Deus Misereatur

The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches and the Small Thinking that Divides Us by Karl Vaters My rating: 5 of 5 stars How do you perceive your small church? Do you see it's smallness as a problem to be fixed? Or is it possible that it is small by God's own design and in his delight? Karl Vaters, Teaching Pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, California, tackles these questions and many, many more in his heart-lifting 212 page paperback, "The Grasshopper Myth". The book's appellation comes from Numbers 13 when the twelve spies returned from reconnoitering the Promised Land, and ten of them recounted how tall and big everyone and everything was, and then exclaimed, "and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them” (13.33). Viola! The Grasshopper Myth! Without being jaundiced or jaded, Vaters challenges our self-imposed expectations that gut many a minister, and asks all of the "wrong" qu...

A Sometimes Stumbling Life: Making Sense of Our Struggles and God's Grace in the Journey of Faith by Mike Khandjian My rating: 5 of 5 stars Eugene Peterson pictured the Christian life using a phrase from Nietzsche, "The Long Obedience in the Same Direction," which gets a good handle on an important aspect of being a disciple of Jesus. Mike Khandjian, Senior Pastor of Chapelgate Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Baltimore, Maryland, does something similar with the title of his new 212 page paperback, "A Sometimes Stumbling Life: Making Sense of Our Struggles and God's Grace in the Journey of Faith". The title gives out the main thrust of book. The eleven chapters are packed with stories from Sacred Scripture and real life. They follow a flow from the first steps to the final sojourn, examining and illustrating the often forward stumble of Christians. Each chapter takes up and wobbles it's way through fears, fixations or failures and arrives at a hope-filled...

Creator God who in the beginning made all things of nothing by the power of your word, and all very good; whose Spirit hovered over all that was formless and void to bring forth order and life. We pray for your Spirit to hover over us; and we pray that your Spirit would continue to cause the earth to bring forth fruit bountifully. We pray: Come, Holy Spirit! Revealing God, who assigned prophets, judges, and Psalmists – like Moses, Deborah, David and Isaiah – to bring forth your decrees, directions and adulations, and clothed them with your Spirit who guided them and testified through them of the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories; cloth us with your Spirit that we may bravely serve you and our neighbors in love and truth. We pray: Come, Holy Spirit! Holy God who sent your Son Jesus Christ into the world that through him we might have life; and after his death, burial, resurrection and ascension, you sent forth your Holy Spirit by your Son, so that we would no...

Rhythm of Life by David Adam My rating: 5 of 5 stars A nice, handy 136 page paperback guide to prayer. It has a simple "rule" for morning, midday, evening and night prayers for each day of the week. David Adam draws from several sources, some historical and others contemporary, to color the daily rhythm. Though it is geared for communal prayer, it is still usable for those who are alone. Each day of the week resounds with a specific theme. Sunday is resurrection; Monday reflects on creation; Tuesday is shaped by incarnation; Wednesday is filled with the Holy Spirit; Thursday thinks about community; Friday gazes at the cross; and Saturday recalls the fellowship of the Saints. There are short litanies; Psalm recitations; small Scripture readings; praises; and collects. About ten years ago I obtained copies for everyone living at home and we used it for a year in family worship. And I have picked it up and utilized it in my personal daily devotions. I recently took it up a...

Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women by Elaine Storkey My rating: 5 of 5 stars Her book will raise your blood pressure and stoke your sense of outrage. But it will also sharpen your perception of what is happening around you, just out of ear shot or out of eye sight. Wife, mother, scholar, author, speaker, journalist, tireless advocate for the marginalized as president of Tearfund and cofounder of Restored: Elaine Storkey compiles a sturdy dossier on violence against women and girls across the world in her 288 page paperback, "Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women". On the one hand it is easily readable no matter your skill level; on the other hand it is hard to read if you have a heart! "Scars Across Humanity" is a studious report on the ways nations and societies assault and violate their women and girls. Storkey takes whole chapters to meticulously describe the universality of specif...

The Lost World of the Flood: Mythology, Theology, and the Deluge Debate Tremper Longman III and John H. Walton (Contribution by Stephen O. Moshier) IVP Academic IVPress.com ISBN: 978-0-8308-5200-0; April 2018; $18.00 The Biblical deluge story is an episode in Scripture that generates plenty of friction. It brings questions to the surface for those who believe it is authentic, and raises the ire of those who are certain it is fictional. Not long ago Tremper Longman III, Distinguished Scholar of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, and John H. Walton, professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School, added their contribution with a 192 page softback, “The Lost World of the Flood: Mythology, Theology, and the Deluge Debate”. The volume also includes a chapter on geological data by Stephen O. Moshier, professor of geology and chair of the geology and environmental science department at Wheaton College, and director of th...

Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama by Tim Wise My rating: 2 of 5 stars The book is about ten years old and thus dated on some matters (written in 2009). The book falls out in two chapters, the first on white denial and the second on white responsibility. The story Wise tells is disheartening at many levels. On the one hand, no one escapes Wise's criticism or condemnation, whether white folks or President Obama. No one seems engaged enough, active enough, attempting enough to satisfy Wise's righteous indignation or imperative. The alarmism - going to all the highest and most hurtful examples and indices to the point of nearly expounding a white conspiracy theory - makes Wise's criteria an impossible standard. Even the author's chapter on white responsibility, where he brings out suggestions for remediating the situation is a mixed bag, some useful, others impracticable. On the other hand, the author does expose the numerous wa...