"Next Sunday" (Nancy Beach and Samantha Beach Kiley)

TITLE: Next Sunday: An Honest Dialogue About the Future of the Church
AUTHOR: Nancy Beach and Samantha Beach Kiley
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2022, (192 pages).
 

Even as the Church in the West continues its gradual decline, there are many who continue to be faithful not only in attendance but also in service. In the midst of change, as different age groups grapple with issues unique to their generation, regardless of affiliation, there are many who care deeply about the state of the church. They want change for the better. They desire the wonderful community they dream of. They want a positive future for the Church. Spanning two generations, a mother-and-daughter team has come together to dialogue about the current state of the church and what is needed to change for the better. They share everything, their emotions about the past such as their assumptions, observations about apathy, disappointments, histories, suspicions, memories, and histories they experienced. They also express their hopes for the future of the Church. They ask the key question: "What will be most important for local churches going forward if they hope to thrive and not merely survive?" Through their family discussions, they manage to crystallize their thoughts into seven pertinent subjects. Both of them speak from their perspectives about how the future would be if they concentrate on strategies to deal with the following "distinctiveness."

"A Fruitful Life" (Yahaira Ramos)

TITLE: A Fruitful Life Journaling Devotional: A 45-day Journey Through the Fruit of the Spirit
AUTHOR: Yahaira Ramos
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 2022, (256 pages).
 

What does a fruitful life look like? A successful career? A large and growing family? A successful project? These might be the criteria according to the world. Rather than simply flowing along with what the world tells us, it is important for believers to understand what the Bible is showing them about fruitfulness. This journal cum devotional helps us to keep our understanding of what fruitful means in the light of Galatians 5:22-23, or the passage that we often call, "Fruit of the Spirit." Author Yahaira Ramos leads us through the nine attributes over a period of nine weeks. For each week, we can read reflections about the particular fruit in question, meditate on each of them, and write down our thoughts and learning. The pattern is similar for each week.

• Day 1: How God demonstrates the attribute
• Day 2-5: Ways in which we could manifest the fruit
• Day 6-7: Days of Personal Reflection

Written like a devotional, readers are encouraged to take time to read, reflect, and record their thoughts and insights into this book itself. By repeating the same theme each day for a week, one allows the teachings on the fruit in question to sink in. In our modern world of haste and rush, it is not easy to be still and recognize the presence of God in our lives. People rush in such a way that sometimes they rush God. A key understanding is that fruits take time to grow. They need to be cultivated. They need to be watered. The Holy Spirit will give the increase. 

"Do I Stay Christian?" (Brian D. McLaren)

TITLE: Do I Stay Christian?: A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned
AUTHOR: Brian D. McLaren
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: St Martin's Press, 2022, (272 pages).
 

Discouragement, disillusionment, and disappointment. These are increasingly common sentiments among evangelicals. As the author travels around major cities in America, he recalls familiar messages of people, especially clergy, who are not only questioning their own faith, they were contemplating leaving both ministry and belief altogether! The author invites us to ponder over the very question, which is also the title of the book: "Do I Stay Christian?" This may seem like a silly question, especially for those of us who have taken the label for granted. One needs to read the book further to discover the many nuances of Christian beliefs. In his typically frank manner, Brian McLaren probes deep into the heart of the cultural Christian, people who call themselves evangelicals but find it increasingly difficult to justify their association with the institutional Church or even the faith itself. From his own diverse backgrounds and varied experiences, he shares with us his own search for identity and probes with us the current state of faith and identity crises. He pushes the envelope further by saying that the question posed as the title of the book is not simply an intellectual exercise but involves matters of the heart, identity, and ultimate concern. Like a liberal arts professor, he prevents the different views as objectively as possible. He then argues from the two main positions before showing us the way forward that brings together the positives from both angles. Like a debater that argues back and forth between both positions of opposing and affirming the resolution, McLaren aims to show the best of both sides in the hope that we can find a reasonable path forward that does justice to both. Above all, whether one affirms or denies the faith, the gospel of love is to love both sides regardless. 

"The King and the Dragon" (James W. Shrimpton)

TITLE: The King and the Dragon
AUTHOR: James W. Shrimpton
PUBLISHER: Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022, (32 pages).
 

How do we tell the story of the Bible to children? How can we explain the great truths of the Bible that they can easily understand? In this delightful and colorful book about a good king and an evil dragon, author James Shrimpton writes a compelling story that should captivate the hearts and minds of little children. Right from the start, adult readers will be able to grasp quickly the story of creation, the Eden temptation, the downfall of Adam and Eve, the repeated attempts by God to send help, and finally, the person of Jesus Christ. With pictures that illuminate the flow of the story, children will be able to understand the simple plot between good and evil, and more importantly, God and everything else. Helena Perez Garcia illustrates the story well with lots of images that depict not just the storyline, but some glimpses of biblical images. We see the fruit of the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. We see the dark clouds of temptation. We see how the evil dragon uses trickery and deception to trip the world into sin. The debilitating conditions of the dry trees and dull-colored pages show the world in despair. The candlelight shows a small glimmer of hope in Jesus. Finally, the brave knight manages to slay the dragon, just like in the Medieval stories of old. This slaying is essentially about the resurrection of Christ that declares the victory of God over death, evil, and sin.

The strength of this book lies very much in the simplicity of the story and the captivating colours of illustration. In fact, the colours themselves tell the story of the contrast with and without God. In fact, just by looking at the pictures, one could allow children to interact by asking questions. This book might be brief but the opportunities for discussion are endless. The words are there to guide the general flow of the story, but the pictures illuminate the message in greater depth. This is a good book to help introduce young readers to the story of the Bible. Even though the messages have been abridged, they should be seen more as an introductory text to stir up interest in the Bible.

Kudos to the author and illustrator for helping reach children with a simple message of the Bible and the gospel message. I warmly recommend this book for Sunday School, parents of young children, and anyone trying to teach the Bible to kids.

James W. Shrimpton (MSc, University of Dundee) is a chartered accountant and hymn writer. He lives in Aberdeen, Scotland, with his wife and children, where they are members of Trinity Church Aberdeen.

Helena Perez Garcia is a London-based illustrator who specializes in portraits, editorial illustration, and book illustration. Her work is inspired by art, literature, and films, and has been featured by publishing houses, publications, and newspapers, such as Penguin Random House and BuzzFeed.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

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

"Youth Ministry as Mission" (Brian Hull & Patrick Mays)

TITLE: Youth Ministry as Mission: A Conversation About Theology and Culture
AUTHOR: Brian Hull & Patrick Mays
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Ministry, 2022, (264 pages).
 

Mention the word "Youth Ministry" and one might conjure up images of fun and games, or various activities associated with trying to be relevant to the needs of young people. Others might think about summer camps, retreats, Bible camps, sleepovers, and all kinds of fun outings for youths. As churches all over the nation age, the focus on youth ministry becomes more urgent. They would hire youth pastors, children's workers, and various support staff to attract young people to their churches and also parents of young children. However, youth ministries, and in particular, young people are going through massive changes in their offerings and expectations respectively.  In many cases, youth ministry strategies are not adapting quick enough to monumental changes in society and especially among young people. Having observed the Youth Ministry situation in many churches, authors Brian Hull and Patrick Mays have combined their knowledge and experience to point us to a crucial way of thinking about Youth Ministry: See YM as a mission field and Youth Ministry workers as missionaries. Like like conventional missionaries who study the history and work of missions, YM workers need to study the history and work of youth ministry. Missionaries begin by learning about the different cultures and contexts. YM workers too need to learn about the different cultures and contexts of young people today. Hull and Mays lead us through their reasoning via several detailed descriptions and applications of missiology for youth ministries. They answer basic questions like:

"Across the Spectrum" (Gregory A. Boyd and Paul Rhodes Eddy)

TITLE: Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology
AUTHOR: Gregory A. Boyd and Paul Rhodes Eddy
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2022, (384 pages).
 

What do Christians believe? What are the beliefs held by evangelicals? Why are there so many different views? If only there is a handbook to list down the different views fairly for broad understanding, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. That said, the main purpose is to enable readers, especially students to learn about the different views across the spectrum of issues so that they could better understand the similarities and differences within the evangelical world. Not only does it help promote a deeper understanding of one's own standpoint, but it also enables one not to misrepresent others. The authors use a common framework to discuss each issue.  There are many issues the authors have covered. They include debates about:

1. The Inerrancy of the Bible
2. Providence
3. Foreknowledge
4. Genesis
5. Divine Image
6. Christology
7. Atonement
8. Salvation
9. Sanctification
10. Eternal Security
11. Destiny of the Unevangelized
12. Baptism
13. The Lord's Supper
14. Charismatic Gifts
15. Women in Ministry
16. Millenium
17. Hell

"Seasons of Wonder" (Bonnie Smith Whitehouse)

TITLE: Seasons of Wonder: Making the Ordinary Sacred Through Projects, Prayers, Reflections, and Rituals: A 52-week devotional
AUTHOR: Bonnie Smith Whitehouse
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: Convergent Books, 2022, (368 pages).
 

Spirituality is essentially learning to notice and appreciate the ordinary. Christian Spirituality is to do the same with the perspective of Christ. Author Bonnie Smith Whitehouse has chosen the theme of seasons to help us through all 52 weeks of the year to do just that. She uses the Western Church liturgical seasons, special days, and metaphors to aid our reflections. These are then organized with a solar-liturgical calendar to give us a nice circular diagram of how to enjoy the different seasons of wonder. The purpose of this book is to enable readers to gather our thoughts, our community, and ourselves at any time of the year to reflect upon God. Guided by the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and the Lectionary, she affirms that the "circle of the liturgical year transforms our days into sacred time." Her theme each month is as follows:

1. January - Transcend Dualities
2. February - Discover Contemplation
3. March - Embrace Mystery
4. April - Welcome Incarnation
5. May - Adore Creation
6. June - Come Alive
7. July - Cultivate Resilience
8. August - Cherish the Holy Pause
9. September - Gather Courage
10. October - Light a Fire
11. November - Point to Love
12. December - Look for the Light

"Untrustworthy" (Bonnie Kristian)

TITLE: Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community
AUTHOR: Bonnie Kristian
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2022, (240 pages).

There was a time when many people had to deal with information overload. With technological advancement, the challenges of managing information have not only grown but have also multiplied. No longer can we simply trust the stuff thrown at us, we need to question their authenticity more and more. Questions like: Who is the publisher? What is their agenda? What kind of people are they hiring? What do they stand to gain? What political alliances are they a part of? Who is funding their business? Is it fake news? These are fundamental questions dealing with the tip of the iceberg of published "facts" and gross misinformation trolling the Internet daily. Sometimes, when a piece of news is published, one has to ask why before accepting what was dished out to us. We are in an information crisis. How do we trust news that is presented to us as "facts?" Author Bonnie Kristian goes beyond such mass misinformation by calling this a "knowledge crisis" (technical term: "epistemic crisis") that permeates wide segments of society. For Christians, this is also a faith crisis. Based on her wide experience as a journalist, she notices the incredible amount of half-trust being masqueraded as facts for public consumption. Whether it is the left or the right, moderate or middle-ground, all are guilty of manipulating facts for their own ends. The difference lies in the extent of the manipulation. Unfortunately, those who believe such information wholesale had lept to drastic measures on their own lifestyles. Kristian shares how some folks who feared a Trump loss would lead to an economic disaster stopped buying a house or curtailed their economic activity. From gay marriages to conspiracy theories, politics to Covid-19 matters, and how news media has led to divisions in various communities, misinformation dominates our media. These have driven a wedge that divides societies all over the world, even families. In writing this book, author Bonnie Kristian has three key objectives: