The spring is famously the time of year when kings go to war (2 Sam 11:1). The summer is the time that professors begin to consider textbooks for their fall classes.
As a brand manager I’m copied on a litany of requests for desk copies of books come through our system every day.
Reviewing them is a helpful exercise in understanding the academic markets we serve: who orders books? when do they order them? what institutions do they represent? what classes are they teaching? what is the expected enrollment? how did they learn of the title?
As an INTJ and a enneagram 5 I love pulling these data points together to try and understand the trends that are happening in Christian higher education, especially in Biblical studies, theology, and psychology.
I want to draw your attention to three books that I’ve recently read and enjoyed. I hope you’ll pick one of them up and read, if they pique your interest too.
Kelly Kapic, Embodied Hope.
Watch this video to a glimpse into the rich theology that Kapic unpacks in this meditative work on prolonged suffering,
Kenneth Stewart, In Search of Ancient Roots
Stewart challenges the notion that evangelical Christianity is a historically impoverished younger cousin of the great Christian traditions.
Christopher Gerhz and Mark Pattie, III, The Pietist Option.
Gerhz and Pattie show how the Pietist tradition provides powerful resources for Christians living in a post-Christendom age.
The Pastor's Study 