ESSENTIAL TRUTHS FOR CHRISTIANS

A Commentary on the Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles and an Introduction to Systematic Theology

By the Rt. Rev. John H. Rodgers, Jr., Th.D.

The great Anglican theologian Dr. J. I. Packer says of this book that Bishop Rodgers grasps the spirit and substance of the Articles exceedingly well. As American Anglicanism agonizes today, struggling against the liberalism that has lodged in its vitals, this book will come into its own as a resource for the resistance-and-reform contenders. I recommend it with gratitude and joy.

Of the book itself, Dr. Rodgers notes, "I write it because there is no small measure of ignorance of the teaching of the Articles among many Anglicans, not to mention ignorance of Reformation doctrine among the historic churches. We in the "mainline" Churches in the West are increasingly victims of theological amnesia."

This book can be purchased from Classical Anglican Press. Ph. (610) 292-9852

THE GREAT THEOLOGIANS: A Brief Guide

By Gerald R. McDermott

Who are the church's great theologians? What was special about their teaching? What can we learn from them today?

In very bitable and readable chunks, McDermott, a professor of religion and philosophy at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, offers up profound insights into such great men as Origen, Athanasius, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Newman, Barth to name but a few. You can easily read a chapter in an hour, put it down and reflect on it. This is also an excellent book for small groups. There are questions at the end of each chapter for reflection and discussion.

This book can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Theologians-Brief-Guide/dp/0830838759/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309859101&sr=1-1

The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith

By Timothy Keller (author of the best-seller The Reason for God)

He is being called a "C.S. Lewis for the twenty-first century." Taking his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity, Keller uncovers the essential message of Jesus, locked inside his most familiar parable. Within that parable Jesus reveals God's prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. This book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way.

This book can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/Prodigal-God-Timothy-Keller/dp/1594484023/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309859568&sr=1-1

KNOWING CHRIST TODAY: Why we can trust spiritual knowledge

By Dallas Willard (author of The Divine Conspiracy)

In Knowing Christ Today Willard has written the definitive defense of the faith for our time. He takes stock of our cultural definition of "knowledge" and "morality" and reveals how the poor regard for religion and truth have more to do with bias and prejudice than with rational arguments. Restoring faith and morality to issues of truth, Willard challenges us to overcome this ignorance and reclaim our faith and morality as people of God.

This book can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Christ-Today-Spiritual-Knowledge/dp/0060882441/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1309860037&sr=1-1

OUR ANGLICAN HERITAGE (Second edition)

By Bishop John W. Howe and Sam C. Pascoe

The question is, can an ancient church be a church of the future? Yes, say these two authors. This book is an essential guide to the Anglican tradition for anyone who has ever wondered what Anglicanism - the third largest branch of Christendom - is all about. Now fully updated and significantly revised, this second edition gives voice to the strong and vibrant evangelical roots of Anglican Christianity. Events at the start of the twenty-first century have threatened to tear the Communion apart. The authors of this book, both Episcopal clergy, have each responded to the crisis in different ways. One, a bishop, chose to stay in the Episcopal Church, while the other chose to lead his congregation out of the Episcopal Church and into another Anglican Province. This book is a reflection of the strong faith and heritage they still share, and a recommitment to the biblical principles that still undergird and enliven Anglicanism.

This book can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/Our-Anglican-Heritage-Ancient-Church/dp/1608994899/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1309860984&sr=1-1

TRUST IN AN AGE OF ARROGANCE

By C. FitzSimons Allison

Bishop Fitz, as he is fondly known, is the former Episcopal Bishop of South Carolina and the author of five books. His The Cruelty of Heresy is perhaps his best known and one that sits at my right hand as I write much about the Episcopal Church.

In this his latest missive, God is in the dock. Shall we convict him or forgive him? Shall we replace the God of Scripture with another of our choosing, mock and deride him, or ignore him? Shall we replace revelation with the chaos of speculation? We perceive ourselves, rather than God, as the center of the world and the universal condition leads to conflict with others and with God. Jesus warned us to beware the teaching of the Sadducees and Pharisees. The Sadducees, who denied hope of eternal life, are a rough equivalent of our modern day secularists with their religious thrust that this world is all there is. The Pharisees' yeast of self-righteousness is a natural condition of us all, writes Allison. Following Jesus' warning we have the opportunity to wipe away the Sadducee arrogance and the Pharisees self-righteousness and discover anew the supreme power and joy of the Christina faith.

This book can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/Trust-Age-Arrogance-FitzSimons-Allison/dp/0718892364/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1309862074&sr=1-1

Turning Controversy into Church Ministry

A Christlike Response to Homosexuality

By W. P. Campbell

In the virulent culture wars over homosexuality in the church, this North Carolina Presbyterian minister offers the church a way forward that is at once irenic and faithful to Scripture. While some churches like TEC, ELCA and Presbyterian churches debate the issue and others avoid it, struggling people fall through the cracks. This is a book for Christians and church leaders who want to rise above the debate and make a difference in the world by thinking, acting, and speaking in ways that express redemptive truth and Christlike love.

Campbell shares insights, tools and practical guidelines for any congregation that wishes to see Christians positively influence how the larger culture frames the issue of same-sex attraction. He demonstrates how readers can converse in a truthful, loving, and insightful manner about such topics as the nature/nurture debate, law vs. grace, and Scriptures call to holiness. Campbell suggests ways churches can build ministry in leadership training, preaching, support groups, mentoring/counseling and outreach.

This book can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Turning+Controversy+into+Church+Ministry&x=0&y=0

DEEP CHURCH: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional

By Jim Belcher

Church in our postmodern era has been marked by shallowness, indifference and abandonment by at least two generations. Who can stop the hemorrhaging? Emerging church leaders, fed up with contemporary pragmatism, have offered alternative visions for twenty-first century Christianity. Traditionalist churches have reacted negatively, at times defensively. Pioneering church planter Jim Belcher has been both an insider and an outsider to the emerging church. Now he brings the best insights of all sides to forge a third way.

This book along with The Accidental Anglican, The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church by Todd D. Hunter are must reads for young (and not so young) church planters who seek to win a new generation for Christ without losing the basic gospel message while making the Good News contemporary and relevant.

These books can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Church-Beyond-Emerging-Traditional/dp/0830837167/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309866026&sr=1-1

The Accidental Anglican can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Anglican-Surprising-Appeal-Liturgical/dp/0830838392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1309866083&sr=1-1

SHADOW GOSPEL: Rowan Williams and the Anglican Communion Crisis

By Charles Raven

No book has delved more deeply into the theology and mind of Dr. Rowan Williams, the Anglican Communion's titular head, than this book by Charles Raven. It is a solid piece of scholarship and reveals Dr. William's Hegelian mindset while he sets about reshaping The Anglican Communion with disastrous consequences.

Writes Raven: "...the weight of an historic institution and the resourcefulness of a deeply learned mind are brought to bear in an attempt to sustain the unsustainable - an illusory middle ground between two fundamentally opposed visions of Anglican identity. The one is confessional and is being articulated with increasing confidence by the leadership of the Global South; the other represents the seduction of the Church by the spirit of the age as seen in its most developed form in the increasingly apostate behavior of the Episcopal Church USA."

If you truly want to understand the mind of Dr. Williams this book is it. No other book comes close to exposing the true mindset of the Anglican Communion leader. It is a book every Global South leader is reading and you can read it as well.

This book can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Gospel-Williams-Anglican-Communion/dp/0946307784/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309868119&sr=1-1

The Developing Schism Within the Episcopal Church 1960-2010

By Nancy Carol James

As the Episcopal Church slowly comes unglued, books are slowly appearing about the extent of its moral and doctrinal collapse. In this volume, James outlines the issues in a clinical but winsome manner eschewing politics, seeking only to elicit and report the views of many major and minor figures as honestly and thoroughly as possible. She leaves few stones unturned. While she documents the near disastrous history of the last 50 years of TEC and the growing orthodox Anglican movement in North America she continues to offer hope.

This can be purchased at: http://www.nancycjames.com/

JESUS MANIFESTO: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ

By Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola

The Lord Jesus Christ is far beyond what most of us ever dream or imagine. His greatness, His beauty, and His splendor are unknown to many Christians today. This is why a look at Him-a fresh Christology-is so vital.

Writes Sweet: "We believe that if people will catch hold of the vision that's contained herein, they will find the confidence needed to face an uncertain future."

This is a first order devotional book. Jesus Manifesto promises to illuminate the truth about the greatest personality to ever walk the earth. Along the way you will rediscover, or experience for the first time, the power, prestige and primacy of Jesus Christ.

This book can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Manifesto-Restoring-Supremacy-Sovereignty/dp/B0053U7HBM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309874286&sr=1-1

THE LAST CHRISTIAN ON EARTH: Uncover the Enemy's Plot to Undermine the Church
OPERATION GRAVEDIGGER: The Strategy to Bring Down the Church

By Os Guinness

This is a brilliant and incisive analysis of what has happened to bring about the decline of the Church in America and the West. If you are saddened by the shallow and ineffectual state of the Church and puzzled by what has caused such a monumental decline, read this book. Using the device of one spy writing memoranda to another on how to undermine the church, Os Guinness helps us see ourselves as others see us and to recognize what has really caused the damage. The book does not end pessimistically. He offers reformation, renewal and hope. "We are living in an urgent hour for all followers of Jesus in the West."

This book can be purchased at: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Christian-Earth-Uncover-Undermine/dp/B004E3XFHO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309874773&sr=1-1

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