Anderson University faculty members Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg and Dr. Adam Renberg have collaborated on a new devotional with InterVarsity Press.
Titled Candles in the Darkness: Experiencing Advent with the Early and Medieval Church, the book features faithful voices from many walks of life, including bishops and mothers, monks and nuns, priests, pastors and noblewomen.
For each day of Advent and the Christmastide, this thoughtful devotional will connect you to the global and historical body of Christ, offering a new, deeper experience of the season through rediscovering treasures from Christians of long ago.
The writers featured in Candles in the Darkness lived throughout the early Christian world, from Scandinavia and the British Isles to Ethiopia and China. They include well-known leaders such as Augustine of Hippo and Francis of Assisi, as well as many largely forgotten figures.
Each daily reading for Advent and the twelve days of Christmas includes a scripture text, an excerpt from an author from the second through thirteenth centuries, a devotional reflection, and a prayer.
In the true spirit of Anderson University’s pillars of Great Faith and Great Academics, the Drs. Renberg have a heart for bringing their scholarly work to the church. They have found the voices of past believers to be encouraging, challenging and edifying to their own faiths, and hope that, through this devotional, others can likewise learn from and grow in their faith. “We loved the process of researching and writing this devotional together. It let us bring our different academic fields into conversation in ways that encouraged us; our hope is that reading this feels a bit like sitting around our dinner table and having conversations about the people we get to learn from,” said Dr. Lynneth Renberg.
Dr. Lynneth Renberg is associate professor of history in the Department of History and Political Science of the College of Arts and Sciences and associate director of the Honors College, and Dr. Adam Renberg is an assistant professor of theology in the College of Christian Studies. Both Drs. Renberg are also core faculty in the Honors College.
Candles in the Darkness: Experiencing Advent with the Early and Medieval Church is available for preorder now and releases on July 21, 2026. The book can be purchased fromIVP’s website, Amazon and retailers everywhere.