Leaders of Character,
People of Faith
Review by W.L. Prehn
The longtime pastor of the first President Bush and his wife Barbara remembers them not as a political family, but as disciples of Christ. They gave freely of their time, talents, and treasure to St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston and other ministries. Russ Levenson is a consummate storyteller who weaves together humor, deep ideas, sentimental episodes, true accounts of eminent Americans, and well-described examples of faith in action. Read the review.
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Tracing Alpha's Story
Review by Charlie Clauss
Nearly 30 million people worldwide have participated in the controversial evangelistic program known as Alpha. It emerged from the Church of England and has been embraced by many Roman Catholics and others. In Repackaging Christianity, Andrew Atherstone describes how Alpha has evolved to provide a powerful platform for a particular style of Christianity that desires a more intimate experience of God. Read the review.
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Lent and
Lent-Adjacent
Review by Cole Hartin
Esau McCaulley's Lent is reviewed together with two other Lent-related books, as the season approaches. The author provides an excellent introduction to the season, delivered in a sermonic tone, with flashes of insight throughout. His discussion of Lenten rituals is also excellent, with its insistence that the spiritual disciplines “open up space to encounter the grace of God” and are not meant to be burdens or ends in themselves. Read the review.
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Centered on
Christ Crucified
Review by Eugene R. Schlesinger
For 15 years, Brazos theological commentaries have viewed Scripture through the lens of Nicene orthodoxy, and 1 Corinthians builds on this legacy. Preachers would benefit from this volume's approach to a focused, unambiguous proclamation of the gospel. On a troubling note, in discussing the passage on lawsuits among believers, the author criticizes the airing of dirty laundry as bringing shame on the church. True enough -- but chilling to read in the wake of church abuse coverups. Read the review.
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Reading & the Spiritual Imagination
Review by H.S. Cross
Jessica Hooten Wilson's The Scandal of Holiness is one of four books reviewed together on the intersection of Christianity and fine literature. Wilson explores the spiritual function of imagination in the works of C.S. Lewis and others, and argues that if we are not cultivating our imaginations actively with good literature, then they are being cultivated passively by a degrading, idolatrous culture. Read the review.
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