5 comments about The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out without Selling Out.

1. Mark is entertaining, thought-provoking, and worth reading if you're trying to get acquaninted with the debates surrounding the Emerging Conversation (For the record, I don't think he associates himself with what is commonly identified as the Emerging Church now; his ministry model and take on postmodern culture is similar but his theology is much more traditional and conservative.) I thought a lot of what he had to say was right on and a good voice to listen to in addition to others, especially if you are into the more theologically fuzzy writings of someone like McClaren. I think you would do a disservice to yourself if you made him your steady diet, because in addition to making some good points, he can also be kind of abrasive and dismissive of people who don't see eye to eye with him. I was annoyed by what comes across to me as sexism and a sort of adolescent male machismo. His very conservative take on women's roles in marriage and ministry lead to some stupid comments. I know my husband appreciated his humor more than I did, so maybe he's just a guy's guy. If you're looking for something academic or philosopical, look elsewhere, but for an easy read on a facet of contemporary Evangelical thought, it's a decent offering.



2. A great read! As long as you are willing to admit that our own flesh is often the limiting factor to the spread of the gospel, you will like the book. Most people will probably get mad that Mark makes fun of them. He is either criticizing their preference of tradition or calling them out for not loving Jesus and the Gospel. There are some great points brought forth in the book, but keep in mind, and Mark even make a point to say this in his conclusion, that he is not saying that we all need to do church like he does. He is simply saying that for every cultural setting there is a way to share the offensive truth of the Gospel, and it's our job to find the right method given our cultural setting. Enjoy, Pastor Wade



3. There are few men in the US who are raising the bar for ministry and the men who are called to do such work, quite like Mark Driscoll. Young men going into ministry need humble models and they are hard to find. God calls real men to stand in the gape for souls. Driscoll is burdened to see men in ministry who love Jesus best and love His word. Everyone else stay away! This is a man worthy of imitation and this book is a good start in understanding how to follow him as he follows Christ.



4. I really, really liked this book. So much so that I not only ordered my own copy, but I didn't give back the one I borrowed, I gave it to someone else to read first.
   
   Radical reformission is about a transformation of the church. Mark shares his philosophy regarding the church, and what it means for a church to be missional. This book combines powerful teaching with storytelling, and the typical driscoll humor.
   
   I love the story of how he started in ministry. Mark accepted Christ, and then immediately decided to start a bible study (the same week!). He summarizes it like this "It then dawned on me that I had been a Christian for only a few days, had never been in a Bible study, and did not really know anything in the Bible other than the fact that I sucked and that Jesus is God." Mark offered to let anyone ask any question, as long as they would give him a week to try to figure it out.
   
   Mark is very transparent in this book, sharing both success and failures. After one very entertaining story about going to a gay cowboy bar (gotta read the book!) in which he was afraid to tell people he was a pastor, he said "I cared more about how I appeared to people than about whether I shared the passion of Jesus for those who are lost"
   
   But the chapter on reformissional evangelism really hit home with me. I struggle with the idea that we expect people to jump through hoops to be part of the church, and Mark writes an incredible analogy on this point:
   
   "In reformission evangelism, people are called to come and see the transformed lives of God's people before they are called to repent of sin and trust in God. Taking a cue from dating is helpful on this point. If we desire people to be happily married to Jesus as his loving bride, it makes sense to let them go out on a few dates with him instead of just putting a shotgun to their heads and asking them to hurry up, put on a white dress, and try to look happy for the photos."
   
   Mark then explains "In our church in Seattle, as lost people become friends with Christians, they often get connected to various ministries (for example, helping to run concerts, helping to guide a rock-climbing expedition, taking a class on biblical marriage, helping to develop a website, joining a Bible study, serving the needy) and participate in them before they possess saving faith."
   
   This is a key difference between the emerging church and the traditional church. Traditionally churches require people to be members before they do things, which requires that they are already Christians. The emerging church is about exposing people to a life in Christ and using that to draw them in.
   
   Mark challenges readers to engage culture rather than withdraw from it, but is careful to caution that engaging culture does not include sinning (e.g. things like fornication and drunkenness are not engaging culture, they are sin).
   
   In a chapter entitled "the sin of light beer" Mark talks about the dangers of syncretism and sectarianism, and specifically utilizes the Christian church's demonization of something God created for the joy of His people, alcohol, to make his point. I really love Mark's conclusion in this chapter:
   
   "Here's what I'd like you to remember from this chapter: reformission is not about abstention; it is about redemption. We must throw ourselves into the culture so that all that God made good is taken back and used in a way that glorifies him. Our goal is not to avoid drinking, singing, working, playing, eating, love-making, and the like. Instead, our goal must be to redeem those things through the power of the gospel so that they are used rightly according to Scripture, bringing God glory and his people a satisfied joy."
   
   The conclusion of the book is profound in its own very post-modern way. Rather than wrap everything up into a neat little conclusion, Mark concludes the book by sharing his hopes and dreams for the city of Seattle and the ministry of Mars Hill. In essence, Mark shares what he prays will be the end result of putting into practice the things that he has been writing about through this book. That the world would be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
   
   This is one of the best books I have read in a long, long time.
   
   Joel



5. This book is really helping our small groups rethink how we evangelize and speak to people. Its been a great tool and we are thoroughly enjoying it.

5 comments about Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith.

1. This book just "popped" up as an advertised suggestion for me, and after looking at the details on Amazon, I decided to order it. I am doing a lot of soul searching about my own faith journey, and am having a struggle with the Institutional Church not truly following the teachings of Jesus, having gotten enmired in politics and building empire. I felt this book was speaking to me, and is one I could hardly put down. It is well written, and certainly one I would, and have recommended to others.



2. Over the course of my life I have learned certain things about salad; it has good, nourishing things in it, like spinach, almonds, feta cheese, and olive oil. Sometimes you can add strawberries. With a splash of balsamic vinegar, it sings. Other times it is dressed with slightly less healthy things like mayonnaise or sour cream, but generally its ingredients have a clear line of succession back to something alive; apples, raisins, eggs, potatoes.
   
   Then I moved to South Dakota, where I was introduced to "salad". Unlike what I have just described, this concoction is made of things like Cool Whip and crushed up Oreos. It tastes good in the moment, but by the end of it I am always left slightly nauseous and wondering where it came from.
   
   There's a lot of spiritual "salad" out there. Thankfully, this offering is not in that group. From the moment you crack open the cover, it sings. Her story of earthy, fragrant devotion to God is refreshing and very alive. It breathes the living life of Christ and speaks from the still beating but wounded heart of the church. Thankfully, Taylor veers only briefly into the sordid realm of political hot button issues, and for good reason.
   
   With fifteen years in the pastoral crucible under her belt, and an evident love for all of us, Taylor comes across as someone you can trust. Her words in this precious memoir are nourishing, full of flavor and, like the vegetables in her Georgia garden, entirely organic.



3. This book would have been more accurately described in the subtitle as a "Memoir of Personal Experience".
   
   She dismisses orthodox Christian Theology and doctrine as something that the Apostles and Early Church had to "come up with" to explain this or that.
   
   Ultimately it is a story of how the narrow Christian path and Church "didn't work" for her, and many of her thoughts and experiences confirm the fact that women were never meant to be "priests" in the first place (though this fact enrages those who hold to the political language of "equal rights" versus sound apostolic theology).
   
   I found the book pleasant and very readable, but at the same time it was a sad story of how Christ just "wasn't enough". While most in our culture will find it "affirming" or down right "spiritual", it is a disappointment for the orthodox Christian who may wish to read a story about how Christ and the scriptures contain "all things necessary for salvation".
   
   Barbara's approach in later life is gnostic and universalist. In the words of her Presiding Bishopess, "saying Christ is the only way is to put God in too small of a box". Emotions, feelings, and cravings rule the day in the final analysis of her relationship to Christ, and it seems that "leaving" orthodoxy is freeing to her, though I question she was ever there in the first place. Ultimately, God is the final judge of what she has done and what she now teaches.
   
   Her elevation of Native American theology and her fondness of "other paths" leads the committed Christian looking elsewhere for a story of knowing Christ and Him crucified, and following Him in a culture that values personal choice and heterodoxy over all other things.
   
   In the end it is a volume that will find great company with the writings of Spong, Borg, Ehrman, and others who deny the reality of John 14:6 and the authority of Holy Sripture in the name of being on "an authentic journey".
   
   If I have to "put my eggs in one basket" I am going to have to stick with the Apostles and the Church Fathers and leave "other ways" up to Barbara, fine preacher though she is.



4. I read a lot of memoirs these days. In fact they are probably my favorite literary genre. Maybe I should have been warned by Taylor's subtitle - not simply "a memoir," but "a memoir of faith." Because this is not a memoir in the usual sense. There is precious little of Taylor's childhood, youth or young adulthood - no real concrete stories and examples from her life. Too much of this book remains caught in the abstraction of ideas and beliefs, with not nearly enough examples. The people who show up in the book remain undeveloped vague outlines. And I have a hard time identifying with Brown's spiritual "quest," if that is what it is. I don't think it's because she's a woman either. What few facts that do emerge about her life outside this "quest" do not really serve to make her a sympathetic character. Daughter of a psychotherapist, sister of a lawyer, wife of an engineer - all these tidbits add up to what appears to have been a life of privilege and ease, and continued to be even after her ordination, as she speaks of her Saab and Audi and how they didn't fit into her rural community, and goes on at some length about everything she "wanted" in her custom-built home outside of town (in lieu of a parsonage near her church). What comes through in Barbara Brown Taylor's book is a story of a driven overachiever, who in fact drives herself into a near nervous breakdown, which finally causes her to leave her church and the active priesthood. While I do not doubt the sincerity of her quest for her true vocation and place in God's world, I do wonder about her motives. She became more likeable - more human - in the final section of the book, after she had left the priesthood, when she talks about her crisis of faith and things like her fears of inadequacy and the death of her father. Having said all of this, I still have to say that I'm glad I read the book, which has left me with much to think about in regard to my own role in the Church (Catholic in my case)and my relationship with God and my place in His world. I also think that Taylor is a person I'd like to know, but these 200-plus pages have not given me that opportunity. A memoir of faith? Perhaps. A "memoir"? No. - Tim Bazzett, author of Reed City Boy



5. This gracefully written narrative tells the story of Taylor's journey toward ordained ministry, her years as an Episcopal priest, and her departure from that life into a new vocation as a college professor. She decides that the most important calling is not to be ordained or to be religious, but to be fully human and to live a life of love. This is a touching autobiography, an eloquent memoir of faith.

5 comments about United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.

1. This catechism is much easier to read than the "Catechism of the Catholic Church". To get a good review of the Catechism take the Why Catholic classes, read the "US Catholic Catechism", then the "Catechism", then the "Why Catholic" book.
   
   United States Catholic Catechism for Adults



2. This a must-have tool for any Catholic who wants to know more about the faith. Written more like a textbook than a reference book, this catechism presents the Roman Catholic faith in a way that is easy to digest, thought-provoking, and relevant. I've recommended it to many of our parishioners, with wonderful results!



3. This faithful representation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is by far the easiest version of the catechism to use in education.



4. This is an excellent book but it is begging for something to go with it. That something is a newer copy of the New American Bible, Revised version of the Bible and a copy of the Vatican II documents. All these documents get to the bottom of what we believe. They form the foundation for our religious library.
   
   Deacon Pat



5. This book is very organized and easy to read. It is very informative and gives the reader more insight on the views, rituals and beliefs of the Catholic Church. It is a must for Catholics who want/need to learn more about their faith.

5 comments about Letter to a Christian Nation (Vintage).

1. Sam Harris has written a wonderful little book. It is short and to the point! His arguments are clearly stated and he includes numerous concrete examples to illustrate his points.



2. This is the calm rational, well thought out response to the rhetoric of the American Fundamentalist movement, and all it's grinning pernicious absurdity.



3. I read this book in about two days because it was so good, yes, I know some can read it in one sitting, but I'm fairly busy. Anyway, it was nice to read something that mirrors my sentiments on this topic almost exactly. Sam Harris isn't apologetic in his critique of religion and I think this is a breath of fresh air to simply call hypocrisy for hypocrisy. One thing I did like is that Harris didn't single out just Christianity, but he actually goes over religion in general. I think this is because he didn't want to give out any illusions that Christianity is the sole problem religion out there, it's not, it's all religious conceptions.
   
   One point that I hadn't really given much thought was the financial perspective. Which is funny because I have a degree in finance and economics. Anyway he brought up the concept about the untold millions of dollars that are going into these Christian organizations. Most of this goes to support the infrastructure of the church, you'd be surprised how little goes to charitable organizations. I used to look at Church accounts in an old job and it shocked me how their balance continued to grow versus how much was actually leaving. Some non-profit organization that is? Another point is that there's a drastic opportunity cost. Could you imagine if people took the money they normally give to the church and either saved it on their own, or donated it to medical research to cure something like cancer or come up with a vaccine for AIDS. It's such a crazy notion to think that people willingly give a portion of their income to an organization that is bent on informing them that they are all sinners and none of them are good enough for God, but, hey, he loves you anyway, so give us your money. That's just asking to be beaten down on a regular basis and happily give them your money. Doesn't this fall into a notion of a possible pathological disorder?
   
   One aspect I'm sort of surprised at is that Harris didn't attack the Biblical history. Frankly it doesn't really matter if Christians follow a creationist policy, the fact is most of those stories are borrowed from ancient societies. The Sumerian tale of the flood greatly predates the Bible and Noah's real name was Ziusudra. You'd be surprised at the parallels. Even the Garden of Eden parallel story can be found in a tale about Inanna. Most Christians don't care to acknowledge this cherry picking of other religious stories, but they are happy to cherry pick the "good" quotes out of their Bible to justify that their God is actually only loving and perfect... but we'll ignore that thing about slavery now won't we? Further on the historical note it's pretty clear cut that Moses didn't write the first five books. Aside from blatant borrowing, the Bible was written down in 600 B.C. during the Israelites captivity in Babylon. Yes, the Torah was written in Babylon. Historians figure the Exodus with Moses happened in the vicinity of 1300 B.C. and it's pretty clear he died during that book, so how he wrote it in 600 B.C. is beyond me. I've listened to many Christian preachers and they all purport that Moses wrote the Torah. Did it ever occur to anyone he died before it was finished? In fact it recounts his death and keeps going, it doesn't just abruptly end. This is a very strange literary technique, the dead continuing to write a book...
   
   Another point I'm surprised he didn't attack is the blatant proof that God is an unjust deity. If you read through this text it's made abundantly clear in the New Testament that if you don't follow Jesus you will not be saved. In fact you are doomed to suffer eternal death. This doesn't matter if you are actually a good person, a wonderful and loving father to your children; if you don't follow Jesus you are done. I can't physically think of any concept or proof more unjust than this. Naturally people will quote Pascal, but it's an aberrant proof. Harris blatantly points out that people DO have something to lose and that religion is detrimental to others on a global scale. Maybe it's not God, maybe it's the followers, because they simply can't deal with religion responsibly. It must be imposed on others. I just don't understand this mindset and if God truly is a loving and caring being then the actions of his followers should be making him weep constantly and not an atheist that doesn't rape, murder, and honors his neighbor. But the faithful don't look at it this way, it's the atheist that is the problem, not the child molester who believes and can have his sins forgiven despite his problems.
   
   This book is an outcry to a nation that sorely needs it. Where science is constantly on trial and regardless if science doesn't have a ready answer means God did it. This is a huge problem, more people need to read this book and understand it. Do NOT cherry pick this text like so many love to do with their religious texts. It must be taken in as a whole, much like the Bible should be read, but most people don't read the Bible so they don't understand the hypocritical concepts Harris brings up on a textual level. I know the Christian militant front will decry this review, but I urge you to read about intellectual honesty when it comes to this topic.



4. Very well written, though I think Richard Dawkins is a level above Sam Harris.
   I think ultimately for me will this book be read by the people who should read it, i.e. the religious moderates and liberals, the fanatical will of course dismiss it.
   I think its pleasing the increased level of discussion, with Bill Maher's documentary coming out later this year, there is hope for the reasonable and rationale.



5. A well-prepared little book with a well-rounded overlook at some fallacies behind religion. Harris tackles issues surrounding religions in the format of a letter. It is a slight book that is quickly read, but don't underestimate the power behind these few words. Harris says, "While believing strongly, without evidence, is considered a mark of madness or stupidity in any other area of our lives, faith in God still holds immense prestige in our society. Religion is the one area of our discourse where it is considered noble to pretend to be certain about things no human being could possibly be certain about." Everyone should read this book. Christians, Muslims, and others should at least be open to considering other ideas before rejecting them. Harris has rejected religion, but he has not done so without great thought. In his summary, he states, "Clearly, it is time we learned to meet our emotional needs without embracing the preposterous."

5 comments about Searching for God Knows What.

1. I purchased this book because I was impressed with "Blue Like Jazz," Miller's preceding work. BLJ is meandering and not especially well organized, but as I read it, every 5 - 10 pages some incredible bit of wisdom and/or experience would explode off the page at me. (It's unusual for a young writer of contemporary Christian literature to "register" with a sixty-something person still trying to get a handle on God and spirituality.) Consequently, my copy of BLJ has MANY pages that have been dog-eared for future reference.
   
   However, as to "Searching For God..." no explosions at all, at least not for me. This one reads more like someone thinking aloud on paper, with no real focus or direction. "...for God Knows What" is a pretty descriptive title.



2. I loved the way Donald Miller thinks. He is good at laughing at himself and us in our ways of seaching for the divine.



3. The basic thesis of Miller's book is that Christianity should not be reduced to a set of principles, regardless of how true, necessary or helpful they might be, as to do so detracts from the relationship with God that is central in the Scriptures and thus by far more important. He examines the relational aspect to Christianity from various angles using real life examples that drive the point home all the more because they are situations most readers today would have experienced either first-hand or second-hand at some or other point in their lives. Miller answers the question, What Do we Really Want?, in the light of his own rejection of the small god of his fundamentalist background...he uncovers the passionate and personal Person of God by looking at the Fall of Man in a very real and heart-wrenching manner by comparing God's reaction to Adam and Eve's sin to the reaction of his friend who overheard his wife tell another man how much she loved him. Miller's disarming manner brings new meaning to old truths and challenges the reader to re-examine his own relationship with a God Who is real and not the boxed-in god our formulas have made him to be. His discussion on the five-fold stress on "nakedness" in Genesis 1-3 is an excellent example of this. He suggests that the reason we all have various forms of insecurities and a need for external affirmation is because of the Fall. Man was made to gain security from God and once that relationship is marred, Man begins to look elsewhere to fill the vacuum created by the absence. This is perhaps the most valuable part of the entire book as it addresses a major need in today's society...that the hole we keep trying to fill with stuff can only be truly filled by God. Only in Him can we find true fulfillment and contentment and security and cease to feel ashamed due to the realization of our "nakedness". This relationship, Miller argues, can only be begun and continued once the reader falls in love with Jesus, rather than trying to relate to Him via some form of recipe. Loving God and knowing that we are loved by Him, and that we gain our value and self-worth by this relationship of love, will set us free to be able to love as God loves without feeling the need for barriers to protect and defend us from attack caused by rendering ourselves vulnerable. Miller also tackles the thorny issue of the overly politicized Church...and argues that if we left the fight for the political future of the country and rather concentrated on the battle for the hearts and souls of the lost, the Church would flourish and the Kingdom of God would grow...this is something I feel needs to be said over and over again. Change will not come by means of political power - it never has. This was the same mistake the 1st Century Jews made in their thoughts regarding the Messiah...they wanted a political figure coming in power and might. No, change must come through relationships as one heart is won for Jesus at a time. In the final chapter, he uses the balcony and death scenes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to demonstrate his thesis that to follow Jesus is more like falling in love rather than baking cookies. This is a book that is potentially life-changing and should be read by all Christians who are serious about living out their Christianity before a world that has become weary and suspicious of neatly pre-packaged reasons and recipes for following Jesus. I have highly recommended this book to my parishioners and others because it challenges the way in which we relate to a God we have all too often confined to a box of our own making. Miller exhorts us to look beyond our formulas to truly meet the God Who is there and here and Who desires to be known for Who He is and not what He is.



4. I thoroughly enjoyed this book after reading Miller's "Blue Lke Jazz." Coming to faith almost two years ago I've discovered that there's a Christian culture that gets you sucked in, allowing you to miss Jesus. The sad part is that, you can stay and just be a "friend" of Jesus. But to be fully mature and to experience His fullness Jesus MUST be the center of our walk and not judgment fear or religion. It is the relationship that brings us close to Christ and knowing Him in a more intimate fashion. These books have helped along with a study in revival in taking another step higher rather than walking the same line. This is an excellent read and I recommend it!!



5. What a refreshing view of Christianity! I love Miller's offbeat way of sharing the truth through stories and observations. (He doesn't speak "Christianese".) This book showed me and reminded me of whom Jesus is and was, not the version that was taught in Sunday School. Today's Christianity has missed the boat on some things and Miller reminds us of this. A timely, modern reminder not to be the Pharasees we read about in scripture. Please read this as a poignant reminder of how we need to show the real Jesus to the world. My 19 year old son is now reading it. Pass these truths around and watch the climate change.

5 comments about The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart.

1. Now that Bill Clinton is using Bill Bishop's book "The Big Sort" as the basis for his current speeches, I should finally post a review. I read this book as soon as it was published and liked it, but not being one who regularly picks up social science books on political culture I procrastinated. Now it's time, and here are a few observations.
   
   "The Big Sort" refers to the fact that lifestyle choices are leading like-minded folks to live together in communities where they feel comfortable and perhaps unchallenged. That has significant ramifications for our country's political and social development. To quote the book, "The lesson for politics and culture is pretty clear. It doesn't matter if you're a frat boy, a French high school student, a petty criminal, or a federal appeals court judge. Mixed company moderates; like-minded company polarizes. Heterogeneous communities restrain group excesses; homogeneous communities march toward extremes."
   
   The fact that Republican strategists understood this well before the Democrats is detailed in a discussion with Matthew Dowd, George Bush's pollster in the 2000 election and chief strategist for the Bush campaign in 2004. According to Bishop's account, Dowd understood that "American communities were 'becoming very homogeneous'. He believed that to a large degree, this clustering was defensive, the general reaction to a society, a country, and a world that were largely beyond an individual's control or understanding. For generations, people had used their clubs, their trust in a national government, and long-established religious denominations to make sense of the world. But those old institutions no longer provided a safe harbor. 'What I think has happened,' Dowd told me early in 2005, 'is the general anxiety the country feels is building. We're no longer anchored'." Bishop decodes this further, saying "Unsurpassed prosperity had enriched Americans---and it had loosened long established social moorings. Americans were scrambling to find a secure place, to make a secure place...Most Americans have done that by seeking out(or perhaps gravitating toward)those who share their lifeworlds---made up of old, fundamental differences such as race, class, gender, and age, but also, now more than ever, personal tastes, beliefs, styles, opinions, and values."
   
   "The Big Sort" identifies 1965 as the beginning of the major shift in American political and social demographics. The result today, in a political sense, is underscored by the findings of Bishop and his sociologist/demographer contributor Robert Cushing. Statistics showed that in the 1976 presidential election only 20% or Americans lived in counties that voted for one candidate or the other by more than a 20% margin. By 2004, 48% of America's counties were this type of landslide county with 20% plus margins for one of the candidates. Big change.
   
   Bishop's book manages to deal with this subject comprehensively while being fluidly written, informative, insightful, and even entertaining. Somehow he pulls off the trick of letting us know of his participation in the "clustering" by living in a liberal Austin neighborhood where he fits in, without upsetting the balanced analytical perspective of the book. At least that's my take on it. It's an important book that seems to be gaining deserved recognition as we move toward November 4.



2. Bishop's "Big Sort" comes at an interesting time - when Obama promises to reunite America, to stress what we have in common instead of what differentiates us. Bishop makes it clear that may no longer be possible. We have willfully segregated ourselves into political/lifestyle groupings that allow for little diversion from their mean. Liberals listen only to other liberals and conservatives listen only to other conservatives - both harden their beliefs and wonder angrilly why the other side just "doesn't get it." Whether you're red or blue, this book rings true (oh, that's bad...). What will solve this divided national connundrum? The internet? No, that just allows us to self-select even more. This is why I try to read 3-4 newspapers a day, from all over the political spectrum.



3. Wonderful and informative. VERY well researched; conclusions are sound but not preachy. Also very informative about the world we live in and that we have lived in for the past decades. Absolutely recommended!



4. My fourteen-month-old daughter has a board book that tells the life story of Rosa Parks in under sixty words. Obviously, there are some gross omissions and stunning oversimplifications, but whatever--it's a board book. I'm just glad she's reading about Rosa Parks. And maybe when she's old enough to turn the pages without tearing them, she can tackle The Big Sort. The gross omissions and stunning oversimplifications will still be there, but at least she'll be reading about politics. And it does have a neat picture on the cover.
   
   It's not that Bishop's main premise is misplaced. Indeed, if you live in the USA and have left the house anytime in, say, the past decade, then you've probably perceived Bishop's "big sort:" the steady division of the country along cultural and lifestyle lines. The book is a well-organized marshaling of prodigious statistical and anecdotal support for this what-else-is-new premise, with samples cut mostly from churches, restaurant franchises, and social scientists in fly-over America. Nor is Bishop totally lacking in thought-provoking insights. His contention that groups of like-minded individuals tend to become more extreme in their like-mindedness is well argued and not altogether obvious, and Bishop displays keen perception in noting similarities in the marketing of commercial products, religion, and ultimately political campaigns.
   
   Bishop's problem, rather, is that he overreaches his evidence and has virtually no grasp of his historical context. Bishop writes as though the USA was once a harmonious land of brotherly neighbors standing in unshakable solidarity, whose occasional disagreements were nothing that couldn't be settled over a couple Budweisers and a handshake. Then out of nowhere fissures start to open in the mid-1960s, to then amplified in a nouveau "big sort." It might pass for board book history-- if you only count the white people.
   
   Having announced that America was all like peas & carrots until 1965 fell from the sky, the balance of Bishop's text rings nostalgic for a return to those good `ole days, before political issues were anything to really get worked-up about, back when everyone just got along. As if. Bishop's big sort is happening, for sure, and its importance cannot be discounted. But his analysis is riddled with errors, and none bigger than a fictional point of origin. Sorting being nothing so new to America, Bishop really ought to brush up if he's going to write about politics. Maybe he can start by reading some board books.



5. Skip this book. It is one more liberal enclave self-love fest in the genre of Richard Florida. In fact, Florida is quoted quite a bit. Whenever these pop-regional science people need to put a book together, they follow the simple formula of stroking their neighbors in Boulder and Raleigh, and insulting a few cities - Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, etc.
   
   For this thesis, it makes no sense. All of the latter cities are extremely democratic in their voting. So why aren't they attracting more left-leaning residents like Boston or DC? Because they are not state/national capitals with the power to tax the hinterland. They are not regional hubs like Chicago or NY. And they are not small enough to be carried by their universities.
   
   Bishop makes an ignorant mistake on page 131. He lists Cleveland's college graduation rate as 14%. That's the rate for the central city with less than a quarter of the area's residents. Cleveland's college graduates live in the inner ring suburbs such as Cleveland Heights, Shaker, and Lakewood (with beautiful neighborhoods of century homes, and very democratic voting, btw). Depending on how you define the metro area, the percentage of college grads (over 25 yrs old) is 24 to 27. That's about average for the US. Pittsburgh's and Detroit's percentages are slightly higher. But how could he fill the pages of his book without recognizable cities to look down on? The Austin resident wouldn't bother looking down on El Paso or Victoria, TX, because readers don't even know where they are.
   
   The "left-behind" cities have hundreds of thousands of residents who didn't make it through college. These people get by with whatever work is left for them in a post-industrial economy. All the liberals claim to care about the working class, but most of them take the first chance they get to move a thousand miles away. Fifty years ago, Madison, San Jose, Boulder, and Ithaca were just slightly more populated than the cornfields that were paved into suburbs. Its middle class flight on a national scale, and books like this just encourage it.
   
   

5 comments about The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.

1. I was disappointed: the first few chapters held promise and were interesting, had one thinking that something great was coming--even named a few names, then it petered out and became tedious and lost the premise.



2. The comments below, "Who cares about all the dictators in the past who true historians have exposed already?... Can these people through personal relationships, friendships really change the minds of power players in today's world?" should stand as the "you must be this tall" carnival measure for readers approaching this book. Yes, you will have to care about genocidal dictators who have functioned not just with the approval and support of the U.S. government, but who were shepherded into that cozy relationship with U.S. leadership by a band of fundamentalist ideologues operating below the radar. You will have to have, or at least be able to recognize, the moral standard the book revolves around: a fierce anger over the undermining of democracy that the Family has enacted for more than seventy years. And you will have to look beyond the conventional wisdom that glosses over how power games are actually played, to recognize a different set of players, ones who don't flaunt their influence on cable news, but who function strictly behind the scenes.
   
   Sharlet has gone far beyond the conventional wisdom on religion in politics through doggedly persistent investigation and research. That he has found something beyond most people's imaginings is as much a credit to him as it is an indictment of the level of journalism we've grown used to, shoehorning complex and deep-rooted networks and belief systems into bite-sized truisms. Sharlet doesn't dismiss; he digs in. And he certainly doesn't rest on any comfortable resolutions to the "problem" of America's fundamentalist history and reign: that they are unChristian, that they are getting Jesus "wrong," or that the strangeness of their elite gospel means it doesn't have influence. Instead the author approaches the power theology of the Family as a system of ideas with a definite lineage and even more definite results: from the U.S. government smiling at the slaughter of millions around the globe, to the gentle, unseen hand in the Senate dining room, pushing American politics rightward. It is the best book on the Christian right I've read, with personal experience that grounds the members of the Family network not as phantoms, but devotees to a strange and deeply flawed religion, and an historical scope that recalls a period of American history that conventional wisdom has forgotten existed, when America could have gone a different way. That it didn't is largely due to the right-wing network that became the Family, who have been quietly shaping history since. That we don't recognize their hand is exactly what they planned.



3. The Family is the most powerful political organization you have never heard of. Its members have included a host of congressmen and senators, including some who chair important committees, CEOs of major corporations, senior officers in the military, leaders of foreign nations, members of the Supreme Court, and at least one president of the United States. It is a vast network of "prayer cells" of two or three individuals who see themselves as God's agents on earth.
   
   The Family, as it is most commonly known, is like some immense, deep-sea leviathan that is only rarely glimpsed on the surface. Yet it is seen, like the Punxsutawney groundhog, at least once a year. This event is called the National Prayer Breakfast where the Family makes an effort to appear ecumenical and harmless. It is rather as if once a year Hannibal Lechter made a public appearance disguised as Mr. Rogers.
   
   What is known as the Family began with a clergyman named Abraham Vereide in Depression-era Seattle. Vereide, or Abram, as he is referred to by the Family, looked upon workers who went on strike to secure enough pay to feed their families as agents of Satan. He was convinced that the Kingdom of God would be secured if the best among us, the rich that is, guided by Jesus Christ, made decisions for the rest of us unfettered by such messy things as democracy and the rule of law. If the poor could be made to see that God intended them to be poor and humbly accept their lot all would be well.
   
   Abram, as one might have guessed, regarded the New Deal as an abomination in the eyes of the Lord.
   
   Abram was a very effective salesmen for this idea among wealthy businessmen in Seattle. The Family grew through members recruiting new members who were either wealthy or in positions of authority. Over time, the Family's theology has been stripped down to "Jesus plus nothing." Members are expected to have surrendered themselves to Jesus Christ, but are certainly not asked to perform such unseemly acts as giving what they have to the poor or turning the other cheek. A prospective member gets reassurance that he (there are women involved, but with a few notable exceptions they have about as much power as the members of a ladies' auxiliary at a Moose lodge) has got Jesus watching over him, has his sins forgiven, and is now serving Jesus in everything he does. He gets to keep his power, his wealth, his vices. He is even able to tell himself that he is humble, or at least as humble as a man can be who reminds himself every day that he is one of God's elect.
   
   And he gets one hell of a network or powerful connections.
   
   What makes this different from other books on the Religious Right I've read, some of them quite good on facets of this phenomenon, is that those other books are about the more public, plebeian kind of fundamentalism one finds operating out in the open. Few participants in that kind of fundamentalism even know that the ethics-free kind of fundamentalism practiced by the Family exists. Sharlet does discuss how those fundamentalists fit into the plans of their elite brethren, as well as provide a rich and detailed history of fundamentalism and evangelical Protestantism from Jonathan Edwards (who encouraged an obviously disturbed woman to starve herself to death in a fit of religious fervor) onwards. If you are going to read only one book about the Religious Right, this is the one to select.



4. The Family is much more than an expose into some shadowy religious group with political aspirations. Jeff Sharlet's book is a brilliant dissection and contextualization of the makings and workings of a political powerhouse that gained its following by tapping into mythic American ideals, has tasked itself with making Jesus America's main export, and has fine-tuned how to operate in the political sphere to ensure "a leadership led by God" across the globe. There are many things that make this book so good, but especially notable is how expertly Sharlet charts the evolutionary course of American fundamentalism and The Family's ascendency to power through the lens of politics and culture wars from the 1930s through today.
   
   In a whirlwind through recent history, Sharlet shows us everywhere the fingerprint of the organization that eventually became The Family. The Family found its calling in the tumultuous post-WW America that was forced to deal with Labor on the home front and to grapple with new ideas about modern nations and internationalism. It found its focus during the Cold War when it backed small nation allies as the new Christian frontier. And in the culture wars of 60s and 70s and in the 80s moratorium on those previous two decades, the Family figured out that its best bet was to take a trickle-down approach to faith from the elite to the masses and to practice the "quiet diplomacy" that George H. Bush praised it for. Today, The Family has become the oil to the political machinery of connections and mutual back-scratching.
   
   I met Jeff Sharlet when we spent a few weeks at the same artists' colony where he struck many as someone who's as intellectually gifted as he's curious, and it's no surprise that his book is equally rigorous in its examination as it is humanizing of the people he writes about. Forget the shady figures of smoke-filled backrooms. The people of The Family are neither naively misled nor simply reactionary; their leaders are keen tacticians whose actions are grounded deeply in religious thought, in nationalism, and in a sense of providential duty.
   
   This is a book of big ideas, but to Sharlet's credit, it's one that was compelling and entirely comprehensible even to this reader with little knowledge about Washington or fundamentalism. It's also filled with some hilarious anecdotes (there's an attempted seduction to sway the author from writing his tell-all) and a host of characters not likely to be grouped together(Billy Graham, General Suharto, the Black Buffers, and Hillary Clinton, really?). It's the story of one scary marriage of American empire and gospel that Sharlet manages to tell with a gentle wittiness. The Family is the hand that will feed you what's good for you (American democracy, free enterprise, military aid, education) even if you don't know yet that it's good for you.
   
   Sharlet doesn't just unmask the wizard behind the curtain; he outlines the unobservable architecture of how political deals get made. The Family is frightening for its invisibility, its insidiousness, and the staying power it will have, in part because it operates in the language and beliefs of what America is about. Sharlet's book is an eye-opener and truly important in a time when the US's relationship with the rest of the world is challenged with a different urgency, and when political responses are played out again in the context of religious and cultural wars.



5. I have been following Jeff Sharlet's "The Revealer:a daily review of religion and the press" (www.therevealer.org)for some time and have come to respect his thorough and even-handed approach to religious reporting. It was through that site that I became aware of "The Family," and, being interested in the history of American religion and issues of church and state, I ordered it.
   It was not long before I began to wonder if I had stumbled into some kind of paranoid fantasy rivaling the Illuminati, but was reassured by Sharlet's careful documentation and the fact that one of his sources is a friend of mine. When I checked with the friend (whose judgment I respect highly) he confirmed what Sharlet had written.
   Sharlet is a marvelous writer. At times I found myself simply marveling at the beauty of the language and the tightly-woven structure. He can pack more information into a single sentence than many authors can in a whole page. He is able to explain the intricacies of the Christian right- its history, attitudes, and interactions with the culture at large- in clear, understandable language.
   The one critique I would have of the book as a whole is that Sharlet tends to lump conservative Christian groups under the single rubric of "fundamentalist." While that might work as shorthand for what he is trying to discuss here, it blurs the very real differences between Fundamentalists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and many other sympathetic subgroups.
   Still, I recommend this book highly to anyone who wants to understand the dynamic relationship of conservative Christianity and the political scene in America today.

5 comments about The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical.

1. If you're ready to roll up your sleeves, and march in God's army, pick up a copy of The Irresistible Revolution and get ready to load up on some serious ammunition. And for good measure, you'll also get a fresh compass and a friend to help you dig out of the trenches and be counted as a radical who is courageous and foolish enough to stand out as a true follower of Christ.
   
   From the streets of Calcutta, to war-zones of Iraq, to neighbourhood slums, to money-multiplying Wall Street, Shane Claiborne transports the face of Christ into a suffering and lonely world. In Irresistible Revolution, he converts his stories into a compelling case for the "ordinary radical" . His down to earth style will engage you, much like a conversation with an old friend. But be prepared, much of what he has to say is far from comfortable. In these pages you will be dared to take up your cross, and tear down some walls. You will hear first hand of the miracle of community, of working together, being one body in Christ. You will be asked to drop the rock of unforgiveness and embrace the poor, the needy and the "ugly". And kiss complacency good-bye.
   
   Watch out for the gut-wrenching and heart-breaking moments laced in pain...and some joyful, triumphant ones. Watch how you never lose the distinct feeling that Jesus is right there walking through every page as you read along. You will sense his presence watching over you, holding out His hand, insisting, "Come follow me...come and see." Watch yourself capture a fresh and renewed understanding of who Jesus was and what He asks of you...and behold the absolute ironic beauty of a revolution (a heart revolv-ing around Him) that is truly irresistible.



2. I first read this book last year and it really helped change my perspective on the priorities of "living the American dream" versus the life that Jesus calls us to. One of my favorite concepts from the book was how Shane referenced being a full-time lover as his occupation in life: a lover of God and a lover of people. I can only strive to live the same way!



3. I love this book! It's so inspiring I think anyone who is serious about their christianity should read this.



4. this is one of the coolest books I have ever read and it changed my life, and I'm not even done reading it yet. It a quick read and it so wonderful, I would recommend it to any and every one!!



5. Great book on how we have made the church into what we want instead of what Christ wants. Fantastic insight and certainly the author has a heart for Christ and thus a love for others. Even if you don't agree with all the authors opinions you cannot miss his sincerity. This book convicts the heart and places the burden on the reader to establish a change in their life.
   
   Highly recommend!

5 comments about Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality.

1. This book, as well as Donald Miller's other books are simply elegant and poetic. While some may disagree with Miller's "Theology" it must be stated that his purpose was to identify and reach out to hurting people that are broken and searching for truth. Miller's commentary approach gives an artistic and humorous insight into what I would call...the real deal Christianity. Thanks Don



2. 1. This is a flow of consciousness type book which offers some very honest and personal insights from a talented writer.
   
   2. A Christian point of view coming more from the left offers insight into both the strengths and shallowness that mirrors and demonstrates the strengths and shallowness of the right. There are many evangelicals who need to consider and question the far or even moderate right point of view that has dominated evangelicalism and this book is one of the better ones. It doesn't require agreement to benefit.
   
   3. A genuinely enjoyable read with some "aha" moments along the way that the author sees in himself that many readers will relate to and grow from along the way.
   
   I enjoyed it and particularly benefitted from the story of the Confession Booth. It's revealing to me that many who dislike and disparage this book apart from coming from some predictable camps, are those who lead with their intellect and lack in the areas of practical compassion and loving people as Christ loved them. That shouldn't be lost on anyone while reading these reviews in general.



3. This book was truly worth more than the amount of money I spent to purchase it. The nonreligious thoughts he offers on Christianity are not only influential but they are valid to every individual. I not only cried, but literally laughed out loud! A "must read" for every Christ follower!



4. I found myself laughing aloud one minute and welling with tears the next. This readable collection of thoughts on being Christian is compelling and inviting. It stretches the imagination of what could be and helps to expose some deeply guarded pharisaical practices in church culture. It will be offensive to some who are used to reading "Christian" books.



5. I must say that I am most troubled in my spirit that so many people gave this book a five star rating. I wonder if this guy has ever even picked up a Bible. The only reason I gave it one star is because I could not give it zero.
   
   All I can really say about the book is that the god portrayed in it is not the God of the Bible. When I first began to read, I was impressed with the fact that Donald Miller has actually felt conviction for his sin and I was truly encouraged. Though after continuing on, I realized that it was not a conviction that produced a true repentance which leads to life, but just an emotional and romantic "poor me" story which unfortunately leads to death.
   
   What shocks and concerns me is that someone who hates God as much as Donald Miller does can actually call himself a Christian. This is our fault brothers. This is our fault for being so complacent. If we don't take a stand against this type of humanistic nonsense, this is the "Christianity" that we can expect to keep seeing.
   
   Filled with non-historical half-truths, this is just another postmodern, psychological self-help book which prostitutes Christian terminology to its own demise.
   
   It's time to wake up.

5 comments about Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith.

1. Incredible this is going on in America!! Greta book well written! Please write more on this subject! Especially liked the unbiased historical overview of morman religion!



2. This is the most compelling non-fiction book I have read. This is a true crime told stunningly, a great weave of the history of the Mormon church, amazingly well-researched. Krakauer is a true authority on his subject. What he does best is stay out of the way of the narrative, letting his interest drive the book, and allow him to tell the most important and crucial parts of the stories.



3. Under the Banner of Heaven is an in depth and eye opening historical account of the Mormon church. I am looking at the Church of LDS in a different perspective. It has made me question my own religious beliefs.



4. This book really left me marveling at the situation Mormons find themselves in - there is so much to recommend the culture that has grown up around the religion, and yet it's based on what is, to an outsider, silly stuff. I didn't understand until reading this the dynamics around the Smart kidnapping. The sexism which is inherent in LDS (fundamental or not) is invidious.



5. Never before have I had to actually turn my eyes from the page because the text/truth was too horrific to read. This book takes you into the lives of the FDLS. It should scare the bejeezus out of anyone that this sort of thing is going on right here in our country. Not to mention the predicted effect the FDLS may have on the way our country is run in under a century.
   I found the book to be a fasinating read and eye opening experience.