Simon Chan

Insider Jesus

Evangelism & Missions

“Insider Jesus, written by one of the foremost theologians of culture, makes a significant contribution to the growing body of works on global theology. It seeks to move beyond the current models of contextualization, which tend to privilege the outsider's (missionary) understanding of the gospel at the expense of the insider's. It advocates an 'intercultural theology' that involves older Christian traditions engaging in serious dialogue with the newer expressions of the Christian faith in indigenous movements. The result is not only mutual enrichment but perhaps a new kind of ecumenicity from which a genuinely evangelical-catholic faith would eventually emerge. Protestants and especially evangelicals need to read this book!”

Kingdom Apprenticeship

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“Keas Keasler's carefully researched work is the first comprehensive study of Dallas Willard's theology of the Christian life. Keasler's analyses are thorough and nuanced, his conclusions guarded and judicious. For anyone looking for a reliable guide to Willard's thought, this is a book I highly recommend.”

Liturgical Mission

Preaching & Worship

“Bevins brings together some of the best works by liturgiologists and missiologists to make two claims: mission is essentially liturgical and the liturgy is essentially missional. For liturgiologists, Bevins's work traverses familiar territory, but it brings out the familiar in surprisingly fresh ways. For evangelicals still unsure of what to make of the liturgy, Bevins's claims are not only convincing, their readable and concise presentation also make this an excellent introductory text.”

Majority World Theology

Theology

“This volume [The Church from Every Tribe and Tongue], like its predecessors, aptly captures a plethora of perspectives on what it means to be the church. It evokes different emotions as we encounter the familiar and the unfamiliar. These contributions should help Christians everywhere not only to broaden their vision of the church but also to feel a kindred spirit with each other.”

Meditation and Communion with God

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“According to Davis, the resurrection of Christ inaugurates a new ontology upon which a solid theology of meditation could be based. Davis does not teach us how to meditate but gives us compelling reasons why every Christian should.”

Of Martyrs, Monks, and Mystics

Bible Studies & Devotionals

“This collection of daily readings from our spiritual forebears is not meant for us to indulge in nostalgia; when read meditatively, they speak to our modern condition and challenge us to resist conforming to this world and experience real spiritual transformation. The editors are to be commended for their wide-ranging and judicious selections.”

Pilgrims and Popes

History & Biography

“Church history has not been a popular subject with many Asian seminarians. But this may change with Brandner’s highly readable and engaging book. It differs from other works by not only drawing attention to but also raising provocative questions about areas of convergence between the church in the West and Asia. This can only have come from a church historian who is deeply immersed in Asian church life.”

Pursuing an Earthy Spirituality

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“What more can be said about C. S. Lewis that has not already been said? Selby has defied the odds by reconfiguring some of the well-traversed themes in Lewis's writings into a coherent spiritual theology which is at once familiar, yet refreshingly new. Aficionados of Lewis will not be disappointed.”

Pursuing Moral Faithfulness

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“This is not a book about general ethical theory and practice but about the ethics of discipleship which is ultimately a responsive and responsible relationship with the trinitarian God. Tyra thus shows that Christian ethics and spirituality are two sides of the same coin. Perhaps its most important contribution is to challenge the reader to take seriously the work of the Holy Spirit which makes the pursuit of a distinctively Christian life possible.”

Renewal Worship

Theology

“Studies on Pentecostal worship have been mostly descriptive, from a social science perspective, or critical. Steven Félix-Jäger's is a rare exception by offering a constructive theology of Pentecostal worship. It argues that Pentecostal worship is the response to the distinctive way in which God reveals himself in Pentecostal experience. For anyone seeking to understand why Pentecostals worship the way they do, I cannot think of a better book to recommend.”

Story-Shaped Worship

Preaching & Worship

“Castleman's careful study of the biblical and historical patterns of worship should put to rest any doubt about the nature of Christian worship. Worship is not about meeting the needs of individuals but the reenactment of and participation in the grand story of the triune God. I strongly urge pastors and worship leaders to read this book before they attempt to revise their Sunday service.”

The Dark Side of Discipleship

Christian Living

“The Christian tradition has long recognized the ‘three enemies of the soul’ as hindrances to spiritual growth: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Tragically, many modern Christians have either demythologized or sensationalized the third enemy. Gary Tyra does neither but proposes that having a sound, biblical understanding of the demonic is indispensable to true discipleship. This book will challenge those who are either dismissive of or fixated on the devil.”

The Everyday Mysticism of C. S. Lewis

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“Gary Selby shows from a careful exposition of Lewis's writings that the higher levels of mystical union have their beginnings in the tiny theophanies of mundane pleasures. By showing that these pleasures are discovered through a contemplative posture, Selby's book directs our attention to the telos of Christian spirituality: it is not so much about character formation as union with God. This is a message that evangelicals need to hear.”

The Holy Spirit

Theology

“How do we think about someone who is not merely ‘out there’ but also in, with, and through us? Fred Sanders has set out to do just such thinking. The result is a study on the Holy Spirit that comes like a breath of fresh air where familiar terms and images take on new and unexpected significances.”

Theology and the Mirror of Scripture

Theology

“Vanhoozer and Treier are calling for the development of a catholic evangelical theology by drawing from the resources of the Christian tradition. If their call is heeded, we will likely see the emergence of a more robust ecclesiology and a consensual orthodoxy unified around matters central to evangelical faith and practice. There is a bright future for evangelical theology and genuine ecumenism if their proposals are followed through.”

Why Evangelical Theology Needs the Global Church

Theology

“For too long, fear of compromising the primacy of Scripture has led evangelicals to marginalize the role of the Christian tradition and local cultures. In this lucid and well-argued work, Stephen Pardue has shown that tradition and culture are in fact indispensable theological resources for developing a robust ‘catholic contextual theology.’ Here is a work in constructive theology that should set the direction for the global evangelical movement.”