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, by Uche Anizor (associate professor of theology), Baker Academic, June 2018. This handy, accessible introduction to reading theology helps readers engage doctrine critically and charitably. It serves as a primer to theological texts, offering practical guidelines for assessing theology and equipping the next generation of pastors and theologians to read theological literature wisely — even when they might disagree with it. In a polarized culture, Anizor calls readers to engage theological writings in a nuanced and charitable manner and criticize them fairly and responsibly. An ideal theology textbook, it is especially well suited for students reading theological literature and dis- cussing doctrine for the first time.

, edited by Thomas M. Crisp (M.A. ’97, professor of philosophy), Steven L. Porter (’92, M.A. ’95, professor of spiritual formation and theology) and Gregg A. Ten Elshof (M.A. ’96, professor of philosophy), IVP Academic, January 2019. Research into the nature of moral and spiritual change has revived in recent years, in the worlds of psychology on the one hand and theology and philosophy on the other. Rooted in a year-long discussion held by 51����’s Center for Christian Thought, this volume bridges the gaps caused by professional specialization among psychology, theology and philosophy, fostering fresh insights into the nature of personal spiritual change.

, by Kirk R. MacGregor (M.A. ’01), Zondervan, January 2019. Accessible and comprehensive, Contemporary Theology provides a chronological survey of the major thinkers and schools of thought in modern theology. Unique among introductions to contemporary theology, MacGregor includes: evangelical perspectives alongside mainline and liberal developments; the influence of philosophy and the recent Christian philosophical renaissance on theology; global contributions; recent developments in exegetical theology; and the implications of theological shifts on ethics and church life. The book makes complex thought understandable and traces the landscape of modern theology in an easy-to-follow manner.

, edited by Carolyn Mae Kim (’06, M.A. ’08, associate professor of public relations), Routledge, February 2019. The public relations industry is rapidly evolving, requiring practitioners to have greater specialization than ever before. With the growth of the industry, educational programs have developed to address the growing need for quality preparation for future practitioners. Public Relations: Competencies and Practice focuses on the competencies expected and applications of public relations into specific sectors of practice. It provides a robust examination of areas such as diversity, leadership and ethics, and covers the requirements for undergraduate and graduate students focused on entering sectors such as entertainment public relations, nonprofit public relations or investor relations.

, by John Marriott (M.A. ’07, M.A. ’08, Ph.D. ’14), Wipf and Stock, October 2018. Record numbers of individuals who at one time identified as Christians are deconverting from the faith and identifying as unbelievers. Why is this happening and what can be done to prevent it? A Recipe for Disaster seeks to answer those questions by focusing on the four ways churches and parents unwittingly contribute to the deconversion process — by overpreparing, underpreparing, ill-preparing and painfully preparing those they are responsible to disciple into mature believers. In response, A Recipe for Disaster offers four alternative methods designed to instill lifelong faith.

, co-edited by Allen Yeh (associate professor of intercultural studies), William Carey Library, September 2018. As Christianity’s center of to the Majority World in gravity has shifted the 21st century, many younger churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America are coming of age. With this maturing comes the ability to theologize for themselves. As theology is an attempt to articulate through human language and culture and contexts the timeless truths of the eternal and transcendent God, Majority World churches have much to offer the West and the world. These chapters exhibit local theologizing from the “big three” non-Western continents as well as the Middle East and indigenous North America.