Category: <span>Books and films</span>

Summary: This is an annotated list of ten compelling books about the New Testament and about New Testament studies, generally. All of the books are good choices for those who are engaged in ministry or who have a modest background in studying the New Testament. They were published roughly between October 2015 and October 2016.

Read the full article at The Christian Century.

Books and films

Summary: This is an annotated list of ten books that will enhance one’s reading of the New Testament. All the books were published roughly between October 2014 and October 2015.

Read the full article at The Christian Century.

Books and films

When I think about the church and all its flaws, I’m often prone to be cynical. The book of Acts urges me to take a second look, though. Acts depicts Jesus in relationship to the church in ways that challenge me and sometimes inspire me. That’s one of the reasons why I wrote the book Intrusive God, Disruptive Gospel: Encountering the Divine in the Book of Acts. Follow this link to read a short excerpt from the book, in which I talk a little about Jesus and his church.

Books and films

My new book will be available on Tuesday September 22. You can read an excerpt of it now, if you click here.

This book guides readers through one of the most colorful books of the Bible, illuminating passages from the Acts of the Apostles. It examines passages that show the Christian gospel expressing itself through the lives, speech, struggles, and adventures of some of Jesus’ first followers. The book emphasizes the disruptive character of the Christian gospel and shows how Acts repeatedly describes God as upsetting the status quo by changing people’s lives, society’s conventions, and our basic expectations of what’s possible. Suited for individual and group study, this book asks serious questions and eschews pat answers, bringing Acts alive for contemporary reflection on the character of God, the challenges of faith, and the church.

Books and films

Summary: This is an annotated list of ten books that will enhance one’s reading of the New Testament. All the books were published roughly between October 2013 and October 2014.

Read the full article at The Christian Century.

Books and films

Summary: This is an annotated list of ten books that will enhance one’s reading of the New Testament. All the books were published roughly between October 2012 and October 2013.

Read the full article at The Christian Century.

Books and films

Summary: When it was the featured book for the Patheos book club, I wrote a short review of a book by Greg Carey, Sinners: Jesus and His Earliest Followers. The book is a great analysis of how Jesus lived within, and poked at, the social conventions of his age.

Read the full book review at Patheos.

Books and films

Summary: New Testament Scholar Dale C. Allison Jr. wrote an accessible introduction to research concerning what we can know about Jesus of Nazareth (The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus). Allison’s theological reflections on this topic are refreshingly honest. I wrote this review in hopes that it would encourage pastors and congregations to reckon with the vital issues that he raises.

Read the full book review at Working Preacher.

Books and films

Summary: I love how certain books from the “juvenile fiction” shelf help young people think and speak about life’s biggest issues—meaning, hope, loss, love, and so on. Here I recommend a few books that pastors and families might want to know about, so adults can have conversations about these things with the children and tweens in their lives.

Read the full book review at Working Preacher.

Books and films

Summary: I don’t have any solutions for resolving the conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians, but I was deeply moved and instructed by the book The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan.

Read the full book review at Working Preacher.

Books and films