Wormwood is back!

I always like to believe that the Browns, the ones who have descended from Ralph and Polly (my grandparents), are the cream of the crop. I often tell people, that I am growing up in the shadow of my rather (in)famous relatives. There is a lot to live up to in light of all of the accomplishments that have been tallied up thus far. I mean this in the most positive of ways; I am proud to be a Brown, and proud to have such a large shadow to rest under. Here are some examples of the shadow of which I speak: Grandma, father, uncles, sister, and cousins are all published authors, uncles own a publishing firm and are professors of different faculties, a Brown family legacy exists at Gordon Seminary, and my siblings and cousins are all up and coming scholars of various sorts. We have a very large tendency of making unforgettable imprints on the world wherever we may be.

This, of course, is all a build up of announcement of my Uncle Tom's newest book. The following is a synopsis/review/bio of the author. Enjoy!

P.S. I am shamelessly making a plug for you to buy it and support the Brown Legacy! More information and an opportunity to purchase the book can be found at www.wormwoodarchive.com

Times have changed, and so has the art of temptation.

What happens when a demon adopts the best in modern management techniques?

The Wormwood Archive records the temptation of an American church by a demon who has discovered the attraction of results based management, sophisticated marketing methods, and Performance Driven Worship. This book offers a sharp and witty critique of contemporary church growth strategies and their impact on local churches. Neither Church leaders driven by zeal and ambition nor their wounded and anger blinded opponents can escape from Wormwood's web of temptation or from Brown's scrutiny. The Wormwood Archive offers readers an accounting of the high price paid by churches that sacrifice their spiritual heritage at the altar of growth and calls both church leaders and their critics to repent, to reconcile and together to treasure their common spiritual roots.

What readers are saying:

The Wormwood Archive is a deeply revealing book about the mega-church movement, congregational conflict, and spiritual warfare. With ironic humor, startling insight, and penetrating analysis, T. G. Brown skillfully connects the dots to explain troubling trends in American evangelicalism: “Performance Driven Worship,” “Uniformity over Unity,” idolization of youth culture, abandonment of pastoral care, focus on appearance, “edgy” worship, and a pervasive entertainment motif. In the tradition of C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, Wormwood examines the modern church from the perspective of a bureaucratic demon assigned to destroy a large community church. Full of delightful turns of phrase, Wormwood is a satirical, yet thoughtful and gentle, rebuke. Brown does not merely essay a masterful critique of the modern marketing methods and secular culture infiltrating American churches; he scripts a spiritual-psychological diary of how the consuming fires of our all-too-common church quarrels and worship wars are ultimately fanned by the Accuser and his underlings. Wormwoodis unusual in its refusal to (dare I say?) demonize anyone, its well-rounded and helpful anatomy of congregational conflict, and its ultimate call for repentance and reconciliation. --Nicholas DiFonzo, author of The Watercooler Effect: A Psychologist Explores the Extraordinary Power of Rumors

T.G. Brown teaches at the University of Rochester and holds degrees from Gordon College and the University of Rochester. Brown was born and spent his childhood in Pakistan where his parents were missionaries. Since 1981 he and his wife have lived in upstate New York where he enjoys teaching, preaching, canoeing and fly fishing. The Wormwood Archive is his first nonscientific publication.