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What will you read in 2013?

January 9, 2013 — 4 Comments

John Baillie was a theologian and minister in the Church of Scotland, perhaps best known for his classic devotional book, A Diary of Private Prayer, published in 1936. I picked up the book earlier last year after learning about it from a friend, and I’m glad I did. Each morning and evening in December I prayed through Baillie’s prayers, a practice I found deeply meaningful.

As the blurb on the back cover puts it, Baillie intermingles “adoring and meditative thoughts about God with a concern for the social and individual good.” And that intermingling is precisely what I most loved about the substance and the focus of his prayers. Whereas the prayers for Monday through Saturday have a lot to do with consecrating the work of our hands, the prayers for Sunday presuppose the practice of Sabbath. And one paragraph in particular made me smile as I read it each Sunday morning:

O Thou who art the Source and Ground of all truth, Thou Light of lights, who hast opened the minds of men to discern the things that are, guide me to-day, I beseech Thee, in my hours of reading. Give me grace to choose the right books and to read them in the right way. Give me wisdom to abstain as well as to persevere. Let the Bible have proper place; and grant that as I read I may be alive to the stirrings of Thy Holy Spirit in my soul.

As I reflect on the books I read in 2012, and as I consider which books to read in 2013, I’m making this prayer my own. I’d like to invite you to do likewise. If the books we read shape who we become, our reading choices have a lot to do with our very well-being, and by extension, I think, the well-being of others.

Which books are the right books for us to read in 2013? And what are the right ways to read them? Which books deserve our abstention, and which ones merit our perseverance? And how do the books we read relate to the Good Book itself?

Byron Borger, independent bookseller extraordinaire, offers some helpful clues in a guest post for Bob Robinson’s (re)integrate blog, describing what he calls “a crisis of vocational distinctiveness and innovative faithfulness in public life.” He proposes three (admittedly partial) solutions: Reading wisely, reading seriously, and reading attentively:

Such wide reading helps us realize that all of life is being redeemed in Christ, that we can witness to His grace and point towards His Kingdom most fruitfully as we live out a uniquely Christian perspective in our callings and careers. An integrated Christian way of working and living requires a framework, a foundation, a coherent narrative, which some call an intentionally Christian worldview. Reading faithfully is one tool for developing a Christian worldview, way of life, and normative way of working. In order to grow in such faithfulness, we must see ourselves as life-long learners.

I think this is good advice, as one would expect from a guy like Byron. By the way, in the same post he recommends – by my quick count – 73 solid books in eight distinct categories, each available from his bookstore with a nice discount. And while you’re at it, check out the additional book recommendations from contributors to Fieldnotes magazine.

With these ideas of “faithful reading” in mind, what are the books you’re most looking forward to reading in 2013?

[Photo credit: bookstoreguide.org]

In Culture (re)integrate, Bob Robinson, books, Byron Borger, faithfulness, John Baillie, reading, wisdom

My favorite books of 2012

January 7, 2013 — 3 Comments

This past year was a rich year for reading, and whittling my 2012 reading list down to a top ten was tough, but I’ve given it my best shot. As it happens, only two of these were actually published in 2012, but they’re all timely anyway. It was interesting for me to realize that three are novels, five pertain to public theology, and the other two have to do with history and ecclesiology, respectively.

Novels
Gilead (Picador) by Marilynne Robinson. I finished this one on New Year’s Eve, and it was easily one of my very favorite books of the year. Robinson’s prose is poetically earthy, and the themes of the story are profound. The premise may not immediately hook you – an elderly, dying Congregationalist minister in Iowa writing an honest letter to his young son – but if you stick with it, you’ll be deeply moved.

My Name is Asher Lev (Anchor) by Chaim Potok. A novel about a tormented artist who struggles to pursue his craft without abandoning his Jewish faith, something that becomes more and more difficult as his “gift” becomes increasingly evident. It’s an interesting look at the Hasidic Jewish community, a tradition foreign to many of us. And for those of us who aren’t artists in any obvious sense, it’s an insightful look at the life of an artist. As a Christian, I found much to ponder, considering the challenge of being “in the world but not of it.”

The Poisonwood Bible (Harper) by Barbara Kingsolver. I’d wanted to read this one for quite some time, but it was always a bit intimidating to me, both because of length and because of its premise. But I think it’s a hugely important book for Christians to read, especially as we think about the ways we engage with others across cultures. My thoughts on the book, and the difficult questions it raises, are here.

Public Theology
A Public Faith (Brazos) by Miroslav Volf. I had a lot to say about this when I read this in early 2012 (I re-read it this fall), but in brief, he argues that as adherents of the world’s major religions grow numerically, as globalization brings them together geographically, and as they each seek to promote their vision for society, we face the twin temptations of imposition and withdrawal. Volf writes that the Christian faith, when functioning properly, offers a unique vision of human flourishing, as well as the resources to realize it. I wish everyone would read this book.

Desiring the Kingdom (Baker Academic) by James K.A. Smith. I was too intimidated to actually review this one, but it was a paradigm-rocker for me. Drawing on Augustine, Smith emphasizes that we’re primarily desiring beings, making decisions not first and foremost on the basis on reason or belief, but because of desire. We’re liturgical animals, he says, created to worship. Those who design shopping malls, he provocatively points out, understand this better than do those who lead our churches and Christian schools.

Creation Regained (Eerdmans) by Al Wolters. This book tackles worldview in light of the Reformed understanding of the narrative arc of the Bible, which moves from creation to fall and on to redemption. It may seem opaque, but my biggest takeaway was Wolters’ distinction between structure and direction in creation – in a nutshell, all creation (including people and institutions) is structurally good, but because of the fall all creation is misdirected, which is where redemption comes in. This understanding, I think, has profound implications for cultural engagement. My review is here.

Kingdom Calling (IVP) by Amy Sherman. For some odd reason I never reviewed this one, but it’s a wonderful plea, as the subtitle aptly puts it, for “vocational stewardship for the common good.” Sherman shows how our vocations – the work we do every day – can and should serve the common good and point to the coming of the Kingdom. For those who are not in so-called “full-time ministry” and feel that only pastors and theologians and evangelists and missionaries are truly doing God’s work, this book will encourage you and will equip you to serve God and others through the work of your hands.

Every Good Endeavor (Dutton) by Timothy Keller. This is the best, most comprehensive book I know of on the “integration of faith and work.” Whereas most books like this focus on a single aspect of that integration, Keller takes more of a both/and approach, emphasizing a broader, more cohesive whole, and does so in a more theologically robust way than many others. I anticipated the book here and pointed to it again here.

Church and History
Ancient-Future Faith (Baker Academic) by Robert Webber. I include this one because its themes have stuck with me throughout the year, more than most of the books I read. As we find ourselves on shifting cultural terrain, Webber believes we’ll find key resources for the future in the practices and beliefs of the ancient church, focusing specifically on the implications for our understanding of Christ, church, worship, spirituality, and mission. By the way, for those of us in traditions inclined to mark the beginning of church history in 1517 (and for those with no appreciation for church history at all), we need this book.

Moral Minority (Penn) by David Swartz. I’ll be reviewing this one very soon, but for now I’ll simply say it’s a well-researched, fascinating, historical look at evangelical political involvement in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century. It’s getting some very good press from the likes of the New York Times, Christianity Today, and Scot McKnight, all well-deserved in my opinion.

If you’re interested in my previous favorites, check out my 2011 and 2010 lists. What books would you recommend I read in 2013?

Repaso: January 4, 2013

January 4, 2013 — Leave a comment

1. Slavery’s global comeback
J.J. Gould has an important piece in The Atlantic on slavery, a sobering reminder having just marked the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Gould writes:

Some of what’s obscured contemporary slavery, then, has been a matter of quantitative analysis; but some has been conceptual: In the West, and particularly in the United States, slavery has long settled in the public imagination as being categorically a thing of the past. One consequence of this is that when people apply the idea of slavery to current events, they tend to think of it as an analogy. That is, they tend to use the word to dramatize conditions that may be exploitive – e.g., terrible wages or toxic working environments – but that we’d never on their own call “slavery” if the kind of forced labor we used to call “slavery” still existed… But there’s an inverse consequence to seeing slavery as a thing of the past, too: It can mean having a harder time recognizing slavery when it’s right in front of us.

2. #EndIt
If that first article leaves you depressed, here’s one small reason to take heart: this week in Atlanta, 60,000 college students and young adults have gathered in the Georgia Dome for Passion 2013, as they put it, to “make Jesus famous” and “end modern-day slavery.” The leaders of the conference are calling on attendees and those watching at home to donate to the End It campaign, supporting the work of a number of leading anti-slavery organizations. The live stream for the sessions is here, and Christianity Today’s Allison Althoff is providing day-by-day updates here.

3. Thinking about reading
I’m working on a post for next week, reflecting on the need to consider why we read what we do in any given year. In the meantime, to get us thinking about the topic, consider Scot McKnight’s thoughts, spurred in part by Ross Douthat’s piece, “How to Read in 2013.” As McKnight notes, Douthat is focused rather narrowly on politics (while McKnight himself is focused rather narrowly on the Apostle Paul). Regardless of each of our interests and areas of focus, it’s interesting to think back on our 2012 reading and to identify which books should be thought of as insulary, compulsory, or desultory kinds of reading.

4. Losing a hero
Forty years ago this week, Puerto Rican baseball star Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash on his way to Nicaragua, where he intended to deliver relief to victims after an earthquake. Clemente, of course, was well known for his humanitarianism, and each year the MLB awards one player “who truly understand[s] the value of helping others” in Clemente’s honor. First Things gathered links to several tributes, including a good one from ESPN (though I’m not sure “humanism” is really the best word to describe his humanitarianism).

5. Phoenix observation tower
It’s debatable whether this will ever get built, and not even sure whether to hope it will, but it’s interesting to envision a tower like this in downtown Phoenix.

6. Justice Conference plug
We’re now seven weeks away from The Justice Conference, taking place February 22 and 23 in Philadelphia and available via simulcast in Phoenix and cities across the country (more on the simulcast here). Register soon and please help spread the word!

Repaso is intended as a thought-provoking compilation of news and commentary from the past week related to the intersections of faith, development, justice and peace. As always, I welcome your thoughts on any of the links and ideas in this roundup!

[Image credit: dezeen.com]

In Repaso #EndIt, books, justice, Justice Conference, Nicaragua, Passion 2013, Phoenix, Puerto Rico, reading, Repaso, Roberto Clemente, Ross Douthat, Scot McKnight, slavery, trafficking

Repaso: October 12, 2012

October 12, 2012 — Leave a comment

1. Lionel Messi and his hometown
ESPN has a really long and really interesting look at Leo Messi’s hometown, written by Wright Thompson who traveled to Rosario, Argentina to see how the soccer star is revered — or isn’t — in his old stomping ground. Here’s how it begins:

In the imagination of guidebook writers, who see places as they should be but rarely as they are, there is a passionate love affair between the city of Rosario and its famous progeny, global soccer star Leo Messi. I know this because it said so, right there on page 179 of the “Lonely Planet,” which I thumbed through during the three hours of countryside between Buenos Aires and Messi’s hometown.

2. The fuzziness of being faith-based
This week over at tdconnect, my friend Chris Horst had a guest post asking what we actually mean when we refer to an organization as being “faith-based”:

Our world is better because of Sharon’s organization, but they are not who I thought they were. And they are not who they set out to be. In our pluralist culture, the gravitational pull of secularism can feel irresistible. But there is fresh momentum building among many faith-based organizations that believe it’s not. This fresh momentum surfaces in surprising places. Even an adamant atheist pleaded for faith-based organizations to remain anchored to our faith. To hold fast to our foundation. Though many disagree with the message of Jesus, we all agree that a light under a basket is no light at all.

3. Evangelical-Islamist encounters in a changing Middle East
Chris Seiple, president of the Institute for Global Engagement, has started a series for Capital Commentary on the relationship between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa:

I would rather risk being called politically and theologically naïve now, by engaging and building relationships with Islamists and Salafis, than ask “what if” later. Even more importantly, God commands me to love my neighbor and my enemy—whether that enemy is real, imagined, or potential. In other words, engaging Islamists and Salafis is not only the right thing to do, it’s in our self-interest. If we can develop and then maintain a seat at the table with them, we can cooperate without compromise. Such influence begins with the basic understanding that they are better positioned than Christian Americans to condemn and constrain terrorism committed in the name of Islam.

4. Reading fiction as a Christian discipline
Deborah Smith Douglas writes for The Christian Century:

Over the course of my life, I have taken on all manner of spiritual practices, from now-I-lay-me-down-to-sleep to centering prayer. I have prayed with the Psalms, with the rosary, with icons. I have picked up practices and put them down. Some still discipline and nourish my praying life. But of all the spiritual disciplines I have ever attempted, the habit of steady reading has helped me most and carried me farthest. Of course, reading scripture has been indispensable. But reading fiction—classics of world literature, fairy tales and Greek myths, science fiction and detective novels—has done more to baptize my imagination, inform my faith and strengthen my courage than all the prayer techniques in the world.

5. Chicken buses in Guatemala
Any who have visited Guatemala know about the “chicken buses” seen throughout the country. Here’s a photo gallery of them, which in some odd way warms my heart. Thanks to Mike for the link.

6. Color in the desert
Here’s a short video featuring some colorful graffiti artwork on one building here in Phoenix. Thanks to the Welcome To Phoenix blog for the link.

color in the desert from jack schwitz on Vimeo.

[Photo credit: dessinsmignonsfazo.blogspot.com]

Repaso: August 17, 2012

August 17, 2012 — 1 Comment

1. Balancing individual rights and the common good
Michael Gerson writes for last week’s Capital Commentary:

Americans have a right to self-defense, just as they have a right to free speech and the free exercise of religion. But none of these rights is unlimited. Free speech is not the right to create public dangers. Freedom of religion is not the right to fraud or child abuse. And the Second Amendment is not a right to weapons of mass destructive capacity. This is the reason prudence and judgment are among the highest political virtues. It is often necessary to balance individual rights and the public good. This is the spirit that people of faith should bring to the political enterprise. It is beyond the power of politics to solve every problem—and it can be destructive for government to try. But it is possible to make incremental, patient gains in the common good.

2. A perennial moment of opportunity
Vincent Bacote writes for Comment of the need for biblical saturation, rather than mere intuition, to support holistic mission:

Like Moses, we all (not only younger evangelicals) need to hear the charge to saturate our lives with God’s word. This saturation ought to lead us to a vision and practice of holistic mission that has personal and public dimensions. We can live beyond the suggestions of intuition and have greater guidance through God’s word and the power of the Spirit. This is not a new thing, but perhaps it is news to some of us. We have a great responsibility and opportunity at hand for faithful participation in art, business, politics, education, and other public domains. Where will we turn to guide us to a faith that is truly for all of life?

3. Microfinance in Nicaragua
Tim Maurer writes for Forbes about what microfinance means for the people of La Chureca, the garbage dump in Managua, Nicaragua (HT Chris Horst):

This is not a sermon or a sales pitch, but a story about a place as inspiring as it is disturbing, where greed has raped a people of their material resources and dignity but where brilliantly applied generosity has created hope and enterprise of which Fortune 500 companies would be envious.

4. Tilling among the tulips
Leslie Leyland Fields tells the story of an urban farm in what used to be a strip mall parking lot. Jeff Roessing, who started the farm, believes the theology behind the work is essential:

When I talk to Christian farmers in the green movement, it’s really encouraging that we’re all trying to live out our faith in a real way, but as the pendulum swings, I’m seeing more silence on the theology part of it. Yeah, we’re restoring the land, but our hope is not in farming. I don’t want to lose sight of the fact that God is going to make all things new. In all of this work, people are vitally important, and Christ has to be central.

5. To Kindle or not to Kindle
In a post readers of books will appreciate, Jake Belder reflects on the pros and cons of Kindles compared to real books:

Every time I see a new book I want to buy, I think for a minute about buying the proper Kindle version from Amazon, but I never do. And there are a few reasons that keep me from taking that step.

6. Crowd-sourcing the aid agenda
Jamie Drummond, who co-founded the advocacy organization ONE, gave this imaginative TED Talk about the Millennium Development Goals and what happens after 2015.

[Photo credit: eighthdayfarm.com]