The Little Friar

Tony Evans' Kingdom Agenda: Life Under God explores all of the ways in which we see a "visible demonstration of the comprehensive rule of God over every area of life".  The spiritual temptation is always to keep back a part of our lives, but submission to the King of kings requires surrendering every aspect of our lives. And Evans explores all of the ways in which our attempts to compartmentalize those lives is a denial of that very Kingship.  We raise objection after objection, so Part 1 explores how a theology of this "Kingdom agenda" names those objections as sin and disobedience.  The remainder of the book, then, highlights all the ways in which obedience to Jesus as King influences how we live our lives in the world.  From Family to Church to Politics, Evans lays out a vision for the Kingdom of God being visible in the world.  And while I would articulate a political vision in a way very different from the one Evans here lays out, I think it's import...

Tyler Braun's Why Holiness Matters: We've Lost Our Way but We Can Find It Again is a book that unpacks holiness with a clarity and balance for Millennials.  In it, Braun walks us through the confusion that reigns for a whole generation of Christians who not only have no idea what holiness is, but they're really not even sure that it matters.  And it's a trip for which you want Braun as a guide -- because this is a journey he's made with his own life. Braun writes with all the insight of Jonathan Edwards on the "affections", with a keen pastoral mind on where and why the emphases belong where he places them.  "Holiness", he writes, "is new affections, new desires, and new motives that then lead to new behavior".  In that way, Braun cuts right to the heart of the issue:  Behavior modification vs. heart transformation.  Holiness is not about external righteousness seeking to earn salvation; nor is it having a "relationship...

Leonard Sweet's Viral:  How Social Networking Is Poised to Ignite Revival is the book every pastor needs to read in 2016.  Written in 2012, but more relevant than ever, Viral addresses concerns that have been on my pastoral heart at least since the mid 2000s -- and it's hit me heavier than any recent book on church life in the po-mo world than I can ever remember. In short:  Sweet writes beautifully and convincingly of the opportunities that social media has for evangelism and Christian discipleship.  In Viral , Sweet has basically written a "how-to" manual for people of the former generational mindset (what he calls the Gutenbergers) to move into an understanding of the rising generation's (what he calls the Googlers) way of life.  In comparing and contrasting a Gutenberg culture with a Google world, Sweet gives example after example of cultural change through history and present day events.  For Gutenbergers, this book should help you find v...

Dave Andrews' The Jihad of Jesus: The Sacred Nonviolent Struggle for Justice is one of those timely books that deserves to be read by every Christian and Muslim.  Ours is an age of "sacred" violence -- Muslims and Christians who view one another as enemies in the battle for "faithful" expression of who (and whose) God is.  So while the religions themselves have varying expressions, the rhetoric and the actions that stem from it seem horrifically similar:  Oppress those who do not think as they do; use violence, if necessary, to put down other faith groups; and never consider the beliefs and practices of other religious communities to be valid or useful to society. Into such a time as this, Dave Andrews speaks prophetically and peacefully.  The Jihad of Jesus is that one book that says, better than any other I know, that Muslims and Christians are able to embrace Jesus and unite in a movement of peaceful, nonviolent struggle for justice.  Andrews has it...

God's Justice: The Flourishing of Creation and the Destruction of Evil is a study Bible that brings together the complete text of the New International Version translation with study notes from a global perspective that traces the theme of God's justice throughout Scripture. In a world riddled by economic poverty, human trafficking, abuse, hate crimes, oppression -- among all the forms of injustice -- God's Justice offers a particular way of reflecting Christianly upon the world, as well as allowing God's Word to speak prophetically to the Church.  Each biblical book includes notes on the biblical text, introductory essays, as well as reflection questions that help guide readers to hear God's clarion call for justice with peace. What I most love about this study Bible is its ability to blend heart and mind, as disciples of Jesus.  There's a word of peace for weary hearts, and a word of wisdom for those who are searching.  Written from a global perspectiv...

John Donvan and Caren Zucker's In a Different Key:  The Story of Autism tells the story of a psychological disorder that was ignored for decades, and only recently.  It moves from those early decades in which children were institutionalized, often in appalling conditions to that period in the 1960s and 1970s when "refrigerator mothers" were blamed for the condition.  In a Different Key also chronicles those individual -- families and researchers -- who provided care and developed our contemporary understanding of autism. In a Different Key certainly focuses on the largely-American narrative of that history, so there are definitely other pieces of the history of autism that are left to be told.  So there are no shortage of rival egos and camps as well as overrated developments that go into the telling of the story of autism.  In the end, then, In a Different Key cannot be the only resource for the telling of autism's story.  But it's certainly a goo...

Recently, in a conversation with a friend about "God's love", I began to realize just how amorphous that phrase really is.  What do we Christians mean when we speak about "God's love"?  Based on Christian tradition, I think there are a number of ways to characterize it.  What's more:  I don't mean that these are entirely separate things.   They're differences in emphasis, not mutually incompatible ideas.  The names beside each type are merely representative.  You could put a name like Origen or Augustine beside nearly every type of love on the list, which is probably saying something about Origen and Augustine. 1.  Pedagogical love:   God loves us the way a wise educator loves his pupils (Clement of Alexandria, Origen) -- our love for God is like an insatiable love of learning. 2.  Maternal love:   God loves us with the self-giving tenderness of a mother for her children (Augustine, Julian of Norwich) -- our love for God...

"Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp " (Leviticus 13.45-46). "A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean'.  And Jesus reached out his hand and touched him " (Matthew 8.2-3a).

Russell Moore's Onward:  Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel is an honest theological survey of where things are for the Church in America.  "Most Americans agreed on certain traditional values: monogamous marriage, the nuclear family, the right to life, the good of prayer and church attendance, free enterprise, a strong military, and the basic goodness of the American way of life.  The argument was that this consensus represented the real America."  Presumably, then, everyone else lives in an America for which none of this is true. And Moore calls us to be honest:  If any of that was ever true -- outside television shows like Leave It to Beaver -- it certainly isn't true now. Some, of course, will use such slippery words like "secuilarization" to describe the current landscape.  But Moore knows that isn't true.  Instead, it's nominal Christianity that has become less powerful.  In the Bible Belt in particular, "Christi...

To be able to say, "I'm baptized" is not to claim an extra dignity, let alone a sort of privilege that keeps you separate from and superior to the rest of the human race, but to claim a new level of solidarity with other people.  It is to accept that to be a Christian is to be affected -- you might even say -- contaminated -- by the mess of humanity.  This is very paradoxical.  Baptism is a ceremony in which we are washed, cleansed and re-created.  It is also a ceremony in which we are pushed into the middle of a human situation that may hurt us, and that will not leave untouched or unsullied. -- Rowan Williams, from Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist and Prayer

One of my favorite images of Jesus comes from Matthew 12. In Matthew 12.15 we read that "a large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill".  The text then goes on to describe how Jesus' care for these people was a fulfillment of the prophecy in the first verses of Isaiah 42:  "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope."   This prophecy is used to highlight the gentleness and compassion of Jesus: A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.  The people were broken and fragile.  Hanging by a th...

As a result of an impromptu singing battle with my wife today, I've had 90s music on my mind today.  So I thought I'd take a trip down the proverbial Memory Lane with this selection of my top 10 favorite songs from the 90s.  This list, of course, is subject to change from day to day: 10.  Smashing Pumpkins, "Today" 9. Pearl Jam, "Jeremy" 8. Screaming Trees, "Nearly Lost You" 7. Live, "Lightening Crashes" 6. Joan Osborne, "What If God Was One of Us" 5. Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" 4. Alice in Chains, "Would?" 3. Arrested Development, "Mr. Wendel" 2. Pearl Jam, "Alive" 1. Cranberries, "Zombie"

Won-Sun Jang's Cats in Paris:  A Magical Coloring Book is just that -- a magical coloring book. Intended for adults, Jang has given us a beautiful coloring book for folks of all ages.  Cat lovers, of course, will go crazy for it, but the Paris backdrops offer recognizable places for folks who love Parisian culture.  And Cats in Paris is a fun time, too -- a very different coloring book than those which are currently all the craze in bookstores.  That uniqueness offers even more to enjoy for "readers". This one is a real treat for cat- and Paris-lovers.  It's a real treat. __________________ I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.

I finished the first full draft of the new book, The Fire and the Rose:  A Christian Universalist Vision , this morning.  It's in the hands of a couple of capable readers who will be writing the Foreward and Afterward for the book.  At that point, I'll send it off to print, and make it available here. But, to dedicated readers and loving critics, a free PDF copy of the book will be available upon request.  Just let me know that you'd like a copy and I'll be sure you receive it.  You can send your request to my email and I'll get back with you as soon as it becomes available.

Eugene Merrill's A Commentary on 1 & 2 Chronicles (Kregel Exegetical Library) is a wonderful help for pastors and Sunday School teachers that deals with one of those neglected texts from the Old Testament tradition:  The Chronicler's history. A Commentary on 1 & 2 Chronicles begins with an introduction to the literary tradition of the Chronicler's history, and focuses on those typical introductory matters one finds in commentaries -- such as the historical and cultural setting, authorship, genre, canonical placement, etc.  But he also tackles some significant themes that are normally overlooked in the other standard commentary sets:  The structure and sources of the book (1 & 2 Chronicles form one literary tradition in the Hebrew Bible), textual criticism of the book, and the theology of the Chronicler.  I was particularly impressed with Merrill's thorough list of annotated bibliography entries -- which makes A Commentary on 1 & 2 Chronicles an...

Rereading Barth's The Word of God & the Word of Man tonight, I had a thought:  Our theology may be influenced by books, but the deepest theological influences are almost always non-literary.  These are the things that really construct us and constitute us as persons -- only subsequently do we also make a few minor alterations through the influence of the reading of books. So I started thinking:  Would I be able to list those top theological influences that have shaped me?  I doubt that I'd be able to categorize these kinds of influences (which is really the point, since the deepest influences function tacitly).  Wittgenstein famously observed that our language can't even describe the aroma of coffee -- much less can we articulate the experiences and discourses that construct us and give us being! Still, I thought I'd give it a try.  I've numbered them here, but those numbers are not meant to indicate the level of importance.  My top the...

For Kendra* +++++ If questioning would make us wise Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind i carry your heart with me (i carry it in At last, when all the summer shine Sweet stream that winds through yonder glade, O, hurry, where by water, among the trees The fountains mingle with the river, If ever two were one, then surely we. I love thee as I love the calm Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art-- Light, so low upon the earth Since there's not help, come let us kiss and part; And in Life's noisiest hour We shall be notes in that great Symphony Touched by all that love is If ever two were one, then surely we. There where the waves shatter on the restless rocks Love seeketh not itself to please Come to me in my dreams, and then I arise from dreams of thee. All day long I have been working When I have fears that I may cease to be. Bid me to live, and I will live If ever two were one, then surely we. The wondrous moment of our meeting ... ...

I have more writing projects on my plate than I probably will ever complete. That said, I had another thought tonight. Specifically, it's problem of mixed personae:  The status of benefactions from donors whose character has been subjected to question, the exquisite work of artists who perpetrate horrors, the useability of ideas proposed by morally compromised thinkers, and also the grim side of exemplars held up by the Church, or by culture, as heroes and saints.  Just on a quick run, I came up with Cecil Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson , Eric Gill , Martin Heidegger , Mohandas Gandhi , Mother Teresa , Martin Luther King Jr. , St Junípero Serra , John Howard Yoder -- and that was just off the top of my head. I'm not all that interested in the justification of particular accusations as the relation of the alleged behavior to the reception of the hero/villain's legacy (on one hand), and the rhetoric of accusation and defense that these allegations inspire.  Though we...

It appears to be all the trend for blogs to engage in a navel-gazing exercise this time of year, and post a "year in review" blog. I've been blogging since 2002.  I began on Xanga in 2002, moved to MySpace in 2005, and here since 2008.  Last year was my first "year in review", though.  So I thought I'd take an inventory again. In 2015, my top five posts, in descending order: On suicide, theologically understood Jesus' temple action, and what it might say about rioting Why I supported Muslim prayer at Duke Chapel Love believes the best On why I don't read the Bible literally I excluded book reviews, but to be honest those far exceeded my most-viewed regular writing.  I think I may have missed my calling as a reviewer. There were two popular articles from previous years that also saw triple-digit audiences this year: " All I really need to know About Christmas I learned from watching TV "  " Why I can't say the Pl...

Craig Groeschel's #struggles:  Following Jesus in a Selfie-Centered World is a candid and critical look at the way in which the use of social media has impacted and controlled our postmodern lives.  In it, Groeschel offers pastoral counsel on how that control can be reversed:  We disciples can control social media in faithful ways, rather than having our lives controlled by it. There's no doubt #struggles is a timely book.  My own Facebook and Twitter have been a resource for pastoral ministry.  In fact, one of my friends describes my ministry as "the online pastor".  But with the advent of iPhones, I discovered what so many others had known about their spiritual lives and technology:  We can become controlled by it, obsessed over it, in a way that we don't see developing but find ourselves unable to resist.  Witness the uncontrollable desire to check my Facebook app or my email. Addressing this spiritual dependency is what makes #struggle...