CEFR Level C1-C2
“What is the good news that Jesus himself announced and told his followers to announce as well (2)?” This question frames the purpose of the entire book and Wright takes readers along as he works through the question in the context of 21st-century Western Christianity. Appropriately, Wright does not use the modern context of the discussion to inform the answer. Rather, he answers the objections and questions he anticipates people living in 21st-century Western Christianity may have, using Jesus’ context when defining what the good news is. This historical context is what Wright calls the “backstory,” proposing that we cannot understand the good news if we do not understand the backstory (3).
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CEFR Level C1-C2
Professional Sexual Ethics: A Holistic Ministry Approach, edited by Patricia Beattie Jung and Darryl W. Stephens (Fortress, 2013) is a collection of essays on the topic of sexuality in ministry. The essays are divided into four sections. The book can be read straight through or essays can be read in isolation. The 21 contributors have diverse biases, but all the essays contribute to the premise that humans, and therefore people who work in ministry, are sexual, so sexuality is part of everything a minister does.
CEFR Level B1-B2
I recently finished reading Warrior Girl, a novel by Carmen Tafolla. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by current events in the US, I think you would benefit from reading this book. It isn’t long, it’s a story, and the writing is easy to read.
Instead of doing a formal review, I want to share what I wrote the morning after staying up too late to finish the book. What I’ll read has quotes from page 52 of the book. I'll indicate those sections with an asterisk after them. You can also hear me read this.  CEFR Level B2-C1 For the Love of Women by Dorothy Littell Greco (2025) is an accessible presentation on how misogyny is alive and well throughout US culture. The book’s focus is on healthcare, employment, government, media, relationships, and church. With 39 pages of end-note citations, this book is not unsubstantiated opinion. The evidence presented is backed by other evidence that readers can examine to see if they come to similar conclusions.
 CEFR Level B2-C1 This is not a sponsored review. I completely read any book I write a review on. The Justice of Jesus by Joash Thomas (2025) is a thoughtful consideration of what it means to live like Jesus Christ. This is no academic treatise, though! Nor is it a restatement of ideas commonly found in books shelved under “Christianity” in a bookstore. In accessible language, with plenty of section headers and a clear table of contents, The Justice of Jesus would make a good companion to personal devotions, a book for high school or college discussion, or to use in a group Bible study. I think it would be especially useful in a seminary class focused on the theology of the church or as assigned reading during a church-based internship.
 CEFR Level C1-C2 The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone is an intense read at the beginning, especially if a reader has been taught to avoid saying anything that will make others uncomfortable or to use euphemisms or vague references if it is necessary to talk about such things.
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