What Every Pastor Should Know: 101 Indispensable Rules of Thumb for Leading Your Church, coauthored by Gary L. McIntosh (professor of Christian ministry and leadership), Baker Books, April 2013. Pastors and church leaders are constantly faced with tough questions. What size staff does the church need? How many workers are needed in the nursery this month? When is the right time to start a second worship service? How does seating and parking impact worship attendance? What Every Pastor Should Know offers 101 valuable rules and time-tested wisdom to help answer real-life ministry questions.

Transformation Through the Different Other: A Rendezvous of Giving and Receiving, by Faustin Ntamushobora (Ph.D. ’12), Wipf and Stock, March 2013. Ntamushobora shares the story of his transformation through encounters with people of different races, tribes, worldviews and experiences, and how God has used these experiences to transform his life into the image of Christ. The book examines the value of diversity in community and offers practical ways for “transformation through the other” to become a reality.

Helping Beyond the 50-Minute Hour, contribution by Keith Edwards (professor of psychology) and Rebecca Rodriguez (’95), Routledge, December 2012. “Slacktivism” is a term that has been coined to cynically describe the token efforts that people devote to some cause, without long-term or meaningful impact. This book is intended as an inspiration for practicing psychotherapists and counselors, as well as students, to become actively involved in a meaningful effort. Edwards’ and Rodriguez’s chapter, “Counseling Internationally: Caring for the Caregiver,” focuses on cross-cultural workers and missionaries.

Jesus is Lord, Caesar is Not: Evaluating Empire in New Testament Studies, contribution by David Nystrom (provost and senior vice president), IVP Academic, March 2013. The New Testament is immersed in the often hostile world of the Roman Empire, but its relationship to that world is complex. Under the direction of editors Scot McKnight and Joseph B. Modica, respected biblical scholars have come together to investigate an increasingly popular approach in New Testament scholarship of interpreting the text through the lens of empire.

Ministry in the Digital Age: Strategies and Best Practices for a Post-Website World, by David T. Bourgeois (’87, associate professor of information systems), IVP, April 2013. In this post-website world, it’s no longer enough to have a static website and hope that people find it. If you want to get your online content in front of your audience, you need to have a digital presence in the streams where they’re already active. Bourgeois offers a practical step-by-step guide for discerning and implementing a digital strategy for your ministry. He provides an overview of how Christians can use technology and communication media wisely, with concrete ideas for churches and nonprofit organizations.

God and Evil: The Case for God in a World Filled with Pain, contributions by professors William Lane Craig, Garry DeWeese and Doug Geivett, IVP, January 2013. The question of evil — its origins, its justification, its solution — has plagued humankind from the beginning. Every generation raises the question and struggles with the responses it is given. Questions about the nature of evil and how it is reconciled with the truth claims of Christianity are unavoidable; we need to be prepared to respond to such questions with great clarity and good faith. God and Evil compiles the best thinking on all angles on the question of evil, from some of the finest scholars in religion, philosophy and apologetics.

Pilgrim Theology, by Michael Horton (’87), Zondervan, February 2013. Horton guides readers through a preliminary exploration of Christian theology in “a Reformed key.” Horton reviews the biblical passages that give rise to a particular doctrine in addition to surveying past and present interpretations. Also included are sidebars showing the key distinctions readers need to grasp on a particular subject, helpful charts and tables illuminating exegetical and historical topics, and questions at the end of each chapter for individual, classroom, and small group reflection.