Greg Garrett and Sabrina Fountain WJK Press, 376 pages How I love this new book! Let me count the ways. I could be begin with the luminous essay by Sabrina Fountain in the foreword that sets the deep purpose for this collection. There she describes her own love for books that provide more than solace and more than inspiration. They are more like the ground on which we stand. Fountain says something I understand: “I have a deep reverence for books and still find them profoundly comforting as physical objects.” This book is about the content within great literature that sustains the mind and heart throughout a lifetime. That, too, is what I love. She and co-author Greg Garrett have gathered a wide array of voices from literature across the centuries. It’s obvious the care that has gone into the selection. The title itself comes from a line said by preacher John Ames in “Gilead,” the now classic by Marilynne Robinson. As if literature were not enough, the authors have … [Read more...]

Ross Gay University of Pittsburgh Press, 112 pages I was a young pastor when a mentor said simply, “Read poetry.” Many years later I count that advice as a jewel of wisdom. It set within me a discipline of reading poetry. Actually, it is more like eating poems. Many are inseparable from who I am. They show up everywhere; in fact, they lead me to places I may not have otherwise gone. Poems happily infiltrate my dreams and inform my sermons.  Ross Gay is one of the poets that pastors ought to read. This book, which I was drawn to by the title alone, is a rollicking exaltation of life. Gay is immensely grateful for everything and his language evokes that gratitude for the rest of us. The poems sing of blueberries and peach trees, streets alive, wild dreams and wonder-filled moments of ecstasy. There is, indeed, unabashed gratitude in these poems. The cadence is rap and symphony, staccato and slow rhythm, all in the same long-winding poem.  Reading the title poem, I found myself … [Read more...]

Sister Helen Prejean Random House, 320 pages Reviewed by Roy Howard with Candy Markman and Terry Horgan One of the most remarkable gifts in my life is to know Sister Helen Prejean. Several years ago, she came to our congregation in Lexington, Kentucky, to speak about her deep call to oppose the death penalty. Her compassion was so obvious, along with her fierce commitment to do what is merciful and just, that we were riveted to her words, and more importantly to her calling for us to be disciples of Jesus. As a consequence of that visit, a prison ministry was formed at the largest federal prison for women. Later, we joined together in Maryland as she lent her voice to the (successful) efforts to end capital punishment. Through Prejean I received another remarkable gift: becoming friends with an amazing, eclectic and ecumenical company of those working with her for the abolition of the death penalty, eradication of poverty and a more just criminal justice system. Terry Horgan and … [Read more...]

Peter Steinke Rowman & Littlefield, 176 pages Peter Steinke is a clear-eyed, skilled consultant whose insights have stood the test of time. Other than Edwin Friedman, Steinke, a Lutheran pastor who studied with Friedman, is perhaps the most well-known of all practitioners of family systems theory. They both were students of Murray Bowen who generated a theory of human behavior grounded in biology. Bowen “asserts that the emotional system (biology) is elemental to the whole human enterprise.” In this work, Steinke gives a concise overview of the core aspects of the theory as well as the ways in which Friedman interprets it. Few will question his assertion that we are living in a time of enormous upheaval with soaring levels of anxiety. Uproar is the term and the consequence is massive disturbance. Leaders must learn the critical skills to navigate their roles within communities that are experiencing deep emotional disequilibrium. What may be more important, especially for … [Read more...]

Scot McKnight Baylor University Press, 236 pages Be forewarned: Anyone who reads this book will never again think of Romans in the conventional way. Scot McKnight has done a rare thing by arguing vigorously that Paul’s most famous letter is about “lived theology” rather than abstract theology. He rightly notes that Romans has influenced and shaped Western Christianity since Augustine and Calvin and Barth, all the way to the present time with contemporary scholars. McKnight is familiar with these voices, but he is determined to begin with the very specific context of Paul’s theology, namely the problem of peace between the weak and the strong. Reading Romans 12-16 as the starting point compels McKnight’s vivid pastoral theology: “Paul’s lived theology is about Peace in the empire, and it is a radical alternative to Rome’s famous Pax Romana.” The aim of this theology is primarily an alternative way of life. The early chapters of Romans set the ground for this alternative rather than … [Read more...]