I just finished the reading book Church Re-Imagined by Doug Pagitt. This book outlines a week in the life of the church, Solomon’s Porch (they are apart of the emerging Church movement). It took me a few months to get through it (I kept getting side tracked with other books) but overall it is mediocre. It is filled with different perspectives and practices on ministry and spiritual formation. Overall though, it didn’t grab me the way I thought it would. Maybe I read it with too high of expectations, but it was a good book with some interesting methodological ideas and practices, some of which are really interesting and unique. I wouldn’t, however, say it was ground breaking or life/ministry transforming. Would I recommend it? Maybe…It depends. It is entirely church autobiographical and methodological without any real theological reflection but it is an interesting glimpse into the life of a unique church using a unique model of ministry.
Category Archives: book review
My reading for the last six weeks…
Over the last 6 weeks or so I have read numerous books for school (pictured above). I usually make it a practice to write some thoughts on the books I read but at the pace I was going and the other school work I was doing, it just didn’t get done. Instead, I thought I would write a brief overview of the highlight and lowlights of my reading adventures.
The best and most insightful book I read was Paul Spilbury’s book, The Throne, The Lamb and The Dragon. It is a helpful guide for reading and interpreting the book of Revelation. It helped to put into works a lot of what I was thinking about through my study and research for a class on the Apocalyptic Literature and Revelation. That leads me to another important work that any pastor doing work in Revelation should have, Revelation: Four Views by Gregg. It is a parallel commentary that looks at the four main views of Revelation (Spiritual, Futurist, Historical, and Preterist).
The book that made me think the most was Honest to God by Robinson. It is part of a Contemporary Theology Class I am in and it has got my brain moving and stretching.
I also liked The Reformed Pastor by Baxter written nearly 400 years ago. Its timeless nature gives it credibility and although you (like myself) may not agree with it all, it is a great perspective on the calling and work of pastor.
The most practical book was God’s Gifted People by Harbaugh. Although it has bad exegesis, it is a great resource for Meyers-Briggs applications in the church.
The worst book by far and ironically the most entertaining was Racing Towards The Mark of the Beast by the Lalonde brothers. It was part of an assignment to critique a popular book relating to the book of Revelation. Need I say more?
That is the fast summary of my reading over the last few weeks. So it is on to the next stack of books as I prepare for a major paper presentation on “Hans Kung” – the contemporary rebel catholic theologian.
Body Prayer
I just finished the book Body Prayer by Doug Pagitt and Kathryn Prill and was disappointed. I wasn’t disappointed so much in the book or its content but the price. Maybe it is the inevitable risk of purchasing a book online but the book I received wasn’t the book I expected. I liked it, don’t get me wrong, and I’m sure Doug and Kathryn had absolutely nothing to do with setting the price (and probably will only receive a measly $0.25 royalty per book) but it was just way too expensive. It is a good resource, one I will use, but in my opinion it is really only worth about $10 instead of the $21.00 price tag I paid at Chapters.
About the book: it is filled with great, creative and ancient ideas of using our bodies as we pray. It is completely practical and if you are looking for a historical or theological book on the subject you will be disappointed.
Like I said, I liked the book but if you are thinking of buying it, wait until it goes on sale, as it just isn’t worth the high price tag.
“The Scared Way” and My Future Pilgrimage
I just finished reading “The Sacred Way” by Tony Jones. Along with other things, it prompted me to think about doing a Spiritual Pilgrimage some time in my life. I am not sure where or when, but it definitely intrigues, excites and scares me. Previous to reading this book, I would have never really thought about doing a pilgrimage, but after hearing the history behind it and from Tony’s personal experience, I think it is something that I have real interest in.
In a paradoxical sort of way, I like/dislike books on prayer and spiritual disciplines. One of the things I really liked about this book is the personal dynamic in it. It made it real, raw and drew me into a subject that otherwise has a tendency to be dull, boring and guilt driven.
The Gospel Reloaded
I just finished reading “The Gospel Reloaded“ by Chris Seay and found it interesting and thought provoking. In fact, it has made me want to watch The Matrix again just to see it with deeper insights, understanding and appreciation. Previous to reading this book (about three months ago), I also read “The Gospel According to Tony Soprano“ by Seay, which I found for $1.99 in the Chapter’s bargain section. It, too, was an interesting refection. I think both of these works constitutes and explains why I think just as much conversation, discussion and spiritual good can come out of the dialogue from any “secular” movie and TV show then the Christian alternatives. I think Christians should spend more time dialoguing about the movies people are seeing, even if they disagree with them. People see movies for a reason; they resonate with them. So as Christians, I think we can have more influence, and integrity for that matter, in our culture if we can talk honestly and intelligently about the movies people are seeing.
All of that too say, although some people despise books about movies or drawing spiritual conversations out of them, and granted it too can be taken to the extreme, it is an important part of our culture and I think and important part of our dialogue within it.