Fridah Maluki, assistant registrar, recommends Brokenness (The heart that God revives) by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. “The book gives us a clear explanation of what brokenness is and what it is not. The most amazing thing is that brokenness is a lifestyle of agreeing with God about the true condition of your heart and life, as He sees it. It is a lifestyle of unconditional, absolute surrender of our will to the will of God, a heart attitude that says, ‘Yes,Lord!’ to whatever God says. Brokenness means the shattering of self-will, so that the life and spirit of the Lord Jesus may be released through us. Brokenness is our response of humility and obedience to the conviction of the word and spirit of God.”

Don Penney, IT Director and Executive Assistant to the Vice Chancellor, recommends Leading Across Cultures by James E. Pluedemann. “The book helps us understand the way different cultures both support and do leadership. The author has used stories to demonstrate his point, and this has a universal appeal. The book is a must read for those who intend to seriously engage in leadership in globalized mission or church of the twenty-first century.”

Patrice Penney, clinical social worker and lecturer at Africa International University, recommends Celebrating Children: Equipping people working with children and young people living in difficult circumstances around the world, edited by Glenn Miles and Josephine-Joy Wright. ”Celebrating Children has a lovely way of putting the child in context–finding out what they have to say about themselves. The book contains a wide range of practical topics, such as what the church can do, and working with children at risk. The contributors hail from several continents.”

Dr George Renner, director of the Institute for the Study of African Realities, recommends Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It, Revised Edition by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner. Renner enthuses, “This book is global and research-based. The authors are not professing Christians, but their values are deeply rooted. I am somewhat embarrassed to offer a book written by North Americans on the subject of leadership. If you ask me about my favorite book next year, I’ll say Greatness, written by NEGST students and alumni. I’ve been collecting the best research papers from my leadership development class for the last ten years, and I’m hoping to publish them in a book.”

“In The Screwtape Letters, an entertaining and thought-provoking book about living out our Christian faith, C.S. Lewis brings the theological issue of dealing with temptation into an accessible, narrative style. The book is written from two devils’ viewpoints, as an administrative devil named Screwtape mentors an inexperienced tempter named Wormwood through a series of letters.” Dr. Maik Gibson, head of department of translation.

Rev. Dr. Stephanie Black recommends Chasing the Eastern Star by Mark Allan Powell. “Although the book pushes the envelope of evangelical hermeneutics, it’s an entertaining and fascinating example of current trends in narrative studies of the gospels. The content is academic but the writing style is so lively, I find myself laughing out loud as I read it.”

Dr. Robert Carlson, Professor at NEGST, recommends Plastic Glasses and Church Fathers by David B. Kronenfeld, saying, “Biblical exegetes, conditioned (as we all are) by their culture, sometimes expect words—such as human, God, body—to hold the same meanings universally. Kronenfeld’s work on comparative semantics in anthropology raises interesting issues as we think our way towards truly enculturated theological categories.”

Dr Bill Black, lecturer in Theology and Christian History recommends Jesus and the Victory of God by N.T. Wright.  “N.T. Wright succeeds in rescuing the Jesus found in the New Testament from the confusion of many critical studies of the New Testament in general and of the gospels in particular. Wright puts Jesus in his proper first century Jewish context in a manner that transforms the usual ways these texts have been understood and applied.”

“The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian, helps us appreciate that children are blessings from God. As parents, we are challenged to depend on God for the proper upbringing of our children. The book gives us practical ways of praying for our children during their stages of growth.” Mrs. Mungathia Florence, lecturer and coordinator of undergraduate programmes

“Renovations of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ, by Dallas Willard, is a good book for personal reading. The author believes that our common problems of sin are deeply rooted in our heart condition. As Christian individuals and as communities, we need to continue to renovate our hearts to grow in the essential nature of God: divinely shared love. Willard’s profound analysis of the condition of the human heart has touched my soul unfathomably.”  Caleb Kim, Lecturer, Islamic Studies and Anthropology