ERB, Vol 1 , #1
The
Vol. 1, No. 1 -
Diving for pearls in the endless stream of books (Eccles. 12:12B)
Chris Smith, editor
Welcome
Welcome to the first weekly issue of the Englewood Review of Books. You are receiving this because you are a friend of Englewood Christian Church, who we thought might be interested in this publication. Our aim is to provide a substantial review of one book each week, and then also to provide links to good books that have been reviewed elsewhere and announcements of upcoming events that might be of interest to our readers.
Most of you who are receiving this first issue will be familiar with who we are here at
http://www.englewoodcc.com/history.html
The books that you will find reviewed here will mostly be related to several themes that have been emerging in the life of our congregation and hopefully some of these will resonate with your own experiences. First, we have been deeply formed by the conviction that the Church, as the community of God’s people, has a significant place in God’s redemption of all things. If you are familiar with the work of the Ekklesia Project (http://ekklesiaproject.org/ ), you’ll have some sense of the sort of ecclesiology that is so important to us. As a result of this conviction, we have become friends with many folks interested in the “new monasticism,” and other forms of intentional Christian community, including the communities formerly known as the Bruderhof.
We also are an urban church, so occasionally you might see reviews related to the issues surrounding urban theology and practice. In a seeming contrast, however, there are many of us here that are intrigued by agriculture and particularly the writings of Wendell Berry, Ragan Sutterfield and others on caring for Creation, work and the importance of place.
One final, and related, theme that has been important to us is the social criticism of recent prophetic writers like Jacques Ellul, Ivan Illich and Neil Postman. These late writers and others of a similar ilk have taught us much about what it means not to be conformed to the pattern of this age (Rom. 12:2).
We have, in recent years, had conversations with people in emerging church circles, people involved in the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA), as well as others from the Stone-Campbell tradition, the historical tradition of our own congregation, which includes (the Churches of Christ, the Disciples of Christ churches and the independent Christian churches). So, you might see some books reviewed that are related to these conversations.
Although we are launching this publication via email, we hope in the coming months to archive it on a blog, which will facilitate discussion about the books and will have an RSS feed, so the tech-savvy among you could have the choice of following it that way. This first issue will be a little bit different as it will not feature a review of a specific book, but will include a re-print of an essay (that references several books) by our pastor Mike Bowling that appeared in the August 2007 issue of our church newsletter. Next week, we will feature my own review of Scot McKnight’s new book A Community Called Atonement.
Drop us an email and let us know what you think. Your feedback will help us to shape the life of this new publication moving forward. If at anytime you want to be removed from our email list, drop us an email and we will remove you. Please feel free to tell others about us, they can subscribe by sending an email to douloschristou@gmail.com with the word SUBSCRIBE in it.
Grace and Shalom,
Chris Smith, editor.
“Peace! Be Still!”
Mike Bowling
At the end of chapter 3 of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus identifies the essential character of His true family (those who do the will of God). The calling of the Twelve marked the re-gathering of true
However, this is the real world. All of creation is weighed down with the burden of our sin. The twenty-first century has fragmented to the point that conflict, storm and turbulence seems normal. Our world seems filled with demonic violence, the triumph of human sin, and the inevitability of death. The Satanic powers which are hostile to God appear to hold a strategic advantage. “Doesn’t God see what’s happening?” Somebody wake up Jesus before we all perish!
This is where the present embodiment of Jesus, the Church, needs to remember a story found in all three of the synoptic gospels; a story which announces God’s victory over hostile powers through the words and work of Jesus. It is a story which should make the Church bold in the power of God’s Spirit.
Recorded in Mark 4:35-41, we have a story which begins with a decision made by Jesus to send away the multitudes who have heard His kingdom parables, and to go with his disciples by boat to the other side of the
“Many translations of the Bible give us “Peace! Be Still!”, but clearly Jesus gave a two word command which would foreshadow his approach to demoniacs and the demons which vexed them. Silence is the natural posture of all things when the Holy Presence comes near:
“But the Lord is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth be silent before Him.”
(Habakkuk 2:20)
“Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near, for the Lord
has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated
His guests.” (Zephaniah 1:7)
“Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord;
for He is aroused from His holy habitation.” (Zechariah 2:13)
In this story, He silences the wind and sea; later, He will silence demons, and eventually He will prefigure total victory by subduing the last enemy, death, when He raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Mark 5:35ff).
Following His rescue of the terrified disciples from the fearful storm, it is Jesus’ turn to ask a question or two, “Why are you so cowardly? How is it that you have no faith?” After all they had seen Jesus do and all they had heard him say, it was their own personal peril which revealed their personal convictions. Jesus’ questions did not evoke shame or guilt as one might expect; instead, they became even more afraid. The reality of Jesus’ sovereign power was real cause for alarm, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
So, why is God’s Church so afraid? Do we think there is nothing God can do about the problems swirling around us? Or worse, do we think God doesn’t care? Jesus’ words of triumph and authority should fill us with confidence and resolve, with laughter and joy. The powers arrayed against God’s reconciling work in Jesus have been vanquished. In the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, we shout, “Jesus is victor!” Let all the earth hear His command, “Peace! Be still!”
For more on resting in God’s omnipotence see:
Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting
by Marva J. Dawn
Buy now from: [ Doulos Christou Books $13.50] [ Amazon.com ]
The Sense of the Call:
for Those Who Serve God, the Church and the World
by Marva J. Dawn
Buy now from: [ Doulos Christou Books $13 ] [ Amazon.com ]
Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight
by Norman Wirzba (Foreword by Wendell Berry)
Buy now from: [ Doulos Christou Books $16] [ Amazon.com ]
“Sabbath” Christian Reflection: A Series in Faith and Ethics.
Available for FREE from:
http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/index.php?id=15344
[ A note on buying books: We offer you the opportunity to buy the books listed here, either directly from our little independent bookstore (Doulos Christou Books), or through amazon.com. The prices listed for our bookstore do not include shipping or
Reviewed Elsewhere
Caleb Stegall’s review of Richard Quinney’s
Of Time and Place: A Farm in
http://www.kirkcenter.org/index.php/bookman/article/searching-for-a-usable-past/
“… ‘This place, to which I am native, I want you to know about.’ With these words Quinney begins his slender volume, and for the next eighty pages of graciously subdued prose set against everyday photographs of his family and farm, Quinney relentlessly pursues this theme. In many respects, the story itself is not very interesting. There are births and marriages, small successes and small failures, family scandals and changing machinery—and photos of nearly all of these things. Through all of this, the character Quinney brings most forcefully to life is the place itself. We see the various ways the land was lived on and made to produce, the tools and craft of preserving and using the fruit of the land, the love-hate relationship Quinney himself has with the farm. …”
Read the full review:
http://www.kirkcenter.org/index.php/bookman/article/searching-for-a-usable-past/
Buy now from: [ Doulos Christou Books $23 ] [ Amazon.com ]
Byron Borger Finds the “First Great Book of the New Year”:
Eugene Peterson’s The Invitation: A Simple Guide to the Bible.
http://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/booknotes/the_first_great_book_of_the_ne/
“… One of the best features of Eugene Peterson’s vibrant, folksy, interesting paraphrase of the Bible, The Message, is the spectacular introductions to each book of the Bible. His entries are at once poetic and insightful. Style and substance combine, making these short overviews just fabulous; interesting, fun, helpful, wise. I’ve wanted somebody—some power that be in the publishing world—to take those one or two page introductory reflections and put them together in one little volume. Call it Eugene Peterson’s Introduction to the Bible, or The Message Handbook, I don’t care. It would be the best intro to the grand sweep, the broad narrative, the Christo-centric vision, the God-drenched flavor, the humanly-written, history-heavy, creation-restoring nature of every single book of this wild and wooley text we call The Bible that we’ve yet gotten. Short, pithy, smart, solid.
And lo and behold, it is incarnated, the light cometh, before Epiphany, even. It is called (oddly, I’d say …) The Invitation: A Simple Guide to the Bible. …”
Read the full review:
http://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/booknotes/the_first_great_book_of_the_ne/
Buy now from: [ Doulos Christou Books $13.50] [ Amazon.com ]
