The Little Friar

Matthew John Ehan's God*s Will:  Based on a True Story is the story of Sam Snyder, a fourteen year old boy, who is admitted into a reform school in Missouri by his adoptive mother.  Sam is initially led to believe that he is being taken to his godfather's farm for some quality time.  When he learns the truth of his mother's intentions, he argues and complains, hoping he might be able to change her mind, but it’s too late.  Mount Zion Baptist Boarding Academy turns out to be far worse than Sam had imagined it to be.  That's because the Academy is all about fear, not about the divine love of God made known in Jesus Christ. And make no doubt about it, this Academy is like so many in our world.  Ehan has pulled the curtain back for a paced novel that will keep your attention but also leave you asking serious questions about the way in which Christians construct their camp contexts. ______________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publis...

ST Kimbrough's Radical Grace:  Justice for the Poor and Marginalized -- Charles Wesley's Views for the 21st Century continues his rich theological exposition of Wesleyan hymnody for new generation.  Kimbrough brings some of the most important texts -- whether hymns, sermons, journal entries, and even a few letters -- that take a long-overdue exposition into Charles Wesley's 18th century views of justice for the poor and applies that faithfully into a 21st century context. This is a refreshing read that takes one of the most important early Methodist theological/ethical themes and gives it a new life and spirit. It's a must read! ______________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

AE Smith's Gift for Gracelyn is a beautiful children's chapter storybook of a little girl who needs heart surgery and the love of her pets to love and support her through the surgery and recovery.    Gracelyn who is11-turning-12 has a heart condition, which means that she becomes tired quickly and sometimes has trouble breathing. She lives on a ranch in Arizona with her older brother, Terry, their parents and a whole host of animals.  The animals feature heavily in the story and are described precisely and quite accurately for a children's book. Gracelyn is preparing for surgery, which will take her away from her ranch.  The animals learn of this and gather together to determine the appropriate gift to give her for her birthday. There's so much more -- but saying much else would be spoilers for readers.  It's a delightful story with some beautiful illustrations.  Parents, this is a book you'll want to share with your child, rather than just giving it...

Juanita Campbell's Learning to Be:  Finding Your Center after the Bottom Falls Out explores Campbell's own contemplative journey in and through depression.  It explores so many of the spiritual practices that can sustain us as we make that same journey.  For that reason alone, this is perhaps the most important book to read in 2021.  We've just come through one of the most isolating, uncertain period in contemporary memory, and some of us didn't fare too well.  Isolation quickly ushers is depression.  And 2021 is filled with those of us who haven't made the transition well. Campbell calls her major depressive episode "the crash", and describes it in vivid detail.  But she does so with an eye toward medicine and spirituality.  That makes this book essential reading. _______________________ I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review here.

 Dave Andrews' To Right Every Wrong:  The Making and Unmaking of One Improbable Minor Prophet is full of the deep reflections that one would expect of a prophet.  Although Andrews' book is primarily a spiritual memoir, it is also a profound treatise on the prophetic role and the necessity for a radical re-envisioning of the calling to represent God's cause in the modern world in the tradition of Jesus himself.  Even as it continues that same christological work.   The book is structured into three sections:  "The Personal", which is very brief; "The Prophetical", the center of the book's narrative; and "The Paradoxical", which is another brief selection but one that brings the whole book to a close. As I read, I have to admit that I found myself partly angry, partly frustrated -- but in the end, convinced.  This is a book about Christian prophecy in the best sense of the phrase. ______________________ I received a free copy of the boo...

Jennifer Butler's Who Stole My Bible?  Reclaiming Scripture as a Handbook for Resisting Tyranny offers readers a primer on so many of the biblical themes that resonate with "progressive" Christianity.   Let's be honest:  So many progressives are scared of Scripture as a source and resource for faith.  It's been coopted by churches and traditions that would have us believe so many of those themes are opposite to the biblical text. Butler will convince you otherwise. The biblical text is part of a shared heritage and the text inhabits the lives of those who have gone before us.  In a way that opens the text up to the diversity of modern American church life. Butler has no intention of laying out a comprehensive interpretation on the entirety of the Bible.  But she selects nine biblical texts that issue in quite essential themes.  Creation, Exodus, the Golden Calf, Israel's desire for a king, Solomon's complex legacy, women in the Gospels, Pilate's ...