Artwork by Monique Sliedrecht; New Media Roundup

Live Your Assignment; What Was Jesus Thinking; Preparing to Cross the Finish Line; Beyond Homelessness; and more

New media roundup

• Live Your Assignment: Being Christ's Ambassador in 7 Spheres of Life by Phil Wagler (Castle Quay, 2023). Global director of the Peace & Reconciliation Network and global liaison of The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada unpacks God's highest purpose for the Christian – a more radical and transformative life.
• What Was Jesus Thinking? Insights from Archaeology, History, Geography, and the Gospels by Frank Stirk (Wipf & Stock, 2023). Retired journalist in North Vancouver crafts a fresh and compelling introduction sensitive to Jesus’ context.
• Preparing to Cross the Finish Line: A Guide to Help Families, Individuals and Pastors with End-of-Life Issues and Funerals by Walter Wiens (Mill Lake Books, 2022). Chaplain in Alberta and Manitoba, now a pastor of care ministries in Abbotsford, B.C., crafts a practical primer for the funeral planning process, including issues such as family conflict.
• Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement, 15th Anniversary Edition by Brian Walsh and Steve Bouma-Prediger (Eerdmans, 2023). Includes a new postscript in which the two theologian authors discuss the evolution of their ideas and share true and hopeful stories of home and community built anew.
• We Were a Peculiar People Once: Confessions of an Old-Time Baptist by David Lyle Jeffrey (1845 Books, 2023). A fast-paced, humorous memoir of retired Baylor University professor’s journey growing up in the Scottish Baptist tradition in rural Canada.
• A Testament of Witnesses and Other Poems by David Lyle Jeffrey (Wipf and Stock, 2022). A batch of biblical poems and some occasional poems by prolific retired Baylor University professor. He published another poetry book, Translations, in 2021.
• Paul and Time: Life in the Temporality of Christ by L. Ann Jervis (Baker Academic, 2023). Wycliffe College professor emerita proposes Paul thought not in terms of two ages but in terms of life in this age (humans apart from Christ) or life in Christ (believers live entirely in the temporality of Christ).
• A Jewish Paul: The Messiah’s Herald to the Gentiles by Matthew Thiessen (Baker Academic, 2023). Associate professor of religious studies at McMaster University argues Paul did not reject Judaism or Jewish law but believed he was living in the last days.

Canadian creatives

"My pieces are contained worlds, alluding to the mystery of the universe and our deep connectivity. These ‘combine’ pieces bring together familiar elements from my previous paintings including seafaring images, but also chart new territories and impressions of place. The boat is a frequent symbol in my work for a home away from home and a form of imaginary journey. This particular piece is a poem, a small song, to establish a deeper sense of belonging in a time of shifting certainties. This artwork was bought by Scottish singer-songwriter Yvonne Lyon, who based her song ‘Entwined’ on it (YvonneLyon.Bandcamp.com/track/entwined)."