Thomas G. Long

Life after Death

Theology

“With his characteristically firm grasp of sources ancient and contemporary and with admirable clarity, Anthony Thiselton guides the reader through the complexities of such vexed biblical themes as hell, the final judgment, the return of Christ, and the resurrection of the dead -- giving us a book that is not only theologically profound but also pastorally encouraging.”

Losing Church

Church Leadership & Ministry

“In this powerful memoir, one of America’s wisest pastors brings a discerning word about the church in our time. With his eye clearly on the crises around us . . . , Gehring rejects all gimmicks and schemes designed to ‘save the church.’ Instead, he keeps a firm theological grasp and employs a deft cultural analysis to find evidence of the Spirit blowing refreshing winds of resurrection hope through the church and the world.”

Mark

Preaching & Worship

“This is a 'preacher's commentary' in the very best sense of that term. David Schnasa Jacobsen takes his keenly sharpened tools of exegesis and theological analysis and descends into the depths of Mark’s mysterious and multi-layered texts. When he emerges, he brings with him Markan wisdom and insight that will both ground preachers in the Gospel and stimulate their imaginations for fresh and creative preaching.”

Night Comes

Theology

“In this probing work Dale Allison raises life’s largest possible theological questions — the questions we humans all have — questions about death, judgment, heaven, and hell. In a quest for answers, his nimble mind sends him racing across historical, cultural, and theological landscapes, and his range is astounding. . . . A treasure!”

No Longer Bound

Preaching & Worship

“This is a deeply personal book. James Henry Harris weaves threads from his rich life of ministry and learning, all lived out against the backdrop of a racially charged land, into a beautiful tapestry of faithful and courageous preaching. Harris manages to bring a host of strong thinkers helpfully into the conversation--Cone and Ricoeur, Derrida and Dubois, and many others--without ever losing the clear and confident sound of his own voice.”

Nurture Faith

Bible Studies & Devotionals

“To the overall richness of this volume, Nathanael Hood, Doug’s son, provides his own probing and thoughtful meditations. He opens new and often unexpected windows on scriptural passages, allowing us to see what we had not seen before and to reflect on these great texts in new and life-giving ways. Each one of his meditations is bold, clear, and provocative—a polished gem.”

Preaching and the Mission of God

Preaching & Worship

“David Fields is an accomplished preacher and teacher who has a well-formed missional theology. In this wise and practical book, he brings this perspective to bear on a task that is both ancient (preaching the story of God’s love) and very contemporary (preaching after the demise of Christendom). This volume will be helpful to students just beginning to learn how to preach and to experienced pastors learning to preach anew in a vastly changed world.”

Preaching as Local Theology and Folk Art

Preaching & Worship

“The preacher can find many books giving advice on how to exegete the Bible. At last, here is a book with solid and helpful guidelines on how to exegete the congregation. Nora Tisdale blends the best scholarship on cross-cultural studies with her wise insights as an experienced pastor to break new ground in the field of preaching.”

Preaching at the Crossroads

Preaching & Worship

“No one thinks more clearly or writes more effectively about the place of preaching in a postmodern, secular, pluralistic world than does David Lose. This book shows a firm grasp of contemporary philosophy, biblical hermeneutics, and the challenges of digital culture. What is perhaps most impressive about this volume, however, is that, in a crowded marketplace of sermonic gimmicks and quick-fixes, Lose holds instead to a vision of preaching that is profoundly theological and centered on the gospel.”

Preaching Jesus

Preaching & Worship

“In a crowded supermarket of junk food and homiletic 'lite' fare, Charles Campbell has brought us a nourishing gift--the solid meat of profound theological reflection on the task of preaching. . . . A rare and welcome book.”

Preaching Jesus Christ Today

Theology

“In this well-researched volume, Annette Brownlee has produced a treasure for preachers. She asks six probing theological questions about how preachers relate to biblical texts and then provides solid advice on how to explore each of them. She has a profoundly theological vision of preaching and a firm grasp of the practicalities of crafting weekly sermons. This book will be extraordinarily effective in both broadening and deepening one's repertoire of sermons.”

Preaching to Every Pew

Preaching & Worship

“We have desperately needed this book for a long time. With firm theological grounding and with an alert eye to the swirling diversity in America today, James Nieman and Thomas Rogers have given us a profound and practical guide to cross-cultural preaching. Their wisdom will help every preacher fulfill the biblical mandate to be a neighbor to others, and we are in their debt.”

Reading for Preaching

Preaching & Worship

“With wit, wisdom, and a fresh supply of his own compelling prose, Cornelius Plantinga invites us into the whitewater adventure of good reading. He speaks directly to preachers, to those who bear the load of weekly sermons and who wonder where they can find language that bristles with energy and faithful imagination. But he also gathers in all Christians who hunger for the old words of the faith - sin, hope, salvation, providence -- to come alive in the vibrant metaphors, rich stories, and telling insights of great literature. This book is about delightful reading, and it is itself a delight to read.”

Reading the Parables

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“With his keen literary eye and finely tuned theological perception, Richard Lischer teaches us how to read the parables of Jesus anew, to read them not merely by ourselves or for ourselves but in the company of many others. Lischer enables us to read these great texts with the Gospel writers, with the poor, with the saints, and with all who are in the human condition; and as a result of Lischer’s wise guidance, the parables have ‘perpetual youth,’ as Irenaeus would say, and overflow with abundance. This is a contribution to parables studies not to be missed.”

Rehearsing Scripture

Bible Studies & Devotionals

“For any preachers who have glided blithely through a biblical text on the way to writing a sermon, Anna Carter Florence calls us to repent and to pay close attention to the text again. Under her guidance the biblical passage is transformed from a sermon pretext into a rich drama bursting with power. Verbs, flattened by hasty and inattentive readings, now loom as mountains of meaning, and characters, once hardly noticed stick figures, become animated, articulate, and forceful. As a result, preachers do not ‘preach themselves.’ Instead they point a trembling finger at the text, saying ‘I can’t wait to tell you what’s happening in there!’”

Rethinking Celebration

Preaching & Worship

“Every time I read a book by Cleo LaRue, I come away having learned something about preaching that is breathtakingly new and creative. Rethinking Celebration is no exception. In this thoughtful and crisply argued book, LaRue issues a challenging call to the African American pulpit to recover its full range of power and depth. This book is a double blessing. It speaks convincingly not only to African American preachers but also to all Christian preachers everywhere, reminding us of the sacred purposes to which we are called.”

Right Texts, Wrong Meanings

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“In this eye-opening book, the gifted biblical interpreter and theologian Sam Tsang takes a fresh look at some familiar biblical passages. Time and again he shows how the obvious and popular interpretations have simply missed the breathtaking meaning that can be found in these texts. Not only does he restore more faithful readings of these passages, he also recovers the excitement vibrating at the core of these texts.”

Romans

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“In this very readable commentary on Romans, Susan Eastman has produced a pitch-perfect voicing of the main goal of the Interpretation series: to express the best, most exacting biblical scholarship in ways that energize the work of preachers and teachers. Time and again she taps the tuning fork of a profound passage in Romans and allows it to resonate with the needs and hungers of the church and the world. Eastman shows powerfully why this great text once mattered and still matters today. Those who preach and teach Romans will treasure this commentary.”

Romans

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“After decades of carefully viewing Paul’s Letter to the Romans through a jeweler’s loupe, the celebrated New Testament scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa now holds this great document up for all to see. She turns it like a diamond in the light, allowing the literary structure, the rhetorical force, the theological depth, the social import, and other facets of Romans to flash in all their brilliance. Readers of this superb commentary will be engaged by the scholarly discussion of this letter over the centuries and they will also feel the beauty and power of Romans itself, both for its own day and in ours. In Gaventa’s hands, the text of Romans is luminescent, by its own light but also through the brighter light of the gospel that shines through it.”

Room to Grow

Christian Living

“Not only is this book wise, witty, and deliciously readable; it also represents biblical reflection at its best — faithful, alert to the imaginative power of Scripture, and thoroughly enmeshed in the gritty realities of the day. Taken as a whole, these meditations describe the shape of Christian living, how it is that beginning the journey of faith by putting one foot in front of the other leads to places of surprising grace and wonder.”