:: In.a.Mirror.Dimly ::

When I started out as a writer, I didn’t know much of anything about networking with fellow authors or how to ask them for help. I just stumbled along making one mistake after another. When you’re new, your only hope is finding an author who will either pity you or respond out of kindness.

One author who has probably pitied me but more often than not responded out of kindness to help me over the years has been Jason Boyett.

When I needed an endorsement for my one of my fake April fools day book releases, Jason responded right away.

When I needed an endorsement for my book Hazardous, Jason helped again without asking me if I had someone else to bug.

Jason has written a bunch of books, but you probably know him as the author of O Me of Little Faith. He also hosts a pop-culture podcast called 9 Thumbs where the 3 hosts make 3 recommendations.

He also wrote A Pocket Guide to the Bible. If I had to list two of Jason’s other super powers, besides being kind of rookie authors, they would be a sharp wit and an insatiable curiosity that fuels a drive to research. He puts both of them to great use in this enjoyable little book.

And if you like the Bible, today is your lucky day.

(You do like the Bible, right? Right???)

Jason has a garage full of his Pocket Guide to the Bible, and he’s selling them at a steep discount. He may even be able to finally park his car in the garage.

Order your copy today for only $4!

A bunch of churches have already ordered a box of 48 copies in order to give them out as gifts. I’ve seen Jason use a pile of them as a monitor stand. Really, the uses are endless.

It’s important that we support generous, hard-working writers. You can often find a writer who is generous or a writer who is hard-working, but it’s tough to find someone who does both so well as Jason.

Writers Who Review Books

And while we’re  talking about generous writers, I’d also like to call attention to pastor David Swanson. He reviewed my first book Coffeehouse Theology for Relevant Magazine when it released in 2008. That review is one of the most common conversation topics I have about that book: “I read about your book in Relevant.”

He recently interviewed me about my latest book Hazardous at his blog.

I’m grateful that David has taken the time to read my books and to write thoughtful reviews and interview questions. As a writer, there’s no better gift than to be taken seriously enough for someone to read and review your work.

Today’s guest post is by art teacher, blogger, and author Matt Appling. His blog is consistently one of my favorites and his new book Life After Art is definitely in my list of books I plan to read this Spring.

Some people like to be the center of attention.

Not me. I’ve always had a bit of stage fright. I’m uncomfortable “marketing” myself. And that’s kind of weird for a guy who’s been an artist, a pastor, a teacher, a blogger and now an author.

Because try as I might, it seems the very nature of all those things demand undivided attention. “Look at me, everyone!” It’s so easy for everything I do to become an attention-getting, narcissism machine.

We all want to be storytellers, artists, leaders, creators of some kind. We want our work to matter? We want to make an impact and create something meaningful.

So how do we create more than just attention for ourselves?

Clergy and Laity

There’s an age old problem in the church that I’ve constantly run into as a church leader.

It’s the segregation between “clergy” and “laity.”

Even in the relaxed churches I’ve led, the people keep themselves segregated from leadership. A lot of people won’t pray aloud when there is a guy who’s “trained” to pray. Some people won’t speak in front of the group when there’s a guy who can speak.

I’ve since realized that there are a lot more important things than making people pray or speak publicly. The “priesthood of all believers” is much more about people loving their neighbors.

And as a leader, I’ve dedicated my work not to expanding my influence, but expanding others’ influence, empowering others to be bold with their faith. Telling them they have the same access to God that I do. I’m not here to build a cult of personality around myself.

When people point to me, I point back to them.

The Expert in the Room

When I got into the classroom, I realized that I am the “expert” among a room full of children. No getting around that. As the art teacher, I have twenty years of practice more than my most advanced students.

But my job was not to just be the expert.

My job is to empower a room of future-experts. My task is to make a bunch of experts. Every piece of art I make that gets a bunch of “wows” from kids, I point right back at them and say, “You can do this too.”

Being a teacher isn’t about my ego or narcissism. It’s about telling kids your art is just as important as mine.

Speak, Write, Create, Love

It’s the same with blogging and writing, if you hadn’t guessed.

We all want to be storytellers. But I am convinced that we are being deprived of some incredible stories from people who just haven’t been empowered to tell their stories.

The best storytellers empower others to tell their own stories. They don’t just tell their own stories, they multiply the stories being told by others.

This has been the slow realization of my life: that whatever work I am doing as an artist, teacher, pastor or writer, my work is at its best not when it just gets attention for myself, but when it empowers others to do the same.

That was my motivation when I sat down to write Life After Art. It was a labor of love, dedicated to empowering you, the person who sits, defeated, and says, “I couldn’t possibly do that.”

There are stories that need to be told, art that needs to be made, prayers that need to be prayed, love that needs to be shared…

…And you can do all of those things.

About Today’s Guest Blogger

Matt Appling is a teacher, pastor and writer. His first book, Life After Art, just released from Moody Publishers. Watch the video preview, buy the book, and get $100 in free resources at www.LifeAfterArtBook.com.

Read Reviews of Life After Art

• Jessica Bowman
• Sonny Lemmons (I’m linking to Sonny even though he still uses Blogger…)
• Caris Adel
• Andi Cumbo

One of the best blogs around is Matt Appling’s Church of No People blog. I’m honored to be guest posting over there today about the first time I read a book by David Sedaris. Here’s the beginning of my post:

Four years in seminary exposed me to thick, heavy academic theology books. They were all I knew about writing. They were all I imitated.

State a thesis. Defend your thesis. Beat your head against your desk as you format footnotes. Edit to make sure your ideas are clear.

That was writing for me. I thought it was fine. Not great—just something I could do reasonably well.

I’d forgotten the years I’d spent writing silly stories in elementary school.

I’d forgotten the encouragement of my high school English teachers.

I just wrote ideas: bland, simple ideas constructed on a scaffolding of research.

By the time I started to entertain the possibility of writing full time, I happened upon Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. I’d seen it release while working at a Borders Bookstore, but it wasn’t until after seminary that I started to read something other than theology or Christian living books.

Read the rest of my post today at Matt’s blog.

And while you’re there, check out Matt’s fantastic upcoming book! Life After Art.

It’s Ash Wednesday, and in honor of the beginning of Lent, I’m hosting my friend Kris Camealy today who recently just wrote a great little Lenten devotional:

There’s a story I tell in the beginning of my new book, Holey Wholly, Holy: A Lenten Journey Of Refinement, about an experience I had at a doctors office shortly after undergoing my 3rd cesarean. The incision site refused to heal and I had no choice but to go in and have it looked at by the doctor. Indeed, the wound could and would be healed, but not without a bit more pain and discomfort, of which I had hoped I was mostly finished with.

In this case, the doctor pulled out a small jar of silver nitrate, warned me about the coming pain and then covered the wound with the fiery stuff. True to the Doctors warning, the incision site seared with burning pain of the nitrate on my skin. I’m certain I winced as the burn went deep.

I tell this particular story because it reminds me of the refining process that we must endure as Christians, in order to become Holy. Refinement, is the product of painful, godly discipline. When speaking about the refining process, the bible repeatedly uses language and imagery referencing the refining of metal. The mental images this conjures up for me, are the stuff of nightmares. Thankfully, God is not a sadist. I say this with all seriousness because for years I struggled with my view of who God really is.God is Holy and perfect (Isaiah 57:15) and as His children we are also called to holiness.(1 Peter 1:13-16, Leviticus 11:44)

Believing and accepting that God is Holy enables us to surrender to, and endure the refining process that melts away the impurities of our lives in order for us to better reflect His holiness to the world (Isaiah 48:10-11). Of course, we will never be Holy in the sense that God is Holy, but our lives are meant to reflect His love, so as he purifies our hearts, we are better able to live out this extreme call.

We struggle at times to understand why we must endure periods of intense suffering, we wonder why won’t God just make it stop. If He is truly good (and He is–Psalm 107:1), why must we endure such agony? This is often how we feel in the middle of the refining. If you’re like me, when the heat begins to rise, I tend to steel myself for the coming pain. I stand tall and talk about God’s goodness and the value of discipline (Hebrews 12:4-6). But when the refining runs long–longer than is comfortable, I often resort to questioning the value of it. I’m hasty like Peter, impatient and ever eager to jump out of the boat only to panic once I’m out. This is when it is most challenging to stay the course, to surrender, to let God work. This is also where the healing often begins.

I prod God for the why’s of the experience, I grieve the hurt, and in my grief, I question and doubt and generally forget exactly who God is. Last Lent, God cranked up the heat on my refining in a way I had prayed for, but didn’t see coming. I’d been praying for His eyes to see, and for a heart that better reflected His own. I now believe that neither of those prayers could have been answered any other way. In His discipline and refining, God was generous with me. He actually gave me what I prayed for–but it came at a cost.

Lent has begun again, and while I’m not sure how it will unfold for me this year, I am certain that as I turn my eyes inward, as I make my confessions and contemplate the cost of my own resurrection–the blameless blood of Christ, I will go a little more willingly into the fires of refinement. I will inch closer to God this season because I have seen His goodness and mercy overflow from the cross on down to me, a sinner who no more deserves His mercy than the thief who hung next to Him.

Do you observe Lent?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this season and the refining process.

Leave a comment below to be entered to win a signed copy of my book,

Holey Wholly, Holy: A Lenten Journey of Refinement

About Kris:

As a sequin-wearing, homeschooling, mops-coordinating mother of four, Kris Camealy is passionate about Jesus and her family. Her heart beats to share the hard, but glorious truth about life in Christ with anyone who will listen. When she’s not writing, she gobbles up books like they’re going out of print and plays in the kitchen. She’s been known to take gratuitous pictures of her culinary creations, causing mouths to water all across Instagram. Once upon a time, she ran 10 miles for Compassion International, a ministry for which she serves as an advocate. She is a contributing author to the book, Finding Church and you can read more of her heart-words in her new book, Holey, Wholly, Holy: A Lenten Journey of Refinement, and on her blog Always Alleluia. Find her on Facebook, twitter and Pinterest.

Today’s guest blogger is Suzannah Paul who writes at So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter.

When Ed asked me to recommend three Christian non-fiction titles, I wondered what to share beyond the 10 Books That Shaped My Faith that I wrote not long ago. (I’m not as well-read these days as I once was!) I mulled it over and am glad to recommend three more goodies that wrote my heart.

Beauty Will Save The World by Brian Zahnd

A prophetic and timely antidote to small gospels and tired faith, Zahnd illuminates the subversive power of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection with scope and beauty far beyond the ways we often tell–or live–it. It’s big on Kingdom vision, and I loved it so much that I persevered through reading it on the tiny screen of my Ipod and gave it as a gift at Christmas.

Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life by Kathleen Norris

Yes, this book is long and meanders a bit, but it breathed new life in me. Part memoir and part exposition, Norris explores an ancient spiritual struggle (similar to depression) which may be unfamiliar in name but is remarkably common. Discovering a name for what I was going through along with the cloud of monastic wisdom was a source of much encouragement and healing. I gave it back to the library and promptly ordered my own copy for future re-readings.

Introverts in the Church by Adam S. McHugh

If you are an introvert, love an introvert, or care about ministry or Christian community, this is a must-read. McHugh offers rare wisdom on the topics of contemplative spirituality, servant leadership, relationships, rest, pastoral ministry, and more. I gleaned great insight into my own marriage, personality, and ministry. Deeply rooted in scripture, this resource empowers introverts and provides additional (and invaluable) understanding for extroverts, laypeople, and pastors alike.

Visit Suzannah’s blog today!

Today’s guest post is by Diana Trautwein:

TELL IT SLANT: A CONVERSATION ON THE LANGUAGE OF JESUS IN HIS STORIES AND PRAYERS by Eugene Peterson

Third in Peterson’s stunning quintet of pastoral and biblical reflections, this book speaks to the heart of what it is we do out here in the blogging world: we use words. And Peterson is convinced that the 20^th and 21^st century American church has played fast and loose with a lot of them, most especially those found in scripture.

Breathe in this sentence: “Too often the living Word is desiccated into propositional cadavers, then sorted into exegetical specimens in bottles of formaldehyde. We end up with godtalk . . . where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”(pg. 1) YES.

In this volume, Peterson looks at how masterfully Jesus used story and prayer to teach truth. Jesus’s truth was not given in the form of neat facts but nestled in metaphor — he was a genius at telling it slant. Peterson challenges us to do the same.

AWED TO HEAVEN, ROOTED IN EARTH: PRAYERS OF WALTER BRUEGGEMANN

And speaking of truth-in-story-and-prayer, someone had the brilliant idea of collecting over 35 years worth of morning classroom prayers from Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann. This book has been out for about ten years now and it is still one of my favorite go-to resources, for both personal and corporate devotional use. Brueggemann writes like a poet in these prayers, all the while thinking like a scholar. That’s a powerful combination!

FALLING UPWARDS: A SPIRITUALITY FOR THE TWO HALVES OF LIFE by Richard Rohr

Father Rohr is a deep and provocative thinker. I may not always agree with where he lands, but I never fail to be challenged and made to think more deeply about what I believe and why I believe it. This small gem of a book is one I recommend to anyone who comes to me for spiritual direction, primarily because he outlines here what I believe to be the primary ‘job’ of all us human creatures — to discover our truest selves as we go deeper in our walk with the Incarnate One.

It is only by going beneath the fears and anxieties of what he calls the ‘false self’ that we begin to strip way the things that encumber and limit us and find the space to live in freedom and peace. “There is a deeper voice of God, which you must learn to hear and obey in the second half of life. It will sound an awful lot like the voices of risk, of trust, of surrender, of soul, of ‘common sense,’ of destiny, of love, of an intimate stranger, of your deepest self. . . the true faith journey only begins at this point.” (pg. 48)

Visit Diana’s Blog Today!

Today’s guest post is by Emily McFarlan Miller:

One of my New Year’s resolutions in 2012 was to read a book a month.

This doesn’t sound terribly ambitious for somebody who loves to read as much as I do, but, believe you me, it was for somebody who convinced herself she was too busy with much more “important” things as frequently as I did this year.

Since I didn’t get to all that many, there are no real surprises on my list, all brand-new Christian memoirs — my favorite. So I’ve also included some alternatives, in case you’ve already read all three. Happy reading!

3. “Love Does” by Bob Goff

“Love Does” is a quick, easy and entirely winsome read. It’s packed with stories from a life lived “to the fullest,” the kind of life Jesus said He came so we could have. And Goff has distilled all those complicated thoughts you’ve had and maybe even tried to live, like, "I used to think I needed to record stories, but now I know I just need to engage them."

If you liked this, you’ll love: “Neighbors and Wise Men” by Tony Kriz. I’m cheating a little – I just got this book for Christmas. But it falls into the same category of Book Written By A Guy Donald Miller Mentioned In Another Book.

2. “Still” by Lauren Winner

In her books, Winner has chronicled her conversion to Christianity, noted her own marriage and advocated for living romantic relationships in community. So she couldn’t not address the dissolution of her marriage, especially when that brought with it a mid-faith crisis. She writes about both crises in “Still” with grace and discretion, something that, in addition to the lived reality of marriage, has helped me this year as a newlywed to view others’ relationships with more compassion and understanding.

If you liked this, you’ll love: “Angry Conversations with God” by Susan Isaacs. In which Isaacs takes God to couples counseling. This sounds terribly irreverent following “Still,” but the author is just as raw and honest, as well as warm and funny.

1. “A Year of Biblical Womanhood” by Rachel Held Evans

In the first year-and-a-half I’ve been married, like the journalist I am, I’ve thrown myself into investigating every voice on the topic of what it means to be a wife. Meantime, Evans was living “A Year of Biblical Womanhood,” writing down a whole lot of what was running through my head. This meant I carried her book around with me for more than a month, just gazing at it weirdly and fondly long after I had finished reading it, as if all that research magically had manifested itself into a book on its own.

If you liked this, you’ll love: “Evolving in Monkey Town” by Rachel Held Evans. This sets up the argument Evans continues in her second book that the Bible is meant to be a conversation starter – making it another book that urged me this year to compassion and understanding.

Visit Emily’s Blog Today!

Today’s book picks are by Brenna D’Ambrosio of the blog Chicago Mama.

As a mom of three young children, my book reading can sometimes become utilitarian, so when I can find books that move me and help shape me, that’s a win.

Reluctant Pilgrim: A Moody, Somewhat Self-Indulgent Introvert’s Search for Spiritual Community by Enuma Okoro

I think it is safe to say that this is currently my favorite memoir. While her story is so completely specific to her, she has a way of weaving her story that makes you feel a part of it.

This was the fastest I have read a book since having children and it completely rekindled my appetite for reading.

Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

I was given this book over twelve years ago. It sat collecting dust, but over the past couple of years this has been my guidebook as I have shifted from my more legalistic church background to one that embraces the radical grace of our God. It has led me on a journey of tears of repentance to the beginnings of understanding how amazing grace truly is. It changed everything for me.

It sits prominently on my dining room shelf for quick reference along with my Bible, a collection of Madeleine L’Engle poetry and…..

Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro

I’m probably the last person to catch on to the Book of Common Prayer, but liturgy was never part of my faith background and was looked down upon. But during a period of difficulty, I grabbed it and it has been a part of my prayer life since then. The feeling of connection to the Saints around the world and throughout time helps me feel closer to God. It comforts me in the times when my own feeble prayers aren’t enough.

These are my three favorite faith shaping books that I keep close at all times. Although, if there were an honorable mention, Madeleine L’Engle’s The Ordering of Love would surely be that. Reading her poetry is like reading a prayer, sweet and pleasing.

I’d love to know what you think of these choices and which books shaped your faith.

Check out Brenna’s blog Chicago Mama.

Today’s book picks are by Caris Adel.

Listening for Madeline by Leonard S. Marcus

I read A Wrinkle in Time in 5th grade and hated it. I’m just not a sci-fi/fantasy type of girl. But about 8 years ago, someone recommended Walking on Water to me, and this kind of writing was something I loved.

It’s fascinating to get an insider’s look at such a fierce advocate for spirituality and creativity, especially when such a person did not always have as serene a personal life as we’d like to imagine.

The author interviews 50 people who knew L’Engle, from all time periods in her life. It’s an amazing look at who she really was, and thoughts on why she glossed over or ignored certain things. I was sad for her at several points, inspired by her generosity, and I now tend to think that the eccentric Canon Tallis/West has affected me more than I ever knew.

Rob Bell and a New American Christianity by James K. Wellman

Rob Bell is obviously a fascinating and controversial figure. But outside of his own sermons, books, and videos, you don’t know much about him. Until now.

This book takes a look not only at Rob personally, but his impact on Christianity in America.

It’s part biography, part sociology, with interviews from coworkers at Mars Hill, and even Rob himself.

What was up with people leaving Mars Hill at one point? Why is there no more Nooma? Will he ever pastor again? Is he a leader in a new kind of religious movement?

And what happens when a stranger to Rob researches him for a book?

"My sense was that he had made something beautiful of the gospel….in my research and time with him, I found this to be true."

The Burning Word by Judith Kunst

Reading the Bible is hard for me sometimes. When you grow up memorizing it, it tends to lose it’s newness and excitement. So when I read this, I was excited to find new ways to explore the Bible.

This is an invitation to apply the Jewish method of Midrash to the Bible. She describes her experience with it, and peppers the book with ‘Toward a Personal Practice’, giving you many different, practical ways to interact with the Bible. I’m excited to begin this in a somewhat formal manner next year, and to make the Bible feel alive again.

Visit www.carisadel.com now.

Today’s book picks are by Thomas Turner.

Lifted By Angels 

This book will rock your world by inserting angels into it. Here I was, a Bible degree and all these years in church under my belt, and I was just glossing over angels in the Scriptures. Thankfully, Joel J. Miller does a phenomenal job researching and laying out the reality that angels are an integral part of our spiritual ecosystem, both during biblical times and during the present day. This book is full of quotations from the Scriptures and the early church. I was astonished at my sheer lack of knowledge concerning angels, and this book has caused me to seriously rethink how I understand angels as part of God’s kingdom.

Just Church

Much like how books on how-to-be missional have finally brought practical and meaningful thoughts to a discussion that has been theology and example driven, Jim Martin’s book Just Church brings meaningful and practical thoughts to the issue of the church and justice.

There are plenty of books and articles that say "churches need to pursue justice" and many more that say "this is how we such-and-such church has done justice ministry," but Martin’s book actually lays out a framework for cultivating a justice ministry at any church. Encouraging churches to journey through encountering injustice, exploring ways to do justice as a church and engaging in tangible justice ministry, Martin lays out a framework that is open enough for all churches to use to turn their knowledge of a God of justice into practicing justice in their local communities.

Tomatoland 

This book will completely destroy any benevolent notion you have of farming practices in parts of America today. Florida tomato fields are not just where tasteless tomatoes grow, they are places where pregnant workers are covered in so much pesticide their babies have birth defects, lethal toxins are used every day on the soil, and where slavery still exists. Yes, slavery.

Charting the growth of the Florida tomato industry and its reliance on immigrant labor and toxic chemicals, Barry Estabrook has written a profound testament that is from the perspective of an investigative reporter, not an activist. The documentation is laboriously constructed to show an industry that is in dire need of overhaul in all of its practices.

Visit Thomas’ blog Everyday Liturgy.