InterVarsity Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of three books by Makoto Fujimura, Andy Crouch and the late Richard Twiss, authors who have been described as a culture shaper, a visionary on culture and a reconciler. Their books are set to release in 2015 and 2016.

"For decades, IVP has been committed to offering a multiplicity of voices to enrich the church. These new books by Fujimura, Crouch and Twiss will do just that'" said Andy Le Peau, associate publisher for editorial at InterVarsity Press.

Makoto Fujimura, cultural shaper

Fujimura is an artist, writer and speaker recognized worldwide as a cultural shaper. His work is featured at galleries around the world, and he is one of the first artists to paint live on stage at New York City's legendary Carnegie Hall as part of an ongoing collaboration with composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra.

"Makoto Fujimura is a world-renowned visual artist, and his work has often explored the intersection of suffering and faith," said Al Hsu, senior editor for IVP Books. "Now his forthcoming book takes him on a personal journey into Japanese history to the time of persecution chronicled by Shusaku Endo's novel Silence. Fujimura's book will be published in conjunction with the release of Martin Scorsese's film version of "Silence" around Christmas 2015, which will be an opportunity for our culture to reflect on the possibility of faith in a suffering world where God seems silent."

Le Peau added, "It will be a publishing event to have Makoto Fujimura, one of the most important Christian artists of our day, offer historical and personal perspectives on Endo's book and what the experiences of Christians in Japan can teach us all."

Read more Makoto and his work at www.makotofujimura.com.

Andy Crouch, visionary on culture

Andy Crouch, known as one of Christianity's most compelling visionaries on culture, will be releasing a follow-up to his book Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power, in which he unpacked the dynamics of power that either can make human flourishing possible or can destroy the image of God in people.

"Andy Crouch continues to be one of the most incisive, clearheaded observers of our day," Le Peau said. "This new practical book will help leaders embrace their authority without just playing it safe so they and those they lead flourish and grow fully."

Crouch's first book with IVP, Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling, won  Christianity Today's 2009 Book Award for Christianity and Culture and was named one of the best books of 2008 by Publishers Weekly, Relevant, Outreach and Leadership. Crouch currently serves as the executive editor of Christianity Today, where he is also executive producer of This Is Our City, a multiyear project featuring documentary video, reporting and essays about Christians seeking the flourishing of their cities.

Read more about Andy and his work at www.andy-crouch.com.

Richard Twiss, reconciler

Richard Twiss, who died unexpectedly in February 2013, was the cofounder and president of Wiconi International, which seeks reconciliation between Native Americans and other Americans. IVP will be releasing his unpublished manuscript titled Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys: A Native American Expression of the Jesus Way.

"Richard Twiss was one of the key Native/Indigenous leaders of our time, and his untimely death in 2013 was a great shock to many of us," said Hsu, editor for Twiss's book. "But we're grateful that he still speaks to us through this manuscript, which he had essentially completed just days before his passing. In it we hear his prophetic critique of colonialism and a compelling vision for contextualization, ministry and mission. It's an honor for IVP to be entrusted with his final words as a gift for the wider church."

In 1972, Twiss was a participant in the forced occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Building in Washington, DC, with the radical political group the American Indian Movement or "AIM." Twiss later became a Christian minister, author and public speaker. His vision was to "serve as a bridge builder and consultant, nationally and internationally, to develop understanding, respect and mutual appreciation for one another, especially among Native American/First Nations people."

Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys will release in July 2015.