![\"searching](\"https:\/\/www.heartsandmindsbooks.com\/searching%20for%20sunday.jpg\")
Held Evans. Searching for Sunday<\/em> told of her frustrations with her experiences of conservative evangelical faith and her embrace of a more sacramental, open-minded sort of mainline denominational church experience. Our bookstore has always worked hard at showing books from various viewpoints and theological traditions, and while there seems to be an abundance these days of well-written memoirs and theological reformulations that tend to move away from historic orthodox views, there are \u2013 it is helpful to know \u2013 many who are moving (shall we say) the other way, too. (None that are as beautifully written as Rachel\u2019s though, or as dynamically passionate as Pastrix <\/em>by Nadia Bolz Weber, say.)<\/p>\nThere is<\/em> an exodus from some mainline denominational churches which are often fuzzy about historic creeds and many of these disillusioned, hurting pilgrims are finding homes in more conventional, traditionalist churches, evangelical, Catholic or Orthodox. (Frederica Mathewes-Green, who has a brand new introduction to Orthodoxy, by the way, is a stellar writer from a decade or more ago who wrote Facing East<\/em>, a memoir of becoming Orthodox which is beautifully rendered, and a very compelling faith journey; Rosaria Butterfield wrote seriously of her conversion to conservative Reformed faith after years as a postmodern literary critic, religious skeptic, and lesbian, in her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert<\/em>.\u00a0 Thomas Oden\u2019s big autobiography, A Change of Heart<\/em>, about which I have exclaimed before, although not lyrical or elegantly composed, is a brilliant story of a leading theological liberal who discerned a fatal trajectory in his life and work and returned to ancient, multi-cultural sources, becoming in the process an expert in ancient North African Christianity and thoughtful evangelical pressing the church towards clarity about the first things of the gospel.)<\/p>\n Anyway, I resonated with much of Rachel\u2019s very contemporary, fabulously-written and tender book, and commend it. If you know of anyone who, like she, has gone through religious disillusionment and needs to find an orientation to faith that is less harshly dogmatic and more gracious, her story of refusing to give up on church will be an aid. If you are evangelical and concerned about those drawn to other sorts of faith experiences, I think it is a good window into the journey of many these days and will be an interesting read.\u00a0 Here is another review<\/a><\/strong> that I thought was helpful on this very matter written wonderfully by Katelyn Beaty of Christianity Today.<\/em><\/p>\n So, on we go; we keep reading, keep learning, enjoying books and finding good conversations around the creative sentences and poignant pages found in these blocks of paper and print. I have often said that it is wise to work through classic works and maybe even some dry tomes, but I do hope you find pleasure in your learning, reading stuff that is enjoyable, stimulating, good to hold in your hands and hearts. Books matter, and reading a lot is a good thing. It is a joy to serve you by alerting you to books and titles, authors and ideas.<\/p>\n Here are some new ones that I won\u2019t take time to describe in detail. Almost without me realizing it at first, these are mostly all about deepening faith, maturing, being wiser and better informed, able to take up Christians ways of being in the world. I hope you notice the ecumenical diversity.<\/p>\n One fantastic endorsement is from Graham Kerr, of the old Galloping Gourmet TV show \u2013 he is now a strong Christian! \u2013 which would make you want to read it immediately. The widely read and ever gracious Phyllis Tickle says it is the \u201cgentlest, most readable, kindest guide to prayer one could ever hope to explore.\u201d I love how she puts it: \u201cReading through its storied pages, one goes from \u201c\u2018I never thought of that\u2019 to \u2018I could do that\u2019 to \u2018I want to do that\u2019 and back again.\u201d\u00a0 Now that is a nice endorsement for a book on prayer, isn\u2019t it? And, there\u2019s all that fun French food stuff.\u00a0 Done in lovely full color art it is delightfully designed, offers creative insight and is a grand book, another in the \u201cActive Prayer Series\u201d published by this ecumenical, contemplative publisher. Beautiful, intriguing, wondrous.<\/p>\n Finding Livelihood: A Progress of Work and Leisure <\/em><\/strong>Nancy J. Nodrenson (Kalos Press) $14.95 Kalos Press is This lovely book is about a lot of things, but mostly, about a spirituality of work. It takes the \u201cfaith and work\u201d conversation in new directions, drilling deeper, offering ruminations on the nature of good work, on measuring our significance, or discerning God\u2019s call.\u00a0 I\u2019ll write more later, but it is extraordinary and I highly recommend it.<\/p>\n Here is what it says on the back cover: \u201cAt once a shrewd challenge of Buechner\u2019s assertion that \u201cthe place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world\u2019s deep hunger meet\u201d and also a lyrical journey to the place where labor and love meet, Finding Livelihood<\/strong> <\/em>explores the tensions between the planned life and the given, between desire and need, between aspirations and limits.\u201d\u00a0 Oh my, isn\u2019t that beautiful and intriguing and good? Don\u2019t you long for good writing and mature thinking like this? You will be hearing more about this, for sure.<\/p>\n Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Scott Sauls (Tyndale) Scott Sauls brings a voice of relief, a rare view, indeed. That there is a foreword by Gabe Lyons isn\u2019t surprising \u2014 Gabe has long made a case for a generous but robust evangelicalism that engages the culture without ideology or anger. Tim Keller offers a front-cover blurb, calling it \u201ca refreshing look at discipleship in our late modern times.\u201d\u00a0 That Keller observes the cultural location \u2014 \u201clate modern\u201d times \u2014 is not insignificant, of course, and is a clue that this book carries a degree of social sophistication. I think it is a very good book.<\/p>\n Yet, what Sauls offers is pretty basic: the gospel of God\u2019s grace, an invitation to color outside the lines a bit, redemptively.\u00a0 For those on either side who are weary of \u201cus vs them\u201d we need not be polarized but can find truth and beauty, grace and goodness, by more closing following the patterns of Jesus Himself.\u00a0 This book will not erase differences, or even animosities, I\u2019m afraid. But it might offer us a way forward \u2014 away from harshness, caricatures, and stereotypes, if only it is read and taken to heart. I know I need to be reminded of this call to civility and Christian charity, and I suspect you might too. Sauls serves as the senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, but previously served as a lead and preaching pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan.\u00a0 My friend Bethany Jenkins (director of the Gospel Coalition\u2019s \u201cEvery Square Inch\u201d project writes,<\/p>\n The \u201cconform or else\u201d mentality of our late modern culture is disheartening, lamentable, and transgressive to human flourishing. Yet the root of the problem isn\u2019t \u201cout there\u201d in our culture, but \u201cin here\u201d in our hearts. In Jesus Outside the Lines, Scott Sauls is authentic and vulnerable as he wisely and gently reminds us of our brokenness and shows us how the power and beauty of the gospel can heal us, from the inside out.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Listen to the eloquent reminder from Steve Garber,<\/p>\n Scott Sauls invites everyone everywhere into an honest conversation about the things that matter most \u2014 and therefore at the same time are the most tender and contentious for us. But he does so as a friend\u2026 agreeing to disagree where we must, but with love and respect, with listening and friendship. In our polarizing world, where the more we know about each other means the less we care for each other, Scott\u2019s vision is a gift for those who care about the common good.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n From Here to Maturity: Overcoming the Juvenilization of American Christianity <\/em><\/strong>Thomas Bergler (Eerdmans) $20.00 I displayed a big stack of these at two different gatherings of church leaders, recently, and nobody bought any, which This new book, From Here to Maturity\u2026<\/em><\/strong> is equally serious, but is Bergler\u2019s guide to help both individuals and church groups to move on from juvenilization, to grow spiritually, and grow towards spiritual maturity. This book explains what maturity is, why it is desirable and attainable, and how to reach it. Of course, maturity happens in community, and the ethos of our church or parachurch may or may not be congenial toward members growing up in the Lord. Some of this is based on research done in real congregations, by the way, and he has helpful appendices listing questions used in observing congregational cultures, and some observed characteristics of youth ministries that build maturity. Church leaders: you should know this stuff, and I am sure From Here to Maturity<\/strong><\/em> will help remind you of your own high calling and the best practices to ponder and enact.<\/p>\n The Complete Guide to Godly Play Volume 8<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0Jerome W. Berryman (Living the Good News) $29.95 \u00a0We have sold these unique resources since they first came out, and while this \u201cMontessori\u201d approach to Christian education is beloved by those who u As one reviewer notes, \u201cForty years of Jerome Berryman\u2019s thought and wisdom are reflected in this long-awaited Volume 8<\/em><\/strong>, the capstone\u2026\u201d\u00a0 It certainly fills in some gaps, offers some helpful introductions, and, we believe, will deepen learners of any age in their relationship with Jesus.<\/p>\n Becoming the Gospel: Paul, Participation, and Mission <\/em><\/strong>Michael J. Gorman (Eerdmans) $28.00 I don\u2019t often One can learn a lot by noting who authors acknowledge and thank. When one thanks Tom Wright, Beverly Gavanta, Michael Barram, and Richard Hays (among others) for reading parts of the manuscript and offering feedback, well, you realize you are in the top ranks of New Testament work. One reviewer says \u201cGorman has written another superb and groundbreaking study.\u201d \u00a0Another calls him \u201cone of the leading Pauline scholars of our age.\u201d \u00a0Maybe the best way to express how important this new volume is, and the acclaim it is already receiving, is to cite this endorsements from the back cover by Dean Flemming:<\/p>\n This book is a tour de force in missional hermeneutics. With clear exegesis and fresh theological insights, Gorman uncovers Paul\u2019s rich and comprehensive understanding of the mission of God. The book\u2019s central thesis, that Paul expected all<\/em> Christians not only to believe<\/em> the gospel, but to become<\/em> the gospel, and thus to further<\/em> the gospel, is completely convincing. Yet this study also packs a powerful contemporary message, challenging Christian communities to hear Paul\u2019s invitation to become<\/em> the gospel, in word and deed, where they live.<\/p>\n This new book, which I am working through carefully myself, were first given as the esteemed Kantzer Lectures in Revealed Theology, which are essentially evangelical equivalent of the prestigious Gifford Lectures (established in 1885 in Scotland, and still delivered and published annually. Wolterstorff has a book of those<\/em>\u00a0lectures, as well.) The first chapter here is introductory, \u201cThe Project: Liturgical Theology\u201d and Wolterstorff brings his thoughtful eye to what we even mean by this phrase. This quickly alerts us that this is not a simple book of zippy steps for better \u2013 whatever that may mean \u2013 worship services. Nor is it a book about why we should conjure up more passion for an awesome God, although, I suppose I should say that the author certainly would think we need \u201cbetter worship\u201d and greater passion for God\u2019s attributes. But this book is deeper then that, and, consequently, surely more lasting.<\/p>\n Cornelius Plantinga notes that Wolterstorff \u201cwrites on Christian worship with enormous expertise\u2026This book is a flood of light. It has all of the Wolterstorff marks, including brilliant clarity and powerful illumination of the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n Other back cover blurbs come from the esteemed classical and church musician Jeremy Begbie (who, like Nick, has written widely on aesthetics) and John D. Witvliet,\u00a0of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. Witvliet says it is \u201ca rare kind of book that can simultaneously challenge common assumptions about theological method, make bold theological claims about the character of God, correct readings of significant theologians in the history of the church, and inspire deeper liturgical spirituality of wonder, expectation, and hope.\u201d Wow.<\/p>\n There are many lectures of Dr. Wolterstorff on line: here is his first lecture from the Kantzer Lectures<\/a><\/strong> which should inspire you to get this book!\u00a0 It\u2019s about an hour, well-spent.<\/p>\n I mostly want to rave about this great book, too, which, like Solace of Fierce Landscapes, <\/em>is part travel narrative and part spiritual memoir and part theology of hiking. You should know that although each chapter looks great \u2013 I won\u2019t read it until I get to sit outside, later in the season, maybe on a pile of rocks down by the Susquehanna River, if I\u2019m lucky \u2014 but it is structured around his engagement with others who have written about faith and the outdoors; they are not all Christians, let alone Biblically-sound spiritual guides. Yet, as you surely know, we can learn much even from the misguided and odd balls (maybe we can learn especially from them!) There are chapters here on classic people from the heart of the Christian tradition such as Therese of Liseux, Thomas Traherne and Martin Luther, but there are also chapters on Gandhi and Rumi and Teilhard de Chardin. It may be jarring for some to read about the Anglican verse of the British Thomas Traherne in one chapter and the Buddhism<\/a> of Thich Nhat Hanh and the eclectic Lutheran mysticism of statesman Dag Hammarskjold in the same book, but there you go: Lane is a wild man in more ways than one. In fact, the first two chapters are under a unit called \u201cThe Power of Wilderness and the Reading of Dangerous Texts.\u201d<\/p>\n What looks particularly interesting about Backpacking with the Saints <\/em><\/strong>is how Lane tells about each particular author while climbing or hiking in one specific place, with chapters grouped around different legs of the journey. (In this regard, it reminded me of the classic Celebration of Discipline <\/em>by Richard Foster with his grouping of \u201cInward Disciplines\u201d \u201cUpward Disciplines\u201d and \u201cCorporate Disciplines.\u201d Foster is himself a hiker, by the way, and wrote a book with his son Nathan about climbing the fourteeners in Colorado, so here\u2019s hoping somebody gets Richard to review this book!)<\/p>\n With Lane\u2019s complex but clearly organized format we get cool chapters such as \u201cVenturing Out: The Irish Wilderness and Columba of Iona\u201d or \u201cSolitude: Bell Mountain Wilderness and Soren Kierkegaard\u201d or \u201cFailure: Mt. Whitney and Martin Luther.\u201d The last chapters, by the way, are in the \u201cfourth leg\u201d of the journey, a grouping of entries on \u201creturning home with gifts.\u201d I can\u2019t wait to get to the last chapter, \u201cHoly Folly: Aravaipa Canyon and Thomas Merton.\u201d \u00a0This may not be your cup of tea, but if it is, you are going to love it!<\/p>\n This new one is, simply (ha!) about character formation.\u00a0 Brooks\u00a0has written this book during, he admits, a period of soul searching, which gives it a certain humility, but also urgency; it is not a distant, academic bit of social criticism. Brooks has read, interviewed, and consulted widely, and the stories here are truly inspiring.<\/p>\n That he thanks Tim Keller for helping to shepherd him through some of this has caused some to speculate if he is moving towards some sort of Christian conversion.\u00a0(He writes about Augustine and sin and even a bit about grace in this book, for crying out loud!) The Road to Character <\/em><\/strong>looks at a wide array of people, colorfully and caringly described, who were, in many ways, great individuals, but who had deep flaws. He looks at the remarkable Bayard Rustin (a gay socialist who was very, very influential in the life of Martin Luther King) and Dorothy Day (the spiritually traditional Catholic convert who worked for radical social change with the likes of Thomas Merton and the Berrigan brothers), President Eisenhower and a host of writers, politicos, business leaders and others who served well in their professional careers but struggled to \u2013 as Steve Garber put it in the subtitle to Fabric of Faithfulness<\/em> \u2013 \u201cweave together belief and behavior.\u201d I don\u2019t know for sure, but I have reason to believe that Mr. Brooks has read Garber\u2019s substantive book.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t put too much emphasis on this, but the Road to Character<\/em><\/strong> starts with a bit of a survey of the stuff that is often said in college commencement speeches. That my soon to be released new book (Serious Dreams<\/em>) is a collection of college graduation speeches designed to offer vision and inspiration for young adults to take up their vocations in the world, for the sake of the common good, is, well, perhaps an example that not all such speeches are inane, offering advice about listening to the self, or focusing on one\u2019s own bliss or suggesting other sorts of self-centeredness. How we\u2019ve shifted from the virtues of humility and service to self-aggrandizement and a theology of Self is a complex and important story, and he tells it with his characteristic blend of social science, a bit of history and a dash of good wit.<\/p>\n![\"pray](\"https:\/\/www.heartsandmindsbooks.com\/pray%20like%20a%20goumet.jpg\")
Pray Like a Gourmet: Creative Ways to Feed Your Soul <\/em><\/strong>David Brazzeal (Paraclete) $18.99 Brazzeal lies in France (\u201cwhere he enjoys warm baguettes from the boulangerie and fresh cheese from the marche.) I gather he\u2019s a character -the back cover says \u201cwhether writing poetry, creating guerrilla labyrinths, or electro-meditative music, his work is inspired by the organic fusion that exists between the spiritual and the creative.\u201d Here, he offers bunches of ways to \u201cpray like a gourmet\u201d by drawing on all things foodie, imagining prayer like a find French meal, a flow of courses, one as good as the next, creative recipes, infusing all your senses, enticing you to return for more.<\/p>\n![\"FindingLivelihood-ag4-330.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.heartsandmindsbooks.com\/FindingLivelihood-ag4-330.jpg\")
known for being a classy, literary house that does thoughtful and beautifully crafted books of essays and memoirs. (God In The Sink: Essays from Toad Hall <\/em>by our friend Margie Haack was their last release, one of our \u201cBest of 2014\u201d award-winners.) This brand new book is nothing short of spectacular, and I will surely review it more thoroughly, soon. I believe it is fair to say that Nancy Nordenson is a writer to watch and that this book should be considered a major, significant work. She has written in places as diverse as the Harvard Divinity Bulletin<\/em> and Comment<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n![\"jesus](\"https:\/\/www.heartsandmindsbooks.com\/jesus%20outside%20the%20lines.jpg\")
<\/a>$15.99\u00a0 Perhaps the largest theme in the new book by Rachel Held Evans, that I reviewed last time, is her frustration with those who bring culture wars approaches from the so-called religious right to evangelical faith. She, and many of her fellow-travelers, have tired of that approach, and for good reason. Yet, some think, I suppose, that many progressives \u2014 writing with such passion about what is wrong with fundamentalism \u2014 themselves damage the church by fueling the fires of dissension. Are the religious progressives just the flip side of religious fundamentalists?\u00a0 I don\u2019t know quite what to think myself, since I have such allies on various places in the Body of Christ, and have worked for reform myself, sometimes with a bit too much self-righteous zeal. I tired of it all, a long for healing and hope. Or at least civility\u2026<\/p>\n![\"from](\"https:\/\/www.heartsandmindsbooks.com\/from%20here%20to%20maturity.jpg\")
discourage me more than I can say. I suppose the subtitle is perplexing to some, and maybe they thought \u2013 if they had heard of it at all \u2013 that it was mostly about youth ministry, as was his first one, The Juvenilization of American Christianity. <\/em>That book is one which you should know about, as it won a number of awards last year, and got rave reviews in both Christian Century<\/em> and Christianity Today.\u00a0 <\/em>That \u00a0first book\u00a0argued that the historical rise of the specialty of youth ministry in the latter half of the twentieth\u00a0century (for all its value) created new norms, customs, expectations, within American Christianity (mostly Protestantism) that were, well, juvenile. It is a dense and sophisticated diagnosis, and its acclaim was well deserved.<\/p>\n![\"godly](\"https:\/\/www.heartsandmindsbooks.com\/godly%20play%20volume%208.jpg\")
se it, it takes a serious and spiritually profound commitment to trust the Spirit\u2019s leading in drawing children to the Biblical text and playfully\/prayerfully allowing them to imagine its meaning. You may know that the various books cover various seasons, or themes; this new one includes 15 new presentations. The back cover tells us \u201cit also includes a wealth of capstone insights gleaned from decades of research and practice, as well as an appendix summarizing the foundational literature and describing the entirety of the Godly Play spiral curriculum as it exits today.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Becoming](\"https:\/\/www.heartsandmindsbooks.com\/Becoming%20the%20Gospel.jpg\")
write about heavy theology texts or mature works of Biblical studies. I\u2019m not particularly qualified for these deep waters, but I do know that \u2013 see above! \u2013 we must deepen our maturity as we grapple with God\u2019s Word and form communities of faith in the way of following Jesus. Occasionally, a book of Biblical studies arises that even if it is seriously written, deserves to be widely known, widely read, and should be well considered. Becoming the Gospel <\/em>is that kind of book. I\u2019ll admit, gladly, that Mike is a friend,\u00a0 and that I have heard him lecture on this very topic.\u00a0 Dr. Gorman\u00a0has several other books \u2013 some rather academic, on Paul (Apostle of the Crucified Lord,<\/em>\u00a0Cruciformity <\/em>and Inhabiting the Cruciform God<\/em> which are in many ways companions to this new work), a lovely book called Reading Revelation Responsibility <\/em>and a recent one offering a \u201c(not so) new\u201d model of the atonement,\u00a0The Death of the Messiah and the Birth of the New Covenant. <\/em>Among other things, Mike holds the Raymond E. Brown Chair in Biblical Studies and Theology at St. Mary\u2019s Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.heartsandmindsbooks.com\/The%20God%20We%20Worship-%20An%20Exploration%20of%20Liturgical%20Theology.jpg\")
The God We Worship: An Exploration of Liturgical Theology <\/em><\/strong>Nicholas Wolterstorff (Eerdmans) $20.00 Speaking of reading widely and deeply, and growing into creative, but orthodox, lively but sensible, whole-life, culturally-engaged discipleship, there is hardly a better person to give us philosophical foundations for our deepest Christian convictions than the estimable scholar Nicholas Wolterstorff. He is the Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology at Yale University and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. (And, he has a chapter in the book I edited, to be announced soon, called Serious Dreams: Bold Ideas for the Rest of Your Life<\/em>, maybe the most popular-level book Nick has ever found himself in!)<\/p>\n![\"backpacking](\"https:\/\/www.heartsandmindsbooks.com\/backpacking%20with%20the%20saints.jpg\")
Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as a Spiritual Practice <\/em><\/strong>Belden Lane (Oxford University Press) $24.95 Oh my, my outdoor experiential education friends, this<\/em> is one of the ones we\u2019ve been waiting for. We still need more really good, theologically sound books on \u201cfinding God in nature\u201d and on the spirituality of the great outdoors. Those who read in this field know that Lane has himself been nearly a patron saint, with his excellent and lyrical Solace of Fierce Landscapes <\/em>and another on geography and land metaphors in American spiritual formation, Landscapes of the Sacred<\/em>. He has another heady one that we\u2019ve really appreciated, Ravished By Beauty: The Surprising Legacy of Reformed Spirituality.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"road](\"https:\/\/www.heartsandmindsbooks.com\/road%20to%20character.jpg\")
The Road to Character<\/em><\/strong> David Brooks (Random House) $28.00 I simply don\u2019t understand the lurid animosity on the left against Mr. Brooks, and the nasty stuff written about him on blogs comments is inexplicable. He is, I am aware, a moderate conservative, and the tea party right thinks he is soft while the left increasingly is strident even about moderates. Maybe it is a case in point about the urgent need of this extraordinary book, in fact: we are a nation full of folks who are deeply flawed, and as we grapple with this we could become more noble people. I think Brooks is a clear and interesting writer, even though he is quite thoughtful and a bit sophisticated. His two books about the sociology of place and class \u2014 Bobos in Paradise <\/em>and On Paradise Drive <\/em>are among my all-time favorite reads, and the best-selling The Social Animal <\/em>is very, very important, especially for any of us who care about the workings of the unconscious mind, our interior lives, and how people change. As the San Francisco Chronicle<\/em> put it, \u201cBrooks\u2019s considerable achievement comes in his ability to elevate the unseen aspects of private experience into a vigorous and challenging conversation about what we all share.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Believe: Living the Story of the Bible to Become Like Jesus<\/em><\/strong> Randy Frazee, editor (Zondervan) $24.99<\/p>\n