The Little Friar

We are made for joy and love and creativity.  We are embodied because the care of the soul requires human touch and beauty, music and vision in order to thrive.  Yet we live in a broken, wounded world.  Everything good and necessary is so easily corrupted, abused, lost and wasted.  We often bear our torment within ourselves, carrying it wherever we go.  I've spent the past year or so frequently sorrowing over existence.  To be honest, I'm not good at life these days.  Life is as much a burden and disappointment as it is a gift.  Yes, I have certain gifts that make life tolerable:  Humor and poetry and laughter.  And I've devoted so much of my life in the pursuit of wisdom.  But most days the weather of my soul is more like Northern England and Scotland than the Appalachians.  It's a kind of betrayal of the heartfelt love gifted to me by my family who hoped and prayed so passionately that I might live and have the opport...

Thank you, Lord, for infant smiles and children bright at play; thank you for the silly souls who goad us every day. I appreciate those most, O Lord, those crosses that I bear, and I thank you that I'm not yet bald from pulling out my hair. I thank you, Lord, for mercy! It saves me from the brink; and thank you, Lord, for righteous wrath -- I need more of it, I think. But thank you for all gentle souls who always tempers keep; protect them, Lord, from the rest of us, lest we kill them in their sleep. I thank you, Lord, for cheerful sun that rises every dawn, and that my students learn to hide the sound and sight of yawn, that education is a joy that overflows with awe, and, on those crazy grading days, that there are murder laws. I thank you, Lord, for fruitful fields, for wide and healthful skies, and for the hopes that we can have that are not marred by lies. And thank you, God, for mysteries still left for us to solve upon this awesome floating b...

When I teach the basic theology course, one of my lectures goes something like this:  Christology -- the doctrine of Jesus Christ -- can only be discovered "from behind" (in contrast to the distinction commonly made between "from above" [high Christology] and "from below" [low Christology]).  We only know Jesus by following him with humility and critical faithfulness.  All of life, as Martin Luther put it, is lived coram deo , "in God's presence" (Matthew 10.24-25, 2 Corinthians 3.18). By contrast, modern theology turns to vain historical criticism in order to establish "what really happened" and thereby appreciates Jesus only at a distance.  This is what I call the "Jesus action figure" problem.  They will end up bending Jesus and posing him in the easiest way possible to make sense of the stories and thereby create a bigger, wider gulf between Jesus and ourselves.  Abstract theology and shallow sentimentality both impl...

"I don't know what the world's coming to."  I remember older people saying that when I was growing up.  Now I find myself wondering along the same lines.  The world seems to be a conflicted place; globalized, polarized and destabilized.  Our own country is experiencing depths of division that are putting families, communities and friendships under such strains, that they threaten the common good of shared and caring communal life.  Watching television over the past two weeks -- particularly the impeachment hearings -- taught me to pay attention to the division in new ways. "Blessed are the peacemakers."  Jesus knew about the more challenging life skills.  Wherever we are there are situations going wrong.  People get angry, words are said, resentments are verbalized on social media, alliances are formed and though we might not use the word, enemies are made. Christians serious about following Jesus work hard at being peacemakers, servants of reconc...

The other day, I'd had about enough of all the weights of daily life.  I needed to clear my head. So I went to the "head clearing clinic" that has become my go-to spots in these moments over recent months.  I had no intention to bring my phone, so I don't have a visual record of this spot.  Nor, for that matter, do I really intend to describe it.  Just know it's that spot that over recent months has been the place to which I retreat when my heart is too heavy. I've often wondered about what it means to "clear the head", and whether prayer is a way of doing that.  If what is meant is a recovery of focus, a centering of attention, a reboot of the inner hard drive, then yes, prayer does that.  Much of my life in 2019 has been lived in the interrogative mood:  Why?  What if?  How? I know those deepest questions are unanswerable.  But that doesn't excuse the urgency in asking them.  So my "head clearing clinic" is a spiritual pla...

I observed in The Fire and the Rose that I don't preach universalism.  And for good reason.  The world needs to hear the judgment of Gospel -- that God, in Christ, is setting the world to rights, and that means some of the things we really do to one another (poverty, war, abuse, neglect, etc.) really aren't going to stand.  The Gospel is good news proclaimed to the poor, imprisoned, forgotten of the world.  But that good news, when heard from the vantage point of the oppressor, isn't good at all.  It's bad news.  The rich guy, to paraphrase Jesus, has the same chance getting into the Kingdom as the camel has getting through the eye of a needle.  It can happen -- with God, all things can -- but it's probably not going to be comfortable on either the camel or the rich guy. But what of predestination?  Why don't I -- and more generally, why won't other preachers -- preach the Gospel as it's proclaimed in Paul? When treated abstractly, as an explan...

Anson Hugh Laytner's The Mystery of Suffering and the Meaning of God:  Autobiographical and Theological Reflections offers one Rabbi's personal reflections on the experience of human suffering, blended and guided by theological lessons from the biblical book of Job. Moving through Laytner's life experience and the horrible things which have befallen his family -- this is where I give all sorts of content warnings for the mentions of the Holocaust and the AIDS epidemic, some descriptions of illness and hospital stays, and a detailed description of someone dying and the mourning process -- the book explores anger and protest prayer before reaching a new idea of God which is not tied to traditional pictures.  Laytner releases two out three of the classic 'omnis' about God -- in a way that moves us toward fresh and loving action with those who suffer.  Laytner calls his position "radical monotheism":  Everything has its source in God, but this is not...

Matthew Fleischer's The Old Testament Case for Nonviolence directly, openly and clearly tackles some of the most vexing questions that readers of the Old Testament will have:  Did God command Israel to commit atrocities when conquering the Promised Land?  Does God approve when people go to war in God's Name?  Is the God of the Old Testament truly a homicidal maniac, as some have said? Using a thorough and clearly canonical reading of the Old (and even New!) Testament, Fleischer can full-throated answer in the negative to each of those. His chief argument in defense of God's character is the concept of "incremental revelation":  That in order to best reveal God's Self (in the person of Jesus for the work of the Church), God incrementally revealed ethical expectations and character throughout the Old and New Testaments.  It's not really a new idea, but it's an idea with which more fundamentalist modern readers will find difficult to swallow. ...

Christopher Vanhall's Reborn Again:  Crucifying Christendom & Resurrecting a Radical is another of those popular memoirs that recounts a pastor's spiritual journey away from the classic faith and toward a more radical vision of the Christian faith. Vanhall shares certain memories and stories along the way that impacted him and became the fodder for resurrecting faith, influencing not just his theology but his career path.  From being a music director in a conservative branch of Christianity, to church planting in a more progressive denomination.  It's not an easy transition, painful, with a lot of lost friendships along the way. But in the end, Vanhall collapses the distinctiveness of the faith for modern sympathies, without exposing those sympathies to the same critical reflection.  And in that way, Reborn Again left me want much more of a genuinely radical vision of the faith. __________________________ I received a free copy of this book from th...

Ken Crispin's A Skeptic's Guide to Belief gives a refreshing gift to the world of apologetics.  Trained as an attorney and a judge in Australia's Supreme Court, Crispin brings a keen mind together with a loving heart to explore the more weighty issues in metaphysics:  God, life, meaning, religion, and the hereafter.  The fresh ground that Crispin trods, though, make the book well worth it.  He presents the arguments with the nuance of an individual who has made a career of presenting dense legal rulings in a manner where the "everyman" can understand it.  This is where A Skeptic's Guide to Belief really shines. Readers will find a healthy dose of skepticism, with a clear example of what dialogue looks like. In the end, I was left wanting more, though.  A Skeptic's Guide to Belief is a marvelous start, but I still wanted more. _____________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

Tim Riddle & Fil Anderson's Blind Spots:  What You Don't See Can Hurt You looks at all the "blind spots" in our lives -- those spots where things stand in the way of being all that God has intended for our lives.  With the help of our friends, Riddle and Anderson have us looking inward to determine those "blind spots".  Accountability is key, they rightly insist -- so this isn't a project for isolated individuals. The book's ultimate purpose is to remind and help Christian readers to claim what is already theirs through Christ, an abundant life based on a strong relationship with Christ. ___________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

Bethany Ferguson's The Mission Centered Life:  Following Jesus into the Broken Places explores living in a mission minded manner no matter where you live or what season of life you may be in at this time.   The study guide is divided into lessons and each includes biblical text, an article, an essay and discussion questions.  Ferguson's unique experience as a missionary is Uganda, South Sudan and Kenya provides for a highly interesting read as she shares many stories from her experiences as an overseas missionary. It's designed for small group study, and to be honest, as powerful as the study can be, it's probably best that way.  Anyone who takes seriously the cross-cultural nature of Christian mission in any context will find this a challenging study. ___________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

Christopher Rogers' A Field Guide to Relationships: Observing Humans in Their Natural Habitat explores all the ways in which our relationships are created and recreated in the deep contexts of our lives.  Who we are with one another is a function of who we have been and are with still others.  Those of us who have grown up in dysfunctional families know this all-too-well.  We carry the baggage of that dysfunction into adulthood, bringing with us all the ways in which the dysfunction influences and shades our current relationships.  From friendships to marriage, we want healthy relationships.  We're just not sure what to do. Rogers helps us with that.  Not by providing us with a simple checklist.  Instead, he offers us a way of learning to look at the world -- and more specifically at relationships in the world -- to learn lessons about being fully, authentically human. This is a book that will help you learn to love others -- not just learn t...

Le Bailey Boydston's Relational Reality:  10 Ancient Secrets to Profound and Dynamic Relationships brings together some of the most significant ancient bits of wisdom about the flourishing of human interrelationships.  Sure, the reader will probably think romantic relationships -- but that's hardly the focus of this deceptively small book.  Relational Reality is a refreshing little book that packs a punch.  Here, readers will find wisdom from Deuteronomy as well as John Milton and Carl Sagan.  Each chapter begins with a concise thesis that Boydston will develop.  And the development of each chapter builds a larger vision of human flourishing -- a reality! -- that focuses on how we humans are created for life with one another.  This book will become a powerful agent for transformation in the lives of all sorts of folks.  And it's a resource to which I'll return again and again in both counseling and in my personal development. __________...

Max King's Irrevocable:  Paul's Radical Vision in Romans 9-11, and Why Christianity Can't Handle It is one of those daring books that looks at the heart of the biblical text to find a vision of God's salvation of the world woven deeply in Scripture.  It is nothing short of a daring attempt to understand one of Paul's most complicated and complicating texts:  Romans 9-11.  Drawing from Hebrew eschatological notions of the Kingdom to demonstrate that God's vision of salvation has always been inclusive , not exclusive.  That God is daring to find a way to bring both Jew and Greek together into a healing of the nations and a wholeness for all the created order. Irrevocable is one of those ground-breaking books that will rock your theological world.  Because it so cogently and coherently argues that the way we've read Paul for so long may not be the way Paul meant for us to read him.  In fact, we may have been misreading Paul.  If you're tired ...

Pierre Hegy's Worship as Community Drama:  Introduction to Liturgy Evaluation helps congregations look with a clearer vision into the very heart of the liturgy -- the work of the people in worshipping God. Worship as Community Drama provides a method for evaluating liturgy.  We read product reviews for everything from fast food restaurants to new cars.  Managers do performance reviews for employees and we grade school systems based graduation rates and standardized test results.  It's essential that congregational leaders have a trusted way to look at what the Church is doing when it worships.  We need a metric for determining where we are in order to improve. Hegy presents a rubric for evaluation then uses those criteria to evaluate several different actual worship services, ranging from a television Roman Catholic mass to a Pentecostal meeting.  He argues that much research has been done on cult, hero and idol worship but very little empi...

Herbert Bateman and Aaron Peer's John's Letters is one of the volumes to Kregel's "Big Greek Idea Series".  On the whole, John's Letters is a masterful contribution to the wealth of resources available for pastors and teachers of the Greek New Testament Text.  Part commentary, part "interlinear" text, and part syntactical analysis, John's Letters is able to keep the "big idea" of each pericope in front of its users, while helping to demonstrate all the ways in which the various components of that pericope work together.  Here, readers will learn how to see the forest while also appreciating each of the trees that make up that forest. The "introduction", while a bit lengthy for the purpose of a resource text for pastors, helps to plant the three letters within the wider context of Johannine Literature studies in the New Testament guild.  Students without a grasp of the grammar of the New Testament Koine Greek, though, wi...

It's taken all that I have to return to Hart's little book, That All Shall Be Saved .  So much has happened in the past month, such that writing and reading have taken a back seat to the rest of life.  But that's not even the main reason I find it hard to return to blogging about the book.  I guess readers will have figured out by now:  I love Hart's book .  I agree with nearly most everything he has written there.  I get a little weary with his supercilious tone and too-quick dismissal of others' views -- especially Balthasar's.  But that doesn't detract from the overall argument in the book. No, the reason it's been hard for me to continue to write about the book is because I've read the reviews others have written.  Especially the dismal reviews.  No need to name names.  There were, of course, a number of solid, even stellar reviews, which illuminated Hart's book beautifully.  But there were a few that were truly awful -- poo...

Zach Maldonado's Perfect and Forgiven looks at some of the most important spiritual questions that plague so many:  What do you do when you feel unworthy?  How do you find freedom from shame, guilt, and sin? So many of us have an experience of Christian faith that boils it down to one simple message -- we're imperfect people who've been forgiven.  But what if the message isn't just about what Christ has done for us -- forgiving our sins so we can go to heaven one day -- but also about what Jesus  has done to us? Life is filled with shame, guilt, sin, and hurt.  These things have convinced us that we're flawed, we're not enough, and that something is uniquely wrong with who we are.  And quite honestly, we look to Christianity for help and the message we often hear leaves us disappointed, doubtful and disillusioned.  Maldonado knows all this first-hand.  But he's also rediscovered the real core of Christian faith -- that our identity isn'...