Hurt Healer: Reaching Out to a Broken World
Tony Nolan, Baker Books, 2010, 224 pp., $17.99
Untamed: Reactivating a Missional Form of Discipleship
Alan Hirsh and Debra Hirsh, Baker Books, 2010, 260 pp., $14.99
Tired of Christian books containing essentially the same message rehashed with a fancy new cover? Ready for different thinking by authors whose personal experiences cultivate an innovative view of faith and life?
Hurt Healer is a retelling of the prodigal son through author and speaker Tony Nolan’s stirring testimony. With countless interpretations of this parable, experiencing it through one who has undergone genuine brokenness enhances awareness of its applications to life today. The personal stories are powerful and moving while the study and discussion questions concluding each chapter help the reader or group make personal connections.
Untamed is a challenging, frequently disturbing reminder that much of what hinders the elevation of the gospel in America and Western culture comes from within the church. In community with the disenfranchised, the authors believe that current understanding and practices of discipleship leave converts and church members anemic and dispassionate. It also includes personal testimony and anecdotes encouraging connection with the reader.
These may be tough reads with students but great for individual or group study, deep enough to generate reflective thinking and/or discussion and rouse the fires of faith.
