Musician and author Michael Card speaking on his Biblical Imagination Series commentaries. Co-sponsored by IVP and Hearts & Minds Thursday, May 16th, 2013.
I want to tell you that we have the brand new Matthew: The Gospel of Identity commentary
by classy/casual acoustic musician (and smarty-pants author) Mr. Michael Card, published in very handsome paperbacks by the excellent InterVarsity Press (regularly priced at $18.00.) We have it (and other books by Mr. Card) on sale and if you write to us before Thursday, we can get you an autographed one, at our sale price, too. Yep, we'll do our best to score you an autographed copy on Thursday.Why Thursday, you ask? We are sponsoring a talk by Michael here, where he will tell us about the Biblical Imagination Series he's been doing, lecture or read a bit from the new Matthew volume, and play some music inspired by the gospel texts. Thanks to near-by friends at Living Word Community Church in Red Lion who are partnering with us to host Michael for this author appearance, book signing, and mini-concert. As we are in our 30th year of doing this bookselling thing, we are honored to have such a high caliber musician turned author gracing us, and glad for the on-going support of LWCC. Learn more about the "Evening with Michael Card" here.
However, even if you are not in the area, you should know about Card's latest project, this "Biblical Imagination" series of books and recordings. I hope you enjoy my ruminations on his significance and the features of his latest work.
CCM AND THE BIBLICAL CLARITY OF MICHAEL CARD
Depending on your age and faith culture, you may know that Michael Card penned classic pop songs like "Love Crucified Arose", "Known By the Scars", the lovely "El Shaddai" made famous by Amy Grant and the still popular "Joseph's Song" which you probably heard on the radio this past December.
Back in the 80s and 90s, what I sometimes call the "early-middle period" of contemporary Christian music, there were some really dumb acts, artists with shallow theology and cheesy production. The mimicking of any hot trend was incessant and the reputation of the industry was somewhat of an embarrassment. Some CCM stuff was terrible. Yet, there were artists we enjoyed and some whose records remain among my all time favorites. From the Lost Dogs to Rich Mullins, the 77s and The Choir (and, of course, the late great Mark Heard) there were edgy, vital artists who did an enduring body of artful work Some CCM stuff was brilliant.
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nd then there was Michael Card. Card wasn't a cheap entertainer or a glitzy musical evangelist, but he never tried to be an avant garde, new wave (or any wave) heady, cryptic artiste, either. He was faithful at doing what he did well: theologically-literate, story-songs about Biblical texts. He worked overtime getting an MDiv in Biblical studies, being mentored in the details of exegesis by the remarkable New Testament scholar William Lane. And he used his notable song-writing abilities to take Bible stories and turn them into soft-rock, often acoustic tunes which sometimes had a nearly hymn-like feel. With soft instrumentation, using everything from harps to banjos, solo piano or finger-picked acoustic guitar, he has created a body of work including over 30 albums and he has won oodles of awards, from Grammy's to Dove's. He has done a remarkable series of songs based on the Old Testament, another set on the life of Jesus. He's done children's music and he's done a collection of hymns. I have appreciated his songs, and enjoyed his shows more than once. And once, I got to experience his graciousness and integrity first hand.MY HUTZPAH, CHINESE ASYLUM SEEKERS AND HIS GRACIOUSNESS
About twenty years ago, some of you recall, I was deeply involved in an intense local campaign trying to get political asylum for a large group of Chinese folks who had escaped their totalitarian regime, fleeing the forced abortion policies from their one-child-only repressive state, only to be detained by the INS (now ICE) in York, PA.
Michael had been to China, helped distribute Bibles to house churches there -- learning first-hand how some of them were persecuted by the government, some of their leaders having been imprisoned, some of their homes burned down -- and had a song called "So Many Books" which sang about our embarrassment of literary riches in light of this mission to China. (It is actually from an album based on texts from the Old Testament prophets, and this is from Amos 9.) I contacted him right before the show, asked if I could make an announcement about our need for assistance in this local legal project for Chinese dissidents, and suggested he could play that song as a set up for me to do my little spiel.![]()
This was a large show in a classy auditorium, with a sizable stage and professional lighting and, looking back, I'm nearly embarrassed by my audacious hutzpah, inviting myself into his show. As I recall, he seemed delighted to allow me to share the stage with him, worked that song into his set, providing the artistic context for me (who he had never met) to talk about justice, asylum, detention reform, the need for prayer and protest of our government's lack of fair trails for these dear folks. I knew it was remarkable that he cared enough to allow this to be part of his stage show, and his own professional courtesy belied a passion for justice and mission that was, especially back then, quite rare. Except for the occasional Compassion International or pro-life pitch, CCM artists in those days simply didn't get involved in much. My admiration and respect for Michael, which was already high because of his Biblical and theological integrity, grew even more that night.
I write about it now, knowing we are bringing him in to speak this week, and wonder if he even remembers. I hope to thank him, once again, and tell him about how we kept at it for years and years, praying in front of the prison every week, forming the largest pro bono legal project in US history, and how some of our detainees got asylum so many years ago, and about some who were deported to further imprisonment, torture and death back in communist China. As his song puts it, we have so very many books and Bibles here, and such freedom. Some folks lives aren't as privileged and we need to always keep that in mind. Anyway, it was a memorable thing for me to meet him and have our passions for this justice project affirmed.
I've noted that Mr. Card earned an advanced degree in Biblical studies and is on the deeper
end of the CCM gene pool. A fairly recent remastered and re-issued double album of songs based all on the narrative of the Old Testament called An Invitation to Awe (Sparrow; $17.99) shows the artist not on stage or with his guitar, but in front of a library of Biblical reference books. Let's face it: this is unheard of in the rock music industry and makes him either really geeky or out of the box cool. Did I mention that besides releasing over 30 albums, and doing album covers with books on 'em, that Card has himself written over 20 books? Even if he were not the beloved performing and recording artist that he is, he would be known as a significant writer, contributing much to the contemporary religious publishing world. N
ot all, but most of his best books are on the well-respected InterVarsity Press. We thank them for helping us host him here this week as he talks about his brand new commentary on Matthew, in the Biblical Imagination series. It is called Matthew: The Gospel of Identity, IVP; $18.00 (see our sale price, below.) Doesn't it have a fabulous cover design? The correlating album by the same name will arrive on Thursday (making us the very first place to have it, so our event will be a bit of a coming out party for the CD.) You can click on the link below and type in whatever you want to order -- for BookNotes readers, we have these Michael Card items all at 20% off.Allow me to briefly tell you about Michael's latest book project, and then mention a few of his notable previous ones. We will have them all on sale Thursday night at our event. Let us know if we can get an autographed one for you. I think we can pull that off...
THE BIBLICAL IMAGINATION SERIES
Matthew: The Gospel of Identity IVP regularly $18.00
Mark: The Gospel of Passion IVP regularly $16.00
Luke: The Gospel of Amazement IVP regularly $18.00

In this handsome on-going series (the volume on John won't come out until next year) Card has done the church and reading public a great service by distilling much academic scholarship, good, attentive study, and written informed, but readable commentaries. They are nearly unique insofar as they attempt to bring curiosity to the reading; his artistic temperament and imaginative sensibility colors how he reads the texts, so these are being touted as examples of the redemptive use of the imagination.
This is an immensely interesting idea, and the preface and introductory material are themselves wonderful meditations on this need and this approach. In different ways, in each one, he says that "the imagination is the bridge between the heart and the mind" or that we must "engage with Scripture at the level of the
informed imagination."He notes, and is surely right, that there are those who are so rationalistic in their studious approach to the text that they are missing much. The mind alone simply cannot comprehend and know all that is being revealed in sacred Scripture -- and anyone who has studied social history at all knows that this reductionist view of what counts as knowing is based on the pagan assumptions of secular Rationalism from the era pompously known as the Enlightenment. Of course, the other extreme is equally troublesome; mystical, allegorical, symbolic, emotional, and other creative readings can become unhinged, disconnected from common sense, overly subjective, not grounded in the best insights of the tradition of teaching that has gone before us or the perspectives of others in our faith community.
In other words, we
need some holy combination of right and left brains, of scholarly/rational approaches and of spiritual/meditative approaches. And Card tells us that our God-given imagination is the tool the Spirit uses to bring back together these two modes of knowing, modes designed to compliment one another but rendered asunder by the Fall and human sin. Card makes this assertion quite nicely in the prefaces of these commentaries. It is fabulous, I think, to have an author so self-aware and candid about his or her assumptions and strategies as they commence reading. (I was going to make a joke about him getting his cards on the table.) It is also quite nice to have one writing so helpfully about the proper role of the imagination. No lesser a thinker than modern painter and aesthetic writer Mako Fujimura, agrees, saying "Michael Card invites all of us to a magnificent journey of hesed (grace and mercy). This humble offering is a sweet aroma and an invaluable contribution to all those who desire to know the Bible and live creatively."
As it says on the back cover of one of them,
For years Michael Card's music has imaginatively explored the narrative power of the Word of God. Now, in the Biblical Imagination Series, Card invites readers to enter into the Scripture as he does, at the level of imagination... (these volumes) reintegrates our minds with our hearts to recapture our imagination with the beauty and power of Christ.
Here is a bit of a review published by the Englewood Review, of Luke: The Gospel of Amazement, which explains this nicely,
Card proves himself a worthy guide, offering much to be enjoyed by both bookworms and bohemians as he walks us chapter by chapter through Luke. For the former there is the requisite geographical and historical information, the dabbling in the original languages, and the discussions of authorship, setting, etc. For the latter there are plenty of invitations to feel, see, and hear, along with the occasional reference to music, painting, or art history. The author is particularly on point when he gets us exploring by way of his compelling use of language. Noteworthy examples are his discussions of the "unorthodoxy" of Jesus and the "impossible demands" that Christ places upon his disciples. These and other themes run throughout the book, giving us new nails on which to hang our mental pictures of the architecture of Luke's Gospel.
Or, hear what my friend David Swartz wrote at Patheos:
Michael Card wants to help us do something different with the Bible. With this (and three volumes on the remaining Gospels, all from InterVarsity Press), he wants us to uncork this rich book, letting it breathe until we drop our jaws and defenses, and fall in love with the main character--Jesus Christ. Michael finds his interpretive key in imagination. He helps us revive it as something often lost in "growing up." Card wants us to smell the sweat of fishermen and sneeze on Galilean road dust. He wants us to hear the tremble in screaming voices where panic threatens to strangle hope as the blind cry out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
What makes these commentaries especially helpful is that they are very readable. While it isn't quite as chatty and upbeat as Max Lucado -- who is a fan, by the way -- they are not dry or colorless. If one likes the entry-level commentary of writers like William Barclay or Warren Weirsbe or even the New Testament for Everyone set by N.T. Wright these would be quite accessible and, I think, enjoyable.
But what makes them even more special is that Michael Card is doing a record to go with
each book. I am not sure (and hope to ask him at our event) if the music came first and then the commentary, or if the songs emerged from his scholarly study. In some ways, the music could be commentary on the commentary, which sounds a whole lot like how First-Century rabbis would have taught, using midrash. Cool, huh? Anyway, I like these albums and even if you aren't huge fans of CCM, you should know these recordings. I told a group of Presbyterian church educators just last week that I think they are useful in their own Bible classes and Sunday school teaching. Having this whole body of text-based Bible songs is a huge asset
to teachers and preachers.For what it is worth, the artistic imagination aspect of all of this is subtle. These are not commentaries that overtly engage the senses (see Dwelling With Philippians a Conversation with Scripture in Image and Word by Elizabeth Steele Halstead, Paul Detterman and others [Eerdmans; $22.00] if you want that.) They are not particularly aimed at helping you meditate on the texts using spiritual disciplines such as lectio devina (try the Ancient-Future Bible Study Series published by Brazos or the Meditative Commentary on the New Testament published by Leafwood if you want that kind of a slow, contemplative reading experience.) Card isn't pushing envelopes or arriving at bold new conclusions, either (see, for instance, Colossians
Remixed: Subverting the Empire by Walsh & Keesmaat [IVP; $23.00] if you want a wonderful example of fresh, relevant, provocative scholarship that does indeed push some envelopes.) There are absolutely no flights of fancy here and if I have any criticisms of the "Biblical Imagination" project it is that they are not imaginative enough nor particularly courageous in offering a new way to write Bible commentaries. Mike is, I gather, careful, which is both a strength and a bit of a hindrance for this sort of a project. Occasionally the author playfully speculates, and when he does it is with humility and fruitfulness (his take on the role of Peter in Mark's life and in his telling of the gospel is genius, although, admittedly, not fully original.) There are moments where he offers some very curious insights, and occasionally invites us to stop and ponder. Card is a teacher and writes with a pastors heart; he isn't trying to be innovative, just helpful. He isn't trying to make a name as an innovator, he is trying to open up the Scriptures so we can know God in Christ and live for fully for His sake. These commentaries are not at all odd, not artsy, not bohemian, not risky. They are just very nicely written, quite solid, somewhat creative reflections for ordinary readers. It is, I think, what many people hunger for.
If you are not one who does much Biblical study, or haven't ever read a commentary straight through, any of these three would be an ideal introduction to this Christian practice. I hope you try one, and prayerfully read your way through it. Why not convene a group, inviting them to read the books, listen to the songs, week by week. It could be a great summer time.
LAMENT, SEERVELD AND THE SADNESS OF 9-11
I don't know exactly how it went down, but the short version is this: one of my favorite author
s and a bit of a long-distance mentor, the exceptionally astute and nothing-short-of-brilliant Biblical scholar and philosopher of aesthetics, Dr. Calvin Seerveld, contacted Card after the horrors and national sorrow of 9-11. As you know, many contemporary worship services call their musical worship leaders "praise teams." Nearly one third of the Psalms are laments, and Seerveld wondered why there are no lament teams. He asked Card what he thought, challenging him to write some appropriate worship music of this sort. Seerveld insists that we simply must know how to receive and use these Biblical themes liturgically, and we need to -- as Seerveld's powerful chapter on learning to lament together in congregational worship in Forgotten Songs: Reclaiming the Psalms for Christian Worship edited by Ray Van Neste (B&H Academic; $19.99) puts it-- "Learning to Cry in Church." Interestingly, Michael was reading Walt Brueggemann's The Prophetic Imagination (Fortress; $19.99) in that season, which talks much of these themes and the call from Seerveld convicted him. Grief Tile Painting, Arthur Rothenberg
Two books and a CD came from that challenge, and they are each very important.
S
acred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament (Navpress; $14.99) and The Hidden Face of God: Finding the Missing Door to the Father Through Lament (NavPress; $14.99.) We commend them both to you, and we will of course have them for sale Thursday night as well.

Michael also released an album to compliment The Hidden Face of God, a CD with the same title The Hidden Face of God (Discovery House; $12.95.) It is, interestingly, a lovely album, not "hard to listen to" or particularly sad. It includes tender lyrics and while the songs are about hard times, seeking God even in God's seeming absence, it is surprisingly graceful and beautiful. I sometimes wondered if it ought to have been more gritty and angry. It includes a nice version of "O Sacred Head Now Wounded" which is lovely, with a bit of Celtic whistle. Anyway, it's a good one, quintessentially Card.
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Michael Card has done more than two dozen other books. For instance, he has a lovely set of
reflections on the gospel of John called Parable of Joy (Discovery House; $14.99) based on his own translation of the text. He has a truly outstanding collection of pieces about the cross A Violent Grace: Meeting Christ at the Cross (IVP; $15.00) which moved me deeply as I read some of them during Lent. It was out in a hardback before, but I really like the hand-sized paperback IVP released. There is a very popular book of his called A Fragile Stone: The Emotional Life of Simon Peter (IVP; $16.00) with which many people resonate -- most of us should, come to think of it -- and even a study guide for it. Each of these have supplemental albums of songs to go with them, and we stock them all. He really is a prolific author and artist, and we hope you have used some of his good resources.AND THEN THERE ARE THESE TWO AMAZING TREASURES
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Better Freedom: Finding Life as Slaves of Christ (IVP; $15.00) This is one that has to be mentioned as it is truly extraordinary. (It isn't every day I get to tell about a book where there is very little other work done in the field and this one is on a rare topic -- wow!) A Better Freedom is a book which I've mentioned before and it is not only truly fascinating, it is brave. And painful. And wonderful. Card attends an inter-racial church in the South, and he speaks and sings in all sorts of venues. He is not unfamiliar with black culture in America and worships with African-American brothers and sisters routinely. He was intrigued about how he noticed his African-American friends freely using the language of Christ being a "master." During the days of slavery, he learned, using this rhetoric eroded the sense of the slaver master's power. This discovery, as it says on the cover, "led Card on a journey of discovery, as he wondered, "What did it mean for African American slaves to acknowledge Jesus as Master?"" Card uses Greco-Roman slavery as a window into understanding Jesus (who, remember, "took the form of a slave") and how he brings freedom. This is fascinating, a good example of cross cultural studies, and a rare insight into an often under-valued part of the language of Christian discipleship.S
cribbling in the Sand: Christ and Creativity (IVP; $16.00.) This is one of my own favorites of his is and I hope you know about it as it is such a good read. I have reviewed Scribbling... elsewhere and we take it out to many of the places we go to display books as it is a core title in our section of books about the arts. It is, as is his style, mostly a Biblical study (drawing its allusive title to the story of Jesus writing in the dirt.) He offers good insight into the life of an artist and how the Biblical teaching on creativity and the very life of Jesus can influence those called to creative work. Nice!! I especially like that, inspired by the 1966 "Letter to a Christian Artist" published in Art Needs No Justification by H.R. Rookmaaker, he invited a handful of influential authors and artists to pen a similar "Letter to a Young Christian Author" today which forms a very significant appendix. Mako Fujimura, Calvin Seerveld and others wrote original epistles for this volume, lovely and wise notes of encouragement and insight and guidance.
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he Christian Parenting Handbook: 50 Heart-Based Strategies for All the Stages of Your Child's Life by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller (Thomas Nelson) sells typical for $16.99 although we have it at a Hearts & Minds BookNotes 20% or so discount. This upbeat and lovely paperback would make a great gift for any parent you know. It seems to me that while Christian parenting books are nearly "a dime a dozen" some are either too psychological and formulaic, without much distinctively Christian insight, or they are so laden with theology and heady analysis that they aren't that practical. Some are so full of tender care that they drip with sappy sentimentality; others are so strict that they just seem harsh. (Including, I think, some authors who make much of God and grace and a "gospel-centered" approach. Yikes!) Finding a thoughtful, well-written, insightful but user-friendly handbook from a balanced perspective is not as easy as it seems, even in bookstores where there are dozens and dozens of mostly fine choices.
been high on our list. Parenting is Heart Work, Say Good-Bye to Whining, Complaining and Bad Attitudes... in You and Your Kids, and Good and Angry: Exchanging Frustration for Character... in You and Your Kids are each must-reads. In these, and in this new one, they are clear that they believe that parents are to evoke "heart change" in their children. That is, behavior modification and compliance -- raising "nice" well-behaved kids who don't embarrass us in public -- is not the goal. We don't wish only for kids to obey us in dutiful compliance, but for children to desire to do the right thing, to be people of character, to be followers of Christ who enhance the family with good energy, not draining it with bad. We want them to learn to take responsibility and to be kids of compassion. In a way, they have set the bar high, but they write and work with a light touch. Very nice!
on this. It offers their 50 best ideas, their top 50 strategies, short chapters that have proven to be the most fruitful (some of these were previously published in the newsletter of their
now, as a way to honor and assist some mother you may know. What a nice gift it would make! We carry all their other resources as well, including a brand new set that Turansky and Miller, with some help from others, have created, a set of five books, covering parenting ideas throughout the developmental stages of a child's life. Let us know if you have questions about any of their other good work.
of Video Games by Kevin Schut [Baker; $17.99]) to our section on media ecology, from books on film to books on theater, we love sharing these sorts of resources. And especially books about good old rock and roll. Do you know the
his notion. We are shaped and formed by the stuff we engage in. Read Jamie Smith's essential Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (Baker; $21.99) to be reminded of this in quite sophisticated terms; see Walt Mueller's
relevant here.
rawn In: A Creative Process for Artists, Activists, and Jesus Followers Troy Bronsink (Paraclete) $16.99 Troy is a Presbyterian pastor, indie musician, street activist and faith-based organizer and he has here given us a tremendously cool book, full of substance and verve, theology and vision, hope and healing. If you are an artist, patron, fan, or simply a person wanting to learn how to be more imaginative, this guide is hard to beat. What a great title (and cover, too, eh?) Love it.
rt + Faith: Reclaiming the Artistic Essence of the Church Jon Bowles (House Studio) book $12.99; DVD $36.99 This is a small, nifty book that could be read on its own, but I suppose is designed to go with the DVD curriculum of the same name. It is not a "participants guide" or simplistic workbook, though, but a real book that certainly invites great imagination. Informed by the narrative of the Beggars Table,a community that meets in a gallery in Kansas City's art district. This is not about "arts programming" but, not unlike the Bronsink book above, it really is more about helping all of us appreciate the arts, engage in meaning-making by being formed in disciplines of seeing. This is a story, they say, of "how art has shaped the imagination of one church toward the Kingdom. This could be a story about your church, too." I like this study of mystery (and our "mystery deprived world) and beauty and awe, and the necessary relationship of faith, religion, art and wonder
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ife After Art: What You Forgot About Life and Faith Since You Left the Art Room Matt Appling (Moody Press) $13.99 I am excited about this new imprint of books published by the stalwart evangelical house called Moody Collective. This tremendous book is a great new kind of book for Moody, it seems, young, creative, fresh, interesting for those who need something other than standard basic Christian growth or self-help books, or mere theology (as helpful as all that can be.) This book invites us to realize that we are creative people, we make things (for better or worse) so we might as well, as Appling says, do it on purpose. He wonders how we lost our confidence to create, crumbling under the pressure of the so-called "real, grown-up world." Appling is an art teacher, having worked with pre-K through high school, in fact. This is a hopeful book, fun and a bit challenging. Has something been lost along the way, for you? This will help you get it back!
yes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice Christine Valters Paintner (Sorin Books) $15.95 We have carried the previous books by Ms Paintner which includeThe Artist's Rule: Nurturing Your Creative Soul With Monastic Wisdom (Sorin; $14.95) and a fabulous book about being attentive to God's goodness revealed in creation called Water, Wind, Earth and Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements (Sorin; $14.95.) I really love this new one on photography and recommend it to any number of those who like to take pictures with their iPhones, who are learning to pay greater attention to daily life as they hone the skills of "seeing" by way of their cameras. Valtgers Paintner is the on-line "Abby of the Arts" and here she helps us with "viso divina" (she is a Benedictine oblate, after all) and cites great contemplative and monastic sources, as well has helpful technical suggestions about lighting, composition, framing, printing, equipment. This is a lovely, good, book which many will enjoy and by which many will be blessed.
wake My Soul: A Contemplative Art Journal Aletheia Schmidt $25.99 Aletheia is a Lancaster, PA-based artist who has created this wonderful, full-color book which shows her abstract work with plenty of nice spaces for you to journal, reflect, or draw along. She is a vibrant, kind, and talented young woman and she sees these paintings as prayers. She believes "the arts, imagination, and creativity offer life."
u4rtets artwork by Mako Fujimura, Bruce Herman, and Christopher Theofanidis, and others; inspired by T. S. Eliot $35.00 You might want to
, Vocation and Culture. I tried to make the case that in the death and resurrection of Christ the "death of death" has been accomplished, which means not only that those in Christ are promised eternal life, but that God's own rulership of the world is assured -- the divine restoration of all things has begun! The brokenness and hurt of this fallen world is being healed! This in-breaking of the rescue plan of the world God so loves means we have to learn how to live as new creations in a new world coming; a Christ-centered commonwealth called in the Bible the Kingdom of God, into which we are transplanted. Being savingly liberated from the bondage of the old order is, of course, only the start of the Christian journey and we are now tasked with discerning the shape and texture of Christian discipleship in our place, in our time.
reefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning Rebekah Lyons (Tyndale) $19.99
chaeffer on the Christian Life: Countercultural Spirituality William Edgar (Crossway) $17.99 There are other biographies of Francis Schaeffer and of course he and the late Edith Schaeffer have between them nearly 50 books of their own. With Edith's passing last week, many have written on-line tributes. (At the Hearts & Minds bookstore's facebook page I even told a brief, fun story of how Edith held and comforted our daughter Stephanie -- and us -- when Steph was an infant.) Now is an excellent time to reconsider the impact of the Schaeffers and this new book is the place to begin.
n God's Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn't Learned About Serving the Common Good Jim Wallis (Brazos Press) $21.99 I think Jim may have been the first nationally-known author we had in our little shop maybe 25 years ago. I am proud to say I read Sojourners magazine in college when it was still called Post-American - a housemate even had a Post-American cover with a picture of Thomas Merton taped to our bedroom wall. And I have read all of Jim's writings; The Call to Conversion remains one of my all-time favorite books. He may not be my favorite public theologian, necessarily; I am not the only Sojo fan who finds some of their important less than fully adequate at times. Still, as I insist even to those who don't like his left-leaning tendencies, Wallis is a good writer, makes tons of sense, and is more balanced and careful than many who mostly traffic in slogans and clichés on the far left or right. So, I really, really think we should read and engage his contributions to our on-going efforts to discern a Biblically-faithful public witness in our post-Christian, pluralistic and woefully polarized culture. We have promoted each of his books over the years, and are especially excited about this one.
Baltimore at the
onhoeffer, Christ and Culture edited by Keith Johnson & Timothy Larsen (IVP Academic) $20.00 Every year, Wheaton College hosts a top-drawer, extraordinary theology conference and this new book gathers together the excellent papers which were presented at the 2012 event. Although most of the presenters self-identify as evangelicals, not all do, making this a very interesting, provocative, and delightfully multi-vocal anthology. A few of the chapters are thrilling to me (one great one was on how evangelicals, particularly, have engaged Bonhoeffer - from curiously positive Moody Monthly articles in the mid-60s to Cornelius Van Til's philosophical criticisms, to the nearly superstar status of Eric Metaxas' important 2011 biography, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr Prophet, Spy.) One chapter is exquisitely moving, as Jim Belcher narrates a trip to several Bonhoeffer sites in Germany. Charles Marsh is here writing on grace; Stephen Plant on politics, Joel Lawrence gives a powerful chapter on being "a church for others." Daniel Treier has a fascinating chapter using Bonhoeffer to help us navigate modernity and its machines. Reggie Williams offers a fabulous piece on Bonhoeffer's time amidst the Harlem Renaissance (which is, by the way, a tremendous, tremendous chapter on a topic that most of us could stand to learn more about.) Lutheran professor Lori Brandt Hale, co-author of the great little Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians (Westminster/John Knox; $17.00) offers a very helpful chapter on Bonhoeffer's teachings about vocation.
aith in a Changing World Lesslie Newbigin edited by Paul Weston (St. Paul's Theology Centre) $12.99 Just when you thought you had known of everything in print by the famous missionary to India, here comes a wonderful newly edited volume including two of his important, but long out-of-print (British) books in one nice paperback. Included here are two of Newbigin's classic works, Discovering Hope in a Changing World and Living Hope in a Changing World. As it says on the back cover, "Together, they present the Christian story as a lens through which to view and understand God and the world, demonstrating that Christianity is a viable way to live one's life today, and that Christians need not retreat to a private world where faith is presumed to be 'mere opinion.'"
od's Good World: Reclaiming the Doctrine of Creation Jonathan R. Wilson (Baker Academic) $24.99 I have been waiting for a book like this for years, and am so very happy this has arrived. Our best theologians have reminded us that to fully understand Christ's work of redemption and the very nature of God's Kingdom we must start - as the Biblical narrative itself does - with the doctrine of creation. This world of original blessing, what Calvin called "the theater of God," is the location, the context, the setting, the focus, of God's redemption. The whole creation groans, Romans 8 tells us, awaiting humans (the original caretakers of creation) to be reconciled with their Creator; in Christ (the second Adam) we can again take up our task to image God in the world of God's good creation. Any fruitful exploration of faith and discipleship that missed this given context of our lives will be, at best, inadequate and, worse, woefully distorted -- gnostic, quietistic, weird.
peaceful protestors to resist the junta in
1980's Chile, the people "rising like grass through cement." Indeed, in
every hemisphere and continent the good news of Christ's resurrection
has supplied courage for those resisting injustice.
This aspect of the Easter morning narrative includes vivid
anti-empire imagery, suggesting that Christ's sacrificial death
accomplished more than the forgiveness of solitary sins. The gospel's
implications are broader: Christ does more than show mercy, but also
transforms all of life. His resurrection revokes the power of personal sin and
systemic evil, inner disorder and corporate dysfunction. Christ is
victorious over death as it is writ large over a cursed creation. Colossians
2:15 exclaims that Christ has disarmed even the "principalities and powers"
by triumphing over them. Romans 8 reminds us that the entire creation has
been groaning, oppressed. The visionary of Revelation promises "all
things new" (the "all things" an echo of the early praise chorus of
Colossians 1.) A core New Testament conviction concerning the meaning
of Christ's bodily resurrection is that Christ rules over this material
world, across all aspects of life, in every sphere of culture, and that
His new regime is coming "On Earth as it is in Heaven."
If
we are to do more than be "hearers" of the resurrection news, but are
to embody it as good citizens of God's movement, we must unlearn a lot
of the old ways and relearn even more. Our way of life in the world is
informed considerably by the ideas that we hold, which is why the Bible
calls for the "renewal of our minds." We are formed as new creatures by
Word and worship, but also by study. If Christ is bringing newness to
all of life, then we must study all of life. Christian people, God's
vanguard of newness, must think well about "every square inch" of our
lives, and should read and learn and talk about it all. Where should we
shop? What parenting styles might we embrace? What do we think about
gender assumptions, how has racism distorted our attitudes and
relationships, can we possibly have Christ-like holiness amidst
sexualized media? What sort of entertainments are most renewing? How do
we fruitfully embrace technology, with whom should we live, for whom
should we vote, how do we think about are careers and callings?
been considered a spiritual discipline for
those wanting to be formed into the ways of Christ. Reading widely is
not only a mark of a learned person, but often of those who are the most
robust, the truest lovers of life. There is a reason that nearly every
book on leadership tells us to explore the world of books, to ask our
mentors what to read, to commit ourselves to more rigorous reading
habits.
important as we take up the task of reformulating
our ideas and subsequent practices, discerning what it means to be
agents of resurrected newness. We will have to think of learning as part
of our mission. Greg Jao has given us a phrase that helps us with
this. In a small book with big ideas he invites us to think about Your Mind's Mission (IVP.) He writes,
know it is a bit late, but I want to commend the most recent book by United Methodist author, preacher, scholar, Bishop William Willimon. Thank God It's Thursday: Encountering Jesus at the Lord's Table As If for the Last Time (Abingdon; $13.99) is a great read, interesting and helpful. Some of it is just fantastic and, I'll admit it it had me at the first sentence: "It's odd, even for the odd gospel of John."
b Bell book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God (HarperOne) which we have on sale at an introductory price for just $20.00, there have been some fascinating responses. Of course there are gobs of blogs. I've weighed in a time or two at various internet sites, and continue to worry that Christian people, not unlike others, I guess, are sometimes not very skilled in analyzing things and making fair-minded cases for or against something. We mostly liked the book, even though it had weaknesses (properly emphasizing the nearness of God but not saying much about the holy transcendence of God; strongly proclaiming the mercy of God's grace, but not much about repentance or judgement; telling good Bible stories, but not being very didactic about how God is or isn't revealed by Scripture.) Still, the book is interesting and useful, and I don't think it deserves to be attacked in the cyncial way some have done. And some who have criticized it have dipped into accusations about the authors motives or intentions, which I think is just plain wrong.
Force of Will: The Reshaping of Faith in a Year of Grief Mike Stavlund (Baker) $14.99 In his new book, Rob Bell makes (among other things) at least one clear-headed, simple case: huge and gross human suffering may cause us to re-think God. This is not controversial, and is a situation, leading to a quest for clarity about God which is older than Job. This new book is a ragged, honest journal kept by a missional church planting pastor whose 4 year old died. Nicholas Wolterstorff, whose own journal after the death of his son remains a quiet classic, writes of Savlund's book that it is a "gripping, unflinchingly honest, beautifully-written model of how to live with grief in faith." As Shane Claiborne says of it, "Mike talks about pain without trying to theologize it away..." This takes some re-thinking about the ways of God with humankind, and Bell is right to invite us to this conversation. There are, sadly, many books like this and some are exquisitely well done. People who have suffered and struggled like this have much to teach us. You should read several of these kinds of books, keeping your heart tender and your mind grappling -- maybe read one of this sort of book every year if you can bear it. Start with this.
nake Oil: The Art of Healing and Truth Telling Becca Stevens (Jericho Books) $21.99 This is the memoir of a gentle and deeply spiritual writer who has previously done poetic little books about her work with homeless and abused women in her shelter/community Thistle Farms. The Very Widely Read Phyllis Tickle says it is "one of the best reads I have had in a very long time. Stevens is a consummate storyteller...poignant, persuasive, witty, wise, and, ultimately, a passionate lover of God." Mr. Bell doesn't write about this much, but he hints at how God can bring inner healing, how Christ is alive in redemptive ways that, if we are brave and open, we can embrace all this, for our growth and restoration, in great hope. This story is an example of just that, wounded women finding new hope. Becca Stevens is a great writer, an Episcopal priest with a radical faith and mature social conscience and she's got a truly amazing story. Many people have been waiting for this major book for quite a while. She helps us see God alive and well in the very nitty gritty, even the sensuous; how many books, after all, quote the Book of Common Prayer and includes recipes? I think this is the sort of faith journey Bell would like, and you will too. You will be encouraged with this narrative and you'll want to share it with others.
aith Interrupted: A Spiritual Journey Eric Lax (Knopf) $26.00 This is the sort of mature thing that anybody interested in learning about newer ways people are leaving or coming to faith, or thinking about God in smart, fresh ways, should know. It is very perceptive and a well-crafted memoir. Many spiritual memoirs these days are either slight, new agey and esoteric, or they are mostly evangelical (some wonderfully written, others less so.) Lax's story is neither of these and it is, by all accounts, a remarkably written, prestigious book, pondering the biggest things in ways that are interesting and sad. It is published by one of the classiest of New York publishing houses, and carries endorsements from the likes of Elie Wiesel and Jack Miles. Some have called it "luminous" and while it is mostly about loss of faith and an unfinished story of doubt and trials, it glows and shimmers with beautiful sentences and profound ruminations. Karen Armstrong says it is "poignant, sensitive, a thoughtful memoir that illuminates the complexity of the phenomenon that we call faith and delineates its flow and ebb." Mr. Lux, by the way, wrote an New York Times best-selling book on Woody Allen. Who else quotes Woody alongside Augustine, Aquinas, and Anselm? I'm surprised this book isn't better known.
ensible Shoes: A Story About the Spiritual Journey Sharon Garlough Brown (IVP/Crescendo) $18.00 In his new book, Rob Bell's view of God is not a distant deity, let alone a distant one that is out to get you. God is near and gracious, alive, even in the hard times. In this amazing new book -- a novel about Christian spirituality! -- four very different women met up at a Catholic monastery, while attending a retreat there. They learn about spiritual disciplines and how we are formed in the ways of Jesus by these classic practices, but more, they learn to relate as honest friends on a journey together. Hannah, Meg, Mara, and Charissa are the four women whose lives and longings unfold in this well told story. It is a perfect introduction -- or window into -- the ways in which there is a deep hunger for authentic spirituality these days. Bell, of course, talks about this (as does Diana Butler Bass, whose exploration of spirituality outside conventional churches -- Christianity After Religion -- is now available in paperback!) and so if you want to explore more of where all this God-is-Near talk might lead, check out this grand, great story. Jana Riess, whose hilariously honest memoir, Flunking Sainthood is itself a great example of how to be honest and real about this stuff, writes that Sensible Shoes "provides a way for readers to vicariously dip into deep spiritual practices through the realistic struggles and joys of four women. Through emotionally resonant characters (it) encourages us to communicate with God in new ways, broadening our spiritual journey one step at a time." Ms Brown, by the way, is a pastor and spiritual director in the Evangelical Covenant Church, with a M.Div from Princeton. Check out the book club resources at
o Argument for God: Going Beyond Reason in Conversations About Faith John Wilkinson (IVP) $15.00 Okay, get this. This guy works at a high-energy but pretty conservative evangelical mega-church church and teaches as an adjunct at Lancaster Bible College. Not usually the sort of context for deconstructing rationalism and pondering how (as Scot McKnight put it) "cock-sure confidence is both admirable and annoying." You know that Rob Bell replies nicely to the new atheists a bit in his What We Talk About When We Talk About God and he exposes the shallowness of naturalistic materialism. But he also touts mystery and "weirdness" in everything from cell biology to black holes and string theory. Nice! So when Wilkinson says that the odd irrationality of faith is its greatest asset, because rationalism itself sets artificial limits on all that we know, well, it sounds a bit like Bell. Logic alone cannot make us believers, and I like how McKnight calls this "a wonderful post-apologetics apologetic for an authentic faith." This is fascinating.
he Myth of Certainty: The Reflective Christian and the Risk of Commitment Daniel Taylor (IVP) $15.00 I was more than perplexed when one well respected blogger applauded a review of Bell's new book that took Bell to task for not offering enough certainty, and pulled the sophomoric tautology saying that Bell seems certain about his claim that much is uncertain. That little skewering is maybe good for scoring points in a bull session debate in the dorm after a couple of Red Bulls, but frankly is not all that helpful or important. This old book cuts through the foolishness, reflecting maturely and wisely about what we can know and what we can't and how one knows the difference. There is a risk to faith, to commitment, and we are called to be "reflective" about it all. I love this, and think Taylor, who has continued to write great books, is right. Publisher's Weekly called it "splendid" and poet Luci Shaw said "I recognize myself on every page." Bash Bell if you must, but, regarding this aspect of his views at least, after you read this good book you'll feel embarrassed for having done so.
ruth Speaks to Power: The Counter-cultural Nature of Scripture Walter Brueggemann (Westminster/John Knox) $17.00 What can I say. There is maybe no more influential Bible scholar in our time, and it is clear that this unnerving message of how the Bible is subversive -- a counter-narrative to the powers that be -- has been important to Bell. Here, the endlessly working Bruggemann looks at a few key Bible stories, and unpacks them to surprising effect, by doing a close, political reading he comes up with some very compelling insights. He invites readers (as the back cover puts it) "into this thick complexity of textual reading, where the authority of power is undermined in cunning and compelling ways. He insists that we are -- as readers and interpreters -- always contestants for truth." Right on. I love his phrases such as when he asserts that the Bible presents "a sustained contestation" over truth. Whether Bell stands in this Brueggemann-esque tradition of prophetic imagination, but this is a good example of how it works.
esus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God Timothy Keller (Riverhead Books) $16.00 The earlier title of this when it was in hardback was Kings Cross. It is now renamed and in a paperback that feels perfect in the hand. I suppose that Keller disapproves of Bell, and that I'd be on thin ice trying to link What We Think About... with the renowned pastor of Redeemer in NYC. But, no matter. If you like Bell and want to rethink God and life and faith, you simply have to be grounded in the story of Jesus. Bell himself says that clearly -- Christ's Kingdom coming as new creation is the narrative that captures our imaginations, no? So, ya want to follow in the way of Jesus, because His love wins? Do it. Study up. Learn to desire Christ's reign, showing His grace. There are a dozen good books that came out in the last few years about the King and his cross. This is a straight-arrow, very well-written study of Mark and we recommend it to one and all.
onder Struck: Awaken to the Nearness of God Margaret Feinberg (Worthy) $14.99 In the new book, Mr. Bell makes a big deal in his idiosyncratic style that God is awesome. The world is crazy-awesome, too. Maybe it does takes his paragraph long run-on poetic sentences with lots of spaces between the lines to give us space to get it, to even begin to get it -- there is something sublime about the really real, and God surely is in this place! Okay. He nails it, and if somebody didn't trot out the screwy accusation of pantheism, maybe he wasn't capturing adequately the wondrous, radical way God is near (as the Bible tells us, upholding all things by His Word, which itself speaks to us.) And, sure enough, Bell has been accused of pantheism, even though he says he's not falling for that age-old heresy. But, granted, he comes close -- God is so near, so very, very close, all the day, everywhere. Is there anywhere, the Psalmist asks, where we can go where God is not? The very stuff of creation reveals God and God's intentions to us -- Calvin Seerveld in a meditation on Psalm 19 in the first chapter of Rainbows for the Fallen World calls it "God's glossolalia." So, Bell reminds us of how great the world is, and how God is near it all and why we should pay attention.
reaking Old Rhythms: Answering the Call of a Creative God Amena Brown (IVP/Crescendo) $15.00 Bell is edgy and hip but he isn't just trying to be cool when he talks about God the creator as being active and creative. We are made in God's own image so humans, too, are active, creative beings. (And, as he points out, we live in an visual era, where aesthetics and design and the environment matter.) This recent book by hip hop spoken word poet Amena Brown isn't a treatise on the arts, let alone dance, but it does play with that image and metaphor. (Michael Gungor the singer-song writer and worship musician says "Amena Brown uses words to fill the soul like music.") She clearly is a gifted wordsmith, a young woman of color, poet, speaker, and organizer. She explains to us in helpful ways that God is love, and that God's love carries us beyond our rhythms into a fuller, more fulfilling life. But that is just the beginning -- she invites us to dance, sing, clap, breathe, live. We can so this! As the exciting communicator and author Jo Saxton says -- "Breaking Old Rhythms reminds us of God's passion to rewrite the soundtracks of our lives with faithful, redemptive love. Warm, poignant and deeply soulful, Amena Brown invites us into her story, showing us how to let god and embrace God. Spoken word, indeed." Hey, she has 25 songs listed in the back, too, that have helped her break old rhythms. For men or women who want to experience fresh ways of knowing God and living into God's work in the world, this is a gem.
our Views on Divine Providence edited by Stanley Gundry (Zondervan) $19.99 I am sure you are aware at how complex this topic is, and that while Bell didn't exactly weigh in on this, it has to come up in any conversation about God, or what the Bible shows us about God. Is God sovereign? What does that mean? Are all things superintended by Divine Providence? Here are four very interesting positions, each offered and then critiqued by the other three contributors. Paul Kjoss Helseth believes that the Bible teaches that "God Causes All Things" and William Lane Craig believes that "God Directs All Things." The third chapter is by Ron Highfield, and his position is that "God Controls by Liberating" and Gregory Boyd posits that "God Limits His Control." These Counterpoints books by Zondervan (some other publishers do them, too) give us splendid ways to learn, to hear the various views and to wrestle with the rebuttals and critiques. This is like a seminary class, for a couple of bucks. Sure Bell has stirred the pot a bit. Ha, but his brief book, nice as it is, offers, on this topic, mostly kid's stuff, though. This offers sustained and serious debate. Join in and try to determine what you believe. From election to theodicy to knowing how to pray and what to say during times of grief or discernment, this matters. Sure, there are deep mysteries here, but this book explores the sovereignty of God in important ways.
hree Free Sins: God's Not Mad At You Steve Brown (Howard) $14.99 It is understandable, I guess, when some people accuse Rob Bell of being theologically liberal. Perhaps he is. But this fine book is written by a doctrinally conservative, impeccably evangelical Reformed elder statesman. He was a pastor for 25 years and is Professor Emeritus of Preaching at Reformed Theological Seminary. He's written tons of books (and runs one crazy-wild, upbeat syndicated talk show called Steve Brown, Unlimited that proves that while he is doctrinally stuffy, he's also open-minded, unflappable, and very engaging.) The subtitle of this says "The Reason We're So Bad Is That We're Trying So Hard to Be Good." Let that sink in! (Any Lutheran readers out there? You get that, eh?) This book is funny, powerful, and although Bell is considered suspect when he says stuff like this, Brown rightfully gets a hearing because he is well grounded in very solid theology and has real gospel-centered pastoral concerns. I can't say enough about this great book. If you don't like Bell, please read it. If you do like Bell, please read it.
urprised By Meaning: Science, Faith, and How We Make Sense of Things Alister McGrath (Westminster/John Knox) $17.00 Alister McGrath is one of the most respected and prolific theological writers of our time (and his new bio of C.S. Lewis, btw, is getting rave reviews!) His first PhD was in the sciences although he is now a teacher of theology at the prestigious King's College in London. He has written widely in theology, cultural studies, apologetics, church history, spirituality, and science. This recent one is such a vital, useful work because he is asking something Rob Bell approaches -- how do we seek, name, and construe meaning? What is the role of religion in a scientific/technological culture? What can we know, and what is God like, given what we know? Catholic scientist John Haught of Georgetown writes "McGrath provides a crisp, readable, and deeply personal witness to Christian faith in an age of science... Those who have been taken captive by the extravagant claims of Richard Dawkins will find here a fresh and reasonable alternative." As you know, this is part of the urgency of Bell's project and those "taken captive" are part of his intended audience. This goes deeper and could be even more helpful.
cience & Its Limits: The Natural Sciences in Christian Perspective Del Ratzsch (IVP) $18.00 As you hopefully recall, I mostly raved about how Rob Bell, in What We Talk About When We Talk About God, does a very enjoyable take-down of the contemporary gods of scientism, his invitation to realize that we live in a perplexing world that surely cannot be described solely in secular, scientific terms. Rejecting a faith/science conflict, but also rejecting reductionistic scientism, he nicely hints at what I can only call a philosophy of science. Okay, there, I said it. This is, in my opinion, the best introduction to that important topic, the philosophy of science. Alvin Plantinga, whose heavy weight Oxford University Press book on this topic (Where the Conflict Really Lies) says of this one that "Ratzsch is eminently successful." Professor Ratzsch is also the author of The Battle for Beginnings: Why Neither Side is Winning the Creation-Evolution Debate (IVP.) If you were taken by Bell's Everything Is Spiritual DVD and especially if you were struck by his exciting teaching about science and scientism, you have to go further. Read this.
ermission Granted (and other thoughts on living graciously among sinners and saints) Margot Starbuck (Baker) $14.99 You should know that I have a little fan-crush on this gal, and Beth and I have hosted her in Dallastown where she did a fabulous job speaking and reading from her first two books. She's a feisty writer and at times exceptionally moving. (Her memoir The Girl In The Orange Dress is a must-read!) Starbuck a funny speaker, an insightful leader, and a hippy-ish leader-ish of the Presby-emergent sort. Or something like that. She is a grand wordsmith and can tell a story like nobody's business. And she is passionate about serving Jesus in the guise of others. This new book tries to grant us permission to lighten up, to love everybody, to cross over and reach out and find ourselves with new friends who maybe aren't in our little Christian circle. Her previous book accomplished this fantastically -- we raved about Small Things With Great Love (IVP) and this more or less keeps going. And keeps us going. We don't just love the poor and hurting and needy, we must reach out to those who are excluded and judged and despised. It is, as you can surmise, a book about grace. Holy-moley, this is powerful, energetic, enjoyable (and convicting.) We need these kinds of books that help us live into this vision of sharing God's love with others, becoming the sort of people we know our Lord wants us to be, kind and good. We really need to know what graciousness looks like. Margot is a godsend with her tales and reports from the journey. Do I need to tell you that this is a good part of Rob Bell's vision, that his book points us towards this? I really don't know exactly what Rob believes and I don't know what Margot would say about it, but if you are a fan of the kind of God Bell describes in What We Talk About... you will love this guidebook to taking steps towards living it out. If you are suspicious of some grand re-think of the attributes of God, why not just read this? See what happens. Learn to love others like Christ, reaching out to those excluded, showing mercy. God will be there, I promise. Margot is a sure guide. Maybe this is what we should talk about when we talk about God.
s presence in the midst of some pretty horrible stuff. So I respect his intentions, which counts for a lot; he isn't in a safe enclave where everyone colors inside the lines, after all, and he works with those who are often questioning, intellectually energetic, and often alienated from conventional churches. He is trying to give an honest answer to those with honest questions. Having said that, take him up, read him generously, and realize that he doesn't have to say everything in the world that needs said; he doesn't even have to say everything that needs saying about this topic. Don't judge him for the book he didn't write or the things he neglects to say, but engage what he does say. I think you just might find it fascinating, helpful, important, and fun.
ny Day A Beautiful Change: A Story of Faith and Family Katherine Willis Pershey (Chalice) $14.99 I read a few pages of this to the group and wanted to just wow them with how great this prose is, how beautifully rendered some of it is, what a great, great memoir this is. And to thereby help them discover how it is an important book -- fun and urgent; not a bad combo. Not everyone appreciates memoir as Beth and I do, so I told them that I think wise pastors would read a lot of this sort of thing, learning how self-aware people construe their lives, how people tell their stories, how they see God's hand in the stuff of the unfolding of a life. I always offer memoir to clergy, and this is absolutely my favorite one so far this year; I speculated that it is going to be hard to top -- it is that good. And it is about a fellow clergy person. Older pastors might enjoy hearing how a younger one sees her work. Men should certainly consider how their female colleagues are weaving together their callings as mothers and ministers. It gives a great glimpse into the calling and lived experiences of parents. So, I recommended this boldly for all those reasons. And I do so now, with you.
frank, touching, and wise.
oes This Church Make Me Look Fat: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right, and Solves Her Lady Problems Rhoda Janzen (Grand Central Publishing) $24.99 I raved about this before, told these pastors that I had listed it on our Best of 2012 list -- you have a book review blog!? argggh -- and exclaimed that it was one of the most fun books Beth and I read all year last year. Hope you recall our yapping about it before, as it has been fun to describe. What other book combines discussions of Anabaptists and Pentecostals, talks candidly about life as a Christian college professor in a fairly liberal setting? Talks about prayer and sex and guns and fashion? This Janzen gal gets around, making this as painless (except for the pain in your side from laughing so much) a way of being ecumenical as you're going to find. You will learn something, I am sure, as Ms Janzen surely did.
he God of the Mundane: Reflections on Ordinary Life for Ordinary People Matthew B. Redmond (Kalas Press) $12.95 Okay, here we go again, sort of a memoir, sort of a collection of essays, sort of a journey to a new, more healthy way of life, sort of a stellar rumination on the essence of a grace-filled Christian life. Again, this is very well written, funny, but deadly serious, too. Matt Redmond offers a great set of essays about ordinary life, lived out with humility and quiet contentment. That is, he helps us come to realize that we don't have to ramp up our overly zealous passions for Jesus. We don't have to overdo the zippy, flashy stuff for God. God wants us to be human, after all. We can have permission to be, well, mundane.
hen Spiritual But Religious Is Not Enough: Seeing God in Surprising Places, Even the Church Lillian Daniel (Jericho Books) $19.99 Lillian is a pastor in the same denomination as my little clergy gathering the other day, so I had to remind them of her stature in their circles, well deserved, not least for her truly spectacular writing, her amazing wit, her strong word-play, and, now, this must-read, contender for 2013 Book of the Year. I don't know if this is a direct response to the hand-wringing about the state of the ordinary church these days, and in some ways I think it could be read in tandem with the heavier, but also enjoyable, Christianity After Religion by Diana Butler Bass (HarperOne -- just now out in paperback for $14.99!) Rev. Daniel says, to those about to embrace the "spiritual but not religious" schtick, firmly and with a high degree of holy snark, not so fast, buster. Well, she puts it better than that, and the first long chapter dissecting the culturally comfortable silliness of those who avoid church to worship God in nature or read the Sunday Times, is about the best thing I've yet read on this thorny batter of post-Christian culture. She nails it, and brings a huge smile as she invites us to expect more from true religion and the truly spiritual. She is a moderately liberal mainline Protestant but has no tolerance for what passes for insight from this gang who condescendingly rejects Christian claims and ordinary faith communities -- for finding God in rainbows? Give us a break.
esilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us About Surviving and Thriving Bob Burns, Tasha D. Chapman, and Donald C. Guthrie (IVP) $17.00 For leaders in parish life, pastors, ministers, clergy folk of all sorts, this is perhaps the best thing I have ever seen that lays out the data on what healthy resilience looks like. We all know that clergy burn-out and ineffectiveness is at an all time high. What does it take to have a fruitful, sane, ministry over the long haul? What are the dangers and what are the traits needed to counter the troubles? L. Gregory Jones of Duke calls this important work "wise, insightful, and intensely practical" and you can bet I'll take it to every pastors gathering at which we sell books. It is that good. And that important,.
training at the Oars: Case Studies in Pastoral Leadership H. Dana Fearon III with Gordon Mikoski (Eerdmans) $18.00 I read the first chapter of this well-written and excellently conceived collection of case studies of pastoral quandaries, and I was hooked. (The grieving parents of a still born baby wanted the deceased child baptized. The pastor, naturally, suggested this wasn't necessary, nor particularly proper, theologically speaking. As you might guess, the parents were deeply hurt, and, in retrospect, Fearon wondered how he might have handled it better.) From learning to preach to a particular congregation to vexing matters about boundaries and use of time, from case studies about the proper exercise of power to examples of serving the unexpected needy, this is just loaded with real-world examples of pastoral care perplexities. Yet, these aren't odd-ball curiosities, but the daily stuff of ordinary ministry. Who hasn't gotten flack for being involved in community affairs? Who hasn't wondered how to better equip and call forth the gifts of the laity? Each of these stories are followed by excellent and thought-provoking questions, perfect for ministerium groups, or for anyone who wants to talk through pastoral ethics or deepen the theological foundation for determining wise moves of ministry.
etters to a Future Church: Words of Encouragement and Prophetic Appeals Chris Lewis et al (IVP) $15.00 Wow, this book is a bargain at twice the price, loaded, as it is, with numerous, remarkable chapters by some of our finest writers -- writers who often are not in the same bookstore, let alone the same book! In what is essentially a collection of letters to the churches -- think of those letters the apostle John wrote to seven churches from his prison in Patmos -- inviting them to ponder what the Spirit might be saying to the churches today. Lewis' "Epiphaneia Network" asked these questions, and did they ever get some amazing replies.