Widstrom, Laura. “Redefining the Role of the Youth Worker: A Manifesto of Integration.” Journal Of Youth Ministry 15, no. 1 (Fall2016): 143-145.
Abstract: The article reviews the book “Redefining the Role of the Youth Worker: A Manifesto of Integration,” by April Diaz.
Widstrom, Laura. “Washed and Still Waiting: An Evangelical Approach to Homosexuality.” Journal Of Youth Ministry 15, no. 1 (Fall 2016): 111-114.
Abstract: A review is offered for the article “Washed and Still Waiting: An Evangelical Approach to Homosexuality” by Wesley Hill published in a 2016 issue of “Journal of Evangelical Theological Society.”
Widstrom, Laura. “Hopecasting.” Journal Of Youth Ministry 14, no. 2 (Spring 2016): 116-118.
Abstract: The article reviews the book, “Hopecasting: Finding, Keeping and Sharing the Things Unseen” b Mark Oestreicher.
Hill, Matthew. Evolution and Holiness: Sociobiology, Altruism and the Quest for Wesleyan Perfection. Westmont, IL: IVP Academic, 2016.
Theology needs to engage what recent developments in the study of evolution mean for how we understand moral behavior. How does the theological concept of holiness connect to contemporary understandings of evolution? If genetic explanations of altruism fall short, what role should we give to environmental explanations and free will? Likewise, how do genetic explanations relate to theological accounts of human goodness and holiness? In this groundbreaking work, Matthew Hill uses the lens of Wesleyan ethics to offer a fresh assessment of the intersection of evolution and theology. He shows that what is at stake in this conversation is not only the future of the church but also the fine-tuning of human evolution.
Widstrom, Laura. “The Relational Pastor: Sharing in Christ by Sharing Ourselves.” Journal Of Youth Ministry 13, no. 2 (Spring 2015): 157-158.
Abstract: The article reviews the book, “The Relational Pastor: Sharing in Christ by Sharing Ourselves” by Andrew Root.
Foster, Nathan. The Making of an Ordinary Saint: My Journey from Frustration to Joy with the Spiritual Disciplines. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2014.
More than thirty years after his father’s classic book brought them to the masses, Nathan Foster took his own unique path into the spiritual disciplines. As he sought day by day to develop habits that would enable him to live more like Jesus, he encountered problems both universal and personal. Along the way, he found creative new ways to practice the disciplines and discovered that a vital, conversational relationship with God was truly within his grasp.
Now he invites you to join him on the journey. You may just find that holy habits are truly possible for all.
Moore-Jumonville, Robert, Dale Ahlquist, & Brian Shaw (Illustrator). Jogging with G.K. Chesterton: 65 Earthshaking Expeditions. Cheshire, CT: Winged Lion Press, 2014.
Imagine having the brilliant journalist and prolific Christian author G.K. Chesterton as your daily jogging partner. This is precisely what Robert Moore-Jumonville did for over twelve years – he read LOTS of Chesterton’s books and, during his daily jogging routine, reflected on them. The resulting essays appeared in Gilbert magazine, the monthly publication of the American G.K. Chesterton Society. JOGGING WITH G.K. CHESTERTON is a showcase for the merry mind of Chesterton. But Chesterton’s lighthearted wit always runs side-by-side with his weighty wisdom. These 65 “earthshaking expeditions” will keep you smiling and thinking from start to finish. You’ll be entertained, challenged, and spiritually uplifted as you take time to breathe the crisp morning air and contemplate the wonders of the world. “This is a delightfully improbable book in which Chesterton puts us through our spiritual and intellectual exercises with mind-jogging and body-jiggling brilliance. It will leave you breathless with the exhilaration and exhaustion of the Chestertonian chase.” Joseph Pearce Author of Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G.K. Chesterton “G.K. Chesterton is one of the giants of the Christian intellectual tradition. If you want to learn about him, or learn more than you now know, I heartily recommend JOGGING WITH G.K. CHESTERTON. It will delight, entertain, instruct and challenge you.” Richard J. Foster Author Celebration of Discipline and Sanctuary of the Soul Robert Moore-Jumonville is Professor of Christian Spirituality at Spring Arbor University in Michigan and the pastor of Pope United Methodist Church. He is the author of Hermeneutics of Historical Distance and co-authored (with Thom Slatterlee) two books of selected readings from G.K. Chesterton.
White, Charles Edward. “Charles Wesley and the Making of the English Working Class.” Journal of Markets and Morality 16, no. 2 (2013): 603-614.
Although their workload varied from place to place and from time to time, Europeans in the Middle Ages worked roughly two-thirds of the year, with about 80 full days and 70 partial days off. The leading theologian before the Reformation, Thomas Aquinas, had taught them that work, while not a curse, was a necessary evil to be avoided when possible. When not faced with hunger, often they did avoid it. Max Weber twice cites seventeenth-century Dutch economist Pieter de la Court saying that people only work because, and so long as, they are poor.8 How could workers such as these be induced to work long hours more than 300 days a year in the factories of the industrial revolution? They sang the hymns of Charles Wesley.
Widstrom, Laura. “Shaping the Journey of Emerging Adults.” Journal Of Youth Ministry 12, no. 1 (Fall 2013): 134-136.
Abstract: The article reviews the book “Shaping the Journey of Emerging Adults: Life-Giving Rhythms for Spiritual Transformation” edited by Richard R. Dunn and Jana L. Sundene.
Widstrom, Laura. “Religious values and the development of trait hope and self-esteem in adolescents.” Journal Of Youth Ministry 12, no. 1 (Fall 2013): 109-112.
Abstract: The article discusses the research which examines the relationships between religious values, self-esteem and trait hope among teenagers. The study involved 640 adolescents from five different Catholic secondary schools. It states that the presence of hope in the lives of these teenagers did not predict the presence of religious values. Also discussed is the significance of the Holy Spirit as the ultimate agent of transformation.
