As many of you know, I am a campus minister. As such, I still pace my life and divide my seasons by the academic calendar. Since I’m on the academic calendar I usually have a few weeks off around the beginning of a new year. The turn of the new year always spurs me to think about making resolutions and it’s nice to have the time to really think about it. We all know the disappointment of making resolutions which we fail to keep, but I was profoundly influenced on this topic by a seminary professor named Howard Hendricks to make resolutions despite failure. He said something, using archery as a metaphor, to the Dallas Seminary community about how much easier it is to actually hit a target if you can see the target and aim at it! And so, I have rejoiced over the years at small incremental improvements to my life, getting closer to the target year by year. This year, I made my resolution at the beginning of the new semester instead of on January 1.
This year I resolved to read a book a week. I have been working on this goal for six weeks, and I am delighted to report that I have read most of six books. Here are my caveats, so you will not be unduly impressed! I admit that I consider one book “read” after the ending of the series of essays but before the appendix. All the books have been under 300 pages, but 4 have been around 200 pages. The most academic book was on a topic with which I am very familiar – the role of women in the Church.
So far these books have all been recently recommended by others, specifically for me to read. In the past I have been frustrated by my inability to remember the points of books I have read even recently, and I want to listen and retain the messages of these authors, whether I agree or not. With this in mind, I decided to write summary notes on five of the six books. I have time to read books, since I no longer have any small children in the house. However I know that many of you, for many reasons, don’t have time to read books. I thought that my summaries might serve you as well. Therefore I decided to write this post summarizing the books I read so far.
The below summaries are short versions of the longer summaries I wrote for myself. Let me know if you would like a longer summary of a book. They aren’t polished pieces and they are not reviews, but they capture the main points of each book. I am writing this post, and also my longer summaries, to represent the message of each book, with minimal judgment. My goal is to remember the author’s points whether it aligns with my personal beliefs or not. With that said, I hope you enjoy these summaries!
The first was Black and Reformed by Anthony Carter. This is a 2016 rewrite of his book On Being Black and Reformed published in 2003, which I also read and remembered rather vaguely (and I had written NO summary!). He argues that Black Christians need Reformed Theology to understand the suffering their forebears underwent. He also argues that Reformed theologians need to reckon with Black experience and their own theology to acknowledge that past sins must not be swept away without repentance and reconciliation. Carter repeatedly compares the African slave trade with the story of Joseph in Genesis, sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph comes to terms with their wrongdoing by understanding the sovereignty of God when he says to them, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” All Christians need such believers among us; Black, reformed believers live the Christian faith in the fiery furnace, taking what is for many of us merely academic and theological and making it real.
The second was Aliens in the Promised Land, which is a collection of essays edited by Anthony Bradley. Bradley introduces the collection by disclosing that the essays are from “outside our tribe,” meaning that the writers are Christian leaders of color outside the Reformed tradition. Wikipedia says the book “is a minority-led conversation about racism in the American evangelical church.” The essays speak of lack of funding and programs available for Christians of color to train for ministry and the lack of recognition in church history and theology of non-white, non-western Christians. The appendix, which I did not read, is a statement made by the Lutheran Church in the 1990’s repenting of racism. I will return to read this appendix and this book was very convicting.
My third book was The Men We Need by Brent Hansen. Hansen writes about six commitments men should make. He says manhood is about taking responsibility in their homes, neighborhoods and churches. He doesn’t urge them to “take-charge” leadership, but to supply presence, service, love and protection wherever it is needed. He cites real stories of men doing this. He grounds his exhortations in the Scriptures. He grapples with challenges and temptations that many men face, without excusing them.
My fourth book was 40 Questions about Women in Ministry by Kelley Mathews and Sue Edwards. The forty questions cover major passages having to do with men and women in marriage and the Church. The authors compare and contrast the views of complementarians and egalitarians on each passage. They rename those categories “hierarchs” and “heterarchs.” The authors largely cite complementarians who are represented in the 1991 book Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, though they acknowledge there is a wide range of views under the umbrella of complementarian. One main goal of the book is to assert that Egalitarians/heterarchs respect the Scriptures just as Complementarians/hierarchs. It is a useful survey of the differences, but not a substitute for reading books which give a fuller explanation of each view on the many passages covered.
My fifth book was An Uncommon Guide to Retirement by Jeff Haanen. Haanen writes to contrast a biblical view of retirement and work with the popular view, and to propose ways to harness the wisdom, time and expertise of retirees, who are living longer and are much needed in the world. He prescribes a Sabbath period upon retiring from one’s career, to discern what God might have them do next with their time, whether it is devoting themselves to family, a second vocation, volunteer work, ministry, and mentoring. Haanen urges retirees to repurpose themselves, guard their health, keep learning, spend carefully, and to put their hope in God.
My sixth book was The Well-Behaved Child by John Rosemond. Rosemond observes that there is a crisis in our families, which he attributes to beginning in the 1960’s to listen to psychologists rather than to our parents. Parents prior to 1960 knew how to consistently discipline their children and to lead them to grow in the capacity to be responsible adults. Rosemond advocates parents make a plan for discipline, communicate to their children like confident leaders, and follow through consistently. In some specific cases, he advocates for “reverse psychology” in his prescriptions to parents. Nevertheless, the consistent message parents must send to their children is that bad behavior yields bad consequences. Children must become motivated to choose good behavior and this can only transpire if their parents heap consequences and responsibility for fixing the situation squarely on the backs of their children.
Let me know if you want more extensive summaries of the books by messaging me on FB. And let me know if you have specific suggestions for me, though my list is already pretty long!
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