The Next Step

For churches planning new or expanded facilities, The Next Step (Riverstone Publishing) by Bill Chegwidden is an excellent resource for discovering how to plan, design and build churches. The author is an architect whose firm has worked with more than 350 churches, and that experience informs this helpful guide.

Small Faith, Great God

N.T. Wright is widely known as a leading theologian, but his new book Small Faith, Great God (IVP) offers us a picture of Wright as a preacher. This second edition of an excellent book on the Christian faith (first published in 1978) grew out of sermons that Wright preached in various congregations. Readers today will find it an insightful and useful study of the role of faith in the life of the believer.

Take Up and Preach

Pastor Blayne Banting has written Take Up and Preach (Xulon) as a guide to studying a biblical passage and moving toward the preaching event. His work on the Homiletical Bridge will be a useful guide to many preachers.

Illustration: Value of Teamwork

An out-of-towner drove his car into a ditch in a desolated area. Luckily, a local farmer came to help with his big strong horse, named Buddy. He hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, "Pull, Nellie, pull!" Buddy didn't move.

Illustration: Names

The story appeared in the January 29, 2003, edition of The Washington Post. Titled "Picabo's Problem," it is a story about the well-known Olympic gold medallist, Picabo Street. The article notes that she's much more than a famous skier. Between training on the slopes and traveling around the world, she managed to get an education and earn a degree in nursing.