Deus Misereatur

  We’re in an era of widespread fatherlessness, where dad’s spawn kids and then walk away, or up and leave them and their mothers, or are physically present while emotionally distant. It’s part of what lies behind the “daddy-issues” that haunt many kids, teens and adults. Therefore, to build up virtuous and quality manhood in boys and young men, is a noble and honorable task. This desire fuels Anthony B. Bradley, professor of religious studies, director of the Center for the Study of Human Flourishing at The King’s College in New York, and research fellow at The Acton Institute. And this noble desire is crystal clear in his spanking new 222-page softback, “Heroic Fraternities: How College Men Can Save Universities and America”. Between the covers of this easy-to-read book, Bradley strives to restore the honorable goals of college fraternities, reclaiming their original concept of fostering heroic masculinity. A campus brotherhood that helps young men to “use their presence, power, ...

 To take a fun and thoughtful approach to passing on Scripture and what we believe to our children and grandchildren is a great way to go. That’s what the new, brightly illustrated 64-page hardcover book, “The Acrostic of Scripture: A Rhyming Biblical Theology for Kids” works at doing. The authors, Jonathan Gibson who is ordained in the International Presbyterian Church (UK) and serves as Associate Professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, and Timothy Brindle who is a Pastor at Olive Street Presbyterian Church (PCA), have pulled together an artful and creative way to present our kids with the story of God, full of Scripture and doctrine. This is the fourth installment in New Growth Press’s Acrostic Theology for Kids Series .   After a brief prologue from the authors, the book jumps in, moving from A to Z. Each alphabetic section is brightly illustrated by C.S. Fritz, has a cadenced summary of the subject for that letter, and then is backed...

  O God, Creator, Preserver and Governor of all humanity, we humbly pray for all sorts and conditions of people that you would be pleased to make your ways known unto us, your salvation to all nations. We pray for your one, holy universal and apostolic Church, including this congregation, The Well Church, West Metro Church of Christ, East 6 th Street Christian, and Edmond Trinity Christian Church; that she may be so guided and governed by your good Spirit and holy Word, that all of us who profess and call ourselves Christians may be led into the way of your truth, hold on to the true faith in the unity created and produced by the Holy Spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Almighty God please guide and govern the nations, including Jamaica, Japan and Jordan, to throw off all unjust wars and to put a stop to all human and sex trafficking. Where there is only mob rule and bedlam in the nations, we beg you to restore sensible and sound government. And may all be ...

  There they are. Seventeen frogs sitting on a log. Suddenly, nine of them decide to jump off. Now, the $50 question is, how many frogs are there on the log? There are still seventeen, because deciding to jump off and jumping off are two completely different actions. And that is the point Will Ertel, founder of Tassel Capital, CPA and financial adviser wants to hammer home in his brand-new 138-page softback, “Resolve: A Personal Financial Planning Book for Twentysomethings Getting Serious About Stewardship”. Ertel wrote this book with one major group in mind, his three twentysomething daughters and their spouses. And what he wrote for them he decided to share with others. He wrote to convince us all to move from deciding to jump off the log, to actually jumping off and diving in.   The book revolves around five core exhortations, which end up being the five chapters of the book. Give charitably, set and take action on financial goals, create margin, save and invest in marg...

  Our congregation has been engaged with Cedar Creek Church in Southwest Oklahoma for many years. We have partnered with several Native American groups while serving there, mostly with Kiowa believers. Recently, one of the local pastors told me about "The Jesus Road: Kiowas, Christianity, and Indian Hymns" and I immediately ordered a copy. It was a pleasure to read about many of the congregations in the region that I have been involved with over the past ten years, and to discover some extra history. The first part of the book is a historical accounting of how the Christian faith came among the Kiowas in the 19th Century. The mistaken notions many of our missionaries, the successes, blunders, etc. The second part of the book is on the role of Kiowa hymns for the faith of Kiowa Christians. There are numerous samples of Kiowa hymns. There was supposed to be an accompanying CD with the book, but there wasn't one with the new copy I received. The goal of the book is to "...

  O ur Father, who has cheerfully adopted us through Jesus Christ, we come and hand over our burdened hearts to you for this world and for your church. We find that we are restless and uneasy about the things going on in our lives, amongst our friends and family, and in our world. War, catastrophe, sickness, sorrow, trouble at home, problems at work, uncertainty about the future. We remember these who are wrestling and wrangling with specific misfortunes, those in Syria, Turkey, and Kurdish held areas, as well as those in Ukraine, Transnistria, and Moldova, but also for these closer to home (…). Grant them and us courage, faith, graciousness, comfort and relief.  We call upon you to take care of our country and all who are in authority. Promote our national well-being, defend us from malicious forces that would bring us into harm’s way, and cause us to utilize our liberties for the purpose of furthering justice and peace for the freeborn, the foreign born and the unborn. Thank...

  Single-cause interpretations are a huge problem. They are tools used by ideologues to convince people to step into the “Us vs. Them” morass. It stirs polarization and partisanship. Single-cause interpretations are a serious problem. But a single-cause interpretation is not to be found in the 368-page hardback “ Black Silent Majority: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Politics of Punishment ” written by Michael Javen Fortner , who was Assistant Professor and Academic Dean of Urban Studies at the CUNY School of Professional Studies and is presently Associate Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, California. It’s a slow read filled with details, data, and reports of and by real people. It is an essential read, especially if one is concerned with penal reforms, or restoring racial relationships.   Fortner put this book together “because the literature on mass incarceration neglected the voices of working- and middle-class African Americans dealing ...