Coming Soon to the Resource Center - Early April 2014

Coming Soon to the Resource Center - Early April

Here are just a few of the books you can find in the church Resource Center in early April, 2014. In this edition, we feature four titles from David F. Wells, the Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, as well as two other titles we hope you’ll want to read. (All text copy from Goodreads unless otherwise stated):

No Place for Truth (Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? (1993) David F. Wells

Written expressly to encourage renewal in evangelical theology, No Place for Truth explores the interface between Christian faith and the modern world in unique ways and with uncommon rigor. David F. Wells’s sweeping analysis examines the collapse of theology in the church, the academy, and modern culture, raising profound questions about the future of conservative Protestant faith. (from the book’s back cover copy)

Losing Our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover Its Moral Vision (1999) David F. Wells

Wells loudly throws down the gauntlet to the evangelical church in this perceptive analysis of our culture in crisis. Painting a vivid description of society’s moral and spiritual confusion, he explains how the church can regain its effectiveness and influence in our postmodern world. A challenging look at social reform vs. spiritual transformation.

The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-Lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World (2008) David F. Wells

It takes no courage to sign up as a Protestant. These words open this bold new text - the summa of David Wells’s critique of the evangelical landscape - leaving no doubt that Wells is issuing a challenge to the modern church. This book is a broadside against new versions of evangelicalism as well as a call to return to the historic faith, one defined by Reformation solas (grace, faith, and scripture alone), and to a reverence for doctrine. Wells argues that the historic, classical evangelicalism is one marked by doctrinal seriousness, as opposed to the new movements of the marketing church and the emergent church. He energetically confronts the marketing communities and what he terms their sermons-from-a-barstool and parking lots and apres-worship Starbucks stands. He also takes issue with the most popular evangelical movement in recent years - the emergent church. Emergents are postmodern and post-conservative and post-foundational, embracing a less absolute, understanding of the authority of Scripture than Wells maintains is required. The Courage to be Protestant is a dynamic argument for the courage to be faithful to what biblical Christianity has always stood for, thereby securing hope for the church’s future.

God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-Love of God Reorients Our World (2014) David F. Wells

Building on years of research, writing, and cross-cultural ministry, renowned author and theologian David Wells calls our attention to that which defines God's greatness and gives shape to the Christian life: the holy-love of God.

In God in the Whirlwind, Wells explores the depths of the paradox that God is both holy and loving, showing how his holy-love provides the foundation for our understanding of the cross, sanctification, the nature of worship, and our life of service in the world. What's more, a renewed vision of God's character is the cure for evangelicalism's shallow theology, with its weightless God and sentimental gospel.

Written by one of evangelicalism's most insightful minds, this book will help you stand firm in your faith despite the changing winds and raging storms of the modern world.

The Good Funeral: Death, Grief, and the Community of Care (2013) Thomas G. Long, Thomas Lynch 

Two of the most authoritative voices on the funeral industry come together here in one volume to discuss the current state of the funeral. Through their different lenses--one as a preacher and one as a funeral director--Thomas G. Long and Thomas Lynch alternately discuss several challenges facing "the good funeral," including the commercial aspects that have led many to be suspicious of funeral directors, the sometimes tense relationship between pastors and funeral directors, the tendency of modern funerals to exclude the body from the service, and the rapid growth in cremation. The book features forewords from Patrick Lynch, President of the National Funeral Directors Association, and Barbara Brown Taylor, highly praised author and preacher. It is an essential resource for funeral directors, morticians, and pastors, and anyone else interested in current funeral practices.

The Blessing Life: A Journey to Unexpected Joy Generosity (2013) Gerrit Dawson

What would it be like to enter a life of vibrant worship and deepening romance with Christ? From first to last Scripture tells a mighty blessing story, and we can be part of it. We can enter the energizing dynamic of receiving, returning and reflecting the love of the Triune God. Offering passionate insights into the person of Christ, and true stories of blessing, pastor Gerrit Dawson leads us on a joyful journey toward loving Jesus and participating significantly in his love for the world. 

(The Resource Center will also offer A Guide to the Blessing Life: 40 Days of Scripture and Prayer.)