Derek Nelson

Theology

“Paul says plainly of the church, ‘I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.’ Yet few concepts and phrases are as fraught with misunderstanding, idolatrous hopes, and lousy theology as the discourse about church growth. In this tour de force, Andrew Root shows how our chasing of the fertility gods ancient and contemporary underwrites a sterile faith. The book challenges with weird angles. It surprises with refreshing conversation partners. It inspires with the challenging and comforting Word. Take and read!”

Beholding Beauty

Preaching & Worship

“This book is like a church potluck dinner, but where everyone in the congregation is a chef. A group of pastors, with unusual insight and clarity, have each contributed reflections on beauty in everyday life. They show how setting a table, wearing clothes, or telling a good story can bring us closer to God. Congregational groups especially will find this book an ideal invitation to help them share with each other the beautiful moments of life.”

Encounters with Luther

Theology

“When helping readers encounter Luther, the voices assembled in this provocative volume sometimes counter him, and other times count on him. Luther appears here as one who cannot be discounted in the search for theological and ecumenical insight for the next decades of church life.”

Issues in Contemporary Christian Thought

Theology

“to write a broadly accessible book covering all the bases of systematic theology and attending to the problems of the Enlightenment takes more than good intentions -- it takes deep insight and a strong aversion to jargon and non-essentials. Olson shows healthy doses of both in this welcome addition to a valuable series.”

Martin Luther and the Seven Sacraments

Theology

“In this searching and carefully researched book, Brian Brewer wears his considerable learning lightly. His thorough—but thoroughly Protestant—appreciation of Christian practices thought by Roman Catholics to be sacraments reveals their value even for Protestants. That marriage is not a sacrament does not mean it is trivial; that ordination is not a sacrament must not hide its importance. Brewer’s work is ecumenical in the best sense of the word. Rather than pretending that no differences remain among Christian communions, it mines the depths of our traditions for nuggets of wisdom and insight. As the church observes five hundred years of Reformation, this book will help us remember what must be retained and what can be let go.”

Myth, History, and the Resurrection in German Protestant Theology

Theology

“In theology, it is always difficult to tell when a past scholar has stopped being a ‘contemporary theologian’ and has turned into a ‘historical thinker.’ This learned and exciting book by Brent Hege makes Rudolf Bultmann look more like the first category, even though many today would place him in the second. Hege’s grasp on the implications of the doctrine of resurrection shows remarkable subtlety.”

The Apocalypse of God in Christ

Theology

“Some today decry—and others welcome—a propaganda-filled world they call ‘post-truth.’ In this penetrating and profound book, Paul Hinlicky confronts the relativization of truth with the Revelation of Truth. This ‘apocalyptic’ appearance of God in time, however, does not somehow settle every question. Instead, it unsettles every person who considers its force. But it is not only a book about theology—in showing us how theology is inadequate to the Truth it proclaims, it becomes also a book about God Emmanuel. A remarkable achievement by one of our finest theologians.”

Ubi Deus Dixit

Theology

“Duane Larson’s rehabilitation of Luther’s insight on the Two Kingdoms is timely, subtle, useful, and sprightly. Eschewing (all-too-common) extremes of theocratic ambition and political passivity, Larson shows us how political theology belongs in the murky middle. Agamben, Žižek, and other unlikely interlocutors with Martin Luther stimulate insight and upend bromides. Its nuanced readings of Scripture, engagement with natural law, and attention to secular realities make this book a must-read for anyone interested in the urgent question of the Christian’s political existence today.”

United with Christ

History & Biography

“Martin Luther transformed medieval Christianity into something else. Some forms were left behind, but their substance endured in difficult-to-see ways. In this deeply learned book, Volker Leppin, one of our finest interpreters of medieval and Reformation Christianity, shares his vision of this transformation. The vision is remarkable both in its microscopic attention to text and context, and also in its breadth of survey of centuries of history. Read this convincing, engaging, and delightful book.”