Another Christ: Rediscovering Jesus, Francis, and discipleship today by Andrew D. Mayes (Resource Publications, £20 (£18); 979-8-3852-2738-9).
“We have a choice. If we keep before our eyes images of Christ that are comforting, soothing, familiar, traditional — then our Christian life may turn out to be prosaic, pedestrian, and predictable, a preservative to maintain the status quo. But if we allow our discipleship today to be unsettled and inspired by images of Christ that are dynamic, risky, outrageous, brave, passionate, radical — then we open ourselves to new possibilities: we embark on a liberating adventure, an odyssey of the soul, a pilgrimage, a voyage into untested waters.”
Engaging Jesus with Our Senses: An embodied approach to the Gospels by Jeannine Marie Hanger (Baker, £19.99 (£17.99); 978-1-5409-6672-8).
“Our physical senses are crucial to gaining knowledge of the world around us. Yet when it comes to Bible reading, we often reduce it to a mere cognitive experience, ignoring the Psalmist's invitation to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” This book offers a fresh way to read the Gospels with an emphasis on embodiment, focused on a life abiding in Christ. The goal is a greater, more tangible knowledge of God.”
Living the Autumn of Life: Walking through retirement beginnings and endings by George Ling (BRF, £12.99 (£11.69); 978-1-80039-281-6).
“How can we best approach the season between retiring and becoming dependent? Autumn is a time of gains and losses: fruit being harvested and leaves falling. This book charts the experience of living through both realities, drawn from the author’s own life and from the views of interviewees. Informed by historical and contemporary reading, it offers snapshots of later life, taken against a backdrop of ageism in society and church. George Lings reflects on the identity of the ‘active elderly’, and he considers through a biblical lens the challenges and opportunities that this season brings.”
Selected by Frank Nugent, of the Church House Bookshop, which operates the Church Times Bookshop.