American Society for Church Growth - Book Review
Angry People in the Pews: Managing Anger in the Church
Anger is one of those universal human emotions. It can be focused, managed, trained, etc. but it cannot be eliminated. As the author points out, there are beneficial, and even Godly, expressions of anger. However, for many people, anger is usually expressed in ways that are painful and destructive. In this book, the author shows us how to channel anger into constructive expressions.
In chapter three, the author discusses biblical references to anger, showing a variety of ways it is addressed. For example, there is the condemnation of unjustified anger, Matthew 5:21-22; the admonition to be slow to anger, Psalm 37:8; and the fact that anger does not have to be accompanied by sin, Ephesians 4:26.
Chapter five has a helpful discussion of keeping anger in and letting it out, showing there is a time for both. To let anger out requires learning to exercise restraint without driving it into our subconscious through repression. We learn to keep it in by refusing to express anger in destructive ways. Each person has the inner power to choose how one‚s anger will be expressed.
In the concluding section of the book, the author states: "Anger is a very powerful feeling. It can easily overwhelm our capacities for clear thinking and responsible decision-making, and provoke us to impulsive and potentially harmful reactions to the slightest offense at the expense of even our most cherished relationships."
Leroy Howe is an author, ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, pastor, and former professor of pastoral theology at Southern Methodist University. His writing has a distinctly pastoral tone and is directed toward the goal of helping individuals grow in their Christian life.
The book is designed for personal enrichment and for training those involved in lay pastoral care.
Reviewed by Harold Dalton, Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director of Church Education Ministries of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
This review was originally published in Strategies for Today's Leader.