Kostenberger, an adjunct professor of women’s studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, is an apologist for the male headship and complementarian viewpoints regarding women in ministry leadership. She “attempts to chronicle the feminist quest of the historical Jesus” concluding that “what emerges from feminist scholarship on Jesus is not one version of the true Jesus but many different accounts of who feminists perceive Jesus to be” (16). Embracing a perspective based on Evangelical theological tradition, Kostenberger eschews “the viability of feminism at large” maintaining that “the validity of feminist biblical interpretation . . . comes into question” (16). She chronicles the feminist quest to understand Jesus through a study of various scholars and their works, inclusive of the radical, reformist, new feminist, egalitarian and evangelical streams of feminist theology. Although her examples are not inclusive of extant feminist scholarship, Kostenberger does include well-known representative scholars from the aforementioned streams, including Mary Daly, Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Daphne Hampson, Letty Russell, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, and Kathleen Corley, Linda Belleville, Douglas Groothuis, John Phelan, Aida Bensançon Spencer and others. Omitted are, for example, egalitarian feminist scholars Catherine Clark Kroeger, Alvera Mickelson and womanist theology scholars including Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas, Katie Geneva Cannon and others. This lack of inclusiveness in presenting a more comprehensive study of feminist theology is a primary weakness of the text. That stated, Margaret Kostenberger’s study of the included feminists is ambitious in presenting an historical and theological overview of both the nascence and further development of much of feminist scholarship.

Kostenberger also examines the hermeneutical framework, the genre of the Gospels and their historical-cultural background. She lists and briefly discusses, in literary context, those passages on Jesus and women in the Gospels. The book, in discussing these passages, hinders its possible scope and depth of scholarship. The individual discussions are simply too brief in content to provide an adequate account of the rich substance and nuance of each passage.

Of concern are both the narrowness of content and lack of spiritual depth in the book’s presentation of Jesus and his interactions with women. The Gospels’ present Jesus with a power, depth and intensity in describing both the qualities of humanness and divinity in His relationships with women. Readers of those passages cannot help but be confronted intellectually, emotionally and spiritually by the reality of the writers’ accounts. Kostenberger’s discussions miss the Gospels’ realness in revealing the multifaceted interactions of Jesus with women. The discussions miss the full depth of spirituality and emotion, the quality of intellectual exchange and Jesus’ tenderness for the weak; his prophetic yet loving confrontation of the sinner and his quiet, powerful compassion. Although Kostenberger mentions Jesus’ sensitivity to particular individuals and groups of women, and His recognition of women’s personhood, stating that “Jesus treated women consistently with respect, dignity, compassion, and kindness” (211) her brief accounts miss the opportunity for a more thorough discussion to highlight Jesus’ respect for the intellect and character of women; for the value of their lives; for their questions, their needs and their suffering. The discussions fail to include the Gospels’ passages that indicate Jesus’ invitation to women to join in mission and ministry; His invitation to the kingdom and His joy in affirming their giftings and callings. The Jesus in Jesus and the Feminists seems not quite the full, complete friend and Savior known by those women of the Gospels.

Challies, editor of Discerning Reader, a book review website and host of the Christian blog Challies.com: Informing the Reforming, premises his book on the stated intent to present a thoroughly bibliocentric approach in teaching principles of spiritual discernment that equip believers to carefully distinguish truth from error; right from wrong. He instructs the reader by explaining both the benefits of discernment and the cost of ignoring or minimizing this gift. The author carefully explores the definition of discernment and two primary areas of life requiring discernment: “knowing the truth and discerning the will of God for our lives” (17). He further examines discernment in its context as a gift of the Holy Spirit and the “potential dangers inherent in a distorted understanding of discernment,” concluding his study with an examination of “the commitments, context, character and confirmation of discernment” (17).

The author maintains a high view of Scripture in supporting, as foundational to all Christian theology and practice, the five solas of the Reformation, specifically sola scriptura (Scripture alone). Challies adheres to the Cambridge Declaration, as written by the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, indicating that “The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured” (46). He views discernment as undergoing a battle of sorts, maintaining that over thirty years ago, “the doctrine of the Bible’s inerrancy . . . came under attack from both within the church and without” (46).

Challies believes that the battle has been primarily won through the efforts of, among others, J. I. Packer, R. C. Sproul and Francis Schaeffer. He agrees with James Montgomery Boice’s assertion that “The most serious issue, I believe, is the Bible’s sufficiency” (46). In quoting Boice, the author emphasizes his concern that many Christians fail to approach the Bible as a preeminent document, instead charging “with reckless abandon” that too high a view of Scripture has resulted in bibliolatry (Bible worship), and denying that Scripture is sufficient to address evangelism, sanctification, counsel, reform, discernment and other matters (47).

In Challies’ discussion of discernment as a spiritual charism, the author points to the dichotomy of opinion among cessationist and continuationist camps concerning miraculous gifts. His position is that there is much about which both camps can agree, especially that “God can and does dispense [today] a gift of spiritual discernment” (125). He emphasizes that all varieties of giftings are “not meant not to disrupt the church but to unify it through diversity” and to “build a stronger church” (125). The author underlines that it is through the expression of the Spirit’s gifts

that God’s “power and presence can be manifested in the church” and for the purpose of the common good.  Challies highlights the importance of not allowing a particular gift, such as discernment, to become “the most prominent aspect of one’s identity as a Christian . . .” (127.) He also addresses the question: Is the gift of discernment in today’s church the same “gift of distinguishing between spirits as it existed in New Testament times?” (128). He is not convinced the question needs a resolution, indicating that for both the nascent New Testament Church and the contemporary Church, “the gift of discernment is the Spirit’s special defense against the lies that come from lying spirits” (129). Therefore discernment, he maintains, is not only a gift, but a responsibility in protecting the integrity of interpretation, doctrine, preaching, and teaching.

David Augsburger, Dissident Discipleship: A Spirituality of Self-Surrender, Love of God, and Love of Neighbor (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006), 245 pages, ISBN 9781587431807.

Augsburger, an American Anabaptist author, currently professor of pastoral care and counseling at Fuller Seminary, explains that his book’s purpose is to unfold a “radical, spirituality” that he defines as “tripolar in combining love for God, others and self.” He opines that Anabaptism is “revolutionary stuff” in the present century when “spiritual passivity, collective helplessness, a sense of religious futility, and exhaustion with the disciplines of traditional spirituality have turned so many away from formal religion, church doctrine and theology”. He further considers that the Anabaptist tradition, as experienced in the Mennonite, Amish and Brethren faith communities, exceeds its spiritual contexts and appears also in Catholic, Protestant, and predominately in Charismatic and Pentecostal forms of spirituality. He views the Anabaptist alternative as having “an attitude of subversive spirituality, a stubborn set of commitments, and a radical obedience to the Sermon on the Mount” that seeks a new and closer relationship with Jesus Christ.

The author enlarges his discussion by defining the eight practices inclusive of Anabaptist spirituality: “radical attachment; stubborn loyalty, tenacious serenity; habitual humility, resolute nonviolence, concrete service, authentic witness and subversive spirituality”. It is through the understanding and practice of these disciplines that one avoids monopolar and bipolar spiritualities to practice tripolar spirituality: an inwardly directed, upwardly compliant and outwardly committed lived theology that connects “the experience of personal transformation, divine encounter (the God-ward journey) and the relation of integrity and solidarity with the neighbor”. The author explains that the unity of tripolar spirituality is essential to Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness. This spirituality is also evident in the Pentateuch, Prophets and Psalms; in the Magnificat in of Luke’s Gospel; in Paul’s epistles, and historically throughout the Middle Ages in, for example, St. Francis of Assisi, the Waldensians, and the Anabaptists of the sixteenth century.

David Augsburger is Senior Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Augsburger provides the reader with soul searching questions. For example, no longer need we ask “What would Jesus do?” but rather “What do I do with Jesus”? as I meet him in the enemy, the abandoned, the needy, the sick and the dying. He poignantly illustrates the validity of the previous question by quoting the prayer of a volunteer serving food to homeless people near the White House: “‘Lord we know you’ll be comin’ thru this line today. So help us treat you well’”.

Augsburger does well in his nuanced theological discussion of authentic community, as he contrasts the meanings of “false” versus “true” community. He opines that community is where one learns virtues, not where one chooses values. In particular he connects Gelassenhiet, defined as serenity, contentment and calmness of spirit, to the experience of fulfillment in community, through sacrifice and service, as opposed to an isolated self-actualization. Gelassenhiet combines the qualities of “fortitude and faithfulness” that lead one away from the self-serving aspects of a false spirituality.

A major strength of Augsburger’s presentation is his emphasis on the lived theology of imitation as practice: the call to mimetic behavior in following Jesus. He embraces “the politics of Jesus” which he explains as a movement downward rather than the embrace of power, influence and success. He explains dissident discipleship as the practice of reverse theology: countering the prosperity gospel and reassessing one’s present culture to compare cultural philosophy and its practices in the light of biblically-defined discipleship. He emphasizes the contrast between triumphalism versus the theology of suffering: Christ’s triumph was in and through sacrifice and suffering; the Savior’s self-giving for others. The author is careful to make a distinction in the differences between teaching religion and actually living religion. He emphasizes that “Authentic embodiment is the basis for [valid] witness.” Authentic witness is not based on the charisma of one person, or “the perfection of a particular life”, but is “the presence of a community of witnesses who verify, validate and authenticate their life together.”

James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as if the Church Mattered: Growing in Christ through Community (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 233 pages, ISBN 9780801027765.

Dallas Willard, in The Spirit of the Disciplines, challenges the Church to return to the primary purpose of proclaiming the gospel and making disciples (18). James Wilhoit’s spiritual theology, as viewed through the lens of a careful ecclesiology, answers Willard’s challenge for the Church to pursue renewal in authentic discipleship. Beginning as conversations with his students and later as interviews with church leaders, the author’s research attempted to discover patterns and practices of spiritual formation within Christian faith communities. He discovered that “some churches are marked by the presence of a ‘culture of formation’ … while others may have many programs and much activity, [but] lacked the presence of … a transformative culture” (13).

Wilhoit, maintaining that he writes “as an evangelical … deeply concerned about the erosion of intentional practices of spiritual formation in many … churches,” explains his concern that “patterns of nurture” long practiced within the church have either been abandoned or set aside. He lists systematic Bible teaching, Scripture memorization and reading, Sunday evening services “with an emphasis on testimonies, missions, and global Christianity,” observance of Sabbath, shared meals, hospitality, church summer camps, pastoral visitation, and intergenerational socializing as elements of formative spirituality often missing in contemporary faith communities (13). His intent is to present a process of formation based on patterns and practices he defines as four spiritual commitments or dimensions including “receiving, remembering, responding, and relating” that become, in effect, “a curriculum for Christlikeness” in the local church (7).

James Wilhoit is the Scripture Press Chair of Christian Formation & Ministry at Wheaton College.

The author’s theology of formation begins with the gospel. He carefully exposits the problem of sin; its remedy in Christ and the unfolding pattern of sanctification as essential to the individual’s formation in Christlikeness and to the growth and effective ministry of each community of faith. Wilhoit is careful to precisely define grace, which he views as free and unmerited favor, but also inclusive of God’s “regenerating and strengthening power” (79). This recurring theme of grace presents the connecting thread of theological truth that weaves together the author’s exposition of practices and disciplines designed to provide an intentional focus on seeking God’s presence and discerning the Spirit’s movements within the daily life of a faith community.

His conviction that “spiritual formation must continually return to the truths of sin, cross, redemption, grace, and true holiness because the prevailing plausibility structures of our culture push us in the direction of idolatry and false gospels,” emphasizes an approach to formative spirituality that is solidly grounded in biblical theology (76).

The author’s holistic approach to spiritual formation, his focus on a well-developed hamartiology and the importance of community, are important aspects of the text that distinguish it from many other works on formative spirituality that do not develop these ideas as carefully or in as much detail. Wilhoit carefully develops his discussion on the spiritual brokenness of the human person as viewed through the lens of yearnings: those yearnings that persist and are seen “to be the result of compromised discipleship” and those yearnings that have been “fully met in Christ” (61). The author understands that practicing spiritual disciplines may either be used as “a space to meet God and be refreshed and healed by his grace” or as “material [that some use] to become far more accomplished legalists” (76). His refusal to reduce formation to “doing”, but rather examine, from the standpoint of biblical theology, the ontological truths of formation, are strengths of Wilhoit’s presentation.

Enrichment Spring 2009.

Jennifer Cisney, “Healing From the Pain of Sexual Assault” Enrichment (Spring 2009), pages 108-112.

Jennifer Cisney, a counselor, executive board member of the American Association of Certified Christian Sexual Addition Specialists, member of the the American Association of Christian Counselors since 1994 and survivor of sexual assault, recognizes “the progress the church has made in dealing with emotional pain and struggles in Christians.” The author, however, questions why she “can count on one hand the number of workshops that have addressed [the] critically important issue” of the “devastating and traumatic event” of rape and “why . . . society and the church are so reluctant to address it.”

Jennifer Cisney

The author, in addition to integrating issues related to rape in contemporary context with instances of rape in certain scriptural passages (i.e., 2 Sam. 13:19), addresses several of the misconceptions concerning sexual assault: (1) the belief that rape is not a widespread problem; (2) the misunderstanding that rape always involves sexual attack by a stranger, rather than by a date, acquaintance or other known person; (3) the error in believing that if serious physical injury does not result, the victim will be free of long-term effects of the attack, and other misconceptions. She is careful to cite important current statistics from the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. For example: (1) One in 6 women is sexually assaulted in her lifetime; (2) someone in the US is sexually assaulted every 2 minutes; (3) victims of sexual assault are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression; 6 times more likely to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol; 26 times more likely to abuse drugs and 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.

The author’s stated purpose is “expanding the definition of calling” (p. 6) as understood in traditional Pentecostal theology and to “show that a theology of calling and work requires a theology of the Spirit and giftings” (p. 17). Terry Cross informs readers that “This project [the Poiema Project, funded by a Lilly Endowment] began in a committee meeting. Originally, the faculty and staff of Lee University were the intended readers for his book”—which consists of “a discussion regarding calling within the context of [a] Christian liberal arts university” (p. 7).

Cross’ discussion regarding Pentecostal definitions and theology of vocation is not substantive—only a small portion of the text addresses these topics. The author maintains that historically, Pentecostal reflection on theology of call is limited, referring only to ministerial call. Cross does not approach the larger discussion of vocation from a Pentecostal perspective, supporting this decision based on his assertion that not much material is available.

Terry L. Cross

Although the author devotes a chapter to “A Theology of Work,” one weakness of the text is the omission of definitions for those terms similar to or related to vocation and call, such as profession, career, job, etc. An inclusion and comparison of these definitions would facilitate readers’ understanding of the precise relationships among these terms, distinctions in their meanings and in the way these terms are understood in Pentecostal and other Christian traditions.

Cross states that “‘Calling’ has a rather univocal definition for Pentecostals. It usually refers to God’s communication to preachers to make full-time ministry their career” (p. 45). The “usually” here is troubling and raises the question: What if the text included a more comprehensive discussion, based on further research, of call/calling as understood in the Pentecostal tradition? Would this result in uncovering a deeper or more diverse understanding of call, even though resources for the research of call in that tradition may be limited?