Monday, February 26, 2007
- NTS Connection
Suggested Resources and Must Reads!
From Dr. Ron Benefiel, NTS President
Moral Vision of the New Testament by Richard B. Hays (Harper Collins, 1996).
This is a book everyone in pastoral ministry should read. Hays combines scholarship and accessibility to produce an outstanding resource. His contribution to Christian ethics is as important as its contribution to New Testament study as he considers the biblical evidence on non-violence, divorce, homosexuality, ethnic conflict and abortion.
Wesley and the People Called Methodists by Richard P. Heitzenrater (Abingdon,1995)
This is, perhaps, the best read of Wesley and the beginnings of the Methodist movement. Heitzenrater places Wesley in his historical context in a way that helps in understanding both the movement itself and the social and cultural forces that figure so prominently in its formation.
Torture and Eucharist by William T. Cavanaugh, William (Blackwell Publishing, 1998)
This is one of the most profound books I have ever read. Cavanaugh explores the history of torture in the tragic events of Pinochet's reign in Chile. The book is significant in many ways, but especially with regard to ecclesiology and a theology of the Eucharist.
Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith (Oxford University Press, 2000)
Once again, this is a "must read" for anyone in ministry in the U.S. Emerson and Smith offer this sociological analysis of evangelical theology and practice. They convincingly illustrate how evangelical faith and practice reinforce racialization in American society despite the best intentions of people in the movement.
From Dr. K. Steve McCormick, NTS Professor of Historical Theology and the William M. Greathouse Chair of Wesleyan-Holiness Theology
After the Spirit by Eugene R. Rogers (Eerdmans, 2005)
This is a robust Spirit-Christology that is in constant dialogue with a full range of voices—Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox—in the Church. This work will teach us why the Church must overcome a disembodied faith and move toward an embodied mission of God.
Missional Church by Darrell L.Guder (Eerdmans, 1998)
Every Pastor should read this book! It is a fresh re-examination of ecclesiology from the redemptive mission of God. The structures and institutions of the Church cannot define the essence of the Church, especially since they are 'constantly' changing as the mission of the Church is contextualized and embodied. All too often we have forgotten that when the Church participates in the mission of God she partakes of God's character. The missio dei is the essence of the Church and the essence of the Church is the missio dei.
Between Cross & Resurrection: A Theology of Holy Saturday by Alan E. Lewis (Eerdmans, 2001)
Every Church should read this book before next Easter. It will unnerve you and prepare you to live faithfully as children of Easter in a Good Friday world. Sandwiched between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is Holy Saturday. Sadly, we have not known what to do with this day in our liturgy, partly because we been too afraid to take the time to 'behold' our Lord as he lay dead and buried in the tomb, and then 'live' in the absence and silence of God. Our Good Friday and Easter Sunday are deficient without Holy Saturday.