line (1) the complex nature of
the church and its structures,
and a model for church-agency
relations, ( 2) the practice of
successful church-agency relations and ( 3) an action plan.
Two very helpful appendices
are also included: (A) a paper
presented by Dr. John G. Stackhouse and (B) sample church-agency covenants.
This book is well worth investigating for both churches
and agencies who seek to accomplish successful ministry
in a 21st-century context of
collaborative co-operation and
coexistence.
–R. Wayne Hagerman
The Third Grace:
A Novel
Author: Deb Elkink
Greenbrier, 2011.
306 pages. $15.50
To the dreamer, to the academic, to the ro- mantic, to the practical,
Deb Elkink’s The Third Grace
offers a story of grace for all.
Elkink’s protagonist, Ag-
laia, struggles with a past that
threatens to catch up with her.
Even fleeing the
family farm and
beginning a new
life away from
her roots cannot
hide the glim-
mers of the faith
she once knew
and the boy she
once loved. For
Aglaia a business trip to Paris
becomes the catalyst for life-
changing revelations, paving
the path toward redemption
and grace.
Elkink’s pages drip with
poetic language, vivid images of both myth and reality,
strong character development
and challenging questions.
The pace of this novel is more
relaxed, allowing the reader
to take time to consider these
questions of faith, and journey
with Aglaia as she is gently
reminded of the One who refuses to let go.
When she strayed from her
faith as a young girl, she chose
instead to cling to ancient stories of Greek mythology as her
anchor for life, mirroring François’ (the French exchange student she worshipped as a teen-ager) religious beliefs. Elkink’s
description of Greek mythology
reflects hours of research. This
novel is saturated with a study
on Greek mythology, art and
even theology. You can’t walk
away without learning something new.
Yet the theme of grace and
redemption is clearly the focus
of Elkink’s first novel. Aglaia
has strayed from her Saviour,
turning instead to worldly
pleasure, searching for love
in all the wrong places. How
often do we fall into these
same patterns? Elkink’s novel
reminds us of a God who pursues us. Even as Aglaia openly
rejected her Heavenly Father,
He would not let her go. He
does the same for us.
Most definitely worth the
read. –Chrissy Dennis
library to offer an easy reading
answer to being “prepared to
give an answer to everyone
who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have”
(1 Peter 3: 15).
You don’t have to
memorize the Bible
or read the 75 books
listed in the bibliography to understand
how to present a
reasoned argument
to some of the most
common attacks on
Christianity in contemporary Canada, but this
book will whet your appetite
to do so. If all that reading
seems a gargantuan task, then
take advantage of the fact that
Coren has done it for us in this
well-written, 12 point font,
double-spaced book that facilitates underlining and note-taking, if you’re so inclined.
If you’ve ever been challenged to “prove that Jesus
existed,” demonstrate the existence of a good God in a world
where bad things happen, or
been confronted by bold statements that Christians oppose
science and progress, you’ll
find the answers you thought
you knew but had trouble
verbalizing are laid
out in a way you’ll
remember.
If you’ve been
afraid to share your
faith because “all
the clever people
are atheists,” or already share your
faith because you’re
not afraid of looking
stupid, then this book will help
you develop and share your
arguments in an intelligent
way.
I have recommended this
book to evangelical and Catholic friends, all of whom found
it to be a first-rate introduction
to Christian apologetics, written in layman’s terms, with
references that allow deeper
exploration in areas of interest. The paperback edition of
this book is scheduled for April
2013. –Don Hutchinson
Heresy: Ten Lies
They Spread About
Christianity
Author: michael Coren
Signal/mcClelland &
Stewart, 2012. 256 pages.
$29.99 (hardcover)
Toronto author and broadcaster Michael Coren doesn’t mince
or waste words. In Heresy,
his 12th book, he applies his
uncompromising approach to
sifting through a well-equipped
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