The Little Friar

My friends Brittany and Dennis are both committed to Jesus in the way you'd hope lots of Christians are committed to Jesus -- in displaying kindness and gentleness, love and joy, patience and goodness to the world.  They aren't committed to Jesus in the ways some of my sisters and brothers believe you have to be committed to Jesus -- by making a public confession of intellectual assent in the doctrines of Christian faith. That is to say, Brittany and Dennis would never tell you they're Christians.  They haven't -- for lots of reasons, both intellectual and spiritual -- been able to put their names on the dotted line. But they have -- and do! -- put their lives to the way of the Spirit in all the ways that Jesus talks about following him as disciples. Granted, they wouldn't put things just that way.  I do.  But that's because I've been taught to see God at work in others' lives in a way that our culture really doesn't focus on learning to see. ...

The Woman's Study Bible offers a number of study resources particularly written for women, from the perspective of women. As a minister, one of the most common requests made of me:  "What's ago of study Bible?"  It's a difficult question to answer, precisely because the published options offer such diversity in the possibilities. Given all that diversity, then, what's left to say about The Woman's Study Bible? It's written by women -- with training in biblical studies, theology, and ministry -- for women.  The study notes range from excellent commentary that help to read the Bible with understanding, to essays on the nature of "Biblical Womanhood".  The general editor is Dorothy Kelley Patterson, a trained theologian in her own right, who's also the wife of Paige Patterson, the president of Southwestern Baptist Seminary.  All the contributors come from the best minds of Baptist life in women's studies, and the work...

Catherine Price's How To Break Up with Your Phone is a small, yet purely practical, book that explores one of the most important issues in everyday life:  The effect of our smart phone's ubiquity. It's an honest look at the good, the bad and the ugly of that one piece of technology that permeates nearly every moment of my day -- my Iphone.  Here Price gives principles to apply and plenty of flexibility for individual scheduling and needs.  For someone who uses their phone as a pocket workspace, some suggestions like "demoting to a dumbphone" are not all that practical.  Yet, the author still covers points to consider no matter what level we truly need to use our phones. If you're willing to take this book seriously, make sure you devote the time (4 weeks -- pages 76-165) that it takes to "break up with your phone".  I know I plan to. ______________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest ...

The Babylon Bee's How to Be a Perfect Christian:  Your Comprehensive Guide to Flawless Spiritual Living brings the satirical style of The Onion into conversation with Christian culture -- and the product is hilarious. This book is a satirical look at what passes for cultural Christianity, particularly in America.  There's plenty of humor and sarcasm to go around here, and I love the chart that gauges the reader's progress toward "spiritual perfection" at the end of each chapter.  What some readers will miss, sadly, is just how much genuine Christian faith you glimpse in these pages, even while poking fun at the sacred cows of that cultural embodiment of the faith.  I've been a fan of The Babylon Bee's website for a long time.  This book did not disappoint.  In fact, it was a real treat!  (And the free coloring page on p. 115 is totally worth the price of the book!) ____________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in e...

I don't intend, in these thoughts, to assess the theological content of contemporary worship.  There's enough ink spilt over that, with very few real progresses made in making good observations. But, I intend, rather, to say a few things to make pastors and worship leaders reflect on what we're saying with the phrase "contemporary worship". "Contemporary worship" is first, and perhaps foremost, contemporary .  The age of music doesn't determine its quality -- I'm not enough of a snob to know that all worship music has to sound like Bach -- but I think that this criticism (normally leveled at contemporary worship) really misses the point.  It isn't about quality.  In a world peopled by advertisers and entertainers, "contemporary" is a hurrah word, a marketing tool, branding liturgical music that is fashionable, up-to-date, oozing youthful cool.  Contemporary is young, and young is good.  The desire to make worship more appeal...

The doctrine of the Incarnation makes the Christian obligated at once to God and to man. If God has become man, then no Christian is ever allowed to be indifferent to man’s fate. Whoever believes that Christ is the Word made flesh believes that every man must in some sense be regarded as Christ. For all are at least potentially members of the Mystical Christ…. The Christian responsibility is not to one side or the other in the power struggle: it is to God and truth, and to the whole of mankind…. Even if the other shows himself to be unjust, wicked and odious to us, we cannot take upon ourselves a final and definitive judgment in his case. We still have an obligation to be patient, and to seek his highest spiritual interests…. The love of enemies … [is] an expression of eschatological faith in the realization of the messianic promises and hence a witness to an entirely new dimension in man’s life…. The Christian is and must be by his very adoption as a son of God, in Christ, a peace...

T. Christian Miller & Ken Armstrong's A False Report:  A True Story of Rape in America recounts the story of an 18-year-old woman's report of rape, and the investigators who fought for her justice. This is the story of a suspected rape of a Seattle teenager named Marie.  The victim's testimony of her violent sexual abuse at knifepoint became sullied with uncertainty as different renditions sprung forth about the night in question.  Her shocking, tearful retraction of the entire event sealed her fate in the eyes of police until dogged detective Stacy Galbraith compared Marie's cold case file with other rapes.  Coinciding details and suspicions were shared with veteran detective Edna Hendershot, and Marie's case was reopened.  These developments also reclassified the perpetrator as a serial rapist responsible for multiple attacks and a penchant for blackmailing his victims with compromising photographs. A False Report is a gripping account of the ways in...

C. Marvin Pate's Interpreting Revelation and Other Apocalyptic Material:  An Exegetical Handbook offers an important introductory contribution for students and pastors on reading, preaching and teaching Revelation (and other forms of biblical apocalyptic literature).  Pate has given us a clear path through all the noise that struggles to mis read Revelation.  Drawing upon the best in biblical scholarship, Interpreting Revelation focuses on the differences of genre, text, context, and history.  And only then should we move toward application.   Pate begins with the standard 1979 Society of Biblical Literature definition of "apocalyptic" and works from there to provide a clear picture of the various genres of biblical apocalyptic -- from Daniel to Revelation -- and along the way provides a clear understanding of the way in which those genres may be mixed with other genres. Interpreting Revelation looks at the connections between apocalyptic and Israel'...

Terry Heaton's The Gospel of Self:  How Jesus Joined the GOP is a personal memoir that explores one of the most interesting periods in American political history:  That moment when the modern conservative movement joined with religious faith.  Heaton here recounts the story of the rise and fall of Pat Robertson and his 700 Club through the 1980s.  As a former executive producer of the 700 Club , Heaton was a daily confidant of Robertson during his period of greatest fame and success.  He helped orchestrate the program's rise to a zenith of televangelism while also taking part in its metamorphosis into a vehicle for the religious right, culminating in Robertson's own run for the presidency in 1988. Heaton is able to make the direct connection between his work with the 700 Club , the rise of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News in the 90s, and, ultimately, the election of Donald Trump.  So Heaton's Gospel of Self is more than a simple memoir:  It is a...

Amena Brown's How to Fix a Broken Record:  Thoughts on Vinyl Records, Awkward Relationships, and Learning to Be Myself is a memoir that takes us through Brown's journey to self-acceptance and confidence in her identity.  The concept of finding God in the grooves of our life's record is beautiful imagery but I never fully connected with this book or Brown's story. If you connect with the larger culture, though, Brown's story most likely will resonate with you. _______________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

Deborah Barr's Grace for the Unexpected Journey:  A 60-Day Devotional for Alzheimer's and Other Dementia Caregivers writes with a faithful heart for those who assist those with dementia disorders.  Short chapters with titles such as "Cherish What Remains", "The Loss of 'Us'", and "What About Me?" conclude with brief exercises, hymn verses or scripture texts to ponder, and questions for reflection or journaling. Barr has given us a real gift in the words of comfort and hope that speak the Gospel when memory fades. _______________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

Benjamin Forrest and Chet Roden's Biblical Leadership:  Theology for the Everyday Leader brings together some of the best in evangelical scholarship to help readers think deeply about leadership through each of the genres found in the Bible. Biblical Leadership is easily the foundational volume for moving the conversation about leadership away from business models and toward a more faithful, biblical model. Biblical Leadership boasts thirty-three chapters -- nineteen concentrated on the Old Testament and fourteen concentrated on the New.  Not surprisingly, like other most multi-authored works, the usefulness of the chapters is fairly variegated although the scope is rather comprehensive.  I found the New Testament contributions significantly more evenhanded than the Old, though the Old Testament did have a few standout chapters, such as Kaiser on Psalm 23 and Longman on leadership in Ecclesiastes. Biblical Leadership belongs on every Christian leader's bo...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born on this day in 1905.  I have spent nearly all of my adult life reading and learning with Dietrich, so I thought it a good exercise -- in the midst of all the hullabaloo in American politics these days -- to share a few of the quotes of things he's said that have shaped how and why I think the way I do about that politics. The first is from a sermon Dietrich preached while working in London as a youth pastor.  It was 1934, two years after Nazism had risen to positions of prestige and power in Germany. What is the meaning of weakness in this world?  We all know that Christianity has been blamed ever since its early days for its message to the weak.   Christianity is a religion of slaves, of people with inferiority complexes; it owes its success only to the masses of miserable people whose weakness and misery Christianity has glorified.  It was the attitude towards the problem of weakness in the world, which made everybody t...

I hear often about what a "great" job I did preaching.  Knowing myself as well as I do, I'm always skeptical.   Good preaching , I think, is hard to be judged in the short term.  You probably won't know it when you've heard it.  Instead, you know good preaching when you see it Monday morning.  What gets said on Sunday are just the seeds.  The growth that comes in God's kingdom, that's when you know if it took hold and accomplished anything to call as good. In truth, I've sat down after preaching and wondered often whether I owe God an apology for having wasted his time or my breath.  So, I thought it might help parishioners to see a few of the rules I've developed and shared over the years with those who've learnt preaching with and from me.  Also, reminders like this can't hurt preachers, either.  1.  Don't assume you always speak for God.  It takes lots of humility to stand and preach.  And if you're cocky ...