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 …
Review of Nudge (#0130)
Sweet, Leonard. Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who's Already There. David C. Cook, 2010. ISBN: 9781434764744. Meet the Author 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 Methodist pastor, Sweet has authored Read More …
A Still Speaking and Still Doing God (#0129)
Offertory Sentences The God of creation and new beginnings The God of prophets and promises And the God of you and of me Is a still speaking God and a still doing God A God who welcomes us to participate in God’s ongoing work with our giving Prayer of Dedication Holy One, we acknowledge your power and welcome your influence in our lives and in the world. Enable within each of us a heightened spiritual awareness – an ability to see the expansive tapestry of your love. Accept now our Read More …
Review of God’s Welcome (#0128)
Oden, Amy G. God's Welcome: Hospitality for a Gospel-Hungry World. Pilgrim Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780829817355. Meet the Author Amy G. Oden is Dean and Professor of History of Christianity at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. She is the author of two books on hospitality: And You Welcomed Me: A Sourcebook on Hospitality in Early Christianity (2001) and God's Welcome: Hospitality for a Gospel-Hungry World (2008). Additionally, she is the editor of Read More …
My Response to Anne Rice (#0127)
Anne Rice Quits Christianity As the days pass since Anne Rice wrote of her decision to “quit being a Christian” I have returned to her words on several occasions. Her words are those of a follower of Christ who cannot fathom why the church she thought she knew and loved has become an institution more focused on being against issues rather than for Christ. Rice’s pain and frustration have led her to walk away and to distance herself from the body of Christ. Today I quit being a Read More …
A UCC Response to Anne Rice (#0126)
Anne Rice, the best-selling American author whose books have sold more than 100 million copies, announced on Wednesday that she has quit being a Christian. According to the AP, Rice was "raised as a Catholic, she had rejected the church early in her life but renewed her faith in recent years and in 2008 released the memoir Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession." Other sources suggest that her progressive views have been at odds with the Roman Catholic Read More …
Review of The Christian Atheist (#0125)
Groeschel, Craig. The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living as if He Doesn't Exist. Zondervan, 2010. ISBN: 9780310327899. Meet the Author Craig Groeschel is the founding pastor of LifeChurch.tv, which has grown from a single campus in 1996 to a multi-campus church with over eighty weekly worship experiences in fourteen locations including an online campus. Groeschel has written five books: Confessions of a Pastor: Adventures in Dropping the Pose and Read More …
Progressive Christian Worship Music (#0124)
Bryan Sirchio is uniquely qualified to write about progressive Christian worship music. After graduating from Princeton Theological Seminary, he was ordained in the United Church of Christ and served as a pastor. Since 1987 he has traveled extensively doing concerts and leading worship services and retreats through his own Crosswind Music. Sirchio has released 12 CDs, 3 study guides, and 4 songbooks. He is currently writing his first book: Progressive Christian Read More …
The Future of the UCC (#0123)
Over the last few years, the assumption that denominations will continue "as is" for many years to come has been dying. Increasingly, mainline pastors and even denominational leaders have been advocating for a variety of possibilities for reform that will help give shape to a new type of national organization that will be for their respective tradition what denomination served as in modernity. A week ago, Stephen Sterner wrote an article about what he sees as likely for the future of the Read More …
Review of Radical (#0122)
Platt, David. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. Multnomah, 2010. ISBN: 9781601422217. Meet the Author At age 28, David Platt became the youngest American megachurch pastor when he accepted the call to be the pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. Now 31, he continues to serve as pastor of this 4000 member congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and recently published his first book. Read More …