Summary: A follow-up memoir-ish book about what it is like to shift from dealing with the active grief of a cancer diagnosis to an ongoing chronic illness that may at any time be fatal. Kate Bowler’s earlier book, Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I Loved, deserves all the praise it has recieved. … Read more
Summary: To have our faith impact our politics and not the other way around, we have to be intentional about our spiritual formation concerning our politics. My favorite definition of spiritual formation is from M. Robert Mulholland Jr., “Spiritual formation is a process of being formed in the image of Christ for the sake of … Read more
Summary: An exploration of theological education as spiritual formation emphasizing its need to create belonging and explore how it has historically promoted white male normativity and individualism. I have read several articles and a couple of Dr. Willie James Jennings’ books, but I was not sure this book was for me. On its face, it … Read more
Summary: Discipleship and spiritual formation are not primarily about gaining new information but being formed over time through habit and worship. I have been influenced by James KA Smith over the past several years more than almost any other author. In the last three years I have read five books and a number of shorter … Read more
I am getting close to being finished with James KA Smith’s new book Imagining the Kingdom. I am both very impressed with the books and a little puzzled by it. It makes me want to go back and read the first book in the trilogy Desiring the Kingdom. James Merritt, a writer and pastor, has … Read more
I am about 1/3 of the way through Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works by James KA Smith. It is not an easy book to read, (fortunately for me according to this review it is about to get easier). However, I think this is a book that is worth struggling through. There was a blog post … Read more
Summary: A brief exploration of the seasons of Lent and its purpose and practice. Esau McCaulley’s book on Lent came out a year ago, but I did not have time to read it during Lent last year, so I held onto it to read during Lent this year. In the meantime, I have started attending … Read more
Summary: A clinical psychologist discussed how our bodies and brains relate to one another (in an integrated way) and how that applies to helping children develop and mature. I have sat with Brain-Body Parenting for over a week, trying to put my thoughts into words. My short review is that it is one of the … Read more
Summary: Exploration of modern Evangelical history and culture through the discussion of five novels. I am a Christian fiction skeptic. It is not that I don’t think there are good Christian fiction novels, but experience suggests that those Christian novels that are good, are likely not being published, or not being published by Christian publishers. … Read more
Summary: Stop emphasizing visual diversity and focus on solidarity. Among those interested in racial justice, there is significant interest in how to help people become interested in racial justice. I have frequently used the metaphor of evangelism because there is a sense of a message being that is necessary, and there is some sense of … Read more