In the intervening months since the last Baker Library Book Brief much has happened. Given the construction which occurred in August, your library itself has been moved from its former location. It is now directly across the hall from our new church office space. Additional shelving was provided as we relocated the library. Also, we have finally accomplished the major goal of providing a commentary on each book of the Bible. As well, we have received a sizable gift of books from a former parishioner. Many of these volumes are quite valuable and will be added to our collection. Our librarians, Dennis and Carol McKnight and Susan Tolbert - and numerous others - are to be thanked.
Among the many books that have been added to our library recently, two demand special attention. Yes, you might want to sign them out of the library and read them. However, you might want to take notice that they would make excellent Christmas gifts for any adult reader on your list. I am thinking of Never Silent: How Third World Missionaries Are Now Bringing the Gospel to the US by our bishop, Thad Barnum and The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Timothy Keller.
Bishop Thad has written several previous books. This appears to be the best yet. Numerous copies of Never Silent have already been purchased by parishioners since early September; more are now available.
Tim Keller is the senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. His The Reason for God appeared this past February. Now, likewise, The Prodigal God is found on national bestsellers lists. This small, inexpensive hardback clearly sets forth and applies the Gospel of Christ. You may purchase copies of this volume as well at St. John the Evangelist.
Bishop Barnum has placed us all (and many more) in his debt by writing Never Silent. His book carefully details the numerous monumental developments, events and movements within Anglican Christianity during the last 20 years. Many of us are aware of having lived through this tumultuous epoch, but the precise details have begun to become hazy in our recollection. Thankfully, Bishop Thad, an early American acquaintance of an African priest who became a bishop and who continues to play a crucial role in international Anglicanism (John Rucyahana), takes his readers through the whole era. Given the announcement of an orthodox North American province which is meant to replace the Episcopal Church and the Church of Canada on December 3, 2008, our author provides the background and a great deal of the needed documentation so that we might know how it all came to this in our own times. It is all here: Kuala Lumpur, First Promise, the Koinonia Statement, St. Andrew’s (Little Rock, AR), Lambeth ’98, Episcopal General Conventions, Kampala, Anglican Mission in America, Singapore, Gene Robinson and much more. Surprisingly, even St. John’s Episcopal Church/St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church is to be found in these pages. Throughout, Bishop Thad serves his readers by calling them as he sees them. This comes as no surprise. Never Silent is eminently readable. The story is, by turns, sorrowful and inspiring. Our Triune God persistently cares for the faithful, the nations, the world and our neighbors who are without Jesus. Although there is a focus upon developments within Anglican Christianity, Never Silent has been acknowledged to be a wake-up call for Christians in the other decaying Northern and Western churches.
The Prodigal God is an extended meditation on the familiar parable of Christ that almost everyone calls “the parable of the prodigal son”. (It might be worthwhile to check the section titles provided in your Bible/or Bibles at Luke 15:11-32). But it is the story of two difficult sons and their father. I have often found myself having to identify with the older brother, even though it seemed that there was little righteousness in that. However, most sermons focus on the younger brother. Keller does not do that. The result of our author’s balance is that everyone is given the opportunity to become uncomfortable with their dissimilarity to Jesus Christ, “the only Son of the Father” and their need for the extravagant love of their Heavenly Father. Apart from any repetition, there is the clear suggestion throughout this slender volume that the Church, all families and the individuals who compose these communities are called to repent of rebellious elder-brotherism. Keller notes that both the younger and the older brother are addicted to this instinct, which drives so much of our resentment, envy and inability to forgive. I highly recommend this book. If you fail to read it, you are disappointing me, other more responsible people and, perhaps, yourself! Regardless, remember that God is willing to forgive and embrace sinners like you and me because of Jesus, his life, his sacrifice and his resurrection from death.