Book Review: All the Good

Information about the book

All the Good: A Wesleyan Way of Christmas by Laceye Warner, Amy Valdez Barker, Jung Choir, and Sangwoo Kim.  Abingdon Press. Nashville. 2021. (Amazon)

Summary

From Amazon:  "In All the Good: A Wesleyan Way of Christmas, a group of diverse Wesleyan scholars will take you on an Advent journey guided by the practices in John Wesley’s means of grace. John Wesley’s emphasis upon practices of piety and mercy―or good works―drew from the larger Christian tradition. Such practices are often referred to as means of grace.

Each chapter guides participants through one of the four weeks of Advent by reflecting on biblical passages in light of an aspect of Wesleyan means of grace highlighted by illustrations and stories. Readers will look at preparing the way for God, the impact and significance of prayer, the substance of good works and caring for others, and sharing God’s mission to the world."

Impressions

This book works well as an Advent study. It is written well, and I imagine (although I have not seen them) that the accompanying leader guide and DVD would be helpful in planning a group study. Our church used this book this year as an Advent book resource, although I was not able to attend (the sessions were held while I was at work). I decided to pick up and book and read it on my own as the group at church was reading it.

Each chapter highlights an aspect of faith with a Wesleyan emphasis. These include preparing the way, prayer, acts of mercy, and outreach to the world. Each chapter is written by a different author and thus has a different style and "feel." I especially found the chapter on prayer to be not only well written but also illuminating.  There were lots of "ah ha" moments for me in the prayer chapter.  I found chapters 3 and 4 to be less engaging, although I did enjoy the personal stories and Wesleyan connections that were presented.

I would recommend the book (although it's not a the top of my Advent recommendations).

Posts about book

Posts I wrote about the book are tagged with Warner Good