The Way of Courage: Being God's People in a Broken World.

A.J. Pell is editor of the Canadian Evangelical Review and an instructor
of Liturgy, Anglican Studies Program, Regent College, Vancouver.

The Way of Courage consists of 34 short reflections of three to five pages each, which began their existence as Anglican priest Christopher Page’s monthly “Reflections” articles in the Diocesan Post, the official paper of the diocese of British Columbia. These articles have been organized into six sections—“Relationship,” “Healing,” “Leadership,” “Ministry,” “Spirituality,” “Refreshment”—and two questions to prod readers into their own reflecting have been added to conclude each article.

The aim of the book is to lead readers to discover how to be the church. But the author’s noble aim has produced a flawed product. Sometimes Page’s self-confessed tendency to use “a parental voice” of “nagging” distracts from his intended purpose. Sometimes the reader is led too far inside himself or herself, as “The Children of Light” leads, to make any connection between self and church. Sometimes the author uses stereotypical ideas that have a far from universal resonance, such as using the natural world in “The Forest Walk” as a source and stimulus for self-renewal, an idea not shared by many urbanites. But perhaps the flaw is that the “Path Books” formula—short chapters with an obligatory two questions—impedes the author from pushing further into a topic so that the reader can better appreciate its depth and complexity.