Deus Misereatur

Let Us Prey by R Glenn Ball My rating: 5 of 5 stars "Hi. My name is Mike, and I'm a recovering narcissistic!" That's how I felt while reading this 228 page paperback, "Let Us Prey: The Plague of Narcissist Pastors and What We Can Do About It" penned by authors R. Glenn Ball, ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and Darrell Puls, founder of Peacebridge Ministries. This little book is ideal for pastors, pastoral candidates, churches, and pastor search committees; but it is especially written for anyone who has been burned and battered by a narcissistic spiritual leader! The first five chapters of "Let Us Prey" unpacks and deciphers narcissism in ecclesiastical leaders for the purpose of helping the reader recognize what she or he has been through. The authors draw from Ovid's description of Narcissus, and point out that what "Ovid wrote well describes the modern narcissist: he is in love with the image of himself, a...

Charles Hodge: The Pride of Princeton W. Andrew Hoffecker P&R Publishers www.prpbooks.com ISBN: 978-0875526584; November 2011; $19.99 5 of 5 Stars A dear Methodist minister friend bought me a copy and sent it to me out of the blue. He knew I like all things theological and Presbyterian, and Charles Hodge fits right into that nook. What my friend didn’t know is that this volume was written by an enjoyable Church History professor I had in seminary. So, my pleasure in receiving the tome was expanded exponentially! “Charles Hodge: The Pride of Princeton” is a 464-page paperback, and the fifth volume in the American Reformed Biography series by P&R Publishing. W. Andrew Hoffecker is emeritus professor of church history at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi, and author of two books on worldview, as well as “ Piety and the Princeton Theologians .” Hoffecker desires to show “that Charles Hodge manifested the attributes associated with Calvinistic co...

A Sin by Any Other Name: Reckoning with Racism and the Heritage of the South by Robert W. Lee My rating: 3 of 5 stars It's worth the read. Robert W. Lee IV, Methodist minister, descendant of Robert E. Lee, southerner, religion columnist and faculty lecturer at Appalachian State University, has crafted a personal memoir of how he was thrust into the limelight after the Charlottesville protests. It's an easy-to-read volume that is sure to garner the applause of many, and rouse the ire of multitudes. Lee recounts his childhood days growing up in steeply southern Statesville, North Carolina. But the author spends most of his time rehearsing the widening changes in his heart and mind with regard to race, especially as it is navigated in the South. The flash-point revolves around the Statue of his ancestor at the Charlottesville demonstrations. From that headline-making moment to the present, Lee's world completely changed as he became the poster-child for revising and redress...

[The hymn used in this evening prayer is from the Trinity Hymnal rev. ed. #712, "O God of Love, O King of Peace"] We pray, O Lord, for the hostile, hurtful and harsh conditions in our world situations, in our nation, but also in our communities, our relationships, our employments, our families, and other settings… O God of love, O King of peace, make wars throughout the world to cease; the wrath of sinful man restrain; give peace, O God, give peace again . O Lord, hear our prayer. We earnestly pray for revival and reformation! We pray for revival and reformation in our own country, and all other regions that once had a very clear and concrete Christian presence. We pray for revival and reformation among our families and friends, acquaintances and associates who also once were clearly and concretely Christians. And we pray for revival and reformation in our churches in this country and State, for those churches striving to be faithful, and those who have muddied and ma...

Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Since Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, we pray for the church here and world over, for this congregation, as well as First Church of God, Freshstart Community Church, Iglesia De Dios Pentecostes, and Midwest City Church of God. We ask that by blessing of your Son , by the reforming and revitalizing work of your Spirit , by the faithful reading, preaching and teaching of your Scriptures , and by the right administration of your sacraments , Jesus might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5.25-27). Further, we ask you to be with those in our families and in our congregation, who need heart or healing or help… ...