For All It's Worth

Timothy: A Little Fish with a Big Purpose by Brad Riley and Illustrated by Krystahl Goodale http://shop.voxdeipublishing.com/collections/frontpage/products/timothy Children’s stories are a standby at our house, for my daughter loves to hear an engaging and entertaining one.  This new book entitled Timothy: A Little Fish with a Big Purpose by Pastor Brad Riley is more than entertaining, for this story about obedience and God’s care over all of creation is stunning in both its message and illustrations.  The story centers around Jesus’ words in Matthew 17 as he sends Peter to go a catch a fish in whose mouth there is a shekel.  After catching the fish, Peter is to use the shekel to pay taxes for Jesus and himself.  This extraordinary miracle is laden with meaning that such ordinary people or fish, in this case, acting in obedience unto the Lord, can be used by God to spark something truly miraculous.  With this point in mind, Pastor Brad tells t...

This Beautiful Mess: Practicing the Presence of the Kingdom of God by Rick McKinley http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601425694/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1Y69J2FK241NGVRR545Z&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846 Rick McKinley, Pastor of Imago Dei Community, is the leader of a congregation that has left its footprint in the Portland area by its social activities. This book, This Beautiful Mess, is a revised and updated version of the same book originally published in 2006.  The goal of the book is to see “A vision of a King who is loving and good and who reign has changed everything.  A vision of a new realm of activity in His power that is breaking in and yet is not without opposition.  A vision desperately needed for the people of God today” (xvii).  Having just finished The Next Evangelicals, I was somewhat familiar with the movement in Portland of evangelical churches to...

God in my Everything: How an Ancient Rhythm Helps Busy People Enjoy God by Ken Shigematsu http://zondervan.com/9780310499251 After greatly enjoying a trip to Ireland to visit monasteries and monks, Pastor Ken Shigematsu came to the realization with a question that says, “Is it possible to follow the monastic way, enjoying God in every area of my life, while immersed in the busy routines of modern life” (17)?  Pastor Ken’s new book, God in my Everything is an exploration in seeing some ancient practices of the Christian faith as an aid in enjoying God in our hectic lives.  Ken is no stranger to business, for he was once what business types call the 7-11 man, waking at 7 in the morning, going to work and then arriving home after the day at nearly 11p.m.  He knew there was something better in store for him than working to the bone.  In this book, Ken seeks to promote a way of living that incorporates sustainable spiritual, social, physical and mental p...

Soil and Sacrament: A Spiritual Memoir of Food and Faith by Fred Bahnson Whew!  After reading this book you might want to check your hate of all things gardening at the door.  Fred Bahnson, Director of the Food, Faith and Religious Initiative at Wake Forest Divinity School tells his story of traveling to four different areas of the country where a rare combination of work alongside faith is taken into consideration.  His new book, Soil and Sacrament, is a welcome addition to the growing number of books on the relationship of the soil we till and the faith we profess.  Not content with painting the soil and sacrament movement as a modern agenda, Bahnson delves deep into the past to reveal the nature of God’s work in creating the good earth and having his followers tend to his creation. The first place Bahnson heads to is Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina.  The Trappist monks who inhabit this Abbey revel in the movements of prayer, study, and wo...

Letters to Pope Francis by Matthew Fox http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Pope-Francis-Rebuilding-Compassion/dp/1490372970 Matthew Fox in his own unique style has written a series of letters to the new Pope for his own eyes.  Siding with the newly elected Pope Francis on many issues, Matthew is quick to push hard on issues of related to marriage and celibacy, liberation theology, and creation spirituality, which is much of his own making.  I’m not at all familiar with Fox’s prior work, but I think there are some good questions in this book alongside some rather unorthodox and unusual meanderings.  The tenor of the book is somewhat directed against the Church as continuing along the same line as before and more focused on bringing together concretely the ideals and practices of justice and compassion, the hallmark found in the life of St. Francis of Assisi.  In other words, for Fox, he seems to be asking, “Pope Francis, are you going to live up to the radic...

Faces from Dante’s Inferno by Peter Celano http://www.paracletepress.com/faces-from-dantes-inferno.html Many college and high school students start their journeys through Dante’s Inferno with a timid spirit not really knowing what they are getting into when reading this work.  Yet, The Inferno is well worth the effort as Dante describes his view of the afterlife and hell in provocative and sharp terms.  Peter Celano, author of Faces from Dante’s Inferno has provided the reader of this great poem with a guide to its people, their words, and the significance of the poem.  The book is broken up into 13 chapters, with nine of those chapters focusing on the circles of hell, one chapter on the Inferno, one on the first three faces, one on Beatrice, and one on outside Hell’s gate.  The reward of this book is its keen description of the various players or contemporaries of Dante, his political allies and foes, and the way Dante considers the church in all of ...

Compassionate Jesus by Christopher W. Bogosh http://www.heritagebooks.org/compassionate-jesus-rethinking-the-christians-approach-to-modern-medicine/ This new book, Compassionate Jesus, is a Christian approach to medicine is an eye-opening and insightful book about the relationship between modern medicine, including its philosophy, and the gospel.  Engaging the idea of prolonging life at any cost, Christopher brings a robust biblical understanding of medicine to the table.  With stories, examples, biblical wisdom and first- hand knowledge of medical manuals and procedures, this book is a good foray into the world of modern medicine.  Not wanting to go with the status quo and follow the medical professionals advice without investigation, Christopher digs deeply into the Bible and science for a more compassionate approach to medicine. At the beginning of the book, Chris takes us up front and center to his own life by telling of his sister’s tragic dea...