NHP Resource Center

New Hope Presbytery Resource Center
New Books - Week of February 1, 2009

Click here to go to the Resource Center where all of these books are available to be checked out

Praise for Alive to God in Jesus Christ

The Moderator’s 2009 Lenten Bible Study

40 Daily Readings for the Purposeful Presbyterian

(Small-Group Study Guide Included)

What a rich gift we are given this Lenten season from Joe Small, Director, Theology Worship and Education. Alive to God in Jesus Christ not only presents an accessible way to nurture our intellectual and spiritual understanding of Jesus Christ, but we are also challenged to explore ways that our faith is lived out in our lives and in the world. Dr. Small brings to life the depth and breadth of our Reformed understanding of Jesus Christ, while touching upon deep social and personal places where God's healing and life-giving presence is yearned for. Whether Dr. Small's Lenten devotional is used as a personal devotional or congregational study guide, I would recommend that it be part of any spiritual discipline in preparation for Resurrection Day. What a gift to the Church!

Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow

Moderator, 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA)

Joseph D. Small, Director, Theology Worship and Education, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), holds degrees from Brown University, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Louisville Theological Seminary. He has served on the staff of Pittsburgh Seminary, and as pastor of churches in Towson, Maryland, Westerville, Ohio, and Rochester, New York.

Dr. Small is the author of Conversations With the Confessions (2005) and Preservation of the Truth (2005). He is a core member of "Re-Forming Ministry," co-chair of the international Reformed-Pentecostal Dialogue, and a frequent participant in international ecumenical consultations sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Centre International Reforme’.

Honoring Our Neighbor's Faith

African American Methodist Churches

Assemblies of God

Baptist Church

Buddhism

The Christian and Missionary Alliance

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Church of Christ, Scientist

Church of God

Church of the Brethren

Church of the Nazarene

Eastern Orthodox Church

Episcopal Church

Evangelical Covenant Church

Evangelical Free Church

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Hinduism (Vedanta)

Islam

Jehovah's Witnesses

Judaism

Latter-day Saints

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Mennonite Church

Methodist Church

Moravian Church

Presbyterian Church

Reformed Church in America

Religious Society of Friends

Roman Catholic Church

The Salvation Army

Seventh-day Adventist Church

Unitarian Universalist

United Church of Christ

A Family Tree of Denominations

LOST IN THE MIDDLE?
Claiming an, Inclusive Faith for Christians Who Are Both Liberal and Evangelical

"In this important new book, Wildman and Garner have done a real service to all people of faith who are looking for an alternative to the worn-out and unhelpful polarities of liberal and conservative. They describe a middle way that is not a bland compromise but a vital and alluring expression of the Christian faith." —MARTIN B. COPENHAVER, SENIOR PASTOR, WELLESLEY CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

"It is tremendously comforting to pick up this book and discover companions—other liberal evangelicals who have felt lost in the contemporary church. And it is thrilling to see that some wise predecessors have found their way and charted a path for others to follow. Wildman and Garner have laid out a trail of bread crumbs that not only lead us home but provide nourishment along the way." —BRANDON DANIEL HUGHES, PUBLISHER OF LIBERALEVANGFLICAL.ORG

"From the perspective of a clergyperson who has worked with church groups grappling with current issues, I have found that Lost in the Middle? gives moderate, thoughtful Christians position from which to speak, as well as a great sense of relief to find that theirs is definable stance that characterizes many Christians. Finding that their positions have strong historical precedents adds legitimacy and power to their voices." —VAUGHAN McTERNAN. PRIEST-IN-CHARGE, ST. DAVID OF THE HILLS EPISCOPAL CHURCH, WOODLAND PARK, COLORADO

WESLEY J. WILDMAN
is Associate Professor of Theology and Ethics at Boston University. He is ordained in the Uniting Church in Australia and has seven years full-time parish experience in moderate Christian churches. STEPHEN CHAPIN GARNER is the senior pastor of the United Church of Christ in Norwell, Massachusetts. He has just completed his D.Min. in homiletics, focusing on the role of first-person narratives in sermons.

Imagining Church

Drawing on their more than thirty years of pastoral and church consulting experience, Gary and Kim Shockley illustrate the power of imagination using personal stories born of their own quest to be faithful in ministry. It is their experience that it is only when we form a mental image of what we believe the church is and ought to be that we can help others imagine church. As they remind leaders, "If you can't see it, neither will anyone else." Rather than suggesting one model or process for church effectiveness, Imagining Church helps us to think more imaginatively about how God is at work in our present ministry contexts and how to open ourselves anew to the Divine Artist, who is ready to fuel our desire to be the co-creators we are meant to be for the sake of the church.

"As we live in a 'time between the times' for the church and its future, how blessed we are to have a book like this, written by people who have drawn their conclusions from actual ministry experience. As a result, their vision is real and compelling—enabling us to live in the tension between the need to preserve certain things while reaching out for the new things God has in store for the body of Christ." STEVE HARPER, PROFESSOR OF SPIRITUAL, FORMATION,ASBURY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

"By the time you finish reading Imagining Church, you will love Kim and Gary! With a blend of self-deprecating humor, biblical and theological foundations, and a rich storytelling style, the Shockley’s have created a resource that will help pastors and congregations imagine a church that is truly the hope of the world. They have included a wealth of illustrations, providing the reader with a plethora of ideas for things to do and values to guide the mission." MARGARET ANN CRAIN, PROFESSOR OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION, GARRETT-EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Gary A. Shockley is a pastor serving in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. He is the author of The Meandering Way: Leading by Following the Spirit, published by the Alban Institute in 2007.

Kim Shockley is currently serving as a Healthy Church Specialist with the East Central District of the Florida Conference for the United Methodist Church. She helps to identify areas of local church life that can be improved as well as coach churches and pastors through the processes of Natural Church Development and ReFocusing.

Claiming the Beatitudes

"In troubled times, hope often seems elusive, a vague promise of the future:
But Anne Howard transforms hope into a tangible practice of faith by sharing
the stories of young adults who take Jesus' beatitudes both literally and seriously.
Read Claiming the Beatitudes and glimpse a transformational wisdom for church
that grounds life in God's beauty, truth, and goodness." Diana Butler Bass, author, Christianity for the Rest of Us and A People's History of Christianity

"Anne Howard interprets each beatitude through the story of a present-day student
as well as Jesus' beatitudes. She brings the beatitudes into our experience now, beautifully,
readably, so we can answer the question, 'Where do you see God's presence in our world?'
And so we can say, 'yes, thanks' to God's invitation to participate." Glen Harold Stassen, Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics, Fuller Theological Seminary

"By focusing on how Jesus' beatitudes are actually being lived in the lives of twenty‑
and thirty-somethings today, Anne Howard accomplishes what few before her have done:
she takes the beatitudes out of the realm of pietistic platitudes or arcane academics
and puts flesh and blood on them. In so doing, she instills a craving in each of us
to wrap our own lives around these simple yet revolutionary words." Eric Elnes, author of The Phoenix Affirmations and Asphalt Jesus

"Can the beatitudes come alive for us today? The moving stories and compelling
reflections of Claiming the Beatitudes say 'Yes!' The questions at the end of each chapter offer
true-to-life challenges. The entire book is an invitation to conversation and conversion. Try it!"

Bishop Frederick Borsch, Professor of New Testament, Chair of Anglican Studies, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia

Anne Southerland Howard is executive director of The Beatitudes Society a new organization building a national network for progressive Christian seminarians. Before coming to The Beatitudes Society in September 2006, she served as associate rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara, California, a church well-known for its prophetic social justice teaching, preaching, and action. A seasoned and accomplished preacher, she is now preacher-in-residence at Trinity.

WHEN GOD SPEAKS THROUGH WORSHIP
Published by the Alban Institute in cooperation with the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

"Craig Satterlee challenges us to pay close attention to what God is doing in our worship practices. His transformational stories of congregational renewal offer inspiration and guidance to pastors and congregational members who hunger for a deeper and fuller life of faith." PAUL GALBREATH, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PREACHING AND WORSHIP, UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AND PRESBYTERIAN SCHOOL OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

"Craig Satterlee's stories about God's saving activity in worship will inspire you to return to your own congregation newly attentive to how God is speaking through the holy acts of worship in that place" MARTHA L. MOORE-KEISH, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY, COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

"Imagine: worship that is about God. With great poignancy, Craig Satterlee guides us away from the all about us' culture and asks us to rethink our focus on what we get out of worship and reconsider worshiping a God whom we expect to transform the world."

CATHERINE FAITH MACLEAN, ST. PAUL'S UNITED CHURCH, EDMONTON

"This is a book to refresh and renew our understanding of Christ-centered worship; Satterlee weaves a beautiful tapestry of unassuming yet profound stories to remind us that worship is, first and foremost, about God. This book will bring tears to your eyes, laughter to your heart, and joy to your soul as you enter the flow of its grace."

GENE B. MANNING, CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

"Craig Satterlee, where were you when I was about to graduate from seminary and become a pastor?! I would have given anything back then for a book like yours that would have helped me bridge the gap between classroom theology and 'real' church life."

LESTER RUTH, LILY MAY JARVIS PROFESSOR OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP, ASBURY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

CRAIG A. SATTERIEE teaches preaching and is dean of Augustana Chapel at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and dean of the Doctor of Ministry in Preaching Program of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS). Dr. Satterlee served congregations in upstate New York and Michigan before being called to LSTC. He is currently consulting pastor of St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Glenwood, Illinois.

Jesus, The Final Days

"Beyond the subject matter of Jesus' life, the essays in the book also share a common focus or intent. Both of the authors examine events
in Jesus' life from a historical perspective with the aim of reviewing the pertinent evidence so as to surmise what really did (or in some cases most likely did) happen. Craig and Tom, along with most Christians, recognize that determining what actually happened is vitally important to the validity of the Christian faith. Though not equal to each other, history is of vital importance for faith. What really happened does matter! In attempting to discern historical matters related to Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, the chapters also share, almost by necessity, an apologetic edge. While engaging in apologetics is not at the forefront of the authors' intent, any thorough evaluation of historical issues related to a given event necessitates the examination of other historical theories or claims already out there, and this book is no exception."

—FROM THE PREFACE

What do history and archaeology have to say about Jesus’ burial, and resurrection? In this superb book, two of the world's most celebrated writers on the historical Jesus share their greatest findings. Together, Craig A. Evans and N. T. Wright concisely and compellingly convey the drama and the world-changing significance of Jesus' final days on earth.

CRAIG A. EVANS is Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament and director of the graduate program at Acadia Divinity College in Canada. His most recent books include Christian Beginnings and the Dead Sea Scrolls, which he coauthored with John J. Collins, and Fabricating Jesus.

N. T. WRIGHT is the Bishop of Durham in the Church of England. He is the author of over forty books, including the popular For Everyone guides to the New Testament, Simply Christian, and Surprised by Hope.