Three Books I'm Looking Forward to Reading

Yesterday we visited our favorite store in New York State.  Sauders Store, which is owned and operated by Mennonites, has a wide variety of products. While we like the bulk foods, we love the books. My initial plan was to purchase one text; I ended up with three.

The more I study scripture, the more I find myself coming in line with Mennonite beliefs related to pacifism and involvement with the state. Because of this, the following three texts looked to be worth reading:

One Anothering, written by Simon Schrock, looks particularly interesting to me because I've been thinking about this topic quite a bit. Over and over in scripture we are instructed to encourage one another, exhort one another, teach one another, etc. In particular we are to love one another. How do we go about doing this in a practical manner? What does it look like? This book deals with this issue.

Separation and Nonconformity looks fascinating because this is an issue we all face as Christians. We all struggle with one degree or another with the issue of being in the world but not of it. It is far too easy to go to one of the extremes rather than seek biblical principles. My hope is that this book does this. My guess is that if the text leans too far in one direction it will be toward separation (thus the title). The chapters on church and state, marriage, and social customs ought to be intriguing.

Cup and Cross takes a look at Anabaptist history and beliefs. I'm interested is this text for a few reasons. First, Anabaptist history is controversial in nature because of its different streams of thought and practice. Second, I tend to agree with much about the Anabaptist view of the church. Third, the book is penned by an author who comes from this heritage (as opposed to an outsider). One minor negative is that this book is somewhat difficult to find online.

Now off to read.