What I've Been Up To

I've taken quite a break from the ol' blog lately. Honestly I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with it. There's been a lot of stuff going on in my life, but I just haven't wanted to write about it. On top of that, I've realized how cynical I have become about ministry, people and life and am trying to not focus on that as much. So what does that leave me to talk about? Maybe some reconstruction rather than deconstruction. Anyways, I thought for now I could mention some books I recently got into.

*Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. If you've ever wondered why some societies became so powerful while others did not, but didn't want to take on some racist assumptions as to superiority, this is the book for you. The scholarship was amazing, going from linguistics to archeology to animal domestication to native plant-life, it was able to cover an amazingly broad sweep of history and geography in a way that made sense.

*The Next Reformation: Why Evangelicals Must Embrace Postmodernity by Carl Raschke. I was once able to take a week long philosophy class from Raschke, who I quickly discovered can probably walk into any room at any party and be confident that he is the smartest man in the room. This book only helps to prove my point. Raschke summarizes the thought of men like Derrida, Nietzsche, Levinas, etc, as if he were just playing around. He is an amazing scholar who surpasses all the hype in the church about postmodernism and explains what is truly happening. The second-to-last chapter about the Charismatic church's role in the postmodern church was a bit from left field, but other than that I found it to be a good, challenging, read.

*Inside Out: A Personal History Of Pink Floyd by Nick Mason. What can I say? I love the Floyd and just had to read this. It's full of great old pics and is an important read for any fan.

*Experiencing God Through Prayer by Madame Guyon. This was an interesting book and brought up some interesting points, especially important for the current struggles I am having over prayer. The problem: sometimes I feel like I am just reading the same book over and over again when I read about prayer. Still, it was a good book.

*To Be Told : Know Your Story, Shape Your Future by Dan Allender. After studying at Dan's school I seem to have no choice but to read every book he writes. All I can say is that this is a man who knows what it means to look deeply into your own story and discover true pain, as well as the face of God. This is a very important book for where I am in life right now and I would highly suggest reading it to anybody interested in doing some soul work.

*Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. A great book to read after reading The Poisonwood Bible as well as Guns, Germs and Steel. What a painful reminder of what our missionary efforts have often left in their wake. Not to mention a tough challenge (and a good piece of literature).

*Holy the Firm by Annie Dillard. If you've never read a book by Dillard, you are missing out on the best living author. She is amazing. Even better, she wrote this one within a few miles of me.

*I also finished Moltmann's The Crucified God, which is not surprisingly brilliant. Highlights: his claim that God is not a person but a trinitarian event (the cross) that consists of three persons. Also, that God does not remain constant but in fact changes. Wrap your mind around all that. Read a book on priesthood from the catholic theologian Karl Rahner, some issues of Time magazine (my wife bought me a subscription), and listened to some of the profound lectures Walter Brueggemann gave at the Emergent Conference two years ago.

That's all I can remember right now...

Peace,
Matt