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If Entrepreneurs Ran the Church

Nov 22, 2020 | 2018 - Summer, Book Reviews, Free Summer 2018

If Entrepreneurs
Ran the Church

Author Peter Kerridge
Publisher SPCK  £9.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780281078004

This book contains a miscellany of ideas about how to reinvigorate the Church from eight successful people who run large enterprises. Having been in industry, I was sceptical that managers in commerce could envisage getting the best out of the mix of stipendiary and voluntary workers that is the Church. Their ideas, though, draw one in probably because whatever it is, they want to make it work. A phrase that crops up several times is, ‘generosity of spirit.’ More emphasis is put on willingness to do things in the name of Jesus than on money and for this reason, and the many fresh ideas, I think this is especially a book for Readers. The overview at the end of the interviews is particularly welcome as a summary, and the ‘questions to help you consider how your church might gain from the entrepreneurs’ ideas,’ are useful.

JOHN FOXLEE

Leadership

 

Forgiveness Remembers

Nov 22, 2020 | 2018 - Spring, Book Reviews, Free Spring 2018

Forgiveness Remembers

Authors Paul Farren & Robert Miller
Publisher Instant Apostle £6.99
Format pbk
ISBN 978190928677

This small book with forewords by Bishop Richard Chartres and the late Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, is packed with insights into the human heart in situations which require understanding and forgiveness. As Catholic and Anglican priests working on opposite sides of the road in Northern Ireland the authors set an example of what a desire for peace can achieve in a society wracked with conflict. The ‘spiralling up to the light of peace from the darkness of hatred’ is explored in many contexts. Illustrations are drawn from the lives of Christians from diverse backgrounds, St Thérèse of Lisieux and Fr Maximilian Kolbe being two examples alongside others less well-known. The authors offer us a challenge to work at forgiving others as well as ourselves, by facing up to the source of our pain, hence the title. This would be a good book to take to a quiet day or retreat and provides useful illustrations for sermons on the theme of reconciliation.

LAURA HILLMAN

Spirituality, Ecumenism

 

God’s Belongers

Nov 22, 2020 | 2018 - Spring, Book Reviews, Free Spring 2018

God’s Belongers

Author David Walker
Publisher BRF £7.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780857464675

This is an important research based examination of how people belong to church. Based on two surveys taken in 2007 and 2009 in the Dioceses of Worcester and Lichfield, Walker outlines four ways – through people, places, one-off events and regular activities – that people belong to the Church. The samples were taken at rural harvest services and Christmas carol services and show information about the attitudes to faith of people who come to church at these times. The findings challenge attitudes of regular churchgoers to those who attend occasionally. Walker argues that people who attend occasionally through people, places or one-off events are co-workers with regular attendees and not objects of mission. He also asks whether it is possible to be a good Christian and not go to church very often. God’s Belongers is full of important questions and issues for PCCs, ministry teams and others to consider. It challenges stereotypes of the ‘not-often-there’ church attendees and deserves wide and careful consideration.

JANICE PRICE

Pastoral, Mission

 

Christianity at the Crossroads

Nov 22, 2020 | 2018 - Spring, Book Reviews, Free Spring 2018

Christianity at the Crossroads

Author Michael Kruger
Publisher SPCK £19.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780281071319

Kruger’s absorbing study shows how the future of the worldwide Christian Church was shaped during the turbulent second century, when all those who had met Jesus were dead. Christians faced enormous challenges. Having emerged from the legal umbrella of Judaism, the early Church learned resilience in the face of frequent, severe persecution from the Roman authorities, and gradually developed leadership structures involving local bishops and presbyters. Kruger shows how the intellectual strength of Christianity was invigorated through significant new writings, and the polemical arguments – culminating in the works of Irenaeus – that were needed to combat the heresies that sprang up throughout the Mediterranean regions. He demonstrates that the New Testament scriptural canon, apart from some brief letters, was essentially in place by mid-century, and suggests that modern Christianity can learn from the prophetic voice of these times. This is a worthy and accessible academic history, with an excellent bibliography.

PETER CLOUGH

History, Patristics

 

Walking with Biblical Women of Courage

Nov 22, 2020 | 2018 - Spring, Book Reviews, Free Spring 2018

Walking with Biblical Women of Courage

Author Fiona Stratta
Publisher BRF  £7.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780857465337

Subtitled ‘Imaginative Studies for Bible Mediation’, this book is really lectio divina for those who might be put off by the term. For each of seventeen characters (or in one case a group) there are biblical passages to read followed by a reflection in the first person as if written by the character herself. Some of these are more convincing than others, and the author admits to a certain amount of licence with facts. A series of questions then prompt further reflection or conversation if used with a group. Footnotes in each chapter helpfully tell you ‘what happens in the end’ or clarify points of cultural context. This is an excellent way to meet lesser-known characters from scripture and the hidden yet pivotal role of some of these women. It is not a feminist critique, although it might provoke some wrestling with difficult contemporary issues and the courage required in our own age. Selecting a handful of characters could make up a study course. This is a useful tool to encourage us to engage with scripture in a less familiar way, and for personal study in a lighter vein.

SUSANNE MITCHELL

Biblical Analysis

 

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