STORIES OF EMERGENCE: Moving from Absolute to Authentic

In this anthology about ministry and the Christian faith in the early 21st century, some of the finest evangelical storytellers share their personal tales. Ministers, writers and evangelists edgily explore what it means to be a faithful follower of and witness to Jesus Christ. Eastern Orthodox memoirist Frederica Mathewes-Green explains why she rejected feminism, Jay Bakker describes heart-to-hearts with young men in bars and Joanne Badley meditates on living in exile. James Engle's bracing piece about evangelism, work and the business world is alone worth the price of admission. (Why do evangelicals get exorcised about abortion and homosexuality, he asks, but "remain silent about endemic public corruption?") An afterword by Brian McLaren (see review below), author of the much-heralded A New Kind of Christian, draws together the overarching theme of the essays: new voices, ones that push certain envelopes, are emerging within evangelicalism. McLaren hopes the old guard will be attentive, rather than threatened. The only thing that disappoints is the book's too-hip packaging. This collection bends over backwards to look as though it is engaging postmodernity—but, in fact, few of these stories are especially concerned with postmodern issues. The end result is that, while each single essay stands as interesting and thought-provoking, the anthology as a whole seems faintly manipulative in its savvy marketing. Still, Christian readers who do not find this too distracting will be richly rewarded for perusing these stories of emergence. (Mar.)