"Churches and the Crisis of Decline" (Andrew Root)

TITLE: Churches and the Crisis of Decline: A Hopeful, Practical Ecclesiology for a Secular Age (Ministry in a Secular Age)
AUTHOR: Andrew Root
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2022, (304 pages).
 

Saying that the Church in the West is on the decline is nothing new. The Church at large is in a crisis. Even before the pandemic, many churches are already in dire straits. Older people are decreasing with attrition. Young people are leaving because of disillusion. The majority of the rest in between is basically too busy with their own concerns to be worried about Church! Yet, what exactly is causing this? What are the roots behind this decline? Is there hope for the Church? What can we do about it? The problem: No pulse. That means the heart had stopped and the demise is declared. In a stark and shocking picture of the state of the Church, Author Andrew Root shows how a formerly thriving church had turned into a pub! This fictional story of a gentrified neighborhood commercial pub is called "Church Brewhouse" once it has taken over an old church building. How does a Church survive the secular onslaught? What is behind the disillusionment? 

He eases theological discussion with a story of people struggling to keep the faith. From John the Baptist to Karl Barth, sacred places to secular influences, Root poses several observations about life, faith, and what it means to be Church.

"What are Christians For?" (Jake Meador)

TITLE: What Are Christians For?: Life Together at the End of the World
AUTHOR: Jacob R. Meador
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2021, (192 pages).
 

In a self-driven, self-seeking, and self-centered world, it is common to ask questions about one's identity, purpose, and significance. Who am I? What am I called to do? What is my purpose in life? These are all familiar questions about the self. What if we take some time to think about our role in the community we are in? What if we take it even further to think about our role as believers in Christ? What if more of us recognize that the individual is incomplete without the whole body of believers? What if we begin not with the self in mind, but with the people, the very people that God has called us to love and to be a part of? That changes everything. In a powerful reminder of how interdependent we truly are, author Jake Meador shares with us the simple but powerful effects of simply being faithful to our calling no matter where we are. Called the "whole life approach," Meador draws our attention to the need for believers to be active in social justice and everyday spirituality. Like how Father Ted played his part in supporting the persecuted during the apartheid in South Africa, or how Frederick Douglass helped battle slavery in the 19th Century. Why are not more people stepping up to do the good that they ought to do? Why are we not seeing more of such radical practices in our modern world? Why are we increasingly disenfranchised with society, with political divisions, and isolated? Meador uses the title of the book as a veiled challenge to all Christians to do something about authentic discipleship. This book is a guide to help us understand the reasons why we fail to live up to the expectations of our callings; to remind us once again of our need for interdependency, and the courage we need to step up. 

"Listening Well" (Heather Morris)

TITLE: Listening Well: Bringing Stories of Hope to Life
AUTHOR: Heather Morris
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: St Martin's Press, 2022, (320 pages).
 

Do not even try to judge until one has walked a mile in someone else's shoes. This message rings throughout this book that urges us to listen before we speak. As we deal with the pandemic that has crippled much of the world, we need to reset our expectations and adjust to a new world. This makes the message of learning to walk in another person's shoes even louder. Author Heather Morris is a sharp observer of cultural changes happening during this time. She shares with us stories of hope that could only be understood if we care enough to listen and learn. Perhaps, even as Covid-19 continues to ravage the world's economy and stifle human relationships, we could still consolidate our resources and begin the process of rebuilding. Rather than pretend we have all the answers, why not ask questions on how people are doing? Instead of presuming what we need, why not listen carefully to the voices that are largely muted for whatever reason? Listening is an art that needs to be learned and cultivated over time. Not only that, we could learn many things from people of all ages. We can listen to the elders, children, peers, adults, and even ourselves. In listening to elders, Morris takes us back to her time with her own grandparents and great-grandparents, learning about the war and also about the need to talk less and listen more. She learns from a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor who shared the guilt of those who made it out alive.

"Preaching Life-Changing Sermons" (Jesse L. Nelson)

TITLE: Preaching Life-Changing Sermons: Six Steps to Developing and Delivering Biblical Messages
AUTHOR: Jess L. Nelson
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2022, (144 pages).

What is the purpose of preaching? For some, it is about giving instructions for living. Others see it as a way to relay information people needed to hear. Still, there are those who simply preach without thinking too much about it. For author and pastor Jesse Nelson, preaching is essentially about changing lives. The way to do that is to simply preach the biblical text. Nelson teaches us how we could preach the Bible faithfully and passionately via six steps. They are:

1. Seeking the Spirit
2. Selecting the Scripture
3. Studying the Scripture
4. Structuring the Sermon
5. Speaking in the Spirit
6. Sharing the Saviour

"Seeking the Spirit" reminds us that God's Word is to be taught according to the Spirit's leading. Through the disciplines of prayer, study, solitude, service, and submission, we let the Spirit guide us in the process of listening and discerning the texts to be preached. This is a crucial first step to enable us to be attentive to the leading of the Spirit. The second step is to select the Scripture. Nelson prefers to preach on whole books of the Bible. When it comes to selecting the texts, he uses two key questions: 

"No Shortcut to Success" (Matt Rhodes)

TITLE: No Shortcut to Success: A Manifesto for Modern Missions (9Marks)
AUTHOR: Matt Rhodes
PUBLISHER: Wheaton IL: Crossway Publishers, 2022, (272 pages).
 

In a quick-fix society, people want fast results and easy solutions. If there are short-cuts, take it. If not, make one. This has unfortunately impacted the philosophy of Christian missions. Thinking that modern methods could spark a quick and easy approach toward missions, many people are looking for ways to bypass traditional approaches by adopting quick-fixes and practices. This has appeared in various forms that seem logical at a superficial level but lack foundations. Author Matt Rhodes gives a critical analysis on the popular shortcuts being adopted in many modern approaches to missions. Some feel that professionalism is to be avoided in favor of relational skills. Others prefer speed or silver bullet strategies. Still there are some who are skeptical of anything too "intellectual" or "academic." The temptations are real. Just hearing about "amazing successes" from anecdotal sources might scupper any attempts to be trained in the traditional ways. Such sources tempt planners with numbers like some success story. Rhodes critiques the Church Planting Movements for their overemphasis on rapid growth instead of biblical shepherding. He questions the notion of a DNA for rapid growth, saying that they prioritize sociology over theology. In a nutshell, such approaches tend to be based on management over biblical principles; numbers over patience; results over means; and human expectations over spiritual movements. 

"Reading the Prophets as Christian Scripture" (Eric J. Tully)

TITLE: Reading the Prophets as Christian Scripture: A Literary, Canonical, and Theological Introduction (Reading Christian Scripture)
AUTHOR: Eric J. Tully
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2022, (432 pages).
 

When we think of the prophets, we often think about the Old Testament and the constant refrain of powerful warnings and prophecies. Few people would think about the New Testament or the letters from the disciples of Jesus. While the Church in general professes both the Old and New Testament as the Word of God, there is a tendency for many to discard Old Testament Scriptures as ancient or irrelevant. Many scholars and theologians have tried to present the two testaments as wholly revealed Word of God authoritative and relevant for the Church today, albeit with varying levels of success. While the ancient texts apply directly to a time no longer existent, there are many principles and prophecies that are still relevant today. Author Eric Tully aims to help us "read" the ancient OT prophets as "Christian Scripture" and to equip our reading with contemporary application in mind. How do modern readers appreciate and understand the Old Testament prophets? How does God speak to us today from the prophets of old? How could the prophets speaking in an ancient context still be relevant for us today? Author-Professor Eric Tully is fully aware of the negative views of the Old Testament prophetical books.