Renewal

Collaboratively compiled and edited by Dele Olowu and Soumana Sako, Better Governance And Public Policy: Capacity Building For Democratic Renewal In Africa is a resource of informed and informative essays accessibly written by a variety of learned authors, and presented with three overall goals: to describe recent governance alterations in African countries; to analyze the effects these changes have upon institutional reforms; and to scrutinize building institutional capacities to consolidate economic liberalization and democratization in African countries. A scholarly, heavily researched, wide-ranging study of the unique difficulties and challenges faced by African society and government today, Better Governance And Public Policy is a welcome and timely addition to African Studies collections and International Studies reading lists.

The brief book is a real gem for those looking for ideas on how to best do church in a changing culture. I am the pastor of a young church in New York City and we studied this book as a team. The chapters are brief, tied directly to local churches who are doing it and full of in your face questions to get you thinking. The chapters on 'team teaching' and 'church the city' (vs. being one church in a city) were very challenging. My only complaint - the analysis was too brief.

If you are a pastor or on staff of a new church, my advice: Buy this book, read it with your staff, follow the web links and send Dave Travis a donation so he will keep doing this research for us!

This study Bible help me in every day live, this is very practical than other study Bible. I read it with new insight about God's will. The Big Picture section is best for whole book summary. This Bible truly renew all my spiritual life! The NLT is very easy get in the God's Word. That make this Study Bible is well.

Librarians who give reference assistance or who make classification, cataloging, and indexing decisions will find BIBLICAL COUNSEL: RESOURCES FOR RENEWAL to be a time saving reference work. It gives some bibliographic control over an area of subject classification not recognized by most classification systems. And some of the publications listed have not been reviewed in standard library journals. A must for all Christian libraries. Features include: 1) over 5700 works by 2550 authors cross referenced under 440 topic headings, 2) indexes of authors and titles, Scripture, and subjects, 3) works on specific counseling problems, 4) audio cassette tapes on Biblical counseling, 5) case studies in Biblical counseling, 6) and much more. Any home that includes this book among other companion books to the Bible is sure to be blessed. From the Preface, "Coincidental to meeting its primary objective, BIBLICAL COUNSEL: RESOURCES FOR RENEWAL gives the reader a broad overview of literature representing historic, orthodox Christianity. Viewed from this unique perspective there is an evident connection between absolute truth, life, moral behavior, freedom (religious, politica, economic, and individual), and social stability."

Ray Stedman captures the heart of God with the message of this book. It is a MUST read for every member of the Body of Christ hungry for deepth and meaning in the Church.It is a call to our roots; our foundation; our very reason for being the Body of Christ!!

Tom (aka N.T.) Wright wrote this one as a series of Lenten meditations for the parish of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1992. It was published in British and American editions, the British edition being a small-format paperback entitled New Tasks for a Renewed Church and published by Hodder & Stoughton.

Throughout the book the author emphasizes the differences between trinitarianism, dualism and monism. He points out two different kinds of dualism--the metaphysical and the moral--and urges us not to confuse them in any way. He says that there is a metaphysical dualism between spirit and matter, idealism and materialism; and there is a moral dualism between good and evil, right and wrong. His criticism is that Christians have commonly identified the two dualisms, understanding material existence as an evil that must be escaped. This, Wright contends, is the root of the Gnostic heresy, which is soundly refuted by the Incarnation, since Christ has sanctified human life and the physical existence by entering into it. This world and this life are thus not a necessary evil to be endured, but an opportunity to manifest the presence of God in all areas of our lives here. Somewhat in alignment with the Protestant tradition from which he comes, Wright spends much of the first part of the book urging his readers to integrate their faith with their everyday lives and the culture in which they live, which are to be sanctified by the presence of God brought to bear on them by faith.

At the same time, he argues, the answer is not to move over to a pantheistic, monistic understanding of Christian faith, as some liberal and 'green' churches are wont to do. He deals quite convincingly with neopaganism in the church, being careful to point out that this world has an independent existence from the God who created it. The physical universe was created and does not emanate from a pantheistic deity or Life Force. Christians do have an obligation to look after the creation, because the Creator deemed it 'very good', but creation is not God or an end in itself. Worship and ultimate reverence must be directed to the Creator and Redeemer God alone.

The second part of the book looks at the life and ministry of Jesus, its historical context and theological interpretation. It is a non-technical discussion that makes an enjoyable if challenging read for the layman, and much of it reminded me of Philip Yancey's bestselling The Jesus I Never Knew. Tom Wright tends to favour the term 'subversive' when referring to Jesus, and this certainly is a book that will subvert our Sunday School perceptions of Him. A challenging read, but it should be required for every new convert and every candidate for confirmation.

I am pleased to see this book back in print again, after an absence of perhaps five years. I hope that it remains in print for many generations to come.

The author accurately portrays the struggles and challenges that smaller congregations and their pastors face. His outline of five characteristics of churches with the illness of survival mentality is particularly accurate and helpful in understanding the mindset of church leaders in a congregation that has experienced decline. He doesn't end it there, however, he goes on to give the good news and point the way to renewal. His concept of the church leader as vision bearer has been helpful to me as I have recently begun my first pastorate in a struggling urban church. If you pastor a small church, or are involved with a church that is in need of renewal, read this book and share it with others. You will be glad that you did!

Bartsch makes Brownfields fun in this work that will most definately make him a national wonder. He explains the importance of rehabilitation of these rundown disasters. Within the next few years, Brownfields should be a household name. Bartsch was like the Jesus that opened my eyes with the mud titled "Brownfields".The book shows that there is a lot of potential in this world for disgusting areas to br turned into healthy, thriving land to be home of new commerce, industry, and residential areas. Brownfields are the beginning of the next industrial revolution!

The authors clearly present the factors that, on one hand, allow industrial and commercial property eyesores to exist, and on the other hand, those factors that can redevelop them into valuable modern real estate. The NST/Engineers, Inc. reviewers have participated in brownfields remediation designs and in the development of estimated costs for remediation, sometimes extending decades into the future. Brownfields are, according to an EPA definition, "...abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination that can add cost, time and uncertainty to a redevelopment project."

A few decades ago industrialists eyeing real estate for acquisition would be concerned about the use they could foresee, the asking price, zoning potential, the neighborhood, and a few other particulars. Rarely were they deeply concerned about what had gone on at the property in past years. Now, one of the first things a prospective buyer wants to know is "what might have gone on here in past years that has resulted in contamination of structures, the grounds, subsurface, or any water bodies." Property owners have similar concerns, but they have more information. So that both buyers and sellers wonder what magnitude of environmental remediation costs would be required for various redevelopment projects. The authors take the reader through the major considerations of both buyer and seller. They treat both the private and municipal redeveloper.

Their case studies, though largely drawn from their Chicago experiences, emphasize the careful planning and execution steps required in redevelopment anywhere. Based on data from less than 200 sites, the cost of brownfields redevelopment has been estimated to be just under $60,000 per acre. Cleanup of contamination, where it occurs, has been estimated at 8% of the total cost of redevelopment. The authors make an excellent point that much more cooperation is needed between interested parties to expand brownfields redevelopment. Venture groups are needed consisting of environmental scientists and engineers, capital providers, insurance specialists, real estate experts, and an experience project management team. Not to be forgotten is "due diligence". For a brownfields purchaser this means an in-depth analysis of the physical, economic, and legal conditions of any property in question. The authors describe how this analysis must have much more depth to it than the due diligence involved with purchase of an uncompromised industrial property. Federal, state, and local environmental officials, and governmental officials must appreciate the importance of rejuvenating unused brownfields as opposed to converting more fertile farms to industrial properties. And finally those officials must have the will to find ways to make a remediation happen. Individuals in all of the above occupations are well-advised to read this book.

As a model of an up-to-date state initiative to hasten brownfields remediation, the authors provide the details of the Illinois Pollution Control Board's Tiered Approach to Corrective Action Objectives ("TACO").

A great book for anyone interested in learning more about the manner in which uneven development had affected African Americans in cities. Housing, political economy and labor are discussed.