Well, as of January 1, I broke my ritual fast of all theology- or church-related books, and I jumped right into the sometimes-inspiring, sometimes-frustrating, always-challenging world of Christian reflection.
I highly recommend that you look at the first two books that I read, both recent releases:
The first is Colin Marshall and Tony Payne's The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift That Changes Everything (Kingsford, NSW, Australia: Matthias Media, 2009).
What I love about the book is that the authors take seriously the valid frustrations, raised by the Emergent and the House Church movements, regarding the tendency of both traditional and seeker-sensitive churches to focus too much energy and resources into corporate structures and institutions. They are in total agreement with the Emergents and the House Church people that Christianity ought primarily to be about freely investing in relational ministry, and that traditional and seeker-sensitive church models both have the tendency to create "spiritual consumers" rather than authentic disciples of Jesus.
However, Marshall and Payne avoid the truly unbiblical aspects of the Emergents like Spencer Burke (who shy away from making absolute truth statements concerning Christ and who believe that one can be a Christian apart from any connection to a church) and the House Church people like Frank Viola (who extrapolate their own frustrations about "institutional Christianity" into a rallying call to do away with any institutional framework, even that which is biblically mandated).
The image of a trellis and a vine illustrates the third alternative offered in this book, and I believe it will be helpful to others like myself who see the immense problems with the institutional church as it currently exists, but who are also deeply concerned with where the Emergent Church and House Church movements seem to be headed, both theologically and practically. I give the book my highest recommendation. It is available online at http://www.matthiasmedia.com/index.php/.
My second recommendation is James K. A. Smith's The Devil Reads Derrida: And Other Essays on the University, the Church, Politics, and the Arts (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009). Smith is a professor of theology and philosophy at Calvin College here in Grand Rapids. His goal in this book is to interpret current cultural realities through the lens of a broadly Calvinist perspective.
His reflection on the role of Christians in the universities is very insightful. In a world in which many institutions of higher education view their students as little more than "consumers," Smith proposes that Christians must heed the high, counter-cultural call to be disciple-makers of college students.
His theological interpretations of various recent movies, including The Devil Wears Prada, American Beauty, and Little Miss Sunshine, are incredibly helpful and challenge all Christians to enter into the culture with discerning eyes and elicit the biblical messages that are already there.
And he is ruthlessly critical of the political Right and the political Left, articulating his hope that Christians will stop dividing themselves over political agendas and instead focus on the high call of Christian formation through dynamic worship.
Although I fervently disagree with a great deal of Smith's analysis and conclusions, I am grateful for the challenge that the book afforded me, and I think Christians of all backgrounds will find his work both meaningful and helpful in their own discipleship.
