Prayer of St. Ephrem

If you are looking for some Lenten reading then look no further than my book The Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian: A Biblical Commentary. 

This ancient prayer will help you through your daily walk of faith as you strive to become more faithful in your life.

For more information about this book and to order a copy click here 

May we all learn to love both God and neighbor each and every day.

Book Review The Novel As Church

Books are like a meal, there are those which one consumes like candy or dessert at the beach, those page turning mystery novels which are big on action and romance but light on their literary quality generally. Then there are those more philosophical type books which one consumes slowly, like sipping a full bodied Bordeaux.

I must say that David Dickinson's new book, The Novel As Church: Preaching to Readers in Contemporary Fiction (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2013) is an entire meal! If you want to learn more about the rhetorical and homiletical nature of key works of fiction and you are interested in theology and ecclesial life then this book is for you. It is certainly not a quick beach read but it does inspire, entertain, and make one want to re-read it again, like a second trip to the dinner buffet.

Dickinson is the Director of the St. Albans Centre for Christian  Studies and the minister at the Marlborough Road Methodist Church in St. Albans, UK. This book is the fourth book in the Making of the Christian Imagination Series published by Baylor University Press.

The Novel as Church is intriguing. There are books that focus on the religious and spiritual nature of fiction and there are books which focus on preaching and homiletics and modern culture but to my knowledge there are very few, perhaps none so far which highlight the various and detailed nuances of the interplay between sermons and homilies that are imbedded within works of fiction and the many questions that arise from that such as the interplay between "authorial authority" vis a vis the sermon and the narrative as well as the reasons why the author chose to have the clergy character preach in the first place, the messages derived from the sermons, as well as the other questions that arise from that.

While reading The Novel as Church I was simply amazed at the vast material covered and the analysis that Dickinson provides. This book is not merely a synthesis of modern works of fiction and the role that clergy/pastors/priests play, but Dickinson really attempts to get at the many layers involved in having sermons in fiction in the first place and what role this plays in the spiritual life, in the relationship between Church and culture, as well as what the clergy characters reveal about spirituality today.

Ever since reading Douglas Alan Walrath's book Displacing the Divine: The Minister As Mirror in American Fiction  I have been keenly interested in clergy characters in fiction, especially modern fiction, of which there are many. Walrath's thesis is that across the centuries the "clergy character" reflects or serves as a foil or mirror of the society at large and how society envisions the Church. Yet Dickinson goes further because not only does he look at the roles of the clergy characters but in particular what role and function the sermon plays. He looks at some key works of fiction such as Geraldine Brooks' novel The Year of Wonder, Michael Addritti's saga Easter as well as others such as Jeanette Winterson's book Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, as well as the many books by John Updike.  I found myself taking notes here and there highlighting works of fiction that I certainly have to read, and read soon!

I could easily write more about this book, but I hope that the reader find out on their own. If you are a pastor who enjoys fiction and culture then this book is for you. If you are a faculty member who teaches preaching and homiletics and want to learn more about the rhetorical and homiletical value of fiction then this book is for you. If you are just interested in the spirituality of modern fiction then this book is for you.

For more information about The Novel as Church: Preaching to Readers in Contemporary Fiction click here 

Book Review: The Graceful Exit

Pastors come and go. I was just talking to a pastor who was the 43rd pastor in a parishes' 84 year history, talking about a revolving door!  This is not too uncommon in some areas of the country. Some parishes are known for having many short term pastorates and others are known for much longer and extended pastorates. I know of one pastor who was in the same parish for 54 years!

Saying goodbye is a hard thing to do. Saying goodbye to a child when they leave for college is hard. Saying goodbye to a son or daughter who gets married and starts their own life is hard. Saying goodbye to a friend or loved one who died is hard. And saying goodbye to a parish when you are the pastor is hard. But thanks to the new book by Mary C. Lindberg, leaving a parish might be a little easier. Her knew book The Graceful Exit: A Pastor's Journey from Good-bye to Hello was recently published by the Alban Institute and is a wonderful resource for pastors who are transitioning from either full time ministry to retirement or from full time ministry in one parish to another parish or into some other form of ministry.

The book is a combination of personal narrative as well as well as stories of colleagues who have made these difficult decisions to leave ministry. Pastors are given special access to peoples lives. We visit them in the hospital. We visit them in their homes. We baptize their babies. We bury their dead. We marry them. We walk with them in their walk of faith. Leaving all of that must be terrible difficult. I have never left a parish before so I cannot speak of experience but I have had my own personal leavings of jobs and work and that is also traumatic at times.

Lindberg offers pastors a resource as to how we can better navigate and negotiate these leavings. The book is divided into three parts: The Good Good-bye, The Long Good-bye, and from Good-bye to Hello. Each chapter includes some questions for reflection which I found very helpful. The book is very short at only a little over a hundred pages, you can read it in a few hours. However if you read slowly and actually consider the points for reflection then this book is more of a work book rather than a book that you read once and put down. I encourage pastors to read through this book once quickly and then go back, with a journal in hand in the book in another and actually go through these questions. Even though I am not leaving parish ministry some of the questions for reflection are very enlightening and helpful, especially the ones which deal with lost hopes and fears, with "things left undone" as well as projects and plans which never got off the ground.

One thing pastors have to understand is that when you leave a parish their is grieving that will take place. Your grieving. The grieving of your parishioners. The grieving of your own family. The Graceful Exit will help in this process.

After reading The Graceful Exit I was very grateful to Mary Lindberg for writing this book. However, she now needs to write a complimentary volume on the The Graceful Entrance How Pastors Begin Ministry because so much is left unsaid about how pastors begin their new ministry and enter into a community of faith, how congregations welcome them, and how families can better navigate these issues too!

Kudos to Mary Lindberg for writing such a practical and pastoral book for us pastors out here.

For more information about The Graceful Exit click here 

Book Review: Radical Reinvention

Every so often I read a book that I can't put down. Every so often I read a book and say to myself, "Oh my God, I can't believe they just wrote that." Every so often I read a book and want to tell all my friends about it. Radical Reinvention is such a book. After you read this review go order a copy, trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Kaya Oakes' new book, Radical Reinvention: An Unlikely Return to the Catholic Church (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2012) is a story of leaving and finding, of searching and finding and of faithlessness and hope. While reading Oakes memoir I kept on thinking of Mary Karr's Lit or Nora Gallagher's Resurrection both which deal with similar themes and issues, and both of whom are extremely honest about the Church.

While reading Radical Reinvention we learn that Oakes, like thousands if not millions of people is a "lapsed Catholic." As a pastor I have met many lapsed Catholics, Orthodox, Methodists, and on and on and on. It's really not that uncommon these days for apples to fall from the tree and roll down the hill, and if lucky, to maybe roll back closer to the tree again. Oakes was raised in a Oakland in an Irish Catholic family. Her family of origin sounds very colorful to say the least and while reading I wish she included more of her mother's and father's background and personality. However when writing memoir authors must navigate between the personal and the private.

Yet late in life, during her adult years Oakes finds her way back to the Church. She finds that running away from God can be a difficult thing, just read the book of Jonah or the beginning of Jeremiah if you want some insight! Needless to say she returns to a Church which is unlike her Church of origins. With the reforms of Vatican II and some very pastoral priests she finds her home again. Not only does she join the RCIA group in her parish but she also goes on a short Ignatian Spiritual retreat as well as make a pilgrimage to Italy. She even joins a "pray and bitch" group at Church, all women who spend time in prayer, fellowship, and bitching. I've heard of stitch and bitch groups before but not this type of group.

Oakes has a great writing style. She speaks to the average Joe or Jane, taking time to explain theological terms like creed, confession, retreats, communion, and so forth. Her self-deprecating humor is hillarious and I caught myself laughing out loud in my office especially the stories about her father and grandfather's "theological cursing" --- I'll leave it at that and let the reader find out later!

I was also saddened though because Oakes is very truthful and honest about her return, not is all wonderful. While on the one hand her parish priest is open and welcoming and warm and she meets some hospitable parishioners and even joins a 5am Food Bank outreach program, she also finds a Church that is still in the 19th or even 17th century to say the least. She includes thoughts about ordained ministry, bishops, and gender issues along the way. Yet somehow her faith transcends those issues and she still realizes that the Church is bigger than her. That Jesus called her back home.

I am glad that Oakes wrote this book, although I must say I was mad that I didn't find it sooner! I hope that other "lapsed anybody" will, as St. Augustine heard from the heavens, "take and read" Radical Reinvention. You won't be disappointed. I also hope that clergy read this book too. Some may have a knee-jerk reaction and want to throw it away perhaps, but her insight into the younger generation (Generation Xer's and Millenials) and their thoughts about theology, parish life, and the Church is important. If anything it will make a priest stop and think for a while, which of course is a good thing!

For more information about Radical Reinvention click here 

To visit Kaya's website click here 

Book Review: A Town of Empty Rooms

Communion and community are essential parts of life. The famous Roman Catholic monk and writer, Thomas Merton said that "no man is an island" we all need at least someone else, some other person, to share our joys, sorrows, failures, and faults with. While we might like our independence and solitude we also need each other. After reading this book every character in some way or fashion is seeking someone else to share their life with. We are all, as Bender suggests, living in separate rooms, sometimes living separate lives, yet seeking "the other" to make our life more full, more complete, more open. Karen Bender's new book A Town of Empty Rooms (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint Press, 2013) takes up these themes as she weaves her latest novel.

The story centers around two central characters Serena and Dan Shine a married couple who relocate to Waring, NC, a Civil War port city in NC, i.e Wilmington (my guess). Serena and Dan are Jewish and while in Waring Serena finds her childhood faith again and finds community in a small established synagogue. Bender heats up the plot as Serena gets embroiled in a community argument between the crazy rabbi and the congregation. Needless to say the plot thickens in more ways than one. Very often writers neglect to show the toxic side of religious life, but here Bender pulls no punches, she reveals all the wrinkles, warts, faults, and foibles of this small aging congregation and how a community can turn on one very quickly. I don't want to reveal too much, I'll let you find out for yourselves!

Needless to say the themes of longing and desire are strong too. Bender weaves a tight story around her husband's relationship with his son who bond in Boy Scout activities and the annual Pine Derby race which has a twist of its own. There is plenty of mystery and mayhem in the book especially regarding Forrest, the Shine's crusty curmudgeon neighbor who wants to "put the Christ back into Christmas" in the local school system.

As a pastor and also member of a minority Christian affiliation (Eastern Orthodox) I had strong affinities with Dan and Serena. Also relocating to NC I encountered a very different type of Christianity than I did in the Northeast as I drove around reading similar billboards on the highway as Bender describes in the book "Jesus Saves" or " Are You Born Again" or the typical bumper sticker, "This car will be unmanned in the rapture." Shocking to say the least. By placing Dan and Serena in Waring, NC Bender calls into question what are their core beliefs, Serena winds up being more committed to her faith while Dan not so much, but the interplay between religious rights and tolerance, between faith and politics. This book would be a great discussion piece on the interplay between religion and society as we navigate the personal and the public and the place of religious life in our culture at large.

What made this book a joy to read was not only the plot and character development but the writing. Bender writes strong sentences with fresh metaphors. The last chapter is worth reading again, especially the last five pages which are very moving.

After reading this novel I agree 100% with Bender that even though we might have our own families or co-workers that in the end we do live alone, and sometimes this isolation can be stifling as we see with Forrest and his wife or it can inspire and encourage us to find connection and communion with those around us. I hope that after reading A Town of Empty Rooms readers will find that one person to share their own story!

Kudos for Bender for writing this novel.

For more information about Karen Bender's book A Town of Empty Rooms click here 

To read more about Karen Bender and her writing in general click here 

Book Review Falling Upward

Once in a while a book just grabs me. One of those "I-can't-put-it-down-must-tell-all-my-friends-about-it type of book." Well, I think I found one this past week in Richard Rohr's Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (Jossey Bass, 2011). Now I read a lot of spirituality books and many often leave me a bit empty. Falling Upward was just the opposite. It made me want to read more and more and more!

I heard of Father Rohr before but have not ready any of his books until now. He is a Fransiscan priest and runs the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico. A priest and pastor for over forty years Rohr brings the best of family systems, spirituality, and psychology together in one seamless whole.

The basic thrust of this book is quite simple, yet leaves the reader with plenty to think about for the rest of his or her life. In short, Rohr states that the first half of life is spent making a name for ourselves, creating our foundations, building our barns to so speak. We spend a lot of energy in this time of life, some of it fruitless and anxiety causing (trust me, been there, done that!!). Then the second half of life is spent hopefully in detachment, letting go, living more fully in Christ-likeness, yet also falling once in a while. Rohr also says that failing and falling is essential, important in the spiritual life. One cannot grow into a deeper understanding of who we are without first failing. It's hard to fail, heck, we all want to do better, to be the best that we can be, yet Rohr reminds us that Jesus taught us through word and example that being a part of his family means being the least, taking the lowest position, having humility, and being meek. Yet the world teaches us the opposite.

What makes this book stand out among the hundreds if not thousands of spirituality books is his writing style. He writes from his heart. This book does not have endless footnotes nor does it go off track. Each chapter builds upon the previous one. I certainly will read and re-read this book again and not too far in the future either.

I congratulate Father Rohr for his writing ministry and hope that he continues to  fail and fall but at this stage of life he probably can't fall too far!

For more information about Father Rohr and Falling Upward click here 

Book Review: Preparing the Pastors We Need

The parish is changing and there is no doubt about it. Demographics, finances, peoples' interest in congregational life is waning, and there are other factors too. Future pastors and clergy need as much experience as they can get both in and outside of seminary so that they can meet the every increasing challenges in both today's and tomorrow's parish.

George Mason, the senior pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church has offered us some good food for thought regarding training future pastors in his new book Preparing the Pastors We Need: Reclaiming the Congregations Role in Training Clergy (Alban Publishing, 2012). This book deals with the practical issues regarding resident clergy training or pastors in training as they are sometimes called. Pastors in training are pastors who take one to two years, sometimes more and sometimes a bit less, to apprentice with a well seasoned pastor and their congregation. This training period, usually after seminary education, provides the practical, pastoral, and formation that they will need before they go out on their own.

Most people think that you learn everything you need in seminary. Well, nothing can be farther from the truth. It is one thing to learn about preaching and homiletics but quite another to stand in front of a congregation week after week, season after season, year after year and preach the good news so that it doesn't sound old and tired. It is one thing to learn about the theology of marriage and weddings but quite another to perform them. This pertains not just to pastors but to lawyers and doctors as well. One can only learn so much in school, you need to have practical hands on training.

Mason outlines in very basic easy to read narratives the steps it takes to set up a training parish program for clergy. He talks about things such as preparing the parish, creating a budget, providing guidelines and goals, to follow up.

Preparing Pastors We Need is a wonderful resource to have as professors, pastors, and lay leaders navigate the bumps, hills, mountains, and valleys of parish life. Hopefully Preparing Pastors We Need will also help seminaries rethink the way that they train future clergy, as we all try to re-equip ourselves for the parish of the 21st century.

For more information about Preparing the Pastors We Need click here 

Also, a Happy New Year to everyone as we celebrate the great gifts of God that He has bestowed upon us this past year and the year to come.