Estranged Pioneers: Race, Faith, and Leadership in a Diverse World
By Korie Little Edwards and Rebecca Y. Kim
Reviewed by Reginald Smith
When I read Estranged Pioneers, it resonated with my lived experience as an ethnic minority pastor leading a majority-white multiethnic church. I found myself nodding at almost every page.
Edwards and Kim explore whether multiracial churches can overcome the racial divide that exists in most of the American Evangelical world. Despite facing real challenges, the pastors of those churches have a unique opportunity to be bridge builders as well as “pioneers.” Edwards and Kim conclude, “Regardless of their religious affiliation, pastors of multiracial churches were pioneers. They were going against the odds, doing something that few of their peers are doing.”
The book makes an excellent resource for church book clubs, church council conversations, churches with local contexts that might be racially changing, or personal enrichment and learning. (Oxford University Press)
The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance
By Jemar Tisby
Reviewed by Ann Byle
Jemar Tisby, author of the bestselling The Color of Compromise, continues his study of racism as he looks at the history of the United States from its earliest settlement by non-Native Americans to the present as it relates to the Black fight for justice and liberty.
Tisby asks, “What manner of people are those who courageously confront racism instead of being complicit with it? And what can we learn from their example, their suffering, their methods, and their hope?”
He answers by “focus(ing) primarily on the beliefs and actions of Black Christians.” Tisby puts their actions into the context of American history, revealing how their faith in God was the basis for their actions on behalf of their brothers and sisters as well as themselves. (Zondervan Reflective)
Her Part to Play: A Novel
By Jenny Erlingsson
Reviewed by Ann Byle
Adanne Stewart is back in her hometown of Hope Springs, Ala., after a stint in California. She’d dreamed of being a makeup artist to the stars, but now she is rebuilding her life and doing makeup on the set of a movie filming locally.
John Pope, the film’s star, is recovering from a nasty public breakup with the woman he thought he’d marry. Now he’s stuck in Hope Springs with nothing but a bad attitude and a broken heart.
Adanne and John slowly build a friendship as he begins to heal and, with Adanne’s help, return to his spiritual roots.
Erlingsson has written a beautiful romance that unfolds smoothly and slowly as the protagonists face their struggles and as they begin to see a future together. (Revell)
12 Truths &A Lie: Answers to Life’s Biggest Questions
By J.D. Greear
Reviewed by Paul Delger
Before Pastor J.D. Greear tackles the questions he is most often asked, he debunks the notion Christians should not ask questions and exposes the lie that “if you have doubts and difficult questions, you’re a bad Christian or maybe not a Christian at all.” Greear responds to 12 questions with biblical guidance and a bit of humor. Questions include: How can I know for sure I’ll go to heaven? Why isn’t God answering my prayers? How can I know God’s will for my life? I believe in God, so why do I still struggle with anxiety? Why does God care so much about my sex life? The book can be used as a reference guide or can be easily read in a few sittings. (K-LOVE Books)
Fire Music
By Connie Hampton Connally
Reviewed by Cynthia Beach
Fire Music tells the story of Hungarian youths in 1944-45 who experience something no one wishes: German cruelties, then Russian. These teens encounter the trauma of war and even death while wanting to find their way and perhaps fall in love.
Fire Music also tells the story of newly divorced American Lisa Denman, who travels to Hungary in 2007 carrying yellowed sheet music. What can she learn of its untold story?
Connie Hampton Connally’s faithful commitment to Christianity shows in her story. While she doesn’t preach or push, redemption shows gold in believable character arcs. Suffering is noticed and never shamed; rather, it’s handled as if holy.
Language and adult themes are used at times to depict the reality of war-torn Hungary.
Fire Music is an ennobling and soul-moving read—perfect book club reading. (Coffeetown Press)
Why Everything That Doesn’t Matter, Matters So Much: The Way of Love in a World of Hurt
By Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth
Reviewed by Robert J. Keeley
Charlie Peacock is best known as a musician/producer, but he also speaks into the public conversation about the role of the arts in the life of faith. Peacock and his wife, Andi Ashworth, founded the Art House in Nashville, Tenn., as a place where artists could come to explore how to connect their faith with their art. Their new book is part memoir and part treatise on the way the couple looks at hospitality, mentoring, being a Christian artist, self-care, and faith.
Their story is fascinating, and as we are invited into their lives, their two voices help us feel as welcome as their many guests have been. Their story is a testament to how God uses ordinary things in the lives of his people to further his kingdom. (Thomas Nelson)
Failures of Forgiveness: What We Get Wrong and How to Do Better
By Myisha Cherry
Reviewed by Mary Li Ma
Across religions and societies, forgiveness is a profound and complex human experience that defies oversimplification and represents the highest moral ground. Contemporary philosopher Myisha Cherry carefully unveils the myths and misconceptions around forgiveness.
“Forgiveness is powerful. But it’s not magical,” she writes. A narrow view of forgiveness equates it with “the ‘letting go’ of negative feelings,” such as anger and resentment. Sometimes, the moral command of forgiveness can even be used to pressure victims of crimes, leading to further harm. “Many of us turn to forgiveness as a possible antidote,” Cherry says. “But forgiveness, like any powerful medicine, works only if applied properly.”
This book is a great resource for thoughtful Christians willing to expand their philosophical understanding of forgiveness. (Princeton University Press)
Until Our Time Comes
By Nicole M. Miller
Reviewed by Sonya VanderVeen Feddema
Author Nicole Miller explores the traumatic history of how Russian and German invaders wreaked havoc on a stud farm in 1939 Poland that specialized in breeding Arabian horses.
American horse trainer Adia Kensington has deep roots at the farm because of the role her Polish mother played during World War I in trying to save the renowned farm’s horses from the occupiers. Now, Adia finally has the chance to work there, but her hopes are disrupted when Germany invades Poland.
Bret Conway says he is a journalist, but unbeknownst to Adia and others at the farm, he is a British intelligence officer.
Until Our Time Comes offers an enjoyable and thought-provoking reading experience that will appeal to history buffs and fans of romance novels alike. (Revell)
Between Two Brothers
By Crystal Allen
Reviewed by Sonya VanderVeen Feddema
Thirteen-year-old Isaiah “Ice” Abernathy reveres his 17-year-old brother, Seth, a renowned cross-country runner with a scholarship to a prestigious university. For Ice and Seth, it’s always been about the relationship between brothers, a friendship bond that each considers unbreakable.
But when an accident incapacitates Seth and sends Ice and his family into a tailspin emotionally, financially, and spiritually, their Christian faith is tried like never before.
Between Two Brothers explores themes such as bullying among adolescents and between corporations, the transformative power of friendship, the role of Christian faith and prayer when dealing with tragedy, and the need to “always leave space for grace.”
Though recommended for children ages 8-12, the book is better suited for ages 11 and older due to its highly emotionally charged topic. (Balzer + Bray)
Born of Gilded Mountains
By Amanda Dykes
Reviewed by Sonya VanderVeen Feddema
In 1948, when 30-year-old Mercy Windsor, a famous Hollywood actress, stands up against injustice, she learns that her career has been terminated. Wanting nothing more than to disappear and fade from the spotlight of the public’s harsh scrutiny, Mercy sets out for a small community in Colorado called Mercy Peak to find her girlhood pen pal.
Born of Gilded Mountains is replete with adventure after adventure, clues upon clues, majestic descriptions of nature, emotionally complex characters, biblical truth, and portrayals of the harshness of life in mining communities and Hollywood culture. In this gratifying novel for adults, Dykes masterfully combines various formats—pen pal letters, newspaper reports, interviews, a motion picture script, and prose—to tell Mercy’s story. The book includes discussion questions. (Bethany House Publishers)
His Face Like Mine: Finding God’s Love in Our Wounds
By Russell W. Joyce
Reviewed by Sonya VanderVeen Feddema
Author Russell W. Joyce was born Nov. 17, 1988, with a rare craniofacial disorder called Goldenhar syndrome.
Though Joyce’s parents knew that “God gave them this child with a different face for a reason,” they continued to plead for God to make their son whole. Joyce asserts that all people long for God to make them whole. “As a pastor and, more importantly, a follower of Jesus,” he explains, “I’ve learned that Jesus came to earth for one reason: our wholeness.”
His Face Like Mine is an outstanding resource for pastors, lay leaders, and anyone who recognizes their woundedness and desires to take steps to discover the wholeness Jesus longs to bring to the world. The book concludes with questions for reflection. (IVP)
Darkness Calls the Tiger
By Janyre Tromp
Reviewed by Sonya VanderVeen Feddema
Set in Burma—present-day Myanmar—during World War II, this expansive, fascinating novel for adults begins with a dynamite first chapter that catapults readers into a narrative zinging with danger and unpredictability. It grapples with compelling questions about God’s presence in the face of suffering, evil, war, and death.
Kai Moran, an 18-year-old missionary kid, must work with Ryan McDonough, a new missionary, to help their village as Japan invades Southern Burma and a flood of refugees descends upon the town.
Darkness Calls the Tiger is a must-read book that exposes historical injustices, offers captivating characters and a riveting plot, addresses spiritual questions posed by people who long to understand where God is when darkness descends, and portrays Christian hope. (Kregel)