Coming Back to Faith:
The Journey from Crisis of Belief Toward Healthy Engagement – Meditative Signposts from the Christian Year.
J Lebron McBride.
Pbk 258pp. ISBN 9781641146760.
Christian Faith Publishing, (2017).
$39.50.
[Allow about 4 weeks].
 

This book is for all who desire to find a practical meaning in their faith, especially for those who have left the faith literally, emotionally or intellectually and are attempting to find a way to return.

This book will guide you back toward the great pastoral themes of Christianity and it:

• gently leads on the journey of faith or back home to faith
• provides a sensitive and compassionate guide for living life as a Christian
• aids with facing hardships with fortitude and renewal
• helps move from chaos and despair toward passionate vitality
• can lead from disillusionment to hope, and
• can calm the reactive and re-energize the faithful.

Praying for Peace:
A selection of prayers and reflections.
Kevin Mcbride ed.
Pbk 153pp. ISBN 9780473437985.
Pax Christi Aotearoa. (2018).
$27.50.
[4 coming week ending 28 June 2019].

The prayers and reflections in this NZ collection will provide inspiration to those wanting to honour peace events with prayer, either within a church setting or in other places.

There are 35 liturgies full of readings, reflections, prayers, intercessions and suggested songs. The liturgies are organised into these broad categories: Special Days – Peace and Justice Makers – Indigenous Rights – Justice – Family Welfare – Cultural Minorities – Creation.

This material will also work well for devotions at the start of meetings and for personal reflection.

Phoebe.
Paula Gooder.
Pbk 320pp. ISBN 9781444791747.
Hodder & Stoughton (2019).
$24.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

Sometime around 56 AD, the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome. His letter was arguably his theological masterpiece and has continued to infuence Christian faith ever since. He entrusted this letter to Phoebe, the deacon of the church at Cenchreae. In writing to the church that met in her home, Paul refers to her both as a deacon and as a helper or patron of many. But who was this remarkable woman?

In this, her first novel, Biblical scholar and popular author and speaker Paula Gooder tells Phoebe’s story – who she was, the life she lived and her first-century faith – and in doing so opens up Paul’s theology, giving a sense of the cultural and historical pressures that shaped Paul’s thinking, and the faith of the early church.

Finding God in a Culture of Fear:
Discovering hope in God’s kingdom.
Joanne Cox-Darling.
Pbk 144pp. ISBN 9780857466464.
Bible Reading Fellowship (2019).
$26.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

How can we live a little more hopefully each day? Fear, terrorism, corruption, fake news… it can be easy to become discouraged by the culture around us.

This book takes us beyond comfort zones and easy answers, towards a deeper understanding and practice of hope. It offers reflections, stories and practical ways for individuals and groups to find hope in their lives through discovering more about God in their midst.

Focusing on God’s intervention in biblical history, God’s presence in contemporary contexts and God’s promised hope for the future, Joanne Cox-Darling encourages us to live more confidently, noticing more of the Spirit in our daily lives, and with more compassion and – ultimately – hope in God.

Please Be Patient, I’m Grieving:
How to Care for and Support the Grieving Heart.
Gary Roe.
Pbk 114pp. ISBN 9781950382026.
Gary Roe (2019).
$26.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Multiple award-winning author, speaker, and grief specialist Gary Roe is a compassionate and trusted voice in grief recovery who has been bringing comfort, hope, encouragement, and healing to hurting, wounded hearts for more than 30 years.

In Please Be Patient, I’m Grieving, he gives you a look at the grieving heart and its struggles – the churning thoughts, emotional pain, guilt, sadness, loneliness, and even depression within.

If you’re wanting to help someone who’s grieving, you’ll get a glimpse of what’s going on inside them and be better able to love and support them. If you’re in the midst of loss, you’ll see yourself as you read, and be encouraged that you aren’t as weird as you thought.

This practical and easy-to-read book provides the answers you need to make a difference – in your own life and in the lives of others.

Surviving the Holidays Without You:
Navigating Grief During Special Seasons.
Gary Roe.
Pbk 128pp. ISBN 9781950382040.
Gary Roe (2019).
$26.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Holidays can hurt, especially if you’ve lost someone special. Surviving the Holidays Without You will reassure you that you’re not alone, you’re not crazy, and that you will make it through these times.

Holidays will be different now, but they can still be good. Let Gary show you how.

Heartbroken:
Healing from the Loss of a Spouse.
Gary Roe.
Pbk 206pp. ISBN 9781950382019.
Gary Roe (2019).
$31.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Your heart is broken. What will life be like? Who are you now? In Heartbroken – this deeply personal, easy-to-read book – you will learn how to:

• Process grief’s overwhelming, roller-coaster emotions (sadness, anger, confusion, anxiety, fear, guilt, depression).
• Manage life’s new upheavals and stresses, including physical symptoms and illness.
• Survive feeling misunderstood, alone, and even rejected.
• Deal with all the different relationship shifts (family, friends, church, social groups) that occur with this loss.
• Take care of yourself – health, fitness, nutrition, expectations, and commitments.
• Think about and face the future with hope, including birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.
• Recover, heal, grow, and live again. 

Teen Grief:
Caring for the Grieving Teenage Heart.
Gary Roe.
Pbk 182pp. ISBN 9781950382057.
Gary Roe (2019).
$32.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

While trying to make sense of an increasingly confusing and troubled world, teens get hit, again and again, with moves, separations, divorces, rejections, substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, illness, disability, and death. Add teen suicide into the mix, and young lives and hearts seem to be more at stake than ever before.

Written at the request of parents, teachers, coaches and school counsellors, this book presents sensitive and practical ways for each of us to make a massive difference – one teen at a time.

Comfort for Grieving Hearts:
Hope and Encouragement for Times of Loss.
Gary Roe.
Pbk 202pp. ISBN 9781950382002.
Gary Roe (2019).
$33.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Loss hurts. Stunned, sad, and angry, we blink in disbelief. Written with heartfelt compassion, this easy-to-read, practical, award-winning book reads like a caring conversation with a friend.

Whether you’ve lost a spouse, child, parent, sibling, relative, or friend, Comfort for Grieving Hearts meets you in your grief and walks with you there.

Shattered:
Surviving the Loss of a Child.
Gary Roe.
Pbk 260pp. ISBN 9781950382033.
Gary Roe (2019).
$36.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Accidents. Disease. Suicide. School shootings. Murder. Natural disasters. War. No matter how or when, the death of a child (no matter what age) can shatter the heart.

Shattered unpacks the depth of this loss, describing how:

• Intense, unpredictable emotions (sadness, anger, guilt, anxiety, fear, depression) can hijack us at a moment’s notice.
• Our minds spin. We can’t concentrate. We forget things. It feels like we’re going crazy.
• Our bodies get hit. Symptoms surface. Our health can be impacted. Illness can invade.
• Our souls feel crushed. Guilt shakes us. What we believe gets challenged.
• Our relationships change. Marriage, family, and friendships feel the impact.
• Our plans and dreams are shattered. The future has changed. We’re in uncharted territory.
• Yes, the loss of a child affects everything.

If you are a grieving parent or grandparent, this book was written for you.

When You Pray:
Daily Bible reflections on the Lord’s Prayer.
Joanna Collicutt.
Pbk 208pp. ISBN 9780857468673.
Bible Reading Fellowship (2019).
$31.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

Collicutt shows how growing as a Christian is rooted in the prayer Jesus gave us. As we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we express our relationship with God, absorb gospel values and are also motivated to live them out. As we pray to the Father, in union with the Son, through the power of the Spirit, so we begin to take on the character of Christ.

“`Her literary style is delightfully unstuffy, tight, direct and humorous. Collicutt comes across as a familiar friend, a fellow traveller who understands and empathises with the human condition, boldly walking with you to draw you to your true home.” David Wilbourne, former Assistant Bishop of Llandaff

Gospel for the Outsider:
The Gospel in Luke & Acts.
Patrick Whitworth.
Pbk 160pp. ISBN 9781908381248.
Sacristy Press (2014).
$32.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

The Gospel of Luke uniquely proclaims that the message of good news was for the outsider in Jewish society, and indeed for any outsider in any society. Whitworth explores how this compassion for the outsider is clear from several levels, and should direct our mission to those who, in whatever shape or form, are outsiders today in our communities.

The book not only serves as a useful guide for church leaders and preachers as they look again at Luke’s writings from the point of view of reaching Outsiders, but it will also be a useful study guide for Bible Study Groups who want to take a fresh look at familiar material.

The Pilgrim’s Compass:
Finding and following the God we seek.
Paul Lang.
Pbk 120pp. ISBN 9780664264697.
Westminster John Knox (2019).
$33.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Many Christians are looking for an expression of discipleship that speaks meaningfully to our time, a faith yearning that is at once personally intimate and relevant and that grows out of and nurtures authentic Christian community.

The Pilgrim’s Compass encourages individuals to embrace the ancient practice of pilgrimage both as metaphor for the daily walk of discipleship and as an intentional journey of faith, which uses prayerful travel to assist an inner transformation.

Jesus According to the New Testament.
James D G Dunn.
Pbk 192pp. ISBN 9780802876690.
Eerdmans (2019).
$43.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

“Jesus according to the New Testament comprises dozens of insights for professors, a bag full of learning opportunities for students [and lay people] and a multitude of suggestions for preachers and pastors.

Dunn’s top-level, judicious scholarship shines forth on each page. Too often we get lost in battles about theological topics or historical connections and miss the main point.

Dunn keeps us focused on the heart of the gospel and the New Testament – the Lord Jesus.”
Scot McKnight: author of the Jesus Creed blog at patheos.com 

Suffering and Glory:
The Church from the Apostles to Constantine.
Patrick Whitworth.
Pbk 414pp. ISBN 9781910519899.
Sacristy Press (2018).
$67.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

“A rapid, detailed and accurate narrative, full of picturesque scenes drawn directly from contemporary witnesses to the rise of Christianity in the Roman world. Whitworth writes with admiring passion but does not disguise the human peculiarities and frailties of the protagonists.

At all times we are aware of the importance of locality, and the shifts in Christian thought and practice are seen to result from changing relations to the ambient culture, a leading cause of which was the success of the church itself.”
Mark Edwards, Professor of Early Christian Studies, University of Oxford

“Utterly readable, even if you have no knowledge of the subject matter, yet also thoroughly researched and historically accurate.”
Alan Wakely, The Reader, February 2019

A History of the Bible:
The Story of the World’s Most Influential Book.
John Barton.
Hbk 608pp. ISBN 9780525428770.
Viking (2019).
$74.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

The idea of the Bible as “Holy Scripture,” a non-negotiable authority straight from God, has prevailed in Western society for some time. And while it provides a firm foundation for centuries of Christian teaching, it denies the depth, variety and richness of this fascinating text.

In A History of the Bible, Barton argues that the Bible is not a prescription to a complete, fixed religious system, but rather a product of a long and intriguing process, which has inspired Judaism and Christianity, but still does not describe the whole of either religion.

A thorough understanding of the history and context of its writing encourages religious communities to move away from the Bible’s literal wording – which is impossible to determine – and to focus instead on the broader meanings of scripture.

The Beginning of Tomorrow:
Call to the North – Churches Working Together in Mission.
John Gaunt Hunter.
Pbk 284pp.
ISBN 9781789590296.
Sacristy Press (2019).
$48.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Call to the North was a unique initiative of Evangelism in the North East of England in the early 1970s. Against the background of increasing secularization of society and the gradual breaking down of historical barriers between denominations, it was of its time but also ahead of its time. Written by the Secretary to the group, this book is an important contribution to the study of the history of Christianity in England.

“Hunter gives us a fascinating day-by-day insider’s account of the birth pangs of today’s ecumenism in the North of England. A procession of worthy individuals of very different temperament and conviction invites us to join in their fifty-year journey to the focus that is ‘no longer on doctrinal uniformity or denominational loyalty, but on the Lord of the Church, on Jesus and his gospel, and on commending him to the people of the North’. We who are the latest to join this procession are indebted to Canon Hunter for his lively chronicle.” Malcolm McMahon, Archbishop of Liverpool

Moon:
A Peek-Through Picture Book.
Britta Teckentrup.
Hbk 32pp. ISBN 9781524769666.
Doubleday Books for Young Readers (2018).
$38.00.
Allow 2-3 weeks].

All around the world, the moon shines down on deserts, forests, and beaches. Children will love discovering how it changes from day to day as the lunar cycle is shown through clever peek-through holes, each revealing the moon in a different size and shape. Full colour.

The Meeting that Changed the World:
The Council of Jerusalem AD 49.
Michael Knowles.
Pbk 368pp. ISBN 9781789590265.
Sacristy Press (2019).
$59.50.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

The Council of Jerusalem described in the Acts of the Apostles committed Christianity to offering to gospel to all of humanity. The decisions taken in 49 AD, after some 15 years of fierce debate and division, enabled Christianity to become a worldwide religion open to all cultures and its membership open to all nations.

Catholic theologian Michael Knowles discusses how the commitment to universalism made by the Council remains a challenge for the Church today and asks of it questions about its own life and practice which cannot be ignored if the Church wants to remain credible in its relationship with its own members, other faiths and the world.

Trust Women:
A Progressive Christian Argument for Reproductive Justice.
Rebecca Todd Peters.
Pbk 248pp. ISBN 9780807041482.
Beacon Press (2019).
$39.50.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

“This book begins in the lntroduction with the personal story of the author’s unwanted pregnancy, and the confronting statement: “l did not choose to end my pregnancies despite my Christian identity and faith but rather because of it.” ln many ways, this is not really a book about abortion. The subtitle sums it up: through political analysis, sociology, medical history and Christian theology, Rebecca Todd Peters argues that the framework of reproductive justice offers a more ethically robust opportunity for public dialogue.

The term Reproductive Justice is based on the core belief that every woman has the right to decide if and when she will have a baby, to decide if she will not have a baby, and to parent the children she has in a safe environment and healthy community…

lf you want to contribute intelligently to the inevitable debates [in NZ] that will come around the proposed law change, l suggest that you read this book. And, whether you agree or not with Rebecca Todd Peters, remember that among the people most deeply involved in the issue may be the silent women closest to you.”
Reviewed by Rev Dr Jenny Dawson in Touchstone June 2019