Leitourgia

Now in its second edition, Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas' acclaimed book Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups  is available with revised and expanded notes. This model for small group ministry claims to create groups with 100% participation by changing the mindset of both church leaders and parishioners and embarking on the Activate system of Focus, Form, Fill, and Facilitate. This book is question-driven, seeking to answer concerns such as, "How do I recruit people for a small group?" and "How long should a small group last?" The book is methodical and able to be read through a process of implementing a modified discipleship program. Overall, this book is very helpful. It provides practical advice in a readable format, offering real examples with biblical support. It may also serve well as a reference text for churches already ahead in the process. For those seeking to activate their congregants, look no further than this text. (My thanks...

Beginning biblical students often find it difficult to navigate a sea of technical terms. Such vocabulary can inhibit them from fully understanding the world of biblical scholarship. However, with Tremper Longman III and Mark L. Strauss' The Baker Compact Dictionary of Biblical Studies  (Baker Books, 2018), this issue can be remedied. Containing the essential terms necessary for understanding the language of biblical study, this reference tool should be sufficient to equip beginning scholars in furthering their study of the Bible. This book is compact yet full, with definitions that cover a range of topics while remaining accessible. It contains significant locations, persons, events, scholars, artifacts, and documents relevant to understanding the literary and historical context and study of the Bible. (My thanks is given to Baker for providing a complimentary review copy in exchange for an honest review.)

Baker Books, 2018. 285 pp. It should be no surprise that the world in which the Bible was written is drastically divergent from the world in which we live today. Scholars note a gap between these "two horizons," and, if we are able to understand how to bridge it through understanding the theological, cultural, and literary context of the original culture, we can fully understand how the Bible speaks to us today. This is an issue that Lois Tverberg seeks to address in Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: How a Jewish Perspective Can Transform Your Understanding  (Baker Books, 2018). After being intrigued by Jesus' usage of the Old Testament and the hidden cultural nuances lost through language translation, Tverberg seeks to expose readers toward understanding how Jesus read the Bible. To this end, she describes the mechanics of Hebrew and Greek, the first-century world, and applies specifically to various OT books. Tverberg presents a refreshing and much-needed appr...

Overview Those who own laptops know that you are carrying an expensive investment. Considering the price of the laptop, software, and insurance, many laptops can be worth well over $1,000. Therefore, it is imperative to protect one’s investment with a case. Many cases are designed for purely aesthetic purposes—it makes the laptop look good, but it offers little to no protection. Others do an excellent job protecting the laptop but add unnecessary bulkiness, and—let’s be frank—they don’t often look that attractive. This is where MAX Cases’ Extreme Shell comes into play. Albeit a lesser-known company, MAX specializes in creating cases for educational and business settings. In other words, these cases are designed to survive in high-impact areas. The MAX Extreme Shell, offered for Mac and Windows laptops alike (here we will review the Macbook case), is a lightweight yet durable laptop case. It protects against impacts, scratches, and other wear and tear. I have owned th...

Where does worship occur? This is the question that Lutheran pastor Chad Bird seeks to answer in his book Your God Is Too Glorious: Finding God in the Most Unexpected Places  (Baker Books, 2018). Bird argues that our image-driven culture has obscured our vision of God. Instead of looking to celebrities, he argues, we ought to look to the ordinary situations of our lives and see how God might show up there. Probing Old and New Testament stories and church history, Bird makes the case for returning to a simpler Christianity—one where the Gospel is concealed in the everyday life. Bird's text is a refreshing reminder of the grace that exists in the ordinary. For those who are tired of traditional spiritual self-help books promising amazing miracles, consider this book. Bird writes in a humble, simple, approachable manner, engaging the reader to believe that the true miracle is that God promises to show up in the mundane situations of our lives. It is a short read—only 10 small chap...

Gregg R. Allison's 50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith: A Guide to Understanding and Teaching Theology  (Baker Books, 2018) is a systematic theology accessible to students and laypersons alike. In this single-volume work, Allison outlines 50 key doctrines, from creation to Christ to church, giving major affirmations, biblical support, major errors, and ways to live the doctrine. Allison also provides a breakout box of controversial questions surrounding the doctrine, which may work effectively in a classroom discussion setting. Each doctrine is only devoted around four to six pages, but Allison packs each chapter with sound, ecumenical teaching, subscribing to a catholic and orthodox way rather than holding to a denominational dogma. Each chapter begins with a summary, main themes, and key verses, allowing easy reference, and the chapters end with a teaching outline for students to study and teachers to utilize for the main structure of each chapter. Allison's new text ...

The wisdom books of the Old Testament—Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs—are often met with confusion on how to interpret and even preach through them. This is the problem that Edward M. Curtis seeks to fix in Interpreting the Wisdom Books: An Exegetical Handbook  (Kregel Academic, 2017), the newest addition to Kregel's Handbooks for Old Testament Exegesis  (Daniel M. Howard, Jr., ed.). The wisdom books are very timely and practical, so, in this book, Curtis outlines an approach to reading wisdom literature, from observation to interpretation to application. Curtis guides the exegete through the major themes and concepts of each book, pointing out important literary devices and words. This book reveals the message beneath each book and how it can be appropriated to the modern world. What I found most useful were the short series of "hooks" for each book (i.e. "Ecclesiastes emphasizes perplexing realities about life"). Curtis' text is brief ye...