No Geek for Non Fiction can be without Book TV

Saturdays are a workday for me and I can usually keep booktv on CSPAN2, or http://www.booktv.org ,  on while I am doing my office and household chores.  I have" met" more authors and learned of books  from these shows than I can name. Book TV tries very hard to keep the politics balanced and does many different genre of non-fiction. CSPAN began in the '70s and has blossomed into quite a network.  BookTV  emerged in 1998 from a program called "Book Notes" that ran for quite a few years. There are no Hollywood special effects here.  The production budget is spartan but the content, usually from book signings, is good.  Admittedly, you have to wade through a few droll programs that seem to go on forever.  This is why God gave us a mute button.  Keep looking, there are some seriously interesting, world class panels and speakers too.    See their website for book news, podcasts and programming info.  No book geek, tragically hip geeks even, can be without it. 

Old Gold: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Someone once said that each time you read a new book you should add an old book too. We have looked at the essential books and "Mere Christianity" is certainly a golden nugget on the book shelf.

Lewis is brilliant and I just recently found out he is a "heretic and not a real born again Christian", at least according to some of his contemporaries.  He is a thinker and expresses these thoughts well.  Irish by birth and a self proclaimed atheist, he came to Christ in middle age.  Some call him "new age" and I suppose his fiction might qualify.  He is a devotional writer and thinker but not a Bible commentator.  This book and "The Screwtape Letters" are the only two really blessed me and never got into the Wardrobe books.  I am not ready to make him a saint but his writings reflect a man searching for Christ and using scripture to guide his way.

 These chapters were written for the radio and take his tone and personality to the page. Definitely British, with some aging language, and he sometimes using humor that eludes me, and he speaks from mind more than heart.  He makes sense out of deep things by making them obvious. Few writers that have kept their relevance for modern/post modern readers like "Mere" and C.S. Lewis. Chapter 10's snippet on "Hope" is an example. Lewis deals with the anxiety and often disillusioned responses of the late 1940's at is essence. His frustration with the Christian response and the culture's understanding of the Christian life reflect those of mine and many others. "There is no need to be worried by facetious people who try to make the Christian hope of "heaven" ridiculous by saying they do not want "to spend eternity playing harps." The answer to such people is that if they cannot understand books written for grown ups, they should not talk about them....People who take these symbols literally might as well think that when Christ told us to be like doves, He meant that we were to lay eggs." (P. 106)

This is a good collections of thoughts for those struggling with the Christian faith, whether churched or not.  Lewis struggled and perhaps that is why I find resonance with him.   I found a place on my 'essentials' shelf for "Mere Chistianity."  It is worth reading and re-reading in personal devotions.

Unique Christianity in a cookie cutter culture: "Soul Print" by Mark Batterson

Writing book review for a free book was a new thing for me when"Soul Print" came in. I found this book to be fresh and focused. "Soul Print" is only 183 pages but packed with insight that lead to "out-sight".  I read it in about two hours but re-read it in my morning quiet time.  Batterson offers an interesting look at the importance of being the unique person that God makes you to be.

The author insists that this is not a self help book on page 2. Before the first story Batterson declares, "Self-Help is nothing more than idolatry dressed up in a rented tuxedo. So let me be blunt; you aren't good enough or gifted enough to get where God wants you to go. Not without His help." However, with God's help in discovering your unique self, there is "nothing God cannot do in you and through you if you simply yield your life to Him. All of it. All of you." I have read dozens of "self help-fixit" books and they all add a little value but ultimately fail. They usually attempt you to fix your Self rather than discover your Self. With God you know more about who you are and find what you can become. Apart from God, the path is pretty rocky. None of this is new. However, this presentation is pretty fresh even if his writing style is a bit frantic and dis-jointed.

More on Mark  www.markbatterson.com

"Soul Print" is a mash-up of the life of David, the Old testament king, and a loose autobiography of the author set up like a theater play. It works. David, Mark Batterson and I journey together on a path of discovering ourselves-and must discover God first in order to do it. The author is easy to read, doesn't take himself too seriously and is just plain funny without being flippant. The book also makes its point. Some of the lightness of the book runs the reader's thinking deep and even dark. No spiritual stone is unturned in fresh language, little churchy jargon and well applied scripture.

You can check out Chapter One for free by going to: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/2010/11/19/sneak-peek-soulprint-by-mark-batterson/

Searching for somehting? Take this on your journey. Too often the church is seen as a bunch of old people chasing after you with a cookie cutter.  Batterson is pointing out God's  permission to be unique.   I like the book and am richer for reading it. Multnomah press gave me this book free in exchange for this review. would you do me a favor?  I thank Multnomah for risking negative comments and you for reading my blog.

Addendum:  Mark writes, "I'm convinced of this: your leadership potential is directly proportional to your prayer capacity. You can't do anything until you pray, but when you start drawing prayer circles around your dreams and God's miracles, all bets are off. With prayer, all things are possible." Mark has a new book "The Circle Maker".    John Maxwell's site has an article written by him at
http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/the_circle_maker/

The Good and Beautiful God by James Bryan Smith

O my regular blog, "thethoughtfulpastor.blogspot.com", this book review has has more hits than any other article. The first thing I noticed was that it is from the Renovare folks, led by Richard J. Foster. His is one of my "mentors". Foster's book, Celebration of Discipline, was a gift to this 'Protestant' nearly 20 years ago and gave new life to spiritual praxis to many-it sits on my essentials shelf. Foster is a quaker and committed to a ministry of "becoming like Jesus" rather than merely churched. They have an i "Good and Beautiful God" is a part of Renovare's "Apprentice Series" and comes with an online leader guide, retreat outlines and individual instructions too.    A brief bio of the author is on Amazon at .http://www.amazon.com/James-Bryan-Smith/e/B001IGOMV8  An interactive blog found at http://www.renovare.us/ also.  

James Bryan Smith  

The goal of the book is for each participant to fall in love "with the God that Jesus Knows." Scripture is the lens that brings six attributes of God into focus. Each lesson has a rhythm of an opening story from the author, a False narrative of an attribute, The Jesus narrative of the same, an invitation to transformation, "Soul Training"-specific actions to practice the lesson and participating in community. The topics of God's goodness, trustworthiness, generosity, love, holiness, self-sacrificing and transformation are brought into a modern/post-modern context without being disconnected from the Holy Bible. The focus is on connection, correction and transformation

I read the book during my personal time for a month and was richly blessed. In our congregation we have a weekly group, organized by the leader guide, and also members reading through individually. This is a group book in its design and intent. But, the rhythm is bearing fruit in those who are either too bashful or too busy to take part in a group. It is a wonderful guide for anyone's study. By using it in personal time, the pressure to complete the lessons and training in a week is taken away. I would like to see a Sunday School class or other group study it over several months or a year rather than the 12 week or retreat setting

The "Soul Training", which sounds better than a "discipline", is hard hitting, pointed and practical. Smith avoids the usual spiritual formation jargon and breathes a fresh sense of God's spirit into these practices! The first "discipline" to get some sleep! Who knew that a nap could be a spiritual thing. Others include making time for silence, making praise a habit, praying the scripture as a personal word, and more.

In my world, our congregations are organized into districts and our entire district is invited to take part in this study. Our county has 6 congregations of our denomination and we have arranged the lessons so they can be shared, mixed and mingled by all. We have congregations of different races and neighborhoods that have not met each other. The study gave us an opportunity to unify around Spirit led Christian praxis. I have made some changes in my life and made some friends through the book. The rest of the Apprentice series deserves a look too. My experience is very positive from both a personal and pastoral perspective. Good book and an excellent and interesting read.

Our congregation completed the 12 weeks course as the group described above. We started with 14 people in the group plus three studying personally. We ended with nine in the group and the three at home. All of the feedback was positive and we have scanned Smith's follow up study, "The Good and Beautiful Life". We will read it laterl. The good news is that the group will continue beyond this book as a Bible Study. I wished for more mixing from the other local churches but it was a good start. Our final group gathering was a communion service and each participant shared the biggest single impact that the book made. Each one had a practice to add to their daily devotional life....or something to take away. Smith planted some seeds for the future in our church. PASTORS-Look at this seriously for your congregations. It will not draw a big crowd but it will deepen the ones that come and develop Spirit led leaders.

Essential Book: Centering Prayer by M. Basil Pennington

Fr. Pennington, a Cistercian, wrote this book in the late 1970's after a series of popular retreats and lectures. It was well received and sold just as well. This was and is a sign of the spiritual hunger that we all have built into us. Real people want to know how to pray. He offers a method that gives us both permission and a starting place to learn prayer. "Centering Prayer" is Roman Catholic in its scholarship and viewpoint but is much broader that one might think. A non-Christian will find resonance here as much as I did as a non-Roman Catholic.

Fr. Basil Pennington
July 23, 1931-July 3, 2005

Is meditation consistant with Christianity?? I have to be reminded occasionally that I need to pray-or better said, I need to NEED to pray. I began 'Centering Prayer' as a Lenten thing and to further the discipline of reading an old book for every new one. I actually put it on my "to read" list after hearing it outlined during a seminar several years ago. I found this paperback copy for 50 cents at a used book sale last month. It has been a move of God's Grace.


Pennington's writing style is efficient and clear though he gives numerous lengthy quotations from many of the church fathers. You will have to wade through a lot of history, some Latin terms and other jargon. Prepare yourself for the first 60 pages. They are confusing unless you have read some Merton, Desert Fathers and other Christian Mystics. HOWEVER, it it worth the effort and prepares the reader for the method. The writer offers a practical way to answer the question:

Is Meditation Un-Christian? The short answer is no-we just call it contemplative prayer. The most word-centered evangelical cannot deny that our delight in God is to "meditate day and night" on scripture. Sometimes we forget about the oriental influence on Christianity and Judiasm. Why should the eastern religions have a lock on this anyway. It is scriptural and grows the Disciple.

Pennington defines "Centering Prayer" as, "any method by which the pray-er seeks to bring his or her scattered thoughts and feelings together for a certain deepening." (61) It is neither new nor unique to this book but an application of ancient Christian praxis. The 3-rule "formula", 1-take a minute to quiet down;2- Rest in the Center by the use of a "prayer word" that can be repeated until we achieve that meditative rest; and 3- to use our prayer word when we become aware of anything that disturbs our prayer filled center to return to prayer. End with or "come out" of prayer time with an "Our Father" or other formula prayer (65) The successful end to the method is that it is no longer needed.

The method's essence is in the prayer word. Eastern meditation would call this a mantra, though the author hesitates to use that word. Deriving your prayer word is the crucial first step in prayerful "rootedness or centeredness." To find God we need quiet. To find quiet in such a noisy world we need a starting place. That start comes with " a quieting word, a gentle word, a soft word that quiets the mind and allows the heart space." (71) The chapter on "New Packaging" is basically a commentary on the book, "The Cloud of Unknowing" and gives wise counsel on choosing your unique prayer word.

Set a particular place aside for prayer if possible, sit quietly and allow yourself time, at least 20 minutes. Lots of busy people do this in the shower-it may be the only quiet some get during the day. Begin by repeating your prayer word, keep it simple, and allow the prayer word to fade into silence. stay in this centered place and listen. God has something to say to you-and probably won't use words.

The question that I most often get when teaching prayer is, "What do I do with these distracting thoughts that I have?" Centering Prayer is a healing and nurturing time with God that is destroyed by external thoughts. These thoughts are wild monkeys swinging through our minds and stealing intimacy with God. Pennington's Chapter 6 deals lends a five way strategy to deal with them by using the gentle assertion of your personal prayer word. These are five common types of thoughts that disrupt our prayer and meditation.

The first type of though is the "Simple Thought". These are the natural and steady stream of thoughts that simply need to be put aside by using your prayer word to deny them a hand hold. Second is the "Catching Thought" that hooks us and comes to us during the course or prayer. They are born in prayer and can drag our awareness away. We must hold tenaciously to the prayer word "which capsulates the the fullness of my faith-love relationship with God." (105) You don't quit but renew your prayer. Third are the "Monitor Thoughts". These are very troublesome because they tempt us to make prayer a production event or worse a celebration of what we are doing. To conquer this we must remember who we are praying to and "ruthlessly" insert the prayer word and return to the presence. Fourth are the "Bright Idea" thoughts. These tempt us to leave prayer to go and do something-probably something good but half baked if we allow it to interfere with our prayer. Don't quit. Center with the prayer word and complete the time of prayer. Fifth and finally, the "Stressful Thoughts". Prayer can bring us stresses from relations and situations in our daily lives. It is this type of thought that can halt the prayer that can bring healing of the stresser. Only by being aware and staying centered can we continue to experience God's presence in prayer. (P. 103-110)

This process is better learned with a spiritual director or a trusted Christian friend that shares your journey. However, God has given you a sufficient amount of information to discover deeper prayer on your own. Pennington parallels Centering/contemplative/meditative Prayer with Sleep. "Just as dreams release tension from our lives while we sleep, so too do thoughts and images that flow through our minds while we are resting in contemplative prayer." (p. 109) In this contemplation God is given our thoughts and takes over.

We need an action to end also. The author suggests using the Lord's Prayer or other formula prayer as a way to "come out" of prayer. A favorite scripture, poem or song would work also. End this precious time with a formal invitation for God to come with us on the rest of our journey.

We begin with a process. We will know that it is successful when it disappears and we no longer need it.

The author is clear that prayer method is only to assist and the purity of prayer can only be achieved when kept very simple. The key is to be in touch with Christ and to "Know Thyself" before plumbing deeper spiritual depths. The book also provides written prayers, daily schedules, retreat outlines, relaxation exercises and other helps. His method is useful for all of us "Martha/Active's" who secretly want that "Mary/Contemplative" prayer experience. The Bibliography is rich with resources too. Many of them are public domain and on Google Library.

The book begs to be used. Here is how I applied it to my day-to-day. Each year I study the Psalm of my age. A United Methodist Bishop started me on this discipline several years ago. My "prayer word" comes from Psalm 52-"I trust in the steadfast Love of God". When my day gets distracted I say this until I actually hear it. At the top of the hour I take a full moment of quiet meditation, centering on this psalm and afterward write a short prayer in my journal. I seek the quiet daily for the suggested 20 minutes at a time too. I am blessed to have an office and a prayer garden at work and am building on at home too. However, even in my busiest times I can find that 2-3 minutes to center up the next hour. The very busiest among us can will a precious centering moment without regard to the noise, haste or place. The fruit of this practice is rich and healthy everyday living. Christian prayer/meditation is practical.

Inspiring: Nick Vujicic's "Life WIthout Limits"

The word "inspiring" is generally overused but this book earns that description. All of our lives have challenges. Without perspective we can dissolve into our challenges rather than our purpose. Nick Vujicic's (pronounced Voy-a-chich)book "Life Without Limits" gives a victorious perspective on how we are not defined by our "handicaps". Nick was born without arms and legs. He has overcome any handicap from this physical reality to become and successful philanthropist, motivational speaker and evangelist. The mechanics of his abilities to drive, swim, surf, scuba dive and simply go to the bathroom are curious and amazing. This book celebrates victory, "ridiculous" victory.

Nick Vujicic

The first victory is that of hope. Nick writes, "I was never crippled until I lost hope. The second is faith. Only a firm vision of being a child of God and working within God's purpose plan could he live in victory. Thankfully he does not reduce his message into glib bumper sticker aphorisms. He does not leave out dark thoughts of suicide and the times that people let him down. Yet God's grace and Hope driven Faith is where he finds his motivation and sheds it onto the reader. The final victory is less explicit. His family system's response to his physical reality was miraculous. They had faith when he couldn't and did not allow him to be or become a cripple. His family paid a price for his resilience and the return on that investment is beyond dollars and cents. His family is amazing.

The book gives a lot of stories from childhood through ministry. His trip to South Africa is memorable but my favorite is when he took a ride on the luggage carousel in an airport. He shares part of his motivational program with his "Ridiculous Rules" and other bullet pointed teaching moments. "Life without Limits" is well written, a quick and infectious read, balanced with anecdotes and teaching, and shares an amazing network of ways to become a philanthropist. I am better for reading this book.

Thanks to Multnomah Press for giving me this book free in exchange for this review as a part of their bloggers for books program and thank you for taking the time to read this review. Alan Van Hooser, TheThoughtfulPastor Blog.

More details from the publisher are at http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9780307589736

Addendum: The author is putting together a pretty respectable acting career. Check out the Butterfly Circus, a 20 minute short film, on YOUTUBE at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_MCwlY6zzg.   The Aussies are building an industry for these high quality shorts and this is one of them. The more I see of this guy the more I like.
       

                                                         

                                                                           From The Butterfly Circus

David Platt's Radical Together-The old church in a contemporary world

www.desiringgod.org

Those who came to faith in the "church growth" or the "seeker" movements might see this as a rant. Rather I see it as a corrective to the many ways that the ark of faith has become a cruise ship. The writer dissects the many ways that we have aggrandized our buildings and programs and taken our eye off of our Biblical mission to,"transform people into the image of Christ and to get people in touch with the Holy Spirit of God,.." (49) This is more of a motivational book than one of theology. The desired outcome is to form small groups in the home church to proclaim and act on this mission, not to merely talk about it.

The Gospel's story is about the Basic truth of God intertwined in the human struggle to proclaim it. David Platt in "Radical Together" offers us a place to take that struggle beyond the individual and into the local church. "Radical Together" is an energized look at the personal mission Through this book he takes the notion of mission to its proper scriptural end, forming a growing community of faith.


"Radical Together" is a compact, very readable 165 pages. Platt ends it with a simple and usable group study guide. He does a good job of balancing personal stories, theology and motivating the reader to do-ing. He takes some of the common misrepresentations of God and surrounds them around the loss of the dependenceon God that many our local Christian communities seem to have . Where the above mentioned "movements" have failed is in thinking that we can succeed by merely organizing, scheduling or speaking of Christ in the correct manner. Platt proclaims "Constant Dependence" as the foundation of a satisfying life for a person and a genuine mission as a people. He also gives some hands on ways to recognize and reclaim that dependence.

This is a good and solid book for individual motivation that leads to group proclamation. Read it and "Give God no rest". Thanks to Mulnomah press for giving me this book for free in exchange for this review and thank you for reading it. You can read the first chapter for free at http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/2011/02/14/sneak-peek-radical-together-by-david-platt&ref=banner_wb_radicaltolb/

Amanda Ripley's: "The Unthinkable:Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why"

Our lives are marked by spiritual milestones, regardless of our concept of God, religion and spirituality. Since August of 2005 many of my milestones have taken names like Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Humberto and Ike. Hurricanes have been deeply spiritual events and the recovery from them have shaped my personal ministry. I read and train in Crisis and Trauma counseling and Critical Incident response. I do this for my own personal healing as well as preparation for moments of ministry that will come my way. Email me for a book list if you want one but if you only read one, read The Unthinkable.

Ripley is a journalist from Time Magazine. Her perspective differs from the sociologists, theologians and psychologists that write much of this genre of books. She is clear, concise, interesting and writes with integrity-see her comments on not paying for interviews from chapter 8 and found on page 245. This is not the end all of disaster response and recovery but it gives a rich list of things to 'bulk up our brains' and build resiliency both as individuals and as a group.

"in this plane crash (flight 1549 in Jan. 2009) , like other major
disasters, people tend to stay calm, quiet and helpful to others."

Most response and preparedness material focus on the disaster or protocols of response. They dot in a few stories for color but the end is the same-flexible answers to what happened. Amanda Ripley look at a wide variety of disasters from the perspective of the survivor. Answers to "Who Survives and Why?" is her quest. While there is no single solid answer the book's aim is to provide people who aren't in crisis at the moment a with a new way of survivor-thinking.




The commentary on the relatively new science of evacuation is interesting and informs us on how to get out of a public place. Ripley challenges notions that limit our survivability while offering a healthier way to think about crises that haven't happened yet-and for that matter may never happen. For example, one of the key issues in the survivors of the 9-11 attack-especially the female survivors-was their shoes. Those in practical, though not fashionable shoes, were more resilient and hence more able to get out. As individuals were more resilient, the group became more able to survive.

Why are some more resilient in a disaster??  How can I be more resilient

Her thesis, found in the notes on page 225, offers a clear truth for students of crisis intervention and study. She writes, "Survivors offer our greatest hope for reconstructing disasters-not just the plot, but also the smells, the sounds, and the spontaneous acts of kindness. Their memories of the banal and the horrifying are portals into the unknown."


This was an excellent and valuable read. DON'T skip the introduction and the author's note. They are important.

Charley Gordon's "In Plain Sight": More than pretty pictures

The myriad of devotional instruction books out there start running together after a while. This one is different for two reasons. First is that it comes from the perspective of a scientist and not a spiritual director or theologian. Second is due to the fact that I can review the author and not just the work. Charley is the neurosurgeon that did a delicate back surgery on my wife last September. He is the first surgeon that prayed with us and he exhibits Christ with integrity.

Charley Gordon, MD provides visual explosion of God's creation. Pictures and a daily/weekly Bible reading lead the reader through the process of seeing the seen and the un-seeable. For example, a photo of a finger print that is paired with a photo of zebra stripes followed by a short and sincere commentary on God's unity in diversity. With this is an invitation to set a tone for seeing our lives more clearly throughout the day. This is more than a book full of pretty pictures or scientific oddities. The woods are full of those. "Plain Sight" moves the reader to a deeper walk with God in Christ. I like the book. It is good for the observant Christian and the seeker alike, anyone looking for a smart, honest and spiritual way to find faith into the invisible part of creation.

The book is available through his ministry at http://www.designedonpurpose.com/ or from Amazon. The website also offers other articles of interest, Dr. Gordon's online journal and a newsletter. Buy two copies. This is one to share with someone who is seeking more of the spiritual life.    

                                                      

God for the Good Ol' Boy: Average Joe by Troy Meeder

Average Joe: by Troy Meeder, is a book for the tailgate of a truck. Spiritually forming books and events typically appeal to women. It's a mars and venus thing, I suppose, but there is a perceived disconnect between "Spiritual" stuff and men's spiritual needs. Meeder is trying to build a bridge by taking a scriptural look at the needs and influence of the "average, ordinary and normal" men who can have an extraordinary impact on the world. Wrapped in Christ, these Average Joe's escape the macho and the discontented life to be men of "honor, integrity and covenant"...

He posted a good video on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgMJXbaM8Jg&feature=player_embedded  well worth the time.

Troy is an Oregon cowboy and minister who tells the story of the life in Christ from a cowboy's life. He reinforces scripture through stories . There is nothing resembling a sermon as he speaks of horses, airplanes, soldiers, friends and boys. He writes plainly that a Christian man has tremendous influence while working on a car or cutting grass with someone. He does not gloss over God's testing but shares painfully transparent stories like working in a hole filling up with human waste and a moment of brokenness with his wife. Moments that all men share but yet rarely share with each other. Rather, we tend to "finish our eggs and go to work". The strength of the book is that it leads a man to both GET AND BE a mentor.

Pastor's and small group leaders-The book is only 148 very readable pages. The small group study guide at the end is short and makes one scriptural point at a time. It can be used by or taught to anyone who is willing. "Average Joe" would be a good small group or a "men and boy's" retreat guide. It is geared more for working guys but anyone will benefit. The book is jargon free, flexible and for people of all ages. Women will enjoy these stories and insights too. Often, they will be the only ones to get their men to pick this up and read it. Buy a copy,leave it laying around and see what happens.

I am struggling in starting a "Men's Ministry" at our church. This book may be the sparkplug to get something useful going. Check out an excerpt at http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601423078&view=excerpt Multnomah press gave me this book for free in exchange for this review. Thanks to them for risking a bad review and thanks to you for reading the thoughtfulpastor blog.