I almost always have multiple books on the go (if you look at my Goodreads page, I’ve got something like seven books on the go at any given time). Some of what I read is not terribly profound. Much of it is fun and goofy. A few are pretty heavy—the sort of books you read a few pages of and then set them down for a few days (or weeks).[1. Or months.]
But whatever I’m reading almost always provokes some kind of reaction—be it a burning question surrounding the content, something legitimately profound (which happens every once in a while), or something that barely relates to whatever I’ve just read. This is a good thing, of course, because if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be very good, now would they?
Today, I’m giving you a glimpse at my nightstand and sharing a few of these thoughts:
Nightwing, Vol. 4: Love and Bullets by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel. From my last year of high school through college, this was my absolute favorite comic book (though admittedly, McDaniel’s art took a while to grow on me). Reading it again makes me appreciate its writer’s style. Chuck Dixon is among the least pretentious writers of his era. He wasn’t trying to be a literary genius. He was writing big, fun, action movie style stories that move the characters forward. As a writer, that’s something I respect because good writing isn’t always showy. Sometimes the writing just is, which makes it good.
Liberating King by Stephen Miller. As I’ve been reading this book, I’ve been reminded how much I appreciate when authors try to present a larger view of worship—and more specifically, true worship’s effect on you as a person. Worship is not just what we do as a congregation during the singing portion of our gatherings; it’s what we do when we choose to read our Bibles, when we pray, when we fast, when we seek God with our whole being.[1. With the necessary caveats in place, of course.] Something I need to think about more: how is worship changing me to be more like Jesus?
The Accidental Feminist by Courtney Reissig. A great point raised: Why does it seem to be a less valid option for women to exercise their freedom by choosing to stay home with their children? I am thankful that this was something my wife felt was important and desired to do. It’s not easy, but she is a huge gift to me and our kids by serving our family in this way.
Church History for Modern Ministry by Dayton Hartman. I wonder if our tendency toward overlooking history in many of our churches is evidence of a way in which the world has infiltrated our thinking? After all, we live in a society that doesn’t seem to place a high value on learning from the past, and it seems to be the same in our churches, too. If we did pay closer attention, I suspect we’d route the practical Marcionism[2. Marcionism is one of the earliest heresies in church history, which rejected the Old Testament and God as he is depicted there. Marcion limited his canon to Luke’s gospel and ten of Paul’s epistles.] that has taken hold among so many. I hope we would, anyway.
Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond edited by Darrell Bock. I’ve been reading this on and off for well over a year. It’s a pick it up every once in a while read. I will say, it firmly cements my conviction that everyone’s view of eschatology (including my own) is wrong, at least in part. And that’s okay, because not everything can or needs to be perfectly figured out.
Photo credit: Daniel Glo via Flickr (Creative Commons)
