I can't believe I've gotten so out of the habit of blogging. What can I say? It's been a busy summer and we had a baby. I am planning on getting back to it now though. Today I need to catch up on a few short book reviews and recommendations I've been promising. In the next few days I'll be posting (in short, readable sections) a paper I wrote on Creation stories and theology in Genesis (read the whole thing before you write me off). On to the reviews:
- The Voice of Luke: Not Even Sandals (The Voice)
by Brian McLaren -- This is absolutely my favorite offering from The Voice so far. Brian McLaren does a masterful job of translating the book of Luke and offering devotional commentary in this stunning volume (Brian worked with a committee of Biblical scholars to ensure the accuracy of the translation, though this is by no means a word-for-word translation). Brian's work here is absolutely beautiful. In this book, he re-captured my imagination and re-invigorated my passion for the story of Jesus. When I finished it, I immediately grabbed The Voice of Acts: The Dust Off Their Feet: Lessons from the First Church (Voice)
back off of my shelf because I was so engaged with the story. If you have lost your passion for reading scripture, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Fall in love with the story of Jesus all over again, or even for the first time.
- The Powers That Be (Power)
--Simply put, this book changed me. It changed how I view and relate to the world, and how I react to criticism or even outright aggression. It added dimensions to the story of scripture that I never knew were there. It changed me to the point that in the middle of some particularly difficult situations we were going through, my wife asked me what I had been reading. I can't say enough good things about this book.
- Static
--This is an excellent, accessable summary and synthesis of the thought you would find in McKnight, Wright, McLaren, etc. It is done in the context of a discussion of evangelism and is wrapped in a narrative that keeps you wrapped in. Really enjoyable and highly recommended.
AE
--Man, what can I say about this book? In many ways it reminded me of How (Not) to Speak of God
, by Pete Rollins though it is certainly not a rehashing of it. Perhaps it is the practical/pastoral outworking of Rollins' theology, though it is not this overtly. Much like that book, I recommend this book with the caveat that it will "mess with you...in a good way". Admittedly, he began to lose me in the sections on cities and urban context, but the sections titled "dirt" and "gift" and well as the introduction are simply mind-blowing and are worth the price of the book alone.
1 comment:
Yay!!! Adam's back!
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