For those of you missing the Left Behind series. . . .
Ron Brown. We Have Not Been Listening. Book One: The Darkness series. 182 p., $15.99, Deep River Books.
St. Augustine Baptist Church, an African-American megachurch in the heart of Nashville, has served as a welcoming haven for its community for years. And seven years after the arrival of Bishop G. T. Thomas at St. Augustine, the church now had a new sanctuary, family life center, and four-story parking structure—not to mention that the congregation had grown from six hundred to twenty-four hundred members during that time. St. Augustine was an obvious success story, and many of its most active congregants basked in their church’s glory.
Suddenly, a strange and inexplicable event has left thousands suddenly missing and the city in chaos. Yet, many of those same prominent members at St. Augustine are still present, and dealing with the myriad crises this catastrophic event has left in its wake. It eventually becomes clear: the rapture of the saints has occurred, and many of those who considered themselves believers in Christ have been left behind.
Even as they encounter and often help others who have never known Christ, these folks who have been left behind are left to wrestle with a number of questions: Why am I still here? Didn’t see God see my attendance, my works, my doctrine? Am I an “exceptional sinner” because of what I’ve done or been? Do I have no hope of redemption now?
We’ve Not Been Listening, book one of The Darkness series, shines a light into the self-deceptive darkness of the human heart, by telling the story of churchgoing people who discover they have not been taken in the rapture. And yet, it is a story about God’s love and mercy and about the many chances He gives us—even when it seems we are out of chances.
Lay It Down 
Luke–Acts in Modern Interpretation
A long look at modern takes on Luke’s books. . . .
Stanley E. Porter and Ron C. Fay. Luke–Acts in Modern Interpretation. 392p., $31.99, Kregel Academic.
Luke-Acts in Modern Interpretation explores the lives and work of ten interpreters who have significantly influenced the study of the Lukan writings over the past 150 years. The chapters contain short biographical sketches of the scholars that illuminate their personal and academic lives, summaries and evaluations of their major works, and analysis of the ongoing relevance of their work in contemporary scholarship on Luke-Acts.
Key thinkers surveyed include the following:
An introduction and a conclusion by Stanley Porter and Ron Fay trace the development of Luke-Acts scholarship from the 1870s to the present and examine how these ten scholars’ studies have shaped the field. Those invested in understanding the recent history of scholarship on Luke-Acts will find here a valuable deposit of historical insight into biblical studies.