Renewal

Uptegrove has managed to put together an easy-to-read format and easy-to-understand text that makes us re-think our place in the world and our relationship with God. In spite of its simple and readily comprehensible text, it also boasts an olio of prophetic insights, visionary gifts, and a yet a sense of pedantic thinking. It's truly an outstanding piece of work by a man of the cloth and a scholar of the Bible who obviously mulled over his words a long time before putting pen to paper. He has divided these thoughts into three sections in the book: 1) Spiritual Awakening; 2) Spiritual Power; and 3) Spiritual Victory which gives readers an instant understanding of where Uptegrove is coming from in his philosophy to where he would like readers to go with him in the end. He offers valid and stunning comments without making readers feel that certain sets of beliefs are being forced upon them. His ideas on the "Pauline Precedent" are unique, and his position of accountability is something we should all take to heart during a period in society when no one wants to be responsible for any of their words or actions. The author has a gift for making a point and then backing it up with Scripture and enticing readers to check their own religious soures should they doubt his, and, thus, in such a way he is encouraging them to return to their Bibles if only but for a few minutes at a time. To add to his scholarly propensity, the author has laid out his thought-provoking words in a column-like format that allows for quick cross-referencing, along with an appendix and a finely documented bibilography--all under a striking cover. It's a book worth picking up and sitting down with in a quiet spot where you can allow Uptegrove's imagery to create premises and pictures for you, and perhaps bring a dawning to your world.

Nan DeVincent-Hayes, Ph.D Author, Student of Eschatology

This is one of the few books that keeps driving you to your Bible to see if it really says that... and yes, it does! Kenneth Uptegrove has a way of putting things that gives one fresh insight and fresh enthusiasm.
As one who is convinced we are living in the last days, I was fascinated by his insight. This is a well documented, well written look at the next great move of God - the great harvest!

Even though I live in Guam, a tiny Pacific Island far, far away, I consider this gracious brother in Arkansas to be my personal friend - by way of e-mail.

Kenneth Uptegrove provides-from the perspective of a Revivalist-some wonderful insights and, I believe, inspired ideas on what to expect as the next great move of God begins to dawn upon us. Ken presents these insights in an apologetics style that is poignant and catching, like a book of modern wisdom literature. It will occur to you as you read these revelatory insights that they are self-evident to be true. I believe that when you read this new book by my friend, it will evoke in you a quiet satisfaction, a sense within that says, "That's good! That needs to be said. I always believed that but could never quite put it into words."

~
First of all, Mairs is an extraordinary prose stylist. "Each life must hold one, I think: one pain that overarches and obscures all others, one haunting irreversible fault for which one can never atone." There is no other living prose writer who regularly makes me put the book down, take several deep breaths, and then gingerly pick it up again to go back and find out what hit me. This is, I suppose, what the word "breathtaking" originally meant.

Second of all, Mairs wriggles between categories with perverse delight: I'm not surprised that some reviewers here express bewilderment. She's never quite where you expect her to be. Catholic activists don't write explicitly about their own sex lives. Inspirational writers don't admit to screwing up on their child-rearing. Feminists don't point out that there was no possible way male authorities could have avoided stifling their voices while they (the feminists) were in a dysfunctional relationship with God. If you're looking for a book to pet you and sooth you and reassure you that everything you already think is exactly right, you've come to the wrong shop.

But third -- most surprising of all, given all this -- Mairs is humane, inclusive, tender, and loving. This book is about adultery. In Mair's hands, adultery becomes the paradigm for the human relationship with God: we have all been unfaithful, and we have all felt betrayed. Okay. Then what comes next? What do we do with these betrayals? How do we look at them steadily, and turn them into a deeper love and a more meaningful faith?

Painfully, that's how.

I love this book. I don't know if you will. Probably not, unless you're one of those people who has to touch paintings to feel the stipple, shut yourself in closets to see what the dark looks like, and touch ice cubes with your tongue.

Autobiographical reflections of a convert to Catholicism, about her committed struggles with marriage and with faith. ("A Catholic feminist? Dear God, couldn't I please be something else?") What I love about this and all of Nancy Mairs's books is her uncompromising honesty about the difficulties of living a human life, and the way she shows that joy and gratitude and humor can be found right in the midst of the big mess we're in. I'm on my third or fourth copy of this book because I keep giving it away. This and "Waist-High in the World" are my favorites by Mairs.

This is a very important and useful book for me. Nancy writes essays about her life from a spiritual perspective. She includes everything that is important in her life: conversion, prayer, sickness, family life, finances, the poor in spirit and health.

I was raised as a Catholic and spent 35 years away so I can relate to Nancy's comments about the difference between the church hierarchy and the people. They each have different needs and actions. I prefer the people and have learned to diminish my strong feelings of criticism of the church hierarchy so that it doesn't keep me from being one of the church people and taking care of my spiritual needs.

This is one of the most important books that I have read.

As a professional forester in Appalachia, I was enthralled by the historical perspectives presented in this book, and appalled by some of the statements the author made. The obvious and uninformed anti-logging approach to the national forests of Appalachia sounds really good, but come to the Daniel Boone and you will understand what devastation this has brought us. Uncontrollable wildfires, outbreaks of insects that threaten whole habitats and species, and economic hardships on an already depressed area. Management of our forests for multiple uses is essential. At the same time, the author interviews and praises the wife of a logger who brags about diameter limit cutting, which is just a fancy name for high-grading, which further degrades the forest.

If this topic interests you, read the first couple of chapters, and then move on. The rest of the book is the same old droll that the public is barraged with on a daily basis. This book sure had potential.

I thought this book had several very interesting chapters and a few chapters with a bit too much literary license. The transplanted writer was trying to get the inside perpective of Applachian life. Overall I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to readers interested in history and foresty.

This is easily the best book on the forests of the Appalachian Mountains I have ever read. It educates the reader in depth about the human and natural history and the ecology of this most fascinating and diverse of North American forests. At the same time, the book is so well researched and written that the reader is held riveted from the first sentence to the final word. I couldn't put it down.

The chapter about the American chestnut--the finest treatment of this subject I have seen--gives to the majority of us who took little notice of what we lost when the chestnut died out an understanding of the true scope of that tragedy. Then the reader is given hope that, through the work of a few dedicated botanists, the chestnut may again grace these beautiful mountains and valleys and coves with its presence and bless their inhabitants with its bounty.

Equally thorough treatments of other species of trees, of various forms of wildlife, of the forest as a whole, and of the people who have lived there occur throughout the book. Anyone even remotely interested in the natural treasures of our land must read The Appalachian Forest.

Liberal Islam? The editor pre-empts the skepticism in his very first sentence, noting that this "may sound like a contradiction in terms." But, he goes on knowledgeably to show, such a phenomenon does actually exist, even if it is, in his terms, a "neglected tradition" whose power peaked before 1920 and whose exponents have since then been disproportionately the victims of violence. The first selections in this anthology date from the 1920s but the great majority (20 out of 32) of selections date since 1980. Kurzman does an exemplary job of selection-the excerpts are both interesting and important-and of finding writings from across the Muslim world, not just the Middle East. Authors include both those who are the household names of Islamic thinkers (Fazlur Rahman, Mahmoud Mohamed Taha) and others who are deeply obscure (Rusmir Mahmutcehajic, Ali Bulaç).

By "liberal Islam," Kurzman means a strain of thought that takes Islam seriously and generally subscribes to the following six views: "opposition to theocracy, support for democracy, guarantees of the rights of women and non-Muslims in Islamic societies, defense of freedom of thought, and belief in the potential for human progress." (The sourcebook then presents readings under these six rubrics.) The categories are certainly sensible, but some of the writers Kurzman chooses to include do give pause: Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of the Tunisian Islamists and a man excluded from the United States for his role in fomenting violence against the government of his home country? 'Ali Shari'ati, the theorist of the Islamic revolution in Iran? Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Islamist who told an audience in Kansas City in 1989, "On the hour of judgment, Muslims will fight the Jews and kill them" and whose book, The Permitted and the Prohibited in Islam, was banned in France? The editor should have both brought a greater dose of skepticism to his readings and looked beyond the formal texts to see what else his authors were doing and saying.

Middle East Quarterly, June 1999

The title "Liberal" appeals to the Western audience who may be curious enough to buy this book. Though the multifarious writers in this collection are not often liberal in the occidental sense of the word, they are surely progressive. Many are heterodox, many are key in intellectual and social revolutions, and overall, this is a wonderfully diverse and important sampling of a variety of Muslim thinkers. This book shows well the diversity and upheavel occuring in the rethinking of Islam in these times.

If you believe Islam to be a backward, anti-progressive religion, this book will shatter your mistaken stereotype.

This is a fabulous book! It illustrates the views of millions of Muslims that are never covered in the media or even by academicians. The "Orientalist" view of Islam has been promoted with tiresome frequency in the media and in scholarship as though it represents all of Islam -- it doesn't. This book gives a modern interpretation of Islam (that has nothing to do with terrorism) in a series of a short essays by Muslims and non-Muslims. These are scholarly essays -- not just the unreasoned opinions of journalists who have been cashing in on 9/11 to spin out their own books as fast as they can -- but liberal interpretations of Islam based on original Islamic texts, by renowned academicians. The interpretations of Islam in this book, though prevalent throughout the Islamic world, are usually neglected in the spotlight, eclipsed by juicier portrayals of extremists as representative of all Islam. Thanks to Kurzman, these interpretations receive attention here, and show us that Islam is a modern, equitable religion -- one advocating religious tolerance, women's rights, and democracy --and practiced peacefully by millions.

I am a Biochemistry/Molecular Biology PhD who has made transition into one of the "alternative careers". Three years before I made the transition, I bought and read the book.

I found the book generally helpful. But at the time when I was struggling with my career decision, I found the book inadequate. The book tried to cover too many areas of professions. It includes not only life scientists, but also medical doctors, accountants, engineers, psychologists, and even English-major... These people, like me, all want to make career changes. This book is too general. It does not give me enough information for my particular case. In reality, there are "alternative career" opportunities which are open to an English major but closed to a Biochemist.

best for professionals and pre-professionals...parachute for scientists, doctors, engineers, and lawyers. really on target

I would rank this book along with other great resources like Vaultreports.com as the best places for people in the sciences looking for a satisfying career.

I don't feel right about having to give this only 3 stars, considering I would give ( and have given) the authors higher marks for their solo efforts. So why did I think this one was a middle-of-the-road-3-star quality? Well here's why:

1. Good conversations, but little practical application. Yes Ideas are good and need to be discussed, but I have already heard most of the emergent vs. traditional debate elsewhere

2. Lacks diversity. It is amazing that the pomo people and emergent fellows are so monolithic. 4 out of 5 people are male, the same 4 out of 5 are protestants. One of the males happens to not be white. If the emerging church people, and people like Len Sweet are really going to value diversity, it would be nice if an emergent church book really promoted diversity. I doubt that, as profound as she is, Fredricia Matthews-Green represents all women, or that Erwin Mcmannus--as cool as he is--represents all minorities. I have nothing against WASPS but when WASPS talk about diversity and listening to the different voices in their culture, I would actually like some example of it.

3. The view of culture, from the entire panel, was not nuanced enough. They all treated culture like a monolithic entity. I firmly believe that capital C culture is dead; we exist in different cultures (i.e. African American Culture, Evangelical Culture, Indy Culture). While each author seemed careful in their treatment of what postmodernity is, not wanting to over simplfy it, they over simplify culture.

4. With the Exception of Michael Horton, and Fredricia, the authors did not really represent the views that they were supposed to. While they did, but they didn't. Crouch Mclaren, and McMannus were more alike than different in their approach to church. Their language polarized them from one another, but when you listen to what they actually are saying and what they think of each other's approach, it really isn't that diverse.

5. Brian Mclaren(whom I love) talks way too much. The man had to put his two cents on everything, and recap everyone. It didn't seem like a even handed presentation of 5 views with Mclaren giving the last word in every chapter.

That being said, this book is insightful and it is intersting to see how these five people interact with one another and react to each minstry style.

I like the book marginally more than I dislike it. It is worth reading, if you want different view points and you don't want to read five books. But that my friend is just lazy. ;)

If you are already tired of repetitive discussions of the church in a postmodern era, here's a new and fresh approach: five Christian thinkers write chapters containing their own take on the subject, with the text interrupted regularly by comments and concerns of the other contributors. (Imagine a lecturer regularly interrupted by good questions by the listeners.) Contributors are Andy Crouch, Michael Horton, Frederica Mathewes-Green, Brian McLaren, and Erwin McManus. They all love the church and give us plenty to think about in this provocative and interesting volume.

Michael Duduit
Editor, Preaching Magazine
(www.preaching.com)

I was really impressed with this book. For some reason, I have not really heard it talked about or seen it advertised very much. I ordered it not knowing much about it and have been truly impressed.

The book is sort of a modern day reflection of the classic book Christ and Culture. The book looks at different ways of addressing the issues the emerging is facing:
1. preserving message, preserving methods
2. preserving message, evolving methods
3. evolving message, preserving methods
4. evolving message, evolving methods

Definatly check this one out. The author's don't always agree on what postmodernism is or how we should treat it.

...You have nothing to lose but your chains! Robert Goodman offers an fast reading and provacative critique of the architecture and urban planning professions. According to Goodman, the basic problem is the capitalist system, which the criticized professions serve while being bought off. To cover up from others and themselves their true role, they have developed an elaborate aesthetic language and dance in which buildings are for looking at, not using, because if we focused on the effects of professional designs, we would see how they are used to impose on the powerless. Fascinating for the number of current ideas in good currency that were already underway in the early 70s (privatization, outsourcing, performance contracting, and so on), hilarious in puncturing the pretensions of the architecture profession (such as what used to be Pan Am tower on top of Grand Central Station), this book is well worth reading, even if you aren't ready to toss capitalism into the dustbin of history.

I purchased "After the Planners" from a second-hand bookshop in Tasmania, Australia, and wasn't expecting much. To my surprise, Goodman's sustained criticism of planning, architecture, government and the construction industry, is not only still relevant, but perhaps more so today than it was in 1972. The book is made all the more entertaining by the inclusion of quotes and images from post-war advertisements, trade journals, and newspapers. These excerpts reflect such an unrepentant progressivism that it is at once embarrassing, depressing, and laughable. The description of the highway construction industry is a real highlight. This includes gems like the "Official Prayer of the American Road Builders' Association", "Asphalt's Magic Circle", and the following quote from the chairman of Yale's School of Architecture: "the freeways could be the real monuments of the future, the places set aside for special celebration by people able to experience space and light and motion and relationships to other people and things at a speed that so far only this century has allowed". The fundamental theme of "After the Planners" is the notion that planning and architecture are not ends in themselves, but instead exist to meet the needs of real people. Huge-scale urban construction projects, invariably serve to trivialise the importance of the individual in the urban landscape. I strongly encourage those interested in the history of urban environmental form to track this book down.

Dr. Ayers has put together a wonderful work relating the Christian experience to a courtship and marriage. His writing and ideas are in harmony with Scripture and every principle found in this book, traces its origin back to the Bible. In this presentation, the author has reduced the spiritual passion that all believers were created to enjoy into simple illustrations. Readers of all ages and levels of spiritual maturity will understand and comprehend what is being offered and the result will be lives expressing the passionate power afforded by an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, the groom.

The author takes us through the pathway of becoming passionate with Jesus, personally and as a corporate church body. The book is divided into eight chapters with titles such as 'Flirting', 'Marriage', and 'Pleasure'. He uses the Christian symbol of the Church as the bride of Jesus and provides many personal and professional experiences to illustrate the meaning of living a passionate Christian life. It is primarily written as a resource for the clergy but as a layman I found it to be a wonderful guide to building a relationship with Jesus. The author effectively speaks to the reader in a way that shows his humanity. He seems to say, "I'm just like you" instead of "Here's why I'm better." This is a timely book for the church in the 21st century.

The worksheets are helpful in applying what Malphurs has just covered. The book is loaded with practical hints and tips. The biggest drawback is that Malphurs relies too heavily on statistics that are questionable and cites some that contradict each other. By that I mean that he cites a statistic about 'Protestant' churches which includes Mormons and Jehovah's Witness. Instead I would recommend Stuart Murray's "Church Planting: Laying Foundations".

This is a good book for those who have no real idea about how to plant a church. It gives quite a few "to do" and "how to" lists, which is fine. Overall, however, I feel the author leaves the move of God out of the picture. You can dot all the "i's" and cross all the "t's", but if God's not in it, success isn't going to happen.

Malphours lays out the key steps in planting a new church and guides the reader through each step with proven advice. Examples are given of different styles of church plants and questions for a planter to think through end each chapter.

Tony Campolo had a name that carried a lot of good will with me. I came to this book having long heard of Campolo. I had heard his sound bite wisdom flashed across my television over the years. I was excited to pick up this book and read it. It promised to be something interesting - and very likely useful to my ministry.

Sadly, the book was more than a disappointment. Campolo used this book as a printed infomercial for his own ministry. Over and over again he crows about his successes and shamelessly promotes his ministry as exemplary - while doing nothing to take seriously HOW one translates a model of ministry from one place and situation to another. He says so many things that, on the surface, sound appealing. Like a politician, he is skilled at ladling out catch phrases that are like candy to the ear. But...which fall apart when you really look at them.

Some of his most offensive suggestions include the inference that the poor should essentially be satisfied and thankful with what they get economically. Having a future that dead-ends at McDonalds is the hand God dealt, so stop bellyaching. He heaps blame on people who suffer, and readily gets their oppressors off the hook by saying it's a good thing to be rich and enjoy it (with no responsibility attached??).

As a scholar of Wesleyanism and Methodism, i take particular offence at his intentional misquoting of John Wesley. He notes that Wesley said that one should 'earn all you can and save all you can' (note that Wesley meant be frugal with what you have when he said 'save' - not store up, as we think of its meaning) - while omitting that the purpose of this was to GIVE all you can! Here, Campolo is caught in a gross misrepresentation of Wesley, essentially editing his words to make him say what Campolo wishes he had said! Shame!!

I also was shocked by the suggestion that entrepreneurial Christians should look into the possibility of getting on the privatization bandwagon and contract with the government to run Christian prisons!

The whole book is a gross accommodation to much that is the WORST about our society. It may read sweetly for those who see ministry to the poor of the inner city as a ministry of condescension. But, i see nothing of Mr. Campolo's upper middle class values in the genuine ministry of compassion of Jesus Christ.

Sadly, this book made me lose respect for Mr. Campolo. I wish i could say otherwise.

For those who really want to do something, or need to be encouraged to do something to help the Kingdom of God be manifest in the city, this book is for you. It is practical, and most importantly, hopeful. Campolo uses his own ministry and experiences, as well as other unrelated ministries (for example, Minneapolis; Ripon, New York; Costa Mesa, CA; and the Dominican Republic) as prototypes for what can be done in inner cities. He is honest in not promising that every ministry he mentions can be replicated; but since Campolo gives so many specific, practical suggestions on how to carry out the ideas and programs presented, people will hopefully catch a vision and be encouraged to give some of them a try.

Campolo's love and care for those in the inner city is contagious. He believes that one of God's main concerns is for the poor and oppressed, as evidenced in Jesus' first public words in Luke 4:18-19. Campolo challenges all of us to champion the needs of those who lack the basic necessities of life. He challenges the churches who have much, to partner with those who have little. And he challenges all of us to love Jesus through loving others, especially the poor and oppressed. But his ideas are not only about others helping the poor. He also believes in empowering people to help themselves (for example, see Ch. 7 on neighborhood meetings). If you want to do something to help God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, read this helpful and hopeful book.

As someone who has heard Tony Campolo speak many times, and as someone who doesn't enjoy reading, this book opened my eyes. It only took me 2 days to read this book. I couldn't put it down. Tony Campolo obviously cares for the inner city missions of Camden and Philadelphia. This book is a great example of how Christians need to respond to the poor and the inner city people. This book will touch your heart with the stories by Bruce Main of his experiences in Camden adn so forth. This is a must have book for any person entering the mission field. Eastern College is very lucky to have a man like Tony Campolo to teach there. As a student at Eastern, I am blessed to have heard this man encourage the students and faculty to reach out to the people of Camden and Philadelphia. This book makes you look in depth at your life and walk with Jesus Christ.