Lutheran Book Review

Sawler, David. Before they Say Goodbye: Thoughts on How to Keep This Generation.  Winnipeg, Canada: Word Alive Press, 2011. 235 Pages. Paper. $17.00.  www.beforetheysaygoodbye.com   www.davidsawler.com (LHP) Ham, Ken and Greg Hall with Britt Beemer. Already Compromised: Christian colleges took a test on the state of their faith and THE FINAL EXAM IS IN. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2011. 240 Pages. Paper. $13.99. www.masterbooks.net   www.answersingenesis.org (LHP) Youth ministry is often frustrating. So many resources merely embrace the current or next fad. Young people are busy with sports, part-time work, and other interests. And parents sometimes have other priorities to bringing their children to Church or Youth Group.  In this way, youth ministry is like running a school. You can discipline the children, who often understand what's going on, but you can't really discipline the parents.  The authors of today's two books give per...

Preus, Peter. And She Was a Christian: Why Do Believers Commit Suicide? Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 2011. 183 Pages. Paper. $25.99. http://online.nph.net/p-9606-and-she-was-a-christian.aspx (LHP)

      This post will mark the last entry in QBR 5.3 , Apostles' Tide, and the opening entry in Angels' Tide, QBR 5.4   Interested in the full-size 2011 Church Year Calendar from CPH? Click below: http://www.cph.org/p-12327-2011-church-year-calendar-pack-of-5.aspx   (And look forward to the new 2012 CPH Church Year Calendar) View article...

Webber, Robert E. Foreward by David Neff. Common Roots: The Original Call to an Ancient-Future Worship. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978, 2009. 286 Pages. Paper. $18.99. http://www.zondervan.com/    http://www.ancientfutureworship.com/ (LHP) Webber, Robert E . Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism fro a Postmodern World. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999. 240 Pages. Paper. $22.00. http://www.bakerbooks.com/ http://www.ancientfutureworship.com/ (LHP) Webber, Robert E. Ancient-Future Evangelism: Making Your Church a Faith-Forming Community.   Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003. 219 Pages. Paper. $14.99. http://www.bakerbooks.com/ http://www.ancientfutureworship.com/ (LHP) Webber, Robert E. Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004. 201 Pages. Paper. $18.00. http://www.bakerbooks.com/ http://www.ancientfutureworship.com/ (L) Webber, Robert E. Foreword by John D. Witvliet. Ancient-Future Worship: P...

Peperkorn, Todd A. I Trust When Dark My Road: A Lutheran View of Depression. St. Louis: LCMS World Relief and Human Care, 2009. 102 Pages. Paper. (Free pdf download.Paper copy free for the cost of shipping.) www.lcms.org/worldrelief (LHP) Peperkorn, Todd A. I Trust When Dark My Road: A Lutheran View of Depression. Roanoke, IL: Lutheran Catechetical Society, 2010. Video DVD. ($20.00 + $5.00 shipping)  www.thelcs.org (LHP) Mental illness still faces a stigma.  What if you are a Christian? Will people around you misunderstand? Will even family members misinterpret emotions and behaviors as a crisis of faith? (cf. p. 5) What if you are a pastor? Can you imagine how depression would impact a life, a family, a ministry, a congregation? Luther knew this struggle. So did C. F. W. Walther (2). The Rev. Todd Peperkorn [then pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church, Kenosha, WI] and author of “I Trust When Dark My Road -  A Lutheran View of Depression” leads h...

Townend, Stuart. The Journey . Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK: Kingsway Music, 2011. Audio mp3 download. (CD also available.) $8.99.   http://www.kingsway.co.uk/   http://blog.stuarttownend.co.uk/2011/05/new-album.html   (H) Church bells call listeners to worship at the beginning of Stuart Townend's latest release, The Journey . Orchestration and energy are very similar to his previous studio album, Creation Sings.  Much of the content of the album will be new to Townend's listeners. These recordings are of more recently-written hymns, many co-written by Keith Getty. One of the (few) drawbacks of a pre-release digital copy is that I don't have all of the liner notes at my disposal. That said, I'll probably buy a traditional CD version of this album to have all of those details for my own edification. I thought the juxtaposition of church bells on track one and traditional acoustic instruments on track two to be rather striking. "O My Soul" con...

Gilmore, Rachel. 'Tis the Season: Church Celebrations for Advent and Christmas. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2011. 110 Pages. Paper. $14.99. www.judsonpress.com (L) Bray, Gerald L., Editor. General Editor Timothy George. Associate General Editor Scott M. Manetsch. Galatians, Ephesians (Reformation Commentary on Scripture, New Testament X). Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011. 446 Pages. Cloth. $50.00. academic.ivpress.com (P)