Mediaculture: Reflections on the effect of media and culture on our faith

Good books are being published every day. May you find time to read some of the following.

Emergence: Phyllis Tickle presents a fascinating account in Emergence Christianity: What It Is, Where It Is Going and Why It Matters (BakerBooks, 2012, $19.99). The entire book attempts to describe a movement that resists definition.

She delves into the history of emergent churches, focusing primarily on the United States while recognizing that Emergence Christianity “is international in scope.”

She notes the change in emphasis from believe/behave/belong to belong/behave/believe. She writes that a central characteristic or principle is “its aggressive belief in inclusivity and the importance of diversity in worship and in community.”

A photographic section of emergent churches and an annotated bibliography are bonuses to the book.

Saints: Two recent books provide vignettes about an array of saints through history. Finding God: A Treasury of Conversion Stories, edited by John M. Mulder (Eerdmans, 2012, $22), includes stories of 61 Christians, from Paul the Apostle to Bono the rock star. Many are well-known; many more are not. I’d never heard of Pat Day, for example (he’s a jockey). The stories are interesting and inspiring.

Also inspiring are the stories in Mothers, Sisters, Daughters: Standing on Their Shoulders by Edwina Gateley and Sandra Mattucci (Orbis Books, 2012, $20), which introduces 22 women from different parts of the world, including politicians, mystics, religious women, poets, women from Scripture and environmentalists. Again, some are well-known; many are not. Each story is accompanied by a poem and a drawing from the authors.

Yoder: Although John Howard Yoder died in 1997, books by him and those reflecting on his work continue to be published. Radical Christian Discipleship (Herald Press, 2012, $15.99) is the first of three volumes of a series called John Howard Yoder’s Challenge to the Church. While many of Yoder’s works address scholars, this series collects pieces Yoder wrote that address ordinary Christians.

This volume focuses on how Christians are to follow Jesus in every aspect of our lives.

It includes lectures, magazine articles and sermons he gave or wrote over a period from 1954 to 1978. He addresses various aspects of nonconformity, calling for conformity to Christ. While these essays are historically situated, they are remarkably relevant to Christians today.

Things Hold Together: John Howard Yoder’s Trinitarian Theology of Culture by Branson L. Parler (Herald Press, 2012, $24.99) is addressed to scholars but deals with important issues for the church.

Parler, who is a member of the Reformed Church, writes that “Yoder speaks not just to Mennonite questions or issues but to matters that all Christian traditions care about.”

Here he is addressing how Christians relate to culture. He notes that Yoder has been unfairly criticized and shows that Yoder advocates a trinitarian theology of culture that affirms God’s work in creation and in redemption. He writes that “cultural practices and institutions that go against the way of Jesus also go against the grain of the universe.”

Finally, Loving the Poor, Saving the Rich: Wealth, Poverty and Early Christian Formation by Helen Rhee (BakerAcademic, 2012, $29.99) shows how wealth and poverty, often ignored today, were central issues in the early church. There’s much here for us to ponder.

Gordon Houser is associate editor of The Mennonite.