Homeward Bound

No surprise I did not read as many book as I had hoped this year. 2022 ratcheted up the intensity a notch or three, but despite failing to reach a significant total to brag about on my blog I was blessed by many of the books I did read. As reading time shrinks with obligations, commitments, work--it is more important than ever to read real quality books. That is just what happened this year which featured a mixture of my usual eclectic genres: practical theology, well-written fiction, and the odd war history.  Here are my top ten for the year:  10. Letter of the Marque - Patrick O'Brian (1988) I have enjoyed this working through this 20 book series of Napoleonic era naval fiction. A slower pace from the also excellent Horatio Hornblower series covering the same era--O'Brian's series contains rich dialogue and brilliant characters as Captain Jack and Dr. Maturin sail the seas to impede French power at every turn. This twelfth of the series features a cutting out expedition ...

"Naked I was born from my mother's womb and naked I will return." Job 1:21 Try as we might, we cannot get away from nakedness. And we do try. Life is spent in the accumulation of all manner of temporal goods--some material, some immaterial--but all temporal nonetheless. From early ages we gain cognition and ability to communicate. We develop faculties of thought and reasoning. We form relationships with others, have experiences, make memories. As we grow to independence we attain certain achievements and build a stock of possessions. All of this rising to a peak of powers, a period of micro-dominance as that original naked state is pushed to the furthest margins of memory. Some experience magnificent heights and some see sustained plateaus with no hint of decline for decades. No matter how high that peak grows--however pronounced our intelligence, network, status, skillset, influence gets--it inevitably must return to the starting point of zero. Nakedness, like gravity, ...

How would you respond if Jesus visited your town or your neighborhood? I think almost everyone, non-Christians included, would be thrilled by the possibility. Most everyone likes Jesus. His morality cannot be improved upon , select portions of his teachings have been applauded for time gone by, and we sure would love to see something supernatural. In Jesus' day there was just something special about him and the miracles, the preaching, the tenderness mingled with strength, the verbal take downs of the religious--all drew massive crowds, with good reason! In our own time I doubt it would be any different.   But I have often been bewildered at the Gerasenes (Mark 5:1-20) who pleaded with Jesus to leave their town. Put yourself in their shoes. Here is Jesus, this fantastical figure, and He has come to your time. Of all possible moments in human history He is walking the earth the same moment you are walking the earth! Humanity has been waiting for this for generation after generatio...

I love starting new books: the new beginnings, the crisp pages, the fresh ideas that I cannot wait to dive into. There is something about the weight of a large tome which tempts me to tackle a big reading project. But as much as I love starting books like this, I do have a problem finishing them. Often I will hit a wall around sixty percent through, and find a few other books that catch my eye--only to do the same thing to those books later! And the cycle continues. Maybe I get bored with the same idea called out over and over, or sometimes I feel that I have gotten the point already, so my interest is lost. But more often than not I see a shiny new (or old) book other people are reading and I long to give it a try. So I do! I know I am not the only one to struggle with literary attention deficiency. Our world has trained us to not stay interested in any one thing for very long. We desire novelty and variety, it is built into the market and the online locations we venture. Long grade c...

One of my favorite parts of The Pilgrim's Progress is when Christian visits the house of the Interpreter; where he is impressed with several images presented to him. Each are given to aid the powerful faculty of his imagination, and will remain with him throughout the travails of his pilgrimage to the Celestial City. Images and other artistic devices are powerful tools that can carve their subject matter deeply into our memory. That Pilgrim's Progress itself is a work of allegory and imagination only further illustrates the utility of such methods. One of the scenes Christian is confronted with in the house of the Interpreter is that of a stately palace. One which many desire to enter but dare not because of the guards at the gate: I saw also that the INTERPRETER took him again by the hand, and led him into a pleasant place, where was builded a stately palace, beautiful to behold; at the sight of which CHRISTIAN was greatly delighted: he saw also upon the top thereof certain pe...

There is quite a buzz these days about winsomeness, and the question is how should Christians live in a now godless culture? Do we be kind to one another and in a spirit of meekness seek to show our good deeds to the world that they may glorify our Father in heaven (Luke 5:16)? Or do we confront the lost as Noah did the antediluvian masses, call them to forsake their sins and hide in the shelter from the coming judgment (2 Peter 2:5)? Do we live quiet lives and earn good report (1 Thess 4:11); or do we ditch that and preach against that unregenerate Herod's taking of his brother's wife (Luke 3:19). It is not easy to navigate the Christian posture. There is a point where winsomeness becomes only an excuse for cowardice; and a point where what is commonly called "culture warring" is just mean spirited bravado. We are equipped with manifold personalities and tendencies, and while all marked by sin, we are more geared to one approach or another. We should not seek to give...

One of the experiences I have truly relished over the past several years has been preaching at the Mission in my local community. The leadership is a bit theological diverse, as are the preaching styles. When I first started helping there I was struck by the direct in your face mode. The rawness and the volume; it was all quite intense! Sure there was a bit of a disparagement of the formal, institutional churches; some Pentecostal strains. But there was fire in that pulpit. And for me, with my Biblical studies degree and my sermon manuscripts (one has to be sure every word is just right, after all), these were the exact people I needed to be around. I will never forget what my preaching friend Richard told me one time: "You can't give what you don't have." You cannot really preach the gospel if you have not bathed in it yourself. You cannot really tell of the love of Jesus if His love is something you have not felt. Which speaks to this rule that must undergird all of...

I have often thought growth in every form as a total gain. It’s obvious. Growth in wealth, growth in career, growth in platform and influence--no one questions that these things are good, and the best sellers lists only confirm that underlying assumption with revolving titles like Atomic Habits , Baby Steps Millionaires , The 5 AM Club . Our society is fascinated with the idea of getting bigger and better and smarter and more efficient. I had a mentor tell me once that we should strive to get as much responsibility as possible in order to do the most good as possible. For a young man with penchants for sloth and indolence, this was good advice--but I wonder if we ever take time to count the cost of our territorial expansion? I recently went to Sight and Sound theater in Lancaster, PA for my wife Montana's birthday. We saw "David" which did a quick biographical sketch of David's life from shepherd boy to King of Israel. One of the interesting things is how the play po...

One of the great things about living in 2022 is we can read, listen to, and follow the best. If you want to hear the best preachers around the world, you can go on youtube and listen to them for free. If you want to read the best theologians, you do not need to ship your family off to seminary to study under them. You can download their latest ebook on your amazon kindle. With wonderful websites like gutenberg.org you can access the greatest written works of all time and read them for free! Other sites like monergism.com have vaults of Christian writings that are time tested to be invaluable to your Christian walk. Though it is not without its problems, 2022 is an amazing time to be alive. With all this at our fingertips, there is a tendency for us to defer to the specialist. The industrial revolution brought about increased specialization through innovations like the division of labor. Workers were specifically trained and suited for their unique jobs, jobs that the now untrained, l...

It has been a heavy year for me and my family. My father-in-law died in February. We are all still grieving the loss and getting used to this uniquely shaped void in our lives. My wife misses her Dad, and I miss my friend. We all were very close. I can't help but mention we are still figuring out life with 3 little kids. Who knew something so normal as having a family could prove so strenuous and difficult? I used to look forward to having "big things in store" for my life down the road, but I am having trouble enough with these common things--thank you very much! If this is what the little things are like I don't think I want to see anything bigger.  In addition to this we are considering family decisions and future possibilities: Where should we be? What should we be doing? How do I best provide for my family's needs? Should we homeschool? What about financial pressures and the changing economy?  Decisions, decisions. In uncertain times too. These are grown up b...

2021 was a heavy year, with plenty of good and bad. COVID restrictions had their effect on many. I had several friends and acquaintances pass away which added to the general heaviness of the year. Some were older some were young. I can't help but shake the feeling that I am on borrowed time. Life is so short, which brings to mind this Samuel Davies sermon you definitely should read. Elena at 7 months Apart from me continuing to work from home, my immediate family has been healthy and growing--largely unaffected by COVID. Praise God! Maybe we have been too healthy! Parenthood has been more difficult than I had anticipated, and these boys are making Montana and me work! My family has grown from 4 to 5 members, with the particular birthing event of Elena Rae being the highlight of my year. Having a daughter has been an overwhelming blessing. Hudson (age 4) and Brooks (age 2) are so full of masculine energy and violence it has been nice to meet someone who is pure sweetness and smile...

Twitter is useful for many things. I love the resource sharing, seeing the books or the podcasts people are enjoying. I follow several brilliant people who have great ideas which in turn give me plenty of good things to think about. Twitter also gives me a pulse on the outside world. What is going on? What are the questions people are asking? But despite all that, like other technology, social media tends to break forth from the bounds we set for it. Instead of quickly scanning some books or ideas, I am left reading the comments of a real political slugfest, liking and cheering on my team. Instead of going in and getting out with what I came for, I find myself scrolling and scrolling, while my flesh and blood offspring are in front of me requiring my undivided attention.  In a COVID-19 world, Twitter offers the community and the human interaction we crave. There are people online who have the same interests and viewpoints as me! Imagine that! Who else do I know enjoys reading Napol...

Every year I try to read a healthy mixture of books: fiction, history, Christian living, and Christian Theology. While all of us should read books that are challenging and stretch our minds to new heights, I think it is almost equally important to read books for no other reason than they are very enjoyable.  Here are my top ten books I read in 2021: 10. Dune – Frank Herbert I hardly ever read sci-fi so this was largely out of my comfort zone. After reading some good reviews of the Dune film, I thought I would go all in and read the book before seeing the movie. Herbert creates a very detailed world rife with factions struggling to gain an edge in a touchy interplanetary political game of intrigue. From a world building perspective, the creative imagination is something to appreciate. The dialogue and general prose, however, left a lot to be desired, and I felt that the story revolved too much around the central pseudo-religious movement (the Bene Gesserit). Still, plenty of fun fo...