New and Noteworthy: April 2007

LEADERSHIP
Anderson, Lynn. They Smell Like Sheep: Leading with the Heart of a Shepherd. Vol. 2. West Monroe, La.: Howard, 2007. ISBN 1-58229-672-3; 246 pages; $19.99; 800-585-4109.
Anderson’s principles for leadership begun in Volume 1 are the foundation for this addition, which helps leaders with practical strategies for the shepherd-style leader.  
“I interviewed more than 200 key church leaders from across the United States and Canada, listening to stories from the lives of effective contemporary shepherds,” he writes.  
Each chapter ends with a set of discussion and steps to take for enacting the principles of the preceding chapter.
Anderson is the former, longtime minister of the Highland Street church in Abilene, Texas.
BIBLE STUDY
Jackson, Wayne.  Before I Die: Paul’s Letters to Timothy and Titus. Stockton, Calif.: Christian Courier, 2007. ISBN 1-932723-06-4; 380 pages; $19.95; 888-818-2463.
This one-volume commentary of Paul’s letters features exegesis, discussions of human nature, and devotional thoughts in clearly organized sections on each book.
Jackson writes, “The truths presented are practical because human nature does not change, and church problems are cyclical. What has been will be again. Finally, the narrative is devotional.  It moves us closer to the throbbing heart of a man whose love for his fellow servants was eclipsed only by his love for Jesus Christ.”
Jackson is a minister of the East Main Street Church of Christ in Stockton, Calif., and editor of The Christian Courier.
JUSTICE
Holloway, Gary, and John York, Editors. Unfinished Reconcilitation: Justice, Racism and Churches of Christ. Abilene: ACU Press, 2006. ISBN 0-89112-073-4; 200 pages; $16.95; (877) 816-4455.
This collection of essays by Lee Camp, Douglas A. Foster, Kenneth Green, John Mark Hicks and Harold Shank is a recent re-release of a collection of essays first offered in 2003.
The chapters grew out of the writers’ involvement in the 2001 Lectures on Preaching at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn.
The authors treat contemporary topics in racial reconciliation through studies of the minor prophets and biblical texts that discuss social justice.
Later chapters discuss racism among Churches of Christ and suggest practical strategies for reconciliation.
LIVING
Grant, Paul. Blessed are the Uncool: Living Authentically in a World of Show. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP, 2006. ISBN 0-8308-3603-9; 144 pages; $13.
Grant’s witty and timely little book encourages readers to seek authenticity in a world saturated by television, Internet and other media and dominated by habits of mass culture.
Grant challenges Christians to seek authenticity by considering what “cool” is, how it can be dismantled and how to seek authenticity instead.
Readers among Churches of Christ will find Grant’s discussions refreshing, even though they are not specifically about our fellowship.
Grant is a deacon of the Fountain of Life Family Worship Center in Madison, Wis.