PT Media Picks: Books

History of salvation

The Changing Shape of Our Salvation

by John Killinger (Crossroad, 2007; 141 pages; $14.95, paper)

Salvation is a central theme in Christianity. Killinger, a pastor, professor and author of Ten Things I Learned Wrong from a Conservative Church, looks into the history of salvation from the earliest times to the present.

Ideas about salvation have evolved and changed through history. In the Hebrew Scriptures no afterlife was expected. Mystery religions around at the time of the New Testament may have been among the first to propose an afterlife. Paul’s writings set the standard by declaring that belief in Jesus was all that was necessary for salvation. The church itself provided salvation for those in the Middle Ages through sacraments. Martin Luther and other Reformers proclaimed salvation through God’s grace, and about this time individualism took hold. In later years science challenged faith and the World Wars altered our view of the world. Materialism replaced survival in modern society, and a view of salvation that includes people of a variety of faith backgrounds is embraced by many Christians.

In Reformed theology salvation brings wholeness and fulfillment, but ultimately God is the one to grant salvation to individuals. This book is helpful for Christians desiring a better understanding of this complex theological concept we call salvation.

—Judith Klamm, a member of Southminster Presbyterian Church, Prairie Village, Kan.

Prayer and action combined

The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice

by Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling (Jossey-Bass, 2007; 256 pages; $21.95, hardcover)

Over the centuries Christians have clashed over what has the highest priority, service or contemplation. In this book noted evangelical speaker, writer and teacher Tony Campolo and college professor and spiritual director Mary Albert Darling make the case that the real answer is “both.”

In clear language, using examples from their lives and work, Campolo and Darling look to Scripture, ancient Christian teachings and Protestant theology to explore how encounters with the living Christ through prayer and meditation support both the sharing of the gospel with non-believers and the work to feed the hungry and confront the systems that leave people hungry. They introduce three simple spiritual practices — Lectio Divina, Examen and centering prayer — and invite the reader to explore one or more of them immediately. This new book is an excellent introduction to how contemplation and worship support evangelism and the work towards justice. It also shows how the work of evangelism and justice enrich contemplation.

—Anitra Kitts, a member of Rose City Park Presbyterian Church, Portland, Ore.

Latter-day friars

The New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World’s Poor

Taking the title from the name given to monks of the Franciscan Order of the 13th century, Scott Bessenecker offers a moving account of various Christians currently committed to serving the poorest of the poor throughout the world. The book is designed to encourage the Christian community in supporting these latter-day friars, most of whom are not in formal religious orders but who have felt called to serve “people on the fringe.”

Interspersed with the stories of these mendicants, Bessenecker offers a historical perspective on the traditional religious orders most often associated with serving the poor. While his theological arguments are not original, this expression is fresh. At one point he writes that instead of God keeping a “cool distance” by seeing creation as a kind of reality television show, we should view God as wanting to be involved in our lives. While Bessenecker’s pitch is to lend support to the movement of the “new friars,” he recognizes that this is a particular call and not a universal one. Still he urges all Christians to be attentive to the needs in our own communities and neighborhoods.

—Nick Phillips, a student at Memphis Theological Seminary

Clowning as ministry

Bring in the Clowns: A Metaphor for Ministry

by Bud Frimoth (Winepress Publishing, 2006; 276 pages; $16.95, paper)

When I heard that the Presbyterian Writers Guild had chosen a book on clowning as the winner of this year’s Angell Award for the best first book by a Presbyterian writer, my first thought was, “They must have been hard up for entries.” But Bring in the Clowns is so much more than a “how-to” guide for a niche ministry. Lovingly laid out by Presbyterian minister Bud Frimoth of Portland, Ore., the art of clowning and the lessons it teaches are revealed as keys to every form of ministry.

Frimoth ought to know. Over a 55-year career he has served as a pastor, as creator and host of the Peabody Award–winning radio program “Open Door,” and for many years as the clown Doolotz (a play on the Greek word doulos, meaning “servant”), usually accompanied by “Wrinkles” — portrayed by his wife, Lenore, who died suddenly earlier this year after the book was published.

It’s in Doolotz — the minister as servant — that Frimoth seems to have discovered what ministry is all about. “Clowning showed me how Jesus listened to others and then responded,” he writes. “I have found many areas where ministry can use the gifts of listening with the ‘ears of the heart’ that clowns helped me discover.”

Making the other “the show” rather than one’s self, Frimoth says, transforms performance into ministry. “From my reading of the Scriptures,” he writes, “I think Jesus often responded that way, thinking of others first.” Bring in the Clowns is a richly textured testament to that Biblical truth.

—Jerry Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service