Tried and True Resources
for All-Age Worship Vol. 2.
Rosie Staite.
Pbk 192pp. Colour photos throughout.
ISBN 9780473471255.
Rosie Staite – NZ (2019).
$35.00.
[Allow 10 days].

Here are lots of ideas that work for Making the Point today, Gospel themes, The Seasons, values & social justice, Times of Celebration, Prayer Resources. Great for all who work in ministry – churches, schools, at home with children & young people. This second volume includes a comprehensive section on Coping with the Sadness which covers: Community Funerals, Remembrance Services and a Liturgy for closing a Church building when relocating a congregation.

“Rosie is offering us a comprehensive work from her own very wide experience in diverse communities, from a range of traditions. I look forward to using Tried and True Volume 2 for services, retreats, spiritual direction – it has practical ideas to explore a living and grounded faith with both young and old.

…this material has all been used, in congregations like the ones to which many of us belong: smaller, with a range of people, whose faith needs both encouragement and fresh language for what they often instinctively know but cannot easily express.” Rev Dr Jenny Dawson

Tried and True Resources
for All-Age Worship (Vol. 1)
Rosie Staite.
Pbk 208pp. ISBN 9780473262068.
Rosie Staite – NZ (2013).
$35.00.
[Allow 10 days].

“One of our biggest challenges in church today is finding ways to be a community of all ages, learning and growing together…Rather than just being a collection of ideas for children, youth and adults, this book provides ideas for worshipping, learning and enjoying each other and God in all age services. I’m so thankful the Rosie has offered us the experience, wisdom and understanding that she’s gained in running all age services here in Aotearoa New Zealand.” Julie Hintz, StraNdZ Children’s Ministry Enabler, Anglican Children and Families Ministry New Zealand

Holy Envy:
Finding God in the Faith of Others.
Barbara Brown Taylor.

NOW IN PAPERBACK
Click here for the paperback edition

Barbara Brown Taylor continues her spiritual journey of finding out what the world looks like after taking off her clergy collar. She contemplates the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the Transcendent, both by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her students’ eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques.

Troubled and inspired by what she learns, Taylor returns to her own tradition for guidance, finding new meaning in old teachings that have too often been used to exclude religious strangers instead of embracing the divine challenges they present. Re-imagining some central stories from the religion she knows best, she takes heart in how often God chooses outsiders to teach insiders how out-of-bounds God really is.

There Is No Planet B:
A Handbook for the Make or Break Years.
Mike Berners-Lee.
Pbk 300pp. ISBN 9781108439589.
Cambridge University Press (2019).
$30.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Feeding the world, climate change, biodiversity, antibiotics, plastics – the list of concerns seems endless. But what is most pressing, what are the knock-on effects of our actions, and what should we do first? Mike Berners-Lee maps it out in an accessible and entertaining way, filled with astonishing facts and analysis.

For the first time you’ll find big-picture perspective on the environmental and economic challenges of the day laid out in one place and traced through to the underlying roots – questions of how we live and think. This book will shock you, surprise you – and then make you laugh. And you’ll find practical and even inspiring ideas for what you can actually do to help humanity thrive on this – our only – planet.

From Age-ing to Sage-ing:
A Revolutionary Approach to Growing Older.
Zalman Schachter-Shalomi;
Ronald S Miller.
Pbk 318pp. ISBN 9781455530601.
Grand Central Pub (2014).
$35.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

“Medical science has added years to our lives. Reb Zalman’s warm and wise book arrives just in time to add life to those years.” Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Reb Zalman shows readers how to create an aging process for themselves that is full of adventure, passion, mystery, and fulfilment, rather than anxiety. By harnessing the power of the spirit, as well as explaining exactly how to become a sage in their own community, he gives readers a helpful and moving way to use their own experiences to nurture, heal, and perhaps even save a younger generation from the prison of how we typically regard aging.

A new introductory chapter that provides insight into the shifts that have taken place in our culture since the first edition of this book came out in the 1990s. Reb Zalman has also added a concluding chapter in which he shares his own experience with aging and the time he calls “The December Years.”

Faithful Grandparents:
Hope and love through the generations.
Anita Cleverly.
Pbk 176pp. ISBN 9780857466617.
Bible Reading Fellowship (2019).
$30.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].
 

There has never been a more important time to find meaningful and acceptable ways of passing on faith from one generation to the next. Part of this privilege and responsibility lies with grandparents who live authentic Christian lives. They can be the vital link between the gospel and the faith of a younger generation. Faithful Grandparents is a visionary call to an older generation to take the initiative with courage and wisdom, humour and prayer.

Say Something!:
Simple Ways to Make Your Sermons Matter.
Charley Reeb.
Pbk 96pp. ISBN 9781501874390.
Abingdon Press (2019).
$35.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

People looking for a church home value good preaching most of all. If visitors don’t hear inspiring sermons they will not come back to your church. But how can you become a great preacher? This book will show you how.

Reeb shows why so many sermons miss the mark – usually due to design issues, rather than poor content.  He introduces 6 critical characteristics of effective sermons, how to capture the attention of the listener, the best method for having maximum impact with a sermon, and many other helpful ways to be an effective preacher.

The Story of the Jews:
Finding the Words 1000 BC-1492 AD.
Simon Schama.
Pbk 496pp. ISBN 9780060539207.
Ecco Press (2017).
$44.00.
[Allow 4-5 weeks].

In this magnificently illustrated cultural history, Schama details the story of the Jewish experience, tracing it across three millennia, from their beginnings as an ancient tribal people to the opening of the New World in 1492.

It is a story like no other: an epic of endurance against destruction, of creativity in oppression, joy amidst grief, the affirmation of life against the steepest of odds.

A great story unfolds. Not of a culture apart, but of a Jewish world immersed in and imprinted by the peoples among whom they have dwelled, from the Egyptians to the Greeks, from the Arabs to the Christians. Which makes the story of the Jews everyone’s story, too.

Unsettling the Word:
Biblical Experiments in Decolonization.
Steve Heinrichs editor.
Pbk 320pp. ISBN 9781626983113.
Orbis (2019).
$49.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

For generations, the Bible has been employed by settler colonial societies as a weapon to dispossess indigenous and racialised peoples of their lands, cultures, and spiritualties. Given this devastating legacy, many want nothing to with it. But is it possible for the exploited and their allies to reclaim the Bible from the dominant powers? Can it serve as an instrument for justice in the cause of the oppressed? Even a nonviolent weapon toward decolonisation?

In Unsettling the Word, over 60 indigenous and settler authors come together to wrestle with the Scriptures, rereading and re-imagining the ancient text for the sake of reparative futures.

The Our Father:
A New Reading.
Gerhard Lohfink;
Linda M Maloney (Translator).
Hbk 128pp. ISBN 9780814663592.
Liturgical Press (2019).
$38.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Can Christians still pray the Our Father in the 21st century? We can, and we must.

Catholic theologian Gerhard Lohfink breaks open its strange phrases like “hallowed be thy name,” its off-putting language like “Father” and “kingdom,” and its apparently harsh demands like forgive us as we have forgiven those who hurt us —to shed light on Jesus’ original words and their meaning.

By probing what the prayer meant for Jesus and his first disciples in their world Lohfink calls us to allow the Our Father to break open our own minds and hearts to its infinite invitation and challenge for our time and for all ages.

80 Reflective Prayer Ideas:
A creative resource for church and group use.
Claire Daniel.
Pbk 192pp. ISBN 9780857466730.
Bible Reading Fellowship (2019).
$30.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

Prayer remains a vital part of Christian discipleship. This ready-to-use resource book contains 80 ideas on setting up reflective and creative prayer stations or responses. Claire Daniel shows us how to pray with our whole being – our senses as well as our voice, our hearts as much as our minds. Tried and tested, these ideas will enhance the praying of small groups, churches and individuals.

Also by Daniel:

80 Creative Prayer Ideas:
A resource for church and group use.
Pbk 192pp. ISBN 9781841016887.
Bible Reading Fellowship (2014).
$29.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

Developed from material tried and tested with small groups, the ideas here provide activities ranging from bubble prayers to clay pot prayers (via just about everything else in between) and have been designed to be used with grown-ups – of all ages! 

Prayer in the Making:
Trying it, talking it, sustaining it.
Lyndall Bywater.
Pbk 160pp. ISBN 9780857468017.
Bible Reading Fellowship (2019).
$28.50.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

Books on prayer can so often make us feel challenged but guilty. Not this one! Prayer in the Making is a book for everyone wanting to pray more confidently. Because we are all different, we need to find the prayer life that fits with who God made us to be.

Lyndall Bywater explores twelve different types of prayer, helping us to find the ones which best suit us and our lifestyles. She certainly challenges us but leaves us ready to talk confidently with God.

Restoring the Woven Cord:
Strands of Celtic Christianity for the Church today.
NEW 3rd Edition.
Michael Mitton.
Pbk 192pp. ISBN 9780857468628.
Bible Reading Fellowship (2019).
$30.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

When they discover Celtic spirituality, many Christians feel that in some sense they have come home.

Mitton takes 15 leading figures from that era – ranging from Patrick of Ireland to John of Beverley – and shares something of their stories, showing their burning love for the Bible, their depth of prayer, their radical commitment to the poor and to caring for creation. Reflecting on their lives and works, we can find powerful inspiration for our own walk with God and rich resources for the ministry of the local church. 

Over the Rooftops, Under the Moon.
Jonarno Lawson;
Nahid Kazemi (Illustrator).
Hbk 56pp. ISBN 9781592702626.
Enchanted Lion Books. (2019).
$38.00.
[Allow 3 weeks].

Alone with himself, even among his flock, a young bird finds an unexpected connection in the eyes of a little girl. He begins to wonder about the nature of life: What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be a bird?

Swept up in his exploration of the human world, he doesn’t notice that his flock has already migrated south for the season. Written by JonArno Lawson and beautifully illustrated by Nahid Kazemi, this sparse, lyrical story is about community lost and found, and what it means to know one’s self.

The Jesus Challenge:
21 Days of Loving God and Neighbor.
Justin LaRosa.
Pbk 128pp. ISBN 9781501879340.
Abingdon Press (2019).
$36.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Our culture seems to be busier and more technologically connected than in any time in history. We must find ways to mitigate distracted living, because it is diminishing our ability as Christ followers to live out Jesus’ greatest commandments: to love God and love others. This is a journey that never ends, and it is a journey that requires focus.

The antidote to distraction is focused love. The Jesus Challenge is a 3-week journey to help you become more attentive to your relationship with God. This book invites you to move from forgetfulness to remembering, from distraction to intentionality, and from self-sufficiency to God-reliance, so that you can live lives that center on loving God and loving others as ourselves.

The book contains leader helps that can be combined with the DVD (see below) featuring 8-10 minute video segments designed for small group discussion.

The Jesus Challenge DVD:
21 Days of Loving God and Neighbor.
Justin LaRosa.
DVD US region 1 format.
ISBN 9781501879364.
Abingdon Press (2019).
$61.50.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Trinity:
Walk in Love, Forgiveness, and Peace.
Joyce Long.
Pbk 173pp. ISBN 9781633571372.
Crosslink Publishing (2018).
$33.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

No matter how full your life is, sometimes its purpose stagnates. There’s an inner void often neglected. Why not try God? Who is this mysterious being that some people worship while others curse?

Bring your doubts, assumptions and questions. Consider evidence for God in nature, history, and experience through Trinity. With vivid transparency Joyce Long shares personal observations, stories and biblical examples that address struggles we sometimes wonder if God sees and cares about.

Discover how God’s triune nature—Creator-Father, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit—can work in your life so that you can transcend the shallow and mature in love, forgiveness and peace.

Call It Grace:
Finding Meaning in a Fractured World.
Serene Jones.
Hbk 336pp. ISBN 9780735223646.
Viking (2019).
$54.50.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

“Theology is a place and a story. Theology is the place and story you think of when you ask yourself about the meaning of your life, of the world, and the possibility of God.” So begins Serene Jones’s epic work of raw truth, fierce love, and spiritual teaching as muscular as the fractured soul of this century demands.

With a voice that is at once frank and poetic, humble and prophetic, intimate and practical, Jones makes complex teachings around hatred, forgiveness, mercy, justice, death, sin and grace understandable, and immediately applicable for modern people.

“‘Theology’ is one of those words that sends people in another direction these days, but this book is a beautifully written reminder of what it might mean in reality. For a tired, divided, angry world, this volume is a great blessing.” Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?

Connecting Like Jesus:
Practices for Healing, Teaching, and Preaching.
Tony Campolo;
Mary Albert Darling.
Pbk 232pp. ISBN 9781506454931.
Fortress Press (2019).
$38.00.
[Allow 2-3 weeks].

Churches and other religious organisations depend on the ability of their leaders and members to communicate (speak, teach, and preach) within their congregations and beyond. This important, practical guide reveals Campolo’s preaching secrets and Darling’s wise counsel as a professor of communication.

A hands-on resource for all Christians who want to communicate with more passion and power.

What We Talk about when We Talk about Faith.
Peter Stanford.
Pbk 256pp. ISBN 9781473678293.
Hodder & Stoughton (2019).
$29.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

These intriguing interviews with activists, writers and artists, politicians, rebels and those who have taken vows will appeal to committed believers, those on the fringes of faith, and those who look in from the outside with curiosity. 

Includes interviews with: Sara Maitland | Sister Wendy Beckett | Delia Smith | The Revd Richard Coles | Dermot O’Leary | Cherie Blair | Archbishop Desmond Tutu | Bronwen Astor | Amos Oz | Nick Cave.

Peter Stanford has been interviewing people of faith during 35 years as a journalist. What fascinates him in such conversations is how creating a space to talk unguardedly about faith unlocks so much more: what shaped and continues to shape the public and private lives of high-profile names; how those values connect with the work they are best known for; and why they believe the search for faith makes them who they are.

The Contemplative Response:
Leadership and ministry in a distracted culture.
Ian Cowley.
Pbk 144pp. ISBN 9780857466563.
Bible Reading Fellowship (2019).
$27.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

The true self finds peace in resting in the love of God, in the peace which Jesus promises. Jesus says to each of us in ministry, ‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide, rest, dwell, in my love’ (John 15:9).

This book will seek to show what this might mean for those in Christian ministry in the 21st century.

Following on from the success of The Contemplative Minister (at right), Ian Cowley offers new insight and greater depth for church leaders in a distracted world. Cowley emphasises that the true self finds peace in resting in the love of God, and he encourages ministers to minister to themselves as well as to others, and to ensure that, in the peace that Jesus promises, their spiritual lives don’t run dry amid the pressures of the job.

A must-read for leaders wanting to stay the course.

Also by Cowley from BRF:

The Contemplative Minister:
Learning to lead from the still centre.
160pp Pbk. ISBN 9780857463609.
Bible Reading Fellowship (2015).
$29.00.
[Allow 3-4 weeks].

This book gives practical advice on how to nurture faith and a sense of calling amid the hectic life that is ministry today.

Drawing on his experience of developing and leading training programmes in this area, Ian Cowley assesses the stresses and pressures of the job and shows how to grow into being a ‘contemplative minister,’ prioritising a relationship of deepening love with God. He also offers guidance on leading others into that same relationship, without your own spiritual life running dry.