Renewal

Moe and Wilkie describe what has gone wrong with the planning of urban and suburban America, and discuss their solution: a combination of historic preservation, community activism, and more intelligent zoning regulations. Their book is very much in the spirit of New Urbanism - that cities should be looking backward to traditional planning approaches that served us so well before World War II. Memphis gets the most attention in this book, as both a positive and negative example; the authors also focus on New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Denver, St. Paul, Portland (Ore.), and several small towns that revitalized their main streets. Moe and Wilkie write with a journalistic balance that I found refreshing, in contrast to the rabid ranting of certain other books. Even when describing Disney's failed effort to build a theme park in northern Virginia, the authors resist the trap of making Disney sound like the heart of evil, and allow the reader to understand the situation from Disney's perspective. The only drawback is that even though the book is about historic preservation and urban planning, there are only 20 illustrations.

The authors offer a very articulate, well-documented argument that presses for a more preservation-oriented urban planning that respects the nation's architectural treasures. Of course, we have all heard this argument so many times before--- one that often falls on deaf ears because federal policy, urban political priorities, and powerful development interests work against it. With this hard reality in mind, the major contribution of this work is that the authors suggest that preservation is not only about saving historic architecture and historic places, it is also about restoring and rebuilding our nation's shattered urban communities. As they state it so well, "(p)reservation is the business of saving special places and the quality of life they support. It has to do with more than bricks, balustrades, columns, and cobblestones. It has to do with the way individuals, families, and communities come together in good environments" (p. 240).

Beyond the planni! ! ng rhetoric, the authors provide a number of detailed case studies of New Orleans, Memphis, Pittsburg, and snapshots of other towns both big and small that illustrate well exactly how this connection between historic preservation and community can be made. With all of the current attention on "community" as the critical factor in restoring a hospitable environment in urban America, this book necessarily becomes very relevant and useful.

This book is so well written and interesting! I do not hesitate to recommended it to all audiences.

Another book on urban sprawl can understandably be met with diminished expectations. But don't allow your expectations to languish when you pick up Changing Places. Get ready for the passion of two preservationists. And no one is exempt from their stern gaze; not the press, not the politicians, not the professional planners, not the building industry, and not even you and me. Richard Moe has been the president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation since 1992. His attention to detail conspires with his affinity for root causes in the aptly titled Changing Places. Carter Wilkie was a White House speech writer. Moe and Wilkie observe we have abandoned the art of place making. As we are products of our created settings, the disintegration of historic communities leaves us with a loss of identity as a people. We become historically illiterate. This book isn't for everyone. If you have never walked into a traditional urban setting and asked yourself: "How in the world did they ever let this happen?" then you'll find this book unsatisfying. If you've never wondered how to restore the historic, civic, cultural and economic center of a community, then you'll be mystified by the authors' flair for detail in successful plans for reclamation. If you've never sensed the hopelessness in the eyes of our children in urban settings, then you'll have little use for the authors' thoughtful choice of words in defining our loss. If, on the other hand, you perceive the loss and think there is still something worth preserving, something to salvage, then this is a must-read. John F. Rohe (rohe@freeway.net), the reviewer, is an attorney in Petoskey, Michigan and is the author of A Bicentennial Malthusian Essay (ISBN 1-890394-00-9).

In Radical Renewal Howard Snyder endeavors to examine the church from a biblical viewpoint within the context of modern culture. Based on Luke 5:37-39, Snyder sees the wine as the message of the gospel, which is essential and primary. He sees the wine skins as the way in which the church touches the culture with the gospel, which is secondary though necessary and useful. The problem comes when we take the ever-new gospel and try to contain it within the old wineskins of "outmoded traditions, obsolete philosophies, creaking institutions, and old habits." When we do, the powerful and life-changing gospel is constricted and must burst free. Snyder believes it is time for the church to update her wineskins. To remedy the problem, Dr. Snyder recommends a cataclysm that explodes the current church structures and creates new wineskins.

Some of the concepts investigated by "Radical Renewal" include the significance of ministry to the poor, the de-emphasizing of church buildings, the dynamic of Christian community, a Biblical church model, and small groups as the church's basic unit. His chapter devoted to "The Gospel to the Poor" was my favorite and was the most compelling portion of the book. Some of his concepts are presented in a radical and even an absurd way and then they are brought back to a practical and applicable balance. Other "radical" concepts (such as the acknowledging and releasing of spiritual gifts) have become accepted practice in many churches since the original release of the work. The year of its release, "Radical Renewal" would have been ahead of its time. It still contains insights and concepts that are of significant value to today's church.

Snyder distinguishes between the "wine" of the gospel and the "wineskins" (church structures devised by humans for a particular time and place), as well as between the church, the people of God, and the organizations and structures it uses. He suggests that the institutional church has let structures become hindrances rather than aids to the Gospel, and that Christians need to gather in both small and large groups. This will result, he says, in more personal, less institutional interaction, as well as a more Spirit-led, first century-quality dynamic corporate life. He tackles the do-everything role of the pastor, the wastefulness and rigidity of the church building, the importance of preaching the gospel to the poor, and the role of spiritual gifts in creating an organic, Body-of-Christ type of church. This book is a revision of Snyder's 1975 "The Problem of Wineskins," from which a bit of technophobic, doomsday, 70's dystopian paranoia is preserved in the last chapter. Even so, this book does a great job of outlining the way the church should biblically seek to function. I highly recommend it if you are suspicious of non-traditional means of church organization and operation, or, on the other hand, if you are looking for something outside the imposing brick walls of traditional church structure.

I read the first edition of this book when it came out in 1975. I got it by accident--the card I returned to my book club evidently went astray in the mail. When I got this book, not having ordered it, I was intrigued enough that I opened it, being careful not to crack the spine as I intended to return it. I ended up reading the whole book that way. Then I couldn't bring myself to return it. I was hooked.

I think this book more than any other (except the Bible) has shaped my understanding of the church--and as a church consultant and a writer/editor specializing in church renewal I have read hundreds of books on the church.

It was this book (chapter 3) that first told me that my deep inner longing to minister among the poor was not just some sort of personal idiosyncrasy (or highly individualized call), but an expression of an essential dimension of the biblical gospel.

It was this book that showed me for the first time that biblically the primary structure of the church is not to be the large group (congregation) but the small group (house church or cell). It was this book that gave me the vision for church as community more than institution, a vision that has guided my life and ministry for 24 years now.

It was this book that began my questioning of the traditional clergy and began to point me to a more biblical model of congregational leadership.

If you would rather continue to do church the way you've always done it rather than rediscovering the New Testament principles for doing church, don't read this book; it will scare you. But if you are among those who are looking to find new life for the church today, this is a great starting point--or source of continuing encouragement--for your search.

I am impressed with the intellectual Bible study in this book on a topic that normally leans toward emotionalism. I recommend this book highly to all who are searching for more in their Christian faith, but have previously been "afraid" of the Holy Spirit. I am an evangelical who never checks my brain at the door -- and this book answered questions I've always had, but have been afraid to ask.

This is by far the best book I have ever read regarding how the power of the Holy Spirit is made available to believers. It provides sound, balanced teaching that those from an evangelical background can appreciate. The authors do an excellent job cutting through all the "baggage" that teachings about the Holy Spirit have accumulated over the years as a result of bad theology. Their approach to the "baptism with the Holy Spirit" is quite refreshing.

Brad Long provides a fresh understanding to an "in-house" debate. This is a must read for Reformed people who are searching for the reality of the Spirit's work in the Christian and the world.

Excellent, helpful, and well-written. Of special interest to those interested in Buddhism. Definitely not in the same vein as the usual pain management fare. I keep waiting for the author's next book.

One of my all time favorite psychology books is the author's "Women and Desire." This more recent book has a more pratical, how to help yourself live better, focus. I find her message insightful and helpful in the face of stress and challenges. Her underlying message is spriritual, in both the Jungian and the Buddhist sense, yet the applied psychology here also reminds me of the concept of 'social interest' advanced by the great, and greatly neglected, psychologist Alfred Adler. You don't need to be religious to appreciate and benefit from Young-Eisendrath, and the same is true, perhaps more so, for Adler's books on social interest and human life.

Simply, this book changed my life. More importantly, its message of service to others changed my life. Doing for others is what heals.

This is a good book, but, if you've read other books by Ravenhill such as "Why Revival Tarries" and "Sodom had no Bible", then you really won't get much else out of this book. One thing that is pretty cool about this book though, is that it is probably about 1/4 poetry. At the beginning of each chapter, Ravenhill includes various psalms/hymns that he has written, and some of them are rather good.

This book is powerful. The poems in the book, written by Leanord Ravenhill himself, are incredible, and worth buying the book if only for that reason. I think this was his last book before going home to be with the Lord.

I consider Leonard Ravenhill to be my spiritual grandfather. He discipled most of the men who discipled me. To say that Bro. Len was outspoken on the subjects of prayer and revival would be a gross understatement. Much more than writing on the subject, he was a man of much prayer. Pick up this book today, or any book he's written for that matter, and get ready to be challenged and convicted!

This book points out the necessary steps to building community -- or rebuilding one. Covers the essential processes to take, which entail building relationships of trust and laying groundwork for these relationships. Excellent books which relates to successful relationships in any endeavor in life.

Also relates back most processes to the community, so members themselves are doing, not being done for. Quick read.

A GREAT BOOK! HOW CHURCHES AND COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIP CAN BRING ABOUT CHANGE! BY PROMOTEING LIBERATION AND SERVANT THEOLOGIES OF CHRIST! THROUGH FAITH AND WORK REV RON NORED. HAS DEVELOPED A CHURCH-BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO BRING ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT INTO THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY! PEACE AND BLESSINGS! ANOTHER GREAT BOOK! TO READ. FROM HOLY POWER TO HOLY PROFITS BY DR. WALTER MALONE, JR.

This book tells the story of a small church and a forgotten community's journey from hopelessness to triumph, from defeat to victory; it tells of their journey from the Bottom to the Top. The author was the pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Birmingham, Alabama during the time this community revitilization project took place.

This book can be used to explain the strategic planning process to novices, why community involvement is necessary, and why churches must network with other organizations in the public and private sector in order to change communities. The table of content outlines the journey and the appendices provide copies of the documents that the community action group used to transform a six block blighted area into six blocks of brand new homes.

The action group did not stop after the housing redevelopment phase was completed, but used this same technique to address economic development and youth leadership issues. After they were able to REWEAVE THE FABRIC of relationships and bridge the huge gap between the church and the community, a neighborhood once named Sandy Bottom changed its name to Sandy Vista. This book provides the techniques for effecting change in our neighborhoods.

Book Review presented 12/11/99 at the Promotion and Missionary Education Dialogue, Women's Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal Church

Two recurring themes of achievers are mentioned in the first few pages of this book, the importance of toughminded optimism and the power of persistence. It is in that spirit that Gardner develops his topic. With the inevitability of change, openness to new experience is vital to self-renewal he claims. Being active in intentional change leads to growth rather than change by default he explains. Knowing how to creatively interact with changes in the environment is a learned ability that can lead to the development of new potentialities Gardner writes.
This interactive process is experienced at the individual level also. Gardner describes healthy self-renewing people as those who both give and accept love. They depend on other people and are capable of having other people depend on them.
Passion is part of the self-renewed life. He says people of that bent know they must have conviction about what they are doing and if they don't, they need to find something they can have conviction about.
The principles he describes at the individual level have implications collectively as well. He goes on to state that "it is important that a society create an atmostphere that encourages effort, striving and vigorous performance" (p. 20). It is within social systems that individuals make their contributions. A lot of wise insight is provided in this book. He leaves the readers better off than when they picked up the book to read.

What a terrific book! What amazes me most is that this book was written over thirty years ago and still has so much to say to people today. A basic breakdown of the book is this: organizations and individuals must use innovation as a way of preserving and renewing their institutions. If one chooses status quo as a preservation method, one will do the exact opposite one intended: the institution will rot, not thrive. This book is great material for any leader who wants to understand the dynamics of change and the type of obstacles one will have to overcome if one wants to lead innovation.

A deeply perceptive (short) paperback on the self-renewal of individuals and societies; why some decay and others remain innovative and creative. Now in his 90th year, Mr. Gardner continues to teach at Stanford. In clear, concise terms the author sets down the factors that produce deterioration in people and societies. He maintains they are caused mostly by failure to deal with change. The factors? He names five.

SELF-DEVELOPMENT. Not just skills, but the whole range of our own potentialities for sensing, wondering, learning, understanding and aspiring. Gardner points out that this does not happen until one gets over the odd notion that education is what goes on in school buildings and nowhere else.

SELF-KNOWLEDGE. By midlife we are accomplished fugitives from ourselves. Our lives are filled with diversions; our heads stuffed with knowledge; we are involved with people. Result: we've never taken time to probe our inner selves. We don't want to know ourselves. We don't want to depend upon ourselves. We can't stand to live with ourselves. A better way is to develop a more comfortable view of who you are. It is the true basis of inner strength.

COURAGE TO FAIL. By the time we reach middle age, we carry in our heads a long list of things we'll never try again because we tried once and failed. Mature people learn less because they are willing to risk less. There's no learning without difficulty and fumbling, but if you want to keep on learning, you must keep risking failure.

LOVE. Develop the ability to have mutually fruitful relations with others. Be capable of accepting love and giving it; of depending upon others and of being depended upon. Develop the ability to see life through another's eyes and reach out to others.

MOTIVATION. A self-renewing person is highly motivated. The author points out that motivation isn't a fuel that gets injected into your system (motivation speakers won't do it); it's partly inner energy and partly the result of the social forces in your life. Gardner makes the point that we live in an over-verbalized civilization. Words have become more real than the things they signify and we need to return to the solid earth of direct experience because we are drowning in meaningless word tonnage.

"For those who have accepted the reality of change, the need for endless learning and trying is a way of living, a way of thinking, a way of being awake and ready. "Life isn't a train ride where you choose your destination, pay your fare and settle back for a nap. "It's a cycle ride over uncertain terrain, with you in the driver's seat, constantly correcting your balance and determining the direction of progress. "It's dfficult, sometimes profoundly painful."

For those who are able to achieve self-renewal, Gardner believes they will also develop a more realistic survival view of the world: "Sensible people will understand that there will never be a time when we are not in imminent danger. Cruelty, violence, brutality will be held in leash only by unresting effort--if held in leash at all. "Sloth, indulgence, smugness, torpor begotten of ease and flabbiness begotten of security will always lurk in wait." No society will ever solve the issue of the individual versus the organization. "No society will ever discover how to become civilized without running the risk of becoming overcivilized."

This is a profoundly thoughtful, penetrating piece on what makes you tick. Well worth your time.

I hesitated buying this because I'm skeptical of "end time" books. Boy am I glad I changed my mind. Kelly describes a series of dreams he had and gives an interpretation. Timely yet timeless. I read it in a day yet will be thinking about it for the rest of my life. I hope more people read this and that God ignites more people to think with a generational perspective.

Heat after heat, the enemy is looking out for a crack on the wall. But what emerges will be the finest texture in the House of the Lord call warriors. This is a book of hope !

"End time warrior" presents to readers like a revelation kiosk, highlighting common objectives, direction, integrity and perseverance which the church must seriously take heed. Overall, the message contains gripping revelation with exclamation truth.

Living in a time of distress where the shadow of great uncertainty is casting on planet earth, there must arise an answer powerful enough to bring hope and life. The apostolic army, John Kelly saw in his vision, is unquestionably the visible topsoil prepared to fit that dire need. Coming to the fore shall be these people with flaming answers. Where they are placed, light will abound and darkness will diminishes into a blip.

From the account of Kelly's vision, there will come some of the most engaging periods the church would need to go through. The church has don some many titles in the past. Each title leaves a trail of revelation of the Lord. We have the Body, House of the Lord, Bride, and now Warrior.

After reading this book, some of us will probably be musing over the portal of opportunities awaiting for us. In his book, the author beckons us to prepare for encouraging results. Great harvest will unfold before our eyes. Resources will be returning. New grounds will be won. Old grounds will be claimed. What is even more glaring will be the fact that the prophesied church will be at the height of her maturity and beauty. Yes! It will take maturity to wrestle against the unseen forces. Anything less or compromising will cause us to fall under the duplicity of today's increasing false signs and wonders.

It will take unity to change today's spiritual climate. The greatest unity will spin out from the spread of diversity. Denominations lines are thinning, as the Spirit is drawing all of us for a common purpose. Even the very marginal differences among us will be offset by the love of the Spirit upon all of us.

This book also emphasizes the importance of spiritual fathers. Every warrior sent into the spiritual battlefield has a signature of his spiritual father on his heart. The quality of a warrior is formed on the anvils of a fatherhood ministry. In tandem with this emphases, the author also promotes the power of mentoring. Substantial quality in a spiritual life is developed out from a mentoring relationship, which should be today's primary focus in any ministry.

I believe Kelly's ministry is a personal offering to see the growth of God's Church. God has set him apart to be a pacesetter. In his anointing, he knows the speed of the Spirit and determines to train others to catch up. Read this book, it unfurls the motive of his heart.

End Time Warriors is a clear trumpet call to the contemporary church. Using prophetic imagery, biblical insight and many real life examples, Kelly & Costa pull the blinders off of the modern masquerade of ministry. They propose that much anointing is currently wasted and point us to some hopeful solutions. Although the message is essentially hard hitting there is also a refreshing sense of hope that shines through. Like a cool drink of water, this book is just the medicine that Dr. Jesus ordered.

As another reviewer wrote, this book is a meal of several courses that don't always blend: in other words, a mixed bag -- but on balance, one worth reading.

Lerner's ideas about religion are often interesting. For example, Lerner tries to make sense of Abraham's almost-sacrifice of Isaac by suggesting that when Abraham heard the voice of God telling him to sacrifice Isaac, he was merely experiencing a delusion -- but when he stopped, THAT was the voice of God. Lerner's discussion of Jewish holidays is eloquent.

When it comes to politics and history (even religious history) Lerner is on shakier ground, and wrote some things that gave me pause. To name a few:

1. Lerner's criticism of Rabbinic Judaism on issues like homosexuality doesn't fully grapple with the views of his intellectual adversaries. Lerner reasons: The rabbinic authorities changed the plain meaning of the written Torah all the time, therefore we can do the same today when we deem it ethically appropriate.

What Lerner should be aware of is that some Orthodox Jews think that the rabbinic authorities themselves spoke with divine authority, because they were repeating an oral tradition ("the Oral Torah") which itself (due to a divine miracle) was passed down unchanged from Mt. Sinai. It follows that if you believe the Oral Torah doctrine, the Jewish position on homosexuality and a whole lot of other things must be written in stone--- or in other words, if its in the Mishnah and the Talmud (the leading documents of pre-medieval rabbinic Judaism), God said it.

I don't expect Lerner to endorse the Oral Torah doctrine--but he should explain to his readers why he rejects it, rather than just pretending it doesn't exist.

2. His discussion of the Holocaust is tainted by his deemphasis on history. He talks a lot about how capitalism and the lack of meaning in Germans' lives created Hitler--but somehow he overlooks the two most immediate causes, the Depression and the Versailles Treaty. Talking about the rise of Hitler without talking about the Depression and Versailles is like talking about the American Revolution without mentioning George III and the Stamp Act.

3. Perhaps because he thought he was writing to an audience of the leftwardmost 1% of American Jews, Lerner has not come to grips with the collapse of Communism and Socialism. He admits that Communism did not quite work out early in the book, but then he repeatedly refers to Marxism as somehow a liberation movement (I wonder how high the death toll has to rise for Lerner to reconsider). But worst of all, he refers to Mao, the biggest butcher of them all, "liberating" areas from "feudalism." The idea of Mao liberating anything is just plain morally obscene. One might as well refer to Hitler liberating the Germans (say, from the Treaty of Versailles, which was about as popular with ordinary Germans as feudalism).

This nutsiness arises out of his hostility to capitalism. Without much discussion, he routinely equates capitalism with oppression, and he seems to think some form of global socialism is necessary to avoid ecological catastrophe. He doesn't really argue these points intelligently; my sense is he just kind of assumes them.

To sum up: Lerner's book was certainly worth reading, but it would have been much better had he run it by people whose views were not too close to his--maybe one who is religiously far to his right and another who is politically far to his right.

This book had a positive impact on me, and helped to reignite my interest in Judaism. In fact, reading it made me realize how much I was never taught, and probably should have been taught, about Judaism growing up. Some of the book's ideas are no doubt controversial, which is its strength. For instance, it lays the groundwork for a Judaism which in some ways is more applicable to the world we live in than has been traditionally taught. But at the same time it retains an idealism that the religion can be used as a powerful tool to transform our world. It's enjoyable to read. The only drawback is it tends to be a little repetitive at times.

As an extremely devout, orthodox Jew, I am in wholehearted agreement with Dr. Lerner that Judaism is in need of renewal. The same is true for every religion! Over time, every religion becomes stale, and is in need of regeneration. After all, Judaism is a product of an agrarian/pastoral society, a society that could never have conceived of a world such as the one we live in today. They wrote the scriptures with no idea that we would live in a world where women were anything but child-bearing beasts of burden. So before getting your hackles up, read this book!

Unlike many (unfortunately) short-sighted religious Jews, who have apparently learned nothing from the Holocaust, Lerner openly supports the gay/lesbian civil rights movement and welcomes gays and lesbians into full participation within the Jewish community. Together with his other book "The Politics of Meaning", in "Jewish Renewal" Lerner is staking out important territory. Any thoughtful Jew or person, for that matter, needs to read this book.

Dr. Cho and his collaborator R. Whitney Manzano have written a very concise and readable book on prayer.

I especially appreciate the references to prayer as a dialogue and not a monologue. The chapters on meditation and listening to God's voice are models of clarity and will be helpful to anyone who wishes to do a better job of communicating with God.

Dr. Cho gives us a clear and useful explanation of prayer in PRAYER:KEY TO REVIVAL. He divides his subject into five sections beginning with a discussion of various reasons to pray such as prayer produces power, prayer brings health and prayer opens the door for the Holy Spirit. In Part II Dr. Cho describes the three types of prayer which are petition, devotion and intercession. In the next section he explains the forms of prayer including fasting and prayer and waiting on the Lord. Then Dr. Cho discusses praying in the Holy Spirit and other methods of prayer. The final section is devoted to the subject of powerful prayer based on the blood covenant of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Cho founded the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul in 1958. It has become the largest congregation in the world with more than 700,000 members. The church was built on prayer and has continued to thrive as a shining example of the power of prayer.

The Yoido Full Gospel Church is probably most famous for its Prayer Mountain which provides a secluded place of prayer for those desiring to be alone with God.

It is not the methods or forms of praying described in this book that I admire so much. It is rather the great importance which Pastor Cho puts on the value of praying and the amount of concentrated praying he and his church members do daily.

I recommend this book highly to anyone who wants to learn about prayer and at the same time receive added inspiration to do more praying.