Featured Titles: February 17, 2026

Here is a selection of titles recently added to our collection.

Entangled being : original sin and wicked problems /Rebecca L. Copeland.  Contemporary societies face many complex injustices, from environmental devastation that threatens our long-term prospects, to human trafficking that fuels our global economy, to health disparities that harm already marginalized communities.   Although theologies of liberation have long identified these injustices as manifestations of systemic sin, many Christians recoil from using the language of sin to discuss our everyday involvement in such systems.  In Entangled Being, Rebecca L. Copeland asserts that sin is the most appropriate theological language for naming what has gone wrong in the world and for beginning to repair those wrongs, despite modern resistance to the use of sin-talk. She argues that Christians need a reconstructed understanding of what naming something as sin should accomplish. Copeland offers the scripturally based idea of unoriginal sin to explore moral agency and responsibility in our complex, pluralistic, and interdependent world.  Expanding the doctrinal boundaries of sin-talk to encompass repentance, she argues that Christians need not only to name systemic injustices as sin but also to repent of them by taking responsibility for the harms they cause and working to repair such harms. Entangled Being addresses common concerns about sin-talk, deconstructs individualistic understandings of moral agency, and draws from the work of marginalized communities to reconstruct understandings of agency and responsibility competent to address the wicked problems we face today.

 Hear ye the word of the Lord : what we miss if we only read the Bible /D. Brent Sandy ; foreword by John H. Walton.  Long before the words of the Bible were written, God’s communication through the spoken word rang out loud and clear. Jesus in particular commissioned representatives to speak on his behalf even during the time of his earthly ministry. And yet today we are a reading culture. It is easy for modern Christians to take for granted that the Bible was handed down in written form, but the way we receive God’s message is far different from how the original hearers would have heard it. These differences not only shape the way that we hear God’s message to his people, but they put us at risk of misunderstanding his revelation.  In Hear Ye the Word of the Lord, biblical scholar D. Brent Sandy explores how oral communication shaped the ways that biblical writers received God’s message—and even more importantly, how the ancient and modern faithful receive it through hearing. Filled with helpful biblical insights related to oral communication and constructive ways for modern readers to become better hearers and performers of Scripture, Hear Ye the Word of the Lord provides a constructive way forward for readers interested in exploring how we can better hear God’s Word.

 Liberating Scripture : an invitation to missional hermeneutics /by Michael Barram and John R. Franke ; foreword by Drew G. I. Hart ; afterword by Lisa M. Bowens.  Rooted in and advocating for a postmodern and postcolonial understanding of mission, Liberating Scripture is the first book-length study designed specifically to introduce readers to the emerging subfield of biblical interpretation known as missional hermeneutics. The authors provide a thorough overview of the background, development, rationale, terminology, and methodology of missional hermeneutics, doing for biblical interpretation what Missional Church (edited by Darrell Guder et al., 1998) did for reimagining the church in light of the missio Dei.  As the initial volume in the new Studies in Missional Hermeneutics, Theology, and Praxis series, Liberating Scripture is a critical resource for study and practical application, and its accessibility will make it a go-to text for classrooms and congregations.

Nearing a far God : praying the Psalms with our whole selves /Leslie Leyland Fields. In Nearing a Far God: Praying the Psalms with Our Whole Selves, you’ll experience the Psalms in fresh, personal, and life-changing ways: Discover how the Psalms can draw you into dialogue with God no matter your pain, struggle, or doubt. Practice transformative writing and prayer exercises that engage and impact the whole brain and the whole self. Reclaim ancient practices of movement and bodily postures to heighten your worship and deepen attachment to God.

 Practice-led theology : a model for faith-based research /Neil K. Ferguson.  Following a series of economic and political changes in the late 1980s, art/design schools and performing arts academies were incorporated into the university system. To justify their teachings as academic research, they developed the idea of practice-led research. Practice-led research recognizes two or more languages–that is, the validity of both explicit/propositional knowledge and embodied/tacit knowledge–allowing for the researcher’s corresponding output, expressed through both the written word and relevant practice. Christians often find themselves living a life of two languages: a set of intellectual beliefs and the practice of being a Christian. This book develops this methodology and translates it for use in theological research. Most importantly, it clearly develops key elements of this methodology using a comprehensive model and detailed definitions. This is a book which not only presents a fully articulated and flexible model of practice-led research, but also presents Christian researchers with an approach they could incorporate into their theological work.

 Preaching the pastoral epistles /Robert W. Wall. Since the second century, 1-2 Timothy and Titus, often referred to as the ‘Pastoral Epistles,’ have been read and practiced together to help order a Christian congregation’s life and mission. These three letters were likely recognized early on as divinely inspired scripture and were added to the Pauline collection to help train the spiritual leaders of earliest Christianity. However, they are rarely taught in most congregations and seminaries today. Admittedly, the genre of these letters (paraenesis) is hard to preach. The primary reason for their neglect, however, is modern criticism’s silencing of them because most scholars think they were not written by Paul and are not aligned with either his gospel or mission. Moreover, they include instructions that are widely received today as out of sync with our modern social worlds. This Proclamation Commentary on these Pauline letters presumes both their apostolic authority as divinely inspired and human-inspiring scripture and their contemporary relevance in encouraging clergy and teachers to reimagine their roles as ministers of the gospel and spiritual leaders for today’s global church.

 Revelation /edited by Rodney L. Petersen and Gerald Bray.  Discover the world of sixteenth-century interpretation of Revelation Known as one of the most enigmatic books of the Bible, Revelation has sparked centuries of diverse theological debate, capturing the imaginations of Reformers navigating a time of immense upheaval. This volume, part of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture series, invites readers to engage with the perspectives of key Reformation-era theologians, offering a window into their reflections on prophecy, eschatology, and profound hopes for moral renewal. Guided by Rodney Petersen and Gerald Bray, this masterfully curated commentary guides readers through a wealth of early modern commentary on the book of Revelation, including voices across theological traditions–Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Radical, and Catholic. Much of the material–including commentaries, sermons, treatises, and confessions–appears for the first time in English, providing pastors, scholars, and students with fresh perspectives on the text. Through their expert curation, Petersen and Bray expand our understanding of how Revelation has been interpreted historically, enlightening contemporary reflection and practice. This volume offers more than theological insights–it’s a resource for spiritual growth and deeper engagement, ideal for pastors seeking to invigorate their sermons or scholars aiming to broaden their knowledge of Reformation biblical interpretation.

 The Sermon on the Mount : reflections for the church /edited by Victor Lee Austin. Although a central Christian text, the Sermon on the Mount remains full of mystery. In this book, an ecumenical group of scholars guides us from exegesis to theology to application to proclamation. Marianne Meye Thompson grounds the Sermon in the narrative of Matthew’s Gospel. Piotr Małysz provides theological amazement at the Sermon being at once law and gospel. David Cloutier works with the Sermon to understand and critique our culture of victimhood. Brent Waters explores its economic “realism.” Sarah Hinlicky Wilson concludes with a poetic paraphrase and reflections on how to preach on the Sermon as a whole. As a special supplement, and continuing the concern of Pro Ecclesia for doing theology ecumenically, Michael Root examines the changes in the ecumenical movement over the past generation. This volume as a whole is offered pro ecclesia, for the building up of the church.

 Transloyalties, connected histories and world Christianity during the period of decolonization and the Cold War : 1945-1970 /edited by Frieder Ludwig, Ellen Vea Rosnes, Joar Haga, Marina Xiaojing Wang, Jairzinho Lopes Pereira.  Focusing on the history of World Christianity, this book relates the concept of “transloyalties” to developments during the “Period of Decolonization and the Cold War.” This was a time when the terms “loyal” and “loyalty” became more frequently used, not only in the United States, where a “loyalty program” was introduced but also in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Churches and ecumenical organizations had to navigate in this context of new loyalty demands. They had to clarify whether changes in church/ state relations and corresponding changes in their organizational structures were necessary, or whether they affected core identities. Was the restriction or exclusion of Western missionaries a threat to the universal character of the church or a transition to self-governing churches? How did African and Asian churches relate to Western mission societies in the new context? Was the strive for justice a basis for cooperation with socialist governments, or were the concepts fundamentally different? How were denominations organized at a national level? Which forms of church government were chosen? Which denominations could become members of Christian Councils that represented joint interests toward the states? These are some of the questions that underlie the importance of this volume to the study of the history of World Christianity.

 Why we pray : understanding prayer in the context of cosmic conflict /John C. Peckham.This accessible and carefully argued book wrestles with the perennial problem of petitionary prayer by placing it within the larger context of the Bible’s cosmic conflict motif.