For the past three years, I have been actively involved in the interfaith assistance agency in my community as a board member. We provide emergency rent, utility, and food assistance to persons in our county. Twenty-plus congregations, plus a couple of community organizations, each contribute funds and support to the organization. In addition to this work, I sometimes work the overnight shift at the homeless shelter in my town.

I tell you this not to toot my own horn, but to give you a bit of the context I bring to reading the book in today's review, Loving Our Neighbor: A Thoughtful Approach to Helping People in Poverty, by Beth Lindsay Templeton (2008, iUniverse). This is the resource I really wish I had had before I began to be involved in poverty assistance, because it is comprehensive, relevant, and grounded in personal (not theoretical) experience. Along with the companion study video which I previously reviewed, it should be part of every church's set of resources.

I have been engrossed in three books over the past two weeks, and two of the three are definitely worth a look. As soon as possible I hope to add longer reviews of each one to the website, but for now, I hope these quick looks will—well, tickle your fancy and interest.

What does it mean to advocate for children? What are the needs of children today? Why should I be concerned for children? What can I do? What can my church do? How do we get started? Diane C. Olson and Laura Dean F. Friedrich address these questions and others in their book Weaving a Just Future for Children: An Advocacy Guide.

Christmas is a fun time to be involved in children’s ministry. The Christmas story, complete with angels, shepherds, wise men following a star and a newborn baby, appeals to children of all ages. When it comes to teaching children the Easter story, things get a little more complicated.

In what seems like a lifetime ago, many of the best resources available for churches were from Ecufilm, an ecumenical producer and distributor of resources. The "Faces on Faith" series, for example, brought laypeople face-to-face with some of the top theologians of the world long before Krista Tippett began bringing their voices to public radio.

Over time, sadly, Ecufilm produced far fewer resources and instead became a great source for videos from other companies. Now, though, they have released a new resource that fills a HUGE hole in the market. It's called Servant or Sucker: Wise/Compassionate Ways to Help the Poor. 

We have two reviews for you today which connect with this historic time, one below (Barack Obama: An American Story) and one (a short film called, "What Makes Me White") on our website.

I first became acquainted with Christian singer and songwriter Bryan Sirchio and his music last October. Ever since that time, at random moments words from one of Bryan’s many songs will pop into my head…

To read The Joy of Pilgrimage is to embark on an enjoyable journey with author, Lori Erickson, as she explores the value and power of pilgrimage. This book is part travel guide, part personal journal and part persuasive essay. I recommend adding it to your personal reading list and purchasing a copy for your church library.

Most congregations seem to have better success getting women's study groups going than they do men's groups. The reasons for this are numerous and will be covered in a future email, but there is little doubt that religious marketers have taken advantage of this fact by offering some trendy and female-friendly curricula. Yet one difficulty faces any publisher: the simple fact that there are fewer stories about women in scripture than there are about men. Publishers have put forth a variety of lessons on women in the Bible, such as the incredibly popular (but theologically-impoverished) Bad Girls of the Bible series. Few DVD-based studies on women in scripture have been created with a progressive audience in mind, but a new series seeks to address that problem: the Uppity Women of the Bible series. ...