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BookTALK: PTS Community Series

This guide contains resources that complement the PTS Community Series sponsored by the Center for Writing and Learning Support and Barbour Library

Library & Online Resources

 

John Cleghorn is pastor of Caldwell Presbyterian Church in the Elizabeth neighborhood of Charlotte, N.C. John has served Caldwell since 2008. Caldwell is a diverse, progressive, missional congregation that has enjoyed a strong resurgence in recent years. Cleghorn is a 2017 graduate of the Doctor of Ministry degree program at Pittsburgh Seminary.

 

Resurrecting Church (Fortress Press, 2021) interweaves three strands. First, it is the remarkable turnaround story of Caldwell Presbyterian Church, which was on the edge of extinction when author John Cleghorn filled the role of pastor. Second, Cleghorn tells the story of his own growth and liberation from the myopia of privilege. Cleghorn traded his position as senior vice president of the nation's largest bank for ministry and the dusty and dated church office at Caldwell Presbyterian. The third strand includes the stories of several diverse congregations researched by the author. These congregations are examples of faith communities that have taken risks, deepening empathy and seeking justice. Through these stories, the book updates the "same old" conversation about church vitality in timely and surprising ways.

               Purchase the book on Bookshop.org

               Purchase the book on Amazon.com

Select Bibliography

The following books are not currently in the Barbour Library collection. The links below will take you to either Bookshop.org (which supports local bookstores) or Amazon.com, where you can purchase the book.

Brueggeman, Walter. Hope Restored: Biblical Imagination against Empire. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2023.

Lartey, Emmanuel Y. and Hellena Moon, eds., Postcolonial Images of Spiritual Care: Challenge and Care in a Neoliberal Age. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2020.

Walden, Ken J. Practical Theology for Church Diversity: A Guide for Clergy and Congregations. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2015.

Printable Bibliography

You may download/print this list of recommended resources on display at the library.

Books in Barbour Library

Print books below may be checked out by PTS students, faculty, and staff, as well as local area patrons who have library accounts (requires an annual fee). Ebooks are indicated by asterisks, and are available to current PTS students, faculty, and staff only.

Library Resources by Subject

Click on the links below to perform subject searches in the library catalog:

Church renewal.

Church work with minorities.

Multiculturalism -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.

Pastoral theology.

Reconciliation -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.

Social justice -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.

Select Bibliography

The articles below without links are not available in the Barbour Library journal collection - please check your local library for interlibrary loan services in order to obtain copies of these.

Twibell, Simone. 2022. “Multicultural Realities: A Call to Diversify the ‘Unity’ of the Church.” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 58 (1): 16–18. 

Articles in Barbour Library

Articles that are available online have links, and are only available to current PTS students, faculty, and staff. Articles without links are in the print journal collection.

Mook, Sharon L. 2005. “The Transforming Power of the Interracial / Intercultural Church.” Journal of Pastoral Theology 15 (2): 33–48.

Perez Maceira, Altagracia. 2011. “Living into Multicultural Inclusive Ministry.” Anglican Theological Review 93 (4): 659–67. 

Zachariah, George. 2017. “Towards a Communion of the Multitude: Living God, Renew and Transform Us.” Reformed World 67 (1): 4–21.