Sharon E. Watkins

Can a Renewal Movement Be Renewed?

Church Leadership & Ministry

“If the road forward for the ecumenical movement is at times murky, Kinnamon here indicates a direction. He celebrates progress and identifies practical next steps on the way. Like the circle of light provided by the headlights of a car on a dark night, we see where next to move.”

Common Ground

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“A welcome entry into one of our most fraught national conversations. A gun owner, Gaffney looks respectfully at both ‘gun rights’ and ‘gun control’ perspectives. By including the troubling U.S. history of the myth of redemptive violence, the intersection of gun laws with race, and the complex biblical record of violence, Gaffney ensures that it will be no easy conversation. It is, however, an enlightening one, leading beyond talk to faithful action.”

Second Thoughts about the Second Coming

Theology

“Topics of ‘the end times’ and especially Christ’s return have too often been avoided by mainline or progressive Christians. In Second Thoughts about the Second Coming Allen and Cornwall provide confident navigation through this unfamiliar yet important territory. In their comprehensive look at the second coming, the authors widen the lens to reveal that views about Christ’s return are connected to Christian perspectives on life after death specifically and hope for the future more broadly. Covering biblical, historical, and contemporary perspectives, the look is both deep and wide. Questions at the end of each chapter serve as content review and study guide to help synthesize the wealth of material. Second Thoughts is well worth the read individually and in groups. As our author-guides assure us, our perceptions of the future, including the end times, shape our faithful living now.”

The American Church that Might Have Been

History & Biography

“Today we can hardly remember that as COCU launched, Protestant church members could not share communion. Watkins describes how eagerly COCU partners moved toward union and how surprisingly quick was the movement on long-standing, intractable matters of faith, worship, and the sacraments. Then came the Gordian knot of ministry, the difficulty of organizational issues, and the American original sin of racism. What went right, what went wrong with COCU, and what still cries out to be done. A must-read for all who long for visible unity among Christians.”

Women with 2020 Vision

Women

“Women with 2020 Vision celebrates memories of courageous and faithful achievement 100 years ago even while shining light on the shadow side of the movement--embedded racism, blind eyes to indigenous struggle, distortion of Christian witness. They point our gaze toward the work needed now to overcome similarly rooted evils: trafficking, voter suppression, hunger, and family separation. And they show us a way forward, sparking in us hope that the journey, though long, does indeed bend toward justice.”