Renewal

I found this book to be quite enjoyable, if not a bit too short. The author has researched his topic quite extensively. I found myself agreeing more often than not. The author describes how other great civilizations have become fantastic failures all for the same reason ... decaying morals, dying principals. The author links those same empires with our own and points to a similar conclusion, unless the political and social structure changes to stem the tide.

Greider's book is about the issues that all Americans need to understand. I enjoyed the easy reading style and learned much about the founding of America and appreciated the challenges to families and leaders at all levels. Great nations that loose their identity are indeed at risk.

I found this book to be very illuminating to me. It helped me understand the shortcomings of the modern church, as men are elevated instead of Christ. The church is the Bride of Christ, we are to please Him, if we are trying to impress anyone other than the Bridegroom, we are missing the point.

I can't say it as well as the book... give it a read, God will challenge you!

Donald Rumble has done the Body of Christ a great service with the publishing of Apostolic and Prophetic foundations. Throughout this book, he points back to the one and only head and foundation of the Church, Christ Jesus. It is time that the institutional church wake up and see that Christ is being invited and predominately shut out of our gatherings. If your heart yearns to see Christ exalted in the midst of his Church (believe it or not, His body), then you don't want to pass up reading this book. This book also gives a wonderful look into the Apostolic ministry, and pulls all its punches from scripture. Most of the Apostolic books that are available today don't have a strong biblical foundation, and tend towards exalting man and setting him in the place of head over the church. Read Donald Rumbles book, and compare it to the Word, and I believe you will be drawn towards the true restoration that God is bringing today.

In these elegantly-written essays, the author's insights, based on his pastoral, personal, and educational ministries, are deeply felt and beautifully expressed. He explores the necessity of a Christ-centered community in these times of ease and anxiety. All who seek to live as part of a vibrant church will find his thoughts evocative and provocative.

As Warford writes: 'In our society, we tend to discredit the possibility of one truth being more important or more significant than another. We lean toward flattening all things, making everything equal, and in the end, we sometimes do not commit to anything that has real importance for us.'

The author offers guidance and encouragement to nurture individual churches as places of worship, service, and faith, and his inspiration should find its way into sermons, Sunday School lessons, and private meditations.

Malcolm Warford is a wonderful writer, who uses his many skills to delve deeply into the heart of the modern mainline churches, and to make constructive suggestions that are designed to help support changes in religious thought and practice in the 21st century. Warford's book of essays will be essential reading for anyone interested in the state of the contemporary church.

This book opened my eyes. Put understanding to the Why's in my life. As I read this book I felt like the Author was talking about me, my life. It spoke to those places in my life where I have always had questions like "why me God" or "Why not me God". This book brought places that were racing inside of me to a stop and awakened other places that were asleep. Loren Sandford's book is a MUST for every Christian who believes they have a "Calling" on their lives, big or small. It blessed me beyond measure. If you read no other book this year, do not let this one pass you by.

"Burnout" describes what I have been going through: isolation from people and, most importantly, God - just not able to hear His voice or feel His power. Loren Sandford explains that all this is from God - that He is doing something deeper than I ever realized! He is taking me through a dessert to cleans and strengthen me. And the way Loren describes the events in his own life makes me feel that if he did it, I can stick it out until God takes me through and out the other end. A very important book for my life.

Werner Jeanrond's book, 'Call and Response: The Challenge of Christian Life' is a little known work by a little known theologian. Often as is the case, it is this obscure work that has made a profound impact on my personal theological development.

Back when I was discerning my call (or rather, trying to discern if I had a call) to ministry, there were many obstacles thrown up (some circumstantial, some deliberate) which caused me to reflect on the nature of what a call is. For starters, I tend to stay away from 'call' language, as I believe everyone is called to something, and a call to ministry is not necessarily more important (and indeed, can often be less important) than a call to be a teacher or doctor or engineer, or the call to be a good parent or good neighbour, etc. Jeanrond helped me to put into words some of my doubts and frustrations with current practice in churches, and current language of vocation.

He begins by identifying that Christianity (as indeed many religions) is in crisis. It is harder, he says, to reconcile the experiences of ancient forms of religious organisation or ancient ritualistic practices with the ordinary life as mature adults in today's society. However, this is not to say that society is anti-religious.

'It would be wrong to diagnose a foundational hostility to religion in today's intellectual climate. What is, however, true is that the intellectual climate in the West harbours a fundamental suspicion of any form of dogmatism and institutionalism.'

He gave me insight into the nature of ministry:

'All too often priests and even theologians are considered to be a sort of professional Christian, paid to be Christian so as to assure that the non-paid Christians be saved.'

In calling for a more cooperative form of organisation and ministerial outlook, one that embraces the call of all to be workers for justice and compassion, Jeanrond voices some of the same concerns as Bill Countryman in his book on the priesthood of all believers (see my review on that, too, posted 4/1/00).

We are called by God to join in the work of creation and sustenance of justice and mercy.

'The belief in God's concern for this world tends to promote more of an appreciation of a communal effort, both to protect this world from extinction and to make it better in response to God's call according to which all of us ought to become co-creators of his project.'

Jeanrond calls for a radical shift in the way that communities view themselves, and to lessen the divisive characters, to spread the idea of authority out across ever-widening circles which hold each other in check and cooperation. So long as one group (i.e., the clergy) have authority over another (i.e., the laity) there will be a skewing of the radical equality we all share before God.

Jeanrond echoes many theologians past and present when calling for continuing interpretation of the Gospel message.

'The gospel must be interpreted anew in every generation and context. Such interpretation will always be pluralistic by nature of the different perspectives and contexts of the interpreters.'

Jeanrond, while calling for more cooperation and community (communion), warns against simplistic ideas of ecumenism, particularly the kind of ecumenism that happens in committee rooms and conferences but fails to involve the actual people of the churches for whom these leadership groups claim to act. Without the consent of the people, the efforts will fail, probably damaging the mothering institutions in the process.

Werner Jeanrond, having taught at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Lund, is a bit outside common theological circles, which is unfortunate, as his writing is crisp and clear. He does not introduce obscure or 'patented' terminology, but rather embraces common language as the vehicle for remarkably simple yet meaningful thoughts.

This is not a long book. But it is important. It is on my regular re-read list. It is a compassionate critique of the current state of religion, and hopefully a voice that will be heard.

Jeanrond's basic overview here is a brief systematic survey of a theology of inclusiveness and really develops the idea of the 'priesthood of all believers'. He challenges the dominant modes of thinking, tendencies toward clericalism and dogmatism, tendencies toward belief as opposed to right relationships and action. The true Christian acts communally, striving to build up the entire community and include all in the process, Jeanrond argues. Older modes of thinking that we've inherited need to be re-examined, and adapted while still being honoured for their validity for their time and the import that validity has for our own time. An excellent book.

"Call to Holiness" is a balanced reflection on the charismatic movement in the Roman Catholic Church. Cordes takes a generally positive view of the movement, while openly reflecting on the movement's weaknesses and potential weaknesses. He balances the collective revelation of the Holy Spirit, shown in the Church, and the personal experiences the Spirit produces in individuals. This seems like a difficult task, considering in many charismatic churches the charismatic experiences lead one away from ancient tradition and the leadership of the Church. As Cordes points out, in the Roman Catholic Church the opposite has occurred: charismatic experiences have led Catholics to a greater appreciation of Church tradition, the Bible, Mary, and other traditional Catholic beliefs and practices. Cordes emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is in all baptized believers, and even if they don't have any of the charisms (which incidentally, are available to all believers, not just canonized saints) they can still live in the Spirit in other ways.

The book is broken down into three chapters, and multiple sub-chapters. The first, "The Spiritual Renewal Coming From the Council," discusses the call of Vatican II for greater renewal in the Holy Spirit within the Church, setting the stage for the charismatic renewal in the Catholic Church. Chapter 2, "The Experience of the Holy Spirit and Its Fruits," covers the gifts of the Spirit, a theology of Pentecost, discernment, the role of Mary, holiness, renewed interest in scriptures and sacraments, and other elements of the charismatic movement. Chapter 3, "Gifted For Mission" explains the mission implications of the movement. Here Cordes defines and discusses the different charisms (and also how they relate to evangelism), charismatic prayer communities, and ecumenical dimensions of the movement. He discusses the need to work with other denominations, while never sacrificing the truth of the catholic tradition for a kind of "inclusive" church of the Spirit that ignores central tenets of the ancient faith.

Overall, this book is a fine reflection on the Catholic charismatic movement. The operative principle here is balance. Balance between personal and collective experience, between tradition and renewal, between the spiritual and visible. As someone who is new to the charismatic movement (in an Anglo-Catholic Anglican setting), it is nice to see the charismatic movement firmly rooted in the authority, doctrine, and practice (i.e. the collective experience), of the historical Church. For the skeptics, doubters, and those who worry that the charismatic movement leads to a kind of individualism and Protestantism, I suggest reading this balanced book.

I bought ten copies to pass around our local diocese. Here is a clean authoritative look at the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Find out what the Church's real position is...

This book provides both a useful overview of urban social history in turn-of-the-century Rio de Janeiro and a unique and convincing analysis of how poor urban and suburban residents responded to urban renewal projects. The author places her analysis in an engaging, accessible, and accurate narrative of the city's broader history, weaving together the findings of a broad array of specialized secondary works. Her own primary research on popular protests provides a crucial part of this history, and her conclusions are suggestive of how popular movements might be understood elsewhere as well. The book shows that the effects of undemocratic urban administration can be disasterous for the least powerful sectors of the population. Yet is also shows that the urban poor were by no means "marginalized," nor did they decline to participate in orderly, legal forms of protest. Riots and violence exploded in Rio only after poor residents had tolerated arbitrary and violent government implementation of urban policies, and after they had found other avenues of appeal to government officials closed. This book is effective in undergraduate and graduate courses alike. In addition to providing an excellent overview of Rio's early twentieth-century history, the book stimulates students to think critically about urbanization, class conflict, forms of protest, and the peculiar concerns of non-industrial nations to create images of order and civilization in the early twentieth century.

This a major addition to the social history of urban life in Brazil, and Latin America generally. By shifting the emphasis from workplace struggles to conflict over urban space, Meade allows us to rethink dramatic and sometimes puzzling episodes of popular protest in turn-of-the-century Rio de Janeiro (such as the revolt against compulsory smallpox vaccination). Her argument that these protests should be seen as part of the contest over capitalist modernization, and are no less "modern" than workplace struggles in nearby Sao Paulo, adds to the ongoing discussion of political consciousness as forming in struggles both within and beyond the point of production. Meade also explores the implications of "urban beautification" for the popular classes in a way that connects processes in Rio with broader global tendencies during the Age of Imperialism. Finally, the book is highly readable and accessible to the non-specialist, and can be used in courses ranging from introductory undergraduate surveys to graduate seminars.

In The Company of Strangers, a strikingly relevant book even after nearly twenty years, noted educator Parker J. Palmer describes public experience as our "life among strangers with whom our lot is cast, with whom we are interdependent whether we like it or not." And the educational process is one "which brings us out of ourselves into an awareness of our connectedness." At its core, public education recognizes the fundamental dignity of a "relationship rooted in our common humanity." Public education then, unlike private forms, will consciously underscore the shared primary elements of social experience without giving preferential treatment to limited secondary characteristics based on wealth, economic status, race, religion or ideology.

"In this process," Palmer continues, "opinions become audible and accountable and individuals learn that private viewpoints have implications for the common good. Under the pressure of accountability religious discourse may be forced to reach for the essentials which unite us." In contrast to withdrawal from public participation into private enclaves of conspicuous consumption or of opting to participate only as a convinced crusader invincibly armored to fend of responsible dialogue, Palmer notes that "public life becomes the spiritual guide of our private life." Truth, he continues, "is a very large matter, and requires various angles of vision to be seen in the round." Such an assessment of public experience is, in my view, what makes American education a "very large matter," requiring each of us to renew the commitment to public education. In this way we may be drawn out of ourselves to the point where our angle of vision allows us to see and to respect the common ground we share with others.

Palmer depicts public life as pre-political -- a life of festivity
including block parties and theatre. He makes the point that without
public spaces in which strangers can learn to become comfortable
with each other, able to trust each other, a political life is an
impossibility. He makes a case for the significance of the stranger
in Christian and Jewish scriptures. He suggests that the mystery
of God is experienced in the mystery of the stranger, and that
living our religious beliefs in response to the stranger is a way
of encountering the mystery of God. He also sees churches and
synagogues as training grounds for developing the skills necessary
for public life. This is an inspiring book.

Although somewhat barbarously titled, Leonardo Boff's _Ecclesiogenesis_ is one of the most important books written on the Church in the twentieth century. It deserves to be read by Christians in every denomination.

Boff, who was still a Franciscan when he wrote the book, basically challenges the Church to recall and reanimate its apostolic origins. In the "primitive" Church, there were no hierarchical distinctions between ordained and nonordained. In fact, ordination as it came to be known didn't exist. The "laos" were the people of God, and even though individual members took on different functions in keeping with their unique talents (Paul's simile of the body and its parts is appropriate here), everyone was "laity." Worshipping communities were small--what we today would call "household churches"--and everyone was encouraged to take responsibility for the community and its works.

Over the past two millennia, this household model of Church was deemphasized. Top-down institutions replaced the bottom-up community. Ecclesial hierarchies, clear divisions between ordained and nonordained, and excessive authoritarianism became the order of the day, bringing to full fruition the imperial church instigated by the Edict of Milan in the 4th century. Needless to say, this "sacred" institution frequently allied itself with political and economic powers and principalities, at the expense of precisely those marginalized folks Christ favored

The Base Christian Communities of Latin America and Asia, small Christian communities in which the laity take primary responsibility for the worship and deeds of the community, were started to re-empower the laity, to avoid the burden of institutionalization, and to recapture the spirit of Christ's teachings and apostolic Christianity. Leonardo Boff believes that their example can serve as the catalyst for a worldwide awakening on the part of the Church as to its genuine calling. In this book, he explores the parameters of this "reinvention" in an exciting and challenging way.

In the original Greek, "ecclesia," the word frequently translated as "church," NEVER meant a building in which people worshipped. (The Greek word that designates worship building is "kuriakon.") Instead, "ecclesia" ALWAYS meant "an assembly of people"--the event of the people of God, working together, in full and nonhierarchical cooperation, to collaborate with God in the building of the Kingdom. Boff's wonderful and prophetic book reminds us of this important but sadly forgotten truth.

This man is truely a prophet. If you want to have a radical understanding about church read his book!

Strongly recommended reading, Ending Entrenched Power: Spiritual Renewal, Political Change, And America's Destiny is a manifesto by Curtis L. Harris putting forth the opinion that America is at grave risk for decline, and that the key to renewal lies in using the institutions of religion, government, and commerce side by side. Warning that the process of separating religion from government entirely only serves to turn governments into power-obsessed beauracracies, Ending Entrenched Power may be a stark contradiction to the principle of separation of church and state, yet it does bring to light serious and troubling social issues with respect to the aftermath of tearing those two social institutions apart from one another.

This book overall is an excellent recap of what has happened in the world to bring us to our current place in time; in regards to religion, government, and commerce. I think it would be an excellent reading exercise for any learning institution, in Economics, or Political Science. I found it very informative and yet concise, with plenty of meat in it for discussion or debate; and backed up with foot notes. It really got me thinking and changed my mind too on some issues... and that is saying a lot!