Organization

For those of you who are not Orthodox, this classical/sacred text is gateway to the Eastern Church. Composed more than 1550 years ago, Chrysostom's liturgy is indeed next to the Kingdom. The text is printed neatly in its oringinal Koine Greek and contemporary idiomatic English. Brethrens, come and enjoy the richness of God's grace expressed by the Eastern Orthodoxy! -- the "Formosan"

The book is basically on about Christian Worship and the various elements of it. This book was used in a Master level class on the History of Christian Worship at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. James White is the Professor of Liturgy at the University of Notre Dame. He's the author of many books including Protestant Worship: Traditions in Transition.

The book is really wonderful. It first begins with the teaching of Christian Worship (mostly by surveying the various families and tradition of Christian worship, major figures and developments in Christian worship, and the need for liturgical pedagogy, that is, the teaching of what the various elements are within liturgy). White surveys some of the forms of how the message of Christianity of Christianity is transmitted, for instance, that the Christian Year and the various elements within it can teach the Christian message (e.g., Time as Communication). Then he gives various analyses on architectures and how these can communicate things about God and the Christian message -- "Space as Communication". There are some great pictures (or rather, photographs and architectural diagrams) which visually show this. For instance, Gothic cathedrals draw one's attention upward, giving a sense of God's transcendance. Or Puritan meeting houses are plain and white (symbolizing God's holiness), drawing people attention that the church is really the People of God. And so on. There are many beautiful pictures of churches and White draws out elements that we normally see but don't think much about, for instance, the high pulpit. Then White moves on to Daily Public Prayer and the services of prayers (including sample prayers), the service of the Word (within the tradition of the church and how it developed especially in Protestantism), sacraments in general, Christian Initiation, the Eucharist, and Occasional Services.

All in all, White mentions a number of crucial authors and critical teachers (Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Eusebius, etc.) who made contributions and includes their writings as points of reference to indicate how the service of worship was changing/evolving. This was a really nice book to survey Christian worship and get a good understanding of not only the formal elements, but many of the artistic/visual/etc. elements that affect worship.

This book communicates the author's vision of the Church and its role in the world with power and progressive clarity. Lohfink demonstrates that an understanding of the Church cannot be separated from an understanding of Israel as the people of God, the vehicle through which God brings salvation to the entire world. Using historical critical methods and his experience as a biblical exegete, he reconstructs the story of Israel, particularly its Exodus traditions, showing how the experience of Israel with God resulted in a social project, rooted in the Torah. It was a radically new form of community and worldview that stood in contrast to other nations and peoples. He proceeds to weave the story of Jesus in the context of Israel's history, connecting his gathering of the Twelve with the eschatological gathering of Israel, and portraying his death as the renewal and sealing of the covenant for the people of God. Finally, he details how the Church is a continuation of a history that began with Abraham, but now centered in Jesus.

Of particular interests is how Lohfink handles Jesus' feeding of the five thousand. He shows how the historic Church has tended to make the same mistakes as Jesus' disciples did in their response to the hungry multitudes. Lohfink uses Jesus' response to their questions to deduce how the Church must be formed in order to be more than another charitable organization or religious services provider. The mission of the Church is rather to be the new society, a locus of salvation capable of transforming the world.

Finally, Father Lohfink shares his own story, describing his experiences in the German Church from the time of Hitler to the present, including his decision to relinquish his chair as a Professor of New Testament at the University of Tubingen to join the Catholic Integrated Community and its Association of Priests in Munich Germany.

Does God Need the Church? Yes indeed!

this is a good book, I have adopted and hope to adopt more dogs in the futre to me adopting and rescuing animals is the only way i will get them, to many animals with potential are being put to sleep, it's murder, fix or nueter your dog at the eirliest possible time PLEASE!!!!

This short book is a necessary resource for any new board member. I read it on first going on my local Habitat for Humanity board, and have recommended it to every nonprofit board member I know. To a one, they come back and thank me for the recommendation. "Doing Good Better!" covers all of the essential information one needs to perform the nonprofit board member fiduciary responsibilities and obligations. And it does so succinctly and understandably. It is also written with an uplifting and positive tone -- it makes you feel good about what you're doing as a nonprofit supporter. I regularly refer back to this book both for support and encouragement, and to refresh my knowledge of my duties as a board member.

This book actually has 152 pages, not 75 as stated in the Amazon listing. The review below appeared in the Alabama Baptist newspaper:

Doing Unto The Least of These

John Hayman. Montgomery: Black Belt Press, 1998. 152 pp. $15.95. (paperback).

"The work of the Jimmie Hale Mission and the words of our Savior are to me inseparable," wrote Congressman Spencer Bachus. Carefully researched and extremely well-written, this volume tells the exciting story of this Birmingham rescue mission since its inception in 1944.

Named for its founder, the mission has reached out to thousands of people with physical and spiritual needs. Quite interestingly, "Doing Unto The Least of These" is organized around testimonials of personalities related to the mission whose stories are woven into a chronicle of events which are both informative and inspirational. Readers will be deeply moved as they relive the story of God at work in this indispensable ministry. Quite frankly, this reviewer plans to keep this book nearby for fresh spiritual nourishment.

To be sure, "institutional" books are generally not too popular. This one, however, will prove to be the exception, and rightly so. A native Alabamian, Hayman lives in Birmingham and has a rich background as an author, teacher and administrator.

The author uses more than adequate empirical data to demonstrate her thesis. In July 1998, I received my 10 gallon donor certificate from the American Red Cross. I believe that this is 1:10,000 of the eligible donor population, i.e., age 18-65, weight >110 lbs. I began donating in Aug 1976 to corroborate my altruism as a Peace Corps volunteer, 1970-72. This book is highly recommended.

Headlines in the last decade of the twentieth century contained a steady drumbeat of corporate downsizing announcements. Now three professors of economics have used money from the Russell Sage Foundation to examine the record to see what actually happened to American firms during those stressful years. They wanted to know whether public perceptions matched reality.

The limited funds placed significant constraints on the resources available to the researchers. The value of their work depends heavily on their skill and judgement in using publicly available statistics and discrete private data bases to reveal more than at first sight evident. The result is a model of econometric technique.

The first conclusion is that newspaper media tended to favor the dramatic figures from large, well-known manufacturers. Manufacturing in America has been in long-term decline since 1967 and manufacturers have steadily shed jobs. So far, perception matches reality. However, agriculture and manufacturing only provide employment for 15% of the population, so this segment is not a good proxy for the entire economy.

What happened in the Service Sector that employed the other 85% of the population? Unfortunately, we can only see gross trends, because the government doesn't collect steady, detailed statistics on this segment. The researchers were forced to use some indirect techniques to tease out meaning from what was available.

"Downsizing", it turns out, is corporate-speak for upsizing. Firms laid off one set of workers - disproportionately less-educated, older, female or parents of young children - and hired on another set, by implication younger, male and single. Was the resulting workforce more productive? No, there was no change in employee productivity. Moreover, non-managerial employees bore the brunt of the layoffs, so that claims to be ridding the company of "fat" actually increased the management-to-staff ratio.

Did investors reward companies for their action? Perception says that downsizing is followed by an increase in the stock price. The reality is that stock prices remain steady or decline after downsizing announcements.

So what were the benefits of downsizing? The authors come to a surprising, but authoritative conclusion. Downsizing announcements force down staff wages so that the firm retains more profit. Simple really, isn't it?

"Downsizing in America" contains numerous graphs, tables, and economic formulae. Professors Baumol, Blinder and Wolff have spent the Sage Foundation funds wisely to "foster the development and dissemination of knowledge about the economy's political, social, and economic problems."

Finally, an academic who puts it into words so the rest of us can understand! Dragon in a Three Piece Suit tackles difficult issues in a way that is easily understandable to those of us who don't study economic systems full-time but are interested in learning about them. Guthrie manages to write a compelling work that is simply eloquent - a book that appeals to both academics and the regular-Joe. I appreciated his insights and predictions regarding Chinese economic reform.

This book is very rich--a great source of prayer/liturgy but also wonderful stories and backgrounds of wise women. I found the feminine essence of this book to be surprising and enjoyable. The writing is so lovely and vivid, it seems that I have met the Madres of the Plaza de Mayo and Julian of Norwich.