Donald Capps

Ancient Sins . . . Modern Addictions

Counseling, Grief & Mental Health

“By focusing on the traditional seven deadly sins, Sullender shows the attitudes that cause so much unhappiness in our lives and relationships are addictions that have their genesis in our natural human needs. Because our struggle with sin begins--not ends--with our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, Sullender offers a compelling vision of the lifelong journey of becoming saved through recognition of our addiction and the employment of the spiritual resources available to disarm it.”

Beyond Me

Arts & Literature

“Arkema's poetic reflections on his father's presence in his life, his beautiful poem on his mother's death, and other poems that evoke the living spirits of beloved family members quietly teach us how we, too, may experience the healing presence and agency of the divine Spirit. Becoming a poet has proven to be a wonderful extension of his caring and creative gifts as a pastoral psychotherapist.”

Counseling Adolescent Girls

Counseling, Grief & Mental Health

“This is a powerfully confident and inspiringly hopeful book: Davis writes out of her unflagging, personally tested conviction that parents, pastors, youth leaders, teachers, and other concerned adults can—and do—make a real difference in adolescent girls' lives.”

Forging the Male Spirit

Men

“A wonderful account of how men's spirituality groups at religiously affiliated colleges have enabled men to share their thoughts and feelings about their lives, relationships, and sense of authenticity. I was especially inspired by the men's thoughtful reflections on the way in which they understand their own masculinity and how they express it in their own lives. The authors make a powerful case for men's spirituality groups on college campuses by enabling the men's own voices to be heard.”

Grace for the Injured Self

Counseling, Grief & Mental Health

“Grace for the Injured Self is a clear, readable, and down-to-earth introduction to the self psychology of Heinz Kohut. It demonstrates the practical relevance of Kohut's central ideas for understanding ourselves and our relations with others. It explains how mutual expressions and acts of empathy enable our lives to reflect more fully the essence of the human spirit. It also shows how attention to the conflicting self-issues of the pastor and congregation may produce fundamentally positive changes in their life together. Personal interviews with Heinz Kohut on religion and the courageous life are an added bonus. A gracefully written book by two thoughtful and perceptive self psychologists.”

Honest Faith for Our Time

Theology

“"A retired naval officer, J. Harold Ellens knows all about being in turbulent seas and the prospect of sinking below the surface. No wonder, then, that he has written an account of his personal spiritual quest for solid ground, and that this quest has led to a profound appreciation for the quiet, unobtrusive evidence of God's benevolent providence. His seasoned reflections on the Apostle's Creed and the Bible display a masterful theologian at work, but his personal stories and anecdotes make these reflections accessible to readers who are themselves struggling to find solid ground or to find an effective way to share their discovery with others. A truly believable account of one man's search for a trustworthy faith.”

Inner Messiah, Divine Character

“Inner Messiah, Divine Character invites us to welcome and embrace the hopeful self which lives inside of us, the self that reminds us that we are created in the image of God. I especially appreciate the way in which the author makes the insights of the Jewish mystical tradition accessible and useful to his readers. Inner Messiah, Divine Character is proof that a profound book may also be altogether practical, alive with insights that show us how we may leave our doubts and despair behind and embark on a life infused with living hope.”

Laughter in a Time of Turmoil

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Pastor as Person

Church Leadership & Ministry

“Harbaugh offers a carefully charted vision of pastors as 'wholistic persons' who are defined, above all, by their ability to make responsible choices.”

Read Me Like a Book

Counseling, Grief & Mental Health

“Read Me Like a Book is based on the conviction that interpretive gifts developed in preaching and Bible study are profoundly relevant to pastoral counseling. Jason Cusick has done a wonderful job of making hermeneutics--the art of interpretation--understandable, accessible, and truly helpful. His five steps of interpretation take the mystery and panic out of pastoral counseling. Highly recommended for pastors who seek to be insightful readers of others and thereby enable them to deepen their reading of themselves.”

The Ministry of Lament

Counseling, Grief & Mental Health

“Through his own hard-won wisdom as a pastor who is thoroughly acquainted with grief, Gene Fowler shows how these biblical and contemporary understandings of lament provide invaluable guidance for the pastor who, knowing that the grieving of irrevocable losses is an ever-present reality in the life of the congregation, seeks realistic and reliable guidance in how to care for the bereaved and how to enable the congregation to become a genuine community of fellow mourners.”

Through the Eyes of Women

Counseling, Grief & Mental Health

“A clear-sighted yet visionary text—an uncommon achievement! The authors collectively demonstrate that in a few brief but agonizing years, women have moved from denied to different, to dominant voice in the field of pastoral care, and that gender issues are the issue toward which all other issues converge.”

Virtue as Consent to Being

Theology

“Phil Zylla beautifully captures the transformative power of Jonathan Edwards' moral vision by showing how it may deepen and strengthen our understanding of pastoral ministry. He shows how Edwards' own pastoral ministry would have been more reflective of his own moral sensibilities and intentions had it been informed by this moral vision and the pastoral images that it implies. This book is more than a retrieval of Edwards' moral vision for our own troubled world and more than an exercise in pastoral theology. It is itself a clarifying vision of what pastoral ministry can be in a world that cries out for compassion, of a ministry expressive of the reformative qualities and intentions of the attentive poet, the weeping prophet, and the good shepherd.”

When Faith Is Tested

Counseling, Grief & Mental Health

“This is one of those rare books for pastors and lay caregivers that engage the reader from the very first page to the last. Jeffry Zurheide provides realistic illustrations of how any caring person may respond thoughtfully and helpfully to the 'Why' questions that tragic deaths inevitably evoke in us. This book also presents a clear theological orientation in which belief in the power of God is not diluted as a means to 'explain' why these things happen but rather affirms the power of God as manifest in the very vulnerability of God. Zurheide's capacity to make this theological position intellectually persuasive and emotionally consoling is, to me, the real strength of this significant new book on an age-old experience whose power to crush the soul is as great today as ever.”