"The Mentoring Church" (Phil A. Newton)

TITLE: The Mentoring Church: How Pastors and Congregations Cultivate Leaders
AUTHOR: Phil A. Newton
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Ministry, 2017, (240 pages).

For any mentoring to be successful, it must begin with the leaders. Jesus did that with the Twelve. Paul mentored churches through his letters and personal visits. The Early Church community provided the environment for the growth of communities that cared for each other and shared with one another. Going through a historical survey from Jesus’ time to the modern era, readers get a feel of some of the different aspects of mentoring through well-known personalities. In the 16th Century, we read about the great reformers, John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli. They stressed training in biblical exegesis; preaching; sound doctrine; and godly pastoral examples. The 17th and 18th Centuries are shaped by the Puritans, the German Pietists; and Colonial American Baptists. We come across names like Philip Jacob Spener, John Gano, and how they manage to mentor leaders in the midst of their faithful labor. By the 19th and 20th Centuries, new leaders emerge in the form of Charles Spurgeon and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Both remained committed to the ministry of the Word and the training of disciples. Contemporary figures mentioned include Mark Dever (Capitol Hill Baptist Church); JD Great (Summit Church); Scott Patty (Grace Community Church); and Al Jackson (Lakeview Baptist Church). After surveying the historical developments of mentoring and learning pointers from each era, Newton proposes four different models for us to consider adopting.

"Faith Formation in a Secular Age" (Andrew Root)

TITLE: Faith Formation in a Secular Age: Responding to the Church's Obsession with Youthfulness (Ministry in a Secular Age)
AUTHOR: Andrew Root
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2017, (240 pages).

We live in a secular world, or some may say, an increasingly secular society. For religious people, it is a concern because of the lack of faith formation. Young people are leaving their churches in droves. With the non-affiliated group (NONES) rising rapidly, many leaders are concerned that their existence are under threat. Without the youths and youthfulness, the churches will not only decline but will eventually lose their relevance. So many churches embark on programs for the young, hire youth workers, pour huge sums of money to build up infrastructure to make their churches attractive for younger people, so that they would stay and remain in their churches. This is not simply a problem about young people leaving the church. Neither is it about the lack of relevance and programming by many churches around the world. It is simply a challenge of faith formation in a secular age.

The author begins with the classic statement of the Canadian philosopher, Charles Taylor: “Why was it virtually impossible not to believe in God in, say 1500, in our Western society, while in 2000 many of us find this not only easy, but even inescapable?” In other words, 500 years ago, it is difficult not to believe. Now, it is difficult to believe. This book is essentially an expanded response to Taylor’s work, “A Secular Age,” using his understanding of secularism as a way for us to understand the context of faith formation in an increasingly challenging secular climate. Due to this secular age, churches are fighting a losing battle when they fight the wrong enemy. Without understanding the underlying currents of the secularizing effect, they launch themselves into energy sapping programs in order to attract the uninterested, the unimpressed, and the uninitiated.  For adults, they gravitate toward programs that reflect the MTD coined by Christian Smith, that Christian communities are buying into moralistic, therapeutic, and deistic beliefs and seeing them as more relevant that faith itself. Root indicts our modern church programs by saying:  “The problem with our faith-formation programs is our oversimplified contention that plugging the drain will retain the faith of our youth. Yet, as we saw in Part 1, our issue is much deeper.” Deeper because the modern realities are no longer the same as historical facts. We have given in to a culture of fear, a fear of losing our young; a fear of losing our present shape; and a fear of not doing enough to retain people. When we give in to such fears, we become more interested in people retention rather than faith formation. Of course, some people may say we need both, especially those who argue that retention must exist before formation could happen. Yet, these efforts seem doomed to fail later, if not sooner.

"Eyes to See" (Compassion Canada)

TITLE: Eyes to See -Reflecting God's Love to a World in Need
AUTHOR: Compassion Canada
PUBLISHER: London, ON: Compassion Canada, 2017, (152 pages).

One of the greatest biblical indictments about the human race is this: People have eyes but not see. Used frequently in the Old Testament judgments of a rebellious people of Israel, prophets have constantly railed against the disobedience of the Israelites. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah had frequently reprimanded the Israelites for their insensitivity to the call of God. Jesus also rebuked the religious leaders in the first century about their stubborn hearts and closed minds. For many of us in modern world, sometimes we get compassion fatigue where we see so many needs around us that we simply got overwhelmed to the point of inaction. Others presume good intentions are enough. Others deem themselves too small and unable to do anything helpful at all. Poverty is real. Some images of poverty may guilt-trip us into action. Yet, we need something far more substantial in order to make some difference in the world. This is where this book enters in. Rather than simply rely on random images of poverty or TV commercial to jiggle our heart strings, this book provides a six week journey to sharpen our vision and our compassion for people in need. At the end of the 30-days exercise, it is hoped that readers will not only develop eyes to see but hands and feet that are ready for action.

"Calling All Years Good" (Kathleen A. Cahalan & Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore)

TITLE: Calling All Years Good: Christian Vocation throughout Life's Seasons
AUTHOR: Kathleen A. Cahalan & Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids. MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2017, (208 pages).

What is calling? Is a person called only with regard to a particular career or vocation? If that is so, what about people who have retired? What about those who are unable to work for some reason? Do they not have a calling as well? Addressing this is a powerful expansion of calling to address this conventional lopsided understanding of calling. We tend to think of vocation as some kind of a question that could be answered once and for all. Whether it be a Full-Time ministry engagement or a particular career work, people have tended to restrict their understanding of vocation only in one particular part of their life. What about transitions in between vocations? What about life stages? What about retirement? Is there a different calling for each life stage? Or is there only one calling for all of life? These questions are boldly dealt with in this collection of articles that reflect on six phases of life: Childhood; Adolescence; Younger Adulthood; Middle Adulthood; Late Adulthood; and Older Adulthood. No one phase should be allowed to define one’s whole life, for each phase comes with unique challenges and specific contexts. Questions asked during one phase would either be asked differently or be irrelevant altogether in another phase. The key question being asked “What would a lifelong perspective do to our understanding of vocation?”

"Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day" (Peter Scazzero)

TITLE: Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day: A 40-Day Journey to Deeply Change Your Relationships
AUTHOR: Peter Scazzero
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017, (272 pages).

Brother Lawrence teaches us to practice the presence of God in the midst of work and doing our daily chores. Advocates of the marketplace ministries assert that Christian living need not be restricted to just Sundays or weekends. Benedictine monks through the centuries have practiced the daily office and liturgy of the hours so that they could saturate the day of work with prayers and praises. All of these are ways to instil a sense of being mindful of God's presence in all of our daily lives. Strictly speaking, the "Daily Office" is about fixed time prayers throughout the day, where prayers and devotions are the first work of the day, and interspersed at regular intervals for the rest of the day. St Benedict structured eight daily offices so that the community could order their lives around it. Using this ancient spiritual practice, author Peter Scazzero has creatively arranged his bestselling "Emotionally Health" themes to help us grow in emotional health within a 40-day period.  This is spread out in eight weeks to parallel the eight daily offices.

• Week One: Take Your Community Temperature Reading
• Week Two: Stop Mind Reading and Clarify Expectations
• Week Three: Genogram Your Family
• Week Four: Explore the Iceberg
• Week Five: Listen Incarnationally
• Week Six: Climb the Ladder of Integrity
• Week Seven: Fight Clean
• Week Eight: Develop a Rule of Life to Implement Emotionally Healthy Skills

"Spiritual Maturity" (J. Oswald Sanders)

TITLE: Spiritual Maturity: Principles of Spiritual Growth for Every Believer (Sanders Spiritual Growth Series)
AUTHOR: J. Oswald Sanders
PUBLISHER: Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2017, (288 pages).

We grow not because of our efforts and programs. We grow because of God's grace and mercy. More importantly, we grow according to the holy character of God Himself in the Triune Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The key thesis in this book is that spiritual maturity is about growing in holiness according to God the Father; growing in conformity to the image of Christ; and growing in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Written in three parts, each part is devoted to describing the unique ways we can grow in accordance to God's Personal Character.

In Part One, we learn about trusting in God's providence; revering in God's holiness; gratitude about God's Perseverance; accepting of God's disciplines; hoping in God's ultimate deliverance; and looking forward to God's ultimate promises in time to come. Part Two reveals to us the vision of God in Christ; the humble sacrifice of Christ as Lamb; the way Christ prayed for us; the costs of discipleship; the personal pleas for us to follow Him; and learning to live victoriously in Christ. Part Three is about the ways of the Holy Spirit through the transforming power; the purging fire; the powerful outworking of God's will in gifts and signs; and the evangelization of the world. Each chapter begins with a Bible verse followed by a passage to be read. Sanders then launches into a devotional cum reflection on the Character of God as described in the passage. With vivid illustrations and powerful images of God's Personhood, Sanders does not simply show us the light to spiritual growth, he lets God be illuminated through the pages to teach us the ways of God and the path toward spiritual maturity.

"Meditations on the Trinity" (A.W. Tozer)

TITLE: Meditations on the Trinity: Beauty, Mystery, and Glory in the Life of God
AUTHOR: A.W. Tozer
PUBLISHER: Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2017, (320 pages).

The doctrine of the Trinity is most foundational to the Christian faith. All cults, heresies, and alternative religions differ from orthodox Christianity on this point alone. There is beauty, mystery, and glory of the Triune God. Instead of following the many theologians and scholars who have covered the doctrinal and theological basis of the Trinity, Tozer shows us both the theological and devotional aspect. The Christian life begins with God, and our Christian living begins with reflections on the character of God and how we are to live according to how God had revealed himself. This is the key purpose of this book.

There are four parts to the book. The first comprises reflections on God the Father. It points out God being in existence right from the beginning; that He is Creator; He is Immanent; and eternal; Immortal; and all the fine divine attributes believers often talk about. The second describes God the Son, His humanity; His divinity; His Personhood; Relationship with people; the gospel; the Passion; the Cross; etc. The third is on the Holy Spirit; His Presence; Pentecost; Comforter; Indweller; etc. The fourth part brings all of these together to emphasize the unity of God.

All the articles are brief reflections and could be used as daily devotionals. They begins with a verse from the Bible followed by a brief description of God, ending with a prayer. Do not let the brevity of the chapters deceive. Tozer has a gift of conveying profound thoughts of God through brief notes. Coupled with his pastoral experience, he not only describes God through the interpretation of Scripture, but what ignorant and feeble human souls need. As I read the pages, I sense a gentle persuasion toward worship and rightly so. Any theology cannot remain in theory form, but must lead to doxology.

A.W. Tozer was formerly a pastor at Southside Alliance Church in Chicago. He was a prolific writer and his books continued to impact many believers in their Christian walk.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Moody Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.