The following short notes highlight a number of books that publishers have forwarded to Encounters. A link to St. Andrew’s Bookshop has also been provided for your convenience.
* Chinese Whispers: The Gladys Aylward Story
by Carol Purves (Day One, 2004)
* From Prussia with Love: The George Müller Story
by Carol Purves (Day One, 2005)
* A Reluctant Missionary
by Margaret Hayes (Day One, 2005)
* The Call to Conversion
by Jim Wallis (Monarch, 2006)
* The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
by Shane Claiborne (Zondervan, 2006)
* A Cry from the Streets
by Jeanette Lukasse (Monarch, 2004)
Life Stories is a new series of biographies from Day One publications, which aim to ‘tell it like it is’. Written for general readers they a relatively short biographies both of Christians who have ministered abroad and those whose work was based in the UK. The three titles sent to Encounters were Chinese Whispers: The Gladys Aylward Story, From Prussia with Love: The George Müller Story and A Reluctant Missionary, which is an autobiography of Margaret Hayes – a missionary in both Niger and the Congo.
The series is nicely produced in line with Day One’s red and white branding and they should provide helpful, short introductions to their subjects. Perhaps a good place to start for the uninitiated?
Following the success of God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get it, Jim Wallis has now brought out a revised and updated edition of his 1981 book, The Call to Conversion. Wallis’ passion is to see the Church’s perception of conversion to move from ‘private faith’ to ‘a whole-life realignment’. Issues addressed include: How can we overcome poverty?; What is the right – and moral – response to terrorism?; How can we create peace; How should we protect our planet’s environment; and what threatens the dignity and sacredness of life? No doubt this book will provide much food for thought for those seeking to develop a more integrated view of mission.
Along similar lines is Shane Claiborne’s The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. Indeed, Jim Wallis actually provides the forward. It is a call to radical living by a young activist making waves in the States. Deeply critical of the comfortable life many Christians have carved out for ourselves, Claiborne exemplifies a more radical and transforming lifestyle that actually addresses the problems of the world.
Finally, A Cry from the Streets is the story of a Dutch couple who have been working with street children in Brazil. Jeanette and Johan Lukasse have been in Brazil for 20 years and have set up safe houses as well as pioneering schools, street missions and medical treatment.
Would you like to review one of these books more fully for Encounters? If so, please get in touch – it would be great to hear from you!
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Encounters Mission Journal 