Reading: A Spiritual Discipline

This is a great time of year to catch up on reading and to think about what books you would like to tackle for 2007. Here are some suggestions for both.

New Wineskins has some good pieces: A Conversation with Brian McLaren is excellent; Greg Taylor has compiled some interesting reflections and a movie review per Mary, the mother of Jesus; and some young kid named Josh Graves has also written a piece on experiencing God in the margins. Wineskins can be read at www.wineskins.org.


Some of the best books of 2006:

Gilead
Winner of a Pulitzer Prize, this book chronicles four generations of preachers from Pre-Civil War Kansas to middle twentieth century Iowa. Non-violence, John Brown, aging, fatherhood, legacy, truth, dignity are all major themes in this instant classic.

Irresistible Revolution
The most challenging book I've read in 2006 (thanks to Andy Harrison, Sara Barton et al for making me read this). This book challenges the absence of Christians practicing hospitality and solidarity with the poor as well as our true allegiances. "The real tragedy in the West is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor. The real tragedy is that rich Christians do not know the poor." If we knew the poor, of course we'd care, be involved, fight for justice.

The Color of Law
A novel I read because of the rave reviews it has received, this story asks questions about life in Dallas, Texas. A rich young lawyer has it all (the wife, perfect child, huge mansion, fancy car, large salary) trades his identity to represent a woman he believes is being exploited and abused by a hopeful presidential candidate. I understand this is the author's first novel--absolutely a home-run.

Simply Christian
I'm amazed at NT Wright's ability to write on the scholarly level as well as the popular level. This book, written for the masses, is as fine an introduction to the Christian faith as I've read. It is written in the similar vein of Mere Christianity, but with sensibility to the emerging shape of the post-Christian post-modern West.

Parting the Waters
An engaging narrative surveying the United States during the first stretch of Martin Luther King's leadership with the SCLC. This book does a masterful job of focusing on King without losing the broader picture of crucial attitudes and events happening around the United States. This book affirms what I've believed for a few years: Martin Luther King is the most important American of the twentieth century, perhaps the most important American ever. Why? He challenged us (all of us) to think seriously about those cherished lines, "That all men are created equal..."

Girl Meets God
Lauren Winner writes a memoir that treats serious subjects (sex, fidelity in marriage, faith, Eucharist, holy calendar, Judaism and Christianity) with a holy playfulness. She also treats rather routine projects (like cooking, reading, traveling) with great reverence. At the heart of the memoir is the tension Lauren walks in with her conversions to Judaism and Christianity. Christians who believe that the Bible starts with Matthew's genealogy, must read this "journal-esque" spiritual steak and potatoes.

Leaving Church
My favorite spiritual writer continues to churn out prophetic book after prophetic book. If you've not read Taylor, this is an excellent introduction.

The Four Voices of Preaching
OK. Only a few of you would even consider reading this. It's worth it...for the two of you that is.

Some of the books I look forward to reading in 2007

The Real Mary
Jesus and His Death
Evil and the Justice of God
African Bible Commentary
Next Christendom
The New Faces of Christianity
The Unfolding Drama of the Bible
Messiah of Morris Avenue
Pillar of Fire
Freakonomics
Gates of Fire

So...What are you reading in 2007?

Peace.