Yesterday I posted an update about my October sabbatical. So today I’ll update my reading list.
I finished John Ortberg’s The Me I Want To Be. A good book, very Ortberg-ish. Focuses on spiritual growth, with self-depreciating humor and fun stories. It’s not John’s most entertaining book nor his most theological book. Instead, it puts his PhD in Psychology to good use as it looks at the barriers that keep us from spiritual growth. The book is linked to the Monvee program.
Martin Dugard’s Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone was a great book! I love adventure tales, and historical adventure is often the best kind. This books retells the story of Stanley’s search for Livingstone, the grand and outrageous adventure of it all, and the politics of the era. Well worth reading.
I re-read Kevin Lynch’s book The Image of the City. This classic book has become the standard for understanding how people perceive their urban environment. I’m not a big fan of cities — really more of a country boy. But I don’t think you need to live in the city to understand that people perceive place, distance, direction and form differently from one another. The Image of the City explores that and then offers insights to architects, city planners and builders on how to create a sense of place in their work.
Kristie at Goble Properties suggested that I read Surviving Paradise by Peter Rudiak-Gould. What a fun book! It describes the authors life as a volunteer teacher on a remote island in the Pacific. His insight into cultural identity, combined with humorous stories of his own cultural flubs, make this an ideal book for anybody who will live or work overseas for a period of time. I’m already wondering how to work it into the PathLight reading list. Thanks, Kristie!
My friend Susan heard about my sabbatical and suggested I read Stopping: How to Be Still When You Have to Keep Going by David Kundtz. The book explains the idea of stopping in the midst of work and taking a mental, physical and spiritual break. Kundtz says the best way to be productive and healthy is to occasionally do nothing, and the book makes a strong case for this. I enjoyed it and learned a few tips that were helpful.
I tried to read as much Scripture as possible:
* At the urging of a friend, I read Ecclesiastes. I can sum it up with, “Enjoy life, love God, be content, and don’t take yourself too seriously.” Perfect message for my sabbatical time.
* I finished Proverbs. I was struck how often a Proverb has to do with fairness and justice in a business transaction. Not to mention all the references to wine, beer and olive oil! It also confirmed that Proverbs 31:6-7 may be the greatest two verses in all Scripture.
* The book of Joshua reminded me how important it is to worship, obey, think and act in community when you have a big challenge in front of you.
* Jonah reminded me that hearing God’s voice is one thing, obeying it is another altogether, and that sometimes our perspective on success is wildly different than God’s perspective.
* Amos urged me to consider how gracious God is in offering warnings to change our behavior. I’m particularly fond of chapter 5, verses 22-24, when God says the gifts, offerings, and worship of the unrepentant are meaningless; righteousness and justice are what He desires.
* Micah is always a great book to read. Micah 2:2 is an interesting verse for our times; it blasts greed and those who covet the wealth of others. Also Micah 2:11 … we had lots of “wine & beer” prophets over the last few years.
* The Gospel of Luke always amazes me. So much attention to the people that Jesus interacted with. Lots of small details. And once again, I’m struck by how often faith is contrasted to fear.
* Galatians is one of my favorite Pauline letters, though honestly I find myself understanding about half of what Paul writes. One thing I love about Galatians is chapter 2 verses 9-10, where Paul says his mandate from the church in Jerusalem was to 1) go to the Gentiles and 2) remember the poor. Thus the first major missionary effort included a requirement to include the plight of the poor.
* Romans has a way of always stretching me. I read it because we’re headed to Rome soon, and it really is Paul’s crowning theological achievement. Whoever was on the receiving end of this letter was really really smart … because Paul covers some extremely deep theological issues that must’ve been especially confounding in that day. But then it makes sense that Rome would have drawn the best & brightest of the day, so Paul’s friends in that city were probably among the Jewish-Christian elite. Just guessing at that.
My reading pace is sure to slow down a bit because my time of solitude is over. One thing I want to do while in Rome is finish the Epistles that Paul wrote while imprisoned there (Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon and Philippians). Beyond that … we’ll just have to wait and see!