Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us

by Scot McKnight

In this book McKnight uses the concept of Eikon (a Greek word meaning "image" which Scot uses to mean "image of God") to explore the question "What is the Gospel, this good news that God has sent to us?"  McKnight provides a balance to the evangelical over-emphasis on a God of judgment with this picture of grace and good news.  Scot has a nice way of explaining theological ideas in terms that an average person can understand, and his examples from life are relevant and in some cases touching.  I particularly enjoyed the chapters titled "Diminished by Exclusion" and "Enlivened by Embrace" - a message the church needs to take seriously today.

Celtic Christianity: A Sacred Tradition, A Vision of Hope

by Timothy Joyce

A comprehensive overview of Celtic Christianity, from its beginning in the early 5th century to its transformation in the second millennium.  An introduction to the uniqueness of the early Celtic Church, with its holistic approach to faith and life. I learned much more than I might have expected in this book - especially the history of how the early form of Celtic Christianity was transformed over the centuries into the very rigid and traditional Irish Catholic Church.  I appreciated Joyce's way of approaching this material as a theologian and historian, a poet and a sociologist.  Once I started the book it was actually hard to put down, not so much because there was a fast moving plot, put simply because I was gaining so much insight and understanding throughout the whole work.  I found the book to be inspiring as well, at the end I felt both hopeful, and committed to be more intentional about weaving more of Celtic Christianity into my own experience and ministry.