Anyone paying attention to the list of "What’s in My Bookbag" to the left of this post would think that either a) I am a very slow reader or b) I’m too lazy to update the list on a regular basis. Either option contains some truth. It’s not so much that I read individual pages slowly, but I do tend to read individual books slowly because I don’t read enough pages on any given day to make good progress in all of the books (and magazines) vying for my attention. And I don’t take time to update the list.
Nevertheless, I have actually read two books in the past two weeks. One was on loan from a library and needed to be completed and returned – Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us by Scot McKnight; the other one I found abandoned in my daughter’s room – Messy Spirituality by Michael Yaconelli.
These books have similarities. In fact, McKnight references Yaconelli’s book in his, along with several other of my favorite authors. Much of my reading is in books from the "emergent church" community, placing Christianity in a postmodern setting.
So why do I keep reading authors who are quoting each other and saying similar things? Why saturate myself with such writing? The answer is "balance".
Many of my core beliefs are out of step with those of the community in which I live and worship. When I choke on theology that is being fed to me by people around me, there are few if any who comprehend the difficulty I have in swallowing what is being said. I’m left feeling isolated and lonely. That’s where the books come in. They give me another faith community where voices of authority affirm what I discover in the Word of God and those discoveries are fleshed out with articulate words. It’s not the same as having a local church, however.
On one side, I have people who truly care about me and will come see me in the hospital and show me love but who teach and preach Christianity in ways that offend me. On the other side, I have people who write books that speak to where I am theologically, but who don’t know that I exist and certainly don’t want to hear about my hospital stay.
In the natural balance of things, the people who care about me and with whom I interact face to face have more influence in what they say. Their words easily get under my skin and stir up my defenses. It takes frequent, almost daily, exposure to the writing of people who never enter my world to offset half an hour a couple of times a week of listening to a flesh-and-blood person speak words that drive me crazy.
If I can dig in deep enough, I can fully identify with people like McKnight and Yaconelli and view local voices as merely providing a quaint glimpse into a fading religious culture. Reading the Bible helps. That’s primarily what put me out of step with the fading culture in the first place.
How grateful I am for those who write the books I read. And for those who discover those books and recommend them to me, including the people at amazon.com. And for the resources to get them off my recommended reading list and into my bookbag. I am blessed.
2 comments:
Interesting thoughts here Marsha Lynn - I often feel that same disconnectedness and feel a thrill when I read something that makes me say, "Yes! That's what it's like!"
Thanks for your thoughts
Ever read John Wesley? He tends to be on the same page (or many a step ahead) with what I find to be truth when I read Scripture. I've recently been reading a book by a Nazarene theologian named Michael Lodahl (he's a professor of religion at Point Loma). The book is titled God of Nature and Grace: Reading the World in a Wesleyan Way I believe. Anyway, I've really enjoyed it. I think I could find some links to some of Wesley's sermons, dad and I have them on CD library on our computers, though.
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