Book Worms Beware

This blog is for the book worms. Holla. Hope this helps and encourages. Here are some books I read in January:

Like You'd Understand Anyway (Shepard). A terrific collection of short stories, this book is an amazing example of what it truly means to be able to write from the inside of a character/story/particular setting. From a nuclear meltdown in Russia, to a cataclysmic tidal wave in Alaska, this writer can weave a tale with the best of them. I highly recommend this for aspiring story-tellers and emerging writers.

Soul in Society (Dorrien). WARNING: This book is highly academic. Dorrien does an excellent job of capturing one segment of Christianity in America in the 20th Century: mainline Protestantism. It was a great read for me as I'm largely under-read in this area. From Hells Kitchen to the Ivory Tower of Columbia University, Dorrien captures the major players and movements that shaped Christianity from 1900 to present day. First rate primer for those interested in the intersection of history, religion and the public sphere.

Emerging Churches (Gibbs and Bolger). I read this in grad school and thought it was good. I picked it up a few weeks ago and was impressed with the authors' ability to survey emerging movements in U.K. as well as the U.S. Thoroughly researched and carefully crafted, this is the standard survey of the way different groups of Christian faith are choosing to engage contemporary culture with an ancient story.

A Theology of Public Life (Matthewes). Another WARNING: highly academic. The entire work is written for those who have a working knowledge of Augustine's writing and thinking. I know just enough Augustine to get me in trouble. Ha. Anyways, there are sections of this book which help contemporary debates come along. Make no mistake. Pack your lunch for this book. It's a heavyweight fight for 12 rounds.

Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Bell and Golden). Overall, a phenomenal interpretive work bringing the Exodus Story in contemporary American religion discourse. Missional to the core, this is Bell's most "political" book. Of course, by "political" I don't mean Republican or Democrat. I am thinking of the idea that the church is a political force. That is, they are interested in how people construct values, practices, and care.

These are the books I'm reading currently/about to read.

A Mercy (Toni Morrison). Compelling novel set in 17th century America. There are no good characters or bad characters. Every character is complex, full of potential for good and evil. I'm told by others who read a lot of Morrison that this is her best book in years.

An Altar in the World (Barbara Brown Taylor). If you read this blog, it will not surprise you when I say that BBT is perhaps, the best writer of our time. Period. Of course I realize that's an incredibly subjective statement (not to mention I get to study under her this summer). Since 2001, Taylor has been my voice for faith in the midst of doubt. After just getting into the beginning sections, I can tell I'll be reading this book a few times over . . . this year.

Praying Like Jesus (Mulholland). Recommended by this great blogger, Mulholland's ability to capture the mystery of The Lord's Prayer without making things too complex is appealing to me. Mulholland gives particular attention to the way in which The Lord's Prayer critiques consumer culture.

The Great Emergence (Tickle). Rave reviews have passed my ears on this book. Haven't started it yet. Looks powerful. I assume this will be written in the same vein as McLaren's trilogy: A New Kind of Christian, Story We Find Ourselves In, and The Last Word.