Book Review Editors

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Patricia Farris is Senior Minister of First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica, California.

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Eric Van Meter, director of Wesley Foundation at Arkansas State University and elder in the Arkansas Annual Conference.

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A service of Circuit Rider magazine published by The United Methodist Publishing House.

Circuit Rider seeks to be a bridge between pastors and the resources they want and need in order to be effective servants of Christ and shepherds of their congregations. In each issue, we offer six to ten reviews of new resources the Book Review Editors have selected as worthy of note by pastors. All reviewers are clergy persons.

Click on any of the titles below to read a review of that book. Each review also has a link to Cokesbury.com where you can order most books at a 30% discount off the suggested retail price for a limited time. Books reviewed in future issues will also be offered at a special discount. After each new Book Review issue is posted, the prices on previous issues will offer the standard Cokesbury.com 20% discount.

May/June/July 2011 - The Living Word

• The Christian Year: A Guide for Worship and Preaching by Robin Knowles Wallace
  
• Digital Disciple: Real Christianity in a Virtual World by Adam Thomas
  
• Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation by Carol Howard Merritt
  
• C.L.I.M.B. Higher: Creating a Vision for Giving and Stewardship, by Scott McKenzie, PhD., Kristine Perry Miller, CFRE
  
• Papias and the Mysterious Menorah: The Third Art West Adventure by Ben Witherington III and Ann Witherington
  
• Renovate or Die: 10 Ways to Focus Your Church on Mission by Bob Farr with Kay Kotan
  

February/March/April 2011 - Holy Conversation

• The Gifts of the Small Church by Jason Byassee
  
• In Defense of Civility: How Religion Can Unite America on Seven Moral Issues That Divide Us by James Calvin Davis
  
• Preaching for Church Transformation by Bill Easum
  
• The Jesus Inquest: The Case for and Against the Resurrection of the Christ by Charles Foster
  
• Web-Empowered Ministry: Connecting with People through Websites, Social Media, and More by Mark M. Stephenson
  
• Generation Rising: A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church by Andrew C. Thompson, ed.
  

Nov./Dec./Jan. 10-11 - Calling & Career

• Why Jesus? by William H. Willimon
  
• Whose Offering Plate Is It? New Strategies for Financial Stewardship by J. Clif Christopher
  
• Spiritual Bankruptcy: A Call to Prophetic Action by John B. Cobb, Jr.
  
• Neighbor: Christian Encounters with “Illegal” Immigration by Ben Daniel
  
• Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton Jonathan Montaldo and Robert G. Toth, eds.
  
• Journey in the Wilderness: New Life for Mainline Churches by Gil Rendle
  

Aug./Sept./Oct. 2010 - Rethink Church

• Beyond the Yellow Ribbon: Ministering to Returning Combat Veterans by David A. Thompson and Darlene
  
• Out of Babylon by Walter Brueggemann
  
• The Worship Architect by Constance M. Cherry
  
• Transforming Christian Theology: for Church and Society by Philip Clayton (in collaboration with Tripp Fuller)
  
• Not Just a One Night Stand: Ministry With the Homeless by John Flowers and Karen Vannoy
  
• The Stewardship Companion: Lectionary Resources for Preaching by David N. Mosser
  
• John Wesley: A Preaching Life by Michael Pasquarello III
  

May/June/July 2010 - Global Health

• This We Believe: The Core of Wesleyan Faith and Practice By William H. Willimon
  
• “GodFilms” Digital Diary Series
  
• Reading Scripture as Wesleyans by Joel B. Green
  
• The Future of the United Methodist Church: Seven Vision Pathways by Scott J. Jones and Bruce R. Ough, eds
  
• Accompany Them With Singing: The Christian Funeral by Thomas G. Long
  
• 52 Ways To Create an AIDS-free World by Donald E. Messer
  
• You Can't Do Everything... So Do Something: Small Ways to Change the World by Shane Stanford
  
• Wesley
  
• Blood Done Sign My Name
  

Feb./March/April 2010 - New Places For New People

• The Way of Jesus: To Repair and Renew the World by Bruce Chilton
  
• 24 Hours That Changed the World by Adam Hamilton
  
• Change the World: Recovering the Message and Mission of Jesus by Mike Slaughter
  
• Got Style? Personality Based Evangelism by Jeffrey A. Johnson
  
• Manifold Witness: The Plurality of Truth By John R. Franke
  
• Sent and Gathered: A Worship Manual for the Missional Church by Clayton J. Schmit
  

Nov./Dec./Jan. 09-10 - Ministry With The Poor

• The Jesus Revolution: Learning From Christ's First Followers
  
• The Audacity of Faith: Christian Leaders Reflect on the Election of Barack Obama
  
• Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement
  
• Do Not Live Afraid: Faith in a Fearful World
  
• More Power in the Pulpit: How America’s Most Effective Black Preachers Prepare Their Sermons
  
• Pastorpreneur: Outreach beyond Business as Usual
  Imagining Church: Seeing Hope in a World of Change
  
• The Apostolic Congregation: Church Growth Reconceived for a New Generation
  

Aug./Sept./Oct. 2009 - Leadership Development

• 95 Questions to Shape the Future of Your Church: Tools to Fulfill the Congregation’s Mission, by Thomas G. Bandy
  
• God the What? What Metaphors for God Reveal About Our Beliefs in God, by Carolyn Jane Bohler
  
• Holier Than Thou: When Faith Becomes Toxic, by Ergun Mehmet Caner
  
• Listen for God’s Leading: A Workbook for Corporate Spiritual Discernment, by Valerie K. Isenhower and Judith A. Todd
  
• Religionless Christianity: Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Troubled Times, by Jeffrey C. Pugh
  
• Undone by Easter: Keeping Preaching Fresh, by William H. Willimon
  

May/June/July 2009 - Money

• Attentive to God: Thinking Theologically in Ministry, by Charles M. Wood and Ellen Blue
  
• Best Advice: Wisdom on Ministry from 30 Leading Pastors and Preachers edited by William J. Carl, III
  
• Christians in the Public Square: Faith that Transforms Politics, by Ellen Ott Marshall
  
• Growing Up Christian: A Congregational Strategy for Nurturing Disciples, by C. Ellis Nelson
  
• Faithful Witnesses: United Methodist Theology of Mission by John Edward Nuessle
  
• Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment, by Mark Osler
  
• Prelude to Practical Theology: Variations on Theory and Practice, by Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner
  

Feb./March/April 2009 - Generations

• Mainline or Methodist?: Rediscovering Our Evangelistic Mission
  
• Notes to New Pastors
  
• Bursting the Bubble: Rethinking Conventional Wisdom about Church Leadership
  
• Two Books on Stewardship: Irresistible Invitation and Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate
  
• Youth Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Youth Ministry
  

Nov./Dec./Jan. 08-09 - Opening The Door

• Surprised by Hope
  
• Canonical Theism: A Proposal for Theology & the Church
  
• Prayers for a Privileged People
  
• God-Size Your Church: Beyond Growth for Growth’s Sake
  
• Women & Leadership: The State of Play and Strategies for Change
  
• Mission Trips That Matter: Embodied Faith for the Sake of the World
  

Aug./Sept./Oct. 2008 - Preaching in the Moment

• Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral Argument of Public Life
  
• Thumpin’ It: The Use and Abuse of the Bible in Today’s Presidential Politics, by Jacques Berlinerblau
  
• Raising Children to Love Their Neighbors by Carolyn C. Brown.
  
• Inside the Leader’s Head by Virginia Todd Holeman and Stephen L. Martyn
  
• Earthy Mysticism: Spirituality for Unspiritual People, by Tex Sample
  

May/June/July 2008 - Thinking Like Disciples

• There’s Power in the Connection: Building a Network of Dynamic Congregations
  
• Methodism in Recovery: Renewing Mission, Reclaiming History, Restoring Health
  
• What's Theology Got to Do with It? Convictions, Vitality, and the Church
  
• The Switching Hour : Kids of Divorce Say Good-Bye Again
  
• Staying at the Table: The Gift of Unity for United Methodists
  
• The Solace of Leaving Early
  
• The Crisis of Younger Clergy
  
• After the Baby Boomers by Robert Wuthnow
  

Feb./March/April 2008 - Shaping Our Global Future

• John Wesley’s Moral Theology by D. Stephen Long
  
• Longing for Enough in a Culture of More by Paul L. Escamilla
  
• Monk Habits for Everyday People: Benedictine Spirituality for Protestants by Dennis Okholm
  
• Recruiting Volunteers by Dan Entwistle. (The Abingdon Press and The Church of the Resurrection Ministry Guides)
  
• Reinhold Niebuhr (Abingdon Pillars of Theology) by Robin W. Lovin
  

Nov./Dec./Jan 07-08 - The Ministry Study

• Blue Collar Jesus : How Christianity Supports Workers’ Rights by Darren Cushman Wood
  
• Blue Collar Resistance and the Politics of Jesus: Doing Ministry with Working Class Whites by Tex Sample
  
• The Fate of Communion: The Agony of Anglicanism and The Future of a Global Church by Ephraim Radner and Philip Turner
  
• Grace and Holiness in a Changing World: A Wesleyan Proposal for Postmodern Ministry , edited by Jeffrey E. Greenway and Joel B. Green
  
• Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: A Guide by Gail R. O’Day and Charles Hackett
  
• Timetables of History for Students of Methodism by Rex D. Matthews
  
• Writing Tides: Finding Grace and Growth Through Writing by Kent Ira Groff
  

September/October 2007 - Naming the Present Dreaming the Future

• Evangelism After Christendom by Bryan Stone
  
• Keep the Call by Jill Crainshaw
  
• Marking Time: Preaching Biblical Stories in the Present Tense by Barbara K. Lundblad
  
• Oil and Water—Two Faiths: One God by Amir Hussain
  
• The Story of Evangelism: A History of The Witness To The Gospel by Robert G. Tuttle, Jr.
  
• A Community Called Atonement by Scott McKnight
  
• Triangular Teaching by Barbara Bruce
  

July/August 2007 - Conspiracy of Hope

• Faith and Fitness: Diet and Exercise for a Better World by Tom P. Hafer
  
• Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Robert Schnase
  
• Religious Foundations of Western Civilization: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, edited by Jacob Neusner
  
• The Sky Is Crying: Race, Class,and Natural Disaster edited by Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan
  
• Can These Bones Live? by Kevass J. Harding
  
• The Jesus Way: A Conversation On the Ways That Jesus Is the Way by Eugene Peterson
  

May/June 2007 - I Am The Way

• Why Should I Believe You? Rediscovering Clergy Credibility byThomas G. Bandy
  
• Web Empower Your Church by Mark Stephenson
  
• Though the Fig Tree Does Not Blossom: Toward a Responsible Theology of Christian Hope by Ellen Ott Marshall
  
• The Storyteller’s Companion to the Bible: Volume Eleven, The Parables of Jesus, edited by Dennis E. Smith and Michael E. Williams
  
• Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith by Diana Butler Bass
  
• Needs-Based Evangelism: Becoming a Good Samaritan Church by Robert D. Pierson
  
• Life in the Fish Bowl: Everyday Challenges of Pastors and Their Families by F. Belton Joyner Jr.
  

March/April 2007 - How Are You?

• Alone In The World? Human Uniqueness in Science and Theology by J. Wentzel Van Huysteen
  
• Atonement and Violence: A Theological Conversation, edited by John Sanders
  
• Making Spiritual Sense: Christian Leaders as Spiritual Interpreters by
  
• The Gospel-Driven Church: Retrieving the Classical Ministries of Contemporary Revivalism by Ian Stackhouse, Foreword by Andrew Walker
  
• On Revival: A Critical Examination, Andrew Walker and Kristin Aune (Editors), Foreword by Roger Forster
  
• Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright
  

January-February 2007 - People On The Margins

• Children’s Ministry by Judy N. Comstock
  
• Growing the African American Church edited by Carlyle Fielding Stewart, III
  
• I Was A Stranger: A Christian Theology of Hospitality by Arthur Sutherland
  
• Thank God It’s Friday: Encountering the Seven Last Words of Christ by William H. Willimon, foreword by Marva J. Dawn
  
• Violence and Theology by Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan
  
• Wesley for Armchair Theologians by William J. Abraham
  

November/December 2006 - Space For Ministry

• Conversations with Barth on Preaching by William H. Willimon
  
• A Future for Africa: Critical Essays in Christian Social Imagination by Emmanuel Katongole
  
• God At The Crossroads: The Four Movements of Transformational Worship by Jeff Patton
  
• Introducing The Uncommon Lectionary: Opening The Bible To Seekers and Disciples by Thomas G. Bandy
  
• Preaching and Teaching the Psalms by James L. Mays. Edited by Patrick D. Miller and Gene M. Tucker.
  
• Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry by L. Gregory Jones and Kevin R. Armstrong
  

September/October 2006 - Charles Wesley: Still Shaping Our Faith

• Courageous Past, Bold Future: The Journey Toward Full Clergy Rights for Women in the United Methodist Church by Patricia J. Thompson
  
• Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor
  
• The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right by Michael Lerner
  
• Preaching the Gospel Without Easy Answers by Robert Cummings Neville
  
• Simple Truths :On Values, Civility, and Our Common Good by Stephen Bauman
  

July/August 2006 - The Feast

• Momentum for Life: Sustaining Personal Health, Integrity, and Strategic Focus As A Leader by Michael Slaughter
  
• RealLivePreacher.com by Gordon Atkinson
  
• Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons by Frederick Buechner
  
• Tell It Like It Is: Reclaiming The Practice of Testimony by Lillian Daniel
  
• This Day: A Wesleyan Way of Prayer by Lawrence Hull Stookey
  
• The Life We Claim: The Apostles’ Creed For Preaching, Teaching and Worship by James C. Howell
  

May/June 2006 - Women Called and Ordained

• Eat This Book: A Conversation in The Art of Spiritual Readingby Eugene Peterson
  
• How Great a Flame! Contemporary Lessons from The Wesleyan Revival by James Logan
  
• Let Every Soul Be Jesus’ Guest: A Theology of the Open Table by Mark Stamm
  
• Pastors In Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Church Ministry by Dean R. Hoge and Jacqueline E. Wenger
  
• Proclamation and Theology (Horizons in Theology series) by William H. Willimon
  
• The Truce of God by Rowan Williams
  
• Mrs. Hunter’s Happy Death: Lessons on Living from People Preparing to Die by John Fanestil
  

March/April 2006 - Emerging Leaders

• From Pew to Pulpit: A Beginner’s Guide to Preaching by Clifton F. Guthrie
  
• Where Cross The Crowded Ways:Prayers of a City Pastor (Revised Edition) by Ernest T. Campbell
  
• Wondrous Depth: Preaching the Old Testament by Ellen Davis
  
• Worship Feast: 100 Readings, Rituals, Prayers and Guided Meditations by Jonathon Norman
  

January/February 2006 - Called to Preach

• Considering the Great Commission: Evangelism and Mission in the Wesleyan Spirit by W. Stephen Gunter and Elaine Robinson
  
• The End of Words: The Language of Reconciliation in a Culture of Violence by Richard Lischer
  
• Growing in the Life of Faith: Education and Christian Practices, Second Edition, by Craig Dyskstra ; Study Guide by Syd Hielema
  
• The Pastor's Bible Study: Volume Two (A New Interpreter's Bible Study)
  
• Prayer And The Common Life by Georgia Harkness
  

November/December 2005 - Peacebuilding

• Blowing the Lid Off the God Box: Opening Up to the Limitless Faith by Anne Robertson
  
• Interpretation Bible Commentary Song of Songs by Robert W. Jenson
  
• The Nomadic Church: Growing Your Congregation Without Owning the Building by Bill Easum and Pete Theodore; Foreword by Brian McClaren
  
• Praying the Story: Learning Prayer from the Psalms by Maxie D. Dunnam and John David Walt, Jr.
  
• The Storyteller’s Companion to the Bible,Volume Nine: Stories About Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, edited by Dennis Smith and Michael Williams
  

September/October, 2005 - Standing In The Circle Of Grief

• Ducking Spears, Dancing Madly: a Biblical Model of Church Leadership by Lewis A. Parks and Bruce C. Birch
  
• Early Methodist Life and Spirituality by Lester Ruth
  
• God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation by Terence E. Fretheim
  
• The Last Word and the Word After That: A Tale of Faith, Doubt, and a New Kind of Christianity by Brian McLaren
  
• Season of Light and Hope: Prayers and Liturgies for Advent and Christmas by Blair Gilmer Meeks
  
• Testimony to the Exiles: Sermons for GenXers and Other Postmoderns by Mark R. Feldmeir
  

July/August 2005 - Shaping Christian Character

• A Change of Pastors...and How It Affects Change in the Congregation by Loren B. Mead
  
• John and Charles Wesley: Selected Prayers, Hymns, and Sermons
  
• A Mainline Turnaround: Strategies for Congregations and Denominations by Lyle E. Schaller
  
• Planting a Garden: Growing the Church Beyond Traditional Models
  
• Wesleyan Perspectives on the New Creation, edited by Douglas Meeks
  

May/June 2005 - ITINERACY

• Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation In Spiritual Theology by Eugene H. Peterson
  
• Hit the Bullseye: How Denominations Can Aim the Congregation At the Mission Field by Paul D. Borden, foreword by Leith Anderson
  
• Marks of Methodism: Theology in Ecclesial Practice by Russell E. Richey, with Dennis M. Campbell and William B. Lawrence
  
• Practicing Right Relationships: Skills for Deepening Purpose, Finding fulfillment, and Increasing Effectiveness in Your Congregation by Mary K. Sellon and Daniel P. Smith.
  
• The Seeds of Heaven: Sermons on the Gospel of Matthew by Barbara Brown Taylor
  

March/April 2005 - Signs of Hope

• Awakened to a Calling: Reflections on the Vocation of Ministry, edited by Ann M. Svennungsen and Melissa Wiginton
  
• Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story by Timothy Tyson
  
• Celebrating Holy Week in a Post-Holocaust World by Henry F. Knight
  
• A History of Preaching by O. C. Edwards, Jr.
  
• I Am The Lord Who Heals You: Reflections on Healing, Wholeness and Restoration, edited by G. Scott Morris
  
• Rekindling the Mainline: New Life through New Churches by Stephen C. Compton
  

January/February 2005 - Rethinking Worship

• A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian D. McLaren
  
• The Jazz of Preaching: How To Preach The Gospel with Freedom and Joy by Kirk Byron Jones
  
• Meeting God in Virtual Reality:Using Spiritual Practices with Media by Teresa Blythe and Daniel Wolpert
  
• The Race to Reach Out: Connecting Newcomers to Christ in a New Century by Michael J. Coyner and Doug T. Anderson
  
• An Unexpected Journey: Reflections on Pastoral Ministry by J. Philip Wogaman
  

November-December 2004 - Africa God's Blessing

• The Leading Women: Stories of the First Women Bishops of The United Methodist Church by Judith Craig
  
• Making Love Last a Lifetime: Biblical Perspectives on Love, Marriage, and Sex by Adam Hamilton (planning kit)
  
• The Pastor's Bible Study, Volume One, with CD Rom
  
• Treasure in Clay Jars: Patterns in Missional Faithfulness by Lois Barrett
  
• The Ecumenical Future edited by Carl Braatan and Robert Jenson
  

September-October 2004 - The Atonement

• Preaching and Teaching Atonement: A Comparative Review of Four Books
  
• The Ice Cube Is Melting:What Is Really at Risk in United Methodism? by Lyle E. Schaller
  
• Inscribing the Text: Sermons and Prayers of Walter Brueggemann edited by Anna Carter Florence
  
• The Logic of Renewal by Willliam J. Abraham
  
• What Would I Believe If I Didn't Believe Anything: A Handbook For Spiritual Orphans by Kent Ira Groff
  

July/August 2004 - Sunday School. It's For Life!

• Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence: Christian Churches and the Global Aids Crisis by Donald E. Messer
  
• Christly Gestures: Learning to be Members of the Body of Christ by Brett P. Webb-Mitchell
  
• Credo: The Wisdom of an American Prophet by William Sloan Coffin
  
• Evolution From Creation To New Creation: Conflict, Conversation and Convergence by Ted Peters and Martinez Hewlett
  
• Preaching from the Soul: Insistent Observations on the Sacred Art By J. Ellsworth Kalas
  
• Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First: Rediscovering Ministry by Bill Easum
  

May /June 2004 - The Holy Circle of Service in Christ

• Beginnings: An Introduction to Christian Faith by Andy Langford, Mark Ralls, and Rob Weber
  
• Healing Spiritual Amnesia: Remembering What It Means to Be the Church by Paul Nixon; foreword by Tony Campolo
  
• One Hundred Tons of Ice and Other Gospel Stories by Lawrence Wood
  
• The Power of God at Home: Nurturing Our Children in Love & Grace by J. Bradley Wigger
  
• The Rhythm of God's Grace: Uncovering The Meaning of Morning and Evening Hours of Prayer by Arthur Paul Boers
  
• You Only Have to Die: Leading Your Congregation to New Life by James A. Harnish
  

March/April 2004 - Pittsburg in View General Conference 2004 April 27-May7

• The Call to Discipleship by Karl Barth, translated by G. W. Bromiley, edited by K. C. Hanson
  
• The Evangelistic Love of God and Neighbor by Scott J. Jones
  
• Fiesta Cristiana:Recursos para la Adoracion/ Resources for Worship, written and compiled by Joel N. Martinez and Raquel M. Martinez
  
• Preaching for Adult Conversion and Commitment :Invitation to a Life Transformed by Frank G. Honeycutt
  
• Unleashing The Word: Preaching With Relevance, Power and Purpose by Adam Hamilton
  
• Touchdown Jesus: The Mixing of Sacred and Secular in American History by R. Laurence Moore
  

January-February 2004 - Staying Centered In Christ

• The Abingdon Preaching Annual 2004 edited by David Mosser
  
• The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith by Marcus J. Borg
  
• Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Psalms and Prayer by Larry James Peacock
  
• Spiritual Maturity: Preserving Congregational Health and Balance by Frank A. Thomas
  
• Visual Leadership: The Church Leader As ImageSmith by Rob Weber, foreword by Lyle Schaller
  
• Your Church Can Thrive by Harold Percy
  

November/December 2003 - General Conference 2004 Pittsburg, PA

• The Passion-Driven Congregation by E. Carver McGriff and M. Kent Millard
  
• A Perfect Love: Understanding John Wesley’s A Plain Account of Christian Perfection by Steven W. Manskar
  
• Power Failure: Christianity in the Culture of Technology by Albert Borgmann
  
• Preaching To Skeptics and Seekers by Frank G. Honeycutt
  
• Transforming Congregational Culture by Anthony B. Robinson
  

September/October 2003 - Worship: How Many Ways Are There To Be Faithful?

• The Art of Spiritual Direction by W. Paul Jones
  
• Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann, edited by Edwin Searcy
  
• The Company of Preachers: Wisdom on Preaching Augustine to the Present edited by Richard Lischer
  
• Discover Your Windows: Lining Up with God’s Vision by Kent R. Hunter
  
• The New Interpreter's Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha, General Editor: Walter J. Harrelson
  
• Reclaiming What Was Lost: Recovering Spiritual Vitality in the Mainline Church by Carlyle Fielding Stewart, III
  

July/August 2003 - A Stewardship Journey

• Affirmations of a Dissenter by C. Joseph Sprague
  
• First Fruits: 14 Sermons on Stewardship edited by David Mosser and Brian Bauknight
  
• Radical Outreach: The Recovery of Apostolic Ministry and Evangelism by George Hunter
  
• The Rebirth of Orthodoxy by Thomas C. Oden
  
• Saint Julian: A Novel by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
  
• The Story We Find Ourselves In: Further Adventures of a New Kind of Christian by Brian D. McLaren
  

May/June 2003 - What Does It Mean To Be Wesleyan in 2003?

• Fling Open the Doors: Giving the Church Away to the Community by Paul Nixon
  
• Prayer: 50th Anniversary Edition by Karl Barth
  
• Preaching: An Essential Guide by Ronald Allen
  
• The Spiritual Leader’s Guide to Self-Care by Rochelle Melander and Harold Eppley
  
• Standing in the Circle of Grief: Prayers and Liturgies for Death and Dying by Blair Gilmer Meeks
  
• The Ten Commandments:A Preaching Commentary by John C. Holbert
  

March/April 2003 - Confronting Evil

• Addiction: Pastoral Responses by Bucky Dann
  
• Bread and Wine: Readings For Lent and Easter
  
• Encountering Evil: Live Options in Theodicy edited by Stephen T. Davis
  
• Fragile Hope: Your Church in 2020 by Thomas G. Bandy
  
• The Undoing of Death by Fleming Rutledge
  
• Transforming the Stone: Preaching Through Resistance to Change by Barbara K. Lundblad
  

January/February 2003 - Visible and Invisible Wounds

• The Gospel According to Harry Potter by Connie Neal
  
• Moving Beyond Church Growth: An Alternative Vision for Congregations by Mark A. Olson
  
• Pastor: A Reader For Ordained Ministry by William Willimon
  
• Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry by William Willimon
  
• Sharing Stories, Shaping Community: Vital Ministry in the Small Membership Church by Mike Mather
  
• United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center by Scott C. Jones
  
• With God in the Crucible:Preaching Costly Discipleship by Peter Storey
  

November/December 2002 - Save Souls

• If It Could Happen Here:Turning the Small Membership Church Around by Jeff Patton
  
• John Wesley on Christian Beliefs:The Standard Sermons in Modern English, Vol. 1 by Kenneth Cain Kinghorn
  
• Practicing Exile:The Religious Odyssey of an American Jew by Marc H. Ellis
  
• Unfreezing Moves: Following Jesus into the Mission Field by Bill Easum
  
• Writing in the Dust: After September 11 by Rowan Williams
  

September/October - Listening for the Spirit’s Voice

• And You Welcomed Me: A Sourcebook on Hospitality in Early Christianity by Amy Oden
  
• Honoring the Body: Meditations on a Christian Practice by Stephanie Paulsell
  
• The New Interpreter's Bible ( Twelve Volumes) by Leander Keck, Convener and Senior New Testament Editor ;David L. Petersen, Senior Old Testament Editor; Thomas G. Long, Senior Homiletics Editor
  
• New Tools for a New Century: First Steps in Equipping Your Church for the Digital Revolution by John P. Jewell
  
• Preaching Without Notes by Joseph M. Webb
  
• Watch For The Light: Readings For Advent and Christmas, edited by Charles Moore
  
• The Wesleyan Tradition: A Paradigm for Renewal edited by Paul Chilcote
  

July/August 2002 - Shaping and Being Shaped

• The Faith of Fifty Million: Baseball, Religion, and American Culture edited by Christopher Evans and William Herzog
  
• Jesus the Savior: The Meaning of Jesus Christ for Christian Faith by William C. Placher
  
• Speak What We Feel (not what we ought to say) by Frederick Buechner
  
• The Sunday After Tuesday: College Pulpits Respond To 9/11, edited by William H. Willimon.
  
• The Web of Women's Leadership: Recasting Congregational Ministry by Susan Willhauck and Jacqulyn Thorpe
  

May/June 2002 - Marriage & Divorce

• Excellent Protestant Congregations: The Guide to Best Places and Practices by Paul Wilkes
  
• Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture by William D. Romanowski
  
• Leading Beyond the Walls: Creating Congregations with a Heart for the Unchurched by Adam Hamilton
  
• Nick the Cat: Christian Reflections on the Stranger by Roberta Bondi
  
• Preaching the Psalms by J. Clinton McCann, Jr. and James C. Howell
  
• Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue by Robert K. Johnston
  
• Surrendering To God: Living The Covenant Prayer by Keith Beasley-Topliffe
  
• A Visit to Vanity Fair: Moral Essays on the Present Age by Alan Jacobs
  

March/April 2002 - Children and Poverty

• Calling and Character: Virtues of the Ordained Life by William H. Willimon
  
• The Cherry Log Sermons by Fred B. Craddock
  
• Christian Witness in a Postmodern World by Harry Lee Poe
  
• Conversion in the Wesleyan Tradition by Kenneth J. Collins and John H. Tyson
  
• Faith in the Living God by John Polkinghorne and Michael Welker
  
• The Gospel According to the Simpsons by Mark I. Pinsky
  
• Journey To The Center of the Faith: An Explorer’s Guide To Christian Living by James Harnish
  
• Searching For Truth: Confessing Christ in an Uncertain World by Thomas W. Currie
  

Special Feature:Film Reviews

• Blood Done Sign My Name
• Wesley