James A. Forbes, Jr. Whose Gospel? A Concise Guide to Progressive Protestantism. The New Press, 2010. ISBN: 9781595583970. Meet the Author James A. Forbes Jr. is a leading voice in the progressive Protestant movement. In 1989 he became the first African American to serve as Senior Minister at The Riverside Church in New York City: a congregation well known for its promotion of progressive causes and self-described as interdenominational (American Baptist Read More …
Books
Review of Jesus Died for This? (#0182)
Garrison, Becky. Jesus Died for This: A Satirist's Search for the Risen Christ. Zondervan, 2010. ISBN: 9780310292890. Meet the Author Becky Garrison is a contributing editor for Sojourners and has also written for Killing the Buddha, Religion Dispatches, The Revealer, Geez Magazine, The High Calling and the now defunct Wittenburg Door. Additionally, she has written several books in recent years including: Starting From Zero with $0: Read More …
Review of To Change the World (#0153)
Hunter, James Davison. To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. Oxford University Press, 2010. ISBN: 9780199730803. Meet the Author Since 1983, James Davison Hunter has been teaching at the University of Virginia and researching American culture. Currently, he is the LaBrosse-Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture and Social Theory as well as the Director of the Institute for Read More …
Review of The Greatest Prayer (#0150)
Crossan, John Dominic. The Greatest Prayer Ever: Rediscovering the Revolutionary Message of the Lord's Prayer. Harper One, 2010. ISBN: 97800618575670. Meet the Author According to Harper Collins, John Dominic Crossan "is generally regarded as the leading historical Jesus scholar in the world." He has been a professor of religious studies at DePaul University since 1969 and currently serves that institution as professor emeritus. Over the last forty years Read More …
Review of Reframing Hope (#0149)
Merritt, Carol Howard. Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation. Alban Institute, 2010. ISBN: 9781566993944. Meet the Author Carol Howard Merritt is an ordained Presbyterian Church, USA pastor. She has served congregations in Louisiana and Rhode Island. Currently she serves Western Presbyterian Church – an intergenerational church in Washington D.C. Merritt is the author of Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation (2007) and Read More …
Review of Unlearning Protestantism (#0145)
Schlabach, Gerald W. Unlearning Protestantism: Sustaining Christian Community in an Unstable Age. Brazos Books, 2010. ISBN: 9781587431111. Meet the Author Gerald W. Schlabach is an associate professor of theology and director of the Justice and Peace Studies program at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. He is the founder and currently serves as the executive director of Bridgefolk, which is a movement of Mennonites and Roman Catholics who come together to Read More …
Review of Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You’ve Been Told (#0137)
Wright, Bradley R. E. Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media. Bethany House, 2010. ISBN: 9780764207464 Meet the Author Bradley Wright is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut. After keeping quiet about his Christian faith early in his career, Wright became more open after gaining tenure. His specialties include religion, social Read More …
Review of Mere Churchianity (#0136)
Spencer, Michael. Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality. WaterBrook Press, 2010. ISBN: 9780307459176. Meet the Author Michael Spencer is best known for founding and serving as the primary writer of the Internet Monk, which was consistently rated among the top twenty Christian blogs for many years. Spencer earned a seminary degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, preached each week at a private school and a Presbyterian Read More …
Review of Transformational Church (#0132)
Stetzer, Ed and Rainer, Thom S. Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations. B&H Publishing, 2010. ISBN: 9781433669300. Meet the Authors Ed Stetzer is the President and Missiologist in Residence of LifeWay Research. Ed is a contributing editor for Christianity Today, a columnist for Outreach Magazine and Catalyst Monthly, serves on the advisory council of Sermon Central and Christianity Today’s Building Church Leaders, and is Read More …
Review of Jesus Manifesto (#0131)
Sweet, Leonard and Viola, Frank. Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ. Thomas Nelson, 2010. ISBN: 9780849946011. Meet the Authors Leonard Sweet is the E. Stanley Jones professor of evangelism at Drew University and visiting distinguished professor of Evangelism at George Fox University, was voted one of the 50 Most Influential Christians in America, and continues to write and speak prophetically about the church. An ordained United Read More …