Here’s what I read in May…
This book was incredibly fascinating. It will blow your mind in so many ways. The main premise of the book is that all of us are driven by habits. Understanding how we form habits can be incredibly useful for individuals and organizations. The simple formula is: cue, routine and reward. There is something here for spiritual development as well. I wonder how this plays into the formation of spiritual disciplines. This book is definitely worth reading but be warned that you will be scared of Target by the end of it.
Wow…did I love this book! The theme of the book is this: Why do evangelicals talk like they are horrible and that the Christian faith is dying when, for the most part, evangelicalism in America is thriving–in fact, growing? The author, who is a sociologist, presents what he feels is much more sound research than, for example, Barna’s and shows how evangelicals aren’t walking away from the faith in droves, don’t have the same divorce rate as the rest of the population, and tend to be more generous than most people. And, he delivers his data in a wickedly funny style.
Overall, the author seemed to be saying, “Don’t listen to Barna and other Christians research organizations who continually deliver doomsday statistics. They have an agenda and their research is faulty.” Specifically, he repeatedly went after Barna. I haven’t exactly sorted out where I land with all of this but it was refreshing to hear a counter argument to the bleak data I’ve been reading for the past few years. To be honest, his data fits my student ministry experience far better than Barna’s. Most of our students do very well with their faith beyond high school and I’ve always been baffled by the numbers Barna and others give concerning the number of college students walking away from faith.
I know that my more conservative friends may not appreciate this author but when he talks of kingdom or “life after life after death,” my heart sings. I still remember when I finally understood that following Jesus means more than saving people for heaven and that heaven is actually a restored earth and God among us. Sadly, I didn’t see the light on this until after Bible college…let that one sink. It was this book that opened my eyes:
Back to N.T. Wright, regardless of where you fall in the justification debate (nerdy theology alarm!), N.T. Wright has helped to bring balance to our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus here and now. This book is heady but I appreciated it, especially the latter half.
