Ray Neu

BOOK REVIEW: New and Old Horizons in the Orality Movement edited by Tom Steffen and Cameron D. Armstrong Orality has taken over my life. It has become my purpose and passion. It is my full-time vocation, avocation and hobby. I feel that I am fairly well versed in many aspects of this field; however, after consuming this book, I think I need to adjust my personal assessment. Why? The reason is that Steffen and Armstrong have compiled an impressive list of collaborators on this journey. I say collaborators rather than ‘experts’ due to the nature of the writings and the deference towards one another. I chose journey rather than assessment because that is how this piece is presented. It is a panoramic scenic overlook along the path being traveled by many in the Orality movement. New and Old Horizons in the Orality Movement is very worthy of your time to read, reflect and perhaps even realign some of your thinking about missiology, orality and those who learn best in this manner. I will be working through this same process myself as I encountered aspects of the Orality field with which I am very familiar as well as areas where I now feel like a neophyte. That doesn’t happen very often. Now, I feel that I need to sit at the feet of some of these presenters. Without giving away some of the many gems in this book, let me encourage you to plan on spending time reading or listening, taking notes, then ruminating again on the content. I am richer for engaging with this book, as you will be also. Hopefully, there will be spin-off conversations developed from the wide range of excellent source materials presented. In short, I found this book to be informative, insightful and inspirational. A trifecta. [I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for a review.] Ray Neu, “The Story Doctor” D. Min. George Fox Evangelical Seminary