In It for the Long Haul: Building Effective Long-Term Pastorates

by Glenn E. Ludwig
 
This Alban Institute book has many good insights about building (or maintaining in my case) long-term pastorates. Actually it is filled with good advice for ministry in general - regardless of how long one has remained or plans to remain serving the same parish.  I was affirmed in my plans for a sabbatical, and also affirmed in the way in which my own long term pastorate has unfolded.  What was most gratifying about this book is how it dealt with the myths of long term pastorates, some of which I have wondered about in my own context.  The myths were dispelled and the benefits made clear, some of which I knew on one level already, but it was good to have someone articulate them so well.

Armchair Reader: The Gigantic Reader

I wondered about noting this book in this blog, because it isn't like most of the books I read.  What we have here is a bathroom book, meaning it is a book I keep on the toilet in the bathroom so that when I am sitting down doing my business I can pass the time by reading short bits of an interesting book.  This Gigantic Reader is a perfect bathroom book - a collection of trivia, interesting and odd bits of all kinds of information.  I actually learned some interesting stuff reading this book, but mostly it was fun way to spend a couple of minutes.  This book is gigantic, as the title suggests, 556 pages, and that's not including the index!  It took me a long time to work through this book - but as the stories and information are in really short bits it didn't matter.

He Was In the World: Meditations for Public Worship

by John L. Bell

A collection of 25 dramatic readings and actions for use in worship by John Bell, preacher, teacher and musician from the Iona Community in Scotland.  I have often enjoyed the material John writes, and this collection continued my appreciation of the way John takes well known themes and images and gives them new life.  Most of these readings or meditations would work best in a smaller environment I would think, and thus not perhaps the best resource for Sunday morning worship services, but for something like Mysterium it is great.  I hope to work some of these meditations into future worship services, especially at Mysterium.

Time to Eat My Words

Over the past couple of years, as people raved about their eBooks such as the Kindle or Kobo readers, I said I could never find enjoyment in that.  For me part of the experience of books is flipping the pages, looking at how much is left in the book, enjoying the cover art and the layout, browsing on my shelves for just the right book.  I thought the idea of having an electronic device replace all that was ludicrous. And I was right - partly.

This Christmas my lovely wife Beth gave me a Kobo Glo.  Well, better not look down my nose at a gift and so I went to load it up with a few books and try it out.  I was very careful in choosing what to load onto my Kobo, I wanted it to somehow be symbolic and meaningful (it was as if a part of me recognized the dramatic shift about to take place).  I did some browsing in the Kobo online store (affiliated with Chapters and Indigo) and found the perfect choice: the newest series of books by a long-time favourite author Stephen R. Lawhead.  I had been intending on picking up this newest series when it was complete (I hate starting a series and then having to wait for months, or years before I'm able to finish it. This distaste for being unable to complete a series once I start it developed when I was a young man - at university I got hooked into the Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever series by Stephen Donaldson and had to wait for years for the series to be completed). I have most every book written by Mr. Lawhead, and so these books were a good choice - and I discovered, the eBook price for the three books in the Bright Empires series were significantly cheaper than the paperback editions.

I also felt I should have a Bible on my Kobo, and discovered that I could get the C.S. Lewis Bible (a New Revised Standard Version that has quotes of Lewis' writings interspersed throughout the text - in places where the subject of the quote was relevant to the passage of scripture).  I had been thinking of getting this Bible ever since I found out about it, but was reluctant to add yet another Bible to my overflowing book shelves.

So Christmas Eve I began to read The Skin Map, the first in the Bright Empires series by Stephen R. Lawhead.  I read in bed often, and one of the challenges is to find a comfortable position that is also good for the light to hit the page from the bedside lamp.  With the Kobo Glo is discovered a couple of things - I only had to worry about finding a comfortable position, if the light from the lamp wasn't good at that point I could turn on the backlight on the Kobo and read that way.  Secondly I discovered that it is a lot easier to hold this eBook than wrestle with a paperback while trying not to break the spine of the book.  The Kobo Glo has a textured screen and thus when sweeping my finger across to trigger the next page it feels like my hand is running across the printed page.

The bottom line is this - I love my Kobo Glo, it is perfect for reading before I go to sleep, and it will be perfect for long trips when I will only need to bring this little device rather than a bag of books.  So I will eat my words, and I will read my eBook with gratitude.  My Kobo will not replace the joy of scanning the shelves, or of flipping through a coffee-table book with great photography and layout.  The eBook will not replace everything connected with my love of books, but it will surely reduce the amount of additional shelf space I will need in the future - and after watching my parents downsize their place I am grateful for that.

Magi: A Novel

by Daniel L. Gilbert
 
A short novel expanding the story of the Magi who come to visit the infant Jesus. Well written and well researched, with lots of historical and cultural references to help frame the story. Has a surprising end that does not actually contradict the Gospel of Matthew, but is the first time I've encountered such speculation (I won't divulge more at this point and spoil it for other readers).

At first I found the unfamiliar names a bit confusing to keep track of, and the first couple of chapters were a bit of work to get through, but once the Magi start their trek to Jerusalem the story moved along nicely (and perhaps by then I had gotten used to the names).  Overall an enjoyable read which also helped me understand elements of the Magi story more deeply.

Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife

by Eben Alexander, M.D.
 
After reading the Newsweek magazine article about Dr. Alexander I thought I would get the book. I wasn't disappointed, the book provided much more detail and analysis of Dr. Alexander's unique experience. Not so much a "proof" of heaven as it is an example of the mystery of life and a glimpse into a bigger universe than we can even imagine. This book is almost two books in one - one book telling the story of a medical mystery - the bacterial attack on Dr. Alexander's brain and then his complete recovery.  There has been nothing like this before, his is an unusual and unique case.  The second book would be the recounting of his experience while in a coma, the Near Death Experience (NDE) that he has - a highly detailed account of Dr. Alexander's experience of life beyond the body.  As he reminds the reader on many occassions - what he experiences while in the coma is something his scientific and medically trained mind could not explain - yet something that was real, more real than this life.

I thought of C.S. Lewis' concept of Shadowlands as I read Dr. Alexander's account.  I am amazed that Lewis (both in The Last Battle, and in The Great Divorce) seemed to understand something that Dr. Alexander experiences. It makes me wonder where Lewis got the inspiration from.  This book ends strongly with some of the best chapters in the latter part of the book.  I'm sure it will be hotly debated in the coming months, but I like its insistence on the mystery that surrounds us - real as real can be, but unseen and little known except for those fortunate to have had a glimpse of the larger realm.

Praying in the Messiness of Life: 7 Ways to Renew Your Relationship with God

by Linda Douty

This short book contains a lot of good practical tools and techniques for one's prayer life.  Linda Douty is not breaking new ground in this book, but rather reminding us of things we already know but easily forget or set aside, or giving us a new perspective on an activity we already do that we maybe didn't think of as prayerful.  One example: in the chapter on Praying with the Senses wrote about the Camera as Prayer Tool, "A camera lens can reveal a microcosm of the world's wonder as the eyewitness to intricate design, human emotion, or a simple landscape. Allow your camera to become a channel of prayer as it captures a snow-capped mountain or a single smile."  I have often felt that photography was a spiritual experience for me, and now Ms. Douty has given that experience a new framework.

I also appreciated her reflections on Intercessory Prayer, where she concludes, "Intercessory prayer isn't about manipulating God's will; it's about placing ourselves and those for whom we pray in the loving Presence that never abandons us, no matter the circumstances."  Overall a worthwhile book, best read in small bits, reflecting on each portion before moving to the next section.