Simple thoughts on faith, church and discipleship
As my wife and I walked back to the parking lot after the movie, we saw people wearing colourful African print dresses, colourful headcovers, colourful African shirts with matching trousers. These were people from every race, age group, and continent. They were buzzing with joy, just hanging around the foyer, their bond stronger because they had been to Wakanda and back.
Turning 39, getting a traffic ticket, listening to Radiohead, reading Esther, and how it all reminds me that I forget the gospel.
In the context of #metoo and #churchtoo, and the horrific things we are learning through that, I am seriously before the Lord asking how we might create churches that are safe spaces for broken and abused women. Churches where we go out of our way - like our Lord - to dignify women's stories, to offer the living and restorative water of the gospel, and to give meaningful purpose in mission to women who previously felt like they had no place.
We are finding our feet. We love our new home, we are enjoying our new city, and we are thriving in our new church, but that doesn't mean that we don't feel deeply for what we have left behind. You can be excited about where you are and sad about where you left all at the same time. We're human. We are complex like that.
The 5th and final part in my 2017 Reading List series. It includes my two books of the year and one that came very close.
A truly eclectic group as we get towards the end of my 2017 reading summary.
Hillbilly's, old pastors, the mystery of God's will and same sex attraction all on one list.
Part 2 of the list features everything from Japanese fiction to American pragmatism, making a stop past English Catholicism on the way. There is also a pastor with gay parents and a conservative view of marriage.
By God's grace it has been a fruitful year of reading, and I have learned a great deal again, especially in terms of how I ought to read more going forward. So, here are the first 5 of 25 books that I enjoyed this year, with very short reviews to whet your appetite. My simple hope is to encourage you to read more and to enjoy your reading more. They appear in the order that I read them.
