Pastor – Coach – Reader – Cook
What does it mean to be a “saint”? Different church traditions may have slightly different definitions, but one common emphasis may be that saints are a sort of special or unique group of people. They are people set apart from the rest of us due to their holy or loving acts or perhaps, in a…
Continue reading ➞ Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints by Daneen Akers (Book Review)
Beginning the countdown of my top ten books is some historical theology! A study of the wonderful Julian of Norwich is my #10 while a study of the illustrious Maximus the Confessor gets an honorable mention.
My July Newsletter has big news: I am now the Assistant Executive Director for CSFPA. This is a pretty cool and very humbling new job with plenty of new responsibilities, as well as carrying over a lot of the old responsibilities. In addition to working with the students at Penn State Berks (and Penn State…
Authentic Christianity by Peter Watts is a delightful, readable and thoughtful book about what it means to be a Christian. Of course, everyone has some impression of what it means to be a Christian. There are multitudes of books, podcasts, articles and such out there on this. Everyone has an opinion, and you can probably…
Continue reading ➞ Authentic Christianity by Peter Watts (Review)
“When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up”…
I suppose reading is like exercise: the more you do, the better you get. It also helps to barely watch TV. All that to say, I feel like I've already read a lot of books this year. Here are a few, with links to my Goodreads reviews: Rebecca's Children: Judaism and Christianity in the Roman…
Continue reading ➞ Recent Reads: Natural Theology, Religion, The Modern World,and More
Favorite Classic - Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. This one made my top ten list of all time and is absolutely a brilliant must read. Favorite Spiritual Classic - New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton. I also ended up making the list of my favorites of all time. Tremendously challenging. Favorite Enjoyable…
First of all, this book is a piece of brilliant writing and fantastic story-telling. It is easy to fall in love with the diminutive and irreverent Owen Meany. John Irving is a great writer, though as I note that, I realize I've only read one of his other books. Perhaps I should check out his…
Continue reading ➞ #3 – A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving (My 100 Favorite Books)
CS Lewis is definitely one of my favorite authors of all time. His Narnia series was one of the first books I remember reading that gripped me and instilled a love of reading in me. Over the years I've read many of his books and am impressed by how wide-ranging the subjects are that he…
Continue reading ➞ #9 – Mere Christianity by CS Lewis (My 100 Favorite Books)
This book was Tolkien's life's work. It was not released until after his death, put together by his son Christopher. I call it the Old Testament of Middle Earth. While it is not as exciting as the Hobbit, or even as fast-paced as Lord of the Rings (which is itself a bit slow at times)…
Continue reading ➞ #10 – The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien (My 100 Favorite Books)
