Academic
Gospel Media – Nicholas Elder
How did we get the Bible? That’s a huge question and the answer is way more complicated than I went to the local Christian bookstore.” But even when we try to go deeper—to talk about […]
Genre: Academic
Academic
Jingjiao: The Earliest Christian Church in China – Glen L. Thompson
In 2012, fresh out of seminary, I—a white man speaking zero Mandarin—took the position of youth pastor at a Chinese Church. At the time, I knew nothing about Chinese culture, little about Asian-American Christianity (did […]
Academic
Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America – Richard T. Hughes and James L. Gorman
I grew up in the Church of Christ, but never really got into its history. The independent nature of the denomination (to the point some still wince at it being called that) means that the […]
Academic
Gone for Good: Navigating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition – ed. Mark Elsdon
In 2020, I was living in Philadelphia for a few months just down the road from St. Edwards church, an abandoned cathedral that, in 1995 housed the homeless and is where Shane Claiborne and his […]
Academic
The Servant Lawyer: Facing the Challenges of Christian Faith in Everyday Law Practice – Richard F. Cochran Jr.
This thoughtful, well-written book explores how lawyers can integrate their faith with their work. Richard F. Cochran Jr. writes from the perspective of an attorney and a law school professor, and he shows that even […]
Academic
A Secret Vice – JRR Tolkien (ed. Dimtra Fimi and Andrew Wiggins)
Before he was a fantasy author, JRR Tolkien was a philologist. And I mean, before in the sense of prior to and in the sense of preceding in importance. In a very real way, it […]
Academic
The Story of Kullervo – JRR Tolkien (ed. Verlyn Flieger)
The Story of Kullervo is the second of three non-Middle-Earth JRR Tolkien tales to receive a literary overview from noted Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger. Flieger had written several books about Tolkien and Tolkien’s legendarium, including […]
Academic
The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun – JRR Tolkien (ed. Verlyn Flieger)
Before Tolkien was the Master of Middle-Earth, he was a humble academic specializing in medieval English literature and philology. The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun comes from this non-Middle-Earth academic side of Tolkien merging with […]
Academic
Leading Christian Communities – C. Kavin Rowe
As I read through Leading Christian Communities, the thought I kept coming back to was that the content seemed better placed in a magazine or blog. After finishing the book, I did some research and, […]
Academic
Disabling Leadership: A Practical Theology for the Broken Body of Christ – Andrew T. Draper, Jody Michele, and Andrea Mae
This unique book shares theological insights and practical ideas for how churches can empower people with disabilities to take leadership roles in the church. The authors reflect on how well-meaning disability ministries often end up […]