Church in the Inventive Age

by Doug Pagitt

A realistic look at options Christian churches have in our current context - which Pagitt calls the "inventive age".  Rather than give a lot of answers, Pagitt points in certain directions and asks questions that provoke thoughtful reflection.  According to Pagitt, the inventive age gives churches a great opportunity to find new ways to interact with the world around them, and one size does not fit all.

Doug Pagitt examines the many changes going on in churches in the North American context, and then tries to determine what is behind those changes and what such changes mean for Christian communities.  This book is from a series on the inventive age.  After reading this provocative and enjoyable book I look forward to others in the series.

The Prague Cemetery

by Umberto Eco

A long, and sometimes confusing novel about late 19th century European history, confusing because it was hard to follow all the espionage and counter-espionage, secret societies and movements. Perhaps if I knew my European history from this era better I would have found the book more engaging. As I was the only aspect of the book I truly appreciated was its portrayal of how antisemitism was expanded and promoted and used as a political tool in the lead up to the 20th century.

I found Eco's use of the double narrator plot device somewhat pretentious and the conclusion of the mystery anti-climatic. This is not to say I didn't enjoy the book on some levels, but I would hardly call it "magnificent" as apparently the Sunday Times did.  I picked this book up in a Paris train station book store, it seemed an appropriate choice because we were heading to Prague that very day.  I was surprised when the story opened in the very part of Paris we had just stayed in during our vacation there (the Latin Quarter).  The book revealed some of the roots of antisemitism, but I still I think I learned more about that from our guide in Prague when we walked about the old Jewish Quarter. While there we took a peek in the Cemetery referred to in this book, but unfortunately we didn't actually go it - when I think back on that opportunity now I wish we had taken the time to go inside the cemetery and look around more closely.

Finally I think I didn't enjoy this book as much because none of the characters are really anyone worth rooting for, they are all rather despicable people - and I get weary of reading endless depravity.

Paris Revealed: The Secret Life of a City

by Stephen Clarke

I picked up this book in a Paris train station as we waited to board a train for Prague.  I only wish I had found this book before visiting Paris, rather than at the tail end of our time there. A fun look at some of the unique characteristics of Paris and its inhabitants. Written by a British author and humourist who has lived in Paris for many years and filled with keen observations that only an outsider who is really familiar with the subject can provide.  I particularly enjoyed the first part of the book with its look at Paris' pavements, metro and history.  It explained a lot of what we saw and experienced in our week in the city of light.  The second half of the book was still entertaining but not as relevant to our experience.

Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Victory June 6, 1944

by Mark Zuehlke

A detailed account of Canada's involvement in D-Day. This is a piece of Canadian history that I think everyone should be more aware of. Having visited the Juno Beach Centre in France (where I picked up this book) I have developed a greater appreciation of the sacrifice of the young Canadian men in the push to liberate France from the Nazis. I also have a more vivid understanding of the horror and human cost of war.

Sometimes the details were overwhelming, trying to keep all the various military terms and troops sorted out in this large work, but Mark Zuehlke was also able to weave in many individual stories and incidents to keep the material interesting. I was proud of Canada when I finished the book, not because I glory in war, but because what the Canadian troops accomplished that day was astounding, and yet is little known in public memory.  I learned, for example, that even though the Canadian troops were last to land, and faced the most fierce resistance (other than what the American troops faced at Omaha beach), the Canadian troops pushed the furthest inland.  The Canadian troops were the first to accomplish one of the military objectives set forth that day, in spite of huge losses of soldiers on the Juno Beach.

Looking back on our recent European trip, I wish I had read this book before visiting the Juno Beach Centre, and I wished we had had more time to spend there.  Thanks to this book, Juno Beach is more than a vague idea of something that happened in World War II, and for that I am grateful.

Jesus' People: What the Church Should Do Next

by Steven Croft

I borrowed this book from my brother James, who read it as part of his work on a Doctor of Ministry degree.  I wish I had my own copy for there were many passages I wanted to highlight.  While little that is in this book is new, Steven Croft has put his reflections on the life and ministry of the Christian Church in the 21st Century in a clear, concise and articulate manner worthy of some time and attention.  Right off the bat I appreciated the way that Steven refuses to participate in the blame game, looking for reasons the church has failed or is failing.  Instead he focuses on what it means to be fruitful, and how that might look different than corporate success.

Bishop Croft sets forth four tenets in this book: 
1. We are navigating through a time of great change and to navigate well we need to rediscover Jesus Christ as the compass and centre of the Church’s life.

2. We need as a Church to reflect the character of Jesus to our society. But what does this mean?

3. We are called as a Church to do what Jesus did: to build up the Christian community and to change the world. It is neither one nor the other but both.

4. We will only have the strength to change ourselves or others if we are deeply rooted in Jesus. But how should that happen?

Each of these 4 points is examined carefully, and I was both affirmed and challenged in my ministry in each of these sections.  This book is a valuable resource for any church leader seeking to a compass to the future.

The Realms Thereunder

by Ross Lawhead

Ross is the son of one of my favourite authors of fiction Stephen R. Lawhead.  This book is the first in a series called "The Ancient Earth Trilogy" of which the second book will come out in January 2013.  What that means is that I will now have to wait to find out how the story will progress, in many ways this book felt like a prelude - a way of introducing the characters and plot line, but not much was resolved by the conclusion of the book.  This is the danger of reading such series - one gets hooked into storyline only to be forced to wait for resolution for months or even years.  It is for this reason that usually I don't start a series until all the books have been published, however I made an exception in this case because this book is set in Oxford, and we were visiting there this summer.

As for the book itself, it was certainly entertaining and incorporated some novel elements, but I do not think Ross write quite as skillfully as his father Stephen.  I did find it entertaining, but at times I felt the mixture of contemporary attitudes and ancient setting (in a fantasy world) a little to jarring, or simply unbelievable.  I will read the rest of the series when it comes out, but Ross will not replace Stephen as my favourite Lawhead author.

A New Pile of Books

I have just returned from a month long vacation in Europe with my family.  While there I purchased a number of books (my idea of souvenirs), many of these coming from Blackwells Book Store in Oxford, England.  These books were shipped home, and were waiting for me when we arrived back in Regina after our European Adventure.  Many of these books will show up on this blog in the coming months I'm sure, but one I would like to mention that won't show up here otherwise is the Fully Revised Fourth Edition of The New Oxford Annotated Bible (New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha).  While in University and Seminary my primary Bible was The Oxford Study Bible (Revised Standard Version), and I thought it was time to get an updated version of this helpful resource.  The new version is heavier than the original, which I suspect means more annotations and commentary.  I thought it appropriate to get this Bible while actually in Oxford - that city of deep Christian history and significant theological scholarship.