The Little Friar

The heavens are open wide since Jesus our brother, our Redeemer, has entered through the veil. We thank you for his new and living way, by which we join the unnumbered millions who are with you forever. Eternal God, by raising Jesus from the dead you proclaimed his victory, and by his ascension you declared him king. Lift up our hearts to heaven that we may live and reign with him. Eternal and gracious God, we believe your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to have ascended with triumph into your kingdom in heaven; may we also in heart and mind ascend to where he is, and with him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

Ed Silvoso's Ekklesia: Rediscovering God's Instrument for Global Transformation highlights a number of ways -- practical and simultaneously theologically-deep -- in which God uses the gathering of those who follow Jesus in revolutionary ways to transform the world.  With a rich historical discussion of the context within which most of us understand the word "church", Silvoso explores how it was that the early Church was able to confront and transform the Roman world.  Silvoso is at his best, though, when he asks readers to take that historical understanding and turn a critical eye toward our own world.  He raises criticisms of how we "apply" the Great Commission in our world.  This is an amazing book -- one with which I'll be turning over and arguing with for a long time to come. ________________ I received a free copy of this book from Chosen Books in exchange for my honest review here.

Kate Merrick's And Still She Laughs: Defiant Joy in the Depths of Suffering recounts the horrors of caring for Merrick's young daughter, Daisy, from a cancer diagnosis in 2009 until her eventual death in 2013.  Much as CS Lewis before her, Merrick speaks with a heart-breaking honesty about the various stages of her daughter's suffering, and how God revealed himself at every step of the way even in the midst of that suffering. Merrick has given us a spiritual gift -- an accessible, heart-wrenching primer on dealing with the worst life has to offer that is equally poignant and spiritually edifying. Merrick refuses to keep us confined in the grips of grief, so readers will find some humor here, too.  In fact, it's that lightness that gives spiritual depth to her account. True to her subtitle, Merrick is defiant in finding courage, hope, and a stalwart trust in God as she continues to feel the loss of her daughter.  Merrick's deeply personal story will be grea...

Julie Fenster's Jefferson's America: The President, the Purchase, and the Explorers Who Transformed a Nation recounts not just the incidents and figures in one of America's most important purchases -- the Louisiana Purchase -- but also the many personal, political and international, intrigues and travails behind the scenes with Spain, France and Great Britain, Jefferson's political enemies of the Federalist Party, Aaron Burr and army commander General James Wilkinson.  Fenster has given us a meticulous account in her research of all the ways that world history played into the Purchase and its role in American history.  From Napoleon's need for the cash to fund his military exploits (that fueled the purchase) to Spain's occupation in the western stretches, American history was (and most probably still is) part of the world's currents.  The explorations of the new region are connected to the scientific discoveries that resulted from them.  We have m...

I wrote a few weeks ago about the necessity for churches to relearn to lament in worship.  I want to pick up that theme again. I know why we do it -- why we resist lamenting in our churches.  I just think those reasons don't hold up to scrutiny.  So here I want to take those "reasons" and scrutinize them, in hope that churches will begin to offer a more healthy worship diet. Why?  Well, to be honest, it's scriptural.  "Grieve, mourn and wail.  Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom" (James 4.9).  In the popular (read: contemporary) worship scene, we simply don't do these things.  Substantial engagement with grief (even when that engagement does occur) feels like trying to move a Carnival Cruise ship's course with a canoe.  The ship is just too heavy and the music too loud to hear the shouts of those paddling furiously away from the boat -- the line taut between them.  Those in the canoe -- I probably should point ...

The heavens are open wide since Jesus our brother, our Redeemer, has entered through the veil. We thank you for his new and living way, by which we join the unnumbered millions who are with you forever. Eternal God, by raising Jesus from the dead you proclaimed his victory, and by his ascension you declared him king. Lift up our hearts to heaven that we may live and reign with him. Eternal and gracious God, we believe your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to have ascended with triumph into your kingdom in heaven; may we also in heart and mind ascend to where he is, and with him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

It feels like a lifetime ago, so I might as well say that in another lifetime, I was once known as Magister Iulius -- the teacher of high school Latin.  This week's Friday's Finds from my personal library are the sole books that testify to that identity:  Those textbooks we used in class.  They're Ullman's classic Latin for Americans series, as well as the Longman's Latin Reader from Vergil's Aeneid .

Lisa-Jo Baker's Never Unfriended:  The Secret of Finding and Keeping Lasting Friendships explores the complex and rewarding world of real friendships.  Baker, who is known for the popular women’s website, (in)courage , distills her years of ministry and presents a textbook (of sorts) for friendships -- women's friendships, in particular, but her wisdom is as applicable for all Christian friendships, regardless of gender. Friendships can be hard -- that much is obvious to nearly anyone these days.  Drama seems to abound these days -- particularly in the world of Facebook where "friends" seem to define even the most mediocre of relationships.   But Never Unfriended cuts beyond that mediocrity and explores what real intimacy and acceptance look like. The best part of the book, I think, is the final part:  "Where do we start?"  It's a quick "you can do it", followed by "The Never Unfriended Promise", an oath to actually be all of...

Brian Zahnd's Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God:  The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News is the most adept, accessible response to the infamous "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Johnathan Edwards.  American theology has been filled with all sorts of images of God -- the immutable, angry, vengeful God, on the one hand, and the loving God, on the other.  Fear defines that experience of the former, and grace the experience of the latter. Zahnd's Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God is a direct challenge to that American theology.  What readers will find here is a rich, pastoral theology of the Scriptures -- one that begins and centers in Jesus, and explores the Christian faith from that center. This book is ideal for Christians who find the "comfortable" answers of American Christianity much less than comfortable -- whose experience of God rooted in Jesus and expressed in Scripture is one that finds God to be far less wrathful and far mor...

John Chirban's Collateral Damage:  Guiding and Protecting Your Child through the Minefield of Divorce addresses one of the most important questions I often hear in pastoral counseling from divorced parents (usually the mother) with children:  What kind of impact will our divorce have on the kids?  They love their children, they do still want a family for their children and they don't want the lives of their children to be more difficult. The struggle, of course, is in accomplishing those things.  That's where Collateral Damage comes in.  Chirban, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, conducted The Divorce Study asking children about the impact of divorce on their lives and their relationships and asking parents how they met their children’s needs during and after divorce.  They received over 10,000 responses and it's those responses that Chirban shares in Collateral Damage . This is an amazing book, easily accessible, that breaks down Chi...

This is Sarah.  Biologically, she is my maternal great-grandmother. But of the women in my life, she is the woman I most remember as "mom". So this Mother's Day, I want to offer one of the most important lessons Sarah taught me. That is, motherhood is not the greatest good for a woman. Of all the memories I have of Sarah, it isn't her kindness in taking a "difficult" little boy under her wings, even at her advanced age.  It isn't that she was renowned for shooing me out of a freshly cleaned kitchen by means of a broom handle.  It certainly isn't for all the time she literally caught my hand in her Mother Hen cookie jar, trying to free some of the captive vanilla wafers. No, of all the memories I have of Sarah, it's how she refused to participate in the sentamentalism of Mother's Day.  Sarah knew -- and she passed on to me, even when I didn't realize she was passing it on to me -- that the greatest good is being confo...

Holy God, you feed us with earthly and with spiritual food. Deathless, unalterable, you have chosen us, sinful as we are, to hear your word and to proclaim your truth. Alleluia! Make us salt of the earth; make us yeast in the loaf. Almighty God, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ ever lives to make intercession for us; have pity on our weakness, and in your mercy give us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, except through his merits, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Christ our great high priest, you understand our weakness; you pray for us while we are sinners. Help us, through you, to find a new and living way to God. Amen.

Jonathan Leeman's Word Centered Church:  How Scripture Brings Life and Growth to God's People is simultaneously an exciting book -- and a frustrating book. First, my frustration.  I wish the place Leeman gives to the importance of Scripture he gave, instead, to Jesus Christ.  I don't believe in the Bible -- as shocking as that statement may sound.  I do believe in Jesus Christ, known through the testimony of Scripture.  But I think that's an important distinction Leeman fails to make in this book.  So, in the end, Word Centered Church , I think, gets wrong where its center really lies.  The Word God has spoken is Jesus, not Scripture.  Scripture is, however, the testimony, the witness, of that speaking.  And therefore Scripture is important, but only as a witness to the Word God has spoken in Jesus Christ. Now for the exciting bits. The Spirit, working through that testimony, gives birth to the community of which this Scripture is o...

Ryan Huguley's 8 Hours or Less:  Writing Faithful Sermons Faster is a good help for young preachers who are learning the art of preaching, particularly in a world that strains for so much attention in a vast array of areas.  Huguley understands, as a seasoned preacher, what young preachers so often fail to grasp:  Good preaching requires good preparation and intentional work.  And lots of resources.  8 Hours or Less breaks down Huguley's very disciplined and practical day-by-day sermon preparation plan, in an effort to present what it takes to "writing faithful sermons" for every Sunday we preach. Sermon preparation -- for all those who are new to the task -- is hard work.  And it would be easy for this work to consume so much of the week.  Pastors -- not just tasked with preaching but also with caring -- know that the primary act of the pastor is stewardship, being careful with our work and our time.  And Huguley has one way, in this book, ...

This is the video on my mind today -- particularly in light of so much in our news cycle.

Barnabas Piper's The Curious Christian:  How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life is an amazing book -- one that I've been hoping someone would write for years. Anyone who knows me -- particularly those readers who follow my blog -- know that I'm genuinely a curious person.  By that, I don't mean that I'm odd (although I am from Appalachia, so that's a real possibility).  I mean I'm inquisitive .  I love learning.  And I'm always reading (witness the number of book reviews on this blog).  I've even been known to try new foods at restaurants on occasion (most recently surprising my wife Kendra with a small plate of sushi at the local Japanese restaurant).  These are good characteristics, I think, and one that I hope I'm passing along to my friends and family. So Piper's new The Curious Christian is an affirming little book for guys like me.  Not because I'm a fan of confirmation bias, but because he's noticed some o...

In graduate school, one of those areas I felt I needed some attention was in the Church's Mission.  So I took three courses with Dr Fred Norris:  "Christian World Mission", "Theology and Mission", and "The Church and Human Cultures".  I had already taken a course at Duke in ecumenism with Dr Theresa Berger.  This week's selections highlight those courses, as well as a course I've taught several times in "World Religions".  But I want to highlight one of the texts we used in "Christian World Mission" that probably hasn't seen as wide a readership:  Bonk's Missions and Money .  The book is one of those that local churches should utilize regularly in their conversations about missionaries and how we support them.  Chapter Six, which considers theological, ethical and biblical perspectives on missionary affluence, is the heart of Bonk's argument, and the vast majority of this chapter is spent examining the...

Stephen & Misty Arterburn's The Mediterranean Love Plan:  7 Secrets to Lifelong Passion in Marriage explores seven secrets that they take from a variety of Mediterranean places:  Italy, Spain, France, Greece, and Israel, although perhaps not surprisingly not Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, or Lebanon, or North Africa.  In brief, these secrets are:  Be attuned to your partner through touch and time, be playful, savor food and not eat it like a Hoover vac, enjoy beauty, be creative, live a healthy life of moderation and exercise, blend the sacred and sexual by being responsible but keeping a hint of the forbidden in one's life.  While this isn't a bad book, it's probably not for every couple.  Couple who was to reignite passion in marriage will find The Mediterranean Love Plan worth the read.  But couples who already have intimacy issues will find this book incredibly frustrating. ________________ Disclosure of Material Connection: I received ...

Louis Kavar's Contemporary Churches:  Spiritual Transformation of Congregations blends thirty-five years of parish ministry and work as a psychologist and spiritual director into a rich resource for congregations daring to reimagine and restructure.  In a culture in which so many identify as "nones", Kavar's research offers hope for congregational leaders to create innovative models for ministry. I think Contemporary Churches presents solid approaches to congregational ministry.  In its brief 98 pages, readers will find research and models supporting the concepts of congregational transformation based on analysis from several sources both in the United States and other countries.  Kavar's book is a must-read for pastors and other leaders. ______________________ I received a free copy of this book as part of the Speakeasy Blogger Review program in exchange for my honest review here.

Eternal God, your Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life for all creation; grant us grace to walk in his way, to rejoice in his truth, and to share his risen life; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Word of God, sharper than a two-edged sword, penetrate our lives to expose our secrets and the world’s secret sins; open us to cleansing and to cure. Living God, for whom no door is closed, no heart is locked, draw us beyond our doubts, till we see your Christ and touch his wounds where they bleed in others. Amen.

Gary Thomas' Devotions for a Sacred Marriage is meant to accompany his amazing Sacred Marriage , a book that I've used countless times in premartial and martial counseling contexts.  This book brings even more resources for a couple who've read that book together -- resources to last a full year!  Each daily entry includes Scripture passages, a devotion, and a prayer.  The devotions themselves are taken from passages of Sacred Marriage , but it can open up conversations for a whole year. It's a great resource! ________________ Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers < http://booklookbloggers.com > book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 < http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html > : “Guides Co...

Glenys Nellist's Love Letters from God:  Bible Stories for a Girl's Heart is a beautiful, full-size hardbound of thirty-two pages with fifteen lift-the-flap note cards targets young girls four to eight years old.  Having no scary scenes, it's a compilation of fourteen rewritten Bible stories about women taken from the New International Reader's Version.  Illustrator Clowes' expressive and detailed designs fill both sides of the opened pages, leaving lightly colored backgrounds for black wording in an easy-to-read font.  Focusing on female narratives in Bible, the stories include Eve, Miriam, Rahab, Deborah, Hannah, Naaman's (unnamed) servant girl, Esther, Mary, the Samaritan woman, the lady to be stoned, Martha, a widow, Mary of Bethany, and Mary Magdalene.  Each story has a Bible verse and fold-out love letter from God.  The ending has a large heart-shaped letter to write a note to God. The fold-out letters allow parents to write-in the name...

Juan Williams' We the People:  The Modern-Day Figures Who Have Reshaped and Affirmed the Founding Fathers' Vision of America explores all the ways in which modern American leaders have continued the work of the Founding Fathers -- in particular, how they've helped later generations to reset the nation's course as needed. Williams offers a compelling blend of history with biography as he looks at the contributions of some of these latter-day patriots.  Tracing the achievements of visionaries including Thurgood Marshall, Ronald Reagan, Billy Graham, Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Friedan, and the Stonewall activists, Williams shows why they felt compelled to act and assesses the differences they made. It's an amazing little book that's well worth the few hours of reading on a weekend. _________________ I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.

Dave Schmelzer's Blue Ocean Faith has a rather long subtitle, but it so accurately captures the gist of the book:  The vibrant connection to Jesus that opens up insanely great possibilities in a secularizing world -- and might kick off a new Jesus Movement .  Schmelzer envisions a new Christian movement and here introduces a daring new network of congregations bears the same name.  Blue Ocean Faith calls for a prompt end to all the religious competition that plagues the Christian world these days, for one purpose:  That the boundaries we humans draw for ourselves are fake and deny the spirit of reconciliation known in Jesus Christ.  Blue Ocean Faith is a manifesto for a Church that envisions following Jesus into the future, and is not a book to be missed! ______________________ I received a free copy of this book as part of the Speakeasy Blogger Review program in exchange for my honest review here.

As an undergrad, almost all of my coursework in biblical studies was in Old Testament.  I particularly took all of the courses that Dr Mark Biddle taught.  Among my favorites of his courses, was a British-style tutorial (with only one other student) on "Old Testament Theology".  We read through the history of the field (in the Hayes & Prussner now-classic study) as well as both volumes of the immanent twentieth century Old Testament theologians -- Gerhard von Rad and Walther Eichrodt.  I've always been more drawn to von Rad, particularly because he was a strong defender of the theological conviction that Christians could not know Jesus apart from the Old Testament -- in a time and place (at the University of Jena in the 1930s) -- when that conviction was challenged by everything and everyone around him. During the time von Rad taught at Jena, the university taught courses in Eugenics and other dimensions of Nazi propaganda.  Some of these classes includ...

For International Workers' Day: