Category Archives: Books

Suffering and Faith, Part 2

The truth about suffering: Because God can handle our tough questions, we can be honest about our pain.  Someone has estimated that there are over 186,000 sentences in the Bible. That includes a LOT of questions. And the question that … Continue reading →

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Best Books of 2017

Each year, I set myself a goal to read 52 books — one per week over the course of a year. I usually fall short of the goal; the last time I hit the mark was 2011. But it’s still … Continue reading →

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Christmas 2017

Here’s my Christmas haul from the people who know me well. Great music from Stapleton and The War on Drugs. Non-fiction on Christian mysticism (my current theological interest) and Revelation (twin teaching and preaching series in the queue for early … Continue reading →

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A Theological Reading of “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts”: Coke bottles

Toward the end of Neil White’s gripping memoir, “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts”, he records another encounter with Ella. With his release looming, White was lamenting to Ella his lack of transformation. He writes, “I had decided I needed to change, … Continue reading →

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A Theological Reading of “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts”: Church

I just finished Neil White’s fantastic memoir In the Sanctuary of Outcasts. White spent 12 months — spring 1993 to spring 1994 — incarcerated at the minimum-security Federal Medical Center in Carville, Louisiana. What made this incarceration unique was the “convergence … Continue reading →

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A (Bookworm’s) Merry Christmas

Santa was VERY good to this bookworm. Now I have to decide which one to read first! 

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Best Books of 2016

Time for my annual list of best books I’ve read this year. (To access my previous “best books” lists, click here.) Each year I set out with a goal to read 52 books — one per week. Admittedly, that’s an … Continue reading →

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Soong-Chan Rah on Identification and Lament

In his seminal work Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times, Soong-Chan Rah writes about Jeremiah’s identification with the people of Jerusalem in the book of Lamentations. While Lamentations 1&2 describe the destruction of Jerusalem from a fairly dispassionate … Continue reading →

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Public Faith in Action

I just finished an insightful book entitled Public Faith in Action: How to Think Carefully, Engage Wisely, and Vote with Integrity by Miroslav Volf and Ryan McAnnally-Linz. This volume is a companion piece to Volf’s 2011 work A Public Faith: How Followers … Continue reading →

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Summer Reading / Playlist

Things have been pretty quiet over here at the blog lately. Between end-of-summer festivities and the start of a new school year, it’s just been awfully busy around here lately. But I decided to take a little time and write … Continue reading →

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