Defusing the Sexuality Debate: The Anglican evangelical culture war by Mark Vasey-Saunders (SCM Press, £25 (Church Times SPECIAL OFFER PRICE £20); 978-0-334-06354-4).

“Offering a detailed examination of the development, consolidation and fracturing of an Evangelical Anglican consensus on the sexuality, Defusing the Sexuality Debate seeks to explain why current disagreements are so intractable and offer some suggestions as to how all sides could facilitate a more constructive conversation. Building on an exploration of the development of tradition and biblical scholarship in Evangelical Anglicanism during the twentieth century, the book makes the case that conflicts over sexuality are symbolic of deeper disagreements over the place of Christianity in the modern world.”

The Thousand Year Old Garden: Inside the secret garden at Lambeth Palace by Nick Stewart Smith (The History Press, £16.99 (Church Times SPECIAL OFFER PRICE £14.99); 978-1-80399-304-1).

“Hidden away behind high stone walls in the centre of London is Lambeth Palace Garden, a ten-acre site that has been continuously cultivated for more than a thousand years. Join Head Gardener Nick Stewart Smith as he unlocks the gates and invites us to wander through a secret garden where nature is at the heart of everything and where a thoughtful approach to gardening creates a haven for all sorts of native wildlife, allowing nature to flourish in the midst of one of the world's busiest cities.”

Confessions: A life of failed promises by A. N. Wilson (Bloomsbury, £10.99 (£9.89); 978-1-4729-9482-0). New in paperback.

“A. N. Wilson turns a merciless searchlight on his own early life, his experience of sexual abuse, his catastrophic mistakes in love and his life in Grub Street as a prolific writer.”

Selected by Frank Nugent, of the Church House Bookshop, which operates the Church Times Bookshop.