Jesus A Very Short Introduction by Richard Bauckham

I have read a number of these Very Short Introductions, including recently on Islam and Judaism, and all are very informative and interesting. Although I didn't really need to be introduced to Jesus, I like Richard Bauckham's stuff so thought I'd give it a go. If you've read much Bauckham, or NT Wright for that matter, it's not really anything new - Bauckham says that much of the info in here is expanded in his book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses - but it is great to have lots of his thoughts on the historical Jesus gathered together in a concise form like this.

And there are some real gems in this book. His stuff on Jesus' often indirect style of teaching is fascinating, and he is brilliant on Jesus' attitude to social status: 'Jesus thus took the unparalleled step of abolishing social status, not by giving all the disciples the status of master... but by reducing all to the lowest social status: that of slave'.

Also recommended are his thoughts on the gospels as eyewitness accounts (Ch 2), and chapter 3 which is all about the 1st Century context Jesus found himself in.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in Jesus!

Concrete Faith by Matt Wilson

This is the story of the Eden Network. It is a story I have been a part of since the early days, so I was keen to see how Matt Wilson's book matched up with my experience over the last 13 years and more. Matt tells the story well, in a punchy and honest way, mixing theology and missiology with powerful stories which enhance the developing narrative of a project becoming a network and then looking to become a movement.

For those who don't know, Eden was originally a project that involved 25+ youth workers from around the country moving into Benchill in Wythenshawe in the late 1990s, to live and work alongside the young people there. It quickly spread to Langworthy in Salford, then Openshaw, Longsight and a number of other estates, and most recently has become a national movement. Matt Wilson knows the story well as he was a part of the original project and has overseen the development of Eden nationally.

It is an exciting and challenging read, and Matt has captured well the paradoxes and tensions of incarnational urban mission Eden-style. Most encouragingly for me, he doesn't gloss over the many difficulties involved, especially the stories of 'what went wrong' in some of the early projects. These are important stories to hold alongside the many wonderful stories of individual and community-wide transformation.

I would encourage anyone who has an interest in transformation in the inner cities to read this book. It is not full of hype and just containing the impressive stories, but is real, and genuinely hopeful, a useful record of 15 years of God at work in Greater Manchester and beyond. I hope it will inspire many people to move into inner city estates and do similar things, as well as being an encouragement to those of us already involved in this stuff.