Summer Reading
As part of summer renewal, I try to focus on a couple of topics that will help support the work we do resourcing congregations. If I can combine that with my own interests and passions, all the better! So for this summer, I’m going to continue reading authors whose writing celebrates the quest for holistic, holy living. I want to read books that nourish and sustain my longing for a richer, more textured sense of what it means to be Christian.
Related to the topic of living life to the fullest is the quest for a new way of “being church.” This re-imagining of what Christians are called to be and to do is compelling and life-giving. The fact that this quest–this call to servant leadership, to church as a verb or a movement–crosses denominational lines, cultural differences, and generations makes it even more interesting
In addition to reading authors like Barbara Brown Taylor and Eugene Peterson, I will continue to listen to the voices of Brian McLaren, Phyllis Tickle, Rob Bell, Diana Butler Bass. I want to see God’s presence in the myriad ways God is revealed. I want to be part of a church that wrestles with the human dilemmas of justice and equity. I want to serve a church that isn’t afraid to ask hard questions and is always wary of easy answers.
To begin, I’m rereading Barbara Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World. Part of this is to remember again that “the whole world is the House of God.” With this as a base, I’ll move on to Eugene Peterson’s Run with the Horses about freedom and spontaneity. Then I’d like to tackle Peterson’s “conversations” series: Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, Eat This Book, The Jesus Way, and Tell It Slant.
- What helps you see the whole world as the House of God?
- What changes in the church do you find hopeful? frightening?
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