For anyone paying close attention to BookNotes, you may note that the last few appeared at our website (where they are forever archived) but didn’t hit subscriber’s email until several days later. There have been tech issues with the service we have that sends these book reviews to those who have subscribed, so we have secured a new (and hopefully more reliable) mail service provider. Not that most people care, but our BookNotes newsletter, from our Hearts & Minds bookstore blog, is now delivered to your inbox by MailPoet. Not a bad name for us to write a check out to each month.

And, more interestingly, you probably noticed some good books for Lenten reading that we shared last week, and some links to older BookNotes that announced other, older devotionals or studies for Lent. It’s not too late to order those at 20% off, ya know.

We realize that not everyone likes the page-a-day sort of devotional format even if you want to take some extra time to read reflectively this season. Not to worry: I’ve put together a list of a dozen or so other books (mostly new or recent) that might be good to pick up now as we shift gears and allow ourselves to be shaped into people that will take Holy Week seriously in about a month. Here are some books to help you on the journey of self reflection.

Please use the link to our order page shown at the bottom of this column. It will take you to our website’s secure order form; just follow the directions, telling us what you want and how you want it sent. We’ll do the rest, including a prompt reply confirming everything. Easy.

 

On Earth As In Heaven: Daily Wisdom for Twenty-first Century Christians N.T. Weight (HarperOne) $29.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

Not counting the books of his weekly lectionary resources, not since the 1998 Lenten-themed Fortress title Reflecting the Glory have we had a daily devotional from the prolific N.T.Wright, and never a year’s worth of short readings. This long-awaited anthology is a gem, lovingly curated by Tom’s son Oliver, culling good excerpts from his many Harper-published volumes. This is indeed a daily reader, and is arranged somewhat along the church calendar. Hooray. What a great, wonderful, even rare resource.

Here’s the fun thing: it starts with Easter. Knowing Wright’s large amount of work on the resurrection — its centrality to the Biblical story, its bodily historicity, its truest meanings and its creation-wide restorative power — it isn’t surprising, really, to have this collection start with resurrection. Naturally, if you get this now, you don’t have to start on page 1. I’d suggest opening to page 265 (which has his “Kingdom Translation” rendering of a New Testament text from 2 Corinthians) and then starts in earnest with readings from The Day the Revolution Began and Surprised by Scripture. 

Life Unsettled: A Scriptural Journey for Wilderness Times Cory Driver (Fortress Press) 19.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

I just had to list this guide for journeying through “wilderness times” since that just shouts “Lent” to many of us. This paperback includes some honest spiritual autobiography and some solid (if creative) Bible reflection. The author is a staff person of a ELCA synod, directing the Transformation Leadership Academy. He spent fourteen years living and travelling in Morocco and Israel to understand how people make sense of living in physical wilderness. If you feel lost or confused and want sometime a bit deeper to help you reflect on this hallmark metaphor, this just might work for you.

I like this little bit from the publisher:

The Hebrew title of Numbers is Bemidbar, which means literally, “in the Wilderness.” In this oft-overlooked book are stories of God’s passionate intimacy and anger, communal formation and struggles, and personal failures and triumphs. The author shows how the wilderness journey in Numbers has deep relevance for our time and personal journeys.

I’ll put it on our shelf by the often-recommended Leaving Egypt: Finding God in the Wilderness Places by Chuck DeGroat (Faith Alive; $17.00.)

The Way Up Is Down: Becoming Yourself by Forgetting Yourself Marlena Graves (IVP) $22.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $17.60

Beth and I have a real appreciation for this author, her writing, her leadership, her insight, and her friendly encouragement to us and so many others. She is the real deal, and it comes across in her prose that is both thoughtful and very significantly informed and yet conversational and approachable. She is an “every day mystic” that draws on the deepest wells of the contemplative spiritual tradition and yet lives it out in even prophetic ways, denouncing the abuse of power and standing with the marginalized. She brings together so many aspects of faithful contemporary discipleship that we are always happy to get a chance to highlight her books.

This title isn’t pitched as a Lenten read, but — whew! — it captures the themes of following Jesus, embracing his adventure of “downward mobility” and becoming a servant to others. (Think of Mark 10, right?) In The Way of is Down Marlena invites us to “the art of self forgetfulness) and promises that in this counter-intuitive way, we just might discover our truest selves.

One doesn’t have to be in the Lenten register to recall how very central to the gospel this upside-down wisdom really is. One doesn’t have to be considering how we follow Jesus to the cross to realize that his call to humility and servanthood is a hallmark of the Kingdom way.

This book won great accolades when it came out a year or so ago; we have announced it and celebrated it, but have been waiting for Lent in order to amplify its presence yet again. We are glad for this author, this book, and, the counter-cultural ways of Jesus. He promises this hard way as the doorway to life abundant. Read this book to be challenged to embrace it.

Read these, among many remarkably positive reviews:

I know of no one who cares less for the superficial ‘worries of this life’ (Mt 13:22) than Marlena Graves. She is a voice calling out in our generation, beckoning us to a vision of Christ that has nearly been drowned out by the rise of self-help pseudo-Christianity. And this book? This book is her heart on paper. If you want to sit under a spiritual giant, and if you want to remember just what kind of freedom we are called to in Christ, do not miss this message. — Sharon Hodde Miller, author of Nice: Why We Love to Be Liked and How God Calls Us to More

Undistracted: Capture Your Purpose, Rediscover Your Joy Bob Goff (Thomas Nelson) $26.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $21.59

A new book by Bob Goff is almost a publishing event and while I admit to being just a tiny, tiny bit jaded about his endless enthusiasm and bundle-o-wonder joy, I love the guy and rolled my eyes and picked up the fabulously sky blue hardback. And, not surprisingly, I was hooked within pages and kept reading longer than I should have, wanting to hear his still-enchanting (and often hilarious) stories, and be challenged by his good sense, if risky, challenging, call to faithful, Christian-like living in ambitious pursuit of purpose. Like his previous Dream Big I wondered if I was too hold for this stuff. Beth and I pursued our dreams, too some hits, ended up starting a bookstore, which ended up a pretty good fit, or so people tell us. I don’t want to dream big, to be honest, unless it’s dreams of finding more time to read the books that have been stacking up in every room of the house for decades. I’m not sure I have it in me to dream big enough to get undistracted, since it seems fretting over my distractions have become my way of life.

Which is why I am not ashamed to admit that this upbeat, encouraging, honest bit of optimistic advice, without hardly any footnotes and nothing all that deep, is, well, more than a kick in the pants. It’s a holy call to be serious about one’s calling, one’s priorities and values and lifestyle. He promises a bit of happiness that might “transition into a deep and abiding joy with a longer shelf life.” Counter-intuitive as it might seem, this fun book is one helluva Lenten read.

We are distracted by our own fears and foibles. We are distracted by very real problems and limitations (Goff over and over acknowledges this, although his optimism could feel a bit dismissive if you feel called to lament and sorrow.) We are distracted by others who are intent on tearing us down; Bob gives good advice about not engaging with the cynics. We all have endless to-do lists and most of us scroll on our phones just a bit too much. The list of distractions, big and small, are endless.

Goff has an uncanny ability to make nearly anything a teaching moment. From some major heart problems to dashboard lights going out on a plane he was solo night-flying to the story of a high school wood-shop teacher missing some fingers, this guy can turn anything into a parable. I grate against zippy bromides and chicken-soup-for-the-soul happy thoughts, but, again —  even though Undistracted may seem a bit like that, with its pithy stories, life-lessons, urgent advice, and all those analogies and metaphors (the book is, he tells us, like those rumble strips along the side of the road, reminding you if your drifting off course) and I could not put it down. (And props to him for the never-ending delight of finding lessons in nearly everything!) He has good stuff to say and it is important stuff, even profound, even if he’s too busy having fun and spinning his magic to say it is. It is. As it says on the back cover, “Bob shows you the way back to an audaciously attentive life.” 

And he knows a bit about how this works. As he tells it he lived his youth in what he calls a “low-grade mediocrity.” 

I suppose some of his stories come off better live, spoken, but they are still really good. What fun and delightful wordsmith he is. And he can just add a punchy word or clever line that’s a little unsuspected. 

Speaking to young parents (or older grandparents) he says, 

Change the ringtone on your cell phone to “Cat’s in the Cradle” sung by Harry Chapin. You’ll pick up the phone less and your kids more.

Among other suggestions, he says,

Get some wood and light a fire. Find some chairs and fill them with people you have’t connected with in a while, then watch the flames dance. Go ahead and get some smoke on your, and the next day your cloths will smell like a dozen great conversations.

Do you need reminded who you are, what kind of life you really want to live? It is not too late. Not for an old guy like me, and I’m sure not for you. Maybe you just need to leave behind some unhelpful stuff and learn to not be distracted, find some friends and press on. As he shares some pretty weird stuff from his own family (including hunting down a criminal who ended up being a long-lost relative!) you’ll want to be honest about what stories you tell about your own life.  And you’ll be more generous with others. Maybe reading Undistracted is the Lenten practice you need. Highly recommended.

Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie (Convergent) $21.00  OUR SALE PRICE – $16.80

Okay, I just had to list this one right after Bob Goff’s fabulous call to live well, with joy and adventure, by being undistracted. He’s an optimist and a motivational life coach and he is a joy to behold. But what if you are dying of cancer. What then?

Well, Kate Bowler is more theologically trained than Goff (she teaches at Duke Divinity School) and she is more snarky and cynical before breakfast than Goff will be all week. He had her on his fabulously inspiring “Dream Big” podcast and they are now fast friends. I sometimes wonder if they are somehow related, like some whimsical good cop/bad cop sibs. (If you read Undistracted you’ll learn that Goff does have a bunch of scattered and apparently previously undiscovered relations.) They really do share a child-life joy in living and a simple faith that allows them to live into God’s Kingdom is freeing ways and they both love to laugh. I was kidding about them being related, though. She’s from Canada and he’s from California.

As a scholar of the heresy of the “name it and claim it” prosperity gospel (see her Oxford University Press book, Blessed) Bowler has little time for cliches and simple answers, religious or otherwise. In fact, upon receiving her very dire cancer diagnosis, she wrote two books debunking this harmfully cheery theology, Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I’ve Loved) and No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear.) There are honest, raw, full of faith, funny, and are very well-written memoirs of her life journey. 

Which you all knew if you’ve followed BookNotes. Although we have announced it briefly, before, you may not know that Bowler’s new more-or-less 40 day devotional is now out. Co-written with Jessica Richie, it is called Good Enough. It embraces imperfection, revels in creatureliness, limitations, pain, suffering and our very human realities The hand sized hardback devotional has readings like “Buoyed by the Absurd” and “Mourning a Future Self and “When You Are Exhausted” and  “Being Honest About Disappointment.” Yep, this is very clever, at times pretty fun, but it is also very serious, about “the burden of love” and what they call “the in-between.” There is a moving prayer for “when God seems absent.” The book opens with “A Blessing for a Joyfully Mediocre Journey.” Maybe this is a devotional you could use this Lent. 

Blurbs on the back are from Sarah Bessy, Cole Arthur Riley, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Jeff Chu. 

Echoing Hope: How the Humanity of Jesus Redeems Our Pain Kurt Willems (Waterbrook) $16.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $12.80

Well, this sure seems like a good thing to consider during Lent. We spend a lot of time leading up to thinking about the horrible last week of Jesus’s life, his saying goodbye to  his friends, their lackluster support, their betrayals, the trial, the interrogation, the torture, the humiliation.  Kurt Willems, a Seattle-based church planter (and host of the Theology Curator podcast) has reflected well, here, on this human-ness of Jesus. Even as the son of God, Jesus was not exempt from suffering — he felt real hunger and thirst, sadness and anger, he endured ridicule and all of this real stuff mattered to him.

This is a book about our own hardships and how, when life hurts, the “radical humanity” of Jesus can point us to hope.  With a good foreword by New Testament scholar Scot McKnight, you know it can be counted on for being Biblically sound, reliable, solid, and creative enough to be interesting. For what it is worth (as McKnight notes) it is not saying that our own pain and suffering, in light of all this suffering of Jesus, is therefore “good” or redeemed. No, this “is not a book about how violence redeems but about the redemption on the other side of violence.”

Contemplative writer Mindy Caliguire says that this “careful look at pain in the context of Jesus’s life” could open up for you “avenues of discovery and healing.” 

Redemptive Reversals and the Ironic Overturning of Human Wisdom G.K, Beale (Crossway) $14.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $11.99

Not all faith traditions use this lingo, but for some there is a distinction to be made between “systematic theology” which studies abstract topics — the nature of God, the effect of sin, who Jesus is, what the atonement is, how we are to do church, the Spirit, ethics, what should we think about the end times, etc. Such theologians work out systems of logic that neatly teach through compilations of truth about these topics. And then there is what some call “Biblical theology”which seems more organic and creative, teaching theological themes as they emerge from the narrative of the Bible itself. Such approaches weave together the very literary structure of the whole Bible study from creation to new creation, seeing how themes unfold in the history of redemption.

I mention this because this book, Redemptive Reversals is part of a series of “Short Studies in Biblical Theology,” and many of them are really great — concise but meaty. I’m a fan of most of these in this series, and this recent one, by an amazing thinker who has written big books (such as one on our mission to “expand eden” and on the glory of God, about mystery, about the role of the temple, about idolatry, about the New Testament use of the Old) here gives us a great study that seems to be a very timely read as you prepare for thinking about Good Friday and Easter. The title says it all, eh? Throughout the Bible there are stories exactly about this, the irony of sensible human wisdom being overturned by the unexpected — even ironic! — victory of weakness over power. Beale unpacks this pattern throughout redemptive history.

The apostle Paul said that the gospel was foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews. The gospel is just as scandalous and surprising today — or to use Greg Beale’s term, ironic. To encounter that irony is to stumble into strong evidence of the gospel’s divinity. Redemptive Reversals is overflowing with anecdotal illustrations, pastoral cautions, cultural connections, and practical applications. It’s a refreshing, unique, and important book all serious Bible students should have in their library. — J. D. Greear, author, What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?Pastor, The Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

Greg Beale is one of the most perceptive and fascinating New Testament scholars of our day. He reads texts in their historical context, but he also illustrates how particular verses and passages fit into the larger storyline of the Scriptures. In this wonderfully accessible volume, Beale helps us to see that God often works in ways that we would not expect and uses unlikely and ironic means to accomplish his purposes. We see from Beale’s work that God is sovereignly working out his purposes and his will and that we can trust him with our lives.
— Thomas R. Schreiner, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, author, The Kingdom of God and the Glory of the Cross

Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers Dane Ortlund (Crossway) $19.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

We have announced this several times at BookNotes, sharing a bit about it, highlighting why so many have said it is one of the most moving, serious books about the work of Christ they have ever read. It is a slow, meditative, Biblically careful study of the person of Jesus, his humility and kindness. It is about grace and goodness and about his work on the cross. It says it is mostly about His heart.

Dane Ortlund does this, I must say, by studying and reporting on the serious work of  several Puritan preachers and writers (and near mystics, or so it seems to me.) He explores the heart of Jesus and his kind invitation to “come to me, all who are weary” by way of citing Thomas Goodwin and Richard Sibbes and John Owen. Goodwin wrote a book in the mid-1600s called The Heart of Christ. Sibbes most famous work, which we have carried for years, is The Bruised Reed (which alludes to the promise of God in Isaiah 42 assuring us that “a bruised reed I will not break.”) Obviously, if you have been meaning to read this very popular volume, now would be a good time. There’s a study guide, now, and a journal, and, published a few months ago, an intense sequel by Ortlund, simply called Deeper.

Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World —and How to Repair It All. Lisa Sharon Harper ( Brazos Press) $24.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

We have announced this a time or two, first inviting folks to pre-order it (thanks to those who did) and then, again, when it came out. I even mentioned it on that little video I did on facebook, the day This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley released. And yet, I’ve still not done it justice. Fortune was a hard book to read in an odd way. It was not gratuitous about the pain of the whip or the fear of lynching that African Americans have felt in their very bodies and it was not even that detailed about the abuses poured upon people of color in the late 20th and today. No, the brokenness this book describes is plainspoken and informative, passionate, yet, but written in a restrained way, getting at the “way race broke my family” in a way that is inviting to all. Who doesn’t want to know something about their family ancestors? Who doesn’t get a bit touched by those Ancestory.com ads? And who doesn’t cheer for an underdog, facing plenty of obstacles in finding the backstory of family heritage. Those of us older enough to remember recall why Alex Haley’s Roots was such a huge best-seller, before and after the much-watched TV show that exposed all of American to the hard history of enslaved peoples here in so-called God’s country.

The title of this book is the name of a relative of Lisa’s, one whose story she traces in one of several chapters, each bearing the name of an ancestor. The book is mostly a family story, but it is grounded in the present as Lisa wonderfully describes her journey to archives and websites and museums and follows old roads to find old homesteads and imagine that this, this, this right here was where some relatives once lived. Most of the book is set in the past but she narrates it through the three decades it took her to explore ten generations.

In this way readers are drawn in, eager to know more, almost as Lisa herself was piecing it together, finding this true story, recalling that anecdote, holding on to that family heirloom, discovering these records or those news clippings. It is common enough stuff, but she tells it well. She has us on the edge of our seats in a few sentences about waiting for DNA results.

But — let us speak honestly, here — most white or even non-white Americans who do their ancestry detective work, do not have to consult purchase orders and billing ladings for the purchase of their ancestors. And for black people in America, this damnable fact is true: most family records are smeared and smudged (metaphorically but perhaps literally) with blood. Lisa does not overstate the horror of this, looking up records of who was purchased by whom, and only hinted at how it made her feel to do this particular kind of detective work. It is, though, what makes Fortune a different sort of book than most others who have told their dramatic story of finding their ancient relatives and where in the older worlds they came from. In this sense, Fortune is gut wrenching, not because Lisa is melodramatic or overstated; again, she is not. Still, it is, as they say, what it is.

And some of what it is, is exciting and lovely, learning about great-greats, marriages, travels, and the birth of little ones. She learns of cousins and stories of creativity and endurance. Lisa weaves her family member’s stories in with her own, placing it all in the context of the unfolding history of modern times. Ms. Harper has been through a lot — we have gotten hints of some of it in her Very Good Gospel. There is more revealed in Fortune. The great Ruby Sales has a blurb on the back simply saying that “Harper is a masterful storyteller.” Amen to that.

I had read this in an advanced manuscript, and when the hardbacks came we were delighted, but I had my spiral bound manuscript all marked up and pages dog-eared. So I didn’t open the hardback right away and then I discovered the bonus — there are photographs of some of the people she writes about (Lee Ballard, born in 1836, Phillip Fortune, born in 1835, Reinaldo and Anita Weekes (wearing a great hat), up through a fabulous picture of Lisa’s mom Sharon Lawrence with Lisa as a baby, a picture taken in 1969.) You will actually lay eyes on Hiram, who you have read about, and Richie Lawrence and Willa Belle Jenkins visiting Junias on a military base in Michigan during WWII. I’m not usually a fan of pictures of people we don’t know in an autobiography but these are the people this book is about. I was so excited to see these, and it drew me back into the book for my second reading.

There is some very good stuff as the story draws to a close about repair. Obviously no simple religious “reconciliation” will do without a full account of truth and justice. She explores the meaning of guilt and the nature of forgiveness. She writes helpfully a bit about reparative justice. She cites a few good public theologians and social ethicists  (and of course, tells of Desmond Tutu’s important work in South Africa, citing his powerful No Future Without Forgiveness.) Her message about the beloved community is moving and compelling and not without a challenge to be more active to the work.

Which makes this, my friends, a great book to read any time, but perhaps especially as a Lenten practice, to enter in to the story of another with such intentionality, to learn what she learns, to care, to be challenged.Is if fair to say this is, in some way, part of all of our stories, for better or worse? We owe Lisa a debt of gratitude. She waded in (as Sweet Honey in the Rock sing it, citing Harriet Tubman.) As one writer put it, “Fortune recovers the beauty of her heritage, exposes the brokenness that race has wrought in America, and casts a vision for collective repair.” 

Lord, Make Me An Instrument of Your Peace: The Complete Prayers of St. Francis, St. Clare, and other early Franciscans Jon M. Sweeney (Paraclete Press) $25.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $20.00

Jon Sweeney has written so many interesting books over the years and we carry much of his work. An early book about the medieval worldview illustrated by studies of cathedrals was fascinating. I loved his memoir The Lure of Saints which pushed to be, as another book put it, “almost Catholic.” He is known as a biographer, and has done books about the lives (or the teachings of) Saint Patrick, Thomas Merton, G. K.  Chesterton, Black Elk, Mary the mother of Jesus, St. Catherine, Meister Eckhart, even contemporaries James Martin and Phyllis Tickle. He has devoted more time and has published more volumes, though, about Francis and Clare. He knows them very well. (Another new book came out that we noted a few months back that, come to think of it, would make a good Lenten read as well: Feed the Wolf: Befriending Our Fears in the Way of Saint Francis [Broadleaf Books; $26.99.]) Again, Sweeney knows this Franciscan stuff very well.

Which is why this prayer book is so amazing. Sweeney has painstakingly found and studied and prayed and compiled great prayers by Francis and Clare and others in their medieval orbit (such as the inimitable Brother Juniper and St. Anthony of Padua.) This volume collects those and prints them liturgically, as litanies and in the style of an office. Yes, the Franciscans served the poor and sang and danced and are not known for Benedictine type prayer cycles or great silences. But here it is. You can pray these for yourself, or in your family or group, or you can just read them for the fascinating historical record. Lord, Make Me An Instrument is a major contribution to this sort of literature, compiling in one affordable (and nicely made) paperback, all these many prayers.

There is much other content in the book, too, lots of interesting chapters about Francis, about Clare, about the other characters who followed them — about their prayer lives, how to “pray alongside” them, and even  a chapter called “prayer in 13th century Europe.” Okay, maybe it isn’t for everybody, but I’m sure some Hearts & Minds customers will find this spell-binding.

Maybe being a bit of a holy fool would suit you well this season, loving God with greater abandon and praying more deeply, even learning to be used “as an instrument of your peace.”

Monastery Mornings: My Unusual Boyhood Among the Saints and Monks Michael Patrick O’Brien (Paraclete Press) $18.00                             OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

I wanted to list at least one spiritual memoir for those who like just watching over the shoulder as one ordinary person narrates his or her life, and how they came to grow in faith and discipleship. This book seems like a good one to suggest here, ruminating as it does about the faith this book experienced as he hung out with monks at a nearby monastery in his rural Utah.

Yep, you read that right: one doesn’t immediately think of Catholics, let alone monks, living in Christian community in the land of Mormons and the great Western landscapes. But, yes, in the mid 1900s some Catholic pioneers — Trappists! — intended to form a contemplative monastery right there (as Jana Riess puts it) “in the unlikely soil of Mormon country.” Riess continues, telling of Patrick O’Brien’s 1970s boyhood in Utah, “O’Brien captures the expansive spirit of late twentieth-century Catholicism in America and the loving warmth of the monks who befriended him.” 

Monastery Mornings has been described as a “love letter to a community of Trappist monks who provided family when a young boy needed it most.”

Humbler Faith, Bigger God: Finding a Story to Live By Samuel Wells (Eerdmans) $22.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $18.39

You have heard of people “deconstructing” faith. You’ve heard of the “spiritual but not religious” and now, the “Nones.” Certainly we have highlighted books here about these concerns, recently, the must-read When Everything’s On Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes by Brian Zahnd or After Doubt: How to Question Your Faith Without Losing It by A. J. Swoboda. We are eager to see the soon to be released book by Brian McLaren called Do I Stay Christian? A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned (coming in May 2022) which will be a sequel to Faith After Doubt: Why Your Beliefs Stopped Working and What to Do about It. Although to a more limited audience we have highly recommended Struggling with Evangelicalism: Why I Want to Leave and What It Takes to Stay by third-culture kid Dan Stringer.

Enter, now, one of the more thoughtful writers of our day, Samuel Wells, vicar of Saint Martin-in-the-Fields, London. (You may know him from a stint as the head of the chapel at Duke Divinity School and author of many, many books. And we have most of ’em.) In Humbler Faith, Bigger God, Rev. Wells shows a different way into this conversation, an honest but bracing call to continue on in Christian discipleship without the pressures of certainty and hubris.

As the publisher notes, Wells offers a “reframing of Christianity that portrays traditional belief and the response of skepticism as two rival stories and offers a third story that incorporates doubts and failures into a renewed understanding of Christian faith.”

Wells is replying to the common criticisms that the church has perpetrated injustices and intolerances of all sorts, that religion is a “crutch” and “drug” and full of endless narcissism. Chapter by chapter he takes on one of these popular accusations, and offers an eloquent call to honest, historic faith, but one that is flexible enough to appeal to the cynic and the hurting, this redemptive “reframing.” Wow, what a balancing act!

Does he get it right?

Read these comments for some indication:

A book at once incisive, wise, compassionate, and deeply devout. Wells avoids with equal agility the traps of empty dogmatism and empty faddishness, never forgetting that it is the love of God and neighbor–on which depend all the Law and the Prophets–that provides the proper key to any interpretation of the Christian mystery. — David Bentley Hart, author of Tradition and Apocalypse: An Essay on the Future of Christian Belief

I’m not sure who else alive could have written this book. Scholars are not usually this accessible. Pastors not usually this sharp-eyed. Critics not usually this devastating. Advocates not usually so beautiful. This unusual book calls to mind Augustine’s heart, Aquinas’s mind, Day’s activism, Temple’s leadership. You say I exaggerate? Take up and read before you tell me I’m wrong. — Jason Byassee, coauthor of Following: Embodied Discipleship in a Digital Age

God has surely heard it all: the complaints, the objections, the silence of a back turned on faith. Samuel Wells asks us — those of us who still believe that God can be found in Christian faith and its expression — if we have taken seriously the protests of our disbelieving neighbors. Now is the time for humility, church. Now is the time to listen. Now is the time for us to put up or shut up. Humbler Faith, Bigger God is here to help.  — Katie Hays, author of God Gets Everything God Wants

Samuel Wells gets right to the heart of real questions people struggle with and the real challenges the church and the Bible raise for thinking people. He addresses all this with honesty, humility, intelligence, and love. This book is for seekers, doubters, questioners, and those who wonder what faith might mean in these days. — Heidi B. Neumark author of Sanctuary: Being Christian in the Wake of Trump

When the Universe Cracks: Living as God’s People in Times of Crisis edited by Angie Ward (NavPress) $16.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

With the pandemic, the threats of global warming, climate crisis, financial meltdowns, and social polarization, it seems there is strife and trouble everywhere. Do you sometimes wonder what leaders are reliable to help you follow Jesus through this current crisis? Who can you trust? Where can we get some serious help in thinking about all this that isn’t a 500-page philosophical tome or an ideologically driven screed? From women and men doing good work in good ministry with real wisdom to offer?

If you could find such a collection of wise voices, it might be a Lenten practice to slowly work through them, maybe one each week. Who knows? Could this be a Lent book for 2022?

When the Universe Cracks is a sweeping, multifaceted look at the role of crisis in the life of faith from an esteemed gathering of pastors, faith leaders, and experts. You’ll find honest and realistic reflections to help you navigate present trouble or anticipate changes — a skill we’ve all realized these past years that we need to cultivate. Inspired by the global pandemic, these writers examine the whole history of God’s people (and how social crises was handled in the Bible) and offer a fresh perspective for every time the universe cracks. Good accessible reflections, honest, evangelical, engaging.

Scholar and church leader Angie Ward facilitates this energizing and fascinating discussion. Thought leaders Jo Anne Lyon, Efrem Smith, Christine Jeske, D. A. Horton, Kyuboem Lee, Marshall Shelley, Matt Mikalatos, Sean Gladding, Catherine McNiel, and Lee Eclov each contributed a chapter.  We’re impressed and wanted to offer it here with other books that are timely, a bit sobering, maybe useful for a month such as this.

Cruciformity: Paul’s Narrative Spirituality of the Cross 20th Anniversary Edition Michael J.Gorman (Eerdmans) $40.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $32.00

What could be more Lenten than reflecting upon how the cross of Christ figures into Christian discipleship? About how our spirituality should be cruciform? About how the Bible itself — in this case, mostly Paul — uses this notion as a key to understanding our faith and lives? You may know that I named this one of the Best Books of 2021, but it just seems fitting that for any reader who is used to reading somewhat thick and scholarly prose, that this could be your version of a Lenten devotional. 

Here is some of what I wrote a BookNotes a few weeks ago when celebrating this recent anniversary edition of a contemporary classic of New Testament studies:

Speaking of Best Books and celebrations and Dr. Michael Gorman: it was twenty years ago his profound and game-changing work Cruciformity: Paul’s Narrative Spirituality of the Cross came out. This past year, Eerdmans released an expanded edition, called the 20th Anniversary edition, with a new foreword by Nijay Gupta (which is fascinating) and a very lengthy new chapter by Gorman, giving a bit of the backstory to his work, how Cruciformity came about and how it was received, and some new updated of things he has considered since 2001 when the first edition came out. Certainly this new edition deserves a special place on any list of important books done in Biblical research this year.

Michael Gorman is that rare scholar who can write for both the academy and the church. Cruciformity is a gift to both. Gorman offers in readable form a thorough study of how the crucifixion of Jesus remakes Paul’s understanding of God and undergirds his views of what it means to be in Christ. In its exploration of how the apostle experienced God’s love and grace through ‘the strange story of Christ crucified, ‘ Cruciformity charts a path for how that story might continue to shape daily lives today, in cruciform faith, hope, love, and power.  — Rebekah Eklund, Loyola University Maryland, author of The Beatitudes Through the Ages

Thanks to Michael J. Gorman, ‘cruciform’ has come to describe the architecture of Christian community even more than the architecture of Christian buildings, with the term becoming an essential lens through which we view the apostle Paul’s pastoral theology. Cruciformity is an indispensable resource because Gorman’s careful scholarship and pastoral concern mirror the apostle Paul’s own efforts to illuminate the implications of Jesus’s ignominious public lynching. Bible teachers and students should keep Cruciformity nearby as a handy reference whenever studying Paul’s writings.  — Dennis R. Edwards, North Park Theological Seminary, author of Might from the Margins

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As the back cover nicely says, “For anyone facing pain of loss, for anyone concerned about the things that divide us, this book goes beyond wellness and beyond miraculous physical transformations to explore how we can — personally and collectively — be made well.” And, as she notes, how, in so doing, we can ourselves become agents of healing.

People ask how we’re doing. I’ll tell you how we’re doing. They are coming for us. They want to kill us. But we will survive.

But, in fact, I’m right here

With my shoulder to the wheel, baby,

And my heart in the deal.

Yeah, yeah.

Now, nearly twenty years later, I am writing my own book on the resurrection of Jesus, and I find myself again facing a diagnosis of cancer. This time I have pancreatic cancer, and by all accounts, this condition is much more serious and the treatment a much bigger challenge. 

PEACE ON EARTH?

I started this BookNotes during the 12 Days of Christmas. We had heard the Christmas carols, studied at our Wednesday night Bible study the texts about the birth of Christ but also the prayerful songs of Mary and Simeon. We pondered the fascinating part of the story that has international astronomers honoring Christ and the horror of the way some kings will even slaughter innocents when their power seems to be threatened. Each year we are struck by how much more is going on in this classic Bible story, much that is missed in the popular imagination, which is sometimes shaped as much by the holiday cheer of Norman Rockwell and Hallmark than the actual Biblical text. I was struck, as many of us are most years, by how the theme of peace is unavoidably present in Scripture, including the Christmas narratives. Maybe we all need, as the Brethren put it a few decades ago, a “new call to peacemaking.” 

I have written before about Biblical themes of shalom, about the idols of military might (as it is often shown to be in Biblical stories), about the tragedies of war, and about Biblical nonviolence. It’s been a while, though, and — now, with Martin Luther King’s Biblically-shaped messages of the mandate for nonviolence and the redemptive power of love ringing in our years from the recent MKL tributes — I thought I’d offer a handful of books, mostly recently released, about Biblical peacemaking and related themes. We have many more than these but since these are relatively recent, we wanted to highlight them here, hoping that book clubs and study groups and Bible studies and think-tanks will take them up for conversation and edification. Agree or not, these are all very much worth knowing about. Please, check this out and spread the word.

I will first highlight a few recent ones about coping with conflicted relationships in our polarized culture (that is, robust books about civility and the like, which is the least we can ask for), a few mostly new ones about Biblical nonviolence, and a few more directly about anti-war ministry. And a couple about parenting for peace and justice.

As the US government continues to pour lethal aid all over the world and tensions rise from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, from Africa to the far East, we need to deepen our consideration of what the body of Christ might pray, think, and do. It is complicated, I admit. We hope these good books will help.

A FEW RECENT BOOKS ABOUT ROBUST CIVILITY & GRACIOUS PUBLIC VIRTUE

Breaking Ground: Charing Our Future in a Pandemic Year edited by Anne Snyder & Susannah Black (Plough Publishing) $35.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $28.00

Every season or so a book comes out that is just so very special, brilliantly conceived, handsomely made, beautifully written, wisely argued, offer solace and joy, guidance and provocation, that as booksellers, we just want to celebrate its presence in the publishing world and the literary landscape, want to press it into the hands of nearly every thoughtful reader, and certainly want to write more about it than I should here at BookNotes. Breaking Ground is just such a book. I will refrain from saying too much, but want to alert you to its significance and invite you to consider it. It is an extraordinary volume, one you will keep and cherish for a lifetime.

Breaking Ground can be explained in several ways, from several angles, but I’ll just say this much: Anne Snyder and Susannah Black are two very different Christian women who individually edit our two favorite journals, magazines of class and intelligence, faith and vision, publications that we admire and support. Snyder is the editor of Comment (our friends Jamie Smith and Gideon Strauss were her predecessors, and I’ll admit I was honored that they allowed me to contribute to their magazine that was, in certain profound ways, in the lineage of Abraham Kuyper’s neo-Calvinist movement which we wrote out in the last BookNotes.) She has worked at think-tanks and in journalism, is a graduate of Wheaton College and is married to the well known pundit and public intellectual David Brooks. Comment is an artful, remarkable journal about reweaving our crumbling social architecture and provides some of the best writers about public life from within what we might call a broad and generous orthodoxy. They have published Smith, Seerveld, Mouw, of course, but also David Brooks and Mark Noll and N. T. Wright and Marilynne Robinson. 

Susannah Black is also a remarkably gifted editor for another magazine, perhaps our favorite these days, Plough. From a different (more ecumenical and even interfaith) literary tradition and somewhat more unique perspective —  it emerges from the Jesus-following, Anabaptist folks who live in intentional, shared community in places called The Bruderhof — Plough, like Comment, offers exceptionally high quality nonfiction writing about society, culture, faith, and values, enhanced by great photography and artwork. While Comment has roots in the Dutch Reformed community and Plough is grounded in the simple way of the Bruderhof, both have a knack for offering profoundly Christian insight into the issues of the day without seeming to be preachy. They are not churchy or overly theological. They include classic poetry and fine essays and astute social commentary (with Comment sometimes tending a bit socially conservative and Plough titling a bit leftward.) 

When the pandemic got serious nearly two years ago, Snyder and her team at Comment (and their sister-in-arms Canadian think tank, Cardus) seeped their work which was already in progress about strengthening civic bonds, healing the fraying social fabric, explore the way the spirit of the age has deformed mediating structures and institutions. I do not recall if they ran pieces by Yuval Levin, but they might have. This project and the resulting book grew to become an online collaboration between Comment and Plough and enlisted all sorts of supportive organizations, such as the Center for Public Justice, the (&) Campaign, The Institute for Human Ecology at the Catholic University of America. It isn’t every day we see The Davenant Institute collaborating with The Awakening Project, and it is lovely to see The Trinity Forum listed next to Mosaic and Bitter Sweet. Kudos to educational organizations like the CCCU and Regent College and Fuller Theological Seminary and to policy think tanks like Initiative on Faith and Public Life for their role. 

This kind of collaboration, they tell us, is “an expression of unity amidst plurality and respectful engagement in the context of diverse perspectives.” A lot of good stuff came out of that “web commons” and this book is the result of that “real time” writing offering insight about what we might do as we move forward past the worst years of the pandemic. Those who care about the common good and who long for fresh insights and daring but doable proposals, will find this book a major resource.

Here is what is on the back of the book to explain the genesis of the Breaking Ground project and eventual book:

A public health and economic crisis provoked by Covid-19. A social crisis cracked open by the filmed murder of George Floyd. A leadership crisis laid bare as the gravity of a global pandemic met a country suffocating in political polarization and idolatry. In the spring of 2020, Comment magazine created a publishing project to tap the resources of a Christian humanist tradition to respond collaboratively and imaginatively to these crises. Plough soon joined in the venture. So did seventeen other institutions. The web commons that resulted – Breaking Ground – became a one-of-a-kind space to probe society’s assumptions, interrogate our own hearts, and imagine what a better future might require. This volume, written in real time during a year that revealed the depths of our society’s fissures, provides a wealth of reflections and proposals on what should come after. It is an anthology of different lenses of faith seeking to understand how best we can serve the broader society and renew our civilization.

Wow. Authors contributing serious content to this nicely crafted thick hardback (of just over 450 pages) include Mark Noll, N.T. Wright, Grace Olmstead, Jennifer Frey, Michael Wear, Dante Stewart, Marilynne Robinson, Christine Emba, Tara Isabella Burton, Phil Christman, Jeffrey Bilbro, L. M. Sacasa, Oliver O’Donovan, Jake Meador, Cheri Harder, Amy Julia Becker, Jonathan Haidt, Gregory Thompson, Duke Kwon, Luke Bretherton,Doug Sikkema, Shadi Hamid, and more. They are a remarkable and astute group and this volume— arranged in four seasons — is a gift to behold.

Breaking Ground is surely one of the most important and beautiful books of 2022, a book to cherish. Thank you to all involved.

Let’s Talk: Bridging Divisive Lines Through Inclusive and Respectful Conversation Harold Heie (Cascade) $20.00  OUR SALE PRICE – $16.00

Speaking of collaboration and the broad Reformed tradition of Comment, and how Anne Snyder so wisely brought in a generous group of others unlike herself, inviting good faith conversation partners to find common ground and fresh expressions of our mutual concerns for public justice and the like, Harold Heie has been doing that his entire career. It is not an overstatement to say he has been an on-the-ground peacemaker and provocateur of communication across party lines for decades. He knows that the state of public discourse in America is dismal, “reflecting an extreme us-versus-them tribalism” but he knows that we can find what he calls “a better way.” And he has worked out avenues and structures to do that (before, and, now, during, Covid.)

Three quick things about this amazing little book.

First, Dr. Heie is not the sort of person who thinks that differences must be covered over or swept under the proverbial rug. He is about addressing in honorable ways the deepest differences among us and, informed by his own charitable Christian faith, learning to listen well. He says that learning to talk respectfully about the real differences among us is a deep expression of love for others so he is fairly aggressive in getting to the deeper sort of public civility and honest talk among parties with differences. Hold on.

Secondly (and this is related to the first point), Heie does not view the Godly call to be respectful and civil as mere examples of a bourgeois sort of etiquette. “Briding Divisive Lines” is hard work and while the stories in Let’s Talk are colorful, they are also sometimes painful. Further, let’s be clear: civility ought not be an excuse to fail to name serious injustices or harm. But we can work together to find certain areas of agreement and move forward in mutual initiatives for redemptive action. Although he is gentle and kind and a wise mediator/peacemaker, such virtues of “respectful conversation” does not stop him from speaking out against society’s evils or working hard to bring folks to some common ground. 

Thirdly, Here has done this for years, quite practically, with face-to-face meetings, having organized small group forums and orchestrated convivial conversation sessions and convened working groups. I know that he has done this quite intentionally with some on-line sessions lately; I would not be surprised if some Hearts & Minds customers took him up on those invitations to participate. He’s been doing this for years; and he has learned some things (from, he is quick to say, his serious failures as well as the moderate successes.) This book is more than a technical manual or workbook, but it isn’t abstract theorizing either. He knows what he’s talking about, because he knows what he’s been doing, and, in a sense, Let’s Talk is nearly a memoir, a report from the field. It is very interesting and very inspiring. 

To illustrate his long-standing work in this topic, just consider some of the titles he has written (and that we stock.) For instance, Learning to Listen, Ready to Talk: A Pilgrimage Toward Peacemaking (set mostly within Christian higher education inviting conversations among colleagues and stakeholders in some very contentious situations, by the way), Reforming American Politics: A Christian Perspective on Moving Past Conflict to Conversation (a thick volume, full of conversations, with a forward by his old friend Richard Mouw), Respectful LGBT Conversations: Seeking Truth, Giving Love, and Modeling Christian Unity (with a foreword by George Marsden) and, with Michael A. King, Mutual Treasure: Seeking Better Ways for Christians and Culture to Converse.

Let’s Talk is quite new and we are happy to commend it to you. We are not alone in expressing our admiration. 

In a time of deep ideological and political polarization, churches have an opportunity and responsibility to model a different way, . . . not by forcing agreement but by inviting conversations that lead to deeper understanding and appreciation of our differences. Harold Heie seeks to give disciples of Jesus a path to reconciliation and renewal that is deeply needed by presenting concrete, practical advice for churches wishing to embark on this journey.  —  Elizabeth Brown Hardeman, pastor, American Reformed Church, Orange City, Iowa

In this revealing and compelling memoir, Heie demonstrates the many qualities that set him apart as a mature and exemplary follower of Jesus. For years, Heie has been calling us to what he calls ‘respectful conversations,’ marked by the biblical characteristics of ‘gentleness and respect.’ Those qualities, together with the author’s characteristic humility, make this a book worthy of serious consideration. —  Randall Balmer, Dartmouth College, author of Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right

So many of us today are imprisoned by tribal politics . . . . That polarization has infected the church, sharply damaging our internal fellowship and our external witness. Heie offers us a liberating way out of our political and religious imprisonment. . . . Learning how to be both honestly rooted in our commitments and deeply open to listening and learning from the other is required for the church’s faithful future. —  Wes Granberg-Michaelson, author of Future Faith: Ten Challenges Reshaping Christianity in the 21st Century 

Speaking Peace in a Culture of Conflict Marilyn McEntyre (Eerdmans) $21.99   OUR SALE PRICE = $17.59

I reviewed this at BookNotes when it first came out last summer, but I love it so much, I’ll just reprise this review here. It certainly is a good one for our topic this week. Enjoy.

It is hard for me to do a talk on the power of books and the spirituality of the reading life without citing Marilyn’s nearly classic 2009 release, Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies (Eerdmans; $19.99) where she offers what she calls “stewardship strategies” to help us steward words well. It is a gem of a book, a little masterpiece and it reminds us that being careful about words can help us resist hype and spin and propaganda. More literary and offering more elegant joy than the rigorous (but also must-read) How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds by Alan Jacobs, say, Caring for Words is a book I highly recommend, often, to nurture the Christian mind.

And then, this summer, Eerdmans released what seems nearly to be a sequel to Caring for Words, namely, Speaking Peace in a Climate of Conflict and it is wondrous. This is not your typical book about civility — I will name a few of those momentarily — as it really isn’t only about peacemaking or reconciliation efforts. Some of the chapters are fairly directly about that (“Quit Trying to Win” for instance) but there are other themes developed in chapters with captivating titles such as “Unmask Euphemisms”, “Embrace Your Allusive Impulse”, “Complicate Matters”, “Remind People of What they Know.” In a way, it is about “speaking the truth in love” as the Bible says, nearly a handbook for speaking up well.

Indeed, there is a chapter called “Articulate Your Outrage” and another called “Find Facts and Check Them” and, then, one called “Laugh When You Can.” It almost sounds like it is for those of us who do get in heated conversations a lot, or who feel they should. (At moments, it made me think of the very helpful Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up by Kathy Khang.) Still, it is artful and literary and so enjoyable for anyone who loves good writing. Poets among us will love her reflection on “telling it slant” and will cheer for the chapter, “Promote Poetry.” Speaking Peace… is a bit more feisty than some books about resisting conflict with civility and even a bit more passionate about public life than what was already heavy Caring for Words… Speaking Peace is a book we need, now, now more than ever. Marilyn McIntyre is a model and wise guide, an ally.

And here is one thing that is fabulous: McEntyre does all this by drawing on exemplary authors, writers she likes, lines she loves, books and essays and poems that have given her endurance and voice, that serve as models for what we are talking about here.

Who wouldn’t want to know which great writers are considered commendable by somebody as expert as lit prof Ms McEntyre? Who couldn’t benefit by having her tell you who to read and why? For lovers of words, book lovers, those who care about reading wisely, this book is a gem. But more, it is equipping us all to the vocation of using words well for the common good.

We have quoted this wonderful back cover blurb by Leslie Leyland Fields before, and I’ll share it here, again, hoping it inspires you to want to sit under the tutelage of this wonderful little book. I need it. Do you?

It’s commonplace to lament the loss of civil discourse, but few do anything about it. For years, Marilyn McEntyre has been quietly shepherding us toward God’s intention of language as a gift rather than a weapon. She’s done it again. We need her brilliantly crafted words more than ever to show us again how to speak, live, and act in accord with the beautiful gospel. — Leslie Leyland Fields author of Your Story Matters: Finding, Writing, and Living the Truth of Your Life

Virtue and Voice: Habits of Mind for a Return to Civil Discourse edited by Gregg Ten Elshof & Evan Rosa (Abilene Christian University Press) $24.99    OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

Here is another that I reviewed in that post of November 2021, a set of suggestions about the post-election tensions. (I had no idea what would be unfolding, of course, but I still stand by the recommendations.) This book is extraordinary, so wanted to list it here.

Oh my, just when I thought there were enough books on civility there is this. Wow.  I’ve often said one hardly needs more than Richard Mouw’s splendid Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World (IVP; $20.00; our sale price at 20% off makes it $16.00.) I still think that Mouw is indispensable for anyone wanting to grow in convicted civility. It makes a great reading group study.

Virtue and Voice, though, is simply amazing, a major contribution, one of the most important books in this genre that has come out in years. It is a collected anthology of rather academic work by authors with a variety of angles of vision — they are ethicists, philosophers, historians, theologians and thought leaders of various sorts. Many of these (including the aforementioned Rich Mouw) have spent long years working on this topic and speak from both personal and professional experience and expertise.

The editors themselves are remarkable and remarkably astute in curating this volume for us. Gregg Ten Elshof wrote the fabulous, little I Told Me So: Self Deception and the Christian Life (not to mention a good book on Confucius for Christians.) Mr. Rosa is the assistant director of public engagement at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture where he works with Miroslov Volf. Very impressive, huh?

The pieces here acknowledge that the current climate of contentious and ineffective civil discourse is troublesome but they also show how “the cultivation of intellectual virtues can renew our voices and heal the broken state of our public discourse.”

I am not sure that academics in a rare volume like this — vital and beautiful as it is — can heal the culture at large. But this is what philosophers and thought leaders do at their best; they become public intellectuals and use their scholarly chops to help us dig deeper and learn some important stuff. It is a gift, a tool, a resource to help us think and cultivate some deeper approaches.

The important stuff on offer here is a deeper way to think about civility by linking it to virtue and, then, to this notion of intellectual virtue, drawing on Augustine’s notion of “rightly ordered affections.” Some who have heard me lecture on the formation of the Christian mind may recall (okay, it’s a long shot, but you might) that I love a book called Virtuous Minds: Intellectual Character Development written by Philip Dow (IVP; $20.00.) This new recent one, Virtue and Voice moves that notion further along in a very generative way. Our intellectualism has to be virtuous (shaped by traits such as honesty, curiosity, humility) and, here, these virtues must shape our public voices. Can we be public intellectuals that invite humility? Can intellectuals who speak out to influence the day also be marked by respect? Can we use our strong ideas in a way that invites people to a hospitable conversation?

The authors here range from Robert Audi to Christena Cleveland, from George Marsden (who here writes on C.S. Lewis) to Robert Roberts. There are people of various specialities, men and women, from evangelical Christian colleges and universities (Biola, Grove City College) and Roman Catholic institutions (Notre Dame, Loyola at Marymount) and from secular state university settings. You’ve got to see Linda Zagzebski’s (of the University of Oklahoma) reflecting on “intellectual virtue terms” and linguistics and semantics.

I think I liked Christina Cleveland’s piece the best, but these hefty, intellectual essays are all astute and often inspiring. How we cultivate intellectual virtues both in the academy and the wider culture is an urgent question which should capture some of our BookNotes readers. We recommend Virtues and Voices: Habits of Mind for a Return to Civil Discourse and celebrate its contribution to the ongoing maturity of our witness.

Listen to the ever-wise, virtuous Lutheran leader and church historian and public journalist Martin Marty, who wrote a lengthy review. He notes,

Every day, hour, and minute, our personal experiences and the media demonstrate the incivility of public discourse in moral, political, and religious life. Not content merely to report on the public scene, these essays demonstrate the value of curiosity, attentiveness, open-mindedness, intellectual carefulness, and intellectual thoroughness… Civil discourse can make a refreshing difference. Virtue and Voice creatively dedicates itself to such discourse, and readers of this book who put any of its contributions to work in the larger society will find fresh ways to be intellectually virtuous.

Thank You. I’m Sorry. Tell Me More. How to Change the World with 3 Sacred Sayings Rod Wilson (NavPress) $12.99  OUR SALE PRICE  $10.39

This is a compact sized paperback that is not that long. It is upbeat, looks nice. Yet, it is wise beyond its simple-sounding appeal. As Jamie Smith says, “Don’t let what seems like simplicity fool you. This is a book that wants to change the world.” 

Yes, the chapters are short, but they are luminous, beautifully written, clear yet profound. The author takes these three often misunderstood phrases and unpacks them, helps us grasp them, invites us to new habits and new hopes. The stories Wilson (who is a psychologist, has served as a pastor and as former President of Regent College in Vancouver) tells are moving and model for us what it means to be prepared to offer goodness in our relationships. 

As the book reminds us, when we say, “Thank you,” we acknowledge the way others impact us. When we say, “I’m sorry,” we acknowledge the way we impact others. When we say, “Tell me more,” we acknowledge the way we impact each other.

This gracious book is really something. Great writers of empathy and depth rave — Dan Allender, Luci Shaw, Alia Eyres, Patricia Towler and more. Listen to this:

Sometimes we have to talk ourselves into becoming different people. We believe what we repeat. We live into what we rehearse. In this wise and inviting book Rod Wilson offers us three simple but potent litanies that could talk us into becoming a society that is attentive, caring, vulnerable, and grateful. Don’t let what seems like simplicity fool you. This is a book that wants to change the world. It starts with me. And you.  — James K.A. Smith, author of You Are What You Love and On the Road with Saint Augustine

From a neat note about the cover design that they nicely offer: “The cover design for Thank You. I’m Sorry. Tell Me More. is meant to demonstrate the important distinction for the book. The graphics behind the text of the cover are the sonic patterns made when we speak these words. The pattern behind the phrase is what the phrase sounds like. They are sacred sounds because they have such transformational quality, because they reflect the character of God.” 

Hope and Witness in Dangerous Times: Lessons from the Quakers on Blending Faith, Daily Life, and Activism J. Brent Bill (Christian Alternative) $10.95  OUR SALE PRICE = $8.76

This book is short, slim, fun, interesting, and, for somebody like me who is not a Quaker, very informative and helpful. For someone who has read a bit about the blending of a contemplative sort of spirituality and a journey outward towards public engagement and a bit of social activism, this, truly, is a delight. Quakers were sometimes called “angelic troublemakers” and this is a great invitation to learn about their serenity and hope. Even if they are pretty quiet about it.

I love this author — we’ve carried more substantive books of his over the years (most recently, a lovely Paraclete title Beauty, Truth, Life, and Love: Four Essentials for the Abundant Life.) He has written about spiritual discernment (Sacred Compass) about the spirituality of wonder in everyday life (Awaken Your Senses) and one called Holy Silence. And who can forget his hilarious Life Lessons from a Bad Quaker? 

This little book, which is only 70 pages if you count the footnotes, is not exactly about peacemaking or even about conflict and civility in our polarized culture. But, yet. Yes, it sort of is. He tells us a bit about the Friends movement and he invites us to humble faith practices that just might help us provide some sort of fresh relationship with the world around us. He calls us to an activism that is rooted in a deep spirituality and a prophetic witness that is bold, but always respectful. As one chapter puts it, we can be involved in “Doing Good While Being Good.”  He says, bluntly at one point, that genuinely spiritual activism “must go beyond partisanship.” Right on.

He quotes his friend singer/songwriter (and Quaker) Carrie Newcomer from time to time. I hope you know the song that goes like this:

The shadows of this world will say / There’s no hope, why try anyway?

But every kindness large or slight / Shifts the balance toward the light.

What Were You Arguing About Along the Way? Gospel Reflections for Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter edited by Pat Bennett, introduced by Padraig O’Tuama (Canterbury Press) $27.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $22.39

This is an excellent resource for preaching, pastoral care and personal formation, I think, emerging as it does from the Spirituality of Conflict Project created by Padraig O’Tuama (who has written many of the reflections.) This is a lectionary resource with an introduction for the gospel of the day, a commentary and reflection, some suggestions of ways to respond to the text and teaching, and a closing prayer. Nice.

What is so very unique about this collection of dozens of entries is that they are Bible based but the authors all draw on the work in reconciliation in places like Corrymeela, Iona, Place for Hope, Coventry Cathedral, Holy Island and other local church and community contexts. They are both Catholic and Protestant. The royalties from the sales of the book will support Corrymeela’s Public Theology Project.

Pat Bennett, by the way, is a writer and liturgist with a background in science and theology and is a member of the Iona Community. Padraig O’Tuama, as I hope you know, is a poet, writer, speaker and broadcaster (who curates and presents “Poetry Unbound” podcast from the On Being studios. He has been a leader in the peacemaking community, Corrymeela in Northern Ireland. 

The Space Between Us: How Jesus Teaches Us to Live Together When Politics and Religion Pulls Us Apart Sarah Bauer Anderson (Sarah Bauer Anderson) $15.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $12.79

I could name a handful of other good books along these lines —most obviously the classic Uncommon Decency by Richard Mouw, but also, say, Them: Why We Hate Each Other – And How to Heal by Ben Sasse or Reforming American Politics: A Christian Perspective on Moving Past Conflict to Conversation by the aforementioned Harold Heie I wrote about a few others at a BookNotes two years ago. But this very recent one, self published so not terribly well known, is a little gem, a quiet treasure, an amazing piece of work.

Bauer Anderson, we learn, was raised as part of the severe Christian Right; her dad is an immediately recognizable name in those circles having worked for the Reagan administration and founded the Family Research Council. She is a native of the greater DC area (although, as she puts it now, she is a resident of the Bible Belt and has great disagreements with own family.) She has “spent my entire life learning to navigate the complicated and emotional conversations around politics and religion.” She wrote this recent book out of her own experience so folks can become part of the solution to our polarized and conflicted times, knowing a bit about how tension and heat in personal relationships can be, as she puts it, “discouraging, disheartening, disappointing.” 

I really, really respected the fiesty Danielle Strickland, an activist and justice advocate and author, who says of Ms Bauer Anderson,

Sarah is a fresh and passionate voice for holy disruption and faith. Both challenging and engaging!

Andy Stanley writes,

This is a timely and necessary book. Sarah shows us that, once again, following Jesus is our best hope for navigating the most complex issues in culture.

The Space Between Us is a handy trim sized paperback, 250 pages, with 14 creative and interesting chapters. It ought to be better known and we’re happy to recommend it.

Reconciling Places: How to Bridge the Chasms in Our Communities Paul A. Hoffman (Cascade Books) $20.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $18.00

This is a rare and unique book and for those seriously studying local peacemaking in these polarizing times, it is very, very useful. Hoffman (who has a PhD form the University of Manchester) has been a pastor of a large Evangelical Friends Church in Newport, CA and has served as an oversight leader in the Evangelical Friends movement. It seems he is a truly tested, bridge-building person himself and has years of experience of bringing together alienated (and even hostile) communities. This book is the fruit of years of conflict mediation, bridge-building, peace-forming efforts and offers big picture theory and down-and-dirty, very practical guidance in our efforts to work Christianly towards reconciliation in real places.

Missional thinker and author J.R. Woodward wrote a very good foreword about not only how much he admires Hoffman’s integrity and passion for reconciliation, but for his deeply theological and spiritual insights about our polarization and what it might take to find some common ground among distanced parties. Hoffman has worked in urban, cross-cultural settings, to be sure, but these principles gleaned from this reconciling work, can be applied in various territories and spaces. 

Reconciling Places allows us to cultivate a “sense of place” and a theology of geography, so to speak, but also allows us to know why and how to build bridges. This is a remarkable handbook, thoughtful and inspiring. There are good discussion questions and “next steps” suggestions.

RECENT BOOKS ABOUT BIBLICAL PEACEMAKING & CHRISTIAN NONVIOLENCE

Shalom: The Bible’s Word for Salvation, Justice, & Peace Perry Yoder (Wipf & Stock) $20.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $18.00

This is not new but is a fairly recent reprint of an older classic, once published by the Evangel Publishing House. He is an Old Testament professor at Associated Biblical Mennonite Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, and has written widely on Biblical interpretation, hermeneutics, having done years ago a little book on how to lead small group Bible studies. He knows the Word and he knows the words of the Word. And, here, it pays off as he explores the meaning of that rich, rich, world shalom. 

I don’t think I know another book like this — ten solid, meaty, but quite readable chapters on shalom in the Old and New Testaments.  Just 146 pages. Indispensable.

Speak Your Peace: What the Bible Says About Loving Our Enemies Ronald J. Sider (Herald Press)  $16.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

You may have heard me say that one of the very important books in my journey to understand Biblical peacemaking was Sider’s 1975 book Christ and Violence. It was the first book I ever got paid to review, a couple of dollars for a couple of paragraphs in Sojourners.) It remains a little work that I revisit from time to time. As an impeccable evangelical with utter regard for the authority of Scripture, Ron — in the nonviolent Anabaptist tradition — has written several other books about peacemaking. One of his magnum opus works was the 2019 If Jesus Is Lord: Loving Enemies in an Age of Violence and this recent shorter one is an abridged version of that. That was a major and somewhat scholarly work with lots of footnotes about ancient sources and detailed exegetical studies. This one has eliminated some of the scholarly apparatus, cut down on the footnotes, slimmed down the argument. It isn’t a bare-bones study, but it is brief and full of stories and inspiring messages and calls us to Biblical obedience on the call to nonviolence. He tackles questions not only about whether the Bible in its fullness teaches peacemaking, but if nonviolence is naive or perhaps even irresponsible. 

(Ron did his own PhD work at Yale on Luther and knows a bit about mainline and of course evangelical theology and he shared an office for a few years with a intellectually strong and firmly Calvinist in the just war tradition — who was a Marine, no less! So he isn’t unaware of the conversations about these things and criticisms Biblical pacifists sometimes endure.)

Blurbs on the back of this small but potent volume are by Stanley Hauerwas and Walter  Brueggemann, Kathy Khang, Bruxy Cavey, Sami Awad, Jer Swigart; although it is not in this edition, Richard Mouw (who is not a pacifist so disagrees with some of Ron’s views and conclusions) wrote a fabulous forward to If Jesus Is Lord commending it as a major work with which we should be familiar. 

The cover is a bit cute and linked to the goofy peace sign some of us old hippies still flash. I wish the design carried a bit more weight and gravitas — perhaps they were trying to note that it is readable and not dry. Fair enough; there are good discussion questions, too, making this ideal for a small group book club, an adult Sunday school class, or any Christian ed forum willing to grapple with the Bible and its serious implications. I’ve raved about this before, as I do all of Ron’s inspiring books. I really hope you consider it.

God’s Invitation to Peace and Justice: Sermons and Essays on Shalom Ronald J. Sider (Judson Press) $19.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

Well, Sider has not only published books about peace, justice, world hunger, local poverty, the early church, evangelism, discipleship, being consistently pro-life, and how to think consistently in a Biblical way about political policy, he has been tireless in speaking, teaching, leading workshops, doing seminars, even helping Richard Foster with prayer retreats and Sojourners with on-the-streets protests. He didn’t have the flamboyance of his friend Tony Campolo and yet spoke endlessly and ecumenically, almost as often as Tony has. (And both men — praise to the Lord! — are recovering well from serious health problems and major hospitalizations a year ago.)

Here we have an excellent collection of some of Ron’s singular essays, talks, and sermons.  At 238 pages you get a lot of content, good words about important topics. 

One of the things I am enjoying about this anthology is to read Ron’s own summary of the presentation — when he delivered it and why, and, in some cases, some of what he thinks now about it all. Man, he got around, and, wow, did he bring strong truth in a variety of ways.

Last week I mentioned the book about applying the big vision of Abraham Kuyper’s Princeton “Stone Lectures” to all of life. God’s world is a good creation, now in sin and rebellion, being straightened out, healed, transformed, as Christ’s Kingdom comes to every square inch under the Kingship of Christ. Sider believes all that and while growing up as a Mennonite and Brethren farm boy he brings a somewhat different tact to the application of whole-life discipleship, he gets the contours of that Kuyperian vision as well as anyone, I’d say. Here he is rooted in Scripture, alive in faith, empowered by the Spirit, and hopeful about the possibilities of God’s people finding the grace to deepen both  personal holiness and public faithfulness. The 18 chapters in God’s Invitation to Peace and Justice are great bread for the journey, inspiring words and keen insight about moving into a wholistic and multi-faceted Kingdom vision. Highly recommended.

Preaching the Gospel: Collected Sermons on Discipleship, Mission, Peace, Justice, and the Sacraments Ronald J. Sider (Cascade Books) $20.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $18.00

This was a surprise a few months ago when this indie publisher released this great collection of various Sider sermons on various topics. I’ve always been a fan (as you can tell from my above comments) of Ron’s balanced faith, his evangelical credentials, his broad understanding of church history, theology, and contemporary political and economic social concerns. Mostly, though, he wants to be known as a Bible-based preacher and honest follower of his Lord and Savor, Jesus Christ. In these sermons, talks, messages, and speeches, it comes through, over and over. He has spoken all over the world and his devotion to Jesus and his well-grounded roots in the Scriptures has shaped his message without compromise. 

And how touching some of these are! The first chapter is one I have read elsewhere, a beautiful and inspiring sermon preached at his father’s funeral in 2004 in Ontario. His famous “Words and Deeds” message (about the importance of both social justice and evangelism — themes of which he spoke with equal vigor at the World Council of Churches and at the National Association of Evangelicals) that he delivered in South Africa in 1979 is here, and as timely as ever. His often preached “If Christ Be Lord” sermon was first delivered at a Presbyterian Church in Bethlehem, PA, in 1978 — I have a friend who was there to hear it. I moved me as I read it again last week.

I am obviously not alone in my admiration for Ron’s passion and faith. Read these two endorsements carefully, and pray if God might inspire you to read these messages and take up his call and challenge.

For nearly five decades I’ve been privileged to witness Ron Sider’s groundbreaking work as a leading evangelical voice for the imperatives of social justice. His earned reputation is as a compelling Christian author and energetic social activist. But I welcome the publication of Preaching the Gospel because we see the whole of Ron’s ministry and commitment. These sermons and lectures reflect on marriage and holiness, as well as apartheid and violence. He ponders baptism and communion, as well as justice and peacemaking. This book is a treasure of Ron Sider’s pastoral and prophetic wisdom, held together holistically, just as he has lived. It’s a gift to all who have been inspired by his faithful witness.  — Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, author of Without Oars: Casting Off into a Life of Pilgrimage and General Secretary Emeritus, Reformed Church in America

I have heard Ron Sider preach over the past forty-five years. His sermons and prophetic speeches were a fountain of ‘understanding the times,’ anointed by the Holy Spirit, wrapped in a biblical and historical foundation that flowed like a river to one’s soul. What an incredible gift to now have these sermons and prophetic speeches available for these days and new generations to come. They are ageless.  — Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent Emerita of the Wesleyan Church

Who Will Be a Witness? Igniting Activism for God’s Justice, Love, and Deliverance Drew G.I. Hart (Herald Press) $18.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19

Many of us who embrace Biblical nonviolence and robust Christian resistance to the violent hurts of our culture have learned much (or have tried to learn) from Martin Luther King, Jr. (His nonviolent training done in Birmingham outlined in his first book Stride Toward Freedom — and explored for contemporary relevance in so many books such as Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm by Kazu Haga — remains foundational. His Riverside anti-war speech one year before his assassination, again, remains foundation.) There are many black leaders of recent years, including some who are fairly young, to whom we should now look for insight about nonviolent peacemaking in the context of systemic social injustice. They understand in their bones better than many of us. One such leader to whom we now look is central Pennsylvania’s own Dr. Drew Hart. He is a public intellectual, an activist theologian, a popular professor at Messiah College (with a PhD from the Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia.) He knows his stuff, and we’ve highlighted this book (and his first, The Trouble I’ve Seen) over and over. I name this most recent one here, gladly, in part because he situates Biblical reconciliation within the bigger context of social injustice and he places Jesus’s own rather revolutionary nonviolence in contrast with Barabbas. Indeed, I’ve read and re-read the chapter “Liberating Barabbas: And the Things That Make for Peace” several times and for our purposes here in this BookNotes, it is, truly, worth the price of the book.

Listen to Rich Villados, pastor of New Life Fellowship in Queens and author of The Deeply Formed Life:

Drew Hart offers us a powerful vision to be a people on the liberating journey. I’m inspired by his depth of insight, social and spiritual analysis, and the demanding — yet accessible — ways he names for living faithfully to God. I highly recommend this book!

Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace Throughout Holy Week Jason Porterfield (Herald Press) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

This is one of the books that I’ve most looked forward to — we hadn’t gotten an advanced manuscript or anything, but we had heard it was to be released in February and it just arrived. I’m so glad we can tell you about it and I think it is going to be very highly regarded and quite useful for many folks, especially in this upcoming Lenten season.

Porterfield has lived all over the world (having worked in Asia with the respected Servants, an international development group that serves the poorest of the poor) and has often found himself on the margins of society, living among the neglected and hurting. This gives him huge credibility as he has nurtured not only a deep and compassionate faith but has seen how the powers of the world work, No one can accuse him of being naive.

One of the great features of Fight Like Jesus is that it uses as its starting point and foundation the tragic passage in the gospels when Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, (Jeri-shalom, of course, means “the city of peace”) because it does not know the ways of peace. Jesus’s own lament and heartbreak and declaration should mean much to us, I’ve always thought — what a stinging rebuke, but offered through tears. If Jesus wants His people to know the ways of peace, we certainly should listen up, read up, study up, do what we can to become the sorts of people over whom Christ does not shed similar tears. Right?

So. Porterfield starts us off with a teaching that many of us have used, most of us have heard, but that has rarely been explored with such helpful detail, and that is with Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Oh my, this is good and helpful stuff.

Naturally, we all know, a real king (or at least the sort they’d always expected) wouldn’t coming riding a lowly donkey but a war-horse, a mighty steed. Oh my, this itself if rich and provocative and Porterfield unpacks the implicit theology of this, linking the non-violent kingly manner of Jesus with many Older Testament prophecies. For those with eyes to see, this should have been a confirmation, not a confusion. But yet, today, year after year, we seem to be confused, missing the point of this dramatic enactment of nonviolent resistance.

As it says on the back, “Throughout holy week, two competing approaches to peacemaking collide.” And, it asks, provocatively, “what if we’ve embraced the wrong one?”

Scott Bessenecker, national director of global engagement and justice for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship writes, “We need now, more than ever, Porterfield’s call for Christians to embrace our heritage as forgers of peace in a world of division.” 

Fight Like Jesus is a deep dive into this one week in the life of Jesus — and what a story it is. I suspect you’ve never before reflected on some of these implications Porterfield draws from Holy Week — I’ve tried to be attentive to this very thing before, and am eager to learn so much new by reading this new volume. I hope you are as excited as I am. As the author notes, “we need to be trained in Jesus’s way of making peace. The good news is, if you want to learn how Jesus makes peace, there is no better place to look than Holy Week.”

Here are a couple of great endorsements from folks we admire and trust:

Porterfield’s life and his book converge in these pages as a witness to the kind of peace we all need. I know I do, and I pray you will put this book in your book bag or back pocket or on your reading stand and read it each day of Holy Week. —  Scott McKnight, author of A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing and The King Jesus Gospel

For those who think ‘peace’ might be mild or meek, flimsy or weak, Jason Porterfield unpacks Jesus’ embrace of a radical peace. Built on a faithful biblical exposition, this book inspires and equips today’s courageous peacemakers to fight like Jesus. Will you put down your hammer and join Him?  —  Margot Starbuck, author of Small Things with Great Love: Adventures in Loving Your Neighbor

Nonviolence: The Revolutionary Way of Jesus Preston Sprinkle (David C. Cook) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

This book just came out although it is mostly a title change and slightly new cover of a previous book called Fight: A Christian Case for Nonviolence. That one (2013) had a forward by Shane Claiborne; the new edition as a forward by Greg Boyd. Still, with some help for co-author Andrew Roller, Sprinkle here brings his evangelical piety and fervor to this question of Biblical nonviolence.

It is fascinating to me — Sprinkle is a standard evangelical on most matters. He has a lively and helpful book on grace in the Old Testament; he has one defending conventional views of hell; while he wants to be generous and gracious and inclusive he holds to the older school view of traditional opposition to full acceptance of LGTBQ people in the church. He is upbeat and energetic and thoughtful and a pretty typical example of a moderate, well-spoken, non-denominational evangelical leader.  And then he announced he had become convinced of Biblical pacifism, based on his study of the Old and New Testament (and early church history.) And then was published by an iconic, evangelical publishing house with a blurb by Francis Chan. I didn’t see that coming.

I enjoyed this book immensely and it gave me good hope that when people are honest about the Scriptures and eager to live into the trajectory of the good news of Christ, they can change their minds about things and come up with surprising and fresh new insights. Sprinkle is not a Mennonite or Quaker or otherwise part of an official pacifist denomination, so his take is a bit different and his interaction with Scripture is robust and interesting. I was very glad for the older edition (we still have some of the one called Fight at $14.99) and even more glad for this new one with a better, clearer title. Agree or not, this is a fine book to consider, especially if you are part of the mainstream, evangelical world.

Jesus the Pacifist: A Concise Guide to His Radical Nonviolence Matthew Curtis Fleischer (Epic Octavius the Triumphant) $12.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

Want a basic, slim, solid, Biblical basis for how Jesus taught a consistent turn-the-other-cheek sort of active nonviolence? Want one of the best short summaries of Christ-like peacemaking? This is it. It’s fairly new, and new to me. 

Greg Boyd says in his preface that it is “Easy-to-read and compellingly argued… masterfully demonstrated … a treasure trove of insights.”

List to these other reviews:

Fleischer makes a compelling case: Nonviolent peacemaking is the indisputable way of Jesus. The core of the gospel. The very heart of God. Jesus the Pacifist dispels any doubt about these truths. — Donald B. Kraybill, author of The Upside-Down Kingdom

Walter Wink once said that non-violence is at “the essence of the gospel” such that Jesus followers “should not be called pacifists, but simply Christians.” Matthew Curtis Fleischer knows this, and herein he systematically, cogently, and pointedly makes just such a case. It is a welcome and well-researched volume, and I hope many people grapple with, argue about, and are convinced by Fleischer’s contentions.  — Lee C. Camp, author of Scandalous Witness: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians

I’ve only skimmed but am now eager to read an earlier book Fleisher did, which we have: The Old Testament Case for Nonviolence (Epic Octavius the Triumphant) $12.99;  OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39.)

Who Are Our Enemies and How Do We Love Them? Hyung Jim Kim Sun (Herald Press) $12.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

This is the shortest little book on our list and it is very good. I like this whole series of  “The Jesus Way” books which are described as “Small Books of Radical Faith.” There are about a dozen of these, including Who Was Jesus and What Does It Mean to Follow Him?, What Is the Kingdom and What Does Citizenship Look Like?, What Is the Church and Why Does It Exit?, What Is God’s Mission in the World and How Do We Join It?, What Does Justice Look Like and Why Does God Care About It? and more. Each is about 80 pages and has good discussion questions. Kudos to Herald Press, a publishing house of the Mennonite church for doing such fabulous little resources.

How to Have An Enemy: Righteous Anger & the Work of Peace  Melissa Florer-Bixler (Herald Press) $16.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

When I was describing this during a Zoom call a while back for a small group wanting some ideas for their next book club, I heard a gasp when I mentioned this. These are folks who were, I think, mostly quite aware of the gospel call to action, to service, and to peacemaking.They differed politically, I suspect, but they shared common values about wanting to make the world better and to bring God’s light into hard places. And so, regardless of their venue for doing that, no matter the area of need they most cared about, indeed, no matter where they stood on a political spectrum, they all cared deeply, they all knew things were messed out there, and, I gather, they all carried their hurts just below the surface. Maybe you, too, are often on the verge of having concern give way to anger, of frustration giving way to rage. What do we do about this? Can people who extol the loving way of Jesus actually do what the Bible says, “be angry, but sin not”? Floer-Bixler says yes.

Obviously, Jesus’ call to love our enemies does not mean that we should remain silent in the face of harsh injustice. (Even in less dramatic conflict, being civil with our disagreements surely doesn’t mean papering over our deepest differences.) So, obviously, we have to be real about all this.

As this great and important book explains, “to befriend our enemies we first have to acknowledge their existence, understand who they are, and recognize the ways they are acting in option to God’s good news.”  Yes, we can name injustice and yes, until God’s Spirit allows us to market as enemies are perhaps turned into friends, we must admit that there are enemies. As Florer-Bixler says, “the result is a theology that allows us to name our enemies as a form of truth-telling about ourselves, our communities, and the histories in which outlives are embedded.’

The back cover invites us to read this book so that we can enter this process. It says, “we can grapple with the power of the acts of destruction carried out by our enemies and invite them today down their enmity, opening a path for healing, reconciliation, and unity.” 

Florer-Bixler, by the way, has as Mennonite background, studied at Princeton Theological Seminary and at Duke. She is the pastor of a mixed race congregation in Raleigh, NC (and has been featured in The Atlantic and Sojourners and has written for Geez.) I loved her book Fire BY Night: Finding God in the Pages of the Old Testament. In this new one, you can see that she has been involved in on-the-street, BLM type activism and knows well about how communities can be oppressed and harmed and that standing up in grace and goodness might also mean coping with issues of being honest and forthright about enemies and our anguish with and about them. It sure seems to me she has earned the right to talk about this stuff and is a wise guide that we should trust.  That the famous Otis Moss III has a great forward is further indication that Rev. Florer-Bixler has a great gift for us that is well worth reading.

As Kristin Kobes Du Mez puts it, this is “a powerfully disruptive book.”

As Emmy Kegler (author of One Coin Found) warns, “Do not read this book unless you are prepared to have your soul shaken and your heart convicted.” 

Whom Shall I Fear: Urgent Questions for Christians in an Age of Violence Rosalind C. Hughes (Upper Room Books) $13.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $11.19

Wow, this looks like a great little book to reflect on in one’s devotional time of spiritual reading or to use as a guide for small group discussions. It is short (108 pages before the closing litany and an extensive group leader’s guide.) And it is written with a certain sort of reflective gentleness, it seems. Yet it is potent and provocative, creative, even.

Hughes is an Episcopal priest and rector of Church of the Epiphany in Euclid, Ohio. Her theology degree is from Oxford but she lives and works in a small town. Yet, even there, maybe especially there, folks are scared. This book and the fears it explores are not removed from the global economy and the threat of climate change or nuclear war, but, to be honest, it isn’t mostly about global peacemaking. It is more, it seems, inspired by our concerns about active shooters and the drills we have to have in many public places as we reasonably prepare to cope with attackers, ransom situations, SWAT teams and the like.

Even our houses of worship are not immune to violence so one of the questions we must have, a challenge for faith communities of all sorts, is how do we respond to the threat of potential violence within our neighborhoods and even our sacred spaces.

Reverend Hugh invites us to reflect on Biblical stories — the first about closed and locked doors — and ask hard questions about hospitality. She encourages us to “step back from fear” and examine our security politics in light of Scripture.

Okay, that’s putting our money where our mouth is, isn’t it? Living into that claim of Christ claiming “every square inch” of life. What do we do that is distinctively or uniquely Christian in our consideration of locked doors and armed security and gun violence, especially regarding our congregational settings? 

In an age of school lockdowns, police brutality, and rising violent white supremacy, I want to know: Where is the church? Who is the church? How do we be the church in these challenging circumstances? Through story, scripture, and prayer, Rosalind Hughes invites us into personal and communal reflection on what it means to follow the nonviolent way of Jesus. — Lydia Wylie-Kellermann, author of The Sandbox Revolution: Raising Kids for a Just World

In a society that continues to arm itself at a fearful rate, the Rev. Rosalind Hughes helps us explore what it might mean to put on the armor of light. With exceptional scholarly and pastoral ability, she both challenges and emboldens us to a deeper self-examination through the lens of scripture and a pedagogy of humility and vulnerability. Whom Shall I Fear? is a timely gift to an uncertain church in an unstable world. — The Right Reverend Mark Hollingsworth,  Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio

BIBLICAL PEACEMAKING AND ANTI-WAR MINISTRY

Waging Peace: One Soldier’s Story of Putting Love First Diana Oestreich (Broadleaf Books) $24.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

For those who like well written but clear and inspirational memoirs, Waging Peace is one of those books that you won’t be able to put down. I loved Diana’s description of patriotic enlistment in the US Army and her deployment to Iraq as a combat medic. Her faith sustains her through the hardships (including sexual harassment from her own fellow soldiers and officers) and while the story is dramatic, it isn’t sensationalized or horrific. I’ve read battle stories that are deeper and certainly more gruesome. But yet, this book kept me on the edge of my seat; it was harrowing as she told, in gripping storytelling, what is was like for her realizing she may have to kill children. I do not know why she didn’t think of that earlier — well, I sort of do, as I’ve counseled young men planning to enlist and it is amazing how slick military recruiting ads and video games distort the reality of what warriors may have to do. In any case, when Oestreich got there, proud of her country and loyal to her troops, committed to her battle buddies,  she faced a crisis of conscience. As a Christian, could she do that?

As a medic Oestreich had some significant work to do, including helping Iraqi citizens, and the early chapters are exciting about her making her way into dangerous villages while not speaking the language, gaining the apparent blessing of one older matriarch whom she had to decide if she could trust or not. In these forays into the village, she gave the US presence there a somewhat better reputation among villagers. She helped the sick. She treated wounds, she saved lives of those who were battle wounded but more, the impoverished women and children in dusty Iraq villages. The woman who provided her safety and guided her, we learn, was Om Hassan. Oestreich credits Hassan for breaking something open in her; that this Iraqi woman would trust her, and that Oestreich had to make a decision to trust her — following her deep into the village of possible enemies, suicide bombers, even, who were trained to hate her (as she was trained to fear them, trained to kill them)  — became a huge step towards a lived compassion that grew in her during these dangerous months in country. 

As I re-read that portion and the credit she gives to this woman that showed a stranger hospitality so they could give and receive care, I, again, was dissolved to tears. This is a war story unlike any you have ever read.

The story unfolds and as she bears witness to danger and horror, as the stress continues and her companions bear the strain of war, she continues to wonder about the Sunday school lessons of her youth, the grace of the gospel, the love of God. She comes back to the episode with Om, her being befriended by an enemy, the tentative steps towards trust, a discovery of humanity that cried out to her soul. She had to come to grips with the huge question of whether God would want her to kill others who He so loved. She is faced with IEDs, fires, death and destruction. She sees kindness and goodness (on both sides) in that harsh landscape. She realizes she does not want to carry her weapon. As a medic she saw herself offering mercy to all, and made a huge move. You’ve got to read how she came to that move which she saw as a brave act of principle, of conscience, of freedom. She was heading down a path that would soon call into question not only the ethics of her deployment and that war, but of the very idea of killing for political reasons. She was becoming a war-time, battlefield conscientious objector. As the subtitle put it, she was going to “put love first.” It’s a complex and riveting story, morally complicated and theologically freighted. But she realizes it is her time to walk in the way of Jesus. She needs to wage peace.

After coming home she continued the story as she went to work with the extraordinary organization Preemptive Love that started doing pediatric health care in cross cultural ways in Middle Eastern war zones. Her bio reads that she is an activist, a veteran, a sexual assault nurse and the key relationship officer at Preemptive Love. She has her work cut out for her still as a peacemaker and justice advocate. 

I wish I knew how to persuade you to use this book in your next book club, to read it and discuss it and share it. You may not agree with her choices; you may not find her simple faith and Biblical obedience sensible. No matter — this is a great story of a great faith journey, one you may never forget. If Jesus says peacemakers like her are “blessed” and “children of God” (Matthew 5:9) then it might be wise to read her testimony. Yes!

Please (please) read these endorsements who capture some of why this book is one we recommend:

Once in a while, we encounter a story so vivid, so personal, it drags us from complacency and propels us toward possibility. This is one of those rare books. Told through combat boots and teacups, mothers and neighbors, enemies and their absence, Waging Peace promises something more valuable than security and taking sides. Bold, tender, and courageous to the core, this book has changed my life forever. —- Shannan Martin, author of The Ministry of Ordinary Places and Falling Free

Love never fails. Oestreich’s Waging Peace invites us to believe those words as never before. The world is barricaded behind walls of shame and ‘otherizing,’ and only tender love can scale those walls. On the other side, we find our shared humanity, a reverence for complexity, and a longing to be practitioners of this dangerous hope that only chooses love. This book helps you scale the walls.    —- Gregory J. Boyle, S.J., author ofTattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion and The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness

Diana Oestreich’s personal transformation is laid out like bread crumbs for readers to follow without having to participate in military conflict. Diana shows us that the ultimate act of peace is to love. This book is a confession, an atonement, and an act of penance. If one soldier can emerge from such trials, then there is hope for us all to conquer fear. At the same time, it is an instructional manual on how humans can be more humane regardless of circumstance.                         —- Garett Reppenhagen, US Army Iraq veteran, and Executive Director of Veterans for Peace

In faith pursuits, the simplest commitments always get closer to the heart of things. That’s what I found in Diana’s Waging Peace. Summed up with clarity rising from living into truth, not just talking about it, she offers this message: “Love first. Love always. Neighbors and enemies. It’s possible, even in life’s most challenging moments.” Diana’s story could not be more relevant and needed, here and now, where fear and division find constant justification to see even our neighbors as enemies. This book inspires. I feel a resonant sense of gratitude for this voice at this time. —- John Paul Lederach, professor emeritus, University of Notre Dame, author of The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace and Reconcile: Conflict Transformation for Ordinary Christians

Resurrection Peacemaking: Plowsharing the Tools of War: Thirty Years with the Christian Peacemaker Teams Clifford Kindy (Resource Publications) $19.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $15.20

Decades ago some bold leaders speaking out against war pushed some who were writing and speaking and protesting against war to do more, to do what some not-so-well-intended critics said we should: if we love our enemies so much, why don’t we go there? Indeed, if we were dreaming up idealistic alternatives to war (and learning what brave others have done down through the ages) why not try to publicly protest and bear witness in a real war zone?  Brethren and Mennonite and Quaker pacifists were in the leadership of these sorts of plans; in our circles, this included Ron Sider and friends at Sojourners magazine (who had just published a book published by Harper that featured a small chapter about a Pittsburgh peace group I was involved with.)

Would any of us put our money where our mouth was, so to speak? More properly understood, would any of us take Christ’s mandate to be a peacemaker seriously enough to enter this controversial and dangerous work, pay up with our lives if necessary. A few folks we knew and one we loved very much headed off after some intense training in nonviolence to the Middle East and to Central America where, as the mid-80s Bruce Cockburn sung, down “Where the Death Squads Live.” In those years this iteration of this movement to put US prayer warriors in between the US backed death-squad contras and the innocent villagers they targeted was known as Witness for Peace which soon enough became (or merged with) Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT.) Kathy Kern’s 600-page work In Harm’s Way: A History of Christian Peacemaker Teams is the definite history and study of this, linking the formation to a speech Ron Sider gave in 1984 to the Mennonite World Conference in Strasbourg, France.

For those who follow this work, the name Clifford Kindy is legendary. He was an early leader, went on many Christian Peacemaker Teams, offered encouraging assistance to many more. The hard work of this kind of peace-building is obviously strengthened by working in community and forming collaborative teams and here he tells us the stories of how some of these peace-witnessing mission-type trips developed, what happened, the impact they did or didn’t have. Kindy draws the reader through the danger, drama, and spirituality of these trips but he also (as he puts it) shares the “mediocrity” of his personal experience, including his life at his farm in Indiana. Well, there’s nothing mediocre about any of this, really, although some may be what we might call mundane. There’s a lot of day by day practical work to prepare to head to, oh, say, The Congo or Palestine or Baghdad. There’s some spiritual preparation to be done when one knows one might be detained, arrested, tortured, and might die. Yeah, there’s that.

Some of the chapter titles are so fascinating they make you want to skip ahead just to see what he’s writing about. It’s fairly plain-spoken, but, good golly, you’ve got to read “In Boko Haram’s Wake”, “Fear and I in Nigeria”, and “Baghdad – Living in the Bullseye.” The one about the suicide bomber that visits a CPT is stunning. “Wild Columbian Bulls” is certainly interesting. There’s a chapter about how they trained a nonviolent team of devout Muslims, showing the interfaith possibilities of this project. One of the chapters is about their ongoing public witness against the depleted uranium (from nuclear weapons) campaign in Tennessee. 

As Clifford explains in the preface, Resurrection Peacemaking begins with the drama of Israeli occupation in Gaza and chapter two flies us back to Joyfield Farm in Indiana, showing what life is like at home for this CPTer.

I know that some BookNotes readers will recognize the name Chad Meyers. He is most known for his amazingly fresh, thorough, political reading of the gospel of Mark called Binding the Strong Man. We stock his other books, including the recent Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization.

 Here is what he and his wife wrote about meeting Cliff Kindy:

When we met Cliff Kindy and family at their Joyfield Farm during a Christian Peacemaker Team Congress in 1998, they already embodied an exemplary personal and political discipleship of nonviolence. This now revered elder peacemaker chronicles how CPT experiments around the world are opening paths that can liberate us from our captivity to militarism. Both harrowing and inspiring, Kindy’s stories and analysis invite us into, and instruct us in, that crucial work.  –Ched Myers and Elaine Enns, co-authors of Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization

Rose Marie Berger is a seasoned and well-traveled peacemaker and top notch reporter. She has sen it all, and puts well just what we think of this:

Kindy is a Midwestern farmer who eschews swords and is familiar with plowshares. In that Isaiah tradition, he offers gripping stories of courage, sacrifice, and faithful Christian witness in situations of intractable and deadly violence. Nonviolence is most effective, writes Kindy, when it intentionally retakes the initiative from the actors of violence. From Gaza to Iraq, Nigeria to Colombia, and back to the United States, Kindy reveals a hidden truth behind the Christian Peacemaker Team, a civilian “nonviolent special ops,” who for more than thirty years have been infiltrating war zones to de-escalate violence, accompany peacemakers, and serve the victims of war — all for the sake of Jesus. These are the stories of our unsung peace heroes. Remember them. Honor them. Emulate them.  — Rose Marie Berger, senior editor at Sojourners magazine

Pursuing The Spiritual Roots of Protest: Merton, Berrigan, Yoder, and Muste at the Gethsemani Abbey Peacemakers Retreat Gordon Oyer (Cascade Books) $33.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $26.40

What a book! This is fascinating, detailed, a detective story and investigative report, history told about an event many have heard of and yet no one has heretofore seriously explored. For serious fans and students of Thomas Merton, they know of his pulling together a gathering of a handful of Protestant and Catholic thinkers and activists to talk about the spiritual roots of protesting war. One or two mentions may be made of this momentous retreat that was held in fall of 1964 — Martin Luther King had intended to quietly attend but had to go to Norway to give his acceptance speech for the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. In his place his friend and nonviolent teacher Bayard Rustin was going to be there, but decided at the last minute to go with King to Oslo.

This unfolds slowly, but for those interested in the inter-relationships and networks that shaped the religious left and Christian peacemaking in the 1960s, it is thrilling. Dorothy Day was considered, of course, but women were not allowed at the Cistercian monastery in those years. The Catholic Peace Fellowship was struggling and a young Mennonite scholar John Howard Yoder was becoming one of the first Mennonite peace teachers to become known in the wider ecumenical world. That both Berrigan brothers were there is no surprise (Dan had already become friends with Merton) but the politics of superiors and church officials made some of this tricky, to say the least.

A.J. Muste was a legendary Quaker pacifist, by then getting up in years. Merton really wanted to meet him, but, as a rather older sectarian, he wasn’t quite aware of who the famous monk was, let alone how influential he was becoming. (When his order silenced him from writing, he sent articles under a nom de plume to Dorothy at The Catholic Work that caught the attention of the Vatican. Merton continued to be outspoken about the abolition of war and the dangers of nuclear weapons.  As Merton friend and biography Jim Forest writes in the fabulous preface of Pursuing the Spiritual Roots of Protest, “many essays about peacemaking followed as a book, Peace in the Post-Christian Era, but its publication had been stopped by the head of the Trappist order in Rome, Dom Gabriel Sorais, who felt that it was inappropriate for a monk to write on such controversial topics.”)

Who pulled this event together and why? How did the Pittsburgh meeting of Presbyterian clergy studying peacemaking related? The late Jim Forest (who died just a few weeks ago) was obviously central. It was postponed several times over a year — schedules didn’t mesh, Merton was depressed and overworked, Berrigan was in jail, etcetera.  What a time it was as the Viet Nam war was rumbling, the historic civil rights nonviolent protests were being debated, Merton was nearly a celebrity, and, well, the Berrigans. It was years before they would be on the cover of Time for burning draft files in Catonsville, years before Nixon had them arrested where the Harrisburg trials were a fiasco, and Paul Simon sang about the”radical priests” in “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.” But for those who want a glimpse into what deep spiritual lessons were presented and vigorously discussed in this invitation-only, off-the-books retreat, Gordon Oyer has done us a great service.

Pursuing the Spiritual Roots of Protest was a labor of love with detailed study of archives, letters, interviews, with Oyer tracking down over years of research the slimmest possibility of somebody who had heard something first had. Most of the participants had long died, but he did interview some who were there (Jim Forest, for instance) and had fairly extended notes from the Yoder archives at Notre Dame. There are a couple of pictures. This event, I am convinced, is a major historical occurrence in the second half of the 20th century. Serious historians of the 60s peace movement have long wished for more information about it. Merton aficionados have always wondered. That Oyer has given us this detailed, definitive account, drawn from copious notes and letters and conversations and journals, is extraordinary and a great, great, gift.

A very curious thing that I did not know: Merton had advanced manuscripts of a book called The Technological Society by a Frenchman named Jacque Ellul that was being translated by W.H. Ferry, who pirated apparently unedited copy to Merton the week before the November retreat. Merton was very impressed by this Ellul manuscript and held forth about it in his sessions at the Gethsemani retreat. Who knew?

Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael “MJ” Sharp Marshall V. King (Herald Press) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

This is a moving story of a peace hero many have not heard of. MJ traveled the world unarmed urging soldiers to choose peace. He was kidnapped and killed on a UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Famous peace-building scholar John Paul Lederach has a moving foreword; award winning historical and great writer Adam Hochschild (who wrote King’s Leopold’s Ghost about colonial Africa) says Disarmed “reminds us of a kind of courage that is all too rare in this world.” 

Here is how the publisher describes it Michael and his life and death:

Michael “MJ” Sharp was a modern Mennonite armed with wit and intellect, but not a gun. The son of a Mennonite pastor, he demonstrated a gift for listening and persuading early in life. His efforts to approach others with acknowledgement rather than judgement gave him the ability to connect on a level very few managed. He also honed a deep commitment to peace, and after college he joined the Mennonite Mission Network and moved to Germany, where he persuaded soldiers to choose peace and free them of their violent systems.

At 34 years old, MJ was working for the United Nations Group of Experts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—urging rebels to lay down their weapons—when he was murdered, likely assassinated alongside his colleague Zaida Catalán by those with government ties. This compelling account of MJ’s life, death, and legacy from longtime journalist Marshall V. King explores what compelled Sharp to travel the world working for peace and the ongoing impact of his life and death in the ongoing story of Christian peacemaking in a war-torn world.

I Am Not Your Enemy: Stories to Transform a Divided World Michael T. McRay (Herald Press) $16.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

If Disarmed is a moving story of a quixotic Christian lead to serve as peacemaker in war zones, I Am Not Your Enemy is packed full of such stories. The foreword by award winning writer Ishmael Beah (who wrote A Long Way Gone about child soldiers) indicates that this is cutting edge stuff, vivid and real. Yes, there are violent stories that surround us, but don’t we need better stories, showing that, yes, sometimes good does triumph over evil? In this time of heightened alienation and fear, the back cover assures us, “McRay offers true, sacred stories of reconciliation and justice, asking what they can teach us about our own divided states.” Born out of the conviction that such stories can cultivate empathy (and perhaps even transform our fear) McRay— a professional storyteller, facilitator and practitioner of this kind of deep sharing —here reports back from the raw edges of real reconciliation.

In You Are Not My Enemy you will read about his interviews with peace builders, former combatants, pastors, even, who took up the causes of making the world a better place. He hears from “grieving parents who comfort each other across enemy lines, a woman who meets her father’s killer, and a man who uses theatre to counter the oppression of his people.”  No wonder Becca Stevens, founder of Thistle Farms (and author of the brand new Practically Divine says it is “stunning.” 

Poet, contemplative and Northern Ireland peace worker Padraig O’Tuama writes,

This book is a muscle, an ache, a practice of asking the troubling questions at the heart of peace.

Keep Watch With Me: An Advent Reader for Peacemakers Claire Brown & Michael T. McRay (Abingdon Press) $16.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

I wanted to list this now, even though it is a seasonal Advent book. It seems to me it is nearly always Advent, living in the dark as we do, waiting for the light of Christ’s Kingdom to come. This great little reader has a month’s worth of devotional readings, each by and about a particular peacemaker, social change activist, an inspiring person working with individuals who are incarcerated, victims of crime, refugees, trafficked. It shows how the radical call to join God’s movement and find Christ’s peace can be transforming for those who have been hurt, and those who are hurtful. This is a great little devotional for peacemakers of all sorts.

Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War Samuel Moyn (FSG) $30.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $24.00

This is a thick and demanding book of groundbreaking investigative reporting and analysis, a thrilling survey of the implications and consequences of new ways we have come to think about warfare. I am not finished with this and I am not sure what to think — it is cunning and insightful and surprising, a truly new take on a vexing old problem.

Here is the gist: we have heretofore generally thought — at least those with moral scruples and ethical principles — that war is bad and that the tragic collateral damage of death and destruction of civilians and social infrastructure should be avoided, almost at all costs. We did not actually fight this way (in fact, quite the opposition) but we had some sort of sense that we, the USA, was not as barbaric as some in our strategies and policies. Prophetic voices against the empires often had to (at least in free democracies like our own where we could) speak up to hold the war-making State to account, insisting that, at least, they not target civilians, hospitals, dams, water treatment plants, schools. We have not always fought according to the just war theory but as ethical pundits and morally responsible Pentagon leaders pushed for constraints on the horror of war, it does seem that there has been some improvement, if we can call it that. Lefty cynics may not agree, but it does seem we have a more just and principled sort of modus operandi in our approach to war-fighting these days.

Our best moral guides, it seems, have shifted seeing war as a bad thing that should be abolished to a legitimate form of foreign policy to be moderated and reformed; not a necessary evil, but a necessary, if unpleasant, good, and thereby, perhaps a virtue.

And this, our intrepid author Samuel Moyn suggests, is why we have — in my words, not his — let our guard down, came to be less outraged by warfare, have grown complacent and complicit as citizens in what remains a death-dealing, horrible, cruel reality on the ground.  As we have reinvented a way to do war in less gruesome ways, or at least have marketed it as such, we have come to think it maybe is not so bad. 

Among many other plots and subplots, Humane includes a history of how an international effort to outlaw war gave way to an effort to regulate it, thereby giving the illusion that it was controlled, softer, humane, even. And law abiding; legitimate.

Here is how Andrew Bacevich, a former Marine  and now President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, put it:

In this profound and deeply disturbing book, Samuel Moyn shows how efforts to curb war’s brutality — to make it more humane — finds the United States today caught in a bind where war has become perpetual. As technology further dehumanizes war’s conduct, this bind will become increasingly difficult to escape.  —  Andrew Bacevich, author of After the Apocalypse: America’s Role in a World Transformed 

In gripping prose, one of our boldest intellectuals and most trenchant critics upends the conventional stories that are told about law, progress, and war. Humane exposes the deceptive promise of humanization and its role in supporting the clinically legalized wars of our future. This book is a call for moral and political engagement that should be very widely read. — Naz Khatoon Modirzadeh, founding director of the Harvard Law School Program on International Law and Armed Conflict

The World’s Most Prestigious Prize: The Inside Story of the Nobel Peace Prize Geir Lundestad (Oxford University Press) $24.95  OUR SALE PRICE = $19.96

Happy to list this one, too, for those interested in the fascinating (and, admittedly, controversial) story of how the inventor of dynamite attempted to atone for the violence he helped bring into the world and, more, how the ongoing prize committee did or did not live up to the founder’s vision. 

Geir Lundestad is a distinguished historian, himself, but, more importantly, he served for twenty-five ears as the executive director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute. 

As University of Virginia professor of history Melvyn Leffler tells us, this unique volume, a history of the prize, adds “fascinating vignettes of his interactions with the winners — Mikhail Gorbachev and Barrack Obama, among others — with incisive reflections of a mature scholar of international relations.” How fascinating to review these laureates and see why they were named a winner of “the world’s most prestigious prize”and a bit of the backstory. 

BRINGING IT HOME

Raising Kids Who Care: Practical Conversations for Exploring Stuff that Matters, Together Susy Lee (598 Press) $19.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $15.99

This recent book is said to be an encouragement and resource for parents who want to help their kids build relationships, counter outside influences, grow strong character, and contribute with purpose to world issues. That’s putting it mildly! This is a vibrant and thoughtful book inviting us to help our kids care about the world as God does. The author delights in saying that this is her passion for the Kingdom of God even if the book isn’t necessarily written for an exclusively religious audience. Nice! Besides plenty of stories and good insight, it actually contains forty guided conversations for families to help teach good communication. Which is, of course, a key tool for effective flourishing for any child, but, especially, for those who want to be purposeful about peacemaking.

Ms Lee says this warm but thoughtful parenting book actually “comes out of my Master’s Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. I really believe prevention is better than cure, so if we can raise kids who know how to listen and converse, who value empathy and relationship, and who want to contribute to the world with purpose, then we will be peacemakers!!

As she told me:  “I can summarize my whole degree like this: communication is the best tool we have for conflict resolution. It’s a skill though that we too often assume rather than teach. The conversations in my book are designed to teach these skills!

Listen to this good endorsement by missional thinker, Micael Frost:

Not content to let Instagram and Netflix raise our children, Susy Lee has written a brilliant guidebook that helps kids to put down their screens and dive into deep family conversations about critical social issues. If you want your family to care more about others, social justice, the planet, and culture in general, use this book! It’s fun, practical, inspiring, and it might just change the world! — Michael Frost, Morling College, Sydney and author of Surprise the World: The Five Habits of Highly Missional People

This is a brilliant book. I just wish it had been around when my own children were younger!  It is a treasure trove of insight, information and inspiration; with excellent questions and ideas for deepening the conversations in families, helping them to become rich places for the exploration of deep values and character formation. Every parent needs it in hand. — Tim Costello former CEO and Chief Advocate, World Vision Australia

This remarkable book is about hope that change is possible. As a caring parent, an inspiring practitioner with a deep sense of social justice, and a brilliant peace scholar, the author invites us on the journey of nurturing hope in the world, one family at a time. I cannot wait to delve into each of the 40 family conversations in this book with my family. — Dr Dong Jin Kim, Senior Research Fellow in Peace and Reconciliation Studies, Trinity College, Dublin

Justice, Mercy, and Kindness  Cindy Wang Brandt (Eerdmans) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

I pitched this at our BookNote blog when it first came out in 2019. I said, of course, that it is  rare sort of book, solidly Christian but not beholden to the religious right. Not like you’d read from most evangelical publishers, something different from Focus on the Family. I am sure I noted that Rachel Held Evans wrote the forward, a good forward. Little did we know then in the winter of that year that she would die unexpectedly that Spring at age 37, leaving her husband with two young children. I have re-read her good preface and just wanted to give this book another shout out, fitting in to this theme as it does, even though it isn’t brand new.

Here is what the publisher invites us to realize about this book:

How do we build a better world? One key way, says Cindy Wang Brandt, is by learning to raise our children with justice, mercy, and kindness.

In Parenting Forward Brandt equips Christian parents to model a way of following Jesus that has an outward focus, putting priority on loving others, avoiding judgment, and helping those in need. She shows how parents must work on dismantling their own racial, cultural, gender, economic, and religious biases in order to avoid passing them on to their children.

“By becoming aware of the complex ways we participate in systems of inequal­ity or hierarchy,” she says, “we begin to resist systemic injustice ourselves, empower our children, and change our communities.”

As Carol Howard Merritt, author of Healing Spiritual Wounds, observes:

Cindy Wang Brandt shows us how to respect children, nurture creativity, and encourage their flourishing. Wisdom shines through on every page.

The Sandbox Revolution: Raising Kids for a Just World edited by Lydia Wylie-Kellermann (Broadleaf) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

I wrote about this back in December, and that was long overdue — it’s a fascinating book, potent and probably unlike any you’ve seen. I’d like to reprise those comments in slightly  edited form here

The Sandbox Revolution is a report from seriously radical, faith-based social activist and peacemaker about how they’ve raised their kids consistent with their lifestyles and visions and convictions that often put them at odds with the mainstream values of their friends, families, and neighbors, and, often, their church families. I suppose some of our good customers aren’t going to see themselves as part of this energetic movement of public theology and social resistance. But for those who want some important conversations that you might not get in your own family or church, this could be stretching and helpful.

Endorsements on the back are weighty, from Liz Theoharis (co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign), Cindy Wang Brandt (who wrote the very nice Parenting Forword: How to Raise Children with Justice, Mercy, and Kindness) and the wise Quaker, Parker Palmer.

Lydia Wylie-Kellerman was raised in a family of deeply Christian, radical discipleship. Her parents wrote for Sojourners at what might be considered the height of their agitating, doing civil disobedience, and leading local campaigns of fighting the principalities and powers in nonviolent and transformative ways. I am glad that Lydia emerged from that with faith and new creation visions intact; some kids of parents of those movements have scars and resentments that their parents conscripted them to such activism.

Wylie-Kellermann is a good writer like her parents, and she is the editor of Geez magazine. She has curated the Radical Discipleship blog and writes for various Catholic Worker papers. 

The Sandbox Revolution is a collection of inviting stories for parents who want to raise children to work for justice and who see their parenting as part of their whole-life spiritually based activism. You will find here pieces by folks of various Christian faith traditions, interviews and conversations with people in different places within the broader networks of social change projects. Some are scholars (Laurel Dykstra) and some are long-standing faith leaders (Dee Dee Risher) and some are themselves from legendary anti-war families (Frida Berrigan.) Some of the contributors you may know from recent books such as Jennifer Harvey (on anti-racism work among white parents) and Randy Woodley bringing his Native insights.

Lydia is a good writer, an imaginative organizer, and here she has brought together a remarkable collection for those wanting to ponder and learn about parenting for peace and justice. This is a book to inspire you to think well about raising children as peacemakers and more. We are very glad to suggest it here.

Walking Toward Peace: The True Story of a Brave Woman Called Peace Pilgrim Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Annie Bowler (Flyaway Books) $18.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

This is the story of a woman who gave up everything she owned, even her given name, and, in a quirky call worthy of an Old Testament prophet, set off to walk across the country in the wake of World War II, raising a kind and gentle anti-war message. We met Peace Pilgrim before her untimely death in 1981 at the age of 74. This is a fascinating children’s picture book by an award winning author and a creative rising artist.

See a sample here.

Three Lines in a Circle: The Exciting Life of the Peace Symbol Michael G. Long, illustrated by Carlos Velez (Flyaway Books) $18.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

Wow, who would imagine that the history of the peace symbol could be so energetically told and vividly presented? And that it could be so interesting and, yes, inspiring, if you want your children to conspire for what black leaders sometimes call “good trouble.” This really is a fabulous, colorful book.

You may find it interesting who first thought up the famous sign — it was in 1958 and has something to do with semaphor the letters n and d.

Mike Long, by the way, is an ordained minister friend, a historian and professor (near us in Central Pennsylvania at Elizabethtown College.) He has written very well-respected biographies of people who have made a difference, from Bayard Rustin to Jackie Robinson, to an excellent, serious volume on Mister Rogers.  He has done thorough research on nonviolent peace actions and now he’s done a biography of a symbol.  What fun.  Carlos Velez has illustrated more than twenty books for children and is widely recognized with illustration awards. He lives in Mexico City.

Take a sneak preview here.

Sensing Peace Suzana E. Yoder, illustrated by Rachel Hoffman-Bayle (Herald Press) $13.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $11.19

We’ve promoted this book at events and conferences for years, and thought it would be fun to include it here. It isn’t as Christ-centered as I might wish, it is a lovely work that could be used in public schools or in various settings. It does invite children to be peace. It shows scenes of people doing service and showing understanding among differences. It is sweet without being simplistic, and I think it is a wise step toward taking up that peace sign, above.

Sensing Peace, though, has another feature that makes it particularly interesting: it invites children to sense peace by using their senses. It asks them to see and taste to be attentive to their embodiedness (although it doesn’t use that big word.) It is delightful book that encourages an awareness of listening and looking, touching and feeling. They can experience peace!

Susan Yoder grew up in a fairly small town, Mennonite setting and now teachers in an urban school and has a heart for children in her city. Hoffman-Bayle was raised in Utah and now lives in New York.

+++

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BookNotes

SPECIAL
DISCOUNT

20% OFF

I’ve been working on and off for weeks on a topical post that we’ll do soon. I’ve compiled lots of recent titles around civility, conflict, peacemaking, nonviolence, and the like. It’s been on my heart for ages and there are some books that will have you on the edge of your seat. And a few that are brand spanking new. That list, now, seems more urgent that ever.

However, first, we are so glad about new titles that keep coming — hooray for USPS and UPS and FedEx for getting our cartons to us here at the shop! We want our friends to know about some of them. Here are reviews of some of our recent favs. We think there is something here for your reading pleasure during what for at least some of us is a pretty chilly January.

All are 20% off and, as usual, you can click on the link at the very end which takes you to our secure order form page at the website. That is always safe to enter credit card info and we promise to write back to you personally to confirm everything. Happy book buying!

What Are Christians For? Life Together at the End of the World Jake Meador (IVP) $22.00          OUR SALE PRICE = $17.60

This just arrived a few days ago and I can say without a doubt that a year from now it will be on many of our best reviewer’s “Best of 2022″ lists. We were very enthusiastic about the great wisdom and insight and beauty of his excellent In Search of the Common Good, and this new one is going to be as acclaimed and as enduring, slim as it is.  In a way, What Are Christians For? is more of the same, a combo of small town storytelling, church history, theological explanation, and  an astute critique of the assumptions and practices of modernity, showing how we found ourselves distanced from each other and the creation itself in this fractured seemingly disenchanted world. In this book, Jake pleasantly explores non-ideological politics, race (in conversation with Willie Jennings), ecology and our mechanized society (inspired, as always, by his love for his place and his appreciation of the good words of Wendell Berry) and what Malcolm Foley (director of Black church studies at Truett Seminary) calls “a robust historic Reformed orthodoxy guided by Herman Bavinck.” Oh yeah — this is delightfully ecumenical and surprising, even, breaking stereotypes of what a conservative Reformed evangelical thinks and how young scholars live.

This serious reflection on what a Christian public witness should look like in our day and Meador’s proposal for a politics of givenness (that’s a Wendell Berry phrase) is what some have called “thick” and “trenchant” and “penetration” and “unsettling.” The quite dramatic first story took my breath away and the less dramatic one — involving the debt he owes his dad for helping get him out of a snow bank in the middle of one Nebraska night — had me hooked in the first few pages. This is a wonderful, important book. It is intellectually stimulating, enjoyable, wise and we highly recommend it.

As Tim Keller says, “Our polarized and fragmenting contemporary church needs this book!”

Do You Believe? 12 Historic Doctrines to Change Your Everyday Life Paul David Tripp (Crossway) $32.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $26.39

This is a pretty remarkable, relatively accesible, frankly evangelical, gospel-based and gracious study of historic theology, offered in the clear, non-nonsense and often poignant manner of Christian thinker, counselor, writer, Paul Tripp. You may know his very popular, beloved (if intense) devotional called New Morning Mercies. Here he offers a standard sort of chapter explaining a Biblical doctrine — creation, the nature of God, the person of Christ, what sin is, how redemption works, the role of the Spirit, the theology of the church, our future hope, etc. — and after each chapter there is an application sort of essay, a strong piece about why this doctrine matters, how this theological truth is lived out, the transformation we can experience when we understand and live out of this aspect of Christian teaching. There is even an artistic symbol for each chapter, which is fun and helpful. I appreciate their effort to make this weighty stuff interesting and useful.  

Tripp is not quite a neo-Calvinist Kuyperian of the sort I described in last week’s post, but he indeed does help us see that classic formulations of Biblical doctrines do have practical implications and Do You Believe helps us (as Dane Ortlund puts it) “funnel them into our actual, real-time lives.”  Ortlund continues:

This book makes wonderfully unavoidable what theology is for — buoyancy and hope and energy in my life today.

How Beautiful the World Could Be: Christian Reflections on the Everyday Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt (Eerdmans) $22.99                               OUR SALE PRICE = $18.39

Again, perhaps on this theme of the power of doctrine and the ways in which we can inhabit the world with a “spirituality of the ordinary” and how knowing a bit of theology can help us do that, this remarkable book is a stunner. Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt is a Roman Catholic professor of theology and scholar and good preacher, too (even if Catholics call them homilists.) His last book was a fabulous, beautiful, little Eerdmans paperback called The Love That is God: An Invitation to Christian Faith ($18.99; OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19) that we have commended several times here at BookNotes. This brand new one is written in a lively tone and style (these were homilies, after all and are transcribed as poetic verse) and from a broader faith tradition than, say, the CCEF background of Paul Tripp (above.) Yet, these movingly written pieces are pushing in somewhat similar territory insofar as he is a trained theologian offering practical reflections on living out faith in our day to day lives and helping us see that our personal life story is part of a larger Story begun and unfolding in sacred Scripture’s telling of redemptive history. These are sermons informed by good thinking and poetically offered for us ordinary saints.

You must listen to just one of the many rave reviews from our friend Winn Collier:

In an age where our theology often either wilts or bludgeons, we’re desperate for faithful, artful voices that speak into the grit of our world without adding to the clamor. We need words that pierce while carrying the lilt of love. We need true poets in the pulpit. Thankfully, we have Bauerschmidt’s haunting, holy sentences beckoning us toward the God of beauty and thunder.  —  Winn Collier, director of the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination and author of Love Big, Be Well and A Burning in My Bones.)

Beautiful and enticing, eh? That very well may be the best book blurb I’ve seen in years and I hope it shows you just how wonderful this new collection is.  

Garden Maker: Growing a Life of Beauty & Wonder with Flowers Christie Purifoy (Harvest House) $26.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $21.59

Well, speaking of applied theology, Christie Purifoy is theologically astute herself, an excellent writer, (with a PhD in English lit), and an exceptionally thoughtful woman who has lived into a deep and human sort of spirituality of stewarding her own home. She offered lovely prose in her debut memoir Roots & Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons and then wrote the amazing Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace which we cannot say enough about. As Covid began to spread, she had just signed a contract to write this book, taking pictures of the many flowers she plants and offering a remarkable blend of gift book, instruction manual, and spiritual meditation on the joy of gardening. And what a book it turned out to be!

Purifoy had time alone to ponder these things in her heart, and the exceptional photos (enhanced by wonderful design touches, from end papers to handsome pull quotes) are accompanied by her own selection of good quotes, Scripture reflections, and rumination on getting one’s hands dirty in the soil of God’s good, fallen, and being redeemed world of wonder.

Enjoy this very short video about Garden Maker.

Garden Maker is a book we’ve been eagerly awaiting and we are sure many will take great delight in this glorious hardback full of vivid photographs and equally vivid writing. Hooray.

Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth Debra Rienstra (Fortress Press) $23.99                  OUR SALE PRICE = $19.19

This arrived yesterday and what first struck me is that with such a lovely and appropriate design, with slightly upraised type, it might be the most handsome hardback book that we’ve seen so far this year. Even the pencil sketches before each chapter bring to mind classic old scientific drawings from natural history (or, maybe the lush novel The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.) I mention the aesthetics of this because it seems to assure us that this is done with great care, that it will be a classy volume about the wonders of this good but broken world and truly a worthy read.

Professor Rienstra is a great writer — she is an English prof at Calvin University. The first book I read of hers was a memoir of pregnancy that was beautifully captivating and then another on what sort of liturgical words for worship we might use and their consequence. As good English teachers and writers do, Rienstra cares about words and she writes conscientiously and very well and her work is is itself a gift of solace.  Refugia Faith is reflecting upon “how we can become healers on a damaged Earth and inspire others to do the same.” It is not lost on me that she thanks Kathleen Dean Moore, one of my very favorite nature writers. Nor that she is a writer for the fabulously interesting online Reformed Journal and their blog “The Twelve.”

The key word of the title — refugia (re-FU-jee-ah) — is, in fact, as the back cover tells us, “a biological term describing places of shelter where life endures in times of crisis, such as a volcanic eruption, fire, or stressed climate.”

As the publisher tells us, “Rienstra recounts her own process of education — beginning not as a scientist or an outdoors enthusiast but by examining the wisdom of theologians and philosophers, farmers and nature writers, scientists and activists, and especially people on the margins.”

By weaving nature writing, personal narrative, and theological reflection, Rienstra grapples honestly with her own fears and longings and points toward a way forward — a way to transform Christian spirituality.

Rave reviews grace the back cover from Bill McKibben (who calls is a “solace” and a “small classic”), Kristin Kobes Du Mez (who says it is “filled with beauty” and is “gorgeously written”), Randy Woodley (who says it will help readers “rediscover your sense of wonderment!”) and Karyn Bigelow of Creation Justice Ministries.

Listen to Kyle Meyaard-Schapp, vice president of the Evangelical Environmental Network, who writes,

For most of us, a crises like climate change is cause for panic and withdrawal. Rienstra beautifully, winsomely invites us to flip this script. Rather than viewing it as an insurmountable challenge, she argues that the climate crisis is an opportunity for transformation — if only we have the courage, imagination, and resiliency to seize it.

Say Yes: Discovering the Surprising Life Beyond the Death of a Dream Scott Erickson (Zondervan) $25.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $20.79

This released — dropped, as the kids say –just yesterday and I was too busy reading other brand new ones to spend much time with it last night, even though I was as eager as most to see what Scott is up to now. He’s an acquaintance from his speaking (and painting!) many years at our annual Jubilee conference in Pittsburgh and is the way cool graphic designer and modern artist whose visuals served as a basis for the amazingly thoughtful prayers and meditations of Justin McRoberts. I sure hope you know their collaborations Prayer: Forty Days of Practice and May It Be So: Forty Days with the Lord’s Prayer. Maybe you know his Honest Advent that had more writing content than visual art (than, say, the two with McRoberts, which were very visual in nature.) The brand new Say Yes, I can tell you, has plenty of content. And plenty of art, even if some are small, cartoony illuminations along the page’s edges, odd highlighted words, funny sketches. The goofiness is there; the profundity, too. Erickson is a character.

Two things we can assure you about Say Yes. It is an invitation to a journey. The “surprising life” that emerges from that coffin on the cover is serious business. Erickson sees himself as a partner on the journey, a guide, actually, and he tells stories and points readers how to get in touch with their own deepest stories. He’s influenced by, or at less simpatico with his pal Justin (I do recommend his It Is What You Make of It: Creating Something Great from What You’ve Been Given) and he’s shaped by his quirky awareness of art history and pop culture. With a bit of Jung and Joseph Campbell myth insights, too, I suspect. He loves that meta stuff — he once did amazing icon-like pieces of each of the characters of Lost for a great book reflecting on the theological implications of that big TV hit.

He calls himself a “touring painter, performance storyteller, and creative curate.” He wants to speak to our deepest experiences, including lament, as he did so well in Honest Advent.

If one is going to talk about vision and hope and living your story like some counter-cultural, hipster Bob Goff, your going to need to make it real and grapple with serious loss. And that is what Erickson calls The Voice of Giving Up. As he has explained in his workshops and artsy programs over the years, he has apparently had some midnight conversations with this voice. If you have too, he knows what you’re going through and can help you begin again. As one reviewer put it, it can give your life’s purpose “a metaphorical kick in the pants.”

Playing Favorites: Overcoming Our Prejudices to Bridge the Cultural Divide Rodger Woodworth   (Wipf & Stock) $16.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $12.80

We have gotten so many good books on race, racism, and multi-ethnic ministry that I am soon to release yet another full BookNotes dedicated to the latest on this topic. We have stacks of new ones and they are excellent. For now, though, we just have to tell you about this small one. It is very good, well worth being used as a small group study or to give to your leadership team. But our fondness of it is deepened by our friendship with the author, a respected pastor from Pittsburgh.

Rodger has quite a story and it is his to tell, but we know and love his grown children, know a bit about his own dramatic conversion as an adult, and his eventual work in an interracial church as a co-pastor with an African American colleague. For a while, white guy that he is, he served the CCO in their own cross cultural and multi-ethnic ministry department. He is respected many in Pittsburgh where he has mentored street people and community leaders. We’ve touted a collection of sermons that he did at his downtown church, Kingdom Holiness: Holy Living in a Challenging Culture. He is a good pastor who cares for his people but also about what we might call public theology and social witness. He invites people to think about calling and vocation, work and citizenship. And, yes, race and racism.

In Playing Favorites Rev. Woodworth does a serious but somewhat basic study, excellent for those perhaps just starting this journey in their group or church. It is exceptionally Biblical and although he is not unaware of anti-racist calls to fight systemic injustices, it focuses, firstly, on basic Bible truths about naming and overcoming prejudices, about unity within the Body of Christ and what he calls “becoming third culture people.”

There are seven readable chapters unlocking enriching Bible stories and offering insights which I suspect many readers have missed. He is a good exegete and good teacher, and his stories ring true. It is about 80 pages and then there is a very useful study guide. Using the metaphor of a bridge is going to be very helpful for many. Being rooted in such a robust vision of the gospel is a great asset. Thanks be to God.

Playing Favorites is a helpful reminder of the call to see others not through human eyes of division but as beings made in the image of God reflecting the beauty of diversity. Woodworth recounts for us that prejudice is not what bad people have but is a condition that all people have. . . . May we have the courage, humility, and intentionality to take the lessons in this timely text to heart.  — Todd Allen, Vice President of Diversity, Messiah University

Filled with stories — many of them personal — and undergirded by Scripture, Woodworth carefully, biblically, systematically, and pastorally detangles believers from the sin of partiality to fully and unabashedly embrace other persons made in God’s image. And leaving nothing to chance, Woodworth provides discussion questions for each chapter to further help with liberating us from this partiality entanglement to freely, warmly, and impartially embrace all neighbors. — Luke B. Bobo, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Made to Flourish; editor of Whatever You Do: Six Foundations for an Integrated Life and Living Salty and Light-filled Lives in the Workplace

Born of his lifelong reading of the word and the world, Woodworth enters into the perennial problem of prejudice, a challenge for the church in every century and every culture. We stumble over ourselves, more often than not living with wounds of class and race that keep us from a deeper, truer unity. Playing Favorites offers another way to live, both a critique of what is, and a vision for what should be. A book for all who long to see and hear the world as it someday will be.  — Steven Garber, author of Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good and A Seamless Life: A Tapestry of Love and Learning, Worship and Work

Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for Our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies Catherine McNiel (NavPress) $16.99                                     OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

Just a few days ago an author we respect jotted us a quick note saying how good this book is and that we should be sure to order some for our store. We already had, and they just arrived, complete with a great forward by Karen Gonzalez and endorsements by all sorts of engaging and culturally-engaged contemporary authors we admire — Marlena Graves, Dennis Edwards, Matthew Soerens, Michelle Ami Reyes, Aubrey Sampson, Liuan Huska, all authors we have mentioned here and that you should know. And they all rave. Yes!

We have reviewed (and also raved) about McNeil’s previous books — her one about being a mother of a young child (Long Days of Small Things) and, more recently, the breathtaking All Shall Be Well: Awakening to God’s Presence in His Messy, Abundant World. (That one, by the way, has a foreword by the poet Luci Shaw for good measure.) Its reminder that God is alive and well, active and redemptive in the very world in which we live is beautiful and true encouraging.

Now, McNiel takes up a somewhat different approach — but, really not. God is alive and working and we can encounter Christ (as He himself plainly taught) not just in the creation but in the face of others, or, as they say these days, “the other.” The person we don’t like, the neighbor that annoys, the stranger, the immigrant, the enemy. Yes, as she notes, we have many reasons to be afraid. (“Everywhere we go we are bombarded by fear,” it says on the back. This world we love can be unpredictable and chaotic. Sometimes it fells like everything we hold dear is fragile.” But Christ said “Do not fear.” 

And that is what this book is about, really, caring about others more than our fears might allow.

In Fearing Bravely — don’t ya love the play off of the Brene Brown title and the double whammy of the oxymoronic phrase? — McNiel invites you on a journey through very real fears and into love. Love is the answer, the antidote, the offer. What does it mean to love others?  To help us get there, she not only offers solid Biblical reflection, tells great stories, but has some suggested practices, reflection questions, and even recommended artwork to ponder. My, oh my, this looks so good, a theologically solid, spiritually alive, gospel vision of love. Maybe my writer friend was correct — we really need this and it is perfect for Hearts & Minds customers.

The Monastic Heart: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life Joan Chittister (Convergent) $26.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $20.80

We are glad for the many, many books that have come out in the last decade or so about contemplative spirituality, monastic practices, the inner life, and the formative aspects of what Dallas Willard called the “renovation of the heart.” (That book, The Renovation of the Heart, by the way, was recently re-issued in a commemorative anniversary hardback which we announced here at BookNotes a few weeks ago at our 20% off discount.) We are thankful for authors like Ruth Haley Barton whose Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation  just came out in paperback! (The new paperback sells for $17.00, but since we are mentioning it here, it’s 20% off. OUR SALE PRICE = $13.60.) Yes, there have been so many remarkable books along these lines; it is one of the most notable trends in our 40 years of bookselling. For instance, I just re-read Robert Benson’s 1999 book Living Prayer for the third time and know that many resonant with his lovely articulation of his journey towards a more liturgical and monastic sort of prayerfulness.

Many evangelicals and more main mainline Protestants have been trained in spiritual direction and this renewal of older sorts of spirituality is now not only “a thing” on the religious landscape, it is mostly a very good thing. We are a long way away from the days in the 1980s when there was a petition circulating against our bookstore because we carried books on meditation and “new age” titles like Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. We even had a whole section of books by Thomas Merton!

One of the enduring conversation partners, guides, leaders, mentors and models for many of us over these decades of contemplative renewal, Protestant and Catholic, has been Sister Joan Chittister from the Benedictine community in Erie PA. For long years she has been tireless as both an advocate for what some call the “best kept secret” of the Catholic church, their consistent pro-life, pro-peace, pro-ecology, vision of public justice. That those who regularly walk with the poor and marginalized (like the must-read writer Gregory Boyle) call her “essential” and admire her blending of the inner and outer lives is significant. She is one who has earned the right to be heard.

This new one is very inviting and it pretty much just what it says: it is her lovely set of meditative reflections offering ideas of how to cultivate our inner lives (as James Martin puts it) “and so encounter the One who desires to encounter us.” She does this my distilling for us key aspects of monastic life, the practices that shape a certain sort of meaningful life together.

Listen to these poignant words by another beautifully seasoned woman in this movement, Norvene Vest:

To engage these pages is to hear a grateful hymn to the monastic life Sister Joan has known and loved. I notice particularly how often in this book that Joan uses the word you. She seems to be handing over the baton, asking all of us who listen to pick up our own share of the will of God for the the world.

Much more could be said, but if you are drawn to nurturing your deepest longings and yearn for a balance of prayer and work, stability and care, silence and singing, this really is a charming, illuminating read. We thank God for Sister Joan and her community that empowers her to write so very much. This could be one of her best.

Four Views of Heaven (Counterpoints) edited by Michael Wittmer (Zondervan Academic) $20.99       OUR SALE PRICE = $16.79

Many of our customers appreciate these Counterpoint books where the format is simple (even if it sounds a little complicated in explaining it.) There are four authors, each representing four major positions in a given topic. After an author presents his or her arguments, the other three give their unique and particular response, usually noting agreements and offering some critique. (In some cases, like the one on church and state, the responses, especially James K.A. Smith, are exceptionally helpful illuminating common ground and significant disagreements.) This is one of those, too, where the give and take shows some commonality and some significantly different interpretations of the key Bible texts and the complex tradition of church teaching. What an education — four views and each others replies to each other. You can’t take a seminary class so diverse as this (let alone for less than twenty bucks, folks.)  I’m a fan of these “Four Views” Counterpoint books, and this one is one I have been waiting for.

One of my favorite writers who represents well one of my favorite doctrines — the hope of a new creation, which is a restoration and healing of this fallen world. Richard Middleton (whose new book Abraham’s Silence: The Binding of Issac, The Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God is breathtakingly brilliant, and which I described briefly in a previous BookNotes) wrote what I take to be the definitive book about what some call “the end times” and what fancy pants scholars call eschatology. It came out in 2014 and is entitled A New Heavens and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (Baker Academic; $29.99 – OUR BOOKNOTES SALE PRICE = $23.99) and has not been bettered since. I am sure it is his expertise and reputation for this book that got him to be one of the four spokespersons and conversations partners in this stimulating volume. Thanks much to Michael Wittmer (who has himself written a bit about this) for pulling it all together.

The four views that go back and forth are:

• Traditional Heaven – our destiny is to leave earth and live forever in heaven where we will rest, worship, and serve God (John S. Feinberg)
• Restored Earth – emphasizes that the saved will live forever with Jesus on this restored planet, enjoying ordinary human activities in our redeemed state. (J. Richard Middleton)
• Heavenly Earth – a balanced view that seeks to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the heavenly and earthly views (Michael Allen).
• Roman Catholic Beatific Vision – stresses the intellectual component of salvation, though it encompasses the whole of human experience of joy, happiness coming from seeing God finally face-to-face (Peter Kreeft).

Two quickie comments: Firstly, this is not about timelines or the processes leading towards any finalizing of human history. There are Counterpoint books on various views of all that happens about millenialisms and views of the rapture and whatnot. Granted, I often say I’m a pan-millenialist (“it all pans out in the end.”) or cite the adage, “I’m not on the planning committee, I’m on the welcoming committee.”  But those debates can be interesting and fruitful. This one, Four Views of Heaven however, is not about eschatology, really, but about heaven. What is it and where is it and what will we do there?  If you’ve read Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright, you know some of the discussions and why they matter.

And that’s my second question: why it matters. Look — if we are mostly looking forward to being with Jesus in some spiritual sense, worshipping, mostly, in the clouds, maybe, then why bother recycling, say? Why care about anything this world has to offer, really, if our final destination is some ethereal place called heaven. If the Earth is going to be destroyed, really, then what’s the point of earthly existence?  If our bodies are not raised in full as Jesus’ was, then why care for them now, really? I hope you hear my point: what we think about our final destination informs us here and now. We live the Christian life in many ways shaped by our vision of the end. The future pulls us and getting that in focus can be a huge, huge help. Especially if Middleton is mostly right.

But of course,,even apart from the logic of some continuity between this world and the next, the big question is what do the Scriptures teach? What view of heaven do we get from a careful and consistent exploration of the topic. All four authors want us to think Christianly, be faithfully theologically, all inspired by the Biblical texts. Their give and take is a fascinating and informative Bible class you’ll never forget.

Tradition and Apocalypse: An Essay on the Future of Christian Belief David Bentley Hart (Baker Academic) $24.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

I cannot say much about this since it just arrived hours ago. It happily arrived a bit early and we’ll send out copies tomorrow to those who pre-ordered it. We are truly grateful for those who pay attention to such rigorous thinkers. This is a hardback on the trim size (190 pages, but not hefty) but what it may not have in physical bulk, I have no doubt makes up in intellectual heft with more demanding prose per page than anything on this list. We’ve got our fair share of academic and scholarly tomes here at the store even if we don’t often promote them here since, well, most of us don’t read that technical sort of stuff, fascinating (and sometimes obscure) as it may be. Hart is a rare bird, a serious thinker and scholarly writer who is fairly well known, demanding as he may be. Even his recent books, the weird one about philosophy as seen through the eyes of his pet dog Roland in Moonlight and the recent playful novel, Kenogaia (A Gnostic Tale), will be beyond many of us. I figure this one will be, too…

Ahh, but it looks really important, offering a critique of the concept of “tradition” that dominates Christian thought. Or, at least the Christian thought that he interacts with as a demanding Orthodox philosopher who has taught at several upper tier universities. One could almost call him a public intellectual and I salute him for his ability to do this provocative work. I have it from good sources that this is really imporant.

Read this endorsing blurb carefully and if it makes sense to you, you’ll most likely appreciate Hart and his new book:

Tradition and Apocalypse invites readers to abandon every anxious traditionalism in order to inhabit the only kind of tradition Christianity can actually be: that strange discursive tradition — patient and radical, generous and revolutionary — demanded by the permanent ferment of its apocalyptic origin and its final telos in the coming of the Kingdom of God. We have dogma and history only as we find them suspended between the advent and the final apotheosis of the Gospel apocalypse. That faith must own both dogma and history in this way is the summons of this extraordinary book.
— Philip G. Ziegler, author of Militant Grace

This one maybe explains it just a bit more plainly:

Tradition is not the preservation or development of a body of knowledge or cultic practices but the continuity of faith in and hope of the final apocalypse when all that remains is love — so argues David Hart in this brilliant book, which bristles with insights that are sure to both provoke and encourage.
— John Behr, University of Aberdeen

This Sacred Life: Humanity’s Place in a Wounded World Norman Wirzba (Cambridge University Press) $28.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $23.19

Speaking of public intellectuals that can run a bit on the scholarly side of the street, whose work is widely appreciated but sometimes dense, here is a book that we are honored to promote and happy to say that it will be well worth working through carefully. Wirzba is a bit of a farmer as well as distinguished Professor of Theology at Duke University Divinity School (and a Senior Fellow at Duke’s Kenan institute for Ethics.) He is one of Wendell Berry’s good friends, perhaps a more philosophically-minded thinker ploughing some of the same ground as ecologist and activist Bill McKibben, and a writer who is often cited by Brian Walsh & Sylvia Keesmaat (see Romans Disarmed, just for instance.) He has a few popular level books (he co-authored a book on food, mostly, called Making Peace with the Land with Fred Bahnson and a striking one called Living the Sabbath) and a few expensive academic ones. This may be his most major work yet.

Here is Willie James Jennings (of Yale University) explaining the importance of This Sacred Life:

There is no more important interpreter of how to envision thriving life with the living planet than Norman Wirzba. He writes in ways that bring the religious and the nonreligious, the Christian and non-Christian into a shared perception of the problems and possibilities of healthy creaturely life. This beautifully rendered account of the sacrality of life offers what so many writing today on ecology, ecotheology, or environmental ethics struggle to achieve – a coherent and compelling vision of the human creature. This is a book that sings!

In this corker of a book Norman Wirzba, one of the foremost contributors to environmental philosophy and theology, addresses the modern western problem of rootlessness — not just from soil and land, but from self and a sense of purpose. Grounding his constructive vision in a theology of creation, he finds that this creaturely life (which encompasses the stars and the microorganism as well as ourselves) ‘is not simply the object of God’s love but its material manifestation.’ Wirzba writes with an ease that welcomes every reader, and an erudition that will benefit all.’                          — Janet Soskice, William K. Warren Distinguished Research Professor of Catholic Theology, Duke University Divinity School

A Companion in Crisis: A Modern Paraphrase of John Donne’s Devotions Philip Yancey (Illumify Media) $14.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $11.99

What a find! It isn’t every day that an author as esteemed and popular as best-seller Philip Yancey self publishes his own little book, but here it is. There is a renewed interest in Mr. Yancey, it seems, since his much-discussed Fall 2021 release Where the Light Fell: A Memoir (which you really must read!) This little volume is a side-project Yancey did, a 30-day reader based on John Donne’s poetic meditations. As the back cover promises, “This new version of a beloved classic has starling relevance as we face similar questions…” Questions about life and death, pandemics and suffering, God’s goodness and how to make sense of it all.

Those questions are perennial (and Yancey himself has written wisely about them, in classics such as Where Is God When it Hurts and Disappointment with God and, after a school shooting years ago, the brief but potent The Question That Never Goes Away.) Still, as Phil puts it, “Nothing had prepared me for John Donne’s raw account of confrontation with God.” The back cover describe is well:

As the world entered a long dark night and Yancey (ever the lover of great literature) he turned to this nearly 400-year-old manuscript for guidance. You see, as the preacher and poet wrote his Devotions in 1663, during a pandemic in his city of London. For a month Donne lay sick, hearing the church bell toll each death and wondering if his would be next.

Does God use illness as punishment? Is there some message in the pandemic or our personal struggles? How might you find peace and comfort? With Donne’s poems and prayers and Yancey’s helpful commentary, this small book is rich and rewarding. We are very glad to recommend it.

The Apostles’ Creed For All God’s Children Ben Myers, illustrated by Natasha Kennedy (Lexham Press) $17.99           OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

I hope you know the short, “Christian Essentials” series of outstanding, pocket-sized hardbacks done so handsomely and wisely by Lexham Press. They include one by Wesley Hill on the Lord’s prayer, one on baptism and another on the ten commandments, both by Peter Leithart.  The one on the Apostles Creed is by Ben Myers and it is exceptional.

And now Myers, a theologian and author from Brisbane, Australia, has done a children’s book based on his Christian Essentials The Apostles Creed: A Guide to the Ancient Catechism. A picture book for young readers with fabulous art by Natasha Kennedy (of Seattle), this one should have wide appeal. After a line from the creed there is a simple reflection on the facing page. It is not sentimental or silly or vapid (how could it be, I think, but leave it to some well intended publishers to misstep.) The art is vivid, the content mature, and without condescending, there is this friendly feline, FatCat, who helps learn the traditional text of the Creed. This is the first venture into children’s picture books from this thoughtful and classy conservative publisher and it will good to see if there is more FatCat coming. I hope so.

We have an inexpensive coloring book, too, also called The Apostle’s Creed for All God’s Children, a FatCat coloring book. It goes for $3.99. OUR SALE PRICE = $3.19.

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It is helpful if you would tell us how you prefer us to ship your orders. The weight and destination of your package varies but you can use this as a thumbnail, general guide.

There are generally two kinds of US Mail options, and, of course, UPS. If necessary, we can do overnight and other expedited methods, too. Just ask.

• United States Postal Service has the option called “Media Mail” which is cheapest but slow and may be delayed. For one book, usually, it’s about $3.50 – $4.00
• United States Postal Service has another option called “Priority Mail” which is about $8.35 if it fits in a flat rate envelope. Many children’s books are oversized so that will take the next size up with is $8.95. That gets much more attention than does “Media Mail.”
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BookNotes

SPECIAL
DISCOUNT

20% OFF

Well, here we are in January. Due to lots of orders coming in (thank you!) and a bit of feeling ill-at-ease (about, among other things, learning writing 2022 instead of ’21) I just haven’t gotten out a new BookNotes.

There sure are some good titles coming in day by day. We just got a lovely little Malcolm Guite book, the first in a series of small volumes called “My Theology” from Fortress. His is entitled The Word in the Words (Fortress; $12.75.) (Another new release in this new “My Theology” series is Return from a Distant Country by Alister McGrath also for just $12.75.) We are very excited about a new daily devotional called Becoming Rooted: One Hundred Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth by Cherokee writer Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley (Broadleaf; $19.99.) I’m eager to read The Facts on the Ground: A Wisdom Theology of Culture by the remarkable William A. Dyrness (Cascade; $27.00) and the eagerly anticipated (thanks for those who pre-ordered it) You’re Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God’s Design and Why That’s Good News by Kelly Kapic (Brazos; $24.99.) We’ve got ‘em at 20% off, too.

Of course, we’ve got the brand new book that just came out by Donald Miller, the Blue Like Jazzman turned marketing guru — his first non-business book in quite a while — called Hero on a Mission: A Path to a Meaningful Life (HarperCollins Leadership; $24.99.) For those who like spiritually-aware, self-improvement type resources, there is a brand new enneagram book that is a must: The Story of You: An Enneagram Journey to Becoming Your True Self by an excellent writer, Ian Morgan Cron (HarperOne; $26.99.) I like Cron a lot and his co-authored enneagram book, The Road Back to You is a standard in the field.

There is a brand new Walter Brueggemann called A Wilderness Zone (Cascade; $21.00) which you know I’ll recommend and there is a new David Gushee volume called Introducing Christian Ethics: Core Convictions for Christians Today (Front Edge; $24.99.) Agree or not with the details, it is a magisterial book and looks to be exceptionally useful about core principles of moral theology but deliberately Christian thinking about some 35 hot vital topics. One impeccable evangelical leader called it “a masterpiece!” I highly recommend it.

In the last week we’ve gotten the new book by Hunter Farrell and Baladjiedlang Kyyllep (of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s World Mission Institute) called Freeing Congregational Mission: A Practical Vision for Companionship, Cultural Humility, and Co-Development (IVP Academic; $26.00) which, I predict, is going to be considered one of the very most important books in missiology and congregational life in 2022 and beyond.) Hunter is a remarkable scholar — having studied at the Sorbonne and earned another degree in South America; he has lived all over the world, promoted the cause of world missions throughout the global church, and is a major leader in with the Presbyterian church. (He’s even speaking via Zoom at our own central PA/Donegal Presbytery meeting this February.) We are real boosters of this important new book.

Speaking of Presbyterians, just yesterday we got the memoir by Douglas Brouwer, Chasing After Wind: A Pastor’s Life (Eerdmans; $22.00.) Although he has served churches in several states, as well as in Zurich, Switzerland, he pastored in Harrisburg, PA, for a spell, in the nearby Carlisle Presbytery. With blurbs on the back from the likes of Will Willimon and Winn Collier (and a great preface by Richard Mouw) it is sure to be a winner.

There are so many more; in the next BookNotes I’ll describe the extraordinary volume edited by Comment magazine editor Anne Snyder, published handsomely by Plough ($35.00) — Breaking Ground: Charting Our Future in a Pandemic Year, which includes pieces by authors as vital as N.T. Wright and Marilyn Robinson and Dante Stewart and Jeffrey Bilbro.

Just an hour or so ago we unpacked The Samaritan Woman’s Story: Reconsidering John 4 After #ChurchToo by Caryn A. Reeder (IVP Academic; $24.00) which came a bit early. We are grateful for so many good books.

There are amazing titles coming in February that we are looking forward to and we invite you to pre-order them asap.

Perhaps few are as anticipated as the stunning memoir and analysis by Lisa Sharon Harper to be called Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World — And How to Repair It All (Brazos Press) $24.99. OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99.)

As Jemar Tisby puts it, Fortune is, “Nothing less than an epic and true story of race, religion, history, and identity.” I loved the description by Willie James Jennings who says, “Harper has the rare gift of speaking honestly in ways that remind you of Tom Skinner, and of speaking intimately in ways that remind you of Maya Angelou.”

Coming early next month is the debut memoir This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us by our very dear friend Nicole Arthur Riley (Convergent; $26.00; OUR SALE PRICE = $20.80.) You may know her Black Liturgies instagram account; some of our CCO friends know she serves college students through Cornell University (and her husband serves there through Chesterton House.) The book will have endorsing blurbs from Kate Bowler, Krista Tippett, Dante Stewart, Amena Brown, even the New York Times bestselling novelist, Ashley C. Ford. In any case, this book is going to be big! I hope you recall us writing about it before.

We are taking pre-orders for both at our BookNotes 20% off and can’t tell you how glad we are to have these two women contributing their well-crafted prose, amplifying the voices of black women, good books for us all.

A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BOOK – NEARLY A HEARTS & MINDS CLASSIC:

CALVINISM FOR A SECULAR AGE: A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY READING OF ABRAHAM KUYPER’S STONE LECTURES edited by Jessica & Robert Joustra (IVP Academic) $28.00                       OUR SALE PRICE = $22.40

On a snowy day last week we got a brand new book that I’ve been waiting for almost a year to see — it means a whole lot to me and its vision and perspective figures a bit into the backstory of why Beth and I founded Hearts & Minds nearly 40 years ago

It is about one of the most important books you most likely never read. We really hope you’ll read my comments below and if you are persuaded, you can send us an order by using the order form at the end of the column at our sale price of 20% off.  As always, that links to our secure order form at the Hearts & Minds website.

Some of the authors in this book are people we have met, a few we count as friends, and all are scholars whose work we very much respect. Besides the Joustra’s who so capably guided this whole project, readers will enjoy hearing from the former President of Fuller Theological Seminary and Kuperianista, Dr. Richard Mouw, the fabulous science professor, author, and astronomer Deborah Haarsma (who also is the President of the faith/science organization, BioLogos), the always fabulous Wheaton prof Vincent Bacote, Jonathan Chaplin (now a professor at Cambridge and fellow at Cardus and the UK think tank Theos) and his wife, Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin (who co-wrote the very excellent Art & Soul.) Jim Bratt, who produced the highly regarded, definitive biography of Kuyper, wrote a lengthy preface that is amazing.

I believe this study and contemporary “reading” and application of Kuyper’s Stone Lectures, which became the book Lectures on Calvinism, is a must-read for anyone in the Presbyterian or Reformed tradition, naturally, but, also, for anyone interested in the (hotly debated) question about the relationship of Christ and culture.

That is, what does it mean to think faithfully and live honorably as a follower of Jesus within our 21st-century, post-Christian culture? Quite specifically, how does the notion of a uniquely Christian world-and-life-perspective shape the way we envision things, how we think about and imagine and engage in the areas of the arts, economics, politics, science, race, (and also the church)? How does the Biblical story of God’s good but fallen world being transformed into Christ’s Kingdom actually influence how we think about poverty, justice, beauty, goodness, science and health? What, really, is religion? What should Christians who sincerely pray “Thy will be done, on Earth” think about the future? How shall we live, then, knowing what we know about the goodness of this wonderful world, and the awful fallenness of its sinful condition and of God’s covenantal promises? How does the message of God’s own rule over history and God’s grace in Christ shape us as we live “in but not of” the world around us? Are these not among the most burning questions for people of faith, living out their discipleship hopefully with some intentional spirituality, even of public life? As Steve Garber puts it, how do we have a “seamless life”?  Or, as Ashely Hales put it poetically in a wonderful new book, can we have a “spacious life”?

Can some old Dutch theologian who became a public figure — a journalist and politico and eventually prime minister over a hundred years ago — be some kind of guidepost for our own very contemporary considerations? Can some set of lectures given at the end of the 1800s in New Jersey — known as the Stone Lectures — be all that important? Really?

Really?

If you follow what we do here at Hearts & Minds at all, my hunch is that you know what I’m going to say: yes, yes, yes.

Allow me to tell you what the book is about, how the book is arranged, and what it is like. I’ll name a few different kinds of people who might find this book to be a helpful study. It is an amazing volume for a whole bunch of reasons and would be beneficial to all kinds of folks. Here we go.

To understand Calvinism for a Secular Age: A Twenty-First-Century Reading of Abraham Kuyper’s Stone Lectures, edited by Jessica and Robert Joustra, you have to know just a bit about the original Stone Lectures, a prestigious lecture series still given each year at Princeton Seminary; many of the yearly lectures become books, some of which you may know. The first chapter in Calvinism for a Secular Age, a long preface, really, is by historian James Bratt and is worth the price of the book — it is so interesting, informative, and helpful. Bratt explains the theological traditions, movements, factions, and controversies in the late 1800s (that ended up shaping much of the 20th century, actually) when Kuyper arrived by cruiser from Holland to do these significant lectures at one of the world’s leading theological schools; he crisply shows how his lectures might have been received. (A fascinating appendix explores the various manuscripts, in Dutch and in English, done by Rev. Kuyper, first in Holland, and then, perhaps, translated or edited in the US in that fall of 1898. There is a bit of a mystery still unsolved about some conflicting narratives.) The big point is that this stalwart of Christian orthodoxy was going to break some new ground there at Princeton.

Even though the titanic Kuyper’s movement of faith-shaped cultural engagement (having founded a major university, started a daily newspaper, formed a uniquely Christian political party through which he was eventually elected Prime Minister) was gaining popularity (and some controversy) in Europe, it may be that be the more churchy theological types in Jersey didn’t quite realize what sort of a broadly worldviewish, culturally engaging, public theologian they were celebrating with their honorary doctorate that October. With magisterial Reformed theologians like B.B. Warfield and Geerhardus Vos as his hosts, many thought, or so I imagine, that they understood what sort of sacred theology the good Kuyper would present. Bratt seems to imply that Kuyper shocked his guests, or at least provoked them a bit. Ends up that Kuyper’s Calvinism was more than they bargained for.

The first full chapter in Calvinism for a Secular Age is by Rob Joustra and it, too, is just such a good overview of the history of Kuyper’s impact in North America and the impetus for this project re-visiting the Princeton lectures. Those ten pages are wise and good.

Dr. Jessica Joustra, an associate professor at Redeemer University in Ontario and a researcher for a neo-Calvinist think tank in the Netherlands, also worked to put this book together. Her concluding comments — if I may jump to the end of the volume — are, as you’d expect, a stellar voice reminding us of what she calls “worldviewing.” I have already read her dozen pages twice.  This whole project reminds us of the unique gifts of this Kuyper tradition and why it matters.

There were not that many people in the room those nights of those handful of lectures in Nassau Hall in 1898, even though it was an august group of thinkers (including a former President of the United States)! There were only 10 or so of the pre-printed, leather bound manuscripts; it would be decades until Eerdmans released the full edition, first in hardback and then in paperback as it is available yet today. The importance of the book, Lectures on Calvinism, has been explored in other volumes and its expression of what has come to be called neo-Calvinism (not to be confused with a rise of hip, young, “New Calvinists” often reported on a decade or so ago) cannot be understated.

In many ways, its visions and challenge — relating the tenets of an evangelical, ecumenical, feisty Protestantism to every sphere of culture — is the backstory and foundations of why Beth and I started Hearts & Minds. A Christian bookstore with sections on architecture and mathematics? A Christian view of farming and engineering, a part of the store dedicated to the arts and popular culture, media studies and science and sexuality? When we opened there were rumors that we were not really a Christian bookstore — who features books on environmental science and racism in a mom and pop Bible bookstore, after all? As one book by a disciple of Kuyper put it in those days, we wanted to “prod the slumbering giant” of the Church, encourage a habit of reading and thinking with “the Christian mind” about all areas of life.

You see, that October at the turn of the 19th century into the 20th, Kuyper explained why, in another context, he wrote about Christ claiming “every square inch” of creation and how no area of life can be “hermeneutically sealed off” from the redeeming power of Christian faith. (That famous line from his inauguration of the Free University of Amsterdam, calling for a coherent Christian worldview that shaped higher learning, was not uttered at Princeton as far as we know.)

The Stone Lectures gave a big (and Biblical) basis for a full-orbed vision of the worldviewish power of religion and how classic Protestant themes (from the likes of Augustine, Johannes Althusius, Luther, Calvin and more) could shape how we think about science and art and politics. If God is sovereign and gracious, as Calvinists insist, what does it mean and what might it “look like” (as we say nowadays) to see God’s ordinances fleshed out in the real world? What might it mean if the reformation was not only about a few church matters and key Biblical doctrines, but unleashed a dynamism that we might even call reformational?

JUBILEE…. and HEARTS & MINDS in DALLASTOWN PA

Is there such a thing as a distinctively Christian approach — and maybe even theories about — science and art and politics, about business and education and history? Kuyper, I want to suggest, authorized us at Hearts & Minds to find books to resource readers for this very notion, helping Christians think well and serve faithfully in law and nursing and schooling and urban affairs, in counseling and media and finances. We have books on relating a Christian framework to the ideas that inform business and technology and government, helping Christians worship as they work by thinking Biblically about their careers and calling. Sound familiar? It was, chiefly, Kuyper who helped American evangelicals — a century later, almost — talk and think and live like this.

JUBILEE – February 27, 2022.

If you have heard us talk about the annual Jubilee conference in Pittsburgh (which, due to the ongoing danger of the Covid spread, is going to be virtual again next month in February 2022) you know that the conference’s “all of life redeemed” vision, this claim that God wants us to serve redemptively in all spheres of life, that God wants to use us to “transform everything” has this Kuyperian tone. Indeed, the CCO (Coalition for Christian Outreach) who founded the conference in the late 1970s learned it from — get this! — sons and daughters of Dutch immigrants who grew up hearing about Kuyper in their homes and schools and churches and moved to Western Pennsylvania to spread this very good gospel.

(Although the previously announced discounts from the old sale is over, you might get a kick out of my long-winded description fo why we remain so eager to tell people about Jubilee, the premier event for Christian college students in the entire nation by looking at some of these old BookNotes columns of us reflecting on how powerful this gathering is and we we’ve been involved in it for so many years. Be sure to come back here, but sometime check out this, this, or this. (That one features a keynote talk I did a few years back.)

We young Jesus movement evangelicals of the 1970s who were struggling with how to relate Sunday to Monday, so to speak, to read “the Bible with the newspaper in the other hand” and to live — as Campolo put it, in his own head nod to Kuyper, it seems to me — as though it is Friday, but knowing Sunday’s coming, needed a comprehensive vision for making all that real, and, in Pittsburgh, we learned about Dutch neo-Calvinism and Abraham Kuyper. We who had heard about Francis Schaeffer saying we should weep for the city and yet rejoice in the arts and care for the earth even as we grapple with the nihilism of late 60s new cinema and existentialist philosophy, we who had heard Tom Skinner and John Perkins condemn institutional racism, we who knew that the Lordship of Christ meant that we must care about social concerns (even if we hadn’t yet read Merton or even MLK much, we at least had heard of John Stott and Ron Sider) — saw in these old Stone Lectures a sort of robust theology, complex philosophy, a curious take on history, and a hopeful future based on nothing less than Jesus Christ, dead, buried, raised, and reigning over His restored creation.

Years before the word “worldview” got co-opted by the religious right and weaponized against others of other faiths, a buddy of mine swore he was getting a Kuyper tattoo as this kind of visionary, comprehensive, orthodox but highly engaged worldview and allowed for pluralism and public justice had just rocked his world.

And I’ve heard there are a few Jubilee tats out there, too. Kuyper’s vision of Reformed public theology lives out in every detail in every sphere of life has been a driving passion for us. It is fascinating to think of where it all came to North America.

Calvinism for a Secular Age tells us a bit about that set of presentations at Princeton that, a century later, had become so generative for so many, providing a plausible foundation for Christian living that somehow was other than the theologically liberal social gospel movement and the overly dogmatic and personalistic neo-fundamentalism of evangelicalism. With the help of some great authors, the Joustra’s compiled this fabulous book exploring the Stone Lectures and updating them for today.

BRILLIANTLY ARRANGED

How it does this is at once brilliant and fairly simple. It is really, really instructive and a great way to get “up to speed” on understanding this seminal work and on learning how those who still stand in this tradition of reformational neo-Calvinism, have worked out the notions Kuyper proposed. 

There are a few extra chapters in Calvinism for a Secular Age besides those explores the chapters of Kuyper’s original, offering good contemporary stuff, but the core chapters are arranged like this: an expert in Kuyper’s thought tell us what he said in each chapter of Lectures on Calvinism (again, that is, the book that is based not he Stone Lectures). I’m not going to lie: this was so much more interesting and helpful for me (who doesn’t have tons of time or patience for some of the primary source real heavy stuff) than only reading the real chapters in the Kuyper original. Maybe I shouldn’t say that, but having authors guide us into and summarize his thoughts is not cheating; it is using the gifts of good teachers to help us understand the importance (and limits) of this older content. Where the older book is a bit dry and complex, the parallel chapters explaining things in this new volume are vivid and clear.

The summarizing of each chapter of Lectures is just the first part of the major chapters of Calvinism for a Secular Age. After this introductory explanation of what Kuyper actually said about religion or the arts, or science, or politics, we then have those authors telling us what Kuyperians, those inspired to work out Kuyper’s compelling challenge, have actually done in the 20th century. Just for instance, the arts chapter explores the aesthetic theory of Nicholas Wolterstorff and even more-so, the colorful writing of Calvin Seerveld. The serious chapter about political theory shows how James Skillen (among others) created the Center for Public Justice (CPJ) with their (Kuyperian) commitments to social diversity and both principled and structural pluralism. To see the work of Skillen and his successor, Stephanie Summers, described in this context almost brought tears to my eyes. 

And that’s not all. After this explanation of what Kuyper said, and what his tribe has done to work out his general vision in distinctive and reformational ways, the given author in each chapter then tells us what is yet to be done. What should we be thinking and doing within each area to work out Kuyper’s legacy — or reform it, if he was wrong about things, as he surely was in some instances?

So there you have it. Each chapter follows this flow, explaining what was said, how it has been enacted, and what more we might do.

Here is a very candid endorsement by Justin Ariel Bailey,  professor of theology at (the Dutch Reformed and intentionally Kuyperian) Dordt University and author of Reimagining Apologetics: The Beauty of Faith in a Secular World. Dr. Bailey says exactly what I want to say:

I have felt ambivalent about Kuyper’s Stone Lectures since I first encountered them. The world and life vision set forth in the lectures are vital to my theological outlook. But Kuyper’s racist asides trouble me deeply, especially when set against tragic appropriations by later interpreters. Calvinism for a Secular Age thus offers a welcome tonic, amplifying my gratitude and acknowledging my grief, making it an essential companion to Kuyper’s lectures. It clarifies his aims, complicates his legacy, and challenges his flaws. When necessary, it moves forward by reading Kuyper against himself. Most importantly, it continues Kuyper’s project, offering a generative and generous vision for all of life, one sorely needed in our secular age.

There are more chapters, too, in the Calvinism for a Secular Age —  Kuyper did not tackle the question of race, for instance, and some of his mid-20th century followers used some of his ideas about pluralism (giving social space and freedom for those with different cultures and worldviews) to enact a brutal invention called apartheid in Dutch-colonized South Africa. (That is what Bailey was alluding to, above, I’m sure.) So Jessica and Rob Joustra realized that there needs to be a new chapter as if Kuyper was addressing race today. None other than Kuyper scholar (a black theologian, himself) Vincent Bacote was given the task to create a chapter on what Kuyper thought about race, what Kuyperians (for better or worse) have done in this area, and what we might do to redeem Abraham’s notions to help us think well about race and racism in 21st century. That chapter, too, is one I might say is worth the price of the book. Kudos.

Here are the other chapter titles and authors:

Preface, James D. Bratt
Introduction, Robert J. Joustra
1. Kuyper and Life-Systems, Richard J. Mouw
2. Kuyper and Religion, James Eglinton
3. Kuyper and Politics, Jonathan Chaplin
4. Kuyper and Science, Deborah B. Haarsma
5. Kuyper and Art, Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin
6. Kuyper and the Future, Bruce Ashford
7. Kuyper and Race, Vincent Bacote
8. Lost in Translation: The First Text of the Stone Lectures, George Harinck
Conclusion, Jessica R. Joustra

WHO SHOULD BUY THIS BOOK?

I was going to be a whippersnapper and say “You should” or “Everybody who likes Hearts & Minds,” but I won’t. 

I think I can safely say this, though. Here are four sorts of readers who should pick this up.

1. Obviously anyone in the Presbyterian and Reformed traditions. Mainline PC(USA) folks — mostly my tribe — may not know of the Dutch leader’s reception at Princeton or his ongoing impact within our heritage. There is a stained glass window in the chapel of Covenant Seminary in St. Louis (which is aligned with the PCA and ECP) of Kuyper and Warfield at Princeton, but many of the more mainline PC(USA) folks, again, may know not this part of their own history.

That there is such a cool, cultural vibe among many city churches in the PCA tradition (or the young, Reformed, Anglican parishes that are springing up) that highlights a sense of place and offers forums on civic culture and wants to bless their multi-ethnic communities comes not only from their convictions based on Jeremiah 29, say, or the Newbigin/missional church planting ethos, but from a Kuyperian strain that has had remarkable impact in some of our best, missional churches. Tim Keller’s Center for Faith and Work in Manhattan — and its many permutations all over North America — may be idiomatic of the Kuyperian influences in conservative Reformed theology these days. The wisdom about vocation and calling and service in the world bears this influence and you rarely see anything like it within PC(USA) circles.

Some Reformed folks are still stuck in seeing Calvinism less as a story to live out of but a set of five key doctrinal points, and they insist on those five points as being nearly the be-all and end-all of the Christian live. Kuyper thought the Reformed tradition was deeper and better than that, and if you are reading somewhat exclusively in that particular tributary, you really need to see this sort of broader application of God’s promise and deliverance, God’s grit and grace.

Obviously if this is your gig, you get it. But even if this seems aloof from your understanding of what it means to be Reformed, I cannot say enough of how vital this is for those of us in this Reformed tradition to be reacquainted with Kuyper’s impact. All of us Presby and Reformed types should read Calvinism for a Secular Age. (For me, I’ll read it alongside the “Confession of 1967” and Barman and Belhar in our PC(USA) Book of Confessions.)

2. Anyone interested in history or, certainly, in historical theology should snatch this right up. My, my, we are glad that in recent decades we are seeing all sorts of folks — including mainline Protestants and evangelicals — reading Aquinas and Augustine; there is a good rediscovery of Wesley and although I have my issues, I smile when I see those Jonathan Edwards is my Homeboy tee shirts. I love the way folk from various quarters are quoting Luther. From the movement interested in Mercersburg theology to the huge renaissance in the Patristics (not to mention new energy coming out of Barth and Bonhoeffer studies) there is much to be learned from older (granted, mostly white) dead guys. Yet, even many who know church history well are unaware of this chapter of North American protestantism. 

(Here might be a place to insert a plug for Devotional Classics: Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups so wonderfully edited by Richard Foster, published by HarperOne; [$14.99) which offers excerpts of primary source historical spiritual writers across several broad traditions, men and women whose old works are so very useful today. There’s no Kuyper in here, even though he was famously pious and prayerful, but this remains a fantastic, ecumenical resource.)

A friend of mine studying at an Episcopalian seminary under the extraordinary Dr. Katherine Sonderegger, sent me a picture she snapped, of Dr. S writing on the class blackboard “Abraham Kuyper” and “common grace.” I don’t know if my friend read Richard Mouw’s book about common grace, All That God Cares About (that mentions Beth and me as I tell about how Dutch Kuyperians influenced our early days of Hearts & Minds) but she knew enough to know I’d be tickled and sent the serendipitous shot as a text. Kudos to Dr. Sonderegger suggesting even future Episcopal priests should know this stuff. Enough said.

3. This book is important for those interested in faithful engagement in contemporary issues of race, peace, justice, political discipleship, and public theology. In other words, almost everybody who reads BookNotes and who at least cares a little about some of the “square inches” of God’s good creation or who longs for a renewed public life. Kuyper and Kuyperians are a curious lot, who (whether they lived it out well or not) claim to believe that we are neither right nor left,  neither conservative nor liberal, but quite foundationally, something like a third way

There is way too much destructive and heretical complicity among the religious right with violent populism and white nationalism and the like. All the talk about personal freedom and such strikes me as an idolatrous ideology from the secular Enlightenment and not Biblical or Christ-like. It concerns me a bit less at the moment, but there is often a knee-jerk predictability among even our well-intentioned Christian social justice warriors, too, some of whom oddly seem to appreciate the secular ideologies of Karl Marx.(Of course not all Christian conservatives are part of the Trumpian alt-right and not all Christian progressives are secular Marxists; in fact, most are not, making their alliance with distressing ideologies more covert and thereby maybe more dangerous.) All of us tend to suppose that God thinks like we do and we’ve all sometimes imagined the Kingdom of God in ways that just happen to suit our own dispositions. Kuyper tries to get us beyond that. We all need him to help keep us honest, especially if we are engaged in ministries in the public square.

Just the other day I was reflecting with a friend who noticed that some Kuyperians are really pretty right wing but the ones I most often quote are not. Fair enough. It’s weird to know that nuts like Josh Hawley and Reformed thinkers who nearly gave their lives for liberation for tortured South Africans like Alan Boesak both have quoted Kuyper. How can Edith Schaeffer and Kristen Du Mez both be influenced by the same intellectual movement? There it is, though: like the Wesleyans or the Jesuits or those who take up the BCP, Kuyperianism is a wild and diverse movement. Maybe that is part of why I recommend it at this cultural moment. Left, right, or center, we need some reconsideration and some fresh ideas. Give this a try, please.

4. Those who don’t care. I suppose you are not still reading if this is you, but if so, thanks for hanging in there with me. I’m glad you honor me enough to at least keep reading my reviews.  If talking about a distinctively Christian approach to faith and culture, if drawing on the past to better understand today, if thinking about old stuff to energize us anew in non-ideological ways just doesn’t work for you, I get it. But, come on — lots of people say we should read old books, and this is a painless way into that older, ongoing conversation.

I hope you know one of the very best books of last year, now in paperback, the stunning Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind. Alan Jacobs reminds us there of the value of hearing those from other times and places and while the Joustra’s good work of bringing together contemporary Kuyperian aficionados means that Calvinism for a Secular Age isn’t an old book, it at least explores and works with and talks back to and invites living out of an old book. I don’t know if this counts for C.S. Lewis’s admonition to read plenty of old books, but I think it is “breaking bread with the dead.” Come on! You can do this!

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I’m not alone in hoping a lot of folks with take us up on our offer to join this conversation. Here are a few others trying to convince you to buy this book.

How might an ancient faith connect with modern questions of science, politics, the arts, race, religion, and more? This outstanding collection of essays explores the intersection between faith and public life with a rich and profound theological imagination. This book represents a long-awaited gift for readers of Reformed theology and Abraham Kuyper. Some of the best Kuyper scholars in the world are gathered herein to bring new life and new perspective to Kuyper’s groundbreaking Lectures on Calvinism.

–Matthew Kaemingk, chair and director of the Richard John Mouw Institute of Faith and Public Life at Fuller Theological Seminary, author of Work and Worship: Reconnecting our Labor and Liturgy.

Looking to Abraham Kuyper as a guide who can help us navigate the complexities of this cultural and political moment, this timely volume provides an accessible introduction to Kuyper’s thought as it probes ways that we can continue to learn from Kuyper’s contributions. Each essay, from one among an exceptional lineup of contributors, invites us to consider what faithful Christian engagement looks like in such important areas as politics, science, and the arts. These essays not only mine the wisdom of Kuyper’s thought from the past, but they urge us to imagine what it means that God is renewing and redeeming all things today. This volume will be of interest to all who believe that the gospel involves both personal devotion and public engagement.

–Kristen Deede Johnson, dean and vice president for academic affairs, professor of theology and Christian formation, Western Theological Seminary, author of The Justice Calling

In an age when doubt as to the public usefulness of Christianity is precisely the point at which its private obeisance is bleeding out, this primer on an imperfect but magisterial social thinker will grant a compass once more for all those Christians who desire to serve the whole of their society with integrative courage, creativity, and smarts.

–Anne Snyder, editor in chief of Comment magazine and editor of Breaking Ground: Charting Our Future in a Pandemic Year

What does Abraham Kuyper have to offer to our fractured, twenty-first-century world? With one eye on Kuyper’s own context and another on the challenges facing Christians attempting to bring their faith to bear on public life today, this volume of essays offers an essential guide to the relevance — and limitations— of Kuyperian thought in our contemporary moment.

–Kristin Kobes Du Mez, professor of history, Calvin University,  author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

I have felt ambivalent about Kuyper’s Stone Lectures since I first encountered them. The world and life vision set forth in the lectures are vital to my theological outlook. But Kuyper’s racist asides trouble me deeply, especially when set against tragic appropriations by later interpreters. Calvinism for a Secular Age thus offers a welcome tonic, amplifying my gratitude and acknowledging my grief, making it an essential companion to Kuyper’s lectures. It clarifies his aims, complicates his legacy, and challenges his flaws. When necessary, it moves forward by reading Kuyper against himself. Most importantly, it continues Kuyper’s project, offering a generative and generous vision for all of life, one sorely needed in our secular age.

–Justin Ariel Bailey, associate professor of theology at Dordt University and author of Reimagining Apologetics: The Beauty of Faith in a Secular World

In recent months, Kuyper has been misquoted and co-opted by some to justify nefarious political agendas and misinterpreted by others who have argued he should be ‘canceled.’ The Joustras provide a timely resource for those seeking to be honest heirs of Kuyperian thought while being committed to refining, at times renouncing, and finally innovating out of this tradition. It is a creative engagement with the complex man whose blatant sins stand alongside the many gifts he offers to those who seek to live all of their lives in light of the gospel of Christ.

–Cory Willson, associate professor of Missiology and Missional Ministry, director of the Institute for Global Church Planting and Renewal, Calvin Theological Seminary, co-author of Work and Worship: Reconnecting Our Labor and Liturgy

SIX MORE BOOKS THAT MIGHT SERVE AS AN INTRODUCTION (OR FOLLOW UP) TO KUYPER AND HIS THOUGHT

Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction Richard J. Mouw (Eerdmans) $15.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $12.00

This is our favorite introduction to the remarkable Father Abraham. Mouw is one of his very best interpreters (and his chapter in the Joustra’s Calvinism for a Secular Age is my favorite.) This is a great little book.

Many of our customers have come to appreciate Jamie Smith and have read many of his books. He was shaped by this Kuyperian tradition and he knows this stuff well. Listen to this:

This marvelous little book pulls off an astounding feat: though it is both compact and accessible, it also gives us the whole Kuyper. Too often we get Kuyper in slices: folks gravitate to a ‘side’ of Kuyper, adopting his theology of culture but neglecting his emphasis on the church, or picking up common grace but neglecting antithesis. But Mouw, with typical wit and warmth, introduces us to Kuyper in all his multifaceted richness. A gift for the next generation.  

—James K.A. Smith, author of You Are What You Love and On the Road with Saint Augustine

Engaging the World with Abraham Kuyper Michael Wagenman (Lexham Press) $12.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

This is short and sweet, one particular take on who Kuyper was, his spirituality, his public theology, his ambition and (what Nic Wolterstorff called his “volcanic energy.”) All of this solid bibliography content with some guidelines or how to engage our world today in light of this Reformed all-of-life-being-redeemed worldview. This is part of a recent series of “Engaging our World with…” by Lexham, done in handsome, small paperbacks. Nicely done.

I like how Mike Goheen describes itL

Abraham Kuyper still speaks powerfully to our day. The battle he was fighting to confess the Lordship of Jesus over all of life and the public truth of the gospel in the face of the powerful currents of modern humanism that sought to privatize the Christian faith is as important to the church today as then, if not more important! Michael Wagenman has given us a great popular introduction to Kuyper’s thought on the mission of the church in the public square set in his original context but with helpful reflection on its contemporary significance. Michael W. Goheen, Director of Theological Education, Missional Training Center, author of The Symphony of Mission: Playing Your Part in God’s Work in the World

Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat James Bratt (Eerdmans) $43.50 OUR SALE PRICE = $34.80

This is without a doubt the definitive, serious biography of the magisterial Dutch leader who lived from 1837-1920) Professor Bratt (recently retired from Calvin University) is a very fine historian and excellent writer and knows this material as well as anyone alive. The book is in the prestigious “Library of Religious Biographies” and has garnered nothing but rave reviews. This really is an astounding work.

The reviews are fun to read, too. Check these out:

Abraham Kuyper was such a titanic figure in the Netherlands during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, such a volcano of prodigious energy and imagination in so many areas of life, that I have long assumed that his genius would elude capture by any biographer. James Bratt’s biography, Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat, proves that I was mistaken. This is Kuyper — not always likable, but always astounding. And it’s a page-turner besides. — Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale University, author of United in Love: Essays on Justice, Art, and Liturgy

At last! This is what many of us have been waiting for — a careful, detailed, and highly readable (!) biography of Kuyper in all of his human complexity. Jim Bratt has given us the comprehensive study of ‘Father Abraham’ that will serve English speakers for years to come. — Richard Mouw, former President, Fuller Theological Seminary, author All That God Cares About and Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction.

James Bratt has written what can only be called the definitive biography of Abraham Kuyper. With engrossing scholarship and style, Bratt provides indispensable reading for anyone interested in postindustrial Christian social thought. . . . Will undoubtedly become a classic. —Anthony Bradley, The Kings College, New York City, author of Why Black Lives Matter: African American Thriving for the Twenty-First Century

Bratt has done a marvelous job of setting Kuyper’s multifaceted interests, activities, and ideas in their historical contexts. With wit and insight Bratt depicts Kuyper not only as a great man but also as a real person of his times, complete with faults and blind spots that Calvinists recognize as inevitable even among their saints. — George Marsden, University of Notre Dame, author of Fundamentalism and American Culture and The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship 

All That God Cares About: Common Grace and Divine Delight Richard J. Mouw (Brazos Press) $21.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $17.59

I have reviewed this at BookNotes and mention it often; it is one of my favorite theological books of the last several years and while it is more than just about Dutch Reformed neo-Calvinism and Kuyper’s call to engage the culture, to celebrate the goodness of art and science, work and education, play and politics, is does, indeed, help us understand the importance of this lively tradition for all of us. Mouw judiciously explores the controversies (even church splits) about this stuff and nicely suggests ways that non-Dutch and non-Calvinists can appropriate some of the best of this reformational tradition.

In this winsome book, Mouw takes readers on an enlightening tour of the theologies of creation, redemption, and eschatology undergirding his hopeful theology of common grace. Irenic but never shy to respond to critique, Mouw gives us a book that will engage and inform readers from a wide range of theological standpoints. A delight to read!  — J. Todd Billings, Western Theological Seminary

God takes delight! Mouw has given many of us the gift of that truth through his writing and speaking and very being! In this clearly written book he engages many thinkers to help us know that redemption is cosmic in scope and to help us appreciate the work of the Holy Spirit beyond the boundaries of the Christian community.  — Katherine Leary Alsdorf, senior advisor, Global Faith & Work Initiatives, Redeemer City to City

While this book is a thoughtfully crafted exploration of the doctrine of common grace, it is also a fascinating piece of theological autobiography. In it, one of our era’s great irenic Christian thinkers shares his exploration of his Calvinist tradition, centered on his richly textured view of the distinctly Calvinistic idea of common grace. Although this book has an autobiographical quality, its point is not that we look at its author; rather, All That God Cares About invites us to look through Mouw’s eyes as he shows us Calvinism, which, like Mouw himself, proves to be both firm and generous, systematic but never dull, clear yet mysterious. And because Mouw shows us his Calvinism through the lens of common grace, he lets us see how he views God and God’s world. What a thing to share. — James Eglinton, New College, University of Edinburgh

Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition: A Systematic Introduction Craig G. Bartholomew (IVP Academic) $40.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $32.00

This is, without a doubt, the premier, scholarly survey of what we mean by the Kuyperian tradition, written in a way that is significantly ecumenical — that is, it isn’t just for those already loyal to this redemptive neo-Calvimism. There is nothing like it in print, a serious, vibrant, study. It is a bit above my own pay grade, so listen to these scholars and public intellectuals who recommend it:

This book provides a welcome introduction to a memorable Christian statesman who also happened to be a formidable theologian, a pious devotional writer, an ever-active journalist, and an important theoretician concerning Christian life in the world. Those who do not yet know Abraham Kuyper will find Craig Bartholomew a reliable guide, while those who have already encountered this ‘flying Dutchman’ will be pleased with the range and depth of Bartholomew’s insights. — Mark Noll, author of The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

Abraham Kuyper began the neo-Calvinist movement in the Netherlands in the late 1800s as a way to make classic Christianity speak with fresh relevance to the modern world. Now, over a century later, Craig Bartholomew has given us this clear, thorough overview of Kuyper’s original insights, their further development, and their relevance in the postmodern world. Both veterans of the movement and those new to it will find here a concise presentation of the distinctive Kuyperian themes–creation, worldview, and sphere sovereignty–as they characteristically unfolded in Christian education, philosophy, and political and cultural engagement. Best of all, Bartholomew lays out where Kuyperians can learn from others–and how they might (and must) recover the spirituality and saturation in Scripture that animated Kuyper in the first place. Agree with Kuyper or not, this is the place to go to learn, in brief, what he said, did, and wrought.   — James D. Bratt, author of Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat

Craig Bartholomew numbers among the consummate insiders of the Kuyperian tradition, but he has written an accessible guide for the new and curious. Bartholomew presents the distinctive features of neo-Calvinism, such as its emphasis on worldview, sphere sovereignty, and structural pluralism, while also highlighting neglected dimensions such as its spirituality, concern for the poor, and focus on mission. Writing from a South African perspective, Bartholomew also does not shy away from criticizing the tradition when necessary. We’ve needed a contemporary theological introduction to neo-Calvinism for a long time, and Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition will undoubtedly become a standard textbook in this burgeoning field.                                                   — Clifford B. Anderson, associate university librarian for research and learning, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

What do you get when one of the world’s most masterful contemporary theologians engages in constructive and critical dialogue with one of history’s most powerful and relevant theological traditions? You get Craig Bartholomew’s Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition. Bartholomew’s interaction with Kuyper, Bavinck, Prinsterer, Plantinga, and others is smart, accessible, and relevant to a broad range of interests, including public theology, systematic theology, philosophy, political science, education, and biblical theology. Highly recommended.                                                                                  — Bruce Riley Ashford, provost and professor of theology culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Craig Bartholomew’s study offers one of the best English-language interactions with Abraham Kuyper and neo-Calvinism that I know of. He transcends the often repeated and stereotyped key slogans and concepts. As he often relies on his personal fresh and independent observations, he addresses the reader with the persuasiveness of the established theologian. He succeeds in really connecting this tradition, which already existed in the nineteenth century, with today’s world and problems, proving neo-Calvinism to be still very much alive. Everywhere the reader tastes Bartholomew’s lively and appealing enthusiasm for the Kuyperian tradition, which he discovered already some time ago. At the same time, however, his book offers much more than just an overview or summary of that tradition. On the contrary, we receive an independent contemporary engagement with it that does not hesitate to generously use related accents from other traditions. Bartholomew’s book illustrates the importance of Kuyper and neo-Calvinism but also offers an important and creative continuation of that tradition.  — A. L. Th. de Bruijne, professor of ethics and spirituality, Theological University Kampen

Reformed Public Theology: A Global Vision for Life in the World edited by Matthew Kaemingk (Baker Academic) $29.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $23.99

Don’t believe me that this neo-Calvinist tradition of thinking Christianly about contemporary public issue can yield amazing fruit, that some of the most cutting edge, reliable, thoughtful, public intellectuals are, indeed, in the line of Kuyper and his vision of Calvinism as a robust life-system? Don’t believe my opening comment way up at the start of this colomn that those old lectures at Princeton changed how faith and life are understood among many?  Check this out.

In a way, this book is a continuation of the program that the Joustra’s call for in Calvinism for a Secular Age (and what Kuyper himself hoped for in his pious heart of hearts — a public theology that honors the reigning Christ and hopes for charity and justice for every topic of modern life.) This.; yes, this!

This amazing book (that I celebrated more thoroughly in BookNotes last summer) is actually a tribute to the mentoring and vision-casting (worldviewing?) of Dr. Richard Mouw. Many of these writers from around the globe had connections with Mouw and many were PhD candidates that he supervised. Kudos to Matt Kaemingk who is the next best thing to Mouw himself, these days, deeply committed to his generous Reformed worldview, compassionate towards others, ecumenical and gracious, and very committed to thinking well about ways to solve perplexing international problems. If this is the sort of scholarly (and practical) fruit contemporary Kuyperians are offering, and these are the stories they are telling about their vocations in the world, then I think the tradition is well worth honoring, learning about, and carrying forward.

Join these global visionaries in honoring Mouw, and, in a way, standing in the heritage of the best of Kuyper and those world-changing lectures given in 1898 about religion in the modern world.

Here is just an excerpt of my BookNotes review from last July:

…maybe Kuyper’s strictest followers would cry foul —  conscientious Reformed scholars writing about the aesthetics of fashion (as Robert Covolo does) or work (as Katherine Leary Alsdorf does) or about political activism (as Stephanie Summers does) or how to think about what poetry is and does (as James K.A. Smith does) are not, in fact, theologians or, technically, doing theology, as such. But yet, these scholars are informed by great theology and (my hunch is that they most likely know more bone fide theology than your typical church pastor.) These extraordinary global scholars apply theological ideas and insights to their given field, be it the study of “modern political ideologies” (by Bruce Riley Ashford & Dennis Green channeling David Koyzis) or critical race theory (which Jeff Liou handles adroitly) or the great chapter by Presbyterian Eric O. Jacobsen urbanist called “Streets of Shalom: Reformed Reflections on Urban Design.”

Yes, this is theological, but it is “public theology” and in most cases, very public in scope as the chapters examine (and offer Christian insights about) workers rights in China (Agnes Chin) and Japanese aesthetics (Makoto Fujimura) or questions about navigating political pluralism (by way of a great case study in Indonesia by N. Gray Sutanto) and a great piece about engaging pluralism on modern (postmodern?) college campuses by Veritas Forum spokeswoman, the fabulous Bethany Jenkins.

From the study of populism to the ethics of euthanasia to a chapter about the sorts of prayerful piety needed for those in public life (a truly fantastic piece by Jessica Joustra) this work in Reformed Public Theology is vivid, if scholarly, and very much about the issues of the day, concerns and topics about which we should know a bit, at least.

Naturally, there is also rigorous wisdom about the church itself. Editor Matt Kaemingk, you know, did that stunning book called Work and Worship so he is deeply interested in how the local church can shape and motivate congregants for taking up this project of shaping  and living out a coherent, healthy public theology. There are chapters such as a great one by Kyle Bennett on  confession as a practice for civil public discourse; there is a must-read chapter called “A Migrant at the Lord’s Table: A Reformed Theology of Home” by Alberto La Rosa Rojas; the great John Witvliet (of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship) has a much-needed piece called “Public Trauma and Public Prayer: Reformed Reflections on Intercession.” Nico Koopman has one that is equally vital called “Sexism, Racism, and the Practice of Baptism in South Africa: A Reformed and Transformative Perspective.”

You see? This is a breathtaking collection of very thoughtful and faithful chapters inspiring us to get busy in our own particular fields of the Lord. This book is amazing. Thanks be to God.

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• United States Postal Service has the option called “Media Mail” which is cheapest but slow and may be delayed. For one book, usually, it’s about $3.50 – $4.00
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CHILDREN’S BOOKS TO GIVE FOR EPIPHANY OR DURING THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

I could say this is “back by popular demand” but that wouldn’t be exactly true. A few people have commented that they’ve enjoyed lessening the stress and indulgence of lavishing so many wrapped presents on Christmas Day by lengthening the gift-giving season through celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas. Epiphany, of course, it could be argued, is the Biblical basis for gift-giving this time of year, since the wise men brought their presents to the baby Jesus.

And giving books seems so right — not quite the glitzy, big-item toy, but more delightful than the functional gifts of socks or gloves.

If Epiphany is a time of Light breaking in, then surely books as gifts are apropos, things that help us live into the light, that can bring joy to our lives. Thank God for such graces.

In our Advent Bible study last week we studied the middle of Romans 13, that bit about waking up since the Day is near, pondering what it means to put on the armor of light, to live well into the new world God has begun in Christ Jesus. Doing fun and formative overtly religious education is the calling of every church and home; here, though, we offer some books that invite young ones to care about the good and the true and the beautiful, to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.” Not necessarily all overtly gospel-centered or Christian, even, perhaps evoking the values of living in the light. 

Here are some fun and beautiful and inspiring book ideas to help continue your effort to help your kids learn about God’s world in its wonder and brokenness and, the need and the glory. Happy gift giving in this upcoming season of Christmas. Epiphany this year of our Lord, by the way, is Thursday, January 6th. We’ve got plenty of time to mail packages. 

The first twenty are picture books for younger children, and the last few are novels for older kids, up through middle school or so.

When God Made Light Matthew Paul Turner, illustrated by David Carton (Waterbrook) $11.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $9.59

We love the first in this series for pre-school children, or up to maybe age 6 or 7 (there are a few big words) done by Turner & Carton, When God Made You. This, too, is a Genesis-derived creation story, but with a twist: it explains the creation of light. As it says, “in the beginning space became bright, ‘cause God filled it with twinkles of yellowy white. Brilliant stars gleamed. Swirls of light streamed. In that once empty space, a galaxy beamed.”

Nice, eh?

It continues on looking at the first brilliant rays of sunrise to the bright orb of the moon, showing how light defines our days. It helps living things grow and flourish. Kids can catch fireflies in jars and play flashlight tag.  Yet — and here is where it is useful for Epiphany conversations — it becomes a metaphor for for God’s own love, for someting inside us, perhaps. 

So beam like the sun; glimmer like a star. And wherever you go, dark will stop being dark. Shimmer and shine, be a beacon so bright, ‘cause when God made you, child, God made light.

The pictures are wild, almost bizarre at times. It’s beyond playful, it is weirdly exciting.

Read Island Nichol Magistro, illustrated by Alice Feagan (Read Island) $18.99 OUR SALE PRICE = $15.19

What a wonderful story about the joy of reading, written by a former bookstore owner and creatively illustrated by a woman who “grew up in a small town but has traveled the world many times over through the pages of her favorite books.”

When book lovers collaborate to do a book about an island where the animals learn to read and enjoy who they meet in the pages of their books, you know it’s going to be great. And a great way for even reluctant readers to get a vision of how good the reading life can be. What a blast this is — and we have autographed copies!  As they say near the end of the colorful pages:

For make-believe though it may look, there is an island made of books. This world of stories, safe and true, is always here to welcome you.  

Be still. Breath out, then in again, and listen for your island friends.

Celebrate Wonder Bible Storybook Brittany Sky (Abingdon) $21.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $17.59

Here at the near top of our list we suggest a children’s Bible storybook. Every home should have a few of these and we can list our favorites — from the brilliant Jesus Storybook Bible and the wonderful Desmond Tutu Bible Storybook Bible illustrated by artists from around the world to excellent Shine On! A Story Bible published by a Mennonite publisher) to the Lion Press Children’s Storybook Bible (for older readers.)

You may know not this recent Celebrate Wonder one, though, and it is exceptional. It isn’t huge, so the nice, compact size is perfect. It is very colorful and inviting, without being too busy or wacky. (Some authors of some children’s Bibles just try too hard to make it seem Disney-esque, kid-friendly.) This one is bright but simple and clear with some good degree of historical accuracy, along with a bit of whimsy I suppose. And, here’s the thing: Celebrate Wonder invites kids to ask simple questions of the text. Perhaps inspired by the language of “I wonder” from the Godly Play movement, these 150 stories each have a “I wonder” question highlighted. Often it is wondering what the characters in the story felt like or how they did what they did or how they saw God in the events that unfold. Or, it is an application sort of question, inviting kids to reflect on stuff about their own life experiences or questions or concerns.

As it says on the back, some children have big questions. This Bible invites them to get involved in the reading, the story, the truth of it all. 

There is a great letter to parents in the back that advises how to best use these stories and there is a glossary of faith words that is a wonderful tool to help kids follow along and develop a vocabulary about these things. Celebrate Wonder is a great addition to every family’s library.

God’s Coming to Visit! Franz Huber, illustrated by Angela Glokler & Rea Grit Zielinski (Flyaway Books) $18.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

 A clever and funny, almost goofy, sorry about how all the animals prepare for this news that God is going to visit. They all, obviously, want to be well prepared, doing something special to impress God, even worried that they have to do so. But, as they say on the inside cover: “With sensitivity and humor, this story explores the nature of God’s presence and love, affirming that although God may not appear in the ways we expect, we can always be certain that God is with us.”

At a website from the publisher, they give this summary of the big ending:  “They primp and practice amazing tricks until they become impatient. It’s dark and God has not come! A voice in the darkness explains. “God is already here.” Then owl explains God’s constant presence and unconditional love. There’s no need to do anything to impress God. What’s to be done? Be still. Feel God’s love. Share your worries. Ask for help. Love God and each another. They do just that. God is with them to stay.

Nice, eh? And not bad for this Christmas season.

(By the way, we stock all the books from flyaway books, a children’s imprint of the PC(USA) Westminster/John Knox publishing house. Here is a nice summary and some ministry ideas about some of their books. See Picture Book Theology from flyaway books.)

The O in Hope Luci Shaw, illustrated by Ned Bustard (IVP Kids) $18.00 OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

Ned Bustard’s recent IVP Kids release, Saint Nicholas the Giftgiver was one of our biggest selling books in December and it is still a great gift to give for kids who have been wondering about Santa Claus this past week or so. Ned is known for the brightly illustrated Bible History ABC and Church History ABC books done with Steve Nichols and also for his greatly appreciated design and illustration work in both volumes of everyday liturgies, Every Moment Holy.

Further, we are hoping you know Luci Shaw, one of our favorite poets and writers, a woman whose mark on religious publishing in the US is notable. (She and her late husband founded Harold Shaw Press years ago and is a founding member of the Chrysostom Society writer’s group with colleagues like Walter Wangerin, Eugene Peterson, Marilyn McIntyre, Scott Cairns, and the like.) One of her best friends was Madeline’s L’Engle with whom she has written a book on grief and also a book of prayers. Her Breath for the Bones: Art, Imagination, and Spirit: Reflections on Creativity and Faith remains a standard in our arts section. Her thoughtful Adventure of Ascent: Field Notes from a Lifelong Journey is a staple in our aging section.

We stock much of her published poetry, including the recent What the Light Was Like: Poems, and The Generosity (published in the esteemed Paraclete Press series of poetry volumes, from which The O in Hope is adapted) and her great anthology Sea Glass: New & Selected Poems.

All of which is to say that when one of our most beloved illustrators teams up with one of our generation’s great poets, and offers it as a children’s book, you have a winner on your hands. The O in Hope is a simple poem, but, like any good poem, reveals new insights and treasures as it is read and read again. Ned’s unique artwork — not the linocut block prints for which he is most well known — is colorful and fun and, well, creative. In a bright sort of way, it is itself hopeful.

As is Ned’s style there are a lot of fun things to look for in his design work; Easter eggs they might be called in another medium. He even mentions some O things to look for — orangutan, oar, oranges, okapi, otter, oak, ox, ocean, owl, ostrich, and octopus. 

The opening line is “Hope holds one lovely vowel like a promise.” Ned shows an octopus, giving the hint that this is a book full of O words, but underwater with the octopus is an anchor. These aren’t mysterious or obtuse symbols, so it isn’t deeply eccentric. It’s a perfect coupling of art and words for anyone, and certainly for young readers. 

And in this creatively enhanced book, each “o” letter is highlighted in a different color text. You’ve got to see it; it will, I’m sure, make you smile, and provide lots of opportunities for reading together with a child on your lap. 

“Oh!” say our open eyes at surprising beauty, and then, “Wow!”

By the way, here is a short review in The Banner in which Luci mentions her hopes for this new edition of her poem

When God Made You Jane Miller, illustrated by Megan Elizabeth Gilbert (Ancient Faith) $18.95  OUR SALE PRICE = $15.16

We enjoy stocking books by Ancient Faith, an Orthodox publishing house that does very nice books. This book, in a sense, is about vocation and calling, asking “What beautiful things was God thinking about when He made You?” It explores the possibilities of being a leader or dancer or accountant or midwife or dentist or poet or zoologist or firefighter or baseball player or philosopher, and so forth. It is a very creatively done book, with nice artwork as you’d see in a great kid’s book, telling of different children from around the world, as the author’s imagine God calling them and bleeding them and telling them to “paint” or “run” or “plant” or “build” or “pray.” 

It has some beautiful and sophisticated language so it could be read by children in early elementary school years.

I’m a real fan of this book and highly recommend it. Someone on our staff was concerned that it might be a tad stereotypical — the boy of Kenyan is a runner, the child in Latin America is a farmer. Fair enough. Still, it’s a very good affirmation of God’s various vocations, honorably shown and beautifully envisioned.

God Made Me in His Image: Helping Children Appreciate Their Bodies Justin & Lindsey Holcomb, illustrated by Trish Mahoney (New Growth Press) $15.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $12.79

Here is how the good folks at the gospel-centered and grace filed publisher put this:

When a group of students and their teacher travel to a zoo safari park to learn about different animals and what makes them special, they reflect on God’s design for their own bodies. This beautifully illustrated, powerful children’s book addresses the topic of body image from a Christian perspective, helping children understand their feelings by, interestingly, exploring the doctrine of creation.

Justin Holcomb is an Episcopal priest and professor of theology and apologetics at Reformed Theological Seminary. He and his wife have been active in resisting sexual trafficking and domestic abuse. (Lindsey works at Samaritan Village, a safe home and therapeutic program for adult survivors.) 

This book is packed with content, good stuff about creation, even animals, but also about human embodiment and our feelings — and our worth. And clarity about Christ as Savior who redeems it all. I think maybe ages 4 or 5 to 8.

Child of Wonder Marty Haugen, illustrated by Stephen Nesser (GIA Publications) $16.95  OUR SALE PRICE = $13.56

We have announced this gorgeous book before and folks who appreciate a lovely and broad ecumenical vision, perhaps even an interfaith spirituality, have raved about it. It started as a song composed by UCC singer-songwriter and worship leader Marty Haugen who wrote the song for the baptism of his godson. The lyrics celebrate the sacredness of human life and delight in the lives of children.

Nesser is an artist we enjoy and this book “illuminates the lyrics with scenes of childhood rituals from faith traditions and cultures around the world” and then “shows these growing children as they play together to form community.”

There is included a free link to a download of the “Child of Wonder” song as well as a full notation of it for families that wish to sing as they page through the beautiful pictures. Very nicely done.

Children will enjoy this, but it seems best for adults wanting to commemorate a special occasion like a birth, baptism, adoption. It has a dedication page, making it a special gift.

What Is Beautiful? Abbie Sprunger, illustrated by Ashely Lauren Snyder (Parent Cue) $24.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

We featured this when it first came out in 2020 noting how much we like the author (who with her husband runs a retreat center in Savannah, GA) and how we respect her previous books (like Stretch Marks I Wasn’t Expecting: A Memoir on Early Marriage and Motherhood.) Abbie is a graduate of Emory University and Talbot Seminary’s Institute for Spiritual Formation

As a mom of three daughters she is very personally interested in how we imagine beauty, how the world’s attitudes can be toxic, and how we need to affirm our young ones to know they are beautiful in their own unique ways, made and loved by God and others. (She has struggled with these pressures herself and knows how urgent this task is.) What a simple, artful, poetic book, happy and vibrant — creatively illustrated by Ashley Snyder who “walks through life with her palms up and her heart open.” This is a great, wonderfully designed, simple book for a very little girl, or for anyone, actually. Some of the proceeds go to the ONE Campaign, by the way, the global movement against extreme poverty and preventable diseases. That’s Abbie for you!  Nice.

This is a lovely gift for anyone that has an appreciation for children’s books — it is a delight for the person reading, I’m sure — but it is for younger children.

All Because You Matter Tami Charles, illustrated by Bryan Collier (Orchard Books) $17.99 OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

In part in response to the increased awareness of the injustices of mass incarceration and what has come to be called “the new Jim Crow” and the gross killings of black civilians by police, there have been more books about black self esteem in children, for boys and girls, than ever before. We’ve always stocked books along these lines and there are now many more coming out. This one is particularly notable because of the vivid and beautiful artwork of award winning illustrator Bryan Collier. (He has won four Caldecott Honors, including for Rosa by Nikki Giovanni and the best-selling Martin’s Big Words, and others, and eight Coretta Scott King Awards and honors.) So this is big. Tami Charles is a former teacher and has written several great kids books, including Freedom Soup. 

All Because You Matter is truly stunning, visually— creative but not odd or overdone. It is raw, at times — it mentions “Pop Pop’s whispered prayers” for Trayvon, Tamir, Philando. It offers a grand vision of and for black people, appropriately so. The author, in an endnote, says, after telling us about The Talk she had to have with her son, “I will not raise Christopher to walk in fear.” And so, this book. By the way, Collier also tells us about how his grandmother’s quilting informed his aesthetic, which you can really notice. What a good book for all families, offered with these very good touches, about a heavy but vital topic.

By the way, we are taking orders for Bryan Collier’s brand new release We Shall Overcome (Orchard/Scholastic; $18.99.)

Little Faithfuls: You’re So Brave and Little Faithfuls: You’re So Kind Carrie Marrs, illustrated by Christians Engel (Tommy Nelson) $14.99 each  OUR SALE PRICE = $11.99 each

We enjoy these great books highlighted Bible characters for little ones. While we’ve often said that we ought not reduce the drama of redemption in the unfolding Bible story to mere human virtues — be brave, be kind — there is a way to amplify the virtues of the characters, giving the credit to God, showing the characters as servants of the Lord’s work, not overstating

the moral of the story. I think these are nice like that, and, in fact, of the dozen characters in each volume, Jesus Himself is one of them, the one who most fully shows the nature of the trait.

In each book there is a single narrative that weaves these individuals into the story — it doesn’t have a ‘chapter’ for each one, building an intregal plotline into the simple story.

Nice!

Another great thing that delighted us: given the sexism rampant in many evangelical circles, reinforced by dumb stereotypes in Christian children’s books, one might expect the one about bravery to be out Bible men, for boys and the kindness one about women, for girls. Nope. In You’re So Brave we find Rahab and Esther, Deborah andMary and in You’re So Kind we get any number of guys, from Joseph, Aaron and Jonathan, to the boy with the loaves and fishes, the good Samaritan and (get this) John the Baptist. This is some great stuff. As it says on the back, about young readers, “God wants to include them in His story.”  We’d say maybe ages 4 to  8.

Any Time, Any Place, Any Prayer: A True Story of How You Can Talk With God Laura Wifler, illustrated by Catalina Echeverri (The Good Book Company) $14.99       

OUR SALE PRICE = $11.99

You know we love the work of illustrator Catalina Echeverri, and we love the Biblical storytelling in the “Tales that Tell the Truth” series. We love them all  — visit The Good Book Company’s webpage about the series to learn about them, but come back here to order, please.) By the way, we recently highlighted here at BookNotes The Christmas Promise which we have plenty of, still at 20% off, in the regular size. We had sold out, and ordered more late in the season and they are here! Yay.)

This most recent one starts in the garden of Eden, explains the goodness of creation, Adam and Eve’s good relationship with God, and how sin alienated them from God. It is colorful and honestly explains the human condition, our need of a savior, the work of Jesus, all with this gentle emphasis on our talking with God. It lays an excellent foundation for a simple, robust, even, theology of prayer.

Any Time, Any Place, Any Prayer ends up with Jesus teaching the “Lord’s Prayer” and offers not only a big view of God and His Kingdom but a wonderfully inviting vision of being prayerful. It recently won the CT magazine award for Best Children’s Book of 2021. I can see why. They say it is for ages 4 – 8, but I know some slightly older kids would won’t mind it if they’ve grown up with a few of the others.

The Celebration Place Dorena Williamson, illustrated by Erin Bennett Banks (IVP Kids) $18.00 OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

Wow, what a great story, a great gift to any family that goes to church or for those for whom church is a bit of a mystery. There are tons of Christian children’s books about God, Jesus, the Bible and living with virtue in the world. There are, oddly, not so many about the local congregation. We have a few about worship, a few for kids in liturgical churches, a couple about baptism. But we need more books like this, that are situated in a house of worship, and there are several spectacular things about this, at least.

The Celebration Place is about the local church. (“Here in God’s house, we all join together. In good times and bad, we need each other.”) Short and sweet, a nice message for kids about church. It also shows (as it says in big letters on the back cover) “No longer is church a divided space — now it’s a Celebration Place.” Yep, this shows that racial reconciliation is key to a healthy local church and that that, then, leads to celebration.  A book about church, about ethnic diversity, and about a life together marked by celebration: now that is a book we’ve been waiting for!

It is true that I do not know of any church like this, where “A young man raps, nodding to the beat. Even old folks stomp their feet” and where “indigenous dance with feathers that fly — arms stretched out to the Creator on high.” But it is beautiful to imagine, eh? I’m glad to read that the black preacher’s voice “booms” but that, “the baby’s coo isn’t too much noise.” (Perhaps the most controversial line in the book — ha!) We are glad it envisions a place where “rolling with wheelchairs or running in, all lift up a hearty ‘Amen!’”

I don’t know of any book that starts telling the story of civil rights activism in the US, shows a colorful spread or two of Martin Luther King, and then shifts to a local church living out the dream of diversity in unity. And ends up reminding us of heaven’s diverse worship showing the multi-ethnic beauty of that future reality.  Three big cheers for the great, colorful art of The Celebration place and offering a one-of-a-kind book about racial and ethnic diversity situated in a local church. 

Ages 3 – 7.

Here is a lovely short video of the author, Dorena Williamson, explaining her vision for the book. Nice.

Isaiah & the Worry Pack Ruth Goring, illustrated by Pamela C. Rice (IVP Kids) $18.00 OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

We adore this very well illustrated new book, again, from the new IVP Kids line. It combines warm painting and what looks like paper cut and patched illustration (although it may not be.) Ms Rice’s good work is just fabulous, making this a very nice book for boys or girls.

In Goring’s Isaiah & the Worry Pack she tells of a young boy named Isaiah who has worries about school and the complicated lives of his family. (As it says, “In our town there’s a boy named Isaiah. Isaiah is a kind boy who loves his family and often worries about them. His worries sit in his mind like big, heavy blocks and never go away.” It is obvious that Goring (who is also a poet) has keen insight about spiritual formation in children and here has developed an age-appropriate image to help understand God’s care and comfort.

His Mom helps the lad imagine each of his worries as a block stashed in his backpack. As Isaiah imagines hiking through the woods carrying his worry pack, he discovers the joy and relief of trusting Jesus with his worries. We hear people say “give it to God” and this remarkable book helps us see what that might look like. There is even a page in the back sharing some instructions for parents or care-givers about not only how to talk about this book, but to offer guidance to adults trying to help kids with their anxieties these days. Highly recommended for (at least) ages 4 – 8.

The Wonder of Creation: 100 More Devotions About God and Science Louie Giglio with Tara Fortner, illustrated by Nicola Anderson (Passion Publishing /Tommy Nelson ) $17.99                 OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39 

We have had a number of customers thank us for telling them about pastor and writer Louie Giglio’s previous two books of Biblical + science devotions based on photos and facts and activities that help kids enjoy God’s good creation. There’s stuff about animals and space, people and earth, faith-building truths about how science isn’t at odds with Christian discipleship. Point kids to creation and help them experience the wonder and magnificence of God.  For ages 6 – 10 or so.

Saint Francis and the Animals: A Mother’s Bird’s Story Phil Gallery, illustrated by Sibyl Mackenzie (San Damiano Books / Paraclete Press) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

We’ve long been impressed by this remarkable book with artful, even stunning, illustrations —not cute or pretty, even, but a bit colorful and intense, which seems an authentic way to illustrate the odd saint, Francis. In this simple story, a mother bird tells her son stories of St. Francis — all based on classic Francis stories and legends. As Fr. Pat McCloskey, the Franciscan editor of St. Anthony Messenger, who says it “is sure to spark valuable conversations.” What a book.

189 Canaries Dieter Boge, illustrated by Elsa Clever (Eerdmans) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

Now this is an amazing, charming, artful book that I bet you haven’t heard about. And what a story! You see, “in a cozy room in the heart of Germany, a yellow canary sings rolling melodies to the miners and carpenters of the Harz Mountains. But today, a bird dealer has arrived, and he will take the canary far, far away…”

Yep, this tells the true story of how canaries first came to North America. What a fun and poetic tale, told so well. In the back, there are a few really interesting pages about the factual details of the history of the canary, how monks bred them in Europe, the styles of their singing, the nature of the boat and perilous journey of the dealer who brought the “Harz Roller” canaries — used to warn miners in our mines, here over the years — from Europe. (In 1882 alone, 120,000 canaries were shipped across the Atlantic to New York.) This is fascinating could captive early elementary children up to third or fourth grade..

The Story of Bodri Hedi Fried, illustrated by Stina Wirsen (Eerdmans) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

This is another example of Eerdmans picking up and translating stunning, evocative, sophisticated (in art and plot) children’s books from Europe. Hedi Fried is a Swedish-Hungarian author, psychologist, and public lecturer. As a teenager she experienced the horror of the Holocaust in Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and several work camps. Today she speaks internationally on the dangers of racism and the value of democracy.

In The Story of Bodri, Hedi spends her days playing with her dog Bodri in the park. As it says on the back, “but her quiet world starts to crumble the day she hears Adolf Hitler on the radio. Germany’s leader hates her and her family, just because they are Jewish. And Hitler doesn’t even know them — it doesn’t make any sense.” This simple story show how this girl and her dog experienced the Nazi’s invading and how her life changed forever.  The illustrations are simple, making them that more gripping, and simple things like the tree leaves changing color show the passage of time. Yes, this is horrific, but it is also a good, true story — Bodri waits and waits for Hedi to return. What a joy. The last page shows Mrs. Fried as an adult speaker telling her story so this horror doesn’t happen again. The striking art is not childish so older children won’t mind reading it. Ages 6-to10.

The Fierce 44: Black Americans Who Shook Up the World edited by Stephen Reiss et al, illustrated by Robert Ball (HMH) $17.99 hardback; $11.99 paperback  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39 (hardback); $9.59 (paperback)

When ordering this, please tell us which one you want, the hardback or paperback. 

Perhaps you heard of the vile move made by the nearby Central York school board a few months ago to remove a bunch of kids books from the school libraries and approved lists, more than a hundred, almost every single one by or about people of color. Many on the list were books we stocked.

This is one, a children’s list of forty-four of America’s most remarkable heros compiled by the team at ESPNs The Undefeated website. Some are well known older icons — Booker T, Washington, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. Dubois, Ida. B. Well, James Baldwin, MLK, and some are more recent popular entertainers or thought leaders — Sidney Poitier, Quincy Jones, Serena Williams, Jay-Z. And there other are lesser known black heroes included — doctors, teachers, political activists, church leaders, many contemporary figures kids may have heard of. We’re happy to recommend this in any season, but especially now, given the foolishness that would fear a book like this. For ages 8 – 12.

A FEW BRIGHTLY ILLUSTRATED INFORMATIVE BOOKS FOR OLDER KIDS

Mightier Than the Sword: Rebels, Reformers & Revolutionaries Who Changed the World Through Writing Rochelle Melander, illustrated by Melina Ontiveros (Broadleaf Books) $22.99 OUR SALE PRICE = $18.39

Although this is a Christian publisher, this book doesn’t have overt religious content and it is decidedly progressive in it’s amplifying people who have “picked up their pens and wielded their words — transforming their lives, their communities, and beyond.” As the author says, “Now it’s your turn!” By offering richly illustrated stories of “inspiring speechmakers, scientists, explorers, authors, poets, and activists” they hope to offer encouragement to young people to learn to write, to speak out, to bring good words to help bring good to the world. There is a bit of instruction here, too, about the writing process, revising, editing, etc.

With each short biography or case study they show how each person used different sorts of writing to make a difference. It explains their most famous article, essay, book or manifesto. 

For instance, here are some of the chapter titles, listing the names of the writer and their “motivation” or goal in doing their particular kind of writing: Langston Hughes: Write to Dream, Rachel Carson: Write to Warn, Malala Yousafzai: Write to Advocate, Anne Frank: Write to Express, Helen Keller: Write to Reveal. We learn that Hans and Sophie Scholl wrote to critique and that Mary McLeod Bethune wrote to inspire and that Martin Luther wrote to debate. There are so many different names of such reformers and each style or aim is succinctly explained. From Wang Zhenyi (a Chinese mathematician and poet) who in the late 1700s wrote to explain the solar eclipse all the way to Louis Braille, the inventory and educator, who wrote his famous method of writing words and music using upraised dots, and George Orwell who wrote Animal Farm to oppose authoritarianism.  

There are sidebars and exercises and all sorts of good inspiration and advise for young writers wanting to make a difference. Hooray.  Good for ages 8 – 14.

Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints Daneen Akers (Watchfire Media) $35.00            OUR SALE PRICE = $28.00

There are not that many religiously-oriented bookstores who stock this big, rich book, we gather, and we are proud to be among those willing to share such a book telling of unconventional saints who brew what we perceive as mostly righteous troublemaking. Not everyone will like holding up radical, inter-faith activists or thinkers or public servants who stand for peace, justice, dignity, and inclusion, but just because this perspective is so rare, and the testimonials told are so interesting, we are happy to offer it; we think the world needs these kinds of stories, and we’re glad this large and informative book amplifies the creative efforts of those whose imaginations and work and witness cannot be captured by the religious right or the secular left. And it is such a feast for the eyes, with some striking drawings and illustrations.

Here we have upbeat illustrations in a sophisticated, often very colorful graphic/cartoon style (done by a handful of different talented artists) that is popular these days, alongside the telling about the brave and faith-inspired work of historic folk such as the medieval Saint Francis of Assisi, Anne Hutchinson from the Puritan era in 17th century New England, Civil War era Harriet Tubman and a powerful entry on Florence Nightingale.

But also, there is Bayard Rustin, the gay Quaker who was a friend and inspiration to MLK and Regina Jonas, the first female rabbi to be ordained whose story is almost lost to history. (She minister to fellow prisoners in a secret synagogue in a Nazi death camp in Czechoslovakia until she was sent to Auschwitz where she was killed.) There is a moving portrait of Maryam Mokaara, an Iranian Muslim transgender rights advocate — one’s heart should break that a person would be so badly treated among her countrymen —and another young, religious woman, a Shia Muslim in Chicago who co-founded (with a Sufi woman) an inclusive Mosque working for peace among those with differences. There is a nice entry on Thich That Hahn, the exiled Vietnamese Buddhist teacher of mindfulness and peacemaking.

I loved the chapter about Mr. Rogers, a Presbyterian minister, doing his TV work, as I suppose you know, as a public ministry based in Pittsburgh. What a joy to see the story about (and the beautiful illustration of) poet Mary Oliver. And I was delighted to read about the Christian joy of Gustavo Gutierrez, a priest among the poor in Peru, known as a Godly man and the father of modern liberation theology.  

There are modern day troublemakers, too, including even a few who we have met. Brian McLaren makes an appearance in a very nice chapter about his faith journey. Rachel Held Evans is properly included; there’s a good piece on Christian Native American writer Kaitlin Curtice. I was moved to read the story of Herb Montgomery, a kid who grew up with parents working for Jim and Tammy Baker, became a Pentecostal preacher, who later had an “aha” moment leading him towards Biblical nonviolence and radical peacemaking as a missionary (fulfilling a prophecy about him given during the heyday of the PTL show.) 

After the portrait of each remarkable person there is a question or two to apply their attribute or virtue of the story. For instance, after the powerful story of Alice Paul (an early 1900s Quaker, a descendant of William Penn, with a degree from Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania) who became a “Silent Sentinel” (the group of suffragettes who picketed the White House for 18 months!) we have the question “what injustice would you fight today?” After the story of CCM singer Jennifer Knapp, it asks, “What does it mean to you to love without exception? Following the piece about Danya Ruttenberg and her journey from being a young atheist to a serious Jew with a ministry of creation care, it asks, simply, “what is one way you can love God’s creation?” There is a similar question following the lovely bio of the Roman Catholic steward of trees in Kenya, Wangari Maathai. This is all so interesting, learning about so many different kinds of people making the world a better place.

You get the picture; there are Jewish folks, Muslims, a Buddhist, Christians of various sorts, all activists who have taken up a calling to love God and others with radical inclusion and social reform. Most are part of the movement for greater justice for LGTBQ persons, and that is a clear theme of Holy Troublemakers.

In each essay about each person certain words are highlighted in red and that leads curious readers to a helpful glossary in the back. Words and phrases from “Christological hermeneutic” to shekinah, Imam, heretical, colonization, fundamentalism, queer, calling, civil disobedience, and dozens more. The glossary is an education in itself, framed by this interfaith and progressive vision of dignity and justice and shalom for all creation. Few readers will find this book theological adequate since it is driven by stories of people, flawed and heroic and human as they are, but it is a one-of-a-kind, beautifully made resource that some of our families and congregations will be grateful to have. 

They say ages 8 and up, but I’d say maybe 10 and up…

Stories of the Saints: Bold and Inspiring Tales of Adventure, Grace, and Courage Carey Wallace, illustrated by Nick Thornborrow (Workman) $24.95    OUR SALE PRICE = $19.96

This, too, is a large sized hardback, lavishly illustrated, telling the stories of people of faith and courage. The individuals featured are more conventional Roman Catholic saints — but, boy, that doesn’t mean overly sacred or dull as these are stunning portrayals of amazing, real people. The artwork is fabulous, although a more traditional sort of illustration, evoking older hagiography and classic portraiture. Yet, it has a contemporary, modern touch, making it really, really interesting.

We have raved about this before and once somebody holds it — a big, solid hardback, so well designed and so very well written — they love it. Carey Wallace is a contemporary novelist, too (having written the highly regarded The Blind Contessa’s New Machine, a fictionalized account of the true story of the woman who invented the typewriter.)

As the publisher puts it:

As exciting as any Greek myth, as inspiring as any story about knights of the round table, these stories of the Christian saints are filled with history, adventure, and inspiration. Here, the lives of 70 Christian saints are organized chronologically (from 2nd century bishop St. Polycarp to Mother Teresa) and richly illustrated for kids ages 8-12.

Many important reviewers have complimented both Wallaces nuanced and enjoyable writing and the vivid graphic design work of Thornborrow. Here is what the prestigious Kirkus Reviews said in 2020:

The saints included span centuries and cultures, including well-known figures… more obscure ones like Mary of Egypt and John Nepomucene, and those from non-Western cultures… Wallace presents them all with quiet confidence that the stories matter, and she convinces us that they do. Thornborrow’s illustrations combine traditional iconography with modern graphic art, effectively dramatizing each tale. Unusual, well-done.”

Written with “a quiet confidence that these stories matter.” I like that. Here’s to giving good books for Epiphany and beyond. Order today at our BookNotes 20% off.

A FEW GOOD STORIES FOR OLDER ELEMENTARY AND YA READERS

Just Like That Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion Books) $16.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

Schmidt is one of our generation’s great youth writers, still a lit prof at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, and known for Newberry Award books like Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. I adored The Wednesday Wars and you should know the follow-up to it, Okay for Now. This new one, a nice sized hardback, is set in that same late 60s world and may be connected to those two. It is said to bring his characteristic humor and zany characters combined with serious and important moral questions. Starting in 1968 — the Viet Nam war is raging, of course — the book opens telling us about Meryl Lee who, we learn, arrives at a Maine boarding school, haunted by personal loss. 

As the publisher promises, “this timeless story of grief, growth, and change is full of heart and humor.” Schmidt is rooted in a profound Christian worldview and can pull off this wise and caring storytelling in a way that stands alongside the best YA books out there. What a glory.  This is a “Junior Library Guild” selection. Props.  Ages 10 – 14.

Birdie’s Bargain Katherine Paterson (Candlewick Press) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

Perhaps even more than Gary Schmidt, Katherine Paterson is a legend in the world of contemporary YA fiction. She has been honored with award after award and her early books remain in the canon of kids fiction. Of her thirty books, just think of Bridge to Terabithia or Jacob Have I Loved or The Great Gilly Hopkins.

Here is a key bit that helps you learn what this “bargain” is about. In a mainstream book published by a “secular” house, by the way:

When Birdie’s daddy is posted overseas for a third time, she’s angry and scared. But maybe, just maybe, if she does everything right, God will bring him home safe, one more time…

I chuckled when I opened it at random and read the description of this ten-year old girl buying a “I Heart Jesus” tee shirt at the church camp gift shop. Yep.

This is a post-9-11 story with Birdie’s father serving in the Iraq war. Here is how the publisher tells it:

To save money, she, Mom, and baby Billy have moved to Gran’s, where shy Birdie must attend a new school, and no one but bossy Alicia Marie Suggs welcomes her. Doesn’t God remember how hard it was for Birdie to make friends at Bible Camp? Counselor Ron taught about judgment there — and the right way to believe. Has Birdie been praying wrong? Why else would God break their bargain?

Readers of all faiths and backgrounds, especially children of military families, will identify with and root for the unforgettable Birdie, given inimitable voice by master storyteller Katherine Paterson.

Ages 9 – 12.

Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood Gary Paulsen (FSG) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39  

I got one of these for myself but haven’t had time to open it yet. The great Gary Paulson (author of Hatchet and Dogsong and dozens of others) died just as this book was growing in popularity this fall. It is Paulsen’s own story, an autobiography that anyone who knows his books will find enlightening.

Here is what it says on the dust jacket flap:

Paulsen portrays a series of life-altering moments from his turbulent childhood. If not for his summer escape from a shockingly neglectful Chicago upbringing to a North Woods homestead at age five, there never would have been a Hatchet. Without the encouragement of the librarian who handed him his first book at age thirteen, he may never have become a reader. And without his desperate teenage enlistment in the Army, he would not have discovered his true calling as a storyteller…

This beautifully told and wise book has ended up on all sorts of year’s end Best Books lists and is destined to be remembered as a classic. Here are a few of the rave reviews:

“It might seem unlikely that such an unflinching account could have an uplifting effect. Yet it does. A child may grow up in privation, and he may grow up in ease, but suffering comes to all. Through his example, Gary Paulsen models how it can be overcome.”      —The Wall Street Journal

“A rich, compelling read that is emotive and expressive without forcing empathy from the reader. Both brightly funny and darkly tragic, it is fresh in its honest portrayal of difficult themes . . . Readers will fall into this narrative of succeeding against overwhelming odds amid deep trauma.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Recalls many tense and dangerous moments. Readers will find themselves turning the pages quickly to see what happens next and whether the boy survives, perhaps forgetting that this is the life story of a popular author now 81 years old.”                       — The Washington Post

“A riveting, hopeful survival story about personal resilience amid trauma.”                     — Publishers Weekly

“Paulsen exposes his early life with raw honesty and heartwarming humor . . . This literary treasure is written for book lovers of any age . . . A spectacular memoir that will engage readers as intensely as his award-winning fiction.” — Shelf Awareness

Great for ages 8 – 12 or so…

The Beatryce Prophecy Kate DiCamillo, with illustrations by Sophie Blackall (Candlewick) $19.99 OUR SALE PRICE =$15.99

When a Christian leader and good author ordered this from us the other day it reminded me how I’ve been wishing to tell our BookNotes readers about it. Kate DiCamillo happily won us over many years ago with her rightly popular Because of Winn Dixie. And after that, The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread, not to mention the creative The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. As one of America’s most beloved storytellers (and two-time Newbery Medalist) DiCamillo is a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. (And, she was born in Philly, so is, technically, a Pennsylvania writer, even though she was raised in Florida and now lives up North.)

Sophie Blackall, by the way, who offers some expert black and white touches, here, is a two-time Caldecott Medalist — originally from Australia. In The Beatryce Prophecy she portrays the medieval society and the life of the girl Beatryce quite well, with warmth, even. 

This is a story set in medieval Europe, considered “a luminous tale of fate, love, and the power of words to spell the world.”

What does that mean? You’ll have to read it, enter the castles and monasteries and adventure, learning, first, why the monks of the Chronicles of Sorrowing fear Answelica the goat.  Imagine Brother Edik’s terror, though, “when he goes to feed Answelica one morning and finds a child in the pen with the demon goat.”

As the jacket tells us, “The child does not know where she came from. She does not know who her people are. She remembers one thing only: her name. Beatryce.”  The king’s men, however, know who the child is, and they are searching for her. 

Ages 8 – 12.

A Place to Hang the Moon Kate Albus (Holiday House) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

This incredibly written book has gotten rave reviews and we are sure some of our discerning customers will appreciate it. Albus lives in rural Maryland and we are told we have some mutual friends, I think. This is her first novel and we’re thrilled to announce it here. It is perhaps a classic “orphan” story but one of the heroes who helps these lost kids find a sense of home is a librarian who gives them books. Yea!

The amazing Patricia Reilly Giff (a multiple-award winner of the Newbery Honor) has written about it nicely:

Set in England in the early days of World War II, three siblings search for a family who will keep them forever. I admired those three: their love for each other that kept them going, despite cruelty and neglect. Books they read are particularly appealing and the librarian was warm and comforting. An unforgettable story — beautifully told.

Here are other starred reviews and lovely descriptions:

Both touching and genuine, the historical novel A Place to Hang the Moon speaks to the power of stories and families, both of which can be found in the most unexpected places. — Foreword Reviews

The narrative is fresh, lively, and captivating. The characters are drawn with conviction and a good deal of empathy. Lit by wit and humanity, the novel offers a heartening story in which three resourceful children keep a secret, find what they long for, and treasure it. —Booklist

Heartwarming . . . Albus infuses the closely bonded siblings’ search for found family with dry humor [and] affectionate and authentic-feeling characterization –Publishers Weekly

It’s in the often crisp, often cozy detailing and the ever-so-British turns of phrase . . . that this novel claims a place among the most kid-pleasing orphan stories. The loyal bonds among the Pearce siblings and Mrs. Müller’s bottomless well of patience, ingenuity, and perfectly tailored reading lists will have readers aching to swap their own messier families, however briefly, for the Pearces’ home and hygge. –The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Ages 9 – 14.

Leo, Inventor Extraordinaire Luke Cunningham (Zonderkidz) $16.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

It isn’t every day a Christian publisher releases an adventure book for a boy that isn’t fantasy with mythical creatures in a middle-earth type scenario. This is not that sort of fantasy. And this now has garnered incredible reviews from the likes of Super Bowl champion and TV personality Michael Strahen, who says “Leo: Inventor Extraordinaire is a book all kids should read, with a hero we all can root for.” 

The story is set in a school for incredibly gifted orphans. There’s the genius kid inventor, a subterranean maze. (And, as it says on the back) “A mechanical monkey. What could go wrong?”

When you are an inventor like Leo, apparently, the answer is “everything.” Ha.

I’m guessing that Cunningham may have a bit of a nod to The Inventor of Hugo Cabret going on here and they say it will be loved by those who enjoyed The Copernicus Legacy series. For ages 8 -13, I’d say, it is filled with both adventure and humor. Interestingly, Luke Cunningham has been nominated for an Emmy Award for his work as a writer with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He developed a passion for the Renaissance while earning a history degree from Brown. Apparently Leo himself may be a bit of kid’s version of a renaissance man. 

As a toy inventor, Leo has to contend with dastardly plots, this puzzling set of tunnels below his school in Florence, and the story ends up with some sort of DaVinci Code religious drama going on. There are almost 60 pieces of original black and white artwork and it encourages the development of STEM skills. Cool, huh?

In Leo, Inventor Extraordinaire, Luke Cunningham has created an utterly engaging and charismatic protagonist and an absorbing mystery filled with spectacular inventions, vivid action, an occasional life lesson, and a hearty dose of humor. — Clinton Kelly, TV personality and host

The Fire Keeper’s Daughter — Keep the Secret, Live the Lie, Earn Your Truth Angeline Boulley (Henry Holt) $18.99  OUR SALE PRICE  $15.19

I think I turned off one of our religious customers the other day when I said that I think Reese Witherspoon has good taste in fiction and that if she has chosen this for her YA Book Club, we wanted to carry it, and recommend it as a good and important read. We have not studied this carefully, but by all accounts it is one of the great books of the year, and a New York Times best seller (which does not, obviously, establish its worth, but does suggest it is being talked about all over the land.) I mentioned to my pious friend that the Spirit-led apostle Paul read (and ordered in his letter to young Timothy) the pagan books of his time. It would seem to me that would compel conservative Christians to feel obliged to read widely (or at least set them free to read what they want.) In any case, The Fire Keeper’s Daughter is a complex and keen story, well-written (even called gorgeous and enthralling) from an author who is a Native American leader.

Angeline Boulley is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is a storyteller who writes about her Ojibwe community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She is a former Director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education. Angeline lives in southwest Michigan, but her home, she says, will always be on Sugar Island.

With the indigenous stuff going on — exposing corruption on a res — it obviously raises spiritual concerns. And explores hard-hitting topics of concern such as (in the words of the Publisher’s Weekly review) “citizenship, language revitalization, and the corrosive presence of drugs on Native communities.”

Fire Keeper’s Daughter has been optioned already to be made into a film (from Michelle and Barack Obama’s production company, I believe.) Here is some of the buzz.

“A rare and mesmerizing work that blends the power of a vibrant tradition with the aches and energy of today’s America. This book will leave you breathless!” — Francisco X. Stork, acclaimed author of Marcelo in the Real World and Illegal

“Another YA novel that’s absolutely page-turning required reading for adults…Our heroine is so smart, so thoughtful, and so good.” — Glamour

A gorgeous insight into Anishinaabe culture and a page-turning YA thriller with a healthy dose of romance thrown in, Firekeeper’s Daughter hits all of the right notes. — Hypable

Immersive and enthralling, Firekeeper’s Daughter plunges the reader into a community and a landscape enriched by a profound spiritual tradition. Full of huge characters and spellbinding scenes, it gives a fascinating insight into life on and off the reservation, with Daunis as a tough and resourceful heroine through every vicissitude. — Financial Times

Though Firekeeper’s Daughter contains gripping action sequences and gasp-inducing twists, it’s Daunis’ mission of self-discovery, which begins as a low and steady growl and grows to a fierce, proud roar, that has the most impact… Though it both shocks and thrills, in the end, what leaves you breathless is Firekeeper’s Daughter‘s blazing heart. — BookPage

Boulley, herself an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, writes from a place of love for her community and shares some key teachings from her culture, even mixing languages within the context of the story. She doesn’t shy away from or sugar-coat the very real circumstances that plague reservations across the country, and she tackles these through her biracial hero who gets involved in the criminal investigation into the corruption that led to this pain. An incredible thriller, not to be missed. — Booklist

This is a great read for senior high youth, maybe ages 14 – 18.

When Stars Are Scattered Victory Jamieson and Omar Mohamed (Dial/Graphic) $12.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

We’ve promoted this often and are so glad that it has been honored in so many places, from ALA Notable Book to the School Library Journal’s Best Book of the Year a few years ago. Victoria Jamison is an renowned graphic novel author for middle school age kids (she won a Newbery Honor for Roller Girl.)

When Stars are Scattered, which was a finalist for a National Book Award, tells the story, in many of his own words, of co-author Omar Mohamed, who spent much of his young life in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Omar is from Somalia and had the opportunity of going to school, and tells here the life of a refugee (including his journey to the US where he was settled in Arizona; there he got a college degree in international development and became a US citizen. Omar eventually took a position with Church World Service in central Pennsylvania where he now lives.)

When Stars Are Scattered is a Hearts & Minds favorite. It is informative, interesting, and inspiring — a great read for almost any age, maybe 9 and up.

Pembrick’s Creaturepedia: Skreean Edition Ollister B. Pembrick (translated by Andew Peterson) (Waterbrook) $13.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $11.19

This is, you should know, illustrated by O.B. P. (Ollister B. Pembrick, naturally) with some assistance from a “master of sketchery”, Aedan Peterson. It is a small hardback, replete with the valuable drawings and detailed explanations by said O.B. P. who lived, barely, to describe each creature in the Wingfeather Saga in grand detail. It is said to be “the have-to-read guide for all who wish not to get eaten, maimed, or otherwise snacked on by the creatures of Skree.”

Which is to say, again, that the Creaturepedia is a small companion to the four volumes of the Wingfeather Saga by none other than Andrew Peterson himself. If your kids have the Wingfeather books, this handy hardback is a hoot.

The four volumes, by the way, are each fabulous hardbacks for early or middle elementary up to younger middle school readers who like adventure and chivalry and a fair bit of tomfoolery. They include, in order, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, North! or Be Eaten, The Monster in the Hollows, and the fourth volume, The Warden and the Wolf King. There is a fifth book, random stories from several of Peterson’s posse (N.D. Wilson, Doulas McKelvey, Jennifer Trafton and Jonathan Rogers) called Wingfeather Tales: Seven Thrilling Stories from the World of Aerwiar. All of these hardbacks go for $13.99, by the way, and qualify for our BookNotes 20% off. We’ve got all five, the four by Peterson in the Saga and the supplemental fifth on, the extra collection of “tales.”

[And, as an aside, if the kids like these books, or the parents are reading them, you can always get the parents Petersons two handsome books about his own vision of creativity and his calling as recording artist, writer, and thinker. We recommend last year’s wonderfully titled Adoring the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making (B+H Books; $16.99) and the more recent The God of the Garden: Thoughts on Creation, Culture, and the Kingdom (B+H Books; $17.99.)]

25% OFF SALE ON THE BOXED SET — only through Epiphany, January 6, 2022 and while supplies last.

The hefty boxed set of all four hardbacks in a sturdy, colorful slipcase typically sells for $55.96 but we have that at 25% for those who see it here — good only until Epiphany. That extra sale price for this limited time = $41.97. After January 6th, 2022, it will go back to our typical 20% off.

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TO PLACE AN ORDER

PLEASE READ THESE SIMPLE REMINDERS AND THEN CLICK ON THE “ORDER” LINK BELOW.

It is helpful if you would tell us how you prefer us to ship your orders. The weight and destination of your package varies but you can use this as a thumbnail, general guide.

There are generally two kinds of US Mail options, and, of course, UPS. If necessary, we can do overnight and other expedited methods, too.

• United States Postal Service has the option called “Media Mail” which is cheapest but slow and may be delayed. For one book, usually, it’s about $3.50 – $4.00
• United States Postal Service has another option called “Priority Mail” which is about $8.35 if it fits in a flat rate envelope. Many children’s books are oversized so that will take the next size up with is $8.95. That gets much more attention than does “Media Mail.”
• UPS Ground is reliable but varies by weight and distance and may take longer than USPS. We’re happy to figure out your options for you once we know what you want.

– DON’T FORGET TO LET US KNOW WHAT SHIPPING METHOD YOU PREFER –

HELPFUL HINT: If you want US Mail, please say which sort — Media Mail or Priority Mail — so we know how to serve you best. If you say “regular” we left scratching our noggins.

BookNotes

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20% OFF

We’re glad for those who ordered Advent devotional books — a few weeks ago we listed some that could be used in studies with weekly sessions for small groups or classes, some that could be used daily, and some that are congenial for families to use together in home devotions. When our kids were little, we weren’t committed to family devotions year round, but when our three were young, we loved the Advent wreath, lighting candles (read: playing with fire) and cultivating a sense of anticipation. So those books are useful.

I’d like to share a couple of nice children’s books to read closer to the holiday (which is 12 Days, you know, starting after Advent, with the first day of Christmas being December 25th. Only one day of Christmas makes about as much sense as one day of Hanukkah, you know.) So here are some Christmas children’s books you can use for weeks to come, just for fun.

All of these are offered at our typical 20% discount for these items we feature here at BookNotes. Of course we have so much more at the shop so don’t hesitate to ask questions at the “inquiry” tab at our website or call us. We’re here 10 – 6, Monday through Saturday. Of course, you can use the “ORDER” tab at our website which is secure for credit cards. Just click on the “order” link at the end of this column which takes you to our Hearts & Minds website.

We, like everyone, are facing supply chain issues and some of our vendors and suppliers are hampered and delayed. We’ll try to be clear about what you can expect, item by item, when you inquire or order. Thanks for working with us to navigate these complicated issues.

FIRST THIS: TWO MORE FOR ADULTS

First though, here are a two more Advent devotionals that arrived here at the store — one from a friend in the UK — after we did that last adult Advent list, so we wanted to name these here. They can take their place next to Advent in Plain Sight, Christ in the Manger by Bonhoeffer, the Plough collection Wait for the Light, and all the others we listed before, such as the remarkable best-seller, Honest Advent by Scott Erickson, and, of course, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ by Fleming Rutledge.) They, too, are all 20% off.

Celebrating Christmas: Embracing Joy Through Art and Reflections Amy Boucher Bye with illustrations by Leo Boucher (BRF) $25.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $20.79

We just got this in from the UK and we’re so glad. The publisher, BRF, by the way, is the internationally known Bible Reading Fellowship, a British-based nonprofit, who invited Amy to offer the good reflections inspired by original art by Mr. Leo Boucher, her father.

Amy is a spiritual director and author of the lovely, accessible, inspiring, 7 Ways to Pray (that I reviewed here.) This book is a handsome hardback, small enough to send through the mail or wrap as a small gift, it has full color paintings and glossy, quality paper. It isn’t lavish like a baroque art collection or a big coffee table book; in a way, even though the art is wonderful, it is simple, fine work from a wordsmith and a visual artist. It’s very good. In the words of one broadcaster, the two contributors of Celebrating Christmas: Embracing Joy… “combine seamlessly to create a celebration of the warmth, love, promise and glory of Christ’s birth on earth, and what that means for us today.” There are helpful questions at the back to facilitate your own meditation or conversation around the images and reflections.

The Advent Project: A Challenge to Journal, Reflect, and Celebrate Christ’s Birth (Zondervan) $14.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $11.99

Again, this is a very handsome product, beautiful on the outside the lightly textured hardback cover, and nice on the inside with attractive graphics (including hints of water-colored candles, wreaths and the like) in the classy design on the interior. There are brief devotions and simple thoughts, but the feature of this that you might like most is the daily thoughtful prompts for journaling and reflection. This can be used as a journal — use the lines and spaces to enter your own ruminations about the reason for the season, as they say. The Advent Project offers 31 days of brief writings, reflection prompts, and inviting questions.

BOOKS FOR VERY YOUNG CHILDREN

God With Us: A Manna and Mercy Christmas Board Book Daniel Erlander & Mary Lindberg (Augsburg Fortress Press) $7.99 OUR SALE PRICE = $6.39

Perhaps you know the stunning, hand drawn, hand-written large size overview of the Bible, Manna and Mercy. It’s like a seriously cartoony introduction to the Bible with footnotes from Walter Brueggemann and others with a deeply Biblical prophetic imagination. It’s remarkable.

This is a simplified, colorful, excerpt of the Christmas portion of Manna and Mercy and the wording — the people crying and God crying with them, the trees clapping their hands, the good news of God being with and for us in Christ — is all so very solid. Yet it sounds a bit fresh, simple, allusive, different from the telling of any other Christmas children’s board book we know. Wow.

The Christmas Promise Alison Mitchell with illustrations by Catalina Echeverri (The Good Book Company)                                        board book $9.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $7.99  regular hardback book $14.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $11.99

I have raved about this whole”Tales That Tell the Truth” series of full sized children’s picture books; they hint at the Christ-centered, creation-restoring, Kingdom-coming, gritty Biblical vision that makes these Bible stories more than mere moralism (like “dare to be a Daniel” as if the story is about courage, not God’s redemptive presence — the one in this series on the narrative from Daniel is called Jesus and the Lion’s Den!) One excellent one is about racial reconciliation and social diversity in the redeemed new earth (God’s Very Good Idea); one is about raising Lazarus and how that points to Jesus’s own resurrection, one is called Garden, the Curtain, The Cross. You get the picture. Well, the Christmas one places the coming of Jesus in this broad historically redemptive flow of the Bible story and in simple, sweet ways, shows that this baby is coming to rule (and heal) the world. It’s a brief telling, without being overly wordy or heady, with vivid, almost bizarre, high-quality illustration. And this one is the board book version, smaller, shorter, sweeter. I like it and hope your little ones will too, as it reminds us that Jesus is the fulfillment of a promise and a King. Nice.

I Can Count to Christmas: An Interactive Number Story (B+H Kids) $7.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $6.39

This is a fun little board book, chunky and colorful. It rhymes, and the point is the numbers that are almost die-cut, so little fingers can trace the tracks to learn the shape of the numbers. Is this how kids learn to count and to write their numbers? Maybe so. It is tactile and engaging.

For what it is worth, to keep this agenda going, the story has to be switched around a bit, which could be a little odd for some — for instance, the first page is “1 Baby Sent from Above” and “2 Parents Welcome Him with Love.” But then, it’s “3 Wise Men See the Brightest Star” and “4 Camels Must Travel Far.” That the Wise Men scene occurs later in the Bible may perplex some, but it does say they saw the star, so maybe that fits. And 4 camels? And then there’s “5 Houses in the Sleepy Town.” And so on. The tenth spread is “10 Angels” but why do they look like little children?  I think it may not be worth asking these questions, or maybe it will lead to goo conversations in between the little fingers tracing the lines, but I’m warning you. It is too cute.

The Jesus Storybook Bible: A Christmas Collection: Stories, Songs, and Reflections for the Advent Season inspired by Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jago, narrated by David Suchet (Zonderkidz) $24.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $19.99

We announced this last year and the publisher ran out, unable to make more in time for the season. A number of our customers loved it, and we’re happy to share it again. Here is some of what we said last year:

Oh my goodness…we are so excited to tell you about this. It will be the lead title when we do another BookNotes post soon that features nice books to give to children this holiday season…

The Jesus Storybook Bible: A Christmas Collection: Stories, Songs, and Reflections for the Advent Season is one of those great books that is oversized and handsome and has a battery/computer gadget thingie that speaks or plays music when a child presses the button.  There is narration, and there are excerpts of four Christmas carols that fit well into the appropriate pages. Kids love these interactive books and we are so happy about this. That it spreads out widely in the lap is great, too. Kudos, Zonderkidz!

They say this is for ages 4 – 8 but I can imagine a slightly older kid reading it herself. And a slightly younger one could press the buttons and smile at the music, so I’m going to suggest this, being a bit optimistic, for ages 3 – 10.

There are key moments to “press the button” throughout and it will bring hours of pleasure and spiritual formation for children and families using this very cool new product. We’re excited. And the Jago art (as you know from the Jesus Storybook Bible) is cool, whimsical without being silly or sentimental.

You should know that we adore the Jesus Storybook Bible and while there are other children’s story Bibles that we like a lot, we are especially fond of the creative art and excellent writing of this one. And the framework and theological perspective — “Every Story Whispers His Name” — shows the interconnectedness of the Bible stories that unfold and point to the promises fulfilled in Christ. It’s really good. And Advent is the perfect time to plumb those obvious interconnections.

This new edition has new content that is explicitly Advent themed.  Highly recommended.

Jesus Came for Me Jared Kennedy, illustrated by Trish Mahoney (New Growth Press) $11.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $9.59

This one takes some explaining, too, and you might want to know it is simple, contemporary looking, vivid, yet text heavy. As board books go, this is larger than most, allowing for the fairly complex sentences and even more complex notions. That it starts with Zachariah being mute reminds me of how weird the Bible is — thanks be to God!  — and how complicated it is to teach this stuff to toddlers. God bless this team for trying. And, yep, they handle Herod’s “sneaky lie” and plot to kill Jesus in a clear, no-nonsense way. I myself don’t like the overly individualized piety of the title (Jesus came for the whole creation the Bible insists), but this good book really does explain the whole Christmas narrative in simple ways without glossing over some important details. It is part of a series of such books called the “Beginner’s Gospel Story Book.” We will be eager to hear how parents use it in their family holiday times.

Goodnight, Manger Laura Sassi, illustrated by Jane Chapman (Zonderkidz) $9.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $7.99

Beth has declared this one of her favorite Christmas board books and I sure see why — it is whimsical with great art by Jane Chapman, and yet it is heartfelt and tender, sensible to a new mom, I think. How can baby Jesus sleep when the stable was so loud? As it says on the back, “Between the itchy hay, angels singing, and three kings knocking — Mama still finds a way for everyone to work together to shephard Baby into peaceful dreams under the twinkling stars.”

The artwork is well done, cute without being comically goofy or maudlin. That Mary’s hair is dark and a bit stringy is perfect. (And the orange wash of the inside walls with chickens under foot gives it almost a Central American/Mexicali feel.) The whooshing glory of the angels singing is shown as colorfully and creatively as any book we’ve seen — the mostly dark skinned, colorfully robed people are singing and dancing even as one plays violin and another an accordion!  And wait till the sheep and rams go crazy, when they, too, see the star. And when the kings come with their royal pomp, the text says, “Mama’s frantic, in a tizzy. Who knew stables were so busy?”

The color and energy and lovely picture of the little baby Jesus yawning is great. No theological message here, exactly, except the reminder that this was one heck of a night for a newborn. Maybe it does have profundity. Just read Philippians 2.

Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story Sally Lloyd-Jones Paintings by Alison Jay (Zonderkidz) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

I have reviewed this often these last few years and love its simple, poetic cadence, its solid truth that the whole creation is eager to see what this Messiah Baby is about. You know Sally Lloyd-Jones from the remarkable Jesus Storybook Bible and innovative devotionals Songs to Make Your Heart Sing. Alison Jay is an excellent artist and her renderings are evocative of Americana folk art. I love these artful, moving pictures. This can make me tear up and I highly recommend the full picture book (there was a board board edition that we might be able to get, this year, which somehow doesn’t capture the poignant, simple beauty of these renderings of the long of creation.) I love the last line: “Heaven’s Son, sleeping under the stars that he made.”

The Nativity  Illustrated by Julie Vivas (Voyager Books) $7.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $6.39

I am not alone in declaring this one of the most amazing children’s picture books of the Christmas story we know. First released in the mid-1980s, year after year, folks discover this and are amazed by the vividness, the humor, the humanity.  (And, like clockwork, some complain. Yes, there is a full spread picture of the new, naked, baby Jesus, penis and all. Take it up with God if you don’t like that, since, well, that’s how it is.)

There are other things that are jarring that folks either love or hate. Mary is very pregnant and over the years that has become less bothersome to those who found it a bit too sensual (thank goodness.) The angels have these huge freaking wings, like the dragons on the cover of some graphic fantasy novel or some old Yes album cover. That one of them, a spiky-haired Gabriel, is wearing army boots just seals the deal for those who know the Hebrew meaning of “Lord of Hosts” (which Eugene Peterson in The Message rendered “Lord of the Angel Armies.”) But these army-booted wild angels are wide-eyed and eager to help, even if a bit — as most everybody in the story is — a bit clueless. There is wonder, amazement, and awe among these humble peasants and assorted servants at play in the fields of the Lord.

Apropos of not much, there’s one scene when one of the peasant gang is scolding a sheep for following, shooing it the other way, and it puts its head down like a puppy. It makes me smile every time, that somebody was trying to keep the new baby safe. And then there’s the scene — I missed it at first — of an angel riding a sheep. Ha! The people have a Middle Eastern or South American look, or somehow Semitic, so much so that the New York Times called it “A people’s Nativity.”

Santa’s Favorite Story: Santa Tells the Story of the First Christmas Hisako Aoki, illustrated by Ivan Gantschev (Simon & Schuster) $9.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $7.99

I will never forget when we first discovered this, decades ago, as a European import, before the big US publisher picked it up. The Japanese storyteller, the Bulgarian-born, German artist, the unusual brown-toned art, the clever way Santa tells the story of the nativity. What a great idea, having Santa himself saying, “Christmas is not about me, it’s about this other story.” For most American children raised to believe in Santa Claus, it is helpful, I think, to have him, on his own jolly authority, say it isn’t really about it.

It does get a Biblical detail wrong — it has the shepherds following the star to Bethlehem, which is a frustrating gloss. It doesn’t theologize about the birth of the baby, just announces that he brings God’s love. And then Santa gathers his animal helpers and gets his job done to give a happy ending for all.

I’m sure this will delight some, perplex a few, and create great conversations for those who use books not only for enjoyment, but for nurturing curiosity and probing questions.

BOOKS FOR SOMEWHAT OLDER CHILDREN

Saint Nicholas the Giftgiver Ned Bustard (IVP Kids) $18.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

I have been waiting for this book for nearly a year, knowing that our dear friend, who we admire so much, was doing this first book in the new IVP Kids line. So it’s notable, historic, even. And, we are always very glad for a new book about Nicolas. You hopefully know that Saint Nick was a real saint, a theologian (who, famously — it’s so funny, it ought to be famous — got into a fistfight about the fully divine nature of Christ at the Council of Nicaea) and a follower of Jesus who served the poor. Our custom of sending valentines, it is said, started with him as he sent kind notes to the incarcerated, reminding them that they are loved. He was one radical Christian.

I generally like Ned’s art, too. He does modern day linocuts that seem like what some call woodcuts. They are often laden with symbols — you may have seen his incredible design work and linocuts in the two Every Moment Holy prayer books. Not to digress too much, but he also has done a number of indie press kids books and illustrated serious classical educational curriculum. He did the very colorful illustrations in the popular Crossway titles, Church History ABCs, Reformation ABCs and Bible History ABCs. Yet another style of art is seen in the amazing book co-done with poet Luci Shaw, another brand new IVP Kids release, The O in Hope. More on that anon.

Saint Nicholas the Giftgiver is amazing on several fronts, and I do not have time or space to describe it in detail. Just know these four reasons why you should consider it for kids as young as 4 or 5 and as old as, maybe 8 or 9. Or, kids of all ages!

Firstly, it is colorful and fun, artfully fresh with his colorized hand carved block prints. This process of creation take a huge amount of effort and skill and each piece is a remarkable work of art itself. (You can see a few moments of him doing this art work in this video describing the book — it’s splendid to watch him work!) This is not just another kid’s book typically illustrated, it is imaginatively created, rich, even if full of whimsy.

Secondly, it is, indeed, full of whimsy. It reads in the cadence of “The Night Before Christmas” and tricky as that may be, making words rhyme and fit the meter, it mostly works. So that’s clever and entertaining. And it uses playful words — yep, as Nicholas got older, he had a belly that shook like jelly. Is upbeat and silly, even. (In some serious endnotes for parents, where he mentions some other legends about Nicholas, how he even helped mice, and, yep, a little picture of a mouse scurries along there by the scholarly footnotes.)

Thirdly, it does cover some of the important facts about Nicholas born in Turkey in March of 270. It isn’t a major treatise and there are a few other children’s books that tell other aspects of this famous early Christian. But it is informative and educational. With the ongoing rhyme he says that he settled in the seaside town of Myra, disagreed with Arius, helped the poor, even performed miracles for others, etcetera, etcetera. Bustard continues the sing-song, saying that “Nick cared for the church, serving as their bishop: he shared with God’s people both the Word and the Cup. And in thanks for grace from God the Almighty, he gave gifts to the weak, the sick and the needy.” Dare I say it is edifying?

Fourthly — and this is a bit controversial, but I hope it doesn’t stop you from buying it — in the last small portion, the story swerves to the modern Santa with his sleigh and reindeer.  He reports that,  “Some people say…” which is a good touch. Yes, the book is about the virtue of service, the grace of giving, the goodness of sacrifice, as embodied in a real Bishop of the early church. In small print in the afterword he notes James 1:17, reminding us that every good gift comes from above. But some (especially Orthodox believers, I might think) will not appreciate the segue into the icon of American consumerism, the subtle shift from teaching the value of giving to conceding the habit of getting. I would have been happy if it did not make that far-fetched connection, but it is the standard telling, that our contemporary Claus — Jolly old Saint Nick, you know — has some circuitous connection to the Bishop who, as Nicholas the GIftgiver puts it, “died in three hundred forty-three, on December the sixth… well loved and godly.”

Consider, also, that Ned recently released (through his own small press, Square Halo Books) a paperback book called The Art of J.R.R. Tolkien. He loves the imaginative, playful, child-like stuff of legends, of lore, of magic. Tolkien, you know, did a book himself called Letters from Father Christmas. So if Ned wants to bring together in a fully festive way the great Saint and the modern myth, we should be glad for the good gift. Enjoy it, folks. Enjoy!

The Night of His Birth Katherine Paterson, illustrated by Lisa Aisato (Flyaway Books) $18.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.40

I hope you know the remarkable and highly awarded YA fiction writer Katherine Paterson, one of the most esteemed children’s fiction writers of the last 50 years. She was raised on the mission field in China (her parents were Presbyterian missionaries and her faith continues to shine in many of her best-selling books.) This one is a lovely, eloquent, elegant re-telling of the birth of Jesus, told tenderly through the view of Mary.

Sing out, my soul, the wonder . . .

Mary’s baby has arrived, and she can’t contain her joy! As Joseph sleeps, she examines her newborn’s tiny mouth, his wild hair, his little hands. Yet what’s most wondrous is that this child is not just Mary’s own but a gift that God has shared with everyone.

Poetic text by Newbery Medalist Katherine Paterson and striking images by Lisa Aisato reveal the intimacy of that unforgettable night long ago, when the mother of Jesus was the first to welcome him into a world he would change forever.

Carla and the Christmas Cornbread Carla Hall, illustrations by Cherise Harris (Simon & Schuster) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

What a fun and touching story, a delight for anyone — but I assume especially for black families wanting to see folks who look like them portrayed in a pretty typical, middle class-looking, home decked out for Christmas. The story tells of little Carla who loves being at her granny’s house on Christmas Eve but who (a bit of a spoiler alert) mistakenly eats the last cookie that was left out for Santa. What do to? Well, it involves some scrumptious cornbread (for which there is a classic recipe in the back. (There’s a nice spread of some soul food, too — the author has grown up to be a chef!) It all ends well, and the last page shows a black Santa, like the Christmas ornament your young readers might notice on the tree, munching on, well, you know.

I do wish they had gone to church Christmas Eve. Maybe they’ll got to a Watch Night service on New Year’s… we need a book about that!

Storyteller Carla Hall, by the way, grew up in Tennessee and is a graduate of Howard University and is now a trained chef and accomplished television personality. Artist Cherise Harris spent her childhood in Barbados.

Christina’s Carol: Featuring the Classic Christmas Carol “In the Bleak Midwinter” by Christina Rossetti Tomie dePaola (Simon & Schuster) $17.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $14.39

It is hard not to get a bit choked up describing this; we have loved selling Tomie DePaola books over our nearly four decades, decades when his popularity was at its height. We have friends that met him, others who have been to retreat centers where he would sometime visit to pray. We have loved his folk tales, this funny sales, his Bible stories. His distinctive style has been much discussed in children’s literature circles and he is as esteemed as only a handful of our finest writers and illustrators. He was awarded  both the coveted Newberry and Caldecott Awards medals (the Caldecott in 1976 for Strega Nona and the Newberry in 2000 for 26 Fairmount Street.) In 2011 he was given what was then called the “Laura Ingalls Wilder Award” bit which is now known as the Children’s Literature Legacy Award. We could say more.

This book was what seems to be his last, incorporating previously used pictures from some of his other seasonal books and drawn from some of his last known paintings. While they say this is good for ages 4 – 8 I would say older children might appreciate the interesting, colorful art and many adults, of course, truly love the moody, somber, wintry song with its declaration of love for Christ.

Here is what Publisher’s Weekly wrote:

Based on the 1872 Christmas carol “In the Bleak Midwinter” by poet Rossetti, this illustrated edition combines previously published artwork and unseen art from the late dePaola’s personal collection. The artist’s trademark style brings charm to the classic poem, with photographed three-dimensional dioramas set alongside traditional illustrations rendered in vibrant washes of color. The book offers multiple depictions of characters and scenes; in one memorable spread, the Virgin Mary and Jesus are shown in four different styles surrounded by the text, “But only His mother/ In her maiden bliss// Worshipped the Beloved/ With a kiss.” DePaola fans will rejoice in having this lush, multilayered illustration of a classic hymn for their collection.

Joy to the World: Christmas Stories and Songs Tomie dePaola (Puffin) $12.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

What a bargain this nice sized paperback is. As they explain on the back cover, “This collection unifies three of the incomparable Tomie dePaola’s most beloved Christmas stories into one handsome volume. Vividly portrayed and expertly crafted, The Night of Las Posadas, The Story of the Three Wise Kings, and The Legend of the Poinsettia are sure to enchant and mesmerize the whole family during the holiday season.”

As the School Library Journal wrote years ago (in reviewing The Story of the Three Wise Kings) “dePaola’s illustrations are not simply pictures designed to expand the text: his illustrations are the text.”

Yes, some fancy-pants scholars note that he uses the influence of Byzantine and Romanesque art, which is true enough. But whatever his style and influences, he brings color and joy, expands our horizons, deepens our empathy for humans and — in many of his books — helps us delight in the goodness of the God of the Bible.

FOR OLDER READERS

The Lion Classic Christmas Stories Mary Joslin, illustrated by Jane Ray (Lion Press) $16.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $13.59

This is a fabulous hardback, just thick enough to be a real “book” and not a kid’s picture book, but not to weighty. There are mature and artful illustrations by the always intriguing Jane Ray. There are twelve captivating stories that “reflect the spirit of Christmas – a gift to bring joy and to treasure.”

There are standard Bible stories here (the nativity according to Saint Luke and Saint Matthew) and some classics, like a telling of the “Nutcracker” story and and a telling of the classic “The Little Fir Tree.” There’s a nice story about Saint Nicholas. There is one chapter called “The Fourth Wise Man.” We get stories from all over the world, too – -“Little Piccola”, “Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden “ and “Babushka.” Others have fun titles that evoke folk intriguing tales such as “The Christmas Cuckoo”, “The Old Violin”, “Papa Panov”  We have a very limited supply of this; Lion Press is from the UK and we may not be able to get more. Order today while supplies last.

A Stubborn Sweetness and Other Stories for the Christmas Season Katherine Paterson (WJK) $20.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $16.00

We have spoken, above, of our admiration for the great youth novelist Katherine Paterson. Over her illustrious career she has done two paperback collections of holiday-themed stories, and this draws from those two, and adds two new stories. (Those previous books, now out of print, were Angels and Other Strangers and A Midnight Clear, which I know many of our customers dearly loved.) Here is some of what the publisher says about this anthology:

A Stubborn Sweetness and Other Stories for the Christmas Season is a collection of modern-day short stories by Katherine Paterson, award-winning author of Bridge to Terabithia and The Great Gilly Hopkins both loved by children and adults for over twenty years. This compilation includes stories of real-life people such as a shopping mall’s night watchman, a lonely widower, a pregnant teenage runaway, a political prisoner in China, a grieving mother, and a privileged American, who have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas because of loss, pain, greed, or circumstances. Through unexpected and uplifting ways, each is reminded of the first Christmas story and the vision of hope and peace it offers the world. They realize that even in the darkness, the light and song of Christmas can be seen and heard.

This heart-warming gift book, filled with stories of realistic people finding hope, courage, and faith amidst life’s circumstances, radiates the spirit of the season and reminds each of us what Christmas truly means. Originally written to be read during her church’s Christmas Eve service, this collection of holiday stories is perfect for individuals, families, and churches to read and share during the season.

DESIGNED FOR ADULTS BUT GOOD FOR SOME FAMILIES

Home for Christmas: Stories for Young and Old compiled and edited by Miriam LeBlanc, illustrated by David Klein (Plough Publishing) $22.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $17.60

This extraordinary anthology of quality Christmas stories was previously available in a nice paperback — if you know Plough Publishing you know they do excellent work, with an eye to good craftsmanship and the aesthetic quality of a book. The exquisite (black and white) woodcut illustrations (done by Amish farmer and writer David Klein) are a sight to behold. This year they took this old chestnut and re-issued it in hardback and a very reasonable price.

Home for Christmas is about 330 pages and includes some shorter and some lengthier pieces for authors you may know and many you may not. For instance, you will see a great piece by Pearl Buck and Elizabeth Goudge and Henry van Dyke (of course.) But, is a lovely entry by Katherine Paterson, but there are many others, including writers from Europe. It is a great read-aloud book, mature and wise and good.

“If you’re giving one book for Christmas, make it this one.” Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook.

 

Mr. Nicholas: A Magical Christmas Tale Christopher De Vinck (Paraclete Press) $20.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $16.00

Ahh, how to explain this without giving too much away? Allow me to note that Mr. De Vinck has been a favorite of ours for years and has a devoted following among serious readers everywhere. He was friends with both Henri Nouwen and Fred Rogers if that sort of places him, and he has written heart-warming but important essays, editorials in the world’s leading papers, well-crafted short stories, devotionals, memoir, and a remarkable historical saga (Ashes) telling the tale of his own grandmother’s escape from Holocaust-era Germany. He’s a good man and a good writer.

In this, with the reindeer on the cover, you can expect a lovely holiday story, and it is. But, from the foreword by Joanne Rogers (wife of Fred) you hear words like this: “May the charm of this little book add to the beauty of your neighborhood.”  Indeed, it is said to be “a story for every family in every neighborhood — to help us see the unique goodness in every person.”

As the late Madeleine L’Engle (another fan) put it,

De Vinck’s point of view about life and love and children and teachers is important for the world. I would like as many people as possible to know his work.

Enjoy this inspiring story about Mr. Nicholas, the eccentric owner of the local hardware shote who “is somehow involved with reindeer, toys and children.” Perhaps he is more than a clerk on Main Street.

The Dog Who Came to Christmas And Other True Stories of the Gifts Dogs Bring Us edited by Callie Smith Grant (Revell) $12.99  OUR SALE PRICE = $10.39

A few of our customers have enjoyed other inspiring animal stories by Callie Smith Grant (especially her Second-Chance Dogs and Second Chance Cats and The Horse of My Dreams.) This, too, is sure to please any group of dog lovers — and the little picture of five canines with Santa hats on that appears on the back is a hoot.

This is pitched as a collection of “feel-good holiday stories but it seems that there really is something extra nice about some of these.

Bright Evening Star: The Mystery of the Incarnation Madeleine L’Engle (with a forward by Addie Zierman) (Convergent) $16.00  OUR SALE PRICE = $12.80

I hope your kids know the YA fiction of the late, great Madeleine L’Engle. I hope you know her adult work, her poetry, Bible reflections, memoirs, and more. This is one written in her classic style, part memoir, part instruction, part rumination. This really is a lovely, thoughtful book for serious adults who like some charm and elegance in their contemporary Christian writing.  Some of it would be good to read aloud. There is a good reader’s guide in the back too for facilitating discussions or book club conversations.

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TO PLACE AN ORDER

PLEASE READ THESE SIMPLE REMINDERS AND THEN CLICK ON THE “ORDER” LINK BELOW.

It is helpful if you would tell us how you prefer us to ship your orders. The weight and destination of your package varies but you can use this as a thumbnail, general guide.

There are generally two kinds of US Mail options, and, of course, UPS. If necessary, we can do overnight and other expedited methods, too.

• United States Postal Service has the option called “Media Mail” which is cheapest but slow and may be delayed. For one book, usually, it’s about $3.50 – $4.00
• United States Postal Service has another option called “Priority Mail” which is about $8.35 if it fits in a flat rate envelope. Many children’s books are oversized so that will take the next size up with is $8.95. That gets much more attention than does “Media Mail.”
• UPS Ground is reliable but varies by weight and distance and may take longer than USPS. We’re happy to figure out your options for you once we know what you want.

– DON’T FORGET TO LET US KNOW WHAT SHIPPING METHOD YOU PREFER –

HELPFUL HINT: If you want US Mail, please say which sort — Media Mail or Priority Mail — so we know how to serve you best. If you say “regular” we left scratching our noggins.

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