Anabaptism

Anabaptist Currents: History in Conversation with the Present

For those interested in the contemporary relevance of Anabaptist beliefs and practices, it is important to attempt to relate lessons from the sixteenth century convictions and practices to contemporary challenges. This book contains the papers from a conference of Mennonites and members of the Church of the Brethren where 22 people attempted to do just that at. The papers represent some of the creative contemporary wrestlings with the Anabaptist traditions on topics such as biblical interpretation, mission, ministry, salvation, sin, and accountability. – Mark Thiessen Nation

0897252357 Penobscot Press (1995), 319pp £12.25

Menno Simons: Places, Portraits, and Progeny

This large-format book, a cooperative effort by Mennonites in Europe and North America, was published to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the birth of Menno Simons. Through text and illustration, the book's three sections trace back the footsteps of Menno's life, record his many faces, and portray the changing image of his Dutch spiritual descendents to about 1740.

Profiles of Anabaptist Women: Sixteenth-Century Reforming Pioneers

Women are always prominent in renewal movements, and never less so than in Anabaptism. This book will fascinate and intrigue you and provide a unique window into Anabaptism.

Prophetic Imagination, The:

One of Brueggemann's earlier books and still one of his most popular and accessible. Brief. Powerful. Energizing. Every pastor and church leader should read this book (concluding prayerfully and humbly with chapter 7, "A Note on the Practice of Ministry"). – Mark Thiessen Nation

Tabernacle Model:

Kit with wooden pre-cut parts and instructions for making your own construction. By special order only.

Threat of Life, The: Sermons on Pain, Power and Weakness

Many of us have been feasting on Brueggemann's commentaries for a number of years now, in the process having our sermons greatly enriched. What we did not previously have was a book of his own sermons. Here, in his latest book, are twenty-two of them. In them one finds what one might expect from Brueggemann: vivid expressions, memorable lines, and the Gospel powerfully communicated.

Community of Character, A: Toward a Constructive Christian Social Ethic

Of his many books this is probably one of Hauerwas' most influential and important. He includes essays on Jesus, the Scriptures, the Church, sex, abortion, and the family as well as an interesting essay on what we have to learn from the rabbits in Richard Adams' novel 'Watership Down'. A number of these essays demonstrate why Hauerwas has been so influential. – Mark Thiessen Nation

Peaceable Kingdom, The: A Primer in Christian Ethics

Nicholas Lash of Cambridge University said that this book "establishes [Hauerwas] beyond doubt as a major voice in English speaking theology". Of his many books, this is the book that comes closest to giving a full account of Hauerwas' distinctive approach to Christian ethics. An important book, well worth reading. – Mark Thiessen Nation

Peculiar People, A: The Church as Culture in a Post-Christian Society

I could do no better than quote my teacher Nancey Murphy: "I love this book. Engagingly written, philosophically competent, theologically profound. This self-proclaimed 'postmodern, neo-Anabaptist, plebeian Christian' provides sound teaching and good advice for the whole church." She is exactly right. This is an important book. – Mark Thiessen Nation

How do you remain positive and constructive in dealing with people problems and difficult situations in your organisation or church? How can you turn the nightmare of conflict into an opportunity for change? This book fully demonstrates the best new techniques, such as mediation and seven-step problem solving, and takes the reader through many practical exercises and examples of hands-on skills. These include active listening, neutral questioning, option generation, mutual problem definiton, conflict resolution and assertion. These skills and techniques are woven into a fictitious organisation, Troubled Associates, in which a variety of people demonstrate how to deal successfully with specific conflict situations.

Highly recommended by Ron Kraybill. A course textbook for Eastern Mennonite Universities MA course on conflict and mediation

This group learning package of a manual and six audiotapes is designed to be used in 10 to 13 segments. The purpose is "to enhance your ability to respond creatively to conflict". Among subjects covered are personal styles in conflict, developing collaborative skills, a biblical perspective on conflict, group dynamics and conflict, congregational habits in dealing with conflict, power and powerlessness, and the mediation process. Originally produced in 1987 by the staff of Mennonite Conciliation Service, Akron, Pa., U.S.A., the current edition was updated in 1993.

Once Upon a More Enlightened Time: More Politically Correct Bedtime Stories

James Finn Garner is a writer and performer whose last book 'Politically Correct Bedtime Stories', was an international best seller in 1994. Called "a master ofthe tour de force" by The Washington Post and "a smart-alec, mealy-mouthed creep" by The Daily Telegraph, Garner feels the truth lies somewhere in between. He lives in Chicago with his spousal lifemate and their new pre-adult.

Politically Correct Holiday Stories: For an Enlightened Yuletide Season

Holiday tales such as The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol have long delighted us, but until now they've always been burdened with society's skewed values and mores. Garner has revised and improved familiar stories to redefine the idea of "good will to all men" to include womyn, pre-adults, and companion animals as well.

Human Relationships

A Little Child Shall Lead Them: Hopeful Parenting in a Confused World

The author, an elder and family counsellor in the Bruderhof, is also the father of eight and grandfather of fourteen. His convictions and insights concerning children, child rearing and parenting, borne out of his experience and convictions lived out in a Christian community movement, offer profound insights in these times of cultural decline and moral confusion. The breadth of topics he covers, including children's suffering, reading, sex education, media, arts and crafts… make this book a "must read" for those who care about our future. Even those who disagree with Arnold on some points respect the quiet authority of his words.

Authentic Transformation: A New Vision of Christ and Culture

For anyone who has grown tired of the epithet "sectarian" being (unfairly) applied to your position or church, this book is a must. The long essay by John Howard Yoder alone is worth the book. His essay—which has existed and been quite influential in various unpublished forms for more than 30 years—is now finally published here. It is a devastating critique of H. Richard Niebuhr's book, Christ and Culture. But it is also, more generally, a sound defence against the attempt, theologically and ethically, to marginalised Anabaptist-types by labelling them as sectarian. Most of the rest of the book is taken up with Glen Stassen's attempt to construct an alternative to Niebuhr that takes into account Yoder's critique. – Mark Thiessen Nation

Ruth-Heffelbower, Duane

Anabaptists Are Back!, The: Making Peace in a Dangerous World

Christian Peacemaker Teams—non-violent Christians committed to enter situations of conflict—are one example of peacemakers who risk danger to be faithful to Jesus. Although the author of this book observes that the historic peace churches have understood peacemaking to be passive, he suggests that active peacemaking really has its roots in the Anabaptism from which these churches emerged. Combining biblical, historical, and theological material with stories told by active peacemakers, the book shows that "the Anabaptists are back".

Cecil, Nancy Lee

Raising Peaceful Children in a Violent World:

This is an action book for parents and teachers who want to end violence and create a safe, peaceful environment for children--in the home, in school, and in the community. It is brimming with creative suggestions and down-to-earth examples for teaching children to become peacemakers. A few of the subjects covered are peace-compatible discipline strategies; tips for co-existing with television; positive racial, cultural, and gender attitudes; 55 family activities that promote peace; and family peace meetings as a tool for communication.

Sustaining the Earth: A Christian Approach to Caring for the Environment

This workbook is designed to help us look at the state of the planet today, and asks what Christian values should shape the Church's response to the situation. It is for those who are interested but not necessarily enthusiasts, for those who suspect we should be making a more positive response to environmental issues but need to explore what this should be. It is also for those who want to know how to live with integrity in a society whose way of living is constantly degrading the environment.

African Prayerbook

All Age Events and Worship: An Introduction and Practical Guide

Churches are increasingly eager to discover ways in which the family of God, from the youngest to the oldest, can join together in worship, celebration, and learning. This practical guide to all age ministry offers ways to introduce all age events and worship into your church and gives ready-made plans for use throughout the church year.

055102819X Marshall Pickering (1994), 207pp £7.99

Perry, Michael

Bible Prayers for Worship:

This attractive and highly versatile anthology can be used in both formal and informal worship, in homes, churches or schools, in small group settings or large gatherings, and at all times of the Christian year. Here are celebrations, confessions, litanies and acclamations of faith, all expressing the simplicity and immediacy of biblical worship.

From Brokenness to Community:

This is a "must read" book for persons who desire to remain passionate about community in the midst of the world's pain. Through the use of stories Vanier describes how we are healed, through gifts to the poor, to become communities of bonding, caring, and mission. First presented as lectures at Harvard Divinity School, these two brief chapters display Jean Vanier's spirit of simplicity, gratitude, and celebration–a spirit which is fed by his living with and visiting the handicapped in the L'Arche communities around the world for many years. A life-changing book. – Mary Thiessen Nation

Genuine Christianity: Essentials for living your faith

In this small book, Ron Sider discusses eleven characteristics of genuine Christians. These encompass everything from the Christian's view of God and the world to the Christian's personal and communal way of life.

Here is a book to challenge us in our belief and practice. A book for reflection and discussion. Sider is convinced that the world will change for the better when Christians — "even just a fraction of us" — truly live and express our faith.

Gospel in Dostoyevsky

087486187X Plough (1988), 262pp £9.00

I Tell You a Mystery: Life, Death, and Eternity

0874860830 Plough (1996), 153pp £8.00

Praying the Psalms:

Praying the Psalms invites the reader to discover in the Psalms a way of expressing our life experiences, of recognizing and accepting our own stories. Brueggemann argues that the Psalms have "a distinctively Jewish shape—the shape of active, protesting suffering; the shape of defiant, resilient hope." Short enough and important enough to read through several times a year. – Mary Thiessen Nation

When heaven is silent

Rasmusson, Arne

Church as Polis, The: From Political Theology to Theological Politics as Exemplified by Moltmann & Hauerwas

Doctoral theses do not always make for interesting books. However, this doctoral thesis on Jürgen Moltmann and Stanley Hauerwas is well worth reading. It is important because it is an interesting and informative discussion of Stanley Hauerwas' overall project. And it is interesting because it points to some important differences between what Rasmusson labels the "political theology" of Moltmann and the "theological politics" of Hauerwas. This book is also, incidentally, a fairly good introduction to John Howard Yoder since Yoder figures prominently throughout the second half of the book. – Mark Thiessen Nation

Nation, Mark Thiessen, comp.

Comprehensive Bibliography of the Writings of John Howard Yoder, A:

The title explains the main content of this book, compiled by the programme director of the London Mennonite Centre. Mark Thiessen Nation is a candidate for a Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary and is currently working on a doctoral thesis on the writings of John Howard Yoder. In the essay which introduces the bibliography, Mark demonstrates that Yoder is more than the writer of one important book–'The Politics of Jesus'–but has made significant contributions to seven aspects of the life of the church. The bibliography traces writings by Yoder (published and unpublished) over a 50-year period from 1947–1997, listing them by year and under categories. The book concludes with an additional bibliography of writings about Yoder.

– Virginia Glass Schlabach, LMC Librarian

Hayes, Richard B.

Moral Vision of the New Testament, The: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics

In my 25 years of collecting a large library I have never seen so many endorsements for any book. Many people have been waiting for this book for a long time—and believe that it is well worth the wait! The book is divided into four sections. The first is Hays' attempt to be descriptive about the theological and ethical content of the New Testament texts. Part two is an attempt to synthesize this content into a coherent summary. Part three looks at how some recent interpreters (including discussions of John Yoder and Stanley Hauerwas) use the New Testament in ethics. Part four looks at five issues—violence, divorce, homosexuality, anti-Judaism and ethnic conflict, and abortion—attempting to apply what has been learned. Not only is this an important, readable book, but it is also one that clearly has profound sympathies with an Anabaptist-type perspective. – Mark Thiessen Nation

Ollenburger, Ben C., ed.

So Wide a sea: Essays on Biblical and Systematic Theology

The relation between biblical and systematic theology, which has often been divided by "the wide sea" of Scripture, is once again the subject of vigorous debate. In this book, seven biblical scholars and systematic theologians enter into this debate, which has significant consequences for theological education and the church, and attempt to understand and bridge the division. (Institute of Mennonite Studies Text-Reader Series 4)

Hauerwas, Stanley, & Murphy & Nation, eds.

Theology Without Foundations: Religious Practice & the Future of Theological Truth

These essays were published to honour my teacher, James Wm. McClendon, Jr., a Baptist now teaching at Fuller Theological Seminary. Not all such books are interesting, but most all of the essays in this book are, some very much so. There is a nice introduction to nonfoundationalism and theology by Nancey Murphy. The first essay is one on worship by an agnostic, James Smith! The closing essay, on discipleship, is by Rabbi Michael Goldberg who says that McClendon taught him "more about practising the ministry of sacred service...than anyone I have ever known". Everyone would have their favourites. Mine, perhaps, are John Yoder's essay against what he terms "methodologist", Stanley Hauerwas' on the church, and Richard Steele's about emotions, religious affections, and narrative theology. All in all, this is a fine collection of essays. – Mark Thiessen Nation (Mark was one of the editors of this book.)

Hauerwas, Stanley & Richard Bondi & David Burrell

Truthfulness and Tragedy: Further Investigations into Christian Ethics

One of Hauerwas' earlier books, this book contains some important essays. The first section includes some of his seminal essays on what was then (the 1970s) a challenge to the dominant patterns of thinking about ethics, with titles such as "Story and Theology" and "From System to Story". The last two sections are comprised of essays on medical ethics and living with the handicapped. – Mark Thiessen Nation