Glamorous Powers by Susan Howatch

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Summary: An Abbot feels he receives a call from God to leave his order and return to the world.

I am working my way back through Susan Howatch’s Church of England series. This six book series is about four different Church of England clergy told from five different main characters (one is told from the perspective of a mistress) over 30 year period.

Glamorous Powers was probably my least or second least favorite of the series on the first reading. But I discovered a lot more depth on a second reading. The first time I read this on kindle, this time I switched to audiobook.

As with all of Howatch’s writing, I think there is too much melodrama. But the melodrama makes a lot of sense to the story here. Jon Darrow is an Anglian monk. He is Abbot of one of the houses of the Fordite order (the order is fictional, but according to Wikipedia there are about 2400 Anglican Monks or Nuns around today.)

Darrow is the spiritual director from Glittering Images, the first book in the series. In the first book, Darrow was a near perfect figure, always knowing what to do, in near perfect communion with God and using his psychic abilities for spiritual direction. But several years after the first book he receives a vision that he interprets is a sign from God to leave the order and re-enter the world.

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America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation by Grant Wacker

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Summary: An evaluation of Billy Graham’s place in history.

I have been reluctant to read biographies of living people recently. Sometimes it just feels like we need more distance to be really able to understand  a person’s contributions, and when that person is beloved, their weaknesses as well.

So I was not planning on reading America’s Pastor. I have read Billy Graham’s own, way too long and detailed without being all that interesting autobiography(-ish), Just As I Am. And I figured that was probably enough for the next decade or so. But after two pretty positive reviews by Mark Noll and Ted Olsen and then the same day being offered a review copy, I decided to pick it up.

And I am glad I did. America’s Pastor is not a biography. There is a fairly short overview of Graham’s life at the beginning, but the rest of the book is chapters focused on different aspects of Graham’s work, image or legacy. The eight chapters are: Preacher, Icon, Southerner, Entrepreneur, Architect, Pilgrim, Pastor and Patriarch.

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Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ by Eugene Peterson

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Summary: The church is where we we can learn to grow up as Christ intends.

A bit over 4 years ago I first read Practice Resurrection. It affected me then and affects me now. I picked it up again and intentionally re-read it with Glittering Images.

The two books, at different times, are two of the books that have most impacted me since I started Bookwi.se.

Practice Resurrection, the final of a five book series on practical theology by Peterson, is a long exploration of Ephesians as an illustration of why the Christian life is at root a means of allowing us to practice being like Christ (and central to that practice, why that  must be done in context of church.)

Peterson uses the illustration of practicing to remind us that no one is suddenly saved and holy. Yes from conversion we are saved and viewed as righteous in God’s eyes. But the rest of our life is practice on how we can become more like Christ.

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Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History by Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio

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Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood pulled off the most audacious rescue in History by Tony Mendez is his first-hand account of the rescue of six Americans during the Iran hostage crisis.  As the lead operative on the project, Tony recounts how he hatched the plan, carried out preparation and executed the plan so that everyone would be brought home safely.  This spy story is set apart from others because this rescue was successful in part because Hollywood was used to make the mission a success.

In this recounting, Mendez tells how he got involved in the CIA, how he climbed the ranks, and how he thought of and was able to execute his plan. In Iran, the people were angry at the United States because they had allowed their former leader to be extradited into their country.  A group of people decided to storm the U.S. Embassy and take everyone hostage.  Six people were able to sneak away from the embassy and therefore escape becoming hostages.  This mission is also known as the “œCanadian Caper” because not only were the six Americans passed off as Canadians, but also they were kept hidden at the houses of the Canadian ambassador and a Canadian Immigration Officer in Iran and they escaped from Iran to Canada.  Because all of the other ideas to get the Americans out wouldn’t work, Mendez had to be creative in coming up with a way to get the Americans out.  He decided to form a fake production company out in Hollywood, find a real script, a real cast, publish real advertisements and then use the movie as an excuse to visit and then leave Iran.

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Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer by Rowan Williams

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Being Christian cover imageSummary: Quick look at four universal Christian practices. 

Many people have a lot of respect for Rowan Williams. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury for ten years before retiring three years ago. He is still fairly young (64), and he is still publishing a ton. So, I keep meaning to read some of his books—this one I picked up free with some promotional credit from Audible.

Being Christian was originally a series of Holy Week lectures adapted into a short book. The focus is on four universal practices among Christians, regardless of theological stream or denomination.

Considering the short length and the ubiquitousness of the practices, it would have been easy to be filled with clichés. But Williams both stayed true to the essence of the practices and brought a unique presentation to them so the book did not feel stale.

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It Was Me All Along: A Memoir by Andie Mitchell

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The tough part about reviewing a memoir is not to critique the author’s story but to review how they told it. A memoir is an account from a real person so a different set of eyes is needed compared to reviewing fiction. Most of the reviews I have read of Andie Mitchell’s It Was Me All Along treated this work as fiction. Many amateur reviewers commented on the choices Mitchell made much as they would when reading a fictional piece. I understand how easy it is to do so but I feel that’s unfair to the author and I’ll strive to avoid the same path others have chosen in their reviews.

Andie Mitchell is the blogger for Can You Stay for Dinner.  Mitchell has chronicled her weight loss story and offers helpful advice and recipes for her online audience who are pursuing a healthier lifestyle. It Was Me All Along is a more in depth account of the obesity which has plagued Mitchell most of her life, her journey to lose well over 100 pounds and learning to develop a healthy relationship with food. Mitchell’s story is a good one. I appreciate her story is one of striving to make healthy decisions, avoiding fad diets, and using tried and true methods such as healthy portions and exercise to achieve her goals. It many ways, primarily on her blog, Mitchell is a great example of how the average person can achieve and sustain weight loss with a healthy mindset.

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Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren F. Winner

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Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith CrisisTakeaway:  Loneliness is often a spiritual disease, which is a profound insight for a country that has more people living by themselves than ever before.

I have been sitting on this book for over a week.  Normally I write my reviews almost immediately after I finish the book, read through them a couple of times and publish them.  But I am not sure how to review this book (and officially the book did not release until today).  It is not because I didn’t like it.  I really did like it.

It is more because I am not sure how to describe the book.  This is not a straight forward memoir, or standard prose Christian Living book.  Parts of it are more like diary entries.  There are chapters that are just a single quote.  It is a book intended to take a while to work your way through.  It is the taking the reader through the arc of pain and spiritual loneliness that the author went through.

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Texts from Jane Eyre: And Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters by Mallory Ortberg

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Mallory Ortberg must read books like I do. I remember reading the Sweet Valley High series as a pre-teen and thinking “œJessica Wakefield is totally an evil twin”.  I adored Jo March, from Little Women, but found her to be a bit emotional and flighty. Marius from Les Miserables“¦did he actually care about the revolution … Read more

Glittering Images (Church of England Series #1) by Susan Howatch (Second Reading)

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Takeaway: One of the best examples of how fiction is important to give form to important ideas.

Almost exactly two years ago, while on vacation I first read Susan Howatch. That first reading started me down a path which helped shift me theologically, I am now much more Anglican (or at least sacramental). I have found a spiritual director and been meeting with him for nearly 18 months. And I have started thinking of the spiritual life much more as an ongoing work in progress than I did previously.

Glittering Images is the start of a six novel series set in the 1930s (first four) and the 1960s (second two) and then a spin off trilogy set in the 1980s (that I haven’t read yet).

Charles Ashworth is a young professor and Anglican priest who is sent by the Archbishop of Canterbury Lang (actual person) to spy on the Bishop Jardine of Starbridge (fictional town). Bishop Jardine, as many of Howatch’s characters are, is based on a real bishop. And as the original bishop did, Jardine has spoken out about the need to liberalize England’s divorce laws.

Charles Ashworth attempts to investigate Jardine’s personal life to see if there is anything to the rumors about Jardine’s womanizing. What follows is a mix of straight melodrama, serious theological discussion, and some of the best fictional portrayals of spiritual difficulty I have read.

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The God Of The Mundane: reflections on ordinary life for ordinary people by Matt Redmond

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Summary: God is God of all of us, not just the extraordinary that get the world’s attention.

I think I am in a season where I want to re-read books that have impacted me.  As I am drafting posts today, three of the four books I am writing about are books that I am re-reading. (My original review of God of the Mundane.)

Re-reading a book a couple years later is something I try to do regularly because often good books have more content than can be absorbed in a single reading. And several years later, you are in a different place and different things are impactful.

This time I suggested that my small group read this book together for discussion. The length is perfect as a discussion book, there are 15 chapters in less than 100 pages. Even slow readers can read 2 or 3 chapters in 20 or 30 minutes.

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