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Being the People of God

Apr 8, 2026 | 2026 - Summer - Free, Book Reviews

Being the People of God

Author Paul Bradbury, Isabelle Hamley and Andy Smith (Eds)
Publisher ASCM Press £40
Format pbk
ISBN 9780334066422

An interesting collection of academic essays divided into three parts: Being Worship; Being Witness; Being Pilgrim. The reader is invited to engage with this collection in a spirit of conversation. So, what can be drawn from these conversations? First, missional ecclesiology begins with a focus on God, His activity and our attentiveness to that activity. Secondly, he emphasises that the foundation of all mission is that God is a sending God. Third, understanding that the church is called into being by God and then sent by Him to participate in this sending. Finally, understanding how the church participates in mission by living out, as the conclusion puts it …the identity coming to us from the future and which eschatological future has already begun. If the CofE fully embraced and understood its identity as the children of God present and future, how might it share this missionally with a post-Christian nation that does not have a future vision or even a present identity for itself?

Reviewed by ANDREW CARR

Missional Ecclesiology

 

Attentive to God

Apr 8, 2026 | 2026 - Summer - Free, Book Reviews

Attentive to God

Author Tony Horsfall
Publisher BRF £9.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781788931588

Horsfall works from the premise that attentiveness is all-important in spiritual life, but all too often our inattentiveness frustrates God and robs us of a greater depth of relationship with him. Hence, the author has subtitled his work ‘Being aware of God’s presence in everyday life’. To this end, he focuses on six Biblical characters, Jacob, Moses, Jeremiah, Samuel, Mary and Cleopas and shows how each becomes more aware of the presence of God in their lives. Following each is a ‘spiritual insight’, based on prayer, an awareness walk or a different author’s writings, such as Julian of Norwich or Jean Pierre de Caussade. The book is admirably suited to personal reading as it is thoughtful, perceptive and challenging; each character or author can teach us to recognise and respond to God’s presence more readily. In addition, for each section, there are questions for group discussion, so this text would be suitable in that context as a number of ideas can usefully be shared from these starting points.

Reviewed by MARGARET TINSLEY

Personal Development, Group Study

 

Christian Women at University

Apr 8, 2026 | 2026 - Summer - Free, Book Reviews

Christian Women at University

Author Jenny Morgans
Publisher SCM Press £25
Format pbk
ISBN SCM Press £25

The pastoral care of young Christian adults matters. This is an academic book combining post-doctoral qualitative research interviewing Christian women at university with much reference to other academic work in this field. The subtitle is Faith, Feminism and Feeling at Home. The women access a variety of chaplaincies, Christian unions and university town churches, and describe meeting different faith perspectives. Their experience as women is at a time when post-feminism is significant if not always obvious. Their identities as students, women and Christians ‘intersect’ and will also include aspects of sexuality, race and class. A major focus is the transition from home to ‘unhome’, and then to creating home. This uses a model of spiritual development, not linear, but of a home with several rooms. The author critiques the barriers still faced by women in church, at university, and in post-feminist culture, but celebrates the women in the study and the way they have navigated their transitions.

Reviewed by ROSIE MEDHURST

Women’s Ministry/Pastoral

 

Growing together in faith

Apr 8, 2026 | 2026 - Summer - Free, Book Reviews

Growing together in faith

Author Emma L Parker and Sarah Strand
Publisher SCM Press £25
Format pbk
ISBN 9780334066521

Subtitled Thinking Theologically about Ministry with Children and Teenagers, this is a readable summary of academic research. We are taken through various models of faith development. These theories apply equally to children and adults. The authors emphasise that being in a community of all ages encourages all of us to grow in faith. We are challenged not to regard being made in the image of God as an adult image. Do we think that children do not fully reflect the imago dei? Even as not yet ‘fully human’? We are reminded of specific children in scripture who have played a significant part in the work of God. Isaiah 11:6 declaring that the ‘little child shall lead them’ is note worthy for being the only human in the prophecy. The chapter on change and how to foster it in a church community may well alone justify the price of the book! I recommend it to anyone who tries to nurture faith development.

Reviewed by RONA ORME

Church

 

Divine Windows

Dec 8, 2025 | 2026 - Spring - Free, Book Reviews

Divine Windows

Author David Gregory
Publisher BRF £12.99
Format pbk
ISBN 978180033318

In this intriguing book, Gregory, a Baptist minister with a PhD in Physics, develops the concept that, just as traditional icons in Orthodox worship act as divine windows into the eternal, nature itself can provide us with our own icons as windows into the divine presence. The first five chapters describe how his own scientific career and Christian faith developed in parallel. The sixth chapter reveals his own eight ‘Divine Windows’: star, moon, earth, aurora, dust, life, other worlds and finally cosmos. Each is illustrated with images from NASA’s archives – divine windows from the scientific world – some with a supporting biblical text. Gregory suggests that the worship of our Creator should be nourished by embracing the wonder that can be discerned in our natural world and in our deeper scientific knowledge and understanding of our complex environment. This book will challenge those who see no God behind creation but will delight the rest of us as we celebrate these amazing signs of the unseen presence in our worship and in the care of our world.

Reviewed by ROGER THORNINGTON

Creation

 

Miriam’s Sisters, Deborah’s Daughters

Dec 6, 2025 | 2026 - Spring - Free, Book Reviews

Miriam’s Sisters, Deborah’s Daughters

Author Liz Crumlish
Publisher Canterbury £14.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781786226051

This easy-to-read book provides a perspective into the matriarchs within the Bible. Each chapter is short and focused, reimagining the stories of women that all too often are abandoned as footnotes, and concludes with a thought-provoking poem. I hope to quote from this book in both preaching and Bible studies. Crumlish’s creative and encouraging retelling of the famous (and not so famous) stories and testimonies of women provides a fresh perspective of their role in God’s calling. Her ability to suggest character to unnamed matriarchs creates a space that engages motivation and a longing for equality. I especially enjoyed the focus of encouragement to aim for Christ-like behaviour as opposed to biblical. The use of humour and compassion is soaked into the text, forming an accessible yet deeper look into lives often neglected. The book has a focus on leadership and how we can use and be inspired by these women whilst also remaining realistic for our modern age. A fantastic read for anyone navigating leadership or seeking to gain a fresh perspective on neglected narratives within the Bible.

Reviewed by AMY SHEPHERD

Bible characters

 

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