The story of one man’s pilgrimage(s) . . . and maybe it’ll inspire you to take you own. . . .
Ron Williams. Lost and Found along the Way: Stories for Your Faith Walk from the Camino de Santiago. 400p., $16.99, Deep River Books.
The Camino—or The Way—to Santiago is a five-hundred-mile, thirty-three-day walk across Spain’s extreme conditions to reach the beloved Cathedral of Santiago. Ron “Willie” Williams walked The Way two and a half times, a total of twelve hundred miles. Why? It is less about what he gains, and more about what he loses along The Way—old behaviors, unforgiveness, and a tendency to play God. Journey with Willie through the chapters of Lost and Found along The Way, as he sheds these tendencies, and in doing so finds a renewed, richer, and deeper faith.
Willie also learned to share this strengthened faith with those he met who had lost their own faith, and now he is teaching others to do the same. Lost and Found along The Way offers believers faith-sharing advice using a unique approach: the hybrid of two genres—historical fiction and personal memoir.
The first few chapters are narrative historical fiction portraying James in Acts 12:2 facing his execution along with supposed reactions from his loved ones. At the end of this narrative, we transition back to nonfiction with the discovery of James’ gravesite some eight hundred years after his martyrdom. Willie then explains how the Camino pilgrimages began along the Camino, also known as The Way.
The following chapters, and the bulk of the book, follow Willie’s own Camino journeys, presented from three unique perspectives:
- “The Camino” contains vivid descriptions of the geography on the trail and historical background. These descriptions incorporate the reader with the text, almost like a firsthand experience.
- “My Camino” includes stories of the author’s gritty life experiences that surface while traveling the Camino, his personal reflective prayers, and the spiritual insights that God awakens.
- “Our Camino” provides guidance on how the reader can dig deeper into their spiritual life and get outside their comfort zone. These each end with true and dramatic faith walk stories that hook the reader and demonstrate God’s hand in people’s lives.
The final chapter of Lost and Found along The Way instructs fellow sojourners in how to follow Willie’s example to strengthen their own faith and share it with those who have lost their own faith—no hiking boots required.
Kerux Commentaries: Ephesians
A commentary for both the theologian and the pastor—or just the person who wants to think about Ephesians more deeply. . . .
Gregory S. MaGee and Jeffrey D. Arthurs. Ephesians: A Commentary for Biblical Preaching and Teaching. Kerux Commentaries. 288p., $29.99, Kregel Academic.
Kerux Commentaries enable pastors and teachers to understand and effectively present the main message in a biblical text
Each volume uniquely combines the insights of an experienced Bible exegete (trained in interpretation) and a homiletician (trained in preaching). These two authors work together to explain the essential message for the original listeners or readers, unpack its timeless truth, and then provide a contemporary restatement and communication insights for the key biblical concept. Every book is a resource designed and written with the real needs of the pastor and teacher always in sight, providing many ways to creatively express the principal thought in a biblical passage.
Based on the Big Idea preaching model, Kerux enhances the reader’s ability to deliver a message that is biblical, cohesive, and dynamic.
For more information on the series, please visit KeruxCommentaries.com.