Howard and I playing Badland in Kuruman

This is an overnight stop on the way to Kate's place. Kuruman? um, not sure what say 😉

February 22nd 2011

Bill used the following two book to help him prepare for his OT/NT overview seminar at Hilton Methodist Church. They are all very handy in teaching the bible.

• Introduction to the bible - Stories, themes and interpretation,.Edited by Phillip Johnston, IVP. 
• Unlocking the bible - A unique overview of the whole bible  by David Pawson
• Handbook to the bible - The Lion handbook 

Nic reviewed the following book and found it very helpful not only for personal reflection but also to quote in a service and allow folk to reflect.  It is in the form of daily readings.

• Grace notes - Daily readings with a fellow pilgrim, by Philip Yancey, Zondervan 

David reviewed a Grove Series book that he found very helpful in dealing with children inclusivity in the worship service. 

• Church Growth through the full welcome of children - the 'Sssh free church', by Stephen Kuhrt, Grove Books Limited.  

Malcolm Gladwell - The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

(Reviewed by Nic Denny-Dimitriou, Jan. 2011)

 

NY Times Bestseller List writer Malcolm Gladwell is a keen observer, commentator & researcher of many things human, who after much reflection and lateral thought, puts his findings into fascinating and accessible books. Much of what his research uncovers at first seems counter-intuitive, which makes him all the more readable - you learn more than "old fashioned common sense that everybody knows", in fact you learn what people ought to know about important life matters, but often do not.

 

This was especially so in his earlier work, "Outliers", with intriguing comment on what makes some people stand out from others or achieve spectacularly. He also wrote about "cultural overlays" and their potentially devastating effects when not taken into consideration, such as in the amusingly titled chapter "The Ethnic Theory of Airplane Crashes", about frequent airline crashes with Air Korea until matters cultural were accounted for in pilot training!  There is much in that book, previously reviewed, for us as clergy / theologians, including about often hidden "cultural assumptions" in our churches (denominations / congregations).

 

Gladwell's book "The Tipping Point" is similarly written:  Research-behind-the-seemingly-obvious-facts and reflection on often counter-intuitive findings shows what often makes a "tipping point" in social and political events as well as in personal lives. Subjects as varied as teen suicide and smoking (and pointless campaigns to eradicate it because of failure to acknowledge root causes), and people who are "Connectors", "Mavens" and "Salesmen" provide deep insight into human behaviour. The now widely understood term "tipping point" is often used in a variety of media. In an understated way, there is encouragement in this book to look beyond the seemingly obvious, or to always take the given explanations for human behaviour as the only correct interpretation.

 

Although there are occasional references to matters religious / church / spiritual (even some references in this book to the Society method of the Wesleys), this man does not write from a theological perspective. Yet in many obvious and some lateral ways, I find his insights offered into human behaviour to be very thought provoking, and they have led me to reflect on aspects of "how we do church" and communicate or nurture faith. You will draw your own conclusions - but will not likely be bored if you, too, are a "people person" and an observer of ways in which people function (and also, dysfunction).

 

Of interest too, with a church-related aspect to it, was discussion of an apparent inbuilt limit to the number of people one can fairly intimately know and relate to in a social circle, viz. 150. Read for yourself to understand this, but for many of us who are part of several wide circles and members of more than simply one village community (including church congregations esp. when large, denomination incl. minister colleagues, local suburb or community contacts, schools, clubs, and friends retained from former communities we have been part of), this too has practical relevance for how we experience and conduct our private, social and vocational professional lives.

 

 

Parker J. Palmer - The Active Life (David)

This is a great book that puts together a spirituality around work and activism.
He takes stories & scriptures from Christian, Jewish and Taoism faiths to put his views across.
It shows that spiritual life does not mean abandoning the world but engaging it more deeply through life-giving action.

It is was one of those 'must read again' books as it gave me much insight into why and how I work and what ought motive me as a Christian.

C Wright, The Mission of God's People (Bill)

The book I mentioned was by C Wright. The Mission of God's People. Zondervan. 2010

This is a biblical theology of the Church's mission and the privileged role afforded to all of God's people in fulfilling the Missio Dei (Mission of God) in the world. This overarching theme is handled under such chapter headings as: People who care for Creation, People who are a blessing to the nations, People who walk in God's way, People who represent God to the world, People who attract others.

His writing is not dense or turgid,  but almost conversational.

Chris Wright was a colleague of mine at All Nations Christian College in England. He is currently the head of John Stott Ministries. He comes from a Presbyterian background in Northern Ireland and is now an ordained Anglican. He has a doctorate from Cambridge University in OT studies.