New Book Release
January 1, 2010
Finally got this done! Enjoy…
The Gods Aren’t Angry
September 13, 2009
Film Review
Rob Bell strikes again. This full-length film puts the final nail in our collective coffin of guilt–with a strong message of reconciliation. (Run time: 1 hr. 28 min) Read more
What I’ve Been Reading
August 30, 2009
A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward An Undivided Life, by Parker Palmer.
This is a book for the soul. The embattled soul. We live in a world of violence. A place where we do violence, not just to others, but to ourselves, with blasé efficiency. In spite of this, there is music inside us that continues on, in search of resolution.
Palmer gives us a glimpse into that resolution. This is a book that welcomes the soul and teaches us a way to weave true community in a wounded world.
Although he does not use ramrod-straight Christian vocabulary, Palmer’s Quaker roots are palpable, if not core to his thesis–that the soul is a shy thing; in order for it to show up in community, it must be Read more
Everything is Spiritual
August 2, 2009
Film Review (watch the trailer)
This full-length video by Rob Bell is a must-see. With a total running time of 1 hr. 18 min., Rob has the luxury of going deep into the wonder and mystery of our existence. His wit and humor and free-flowing illustrations drive home the point that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
After viewing the film, I had the impression that it is more rational to see myself as a creature of God–meticulously crafted for a purpose–than it is to see myself as an accidental burp of Evolution, as someone who simply emerged from a universe of “blind, pitiless indifference”.
To see ourselves as we really are, it takes a willingness to be aware…to use all of our senses. To come out of our collective coma. And see.
As Thoreau once said, “…only that day dawns, to which we are awake.”
Because everything is spiritual.
To order this film for your own library, visit the Flannel Store
True Story
July 3, 2009
BOOK REVIEW: True Story–A Christianity Worth Believing In
By James Choung
Fans of Brian McLaren will welcome Choung’s timely addition to the growing canon of culture-savvy gospel presentations. True Story is a relevant and compassionate look at the gospel in its entirety, one that appeals to a generation whose most pressing spiritual questions have changed from “What is True?” to “What is Real?”, and “What is Good?”. The Big Story, as Choung calls it, stretches from Eden to the present, and beyond. And his presentation is particularly “sticky” because of its diagrams Read more
Wild at Heart–Reviewed
May 25, 2009
Men don’t read. Or so they say. And yet here’s this book for men that has sold more than 2 million copies–and counting. Something is going on here.
For our local chapter of Band of Brothers, Wild at Heart has been the transformational book of the year–the catalyst for many of us getting our hearts back.
I’ve had mixed feelings about reviewing this book, because by doing so, I run the risk of drying it out like a raisin. Of making it sound like some sort of essay, which of course it is not. In fact, it’s not so much a book as it is a doorway into an experience. An experience that is best shared with a group of men, rather than in fits of solo self-scrutiny. I know this from experience. I read the book alone when it first came out and Read more
Walk On
April 6, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2
By Steve Stockman
–from the book’s Forward:
“For more than twenty years, U2 has done their part to puncture the power of nihilism and hopelessness by pointing listeners to a transcendent reality of Read more
The Shack
March 25, 2009
BOOK REVIEW & CONNEXIONS CLASS
Gordon MacDonald writes a thoughtful review of this astonishing book in Christianity Today. I enjoyed his take on the book immensely. It closely matches my own.
Personally, I liked the second half of the book as much as I disliked the first half–which is to say, a lot. I can’t really tell you why without giving away the plot. So I guess you’ll have to read it.
This book is not for the casual saint, but it is for anyone who has experienced love and loss, disenchantment, or great sadness–and who is wondering where God fits in. Read more
Waking the Dead
March 4, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive
John Eldredge, 2003
ISBN 0785265538
From Publishers Weekly
Eldredge, who helped to redefine the Christian men’s movement with Wild at Heart, broadens his scope to offer this more general spirituality title on being “fully alive.” Such a state of total animation is achieved only when Christians can integrate all four “streams” of their lives: discipleship, counseling, healing and warfare. Read more
Till We Have Faces
March 2, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
For serious C.S. Lewis fans, this book is simply awesome. I’ve read it twice and discussed it once in a book club. It lingers in my mind like a haunting melody.
Caleb Rasmussen gives an excellent review of this little-known masterwork on the Spectrum (Adventist Forum) site. Read more.
-
Subscribe
-
Recent Posts
-
Categories
There and Back Again
-
Archives
-
Links
- Bend SDA Church
- Last Week's Sermon - Don’t miss a thing! First Serve sermons are now available via audio streaming right to your laptop or iPad!
- StoryHarvest - Stories about people and God.
-
Meta