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Spring 2006: Reading Recommendations
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"What shall I read?"
Wondering what books would most inspire and inform you—and other leaders—as the days lengthen during the spring? Congregational Resource Guide staff ask you to consider these top pics. (Click on the book’s title to access the publisher’s or retailer’s Web site.)
We at the Alban Institute and the Indianapolis Center for Congregations wish you and yours hope and blessings during this season of renewal.
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Blue-Collar Ministry: Facing Economic and Social Realities of Working People
Tex Sample, Author. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1984.
Tex Sample urges churches to turn away from "Archie Bunker" stereotypes of people in blue-collar jobs and develop ministries that respond to human realities while proclaiming God's universal love. All of us—regardless of our social standing or achievements—are of infinite worth in God's sight, a truth that is often lost in our stratified culture. Relevant worship, inclusion and fellowship, and community organizing in response to social and economic inequities are some of the topics addressed. Offering suggestions for connecting with blue-collar culture, and providing wisdom on the nature of reciprocal relationships, Sample presents pastors and other leaders with a valuable resource for ministering to a significant population.
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Claiming Theology in the Pulpit
Burton Z. Cooper, John S. McClure, Authors. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003.
Claiming Theology in the Pulpit assists preachers in naming and claiming their theological convictions. Part one describes the variety of Christian theological convictions on such topics as biblical authority and eternal life; part two provides suggestions for intentionally enriching a preacher's theological consistency—from the initial brainstorming of homiletic ideas and questions to the writing and delivery of a sermon. This book will be helpful for pastors who wish not only to gain clarity about their own theological convictions but also to identify the theological pluralism within a congregation. It might serve as a resource for opening discussions of this diversity in an adult class or retreat.
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Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures
Eddie Gibbs, Ryan K. Bolger, Authors. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2005.
Recent attention has been given to the "emerging church" movement, yet the nature of this movement has been difficult to describe. Drawing on five years of research, the authors explore emerging churches. They begin with an overview of postmodern culture, especially as it involves the church. They then identify nine practices emerging churches share, three of which are particularly common: identifying with the life of Jesus, transforming the secular realm, and living communal lives. Examples are given which demonstrate how these practices are embraced. The authors also explain the theological bases for these practices. Here is a helpful introduction to the emerging church movement and its connection to postmodern culture.
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Fallen: A Novel
David Maine, Author. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 2005.
David Maine gives human flesh and personality to stories from Genesis. Four sections divide this novel: (1) Cain's later years of seclusion from society, regret for the murder of his brother, and anger at God; (2) Cain's and Abel's growing up years and the experiences leading to Cain's fratricidal decision; (3) Adam's and Eve's attempts to raise their children as best they can; and (4) Adam's and Eve's lives before the fall and after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. As the story unfolds backwards, Maine invites us more deeply into the hearts of these ancient figures. He also enables us to see more fully into our own.
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Future Search: An Action Guide to Finding Common Ground in Organizations & Communities
Marvin Weisbord, Sandra Janoff, Authors. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2000.
Future Search describes a planning process by which people come together under the guidance of a trained facilitator to create expectations for the future. In this process, participants can find common ground and take ownership in organizational life. Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff address how to determine if future search is right for your community or organization. They also identify the factors contributing to a successful process and the obstacles that may arise. This workbook serves as both a detailed guide to understanding a future search and a step-by-step manual to planning an event. An appendix provides resources to be used during a future search.
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The Indispensable Guide for Smaller Churches
David R. Ray, Author. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2003.
"Smaller churches are the right size to be all that God calls on a church to be and do." David Ray presents theology, theories, and methods that will help small congregations use existing resources to best advantage and live as authentic communities of God’s people. Separate chapters explain case studies, theories regarding size and growth, worship, education, caring, mission, morale, finances, and the future of small congregations. Each chapter ends with both reflection questions and suggestions on how to implement the chapter topic in one’s own congregation. Also included are appendices featuring surveys on common characteristics of small churches, a church morale inventory, and a worship survey.
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Pastors in Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Church Ministry
Dean R. Hoge, Jacqueline E. Wenger, Authors. Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005.
Dean Hoge and Jacqueline Wenger surveyed 900 American clergy from five denominations to discover why former pastors left local church ministry. Seven motivations for clergy departures were delineated: alternative ministries; conflict with congregations; conflict with denominational leaders; stress; sexual misconduct; marital problems; and family issues. The authors recommended that seminaries do more to prepare students for the practical aspects of ministry; that denominations improve their call procedures and provide special care for pastors experiencing difficulties; and that congregations be better prepared to articulate their goals when doing a pastoral search. The authors also believe that congregations need to be more realistic about their expectations of ministers.
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Practicing Discernment with Youth: A Transformative Youth Ministry Approach
David White, Author. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2005.
David White believes that the context of youth groups must challenge current cultural trends and draw youth back to the deeper calling of the Christian life. Our youth are not simply waiting to enter adulthood; instead, they are in the daily process of fulfilling God's call on their lives as youth. White reasons that the most important tool to offer our youth is the centuries-old practice of discernment. Discernment enables youth to connect with God through reflection and prayer. At the same time, discernment creates a sensitivity of "heart" through which young people can hear more fully the voice of the Spirit guiding and directing their paths.
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The Relationship Cure: A 5-Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
John Gottman, Author. New York, NY: Random House, 2001.
Examining what causes problems and what contributes to satisfaction in all relationships, The Relationship Cure identifies a core element: "the bid." A bid is any question, statement, look, or touch that says "I want to feel connected to you." John Gottman asserts that closeness develops out of the responses people give—however brief—to each other's bids. A response might affirm a bid, ignore it, or attack it—and many responses over time add up to marriages, friendships, and partnerships that succeed or fail. The book discusses styles of relating and emotional histories. It also suggests ways to enhance all kinds of relationships by learning to affirm one another's bids.
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Tell It Like It Is: Reclaiming the Practice of Testimony
Lillian Daniel, Author. Herndon, VA: The Alban Institute, 2005.
Lillian Daniel, a United Church of Christ pastor, promotes an unlikely means of mainline church renewal: the recovery of giving and receiving testimonies. Deepening convictions about Christian practices led Daniel to test her hunch that testimony is a venerable practice which might merit reintroduction. This is the story of how testimony was done, its surprising successes, and its possible implications for other contemporary mainline congregations and denominations. Daniel shows convincingly that this emerging practice renewed her church, and it could renew others. As she puts it, testimony "strengthened the bonds among us as a community and drew us closer to God as individuals and as a community."
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Traces of God: Seeing God in Torah, History and Everyday Life
Neil Gillman, Author. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2006.
God never reveals God's self directly, as Soviet-era cosmonauts purportedly joked. ("We have been to heaven and didn't see God.") But theologian and Conservative rabbi Neil Gillman points out that God's presence is revealed in traces—and to discern and interpret those traces, we need to see with fresh eyes. Gillman helps us to examine the patterns of God's presence in Torah, world history, and our own experiences. Traces of God is divided into four sections: "seeing God"; "images of God"; "revelation and law"; and "suffering, death, and redemption." While the book does not pretend to supply pat answers, it does encourage thoughtful questioning, reflection, and appreciation.
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United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation as an Answer to the Problem of Race
Curtiss Paul DeYoung, Michael O. Emerson, George Yancey, Karen Chai Kim, Authors. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2003.
United by Faith combines a three-year national study of multiracial congregations with advocacy for racial integration in Christian churches. Defining a "multiracial congregation" as one with no more than 80 percent of its members in one racial group, the study found that only 5.5 percent of U.S. Christian congregations are truly multiracial. This book traces the history of multiracial congregations in the U.S. and includes case studies of congregations that "walk the talk" today. Cultural and racial togetherness was central in the ministry of Jesus and in the early church, say the authors, and we are encouraged to live out this vision of Jesus in our congregations.
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