Engage! How the church can reconnect with young people by Matt Brain.

"You are holding in your hands a splendid piece of work. With Engage! Matt Brain has exploded onto the publishing scene with an intellectually rich and fluidly-written book. It is rare for a book geared toward youth ministry to go so deeply but this text does exactly that. Significant cultural analysis, theological thought and superb biblical exegesis flow from each page. Having read the manuscript months before endorsing this book, I find my mind still returning to Brain's treatment of 2 Corinthians. This is a theology of the Cross for youth ministry from an Australian context. Engage! deserves to be read by all youth workers and pastoral ministers." Andrew Root, PhD, Associate Professor Youth and Family Ministry in The Olson Baalson Chair Luther Seminary, St Paul's, Minnesota.

(RRP: $25.00) ISBN:9781921577086

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SING A NEW SONG by Brian H Fletcher.

This challenging book breaks new ground in the field of Australian religious history by exploring the much neglected field of hymnody. It centres on the work of the Australian Hymn Book Committee and the publication of the Australian Hymn Book and Together in Song, compilations that placed Australia on the world map of hymnody for the first time. Sing a New Song explores the way in which these two hymnals evolved through a complex and demanding compilation and editorial process based on a firm belief that hymns are rich cultural artefacts possessing the capacity to influence the mindset and outlook of those who sing them. This book draws attention to the expansive spirit of goodwill that marked the work of the Hymn Book Committee and its contribution to the rise and spread of ecumenism in Australia over more than four decades. This book also shows that these hymnals helped to revive parts of the Australian Church and energised their public worship. It will interest anyone with an interest in the history of Australian religion and music.

(RRP: $30.00) ISBN: 9781921577079

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THE HABIT OF FREEDOM edited by Graeme Garrett.

This book is a selection of the best of that broad and often controversial conversation. 'History nearly always takes us by surprise', says Joseph Brodsky (Nobel Laureate for Literature, 1987). These pages confirm that judgment. Faith in search of understanding and dialogue in the Australian context is nothing if not surprising in breadth, wisdom and imagination.

(RRP: $30.00) ISBN: 9781921577062

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• "Islam and the Modern World: An Australian Perspective"by Mehmet Ösalp. For release on 17 Feb 2012.