Book of the Month

Jesus for the Non-Religious: Recovering the Divine at the Heart of the Human. John Shelby Spong. 316pp. HarperCollins, US. $39.99

Says Spong, “I am convinced that a God the mind rejects will never be a God that the heart will adore.”

Spong looks critically at the New Testament nativity stories, miracles, crucifixion and resurrection narratives,  and contends that these myths arose because Jesus’ followers saw everything he did through the lens of Hebrew scriptures.

Spong outlines Jesus as a heroic figure who revealed divinity through his humanness and can still guide us today – a revolutionary, life-giving figure we all need to meet.

Other featured titles

Life in the Fish Bowl: Everyday Challenges of Pastors and their Families. 84pp Abingdon, US. $24.00.

“This humorous approach presents every clergy family and local church with a practical guide for living together in community and for keeping the parsonage in proper perspective as a tool for ministry in Jesus’ name.”  Rev Lynn B Mote, United Methodist Church, Mississippi.

Winds of Promise: Building and Maintaining Strong Clergy Families. Anne and Edward Wimberly. 163pp. Discipleship Resources, US. $33.99

Clergy families face unique struggles as they live in glass houses within a community and a congregation. Having grown up as "PKs" and forming a clergy family when they married, Anne and Edward Wimberly offer personal experience and hope for those who face the challenges of :

·         moving

·         meeting expectations

·         meaning-making amidst glass-house living

·         managing catastrophic life events.

Clergy: The Origin of Species. Martyn Percy. 205pp Continuum. $59.99

An astute study of professional and ministerial identity that will have implications for anyone interested in cultural studies, social theory, pastoral studies, practical theology and religious studies. Percy provides an entertaining yet informed treatment of the role of clergy past and present.

Settling In: My First Year in a Retirement Community. Richard Morgan 188pp large print. Upper Room, US. $34.99

Morgan addresses the fears of life after 75: loss of health, cognitive ability, short-term memory, independence and status. 52 scripture passages, meditations and prayer offer hope for those on this intense pilgrimage. Also by Morgan:

·         I Never Found that Rocking Chair: God’s Call at Retirement $24.99

·         With Faces to the Evening Sun: Faith Stories from the Nursing Home $24.99

·         Fire in the Soul: a Prayer Book for the Later Years $24.99

Ceremonies for Spiritual Healing and Growth. Henry Close. 157pp Haworth, US. $24.99

A unique collection of ceremonies for life’s transitions and important events. As well as discussing ceremonies, this book provides liturgies and step by step instructions. Events covered include: weddings, funerals, grieving, adoption, funeral for an aborted baby, support for a rape survivor, addressing children’s phobias, leaving home and forgiving another person.

Where 20 or 30 Are Gathered: Leading Worship in the Small Church. Peter Bush & Christine O’Reilly. 117pp. Alban Institute, US. $42.00

This book speaks to the challenges of leading worship in a family-sized congregation, whether in rural, suburban or urban contexts. Discusses the characteristics of small churches, the variety of ways they are organised, the joys and challenges of worship and preaching in small congregations and best worship practices.

Feminist Theologies: Legacy and Prospect. Rosemary Radford Ruether ed. 184pp Fortress, US.  $39.99.

This book traces the rapidly evolving feminist scene in theology over the last 35 years, highlighting specific contri­butions that have been and are being made. An enlightening history, with bracing analysis and thoughtful proposals for the future.

Strong Was Her Faith: Women of the New Testament. Ellsworth Kalas. 135pp. Abindgon, US. $25.99.

Kalas examines the Scriptures to see what we can learn about and from these 11 important women, and how they fitted into and shaped the New Testament story. Includes a study guide.

They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations. Dan Kimball. 272pp  Zondervan, US. $31.99.

Kimball tackles the six most common objections emerging generations have with church and Christianity. Each chapter raises the objection using a conversational approach, provides the biblical answers to that objection, gives examples of how churches are addressing this objection, and concludes with follow-through projection suggestions, discussion questions, and resource listings. Also by Kimball:

·         Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations. $33.99.

The Monastic Way: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living: A book of daily readings. Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild eds. 256pp hbk Eerdmans, US. $39.99

Chosen from the writings of monks and nuns from a wide variety of Christian spiritual traditions, both Eastern and Western, these wise, down-to-earth, and unexpectedly humorous extracts (one for every day of the year) show that monastic spirituality is intensely practical and speaks to every area of our lives.

Also by Ward and Wild:

• Resources for Preaching and Worship-Year A. Westminster John Knox, US. $59.99. (Allow 4 weeks for delivery)

Forty Days to a Closer Walk with God: The Practice of Centering Prayer. J David Muyskens. 138pp. Upper Room, US. $33.99

Muyskens’ guides you to explore a simple, biblical practice of prayer that leads to a deep communion with God and encourages a way of life motivated by the divine, perhaps untapped, Presence at the center of your being.

Walking With Kathleen Norris: A Contemplative Journey. Robert Waldron. 99pp Paulist Press, US. $20.99.

Norris, author of The Cloister Walk, is a major commentator on modern spirituality. Waldron carefully read her work and responded to it in an intimate, spontaneous daily journal. The book ends with an open letter to Norris: a touching and heartfelt tribute to her life and work.

Also available:

·         The Cloister Walk. Kathleen Norris. $27.99

·         Walking with Thomas Merton. Robert Waldron. $19.99

·         Walking with Henri Nouwen. Robert Waldron. $20.99

Now available in paperback:

Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life. Abbot Christopher Jamison. 182pp. Orion, UK. $30.99

No matter how hard you work, being too busy is not inevitable. Silence and contemplation are not just for monks and nuns, they are natural parts of life. Father Jamison, offers practical wisdom from the monastic tradition on how to build sanctuary into your life. Based on his BBC series

Amazing Grace movie and books

The film Amazing Grace, based on the life of antislavery pioneer William Wilberforce and starring Ioan Gruffudd, screens in selected NZ cinemas from mid-July. Click here for more about the film: http://www.amazinggracemovie.com/

Click this link to our April 2007 page featuring recent books about Wilberforce and slavery http://www.epworthbooks.org.nz/featured_books/featured_books_April_2007.htm

Bible Sunday Resources 15 July 2007

The Bible: King James Version. With Apocrypha. David Norton ed. 1928pp Penguin, UK. $29.99

Definitive and highly readable, this superb edition of the complete King James Bible is new to Penguin Classics. Presenting the text as published in The New Cambridge Paragraph Bible ($199.00), with modern spelling and clear punctuation, it retains the original translation's character and style but brings the book to life for today's readers. It also features a new introduction by NZ academic David Norton, maps and notes.

Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and Faiths We Never Knew. Bart D Ehrman. 294pp Oxford Univ Press, US. (2005) $32.00

Ehrman offers a fascinating look at the early forms of Christianity and how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. Covers various "lost scriptures" (including forged gospels supposedly written by Simon Peter, Jesus' closest disciple, and Judas Thomas, Jesus' alleged twin brother) and the disparate beliefs of such groups as the Jewish-Christian Ebionites, the anti-Jewish Marcionites, and various Gnostic sects. Ehrman examines the battles that raged between proto-orthodox Christians, who eventually compiled the canonical books of the New Testament and standardised Christian belief, and the groups they denounced as heretics and ultimately overcame. An eye-opening account of politics, power, and the clash of ideas among Christians in the decades after Christ.

New Revised Standard Version Children’s Bible. 900pp hbk. Hendrickson, US. $32.99

God speaks to children too! This edition includes many carefully designed features to help children read and understand God’s Word. Along with the complete NRSV Bible text, young readers will love the 24 pages of realistic watercolour illustrations, and 8 colourful pages of maps, charts and mini-articles about life in Bible times. The perfect Bible for children ages 7 to 12.

Great Themes of the Bible: Vol. 1. W. Eugene March. 143pp Westminster John Knox, US. $29.99

This first book of a new series for laity provides an accessible study of some of the Bible's key themes and demonstrates their import­ance for Christian life today. Discussion questions are included in each chapter making the book useful for church study groups. Themes include: God, covenant, humanity, sin, law, Messiah, Spirit, grace, salvation, people of God, worship, service, and reign of God.

The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Eugene Peterson.

NEW! My First Message: a Devotional Bible for Kids. Hbk 394pp colour throughout. Navpress, US. $32.99

A unique devotional Bible designed to encourage parent-child interaction, My First Message introduces children to God's Word through the best-selling Message Bible text, lively illustrations, short lessons, and a format that considers a small attention span.

Much more than a storybook, it's an easy and fun way for parents to teach their children about God's Word and learn a lifelong devotional method. Features include:

·         A unique devotional Bible for children ages 4 to 8

·         An illustrated design

·         Each story designed to be read in 10-15 minutes

·         Durable casebound cover

·         Fun activities for parents and children

Several other editions of this popular modern paraphrase of the Bible are also available:

·         The Message: Remix. Compact Hbk 2272pp Navpress, US. $49.95

·         The Message/NIV Parallel Bible. Hbk. Zondervan, US. $59.99

·         The Message: Three Way Concordance – Word, Phrase, Synonym. hbk 416pp Navpress, US. $39.99

The Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Larger print edition. James Strong, John R. Kohlenberger III hbk 1760pp. Zondervan, US. $79.99. (Please allow 4 weeks for delivery.)

The mos accurate and complete Strong's ever published, the only Strong's compiled and verified by computer technology, the only truly exhaustive concordance to the KJV, and includes the most up-to-date Hebrew and Greek dictionaries for precise word studies.

“Religion Stands Accused” – Books featured in Jim Stuart’s July 2007 Touchstone article

Order these books. Please allow 4 weeks for delivery:

·         God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Christopher Hitchens. Allen & Unwin, Aust. $35.99

·         Is Religion Dangerous? Keith Ward. Lion, UK. $24.99

·         The God Delusion. Richard Dawkins. Bantam, US. $39.99

·         The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. Simon & Schuster, US. $26.99

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