2008 - YOUNG AUSTRALIAN
CHRISTIAN WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Winner for
2008
SARAH DUNBAR - for
her story
"Foreigner in Number 12"
Extract from the judges’ report –
"While belonging to a society addicted to comfort and
increasingly afraid to love, Sarah convincingly reminds
us that God intends that life be an adventure. There is
no intimacy without courage. Courage ... and humour.
Sarah is honest, wise and eloquent as she confronts her
own exasperation and hatred for the very people she
feels called to serve.We laugh with her and weep with
her.We even feel inclined to follow her on the dangerous
path that is growing intimacy with
God."
Certificates of Commendation
2008
Luke Hopkins – Sitting on Ocean Waves
Skye Parry-Jones – Tainted
Emily Jordan – My
Life as Katrina Collins
Katherine Lazarus – My
jouney to the F Word
Christopher Vaatstra – The
Power of God Vol. 1- God Seeker
2008 - AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGICAL WRITERS AWARD
Winner for 2008
GRAHAM COLE - for "He Who Gives Life:The
Doctrine of the Holy Spirit"
(Wheaton / Crossway,
2007)
"He Who Gives Life, while aimed as
a textbook, was extremely well written,
succinct, well-argued, thoughtful, and pastoral. Further, it does not
follow the format of standard works on the Holy Spirit,
but takes an independent approach.The author draws heavily
from scholars of each era of
church history. He guides us to the
contributions both of the well-known exponents of
pneumatology and the more obscure, but insightful nonetheless. A
very important addition to expositions of the person and
work of the ‘shy member of the Trinity’. (ISBN
978-58134-792-0)"
with honourable mentions for
Paul Barnett - for "Paul:
Missionary of Jesus" (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids,
2008)
Brian Rosner - for "Greed as Idolatry:The
Origin and Meaning of a Pauline
Metaphor"
(Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 2008.)
John Woodhouse
- for "1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader" (Crossway: Wheaton,
2008)
Colin Reed for Walking in the Light:
Reflections on the East African Revival (Acorn)
2008 - CHRISTIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR
Winner for 2008
GOD Next
Door: Spirituality & Mission in the
Neighbourhood
by
Simon Carey Holt
Published by Acorn Press, ISBN 9780908284634
Extract from the judges comments~
God Next Door” brings to life Jesus’
command to “love your neighbour as yourself ” and
explains how living Jesus’ words will transform
neighbourhoods. It is a timely and necessary challenge
to all Australian Christians who are busy “doing church”
and to churches where a program-focus may have
inadvertently dulled ideas of mission. It shows how to
understand Jesus’ call on your life regardless of your
context.
Holt shares practical wisdom on the
“how to” of engaging neighbours and neighbourhoods, by
thinking about the distinctives of one’s own
neighbourhood. He demonstrates the value of reclaiming
the neighbourhood, in an era in which we retreat into
homes with large TVs and small front yards. He shows a
sound knowledge of typical Australian neighbourhoods and
puts compellingly Jesus’ call to mission in our own
local neighbourhood.
“God Next Door” is a book
which will provoke action: one judge found it
life-changing! It is a book which churches could explore
together with a view to living like Jesus in their
neighbourhood.
Readers will gain a better understanding
of their surroundings, a higher degree of engagement with their
neighbours and a more authentic mission, by bringing
Christianity and Jesus out of the church building and into
the neighbourhood."
Second Prize
My Seventh Monsoon: a Himalayan journey of faith and
mission
By Naomi Reed
Ark House Press, ISBN
9780980345827
A contemporary story written in a wonderfully
refreshing and intensely personal style.This book
encourages us to remember that the Lord journeys through
every season with us; it is also a helpful reminder that
obedience to God doesn’t mean freedom from hardship and
hurt.
An ordinary young Australian Christian
couple were unexpectantly astonished at the call of God
on their lives, a call which moved them from comfortable
work as health care professionals in a Sydney hospital
to steamy monsoonal Nepal.The heartwarming story
provokes an understanding of modern Australian
missionaries, and of our roles as supporters and
partners
Having lived the extraordinary
experiences of other cultures, Naomi Reed’s analysis of
Australian culture is helpful for Australians who can’t
see our cultural blind-spots.This honest account of
their life and expectations is a challenge to
comfortable Christian living in the west, which helps
the reader to better understand missionaries, and also
our own roles as potential supporters and partners - or perhaps, God’s missionary to another
culture.
Third Prize
666 And All That:The Truth About the Future
by
John Dickson & Greg Clarke
ISBN 9781921137808,
Aquila Press
Everybody wants to know how it‚s all going to end!
Tapping into the current interest in
spirituality, heaven, and end times, Dickson &
Clarke address a popular and controversial topic in a
way that equips Christians by providing a solid biblical
basis for future events.
It provides a helpful
corrective to Christian popular fiction and
pseudo-non-fiction by seeking to address the problems of
poor theology learned through such unsound fiction and
many movies.
Using a sensible, rather than a
sensationalist approach, the authors seek to clarify and
encourage, providing assurance in dealing with people‚s
uncertainties and anxieties by highlighting the
centrality of Jesus in God’s promises.
The
judges were pleased to note that Dickson & Clarke
unpack the broader teaching of Scripture - not just
Revelation - and that they deal seriously with the
problem of sin and what a response to sin demands.
Balanced and comprehensive without being
academic, this book clarifies Christian expectations of
death and beyond; cuts through the fuzziness; and brings
clarity to an area that has been muddied by the
entertainment
industry.
JUDGES - 2008
Nancy Kroeger – Finance officer
of Ridley College Bookshop, Melbourne, &
Presbyterian pastor’s wife and church planter.
Sally
Smith – Editor and author whose writing has been
published in Australia and overseas- currently also
writes for Baptist churches in NSW & ACT
Clayton
Fopp – lectures theological students and is Associate
Pastor at Trinity Hills
Church (Adelaide) and serves on the executive
of Re-Definition Youth Ministries.
Co-ordinator: Len Woodley - National Secretary of
SPCK-Australia
|
