Gary M. Simpson

A Rumor of Black Lutherans

History & Biography

“Beyond the very rumor of biblical angels themselves, could there possibly be any rumor more timely or more fitting for North American Lutherans to hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest than A Rumor of Black Lutherans! Years into the future, many will remain indebted, myself first of all, to Professor James Thomas for rendering public these ten profiles in courage at a time when such a dearth of leadership seems evident at nearly every turn.”

A Time for Confessing

Theology

“A Time for Confessing is a mother lode for contemporary confessors and confessing communities. Lutheran ecumenist Robert Bertram mines the classic confessing of his own Lutheran heritage and at the same time discovers a treasury of gospel confessing in contemporary movements spanning the globe, from the U.S. black church civil rights movement to South African Christians resisting apartheid to the Bonhoeffer-era confessing church in Germany and finally to the Vatican II confessing of Filipino Roman Catholics. When you finish this book, you will find yourself praying with our Savior, ‘Save us from the time of trial — but prepare us nevertheless.”

Leadership Formation in the African Context

Church Leadership & Ministry

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Luther’s Theology

Theology

“Theologian Hans Joachim Iwand influenced many throughout Europe in the mid to late twentieth century, and his Luther’s Theology anchored that influence. In this way Iwand influenced two theologians who have themselves made notable impacts on theology within the United States, though in different ways and for different audiences: the German and Reformed Jurgen Moltmann and the American and Lutheran Gerhard Forde. The translators of this important work by Iwand, Roy A. Harrisville and Randi Lundell, have furnished the English-speaking theological world with a fluent and, yes, eloquent work of love. What a gift to read!”

On Secular Governance

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“What Ronald Duty and Marie Failinger have accomplished has never been done before! Until now, Lutherans have remained largely absent from the vigorous, interdisciplinary field of law and religion. Together for the first time, Lutheran authorities in the fields of secular law and Christian theology explore how classic Lutheran themes offer wisdom for contemporary legal questions. This volume will surely kindle future engagement.”

Paul Leo

History & Biography

“Today, perhaps even more than ever, the Holocaust’s unquenchable mandate, ‘Never again,’ cries out to be heeded. Even those with ears to hear still often ask, ‘How could such evil have taken over such an enlightened, scientific, and historically Christian nation?’ Condensing Paul Leo’s precarious sojourn, Craig Nessan and Carsten Linden narrate at the granular level the ‘how’s’ of these mid-twentieth-century atrocities as well as the struggles of refugees from trauma and terror back then, with truths as pertinent as ever.”

The Future Horizon for a Prophetic Tradition

Church Leadership & Ministry

“David Everett opens a brand new chapter in North American missional ecclesiology by drinking deeply from the riches and challenges of Black Church spirituality, leadership, and emancipatory public theologies. He unleashes innovative possibilities, grounded in social scientific research, for pastoral leadership and the Black Church's new Spirit-led missional moment in history. No longer can the missional church conversation excuse itself for neglecting the prophetic and participatory wisdom of African American Christianity.”

The Life, Works, and Witness of Tsehay Tolessa and Gudina Tumsa, the Ethiopian Bonhoeffer

History & Biography

“Martin Luther once remarked that the gospel is like a passing shower of rain that the Holy Spirit in judgment and mercy continually relocates around the globe that people might seize it opportunistically and trust it confidently as their own good news. Ethiopia’s Tsehay Tolessa and Gudina Tumsa did just that. Deressa and Wilson have made this Lutheran couple’s saga accessible to a much larger share of the seventy million plus Lutherans globally, though Gudina and Tsehay’s witness is surely not for Lutherans alone. On account of their Christian faith, Gudina, the ‘Ethiopian Bonhoeffer’ and the general secretary of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, was murdered by the Communist Ethiopian government, which then imprisoned and tortured Tsehay for ten years. Gudina’s theological writings and Tsehay’s poignant memoir will surely induce you to watch and pray more eagerly for the comings and goings of the gospel shower in your part of the world.”

The Way of Peace

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“In The Way of Peace, James Childs shares a lifetime of wise reflection on that Peace that passes all understanding. Here is a seasoned Christian theologian whose lyrical prose will stir today's readers in the manner that C. S. Lewis aroused earlier generations of those anxious about God and many things, yet thoughtfully longed for that peace that the world cannot give. Childs brings the best of that time-tested Augustinian stream of mindfulness regarding human sin and divine grace, blends it with poetry, literature, lived experience, and personal narrative, and wraps it all up through careful consideration of Scriptural passages, well-known and not. In a world weary of discord, The Way of Peace will bring you home to God's Promise!”