray.

This one is the formidable tradition of fictionalizing and retelling a Bible story or developing the characters from Scripture in interesting, engaging ways. This one is considered an excellent and illuminating project in this tradition and we highly recommend it.

Tosca Lee, quite the evangelical wordsmith who has had bestselling novels along these lines, has a rave endorsement blurb on the back:

Evocative, illuminating, beautiful, tragic, and triumphant at once. Ahoti is the story of Tamar we only thought we knew — a tale of faith and hardship written in breaking detail.

How does a novel get written by two co-authors? Good question. Vamoose lives in Israel and is an expert in the field of archeology across the holy land. Everyone is, on the other hand, a US Biblical studies professor and award winning Biblical writer. (She is a graduate of the Tzemach Institute and CEO of Word Weavers International.) What a collaboration, offering a “melding of Jewish history, folklore, and biblical truth.”

Flight of the Wild Swan Melissa Pritchard (Bellevue Literary press) $18.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19

I am not sure how we found out about this artful, excellent story released on a smart, indie, literary press, but we’ve come to realize that Mellis Pritchard is herself connected with the aforementioned Image journal. She is an award-winning author of a dozen books, including novels, short story collections, essay collections, and more. She is the Emeritus Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Arizona State University.

Flight of the Wild is another imagined bit of historical fiction — in this case a powerful fictionalized story of Florence Nightingale. Considered a brilliant and groundbreaking pioneer woman, the back cover suggests that her real “humanity has been obscured beneath the iconic weight” of the legend about her. I am not sure if the legends are all false — she really was heroic! — but, as those who have studied her a bit may know, she overcame “Victorian hierarchies, familiar expectations, patriarchal resistance, and her own illnesses.” She used her own “hard-won acclaim as a battlefield nurse to bring the profession out of its shadowy, disreputable status and elevate nursing to a skilled practice and compassionate art.”

A lush, lyrical story about the rise of modern nursing, through the eyes of this trailblazing Christian woman. What an amazing read.

The fabulous poet Joy Harjo says that “this is the best of Melissa Pritchard.”

Harjo continues,

“It combines her exquisite ear for tone and detail in story, her gift of mystic perception, and her sense of the historic layering of human lies and the evens that make our lives absolutely distinct”

Playground Richard Powers (Norton) $29.99 // OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

This has been sitting on my bedstead for a bit and it may be the next novel I dive into. Unless Beth gets it first. We both loved The Overstory (I think Beth read it twice!) That was surely one of the great novels of our time; the great reader Barack Obama said “it changed how I thought about the Earth and our place in it” and the tremendous Barbara Kingsolver called it “monumental.” She continued, about The Overstay, writing,

… it accomplished what few living writers from either camp, art or science, could attempt… a gigantic gamble of genuine truths.

Playground is equally extraordinary (or so says Tracy K. Smith, who uses that description of his prose, at once so insightful and poetic.)

This new one, which has been described as “awe-filled” is about the drawing together of four lives, personal, relational, but sweeping and panoramic in scope. It is futuristic, sort of, about meeting on the “history-scarred island” of Maketea in French Polynesia, with a plan to set whole cities afloat — seasteaders, they call themselves. Set in the world’s largest ocean it “explores the last wild place we have yet to colonize in a still-unfolding oceanic game.” One of the four different characters has become, in the story, one of the leading scholars of AI. Can you guess this is a story set ablaze with questions about technology, humanness, and our relationship to the broader creation?

Tell Me Everything: A Novel Elizabeth Strout (Random House) $30.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $24.00

Strout has been hugely popular over the years and she won a Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge and folks loved her Lucy by the Sea. I suppose not everyone was thrilled by her honest but graceful writing, but I know she is a favorite of many. This is her brand new one (which was immediately adopted as an Oprah Book Club selection this past fall), set in a small town, with lots of drama. It is being pitched as a hopeful, healing novel about “new friendships, old loves, and the very human desire to leave a mark on the world.” I think I’m going to try it.

Apparently the main character of Olive meets the character of Lucy. And whether you’ve read those two or not her writing builds empathy and care.

With tenderness, honesty, intimacy, and compassion, Strout uses her cunning powers of observation to draw readers beyond the mundane to the miraculous complexities where true friendship lies. . . . An absolute must-have. — Booklist, starred review

Forty Acres Deep Michael Perry (Sneezing Cow) $12.95 // OUR SALE PRICE = $10.36

A week or two ago I was writing to a customer who wanted a book that was humorous. Thoughtful but funny. Naturally I suggest any number of the memoirs or collections of essays by the great Michael Perry, a writer who we adore. Laugh-out-loud funny and tender and charming as can be, he is an earnest, decent, Wisconsin farmer/writer/philosopher, having written fabulously rewarding books on building a farm life (Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting) fixing up an old truck (Truck: A Love Story) being an EMT (Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time) and a very clever but informative introduction to the resistance scholar Michel de Montaigne called, Montaigne in Barn Boots: An Amateur Ambles through Philosophy.) I hope you can appreciate why we like this rural rock star (yes, he’s in a band, too), part time poet and writer and decent human being. We loved his funny novel, Jesus Cow.

I say all this to warn you that Forty Acres Deep, a short, compact-sized novella, is only a little humorous — he can’t help himself, goofball Cheesehead that he is — but is, frankly, deadly serious. It is (if one can summarize a complex, beautiful, novel in a nutshell) about rural depression.

It isn’t discussed as much as the devastating opioid addictions in often white, blue-collar towns, but failing, rural farmers are, in fact, taking their own lives at notable paces, and it seems to be getting worse. As those who have lived close to the land (and have built up a social fabric of neighbors and those you know and those who know you) are seeing their way of life eroded (if not out and out torn asunder) by what I sort of understand to be a rural sort of gentrification, more and more old farmers are killing themselves. This book is about that.

It is a heck of a read, not utterly devastating and not demoralizing. It is provocative in the best sense and I recommend it to at least two major kinds of readers. First, if you live, or have lived, in the country, in small towns near rural areas (and, further, if you resonate with the stories of Wendell Berry) Forty Acres Deep is a must-read. Secondly, if you are urbane and not at all aware of how rural folks live, this is a short and powerful introduction to a large population of what too many see as flyover country.

When the farm crisis came to a head decades ago — Farm Aid live concerts became a good thing, then — a few popular films took the nation by storm. (Think of 1984’s brilliant Country or The River or even the splendid, older Places of the Heart.) Now this little book might appeal to those who care about such things. And if you really don’t, it’s a short novel that might touch your heart.

There’s a scene in which a guy goes to a rather hipster sort of coffee shop in town and doesn’t quite know how to order. I almost bawled between my chuckles. There’s a page or two that eloquently (in this farmer’s voice, without knowing he’s doing it) summarizes the famous thesis of sociologist Robert Putnam about “bowling alone.” This sad man stuck in a harsh winter just can’t quite make himself live in the changing world that has come. It’s not what I’d call an uplifting read, except that it is. Kudos to Michael Perry. Read Forty Acres Deep.

The Beautiful Madness of Martin Bonham: A Tale About Loving God Robert Hudson (The Apocryphal Press) $24.99  // OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

I usually like to tell you a bit about an author or the author’s previous books so you understand the context of the new book I’m promoting. I could write pages about the great Robert Hudson, a very important Christian literary figure you might not have heard of. He worked in acquisitions and then editing at several important publishers over the last 40 years and has brought to you authors as impeccable and important as the great Phil Yancey. I think he edited Eugene Peterson. Etcetera, etcetera. He has edited and re-issued a prayer book from London from the time of Shakespeare (Four Birds of Noah’s Ark) and I raved here at BookNotes about the very fun and interesting, The Monk’s Record Player: Thomas Merton, Bob Dylan and the Perilous Summer of 1966 which is one of my own favorite books about Merton. He has a couple of volumes of poetry and likes to collect fables and kid’s stories. To put it mildly he is a literary wise man, prolific, and somebody you should know.

And, he wrote this surprising, eccentric novel, one of my favorite reads this past year. I might have announced it last year, here, but we finally met face-to-face at the Calvin Festival of Faith & Writing this year and I am so eager to have people read it, I’ll give another shout out here.

Two things: it is set among the debates within higher education. To oversimplify it is about the tensions between a free-wheeling spirituality course taught at a college and the more formal theological education happening at the seminary next door to the college. From angry deans to territorial department heads to inter-faith collegiate groups to imposing seminary programs, the whole thing is a hoot, setting the stage for the theme of the book: the difference between learning about God and actually coming to know God.

A group at the college sort of tentatively offers a course — the main prof (Martin Bonham) is a lit guy who is passionate about the mystic poets, the medievals and those great English ones — about how the faith of various fellow profs is experienced in life; that is, how they have actually encountered the Divine. The seminary teachers across the street are frustrated (offended, even?) by this and insist that (only) they have the adequate qualifications to guide students in such things. The Dean there tries to dissuade the college from offering such dangerous stuff, unhinged from their scholarly confines.

The mystical course becomes a hit, it becomes a department where students can actually study and learn in greater depth. And the seminarians have a fit. It’s a serious study in academic disputes, a fabulous discourse on the difference between knowing God and just knowing about God, all dressed up in the guise of a madcap and nearly riotous comedy. And a romance, did I mention romance? Hudson knows his philosophy (and his mystic poets) but this funny book brings his deep knowledge to us with lots of shenanigans.

Hudson has said that this theological comedy of errors is like a Venn diagram with which C.S. Lewis and P. G. Wodehouse intersect.

…like a Venn diagram with which C.S. Lewis and P. G. Wodehouse intersect.

Buy The Beautiful Madness of Martin Bonham today. It will be fun!

Let Us Descend Jesmyn Ward (Scribner) $17.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $13.60

Ward received her MFA from the University of Michigan and received a MacArthur genius grant. She has had residencies with some of the best writing teachers of the day and currently is considered one of our very best. She teaches at Tulane. She has been awarded two National Book Awards and is known for passionate, provocative fiction centering the experience of black women — in this case exploring the darkest chapters of American history.

Let Us Descend has been called “searching” and “brilliant” and “nothing short of epic and magical.” She is a writer you should know and this book — out just recently this year in paperback — is extraordinary. It is, some say, better than her widely read Sing, Unburied, Sing which we have promoted. The great Anthony Doerr, noting about its hard, harsh, harrowing topic  and yet guiding us through it “to ascend to the light” says it is “a spectacular achievement.”

Ward is one of America’s finest living writers… Her mesmerizing sentences, her dazzling description of the natural and natural, the way she coerces time and guides readers between a heartbreakingly familiar story of torment and moments of sublime tenderness, suggests a protean artist in her element.  —San Francisco Chronicle

The Surface of Water: A Novel Cynthia Beach (IVP) $20.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $16.00

InterVarsity Press (IVP) remains one of my all time favorite publishers and their nonfiction work has sustained many of us for decades. Thoughtful, open-minded, but rigorously orthodox, they’ve done books about worldview formation, cultural engagement, spirituality, faith, life, and Biblical living, creating just a lifetime of great reading.

It was only a few years ago that they got into publishing fiction and they have developed a small line of quality Christian storytelling (not to mention children’s books.) Their novels are good and we are glad to see them doing thoughtful, even allusive, artful faith-infused novels. They do not release a lot and what they do have been careful chosen and well edited.

Cynthia Beach is a name some of us know from her own books about spirituality and healthy living at IVP. She is a professor of creative writing (at Cornerstone College in Grand Rapids) and earned her MFA from the Northwest Institute of the Literary Arts.

Now Ms Beach has written a very fine novel —it is exciting to me to see evangelical scholars within the IVP circle doing important fiction. The Surface of Water is very well done.

Julie Cantrell (an author we admire) has said

Readers won’t be disappointed as Beach delivers an emotional story though beautifully lyrical language, presenting characters who stick with us long after the last page is turned.

It is, in many ways, this story about a megachurch pastor, about “a young woman trying to understand her complicated life” and, ultimately, about hypocrisy in the church. Newbery Honor winner Gary Schmidt calls it “a complex, richly interwoven story…” It is about spiritual corruption, as he puts it, the “allures of power and wealth.” A lesser writer or less nuanced thinker could make this into a one-dimensional cheap shot. It brims with honesty (as Prasanta Verma put it) but will leave you pondering much about faith, secrets, idols, redemption.

I Cheerfully Refuse Leif Enger (Grove Press) $28.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $22.40

Oh my, Leif Enger is the author of one of our classic, enduring novels here at the shop, Peace Like a River, released to great acclaim in 2001. (It has sold over a million copies, a few of them from here.) He doesn’t write much (his last was the quiet Virgil Wander. Now we have this, released early this year, and Beth gobbled it up as soon as it came. It has a plot exquisitely written by a masterful storyteller, a true, magical wordsmith.

The very fine singer-songwriter and novelist Josh Ritter has said  about I Cheerfully Refuse:

A heart-racing ballad of except, shot-through with villainy and dignity, humor and music. Like Mark Twain, Enger gives us a full accounting of the human soul, scene by scene, wave by wave.

It is, by the way, about a guy in the near future on a boat (on Lake Superior) searching for his lost bookseller wife. Music and books and boats, oh my.

Two-Step Devil: A Novel Jamie Quatro (Grove Press) $27.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $21.60

Quatro’s name keeps coming up, from being a favorite of several Image contributors to hearing that she cited in a talk a book I love. She wrote a highly charged and highly regarded debut about sensuality and marriage called Fire Sermon and this year’s release is getting tons of accolades. It is set in the South (she, herself, lives in Chattanooga) and tells of a an older mountain man, a preacher / artist, who paints his visions; he is called The Prophet and when he saves a girl from a kidnapping and hides her off the grid in his cabin, a friendship develops.

I have not read this but it is described as “a propulsive, philosophical examination of fate and faith that dares to ask what salvation, if any, can be found in our modern world.” Not bad for a spooky, Southern yarn, eh?

Many have raved — Tom Missell, Charles Marsh, Garth Greenwell, (author of Small Rain.) So much acclaim for her work.

Bestseller Lauren Groff says it is:

“A starkly gorgeous story of God and loss and art and love.”

The fabulous writer Margaret Renkl says it is:

“Beautiful and brave and brilliant, shot through with mystery and love.”

Banyan Moon Thao Thai (Mariner) $30.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $24.00

I am not sure what first attracted me to this, that it is considered a “heart-shatteringly beautiful” novel about a mother and daughter or if it was one of the recently acclaimed work by a Vietnamese author. I’ve read more than enough on the terrible Viet Nam story and several good memoirs about Vietnamese-Americans growing up here (including the tremendous Sigh, Gone: A Misfit’s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran, set a few decades ago near us here in Carlisle Pennsylvania.) I do not know if we’ve had many Vietnamese novelists here and this was a “Read with Jenna” pick, which are often quite tender, poignant stories.

This debut is said to be:

“…an intricately woven story of three generations of women, surviving and living each in their own way. This novel has everything yoiu want: desire, betrayal, grit, tenderness, pride, love, and — most deliciously — most brazenly, dirty secrets and sacred secrets we make and keep to protect what we hold dear. — Meng Jin, author, Self-Portrait with Ghost

 

“Thao Thai pierces the veil between the living and the dead in this haunted and beautifully rendered debut. This is a story about mothers and daughters, the chasm where misunderstandings accrue, and enduring tenderness despite the little hurts we may inflict on our loved ones. Most affectingly, Thai gives us characters who mourn lost origins, but who still get to decide what home looks like. A spellbinding and intricately layered story, Banyan Moon celebrates Vietnamese women.” — E.M. Tran, author of Daughters of the New Year

My Brilliant Friend Elena Ferrante (Europa Editions) $19.00 // OUR SALE PRICE = $15.20

One of our favorite customers alerted us to this four part series and Beth is on number two (The Story of a New Name.) This epic series starts with an exploration of two very different young girls growing up together in a mid-twentieth century, rather insulated neighborhood in a small town in Italy; there are strict rules for and roles regarding class and gender, of course. (These are translated editions, done with great acclaim.)

Gwyneth Paltrow summarizes it nicely saying that “Ferrante tackles girlhood and friendship with amazing force.” I know some of my favorite stories have been about the friendship of youth — I think of A Separate Peace or the great novels of Chaim Potok.

Emily Gould says they are “the truest evocation of a complex and lifelong friendship between women I’ve ever read.”

Beth loves this so much I’m eager to take them up, too.

The aforementioned wordsmith of great empathy, Elizabeth Strout has a blurb on this, too, saying “it took my breath away… so honest and right and opens up the heart to so much.”

By the way, the New York Times Book Review did a fabulously interesting round-up a month or so ago with critics compiling a list of the best novels (so far) of the 21st century. My Brilliant Friend landed as number one. Wow. I’m told there is a Netflix show. How about that? Start with this one…

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• United States Postal Service has an option called “Media Mail” which is cheapest but can be a little slower. For one typical book, usually, it’s $4.83; 2 lbs would be $5.58. This is the cheapest method available and sometimes is quicker than UPS, but not always.
• United States Postal Service has another, quicker option called “Priority Mail” which is $8.70, if it fits in a flat-rate envelope. Many children’s books and some Bibles are oversized so that might take the next size up which is $9.50. “Priority Mail” gets more attention than does “Media Mail” and is often just a few days to anywhere in the US.
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