Book Review – 1/17/10

I have a Kindle and I am enjoying it immensely.  In fact, one of these days I am going to preach from it as I can put my sermons on it.  Then I can get away from paper.

Amazon has several free kindle books.  Often times they have free novels to introduce readers to new authors.  I happened to download a novel entitled Exposure: The Novel by Brandilyn Collins.  What was most interesting is the author is a daughter of a professor I had at Asbury Seminary.  The novel is set in Wilmore, the small town in which Asbury Seminary is located.  It was easy to picture the streets and buildings.  It wasn’t a bad novel either.

Book Review – December 16, 2009

This is a little bit strange for the types of books I usually list. Here goes:

When Dawn and I were in Ireland during my sabbatical in the summer of 2007 we visited the Guinness Beer plant in Dublin that was part of a city tour. It was a very interesting tour but there was a lot of history I didn’t know about the whole thing. That is until I came across a book The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield. Apparently, there are a lot of other books written about Guinness beer and the Guinness family but this one was most interesting. I learned some things.

1. Beer has a strong history for centuries and during the 18^th century at least it was considered a healthy alternative for the drinking of gin that was common among the poor and caused many problems. The prohibition in the United States probably had the most to do with linking beer and to alcohol consumption and abuse. I’m not an expert at all of that so I’ll stop there but I was surprised to hear that persons such as Martin Luther and John Calvin enjoyed their beer.
2. Arthur Guinness, the patriarch of the Guinness family beer business was strongly influenced by John Wesley as Wesley preached in Dublin on several occasions. Although there is no immediate connection that Guinness heard Wesley preach it is almost certain because of the habits of Arthur Guinness. One of the elements of that influence had to do with concern for the poor. Arthur Guinness also was instrumental in bringing Sunday School to Ireland as it was developing in England. Sunday School was looked down upon by the Anglican Church because they considered it a breaking of the Sabbath but the proponents believed it was a necessary element in education the poor children who were often working long and hard hours throughout the week at that time in history.
3. The Guinness beer business has had a long history in taking care of its people – good wages and working conditions – as well as being proactive in health care for its employees and neighbors in that area of Dublin.
4. The Guinness family has produced many pastors and missionaries throughout the years. Hudson Taylor, famous missionary to China married a Guinness woman.

That’s enough about beer.

The other book I have enjoyed reading of late is Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. It happened to be a free kindle book on Amazon. The book revolves around several divers connected by their commitment to diving shipwrecks on the East Coast. In particular it involves the discovery of a U-boat off of the coast of New York that had never been identified and the great amount of work to discover its identify and history. It was one of those books that were hard to put down. It also did a good job in describing the danger involved with such diving. It made me feel claustrophobic several times.

I’m reading a lot of other books right now but will comment on them as I finish them.

Book Review – November 16

I recently finished reading two books: Red Letter Christians by Anthony Campolo and The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose.  I’ve always like Anthony Campolo.  He puts together a responsible mix of evangelical faith and a strong social witness.  Although the book was a little more political than I was expecting I was especially intrigued by his challenge to pay attention to the words of Jesus and how that might apply to our world and society today, as well as his indictment that conservative, moral majority type Christians had hijacked the word “evangelical” making it uncomfortable for many, including myself, who had always used that term to describe their theology.  I would agree that if we all paid more attention to what Jesus said and not concentrating so much time and energy getting sidetracked on issues that Jesus did not talk about we would all be better off.

The byline to The Unlikely Disciple is – a sinner’s semester at America’s holiest university.  As a 19 year old Kevin Roose, who was a journalist attending Brown University decided to spend a semester at Liberty College, home of Jerry Falwell.  He actually was finishing up his semester there when Jerry Falwell died.  The book is most interesting as Kevin has his own shift in attitude toward “fundamentalists” while experiencing some very real human beings in the middle of a very “holy” campus.  It was a nice and easy read with some food for thought.

Book Review – October 3, 2009

I finished reading Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.  It has given me much to think about especially in light of the change in direction I have been feeling in being more responsible to our neighbors downtown.  But the book also makes me feel a little nervous in how to do that with integrity.

I also enjoyed reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life by Donald Miller.  Donald Miller wrote Blue Like Jazz which is one of my very favorite books.  This book doesn’t quite match that but it was good.  It got me to thinking about what kind of story I am writing for my life and what kind of story I will leave behind.

Where is God taking me?

Book Review – September 11, 2009

I am reading The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.  It is an interesting, convicting book.  Shane believes in a faith that begins in the heart and then reaches out into a broken world.  He spent time working with Mother Teresa several years ago and the stories are incredible.

I have just ordered Red Letter Christians by Tony Campolo.  Campolo has always been a favorite author and speaker of mine.  I am looking forward to reading it.  Some of you remember that a few weeks ago I mentioned the “red letter Christians” a group of Christian leaders who believe we need to leave behind some of the issues that sidetrack our ministry as Christians and begin to take seriously – very seriously – at least the words of Jesus (printed in red in some bible versions.)  I would agree.

The Divine Commodity by Skye Jethani was one of three books sent to me by my new daughter-in-law’s father.  We have much in common in our thoughts of church and ministry and after some of our discussions when he and his wife were here for our children’s wedding he thought I might enjoy.  This book in particular was most interesting as it paralleled the progression of consumerism and advertising with what has happened within the church in the past many years.  What is most interesting is he uses as a foundation for the book the paintings and life of Vincent Van Gogh.  For example, in his painting Starry Night Van Gogh paints light into the windows of all of the buildings except for the church.  He was very disillusioned by what had become of the church in his day.

I am thankful for the joy of reading.  I am thankful for the stirrings of the Holy Spirit in my life and soul that are causing me to rethink the church and my own ministry.