Books

In this issue of A Public Witness, we both join with six other people to each suggest two books for your consideration. We hope you’ll find at least one good book to help in your own formation this summer.

Robert D. Cornwall reviews The Pastor’s Bookshelf: Why Reading Matters for Ministry by Austin Carty. When it comes to reading, Carty wants clergy to know that only reading ministry-related books is not a sufficiently healthy diet and suggests they read a wide variety of books including fiction.

Perfect for Father’s Day, a review of Dear Son: Raising Faithful, Just, and Compassionate Men by Jonathan Hall and Beau Underwood. And learn how to win the autographed copy we will give away.

Robert D. Cornwall reviews Stepmother: Redeeming a Disdained Vocation by Dorothy C. Bass. The book delivers a deeper understanding of complex family relationships and seeks to redeem a “disdained vocation” through exploring life experiences and offering a word of grace and encouragement to those who find themselves serving as stepmothers.

Robert D. Cornwall reviews Holy Communion in Contagious Times: Celebrating the Eucharist in the Everyday and Online Worlds by Richard A. Burridge. The book is both a scholarly response and a personal reflection since Burridge draws on his own experiences watching, participating in, and leading online Anglican communion services.

Robert D. Cornwall reviews The New Adam: What the Early Church Can Teach Evangelicals (and Liberals) about the Atonement by Ron Highfield. The book explores how we should understand the death and resurrection of Jesus and what this means for the Christian message.

Robert D. Cornwall reviews The Mind in Another Place: My Life as a Scholar by Luke Timothy Johnson. The book serves as a memoir about the life of a scholar, written both for potential academics and for those who wonder what it is like to live a life committed to research, teaching, and writing.

Robert D. Cornwall reviews A Basic Guide to Eastern Orthodox Theology: Introducing Beliefs and Practices Paperback by Eve Tibbs. The book is written with Protestants in mind and offers readers who might be unfamiliar with Eastern Orthodoxy a basic introduction that is geared to the kinds of questions westerners often ask.

The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy by sociologists Philip Gorski and Samuel Perry is so important that we’re not just highlighting it in this review, but we’re also giving away a copy autographed by Perry.

Robert D. Cornwall reviews My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church by Amy Kenny. The book uses the author's own story to call on the church to rethink how it understands and relates to disabled people.