InterVarsity Press, 2006, 180 pp., $15.00,
www.ivpress.com
“It is one of God’s recurring dreams to raise up servants intent upon reaching those who have been impoverished materially, spiritually and emotionally — those people who
have been forgotten, abused and rejected.”
With that statement in mind, Scott Bessenecker is convinced that the worldwide church is about to experience the emergence of a new renewal movement in which the divine dream is lived out.
Scott Bessenecker calls this movement The New Friars. Akin to the monastic orders and missionary movements of the past, in which “radically motivated men and women moved to the fringe and pressed the church into the social and geographical edges…” this new spiritual movement is characterized by individuals and communities who are radically living the Gospel among the poor and dispossessed. The author ably compares the movements of the past with those of the present, making The New Friars a challenging and informative read, well worth the time and money.
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Timothy B. Cremeens is assistant pastor at St. Basil Orthodox Church, Poquoson, Va., and an instructor in humanities at Martin Community College.
