Book Reviews
Everything Must Change, by Brian McClaren
Book review submitted by Christopher B. James, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentrations: Evangelism and Church & Society. Review originally appeared on jesusdust.com
Christian America? What Evangelicals Really Want, by Christian Smith
Book review submitted by Christopher B. James, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentrations: Evangelism and Church & Society. Review originally appeared on jesusdust.com
Planting Missional Churches, by Ed Stetzer
Book review submitted by Christopher B. James, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentrations: Evangelism and Church & Society. Review originally appeared on jesusdust.com
Organic Church, by Neil Cole
Book review submitted by Christopher B. James, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentrations: Evangelism and Church & Society. Review originally appeared on jesusdust.com
Mission-Shaped Church
Book review submitted by Christopher B. James, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentrations: Evangelism and Church & Society. Review originally appeared on jesusdust.com Part 1 - Summary: http://www.jesusdust.com/2012/09/mission-shaped-church-summary.html Part 2 - Book Review: http://www.jesusdust.com/2012/10/mission-shaped-church-2-book-review.html
Practical Theology: A New Approach, by Marcel Viau
Review by Francisca Ireland-Verwoerd Marcel Viau is a Roman Catholic practical theologian who has taught primarily in his native Canada and most recently in Fribourg, Switzerland. The rise of practical theology in the Roman Catholic tradition is directly related to the Second Vatican Council with its emphasis on the work of local churches and pastors. This renewed focus gave the impetus for the study of pastoral theology (later called practical theology) as a discipline autonomous from systematic theology, while remaining intimately connected at the same time. Viau sees several reasons for this new way of doing theology. First, the social scientific... More
Sharing Faith, by Thomas Groome
Review by Francisca Ireland-Verwoerd INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTHOR Dr. Thomas Groome is Professor of Theology and Religious Education at Boston College. His main research and teaching interests are religious education (history, theory and practice), pastoral ministry and practical theology. Groome has written numerous books on religious education, some of which are widely used in Catholic and Protestant seminaries, as well as several curricula for the Catholic Church, from K-8 through adult studies.1 The heart of Groome’s philosophy of religious education is his belief that people should be enculturated into the faith, that is to say, the faith should be taught through... More
Overturning Tables: Freeing Missions from the Christian-Industrial Complex, by Scott A. Bessenecker
Review by Francisca Ireland-Verwoerd in the International Bulletin of Missionary Research at: http://www.internationalbulletin.org/issues/2015-02/2015-02-098-bessenecker.html
The Irresistible Revolution, by Shane Claiborne
Shane Claiborne. The Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2006. Book Review submitted by Xochitl Alvizo, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentration: Congregation and Community “Growing smaller and smaller until we take over the world,” is the title of the second to last chapter in Shane Claiborne’s book The Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical. I begin here because there is an important question this title raises for me – and the assumption that I think it makes. Let me first offer a quick introduction to Claiborne’s book. Shane Claiborne understands himself to be living the “ordinary”... More
Emerging Churches, by Eddie Gibbs & Ryan Bolger
Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger. Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005. Book Review submitted by Xochitl Alvizo, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentration: Congregation and Community Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger conducted an investigation on “the nature of emerging churches and movements,” churches and movements that they consider to be “vibrant and alive” (329). From their study with such churches, Gibbs and Bolger identified nine practices as common among emerging churches, three of them being the core practices out of which the others flow. Overall I was impressed with how much I agreed with the... More
UnChristian, by David Kinnaman
David Kinnaman. Unchristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity…and Why it Matters. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2007. Book Review submitted by Xochitl Alvizo, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentration: Congregation and Community Unchristian is a book that results from a research project inspired by Gabe Lyons’ interest to “help a new generation of leaders understand the perceptions and images that young people have of Christianity,” perceptions he already suspected to be very negative (13). To this end he partnered with David Kinnaman, the primary author of the book, in launching an extensive three-year research project in which thousands of people... More
Does God Need the Church, by Gerhard Lohfink
Gerhard Lohfink. Does God Need the Church? Toward a Theology of the People of God. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1999. Book Review submitted by Xochitl Alvizo, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentration: Congregation and Community The work of salvation that God has done in Christ is not realized in its full scope if Christ does not take form in the church (footnote, 302). This is a central point for Gerard Lohfink in his book, Does God Need the Church? To help the church understand what this means and help the church grasp the immensity of what it is a part, Lohfink traces... More
Work in the Spirit, by Miroslav Volf
Title: Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work Author: Miroslav Volf Publisher: Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2001 Reviewer: Josh Sweeden, Ph.D. Student in Practical Theology What would it mean if the starting point for a theology of work was the Spirit and charisma instead of creation and vocation? Theologies of work have been dominated by the latter two motifs, neither remains inadequate, but at the same time, Miroslav Volf argues that neither is comprehensive enough. For a Christian theology of work Volf suggests a shift “from the vocational understanding of work developed within the framework of the doctrine of creation... More
Wendell Berry and the Cultivation of Life, by J. Matthew Bonzo and Michael R. Stevens
Title: Wendell Berry and the Cultivation of Life Author: J. Matthew Bonzo and Michael R. Stevens Publisher: Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2009 Reviewer: Josh Sweeden, Ph.D. Student in Practical Theology Matthew Bonzo and Michael Stevens believe Wendell Berry is a crucial voice for the world today, and more particularly, for Christians today. Their project is simple: to analyze and evaluate Wendell Berry’s writings theologically, addressing themes congruent with contemporary theological concerns while acknowledging ways Berry’s vision can be adopted and lived. It’s no secret that Bonzo and Stevens find Berry to be a profound writer who provides the church with a new vision... More
Theories of Culture: A New Agenda for Theology, by Kathryn Tanner and Paul Lakeland, Eds.
Title: Theories of Culture: A New Agenda for Theology Author: Kathryn Tanner and Paul Lakeland, Eds. Publisher: Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997 Reviewed by: Nell Becker Sweeden, Ph.D. Student in Practical Theology In Theories of Culture: A New Agenda for Theology, Kathryn Tanner opens her first chapters with a comprehensive view of the development of cultural theory and brings this into conversation with theological engagement in the second half of her book. The substance of Tanner’s argument lies in the last three chapters, in which she relies on postmodern cultural theory to engage theology toward a hybrid and ad hoc task of deepening Christian discipleship... More
Theology of Work, by Darrell Cosden
Title: A Theology of Work: Work in the New Creation Author: Darrell Cosden Publisher: Paternoster theological monographs. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2006 Reviewer: Josh Sweeden, Ph.D. Student in Practical Theology Building from various theological articulations of work, and particularly from twentieth century voices, Darrell Cosden explores his hypothesis for a “normative theological understanding of work.” The hypothesis is twofold—or as he calls it, “a double hypothesis”—that intends to develop a new theological definition of work (10). By the end of the text his definition is composed: Human work is a transformative activity essentially consisting of dynamically interrelated instrumental, relational, and ontological dimensions: whereby, More
Promised Land, A Perilous Journey, by Daniel G. Groody and Gioacchino Campese, Eds.
Title: A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey: Theological Perspctives on Migration Author: Daniel G. Groody and Gioacchino Campese, Eds. Publisher: Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2008 Reviewer: Nell Becker Sweeden, Ph.D. Student in Practical Theology A Promised Land: A Perilous Journey: Theological Perspectives on Migration is a compilation of essays that brings together Christian leaders and lay people, cultural anthropologists and sociologists, practioners and professors, Scalabrinian missionaries, and theologians on the theme of the U.S.-Mexico border and migration. These authors explore migration through four lenses: 1) foundations of a theology of migration; 2) mission, ministry, and migration; 3) the politics of... More
Living the Hospitality of God, by Lucien Richard, O.M.I.
Title: Living the Hospitality of God Author: Lucien Richard, O.M.I. Publisher: New York, Mahway, N.J.: Paulist Press, 2000 Reviewer: Nell Becker Sweeden, Ph.D. Student in Practical Theology Lucien Richard, in Living the Hospitality of God, provides an in-depth analysis of Christian hospitality to the stranger and reaffirms this practice as the necessary action of ushering God’s reign, particularly in light of contemporary situations of rampant individualism in America and the staggering reality of displaced peoples and refugees. Hospitality challenges one to accept the ‘other’ as other and the ‘stranger’ as one bearing strange culture to the observer. This encounter requires attentive listening and willingness... More
Holy Work, by Dom Rembert Sorg
Title: Holy Work: Toward a Benedictine Theology of Manual Labor Author: Dom Rembert Sorg Publisher: Santa Ana, CA: Source Books, 2003 Reviewer: Josh Sweeden, Ph.D. student in Practical Theology Originally published in 1951, Dom Rembert Sorg’s theological engagement of the Benedictine understanding of manual labor remains a classic text today. The latest edition, published in 2003, contains a preface written by Brian Terrell, O.S.B., and member of the Strangers and Guests Catholic Worker Farm in Maloy, Iowa. This new edition, with a preface by Terrell, displays the profound influence Sorg’s text has had not only for Benedictine monasteries but also for contemporary movements like... More
Divine Economy: Theology and the Market, by D. Stephen Long
Title: Divine Economy: Theology and the Market Author: D. Stephen Long Publisher: London: Routledge, 2000. Reviewer: Josh Sweeden, Ph.D. student in Practical Theology Steve Long provides a compelling argument of how economics ordered by theo-logic has been replaced by a fact-value distinction apparent in modern traditions beginning with Weber. Long develops his argument by comparing and contrasting three economic traditions: The dominant, the emergent, and the residual. The dominant tradition, which is most indebted to a Weberian strategy, is premised upon the analogia libertatis and therefore purports an economic structure (capitalism) which serves that end. This tradition, seen clearly in the writings of Michael Novak, More