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In The Next Christendom, Jenkins begins by giving statistical evidence that the heart of Christianity is no longer in the West, but rather, in the southern continents of South America and Africa, and also in the East in Asia. He says the majority of Christians today are non-white and poor. He even says a “white Christian” will become an oxymoron. Throughout the book, Jenkins challenges the myth of Western Christianity. Jenkins points out that in spite of Muslim domination, in A.D. 1200 over half of those claiming Christian faith may have lived in the Middle East and Asia (23–24). Jenkins shows that the rapid growth of Christianity in the Global South is actually a return to a global faith. He claims Christianity will continue growing the fastest in the Global South. He quotes a lot of statistics. Throughout the book, Jenkins relates the historical development of Christianity over the centuries. He challenges the common secular view that Christianity is dying and shows instead how it is growing exponentially as it moves to the Global South (Africa, Latin America, and Asia). Jenkins proposes that though Islam might eventually become the dominant religion of Europe, the ongoing stream of Latin-American, African and Asian immigrants into the United States and Canada will probably lead to a “re-Christianization” of those nations (as opposed to the secularization predicted by academics). Because of this, Jenkins predicts that the nature of Christianity will eventually be shaped by the Christians in the Global South.

One thing that struck me was Jenkins's description of how churches in the global south are more conservative/traditional than those in the West at this point. There is also a much stronger supernatural orientation. The main reason for this being that unlike the West's tendency to form a distinction between the sacred and the secular, non-Western parts of the world do not see this separation. Therefore worship and faith have more practical application and relevance to all aspects of life. It seems like that would be a really good thing for Western Christians to learn from our brothers and sisters in the global south.

I was uncomfortable with Jenkins's open definition of what it means to be a Christian. He writes, “For the purposes of this book, a Christian is someone who describes him- or herself as Christian, who believes that Jesus is not merely a prophet or an exalted moral teacher, but in some unique sense the Son of God and the Messiah. Beyond that, we should not inquire into detailed doctrine, whether a person adheres to the Bible alone, accepts the Trinity, or has a literal belief in Jesus's bodily resurrection.” (111) Along with this, Jenkins's measure for success is all about the numbers, and no real measure of depth of faith, which would be much harder to discern of course, especially given the wide definition of Christianity.

Overall, I found the book rather laborious to get through because of all of the statistics and numbers, but Jenkins made some interesting points about the state of Christianity in the world and where he sees it going.

It's interesting to re-read this at this point in my life. I think everything I like about the book is found in all of the quotes and references to G.K. Chesterton, Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis, and I'd rather just read those authors.

The main issue I have with this book now is the determinism/Calvinism/Blueprint theology I find Eldredge describing at times.

I'm still glad I read this back in 2004, but I'm not sure I'd be so quick to recommend it anymore.

(I originally gave this book 5 stars when I first read it several years ago. But even if it weren't for my theological differences with it now, I think it would get 3 stars at best.)

Good content. A bit repetitive.

A nice refresher for me on some of the literary criticism I studied during my MA in English program. A bit dated, but not a bad read. I think I was able to grab some useful quotes for my Genesis paper.

For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards was my first read by Jen Hatmaker, so I didn't really know what to expect.
Read my full review at www.neyhart.blogspot.com

First, the Positives:
- It's a quick, light read comprised of 26 short chapters (224 pages).
- Jen has a great sense of humor, making me laugh out loud several times throughout the book. (Her Jimmy Fallon inspired Thank You notes were especially amusing.)
- I appreciate her focus on loving God and loving people (since that is how Jesus summed up all of the Old Testament Law for us!)

Negatives:
- The chapters seemed disconnected to me and I felt like the book on the whole lacked the depth I had expected.
- She is writing to a more specific audience than I had anticipated, that is to married women with children. And as I am neither married nor do I have children, there were times where I was less engaged with the book. Sure, I can appreciate stories about her children and even her letters to them, but in a lot of ways I just feel like the book wasn't meant for me to read.

In sum: if you already like Jen Hatmaker and her blog or her other books, I have no doubt you will like this one too. However, if you're like me and you don't fit her target audience, you might want to skip this one.

Full disclosure, I received a free e-book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

View my full review here: http://neyhart.blogspot.com/2016/03/review-of-night-driving-story-of-faith.html

I really enjoyed Addie's first book, When We Were on Fire, and I also really enjoyed her latest release. For those of us who grew up thinking we had it all figured out and “felt” so close to God, but have come to struggle through doubts and darkness, Addie's book is like a big “me too” and the reader can be assured he/she is not the only one to struggle with faith in the dark. Addie's honesty and vulnerability draws you in and the book is extremely well written.

Highly recommend. It's one of those books I want to make all my friends read. I hope to write a real review at a later time.

I want to travel around selling books and talking about books... not on a horse drawn carriage though.

I wish I could give this book to every child in my life! I did buy a copy for my cousin's children! It is such a beautiful picture of the relationship I believe God wants with each of his children, whether we are technically adults now or not.

One of my favorite lines in the book is “My questions find shelter in Papa; He builds a nest for my doubts.”

I didn't realize before I started reading this that it's a collection of essays rather than a more coherent book. It felt disjointed to me but that's why.

I also had not heard of this author or read her other books, so I suspect someone who is more familiar with her would appreciate this one more than I did. And there is no denying that River Jordan is a very good writer and story teller.

If you enjoy spiritual memoirs you might like this one.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

I don't think I'm the target audience for this book anymore. It might be helpful and encouraging for some people, but I wasn't feeling it.

Horrible Theology.

I want to love these books because I love the rest of the books I've read by Madeleine L'Engle, but I am struggling to get into this series...

Well written. A good starting place for a better theology of suffering. I really appreciate Stephanie and her work.

Jayber Crow is the first book I read by Wendell Berry and it was so very good. I think if I had read this one first I might have liked it more?

In the preface, Jon Sobrino talks about how his co-editor, Ignacio Ellacuría, was murdered in 1989, two years after they had begun planning the structure, themes, and authors for this book. They had already received most of the manuscripts when Ellacuría was murdered at the Central American University, “along with his fellow Jesuits Segundo Montes, Joaquín López y López, Juan Ramón Moreno, Ignacio Martín Baró, Amando López, and two humble women of the people, Julia Elba and her daughter Celina” (Loc 98). On top of the devastating and tragic loss of their lives, their manuscripts were burned when the soldiers destroyed their offices. Sobrino writes, “the martyrdom of Ignacio Ellacuría, theologian, author, and co-editor—is fundamental, concrete reality, and to a certain extent irreplaceable for an understanding of the content of this book” (Loc 98). He says the only way the theology of liberation can be understood is amidst oppression.

This book highlights the main themes in liberation theology as organized by a systematic approach to theology. It emphasizes that the liberation theologian is not someone sitting comfortably in an ivory-tower in academia. Instead, they are “theological activists” with “one foot in the center of reflection and the other in the life of the community.” The theology of liberation is done from the perspective of the poor, fighting for their liberation. Liberation is the shaping principle of this theology. This theology (and this book) seeks to give a voice to the oppressed, to stand against injustice. The emphasis is always on praxis - that the theological reflection is borne out of the lived experience and lived theology on the ground: “The radical originality of the theology of liberation lies in the insertion of the theologian in the real life of the poor, understood as a collective, conflictive, and active reality. [...] This first act of liberation theology marks the anteriority of a faith praxis over the theological theoretization of that praxis (second act)” (Loc 332). Along with this focus on praxis and “God's preferential option for the poor”, as Gutierrez calls it, the other big theme that emerges is the central focus on the reign of God as hope but also as the thing we are called to work towards now as we seek to liberate people from oppressive structures even here on earth:

“The reality of the Reign of God is such that, if, by an impossiblity, human beings had no hope, its content would be a logical contradiction. Hope, then, is essentially necessary for an understanding of what the Reign of God is. [,,,] Not that the poor (at least in Latin America) have no transcendent hope in a resurrection; they surely do. But for them, to live right now would be as much of a miracle as to live after death. They see the opposite of hope not only in death, but in the impossibility of life here and now. This is why their hope, when they have it, is so radical. The theology of liberation, then, asserts that in order to grasp what the Reign of God is, not just any hope will suffice. Only the hope of the poor will do. The hope of the poor must, in some manner, be adopted as one's own. But once this has been accomplished, one also has a better systematic understanding of what the Reign of God ought to be: a promise of life in the face of the anti-Reign.” (Loc 1732)

This is a wonderful children's book that tells the story of Easter on a child's level and it's definitely a book I would want for my own kids if I had any. It would also be great to use in children's ministry settings.

Read for my course on ministries of care and counseling in the spring of 2021.

This is good for what it is but if you are really wrestling with the “clobber” passages you should read God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines.

The three views put forth in this book are as follows:

James K. Hoffmeier: Theological History
Gordon J. Wenham: Proto-History
Kenton L. Sparks: Ancient Historiography

All three of these MEN are Evangelical scholars.

Chapter One is “Genesis 1-11 as History and Theology” by James K. Hoffmeier. Hoffmeier holds a literalist view of Scripture and I reject his flat reading of Genesis that tries to treat it as a history or science book.

Chapter Two is “Genesis 1-11 as Protohistory” by Wenham. Wenham has a slightly more nuanced reading of Scripture, acknowledging different literary genres within the text, but he rejects the term “myth” for any part of Genesis. He argues that the purpose of the text is to provide theological truths. Wenham uses the term “protohistory” to categorize Genesis, explaining that “proto” refers to origin stories meant to explain why things are the way they are.

Chapter Three is “Genesis 1-11 As Ancient Historiography” by Sparks. I agree much more with Kenton L. Sparks who says much of Genesis is unhistorical and mythic. He talks about the Documentary Hypothesis. He points out how science and modern approaches do not support a literal global flood or the events described in the story of the Tower of Babel.

Read my full review at jenniferneyhart.com

Love: Expressed is about love and theology and spirituality, not in the abstract, but in the rubber meets the road, getting your hands dirty kind of way. Sherwin takes us through eight chapters of different ways the love of God can be expressed in us and through our lives: through obedience, learning, mercy, service, worship, Sabbath, prayer, and humility. Love: Expressed is deeply rooted in Scripture, but is also loaded with pop culture references that I tended to enjoy quite a lot. Sherwin also includes personal stories as he works through the different chapters of the book.

The core scripture the book turns on is the passage in Matthew where Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment and he replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:34-40). Sherwin goes back to these verses several times throughout his book as he attempts to work out what it really looks like to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Read my full review at jenniferneyhart.com.

William O'Flaherty has put together a very practical and useful study guide for The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. I could easily see myself using this to lead a book club or small group study through The Screwtape Letters. O'Flaherty's book contains plot summary, and great discussion guide questions (and even suggested answers!) along with a glossary and several appendices. I would recommend it to anyone who loves Lewis and wants to further their study of The Screwtape Letters.

I highly recommend pretty much everything Dr. Peter Enns has written. His books have been immensely helpful to me over the past several years.

I don't have children of my own, but I keep buying Matthew Paul Turner's children's books for so many of my friends' children. I love the diversity in the illustrations, which are always gorgeous, and I love the theology behind these little books as well.

My friend, Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, wrote a book! And it's out in the world now! You can buy it and everything!

Read this book if you need to be reminded that there is a vast history of Christians who have been about the work of liberation, who side with the vulnerable against racist, sexist, and economic systems that prevent human flourishing. Read this book if you are tired of people assuming that to be a Christian means you have to vote Republican. Read this book if you want to be encouraged and inspired to follow Jesus in feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, taking care of the sick, and visiting those in prison (Matthew 25:35-36).