DIVINE PRESENCE AMID VIO-LENCE: CONTEXTUALIZING THEB O O K O F J O S H UA, by Wa lte rBrueggemann. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2009.Pp. 82. $13.00 (paper).

Walter Brueggemann’s Divine Presenceamid Violence is one among many recent stud-ies of the Old Testament that observe God’s in-extricable connection to violence and war.With remarkable clarity, Brueggemann en-gages Scripture relevant to our own contempo-rary theological discussions. This curious littletitle suggests a difficult question: What are weto do with all the unspeakable human violenceand bloodshed in the Old Testament that isdone in the name of God? These sixty-oddpages provide a classic example of WalterBrueggemann’s theological agenda—if you’veread him before, you’ll know what to expect:Brueggemann’s signature emphasis on thecentral importance of the paradigmaticsalvific and liberating activity of Yahweh overagainst violent royal domination systems. Ex-odus theology is the lifeblood that inundatesevery page.

The reader must keep in mind that the workin this book is not intended to be an exhaustivestudy—it would be impossible even to miti-gate the problems of violence in the book ofJoshua in sixty-some pages. Instead, Bruegge-mann provides the reader with a concise mid-rash on divine presence and its connection toviolence in Josh 11 that is both a practical and ac-cessible pastoral offering, appropriate forlayperson and clergy alike. His writing drawsfrom a considerable knowledge of Scripture.Moreover, it is informed by a pantheon ofscholars, old and new, rendering a consider-able bibliography for any aspirant to the un-

derstanding of biblical warfare. Certainly, thisbook is an excellent starting place for thosewho wish to join the ongoing conversationabout war, the Bible, and the church today.

Brueggemann’s work here is a long overduedeparture from countless classic pastoraltreatments of the connection of the divine andviolence, most painfully expressed in apologiaand pleading on the behalf of Scripture, God,and country. Furthermore, it is a refreshingchange from the typical treatment of Scripturein popular biblical scholarship—the reader isnot nettled with bothersome text-criticalmatters, but is troubled instead by the intensereality of horse and driver and Solomonic eco-nomics, as immediate and living as our owncommunities. For Brueggemann, Scriptureportrays a reality that replays itself over andover in the world today. Consequently,Brueggemann’s work is never a disconnectedautopsy on a “dead letter,” but is always a con-versation with the living, breathing word ofGod. He therefore prays a desperate prayerconcerning our reading and understanding ofJosh 11: “We must read the narrative as disclo-sure ‘from the other side’ within communitiesof domination” (64). Readers of this book willfind themselves to be deeply engrossed andchallenged by this exercise.

The problems of divine permission and vi-olence in texts such as Joshua are traditionallydealt with by transposing the political-histori-cal violence into “ontological violence”—cus-tomarily expressed as “God’s struggle withdeath.” This “bourgeois construction,” how-ever, is not characteristic of Brueggemann’swriting. The struggle here is not between “Godand death” but “Yahweh and empire.” Themessage couldn’t be clearer—our world is thesame as the world disclosed within this diffi-

442 Copyright © 2010 by Word & World, Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, Minnesota. All rights reserved

cult Scripture, and we are playing out the samedrama as the ancient domination systems ofthe Bible. To miss this element is to distort bib-lical faith into a benign, innocuous affair. HereBrueggemann does no such thing. His task isnot to jettison the problems of violence that arearoused by the text, or to exonerate God, but tooffer an appropriate, reasonable, and theo-po-litical lens for the difficult enterprise of under-standing biblical violence and its connectionto the divine. If you are looking for an apologiafor “American empire,” you must look else-where. Brueggemann does not offer exonera-tion for empire, but instead invites us to seeour present society of militarism in the royaldomination systems of the Bible: “The power-ful lineage of Pharaoh, Sisera, Nebuchad-nezzar never learns in time. But the textpersists and is always offered again” (64).

Our world today, not unlike the world dis-closed in Scripture, cries out for liberation.Brueggemann refuses to let those cries fall ondeaf ears: “Generation after generation, thestrange turn of the Exodus is reenacted with newcharacters, but each time on behalf of helpless Is-rael” (48). I recommend that you read this bookwith Scripture in one hand and a newspaper inthe other. You may be left without words, butBrueggemann will surely place some upon yourlips: “We are more fully embedded in communi-ties of horses and chariots, more fully committedto domination” (64).

Brueggemann’s work, like the book ofJoshua, “is a disclosure of hope to those em-bedded in reliance on horses and chariots, awarning that all such arms cannot secureagainst God’s force for life” (64). The need forthe liberation of helpless “Israel” persists inthe world today, and Brueggemann is one lib-erating voice that refuses to surrender to thecrushing silence of Western passivity.

Daniel J. StarkLuther SeminarySaint Paul, Minnesota

EPAPHRAS: PAUL’S EDUCATOR ATC O LOS S A E , by M i ch a e l Tr a i nor.Collegeville, MN: Michael Glazier, 2009. Pp.123. $12.95 (paper).

APOLLOS: PAUL’S PARTNER OR RI-VAL? by Patrick J. Hartin. Collegeville, MN:Michael Glazier, 2009. Pp. 136. $11.95 (pa-per).

These two books, on Epaphras and Apollosby Michael Trainor and Patrick Hartin, respec-tively, are part of a series, Paul’s Social Net-work, edited by Bruce Malina. The series usessocial relationships and our best knowledge ofthe first century to identify persons fromPaul’s social network who are “significant an-cestors in faith” (Epaphras, vii). Each bookuses its character as a lens for exploring vari-ous facets of early communities of believers,the world in which they took shape, the way the“good news” of Jesus Christ made an impacton their lives, and vice versa. In a word, the en-tire series is concerned with helping contem-porary readers understand the context of thespread of Paul’s gospel network even after hisdeath, the better to more richly imagine the dy-namics of discipleship in our own time. Learn-ing more about lesser-known figures from theearliest years of the Jesus mission reminds usthat the call of faith has never been vouchsafedonly to a few well-known heroes.

Both Trainor and Hartin are very learnedabout the texts, the cultures, and the geograph-ical areas under consideration in these twoslim volumes. In addition, both authors deal ina very sophisticated way with the differenttime periods of their texts. The results, how-ever, are uneven, perhaps because of thegreater number and length of references toApollos, some of which come from Paul’s ownhand, as well as from later materials.

We’ll begin with Hartin’s study of Apollos,a study in which he focuses on the question inthe subtitle, “Paul’s partner or rival?” In orderto examine this question, Hartin gathers theNew Testament references to Apollos (1 Cor

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1:10–17; 3:1–9, 21–23; 4:1–7; 16:12; Acts18:24–28; Titus 3:13). Given the scanty refer-ences to him in the New Testament, Apollos re-mains an intriguing figure for a number ofreasons. First, he is mentioned specifically byPaul. Secondly, he seems to have been involvedin some dissension within the Corinthiancommunities of believers. Third (and notleast), he is from Alexandria. This city becamevery important to early Christians, yet weknow almost nothing about the origins anddevelopment of the faith there. How mightone make the best use of social-scientificapproaches to understand more fully whoApollos was and what he might tell usabout the earliest spread of belief in JesusMessiah?

Hartin divides his work along two mainaxes. First he looks at four central aspects ofthe culture that shaped Apollos and other earlybelievers: the collectivistic nature of first-cen-tury Mediterranean persons; the relationshipof Apollos to Corinth and its conflicts; the im-portance of Apollos’s Alexandrian roots; therelationship of Apollos to Paul and Paul’s so-cial network. Hartin also looks very carefully atthe difference between what can be learnedfrom Paul’s letter, a first-generation text fromthe 50s C.E., and what can be learned from Acts,a “third-generation” text from forty years or solater. Hartin attends to how Luke’s backwardlook at Apollos and his distinctive approach tohis story help us see Apollos more clearly.

The benefits of Hartin’s study are signifi-cant in many ways. The book reminds us thatthe ancient world is quite different from ourown, even to the way in which we imagine per-sons. If we can begin to expand our under-standing of how “good news” was indeed“good news” in the first-century Mediterra-nean world, perhaps we can see more clearlyhow the dynamics of “good news” challengesus. Also, if we can see the differences betweenthe first-century Mediterranean culture andour own in relatively “safe” matters, such asthe conflicts in Corinth and the identity of

Apollos, perhaps we dare to see how difficult itis to move directly from first-century pro-nouncements into twenty-first century cul-tures in other matters. Finally, it is no smallthing that Apollos is a well-educated man whofinds a role in the early church. He was impor-tant in Paul’s network. Christian communitiesin our own time might benefit from consider-ations of how to involve more richly educatedpersons in the life of faith.

In Trainor’s study, Epaphras is also exam-ined as an inhabitant of the first-centuryMediterranean world. Trainor’s task is morecomplex than Hartin’s, in that Epaphras ismentioned only three times, in Philemon andColossians. In addition, considerably less isknown about the ancient city of Colossae thanabout Alexandria, and the letter to Philemondoes not supply a clear geographic destination.Trainor, therefore, takes a slightly differentapproach. He describes and works with amodel of social network analysis on the onehand; on the other, he uses geographic andarchaeological information from the LycusValley. As he seeks to open up first-centuryculture and enable us to understand some-thing of Epaphras’s and Paul’s networks, hefocuses on domestic aspects of the social net-work. While Trainor’s work is not easy read-ing, his conclusions about Epaphras areinteresting indeed, for he is revealed as part ofa network that subverts some of the standarddomestic patterns of the first century and cre-ates a fictive kinship network with Jesus at itscenter (54).

Using Colossians, Trainor also sees Epa-phras as an educator who is able to continuePaul’s work without slavish imitation of Paul.That is, Epaphras emerges as a Christian edu-cator who “can authentically engage lifegivingtradition on behalf of Colossian Jesus groups”(95). Trainor’s own ministry in a small RomanCatholic parish in Elizabeth, Australia, deep-ened his appreciation of one like Epaphras,who is trusted to live out the gospel of Jesus in aless well-known place. If such books as these

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I Am a ChristianThe Nun, the Devil, and Martin Luther

CAROLYN M. SCHNEIDER

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Two Kinds of LoveMartin Luther’s Religious World

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are read in church groups, clergy groups, incollege or seminary classes, perhaps theymight open our eyes as well.

Sarah HenrichLuther SeminarySaint Paul, Minnesota

MAKING SENSE OF SCRIPTURE: BIGQUESTIONS ABOUT THE BOOKOF FAITH, by David J. Lose. Minneapolis:Augsburg Fortress, 2009. Pp. 224. $12.99(paper).

Throughout this book on how to approachthe reading of Scripture, Lose continuallyraises up two convictions: questions are a nec-essary part of a life of faith—a life that includesreading the Bible—and the Bible is primarilythe story of God and God’s people. With this inmind, Lose structures his book around sevenquestions that he deems important to exploreas one considers how to read the Bible. In ad-dressing each question, Lose converses withan imaginary discussion partner and peppersthe text with analogies and stories to elucidatehis points.

The first three chapters address the ques-tions, “What is the Bible?” “Is the Bible true?”and “How is the Bible the word of God?” Loom-ing large in these first three chapters is thematter of truth in relation to Scripture. Lose af-firms his belief that the Bible is true andquickly moves the conversation to the ques-tion of how the Bible can be considered to betrue. To do this, he introduces his imaginaryconversation partner to the concept of fact-value split, noting that while it is common tothink about truth in terms of fact, the two havenot always been equated. The Bible, Lose con-tends, more often conveys truth in terms ofmeaning rather than in terms of historical fact,something that may have been more easilyunderstandable to those living before the En-lightenment.

The remaining chapters deal with ques-

tions surrounding the compilation of the Bi-ble, biblical criticism, and the authority ofScripture. His questions are: “Where did theBible come from?” “How can I read the Biblewith greater understanding?” “Is there a ‘cen-ter’ to Scripture?” and “What kind of authoritydoes the Bible hold?” Here Lose introduces thereader to a time line for the compilation ofScripture, and to theories such as the gospelsource Q. In addressing these issues, Lose pro-vides ample biblical examples to demonstratehow one might be able to tell that sections of theBible were written by different people, and howeach author’s context led that author to expresshis story, or confession, in a specific way.

Affirming that every reading of Scriptureentails interpretation, Lose leads the reader toconsider how theological convictions and thecommunity in which one lives and worshipsshape how Scripture comes to be interpreted.In response to concerns about a relativist read-ing, the author suggests that it is these samecommunal theological convictions that keepa reader’s scriptural interpretation within cer-tain bounds.

All this leads to the book’s thesis, voiced inthe words of the imaginary conversation part-ner, near the end of the book:

…God speaks through the confessions ofordinary people to help me make sense ofmy life and join in the ongoing story ofGod’s mission to love, save, and bless theworld. What’s extraordinary, when I thinkabout it, isn’t so much the collection ofconfessions that make up the Bible itself.What is most amazing to me is that Godwants to include me in all this in the firstplace and that God would use the ordinarypeople like those in the Bible and those inthe church to do all that.

Lose maintains an informal and conversa-tional style throughout the book that will openthe door to those who are nervous about theirability to delve into the questions addressed inthe book or who have been afraid to ask suchquestions themselves. His method of interac-

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NEW from Frederick Gaiser

NEW from Terrence FretheimCreation UntamedTHE BIBLE, GOD, AND NATURAL DISASTERS

Terence E. Fretheim9780801038938 • 176 pp. • $19.99p

“In Creation Untamed, Terry Fretheim adjusts his goggles and dives head first into the swirling storm of practical biblical and theological questions that we all ask about God, tragedy, and suffering. Fretheim admits that the Bible can-not provide all the answers. Mysteries remain. Yet Fretheim skillfully guides the reader through the dark and choppy waters of theology and suffering, suggesting helpful ways to move and warning against less promising ways of under-standing. This book is deeply biblical, highly practical, and richly theological. Highly recommended!”—Dennis Olson, Princeton Theological Seminary

Healing in the BibleTHEOLOGICAL INSIGHT FOR CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

Frederick J. Gaiser9780801031014 • 288 pp. • $24.99p

“Healing in the Bible is a bold, countercultural word for peo-ple of faith who struggle to understand how God heals even as they live in a society preoccupied with infinite expecta-tions of health and health care. Traditional wisdom about healing from Zimbabwe, such as ‘I am well if you are well,’ is woven together with biblical insights about health and healing in new and fresh ways. Throughout this appreciative reading of biblical stories of healing, one theme is constant: the cross will color all Christian ideas of health and healing. Healing in the Bible is a book that informs and inspires and even heals as it transforms.”—Herbert Anderson, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and Graduate Theological Union

uA v a i l a b l e a t l o c a l b o o k s t o r e s , w w w . b a k e r a c a d e m i c . c o m , o r b y c a l l i n g 1 - 8 0 0 - 8 7 7 - 2 6 6 5 .

S u b s c r i b e t o B a k e r A c a d e m i c ’s e l e c t r o n i c n e w s l e t t e r ( E - N o t e s ) a t w w w . b a k e r a c a d e m i c . c o m .

tion with an imaginary conversation partnerwill hopefully encourage readers who may findtheir own questions within the pages of the book.This dialogical approach works especially wellfor the first three chapters of the book, where theimagined conversation flows easily, inviting thereader to add his or her own experiences and sto-ries to those described in the book.

Lose’s method works somewhat less well inthe chapters on biblical compilation andmethodology. For instance, his explanation re-garding the compilation and canonization ofScripture necessitates more of a lecture style,and the interjections of the conversation part-ner have the effect of making portions of his ar-gument somewhat choppy. This, however, isnot insurmountable, and the choice to keep theconversational style may serve to keep thebook from veering away from its intendedaudience.

The strength of this volume lies in Lose’sability to use analogy to make sense of compli-cated and unfamiliar concepts. His artful useof story supports his argument that one’s iden-tity is largely understood in terms of narrative,and his continual return to scriptural exam-ples affirms that it is the Bible that holds a pri-mary narrative for making sense of faith andlife. Lose is to be commended for finding ac-cessible language to express these complicatedconcepts and for writing in a way that is not inthe least condescending.

While the book may be fruitfully read by anindividual, it will be of even more use for con-gregational groups who wish to think more se-riously about how and why Scripture might beread. Its structure of focusing each chapter ona specific question lends itself well to multi-week group study. It is a welcome addition tothe materials published as part of Book of FaithInitiative of the Evangelical Lutheran Churchin America.

Kristin J. WendlandLuther SeminarySaint Paul, Minnesota

HOLY SPIRIT: CREATIVE POWER INOUR LIVES,by Lois Malcolm.Minneapo-lis: Augsburg Fortress, 2009. Pp. 94. $11.99(paper).

Throughout her concise Lutheran Voicesbook on the Holy Spirit, Lois Malcolm neverdeparts from her anti-Gnostic premise,namely, that the Spirit dwells intimately in abody and in the matter and matters of earthlylife. Salvation itself, she reminds the reader, isabout resurrection of the body. By highlightingdetails of Jesus’ earthly ministry, sometimeswithout direct reference to the Spirit, Malcolmlets the reader make the obvious conclusion:Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are con-nected to the work and activity of the HolySpirit. More boldly said, the body of JesusChrist, in his earthly ministry, death, and res-urrection, is the source and activity of theSpirit.

Malcolm’s introduction gets to the heart ofthe matter. Most of us do not think our dailylives are imbued with the Holy Spirit. “Weleave experiences of the Spirit to other peo-ple—enthusiasts, charismatics, and mystics”(9). The rest of the book illustrates, with amplesupport, the expansive work of the Spirit in thelives of the biblical characters. Malcolm callsthe book one of spiritual experience, and thereader comes away with the wonderful para-doxes that mortal life is in fact spiritual and thebody is the locus of the Spirit’s work: “…thereis no way around the paradox that all this ex-traordinary power only takes place within thesuffering and weakness of our mortal bodies”(81).

The author’s survey of the Spirit in the OldTestament begins with a definition using theHebrew ruach. She succinctly touches on theSpirit’s role in the lives of the judges, kings,and prophets and moves to the spirit of messi-anic hope that arises out of the experience ofexile. Concluding with a few words on the rela-tionship between God’s Spirit and the humanspirit, she effectively touches on both ancient

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Feminist Mysticism and Images of God:

A Practical Theologyby Jennie S. Knight

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and contemporary experiences of grief andanguish.

Though never divorced from the Old Testa-ment, the book spends more time in the NewTestament. Drawing primarily but not solelyfrom the Synoptic Gospels, Malcolm high-lights Jesus’ baptism and connects the Spirit tohis proclaiming and calling into existence thekingdom of God. The Spirit is active in Jesus’words and deeds on earth: announcing goodnews to the poor, healing, forgiving sins, andgathering followers. Malcolm is careful, how-ever, not to exclude the experience of thecrucifixion from the Spirit’s purview. She un-derscores Jesus’ intimate relationship with his“Abba,” and here we sense more palpableTrinitarian thought. Turning to Acts, Malcolmnotes the charismatic nature of the sending ofthe Spirit at Pentecost and beyond as the gos-pel moves to the ends of the earth and includesGentiles. The mystical nature of the sending ofthe Spirit in John is intimate and relational, asthe Advocate, Jesus’ living presence, abides inus. Here there is only brief mention of Paul, butthe reader need not fear that Malcolm neglectsthe Spirit in the Pauline themes of the body ofChrist and love in the community. The finalthree chapters take their titles from the abidinggifts Paul names in 1 Corinthians: The SpiritCreates Faith, The Spirit Creates Love, andThe Spirit Creates Hope. Through these, theSpirit’s creative power is clear both in individ-uals as well as in the community. A myriad ofNew Testament themes, among which arestrong echoes of the Lutheran theological heri-tage, come to the surface in these chapters.Their order does not follow Paul’s, however.Malcolm switches hope and love, leaving thereader to finish with a sense of extraordinaryhope in the Spirit’s power and activity, evenunto death.

Without naming the Trinity in its classicalformula, Malcolm repeatedly highlights the in-timate relationship of the three persons. Thusthe baptismal promise, in which we are giventhe same Spirit that was in Christ Jesus, leads

us into the same intimate relationship with theGodhead and frees us to enter right and goodrelationship with others. Post-resurrection lifein the Spirit is treated at length in four of thebook’s six chapters, directing an individual ora community of readers to see itself as an inti-mate part of the Spirit’s creative work in theworld today, called to do justice and to love theneighbor.

When referring to the spiritual acts andgifts of speaking in tongues, healings, exor-cisms, and laying on of hands, Malcolm pro-vides the context and some commentary butdoesn’t unpack each of these at length. De-pending on a group or individual’s comfortlevel with these things, a discussion leader willwant to be prepared to respond to questionsand explore them in greater depth. Like otherLutheran Voices books, each chapter con-cludes with questions for discussion. Becauseof the breadth Malcolm covers, the book couldeasily open up further conversation on all theissues it raises, including the Trinity, voca-tion, theology of the cross, the body of Christand community, and spiritual experience ineveryday life.

“Spirituality” is too often conceived as oth-erworldly and metaphysical. Malcolm’s bookwill undoubtedly counter this notion, as theJewish and Christian Scriptures do, and openeyes to the presence of the Spirit in daily life. Ihave been asked numerous times in my yearsin pastoral ministry why Lutherans don’t evertalk about the Holy Spirit. Malcolm’s bookeliminates the need for this question andopens time and space for more fruitfulconversation.

Amy C. ThorenDiamond Lake Lutheran ChurchMinneapolis, Minnesota

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FAITH AS A WAY OF LIFE, by ChristianScharen. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.Pp. 137. $16.00 (paper).

In case readers miss the title of ChristianScharen’s book, they will still have no troublefiguring out the book’s aim. In his brief fore-word, Miroslav Volf links the words faith andlife at least sixteen times, in phrases such as“lived faith,” “connecting faith with life,” and“faith…the shaper of life as a whole.” It wasVolf who initiated the Faith as a Way of Lifeprogram at Yale, and Scharen who directed thelaypeople, pastors, and theologians in the pro-gram to ask how “pastoral leaders” (Scharen’sterm) might encourage their parishioners tolive out their faith in their daily lives. In hisbook, Scharen synthesizes the group’s work,adding his own insights and putting the wholething into a volume that is both theoretical andpractical.

The problem the book addresses will be fa-

miliar to pastors. At the outset, Scharen relayshis interaction with a parishioner named Liz, aworking mother and wife who teases Scharenthat he’s able to think about religion all thetime. Liz, by contrast, views her faith as onlyone piece of her busy professional and familylife, taking summers off from church for fam-ily leisure activities. Scharen realizes in thisinteraction that pastors often try to solvethe problem Liz presents by encouragingmore church activities and greater worshipattendance. God, however, makes a greaterclaim on the lives of believers than simplymore activity at church, transforming theirentire lives such that their faith is lived outin their daily lives. Pastoral leaders, Scharencontends, are responsible for fostering such alived-out faith.

At a couple of points in this book, Scharenseems to anticipate criticism from his Lu-theran colleagues that Christian ministryought to be concerned more with God’s ac-

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tion than our own, more with faith thanhow that faith gets lived out. Scharen pointsto St. Paul’s words that we “walk in newnessof life.” Faith, Scharen reminds us, has practi-cal consequences in the life of the believer,even while this faith comes as a gift from theHoly Spirit.

Faith as a Way of Life points to compart-mentalization and individualism as the chiefobstacles to a lived faith. Scharen borrowsheavily from sociologist Robert Bellah to de-scribe the ways that modern history has drivenwedges between the various spheres of ourlives; Scharen focuses especially on thespheres of family, economy, government, andthe arts. Worldly values get checked at the doorof the church, and Christian values get checkedat the door of one’s family or business. Scharendescribes individualism as a language thatconflicts with the language of faith, and sug-gests that Americans are increasingly fluent inthe former, and decreasingly so in the latter.Whereas Christian faith encourages commu-nity and self-giving, modern culture encour-ages individualism and selfishness. In such acontext, churches end up catering ministry tothe solace of individuals in their own privatehavens from the world.

After relaying several stories of pastors whotry bridging the gap between Sunday and therest of the week, Scharen concludes that pas-tors can best foster lived faith if they see them-selves as “spiritual guides” who point to atension between the way things are in thisworld and the way God desires them to be.Further, pastors are to lead both practical exer-cises that show God’s activity in the variousspheres of our lives—Scharen tells the story ofa church that sponsors a sacred jazz concertseries, interconnecting the spheres of faith andthe arts—as well as lead interpretive exer-cises that help their parishioners understandGod’s activity in these various spheres. Key toScharen’s proposal is the pastor’s role in send-ing his or her congregation into the world to act

as salt and light, witnessing to these same ten-sions and interconnections.

Two shortcomings should be mentioned.The first goes back to Volf’s contribution, andcontinues throughout. According to the book,pastors are to encourage their parishioners tolive out their faith. True Christian faith, how-ever, needs no such prompting. The doctor ofWittenberg proposed that faith doesn’t stop toask if there are good works to be done; faith hasalready done them and continues doing them.This is not merely a Lutheran criticism, buttakes its cue from Christ who said that if youmake a tree good, you’ll get good fruit. The taskof the pastor, then, is not to take Christian faithand bend it towards a certain kind of life(Scharen uses terms such as “shape” and “en-courage” on page 12), but rather to preach insuch a way that faith is created. By the Spirit’spower, the living out will take care of itself.

This leads into the second shortcoming.Scharen opens the first part of his book by say-ing, “Let me make the assumption that you arein agreement that pastoral excellence centerson the ability to shape persons and communi-ties for living faith as a way of life.” Here astrange measuring stick presents itself: pas-tors being measured by the outcome in theirparishioners’ lives. The Bible offers a differentmeasuring stick, that is, faithfulness to God’sword. Prophets often spoke their message torecalcitrant audiences, and the Lord waschiefly concerned that those prophets wouldcontinue speaking his word faithfully, evenwhen they knew in advance that the peoplewould not turn to God and be saved. We haverecord of only one of St. Stephen’s sermons,and he was stoned for it. Anyone who heardStephen preach that day might have walkedaway and thought he lacked pastoral excel-lence.

Even when the Holy Spirit does use thewords of a preacher to create a living faith,those preachers may be hard pressed to knowit. The sheep themselves will not be awarethose preachers had cared for Christ “in the

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“A splendid overview of Christmas.”—Wade Clark Roof, University of California Santa Barbara

Heinz’s description of the religious and cultural history of

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in folkways, music, art, and literature.Yet he also probes the

meaning of this central festival and points us to a deeper

appreciation of the reality of incarnation today.978-0-8006-9733-4 288 pp pbk $25.00

nz’s description of the religious and cultural histor

least of these.” Pastors preach and teach, andthey let God do what he will with the word.

Paul KochBethesda, Pine Grove, and Riverside

Lutheran ChurchesWannaska, Minnesota

TESTING THE SPIRITS: HOW THE-OLOGY INFORMS THE STUDY OFCONGREGATIONS, edited by PatrickKeifert. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009. Pp.205. $24.00 (paper).

Testing the Spirits is addressed to theologi-cal educators and students, pastors, and de-nominational officials and staff. PatrickKeifert, editor, states that this book recognizesa gap that exists between “the everyday realitiesof congregational life” and the “conversationwith theology” (1). These essays are by teammembers of the Congregational Studies Re-search Team (CSRT), a part of the Church Inno-vations Institute (www.churchinnovations.org;4, 45–46). The theological educators met faceto face on regular occasions over a three-yearperiod. At each meeting, they updated one an-other on their own academic work. They dis-cussed and evaluated the major project of theresearch staff, and they invited noted scholarsin related fields to join in reflecting on theirwork (3). The team drew on the theologicalworks of James and Evelyn Whitehead andThomas Groome. They also referred to Ber-nard Lonergan and Paul Ricoeur for some oftheir theoretical framework (9–10).

The mission statement of CSRT states that“we are a theological learning organization indirect partnership with congregations, churchleaders, and teachers…this partnership seeksto build up and empower congregations formission by engaging with them in a process ofconversation and action involving spiritualdiscernment and theological reflection aboutthe necessary behaviors, skills, beliefs, andknowledge base for faithfully and effectively

bringing people to a public identity in Christ”(4).

Testing the Spirits has two parts. Part 1,with four essays, focuses on developing a theo-logical approach for studying congregations:two essays are by Patrick Keifert and one es-say each by David Fredrickson and GarySimpson (11–88). Part 2, also with four es-says, develops a theological approach for con-gregational moral discernment: there are twoessays each by Pat Taylor Ellison and RonaldW. Duty (89–179). There is an epilogue by LoisMalcolm, followed by an appendix by DonaldH. Juel, titled “The Use of Scripture in Congre-gational Research.”

In the essay “The Return of the Congrega-tion to Theological Conversation” (13–26),Keifert acknowledges that “the congregation isthe location where theology is practiced” (15).For the congregation the basic questions re-main the same: “What is God up to here?” and“What is the Word of God for us in this placeand time?” (21). Under the theme of returning,there is also a return of a sense of mission forthe congregation (23). A return to the past isnot possible; rather, the congregation will finditself profoundly shaped by the hallmarks ofmodernity (17).

In the essay titled “The Bible and Theologi-cal Education” (27–47), Keifert refers to Mi-chael Welker’s description of the church as a“truth-seeking community,” and “to forsakethis vocation (of truth seeking) would be forthe church to forsake a core characteristic of itsidentity and to threaten its own missionalcharacter” (41). A missional church is one thatunderstands itself as depending on the HolySpirit for its sense of future.

David Fredrickson (48–66) claims that inthe Pauline communities “God is acting andthat this divine work in the congregation is theway God moves into the world for its salva-tion” (48). Paul is exhorting his readers toengage actively in the affairs of their own as-sembly, the local church.

Gary Simpson raises the question: How can

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Christian congregations hear again the call toserve in a public vocation? (67). Simpson asks,“On what basis are Christian congregationsfree to engage in communicative moral prac-tice within civil society?” (68). He points tocongregations as public moral companionsand builds on the early creeds and Luther’swritings, specifically the theology of the cross(72). Simpson also acknowledges that congre-gations have a vocation of being called andsent into the world to live and work as publicmoral companions to the structures and orga-nizations that make up civil society (12).

Pat Taylor Ellison’s essay “Word-Dwelling,Deep Listening, and Faith-Based Moral Con-versation in Congregations: A Nested Vision

for Learning New Habits” (91–108) beginswith some questions: “How do congregationsarticulate and nurture faith? How do theycome to terms with tough issues, strangers,and one another as they wrestle through theirdaily lives? What do congregations do whenthey must face the unexpected, the unjust, theshocking, the perilous? What habits do theyhave and what habits should they grow?” (91).Congregations usually pass when it comes todoing theology, to which Ellison says, “the re-sult is simply this: there is almost no out-loudtalk about who God really is, or about whatGod is really doing…for the most part…wehave forgotten the Word and dwelling withinit, and we have disconnected ourselves from

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speaking and hearing it with one another”(92–93).

Ronald W. Duty’s essay “Discerning theWill of God: Congregational Use of Scripturethrough the Lens of the Cross” (109–131)points out that “moral deliberation by thechurch is as old as the church itself.” Duty saysthat in discerning the will of God, “the cross it-self, interpreted in various ways in a congrega-tion’s life, becomes a lens through which wesee Scripture, our experience, our communi-ties of faith, and our world” (110, 124). In asecond essay, “Scripture, Imagination, andExperience in Moral Conversation” (132–158), he makes reference to the ELCA draftstatement on human sexuality. He gives exam-ples of two contrasting congregations, OurSavior’s and Grace, as to how they approachedtheir ability to imagine homosexuals as Chris-tians and how they interpreted Scripture andchurch tradition with respect to homosexuals.Duty says, “When people do use Scripture inmoral conversation, they use it in variousways. One way is to use it literally; quoting iso-lated passages for the plain sense of the text.Another literal use is what might be called ‘Bi-ble bullets’: quoting passages backing theuser’s point of view. People use these ‘bullets’in exchanges with an intent to kill any replyfrom another perspective, and thus to cut offpossible discussion involving different pointsof view” (147).

In the final essay, “Doing Faith-Based Con-versation: Metaphors for Congregations andTheir Leaders,” Pat Taylor Ellison points tothree metaphors: pioneer, prophet, and ser-vant-leader (166–179). Pioneers “deliberatelymove beyond the status quo to create a newand/or alternative future for those who mattermost to them. Pioneers on the North American

frontier left a civilized region behind to claimand settle new land. Most did not do that alone,but in groups of families” (166). Prophets inbiblical times “were persons who were out ofthe ordinary because they had a special rela-tionship with God.” Today, a public prophetmay seem to be an anachronism. Ellison writesthat “the Christian prophet understands God’snature as love and mercy as revealed in Jesusand trusts in God’s faithfulness above all else.Prophets see the world in which we live as firstbelonging to and inhabited by God” (171).Ellison refers to Robert Greenleaf’s descrip-tion of the servant-leader. The servant-leaderis servant first and leader later. Ellison writes,“Of course, for Christians, Jesus is the primarymodel of servant-leader and demands thatvery behavior of his disciples” (175).

The late Donald Juel emphasized that “theBible is principally important as a way of shap-ing Christian imagination.” Seeking to derivean answer to a controversial question from theBible seldom settles anything, says Juel. Weread the Bible, first, not to learn what we are todo, but rather to learn what God has done(201–202). I agree, and found helpful Juel’scomment that “perhaps one of the most im-portant features of any conversation is the ac-knowledgment that disagreement is not anenemy.” Unless there are differences of opin-ion, no views will ever be challenged and nominds changed (204). Our task, Juel says, is toenlist the resources of the tradition to make theBible come alive within congregations.

Charles J. Lopez, JrProvidence Trinity Care HospiceTorrance, California

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