Walter Brueggemann

Theology

“This book plunges the reader into the complexities and intransigencies of this most urgent and most difficult of all of our public problems . . . the Holy Land. The discussion provides a rich, representative spectrum of opinion and puts acute hermeneutical differences fully on exhibit. The book inches toward the legitimacy of 'the other,' and one author dares to conclude that it is not history or land that finally matters, but 'it is in the face of the other that we find the image of God.' This collection adds more voices to the ongoing struggle. Like other voices in the cacophony, these voices fall short of the reconciliation that the cry of the land requires.”

The Land Is Mine

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“The upshot of the book is to show in powerful ways both (a) that the Bible should not be read innocently, and that the God practiced in the several ideologies is a player in Israel's propertied life, and (b) that those old 'ideological-theological' positions continue to be poignantly pertinent in the world of contemporary interpretation.”

The Life and Witness of David

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“It is for sure that the narrative of David is a gift that keeps on giving. Larry Helyer has now added to our rich corpus on David a quite accessible study. Two markings of his book merit notice. First, Helyer has an exquisite sense of narrative and so can render each moment of the David narrative in a fresh way. Second, Helyer does not flinch from the theological claim that he finds pervasive in the text, and is able to trace the providential resolve of God through the narrative. This book is of special interest as we watch this agile reader weave together these two accents. The book shows the way in which the David story keeps giving to us.”

The Life and Witness of Jeremiah

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Larry Helyer’s accessible book accomplishes two important tasks. First he shows why Jeremiah, of all the biblical prophets, cannot be safely disregarded by those who want faith connected to lived reality in our society. Second, he provides an introduction to the rich resources of the book of Jeremiah and shows us in compelling ways how to engage Jeremiah and link his stunning words to our own societal crisis. Helyer takes up some of the most important themes and texts of Jeremiah and does so with an alert eye concerning connections to the ministry of Jesus.”

The Messenger

History & Biography

“Doug Hall weighs in again with his characteristic gracefulness and his mature, uncommon wisdom. He bears witness to the incarnational way of faith that impinges upon real life in the world. Hall is no saint-maker, but he knows one when he sees one!”

The Monotheizing Process

World Religions

“No one has thought as well and as long, as imaginatively and helpfully about canon as has Jim Sanders. His recognition that canon is a dynamic process permits him to continue to open new vistas of interpretive possibility, now even an opening toward the 'other' great religions of the book. This book is a significant advance on his previous study and will be taken with great seriousness by those who care about biblical authority and the normative claims of the tradition. This is a most welcome gift of wisdom among us!”

The Moriah Pie Cookbook

Christian Living

“With few exceptions we who live in Western culture are beset by dualisms on every front: body/soul, materialism/idealism, rich/poor, haves/have-nots, conservative/liberal, capitalism/socialism, etc. etc. These various dualisms disrupt our public conversations, and impinge in powerful ways on our self-understanding. And then we get a wake-up call in the form of this gentle, unwavering book. In its patient, grounded way this book bears powerful witness to a different way to be in the world, a way of reconciling, forgiving, grateful living. It is a way of generous, grateful humility that is easily situated in the day-to-day reality of our common earthly life. It becomes clear through this witness that we are indeed meant “to be eucharistic beings holding the world back to God in gratitude for all that is life.” I found reading this book and pondering its claims to be itself a sacramental act, a sacrament of grace made concrete in the photos of real people and the recipes for real food. We can watch the process whereby “scarcity is turned to abundance!” It is my hope that many readers will be on the receiving end of this gracious offer.”

The Mystery of Eve and Adam

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Moe-Lobeda has taken sharp notice of the diverse genres of literary expression in the Old Testament; he has matched that with a diversity of historical circumstances reflected in the text. The outcome is a kaleidoscopic survey of the many lenses of the Bible, a range that gives readers much freedom and that refuses every absolutism about the text. The result is that readers must allow great room for each other.”

The Pastor

Church Leadership & Ministry

“Gordon Lathrop takes full account of the strain, stress, and crisis of ordained ministry and makes a response to that crisis that is thoughtful, gentle, large-hearted, wise, and sure to be important for ministers who read this book.”

The Pastor as Minor Poet

Church Leadership & Ministry

“Barnes knows all about being a pastor, how to use authority, how to lead, how to listen, and how to provoke. He knows, moreover, that it finally all comes down to faithful words that can conjure alternative scenarios of the future. In a society cold with technical reason, this summons to poetic truth is of huge importance.”

The Politics of Yahweh

Theology

“"It is beyond doubt that John Howard Yoder is a pivotal, defining force in contemporary theology, particularly as pertains to faith in the public domain. But Yoder is often thinly understood from his best-known work. This welcome volume pays close and fresh attention to the depth and rich scope of Yoder's interpretation, especially with reference to his careful reading of the Old Testament. The outcome is an awareness of Yoder's imaginative competence as a biblical theologian facing the demanding work of a Christian reading of the Old Testament. A plus of the volume is an extensive Yoder bibliography.”

The Prayer of Unwanting

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“Our common practice of prayer is inescapably elusive, open-ended, and somewhat hidden in our faith. In this winsome exposition of prayer, David Williams offers us practical guidance with prayer that is honest, accessible, and filled with insight. Williams walks us through the Lord's Prayer phrase by phrase, with an awareness wrought of real personal engagement and with an eye on contemporary connections. Williams suggests that we can, in our practice, be engaged in 'praying without ceasing.' Those engaged in growth in faith will be grateful for the wise, knowing instruction on offer here.”

The Preacher’s Bible Handbook

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Wesley Allen has assembled an impressive cast of scripture interpreters who are imaginative, well-informed, and accessible. Together these colleagues have produced a series of book-by-book essays on the Bible with fresh resources for the preaching task. Preachers who turn to this collection of essays will find rich suggestions for their work. These several writers move with grace and ease from critical learning to homiletical rendering. I anticipate that this book may greatly enliven and empower those who take the Bible with deep seriousness.”

The Promise of Social Enterprise

Work, Money & Leadership

“With its long-running penchant for privatism, the church has been largely mute in the face of urgent economic issues among us. . . . Sampson’s bold, lucid exposition provides an entry point for that work. He sees that the work to be done, on the one hand, is ‘deconstructing the myth of the inevitability of capitalism,’ and on the other hand ‘creating space for a theological imagination of an alternative.’ This book in effective ways shows how the gospel claim of ‘mutuality’ is an opening for fresh thinking, fresh policy, and fresh action.”

The Repentance of YHWH

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Sonya Shetty Cronin has written a daring, rich, suggestive interpretation of the Gospel of Mark that is thick with subtext and suggestive citation. We have nothing like her book, as she experiments with new modes of interpretation. She finds, everywhere in Mark, in every episode and word, allusion to a rich inventory of Old Testament texts. She shows us how Mark declared the end of Israel's exile, but then so much more. On offer in Mark, as she shows, is good news for Gentiles as for Jews. This new opening for Gentiles requires that God repent of exclusiveness for Jews. Her book, in its long lingering over texts, invites us to see afresh. We see in her writing, as in Mark's Gospel, an effort to clarify how radically new the way of Jesus really is. The book invites close attentiveness to a mass of citation and allusion that she fuses together as a great, fresh disclosure.”

The Return of the Chaos Monsters

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Mobley has written a thick narrative account of Israel's thick narrative. He does so with freedom and imagination while remaining faithful to the plotline of the old narrative. His book defies genre classification; it is part introduction, part theology, but mostly a playful tease that invites the reader into the indeterminate wisdom of the biblical text. Mobley's shrewd reflection on 'God's anger' is itself well worth the price of the book. But there is much more here that invites fresh thinking about texts we thought we already knew. This welcome and suggestive probe of biblical imagination ranges all the way from the stories of the ancient Near East to quite personal narrative memories.”

The Revelatory Body

Theology

“Fully conversant with the rich, thick theological tradition, Luke Timothy Johnson has probed deeply into Scripture and has made exquisite connections between Scripture and the lived reality of the human body. This book in a most accessible way exhibits Johnson's deep learning, the largeness of his spirit, and the generosity of his theological sensibility. . . . To write such a book requires a lifetime of awareness, to the great benefit of readers.”

The Secret Message of Jesus

Theology

“There is good reason that Brian McLaren is “emerging” as a prominent voice in the new shape of the church to come. His passion and gifts are fully articulated in this volume wherein he invites the reader back to the most urgent and elemental dimensions of Jesus. McLaren pushes beyond conventional church faith to the rawness of the text, there to be met by One who is revolutionary, subversive, and invitational in demanding and healing ways.”

The Song of Songs

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“It is a delight to witness a master craftsman doing his work. Edwin Good is a master at translation and commentary with attentiveness to nuance. He has written a genuinely dialogical commentary, in dialogue with other scholars and with his readers, letting us witness the dialogue between these lovers. His insistence on the Hebrew identity of the poetry and his recognition of its oral origin mark the way he proceeds. The book is invitational in its tone, an invitation to be present to this exchange between lovers.”

The Spirit Hovers

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“K. K. Yeo brings to the voicing of prayer all the ingredients of faithfulness. He has an attentive ear for the biblical text, in order to notice where we may make poignant contact. He has a keen sensibility for the contemporaneity of ancient possibility. And he has courage for truth-telling right in the face of God. This deeply moving book will matter both to those who lead public prayer and to those who pray as adult believers and seek greater depth in their communion with God.”