Readers Preference Reviews

Where do you start when you feel the call to God's ministry?  What should you expect and what do you need to do to prepare yourself?  Perhaps the best place to start is to speak with someone who has been in the ministry for several years and can provide good fatherly advice about what lies in store for those travelling this career path.  That's where the book ABCs of Ministry comes in handy.  

In this book, author Richard Olson notes that Jesus often asked questions as a way to get people to better understand themselves, their world, and their relationship with God. Olsen examines the way Jesus used questions and how they affected the person involved.

One of the most powerful techniques for healing, change and growth is the use of ceremonies. In this book author Henry Close examines the use of ceremonies in a liturgical setting. For several different situations he includes a description of the specific facts and circumstances and then provides the ceremony that he created to address those circumstances. The ceremonies show a deep understanding of the situation, sound psychotherapeutic techniques, and how it helps the individual, couple or family involved to heal their emotional wounds or grow as a person.

"Charts of Reformation and Enlightenment Church History" contains simple graphical representations of the major thought and church movements between approximately 1500 and 1800 A.D.

Many Christians would be surprised to find that the early Christian church was not one with a common theology with only very minor differences between them. In fact there were many major differences between the early churches. Some believed that Christ was entirely human and not divine at all. Others believed he was entirely divine and not human at all. And, of course, there were a wide variety of beliefs between those extremes.

"How to Be a Perfect Stranger" is the ultimate reference on how to act and what to expect when attending a religious service at any of the most common religions in America. Would you know what to do if a Hindu invited you to their infant's naming ceremony? What if a Christian Scientist family had a death in the family and you were invited to the funeral? Or what if you were invited to a Latter Day Saint, African American Methodist Episcopal, Lutheran, or Mennonite service, would you know the appropriate dress and order of service? All these questions and more are answered in this book.

One of my personal favorite lecturers among The Teaching Company products, Amy-Jill Levine, Ph.D., and Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, brings another fascinating series of lectures to the student of the Bible. One of the things that make her lectures particularly interesting is that she does not limit herself just to the Bible but also looks at these people through other secular and religious texts and oral tradition. She never fails to bring her subject to life as she opens new ways of seeing them in their cultural and historical setting.

The period covered in this course (1500-1700) was a very turbulent time. There was a great deal of political instability combined with power struggles between political leaders within a country, various countries, and religious institutions. Throughout the time the various political leaders tried to consolidate their power and expand their territories and influence. At the same time the church was trying to consolidate its authority and power.

In "Great Figures of the New Testament" Professor Amy-Jill Levine of the Vanderbilt University Divinity School does an excellent job of bringing several individuals to life. Not only does she discuss well-known individuals such as Pontius Pilate, James, and Philip but also important groups and individuals who are not specified by name such as the Centurions, the woman at the well, the shepherds, and others.

This is Today’s New International Version of the Bible organized not by book and verse but as one seamless story from beginning to end. One of the difficulties for many people who study the Bible is the fact that it is not organized chronologically but the historical books often cover the same period (i.e. 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles) or are organized by the length of the book (major prophets vs. minor prophets) or other ways. This is a unique way of presenting the complete Bible story that brings pattern and structure to all the disconnected stories we tend to learn in church.