WESTMONT, IL—InterVarsity Press received seven Christianity Today 2018 Book Awards, including the top honor for book of the year that went to Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren.
Selected by Christianity Today editors as the title that “best embodies our pursuit of Beautiful Orthodoxy,” Liturgy of the Ordinary was also the winner in the spiritual formation category of the 2018 Book Awards. Framed around one ordinary day, Warren’s book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices, and habits that form us. Each chapter looks at something—making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys—that the author does every day.
Ann Carlson Kennedy, a blogger at Preventing Grace, said, “No matter which chapter you’re reading, it’s hard not to suffer from writer envy. Liturgy of the Ordinary is a gracious, gospel-oriented, fantastically un-preachy invitation to be a more integrated believer. Warren takes the most basic components of everyday life and turns them inside out to reveal the extraordinary work of God. You don’t have to be liturgically minded to be helped by her thought, experience, and spiritual depth.”
Embodied Hope: A Theological Meditation on Pain and Suffering by Kelly M. Kapic was the winning title in the theology/ethics category of the Christianity Today 2018 Book Awards. Kapic meditates on how our suffering—particularly our physical suffering—relates to the Christian faith.
Aimee Byrd, blogger and author of Housewife Theologian, said, “Embodied Hope is a breath of fresh air and a source of hope, as Kapic takes a holistic approach to pain and suffering. Rather than downplaying orthodoxy in order to be practical and compassionate, he gives us a rich teaching of Christian anthropology, Christ’s person and work, and an eternal perspective. He takes care to deal with the physical aspects of suffering as well as its connection with the spiritual. This approach directs our gaze to Christ while not ignoring the hard questions that sufferers and caretakers must face.”
The four IVP titles that received the Award of Merit include:
Winsome Persuasion: Christian Influence in a Post-Christian World by Tim Muehlhoff and Richard Langer received the Award of Merit in the apologetics/evangelism category. Muehlhoff and Langer present a model for cultural engagement that integrates communication theory, theology, and Scripture. “Too many books simply make assumptions about secular modern culture and about the way that we need to respond,” said Holly Ordway, professor of English and apologetics faculty member at Houston Baptist University. “Muehlhoff and Langer take the necessary step of analyzing the way that culture works, especially with regard to media and social issues, and their deft analysis generates significant insights. The authors apply orthodox Christian principles to hot-button issues without being shrill or partisan. In so doing, they model what the book strives to teach.”
Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life by Makoto Fujimura was honored with the Award of Merit in the culture and the arts category. Fujimura issues a call to cultural stewardship to artists and all “creative catalysts” who understand how much the culture we all share affects human thriving today and shapes the generations to come.
“Culture Care is a breath of fresh air for today’s world. Fujimura invites us to find and make beauty in the world with attentive minds, grateful hearts, and generous spirits,” said Jennifer Craft, associate professor of humanities and theology at Point University. “The central idea is a call to generative care—fruitful, generous, stewarding practices in a culture characterized by an attitude of openness, love, and appreciation for beauty. This call to appreciate and cultivate beauty is perhaps the most profound insight for today’s culture, which prioritizes the fast, useful, or most profitable.”
Mending the Divides: Creative Love in a Conflicted World by Jon Huckins and Jer Swigart received the Award of Merit in the missions/global church category. Jenny Yang, senior vice president of advocacy and policy for World Relief, said, “One of the most challenging tasks within the church in the next few decades will be the work of peace-building and reconciliation, of learning from and loving neighbors who are often very different. Taking the parable of the Good Samaritan as their starting point, Huckins and Swigart have written a practical, hands-on manual that shares their rich experiences working in peace-building across various contexts, from local to global.”
The Award of Merit winner in the politics and public life category went to Restoring the Soul of the University: Unifying Christian Higher Education in a Fragmented Age by Perry L. Glanzer, Nathan F. Alleman, and Todd C. Ream. Nikki Toyama-Szeto, executive director for Evangelicals for Social Action, said, “A thorough and ambitious book,Restoring the Soul of the University issues a stirring call to Christian institutions of higher education. The authors offer a deep historical analysis, along with a careful framing of the questions, philosophies, and challenges that define the mission of the university.”
See a complete list of past IVP award winners.
Founded in 1947 as an extension of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, InterVarsity Press serves those in the university, the church and the world by publishing thoughtful Christian books that equip and encourage people to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord in all of life. For more information, visit ivpress.com.
Contact: Krista Clayton
630.734.4013 | kclayton@ivpress.com
