:: in.a.mirror.dimly ::

I’m continuing book review week with a look at Norris Chumley’s Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer. The project represents eight years of work on a documentary about the monks in the Eastern church who commit themselves to saying a simple prayer:

Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on a me, a sinner.

I first ran into this prayer about six or seven years ago at a church service that emphasized prayer and meditation. While I appreciated it then, reading this book about the way monks and nuns use it in seeking of God drove home how vitally important it can be.

The book unfolds as a series of journeys to various monasteries throughout the Eastern church, beginning at St. Anthony’s cave and the monastery below it. Part travelogue, part history of mysticism, and part manual on prayer, the book introduces places and concepts that may be new to some Christians in the west.

Perhaps most striking of all is the consistent way that monks and nuns feel unable to put into words the intimacy of God’s presence. The Jesus Prayer helps them focus on God, and in their solitude they gain something that I sense many people know little about.

The book is both interesting reading and spiritually encouraging. I found myself regularly feeling a nudge to say the Jesus Prayer while reading this book. Reading about men and women who are experiencing the joy of God’s presence is a great motivator for deeper spiritual discipline.

The fact that so many monks were willing to offer their perspectives on prayer is particularly encouraging, although there is a sort of underlying tension throughout the book about whether the typical person with a day job can truly meet with God on the same level as a monk whose day (and night) job is prayer.

Without a doubt, this book accomplishes its goal in making the Jesus Prayer more accessible for a wider audience. The writing is accessible, even if the story drags a bit at times with accounts of actually getting to the monasteries.

For readers looking for a fresh perspective on prayer, some advice on simple devotional practices, and a bit of history that many in the west overlook, Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer is an excellent option.

More by Norris Chumley

The Compelling Spiritual Discipline of Asceticism

Other Stops on the Blog Tour:

Tuesday, April 12th: Joy in this Journey

Wednesday, April 13th: Oh Mandie

Thursday, April 14th: Naptime diaries

Monday, April 18th: Elizabeth Esther

Tuesday, April 19th: Mom’s Mustard Seeds

Wednesday, April 20th: O me of little faith

Thursday, April 21st: The Pilot’s Wife

Friday, April 22nd: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Monday, April 25th: Walking in His Grace

Tuesday, April 26th: In the Heart of My Home

Wednesday, April 27th: In a Mirror Dimly

Thursday, April 28th: My Heart’s Desire

Friday, April 29th: A Minute Captured

Disclaimer: A free review copy was provided by TLC Book Tours.

While I’m happy to help spread the word about a friend’s book release, I realized a few years ago that book reviews are not my thing. There are some bloggers who love writing them. They kind of psych me out. There’s something about HAVING to do a review that makes it less fun to read a book.

I’m a pretty obsessive planner for the blog too, so I usually have a hard time finding one day for a book review. All that to say, I’ve been stalling on some reviews and interviews for some good books. I owe apologies to more authors than I can count on one hand.

This week I’m working through some book reviews. I don’t care about following any kind of format. I just have three things I want to say: what is the author trying to say, who is the audience, and will that audience want to read what that author has written. Without further ado, I’ll begin book review week with Becky Garrison’s Jesus Died for This: A Satirist’s Search for the Risen Lord.

If you took a travel narrative, spiritual memoir, critique of consumer Christianity, and a report on hopeful movements in the church today and blended them together with a heavy dose of sarcasm, you’d have Garrison’s new book.

The book offers a series of snapshots at the spiritually surreal landscape of Christianity—places where skeptics and critics may find Christianity lacking. However, she sheds light on communities and individual Christians who offer a hopeful take on Christianity. Garrison’s faith-based critique also offers positive examples and is a welcome relief from the “we suck” narrative that dominates some Christian circles.

The book has a series of cartoons by artist David Hayward that help drive home Garrison’s words in unexpectedly powerful ways.

Garrison is a writer who pulls no punches, calling it like she sees it with a journalist’s skill and the creds of an MDiv from Yale Divinity school. She refuses to fawn over trends, and poses hard questions when they need to be asked. In fact, personally speaking, if I’m worried about a trend in Christian publishing or Christianity in general, she’s one of the first people I look to for a perspective.

It’s rare to find someone with Garrison’s commitment to relationships, while remaining committed to asking the questions no one seems to be asking—at least out loud. She seeks out fresh expressions of God in our world and learns what she can, while still committing to speak her mind.

This speaking her mind has gotten her into trouble, but then again, it’s why I trust Garrison so much. She doesn’t raise the alarm for the sake of attention or self-justification, but rather asks tough questions as an honest seeker asking what readers may well be wondering on their own. It’s hard to do what she does well, and for that I’m grateful for her perspective in this book.

Jesus Died for This? is a book unlike any other, as it combines a travel narrative with personal reflections on spirituality with lessons from Christians from a number of countries. It’s spiced throughout with Garrison’s whit and wordplay—which will either endear her to readers or confuse them.

If you’re convinced that Christianity is going to hell in a hand basket (even if it’s a Rob Bell hell hand basket that doesn’t last forever), this is a book for you.

If you’re frustrated by Christianity, Garrison both feels your pain and offers some helpful guides to the Christian faith who will not disappoint.

If you’re convinced that every new form of church is awesome and can’t imagine anything going wrong, this book will give you perspective.

If you think Christianity has nothing for you, Garrison will make you think again.

If you aren’t sure you’re up for word-play, alliteration, and a heavy dose of sarcasm, I encourage you to drop by Amazon and read a bit of the book.

Jesus Died for This? cuts through the hype and consumerism and points readers to solid ground. Rather than leaving readers shaking their heads at what a mess we have,  Garrison shares her own doubts, discoveries, and connections by way of pointing out that Jesus Died to create a people committed to him and his Kingdom.

A few years ago I began to wonder what a parody of myself would look like. It was a bit painful to consider at first.

Why would I put myself through such pain?

I felt like I was taking myself and my beliefs way too seriously. I feared that I was losing my balance and not putting enough of my faith into practice. I had shifted from the more conservative (possibly fundamentalist in some ways) end of evangelicalism into the more progressive end, and I sensed myself making the same mistakes under a different banner.

A parody of myself would force me to look at myself in a different light, take some of my beliefs to their extremes, and help me figure out where I needed to change and what needed to stay the same.

As I grew more comfortable with the concept of a parody, I began to experiment with a series of posts called “Sarcastic Saturday.” It was quite hard to do, and it didn’t quite pack the punch I wanted as a parody of myself.

So I sat on the idea for a while.

In the midst of the Rob Bell “HellGate” debate, the wheels began to turn.

I began thinking of a parody that would hopefully help all sides step back, laugh a bit at themselves, and hopefully cool things off a bit. At the very least, a parody helps us step back and take ourselves less seriously for a moment. That has done me a world of good in making me a more loving and open conversation partner.

Out of the ideas swirling in my mind, I mashed together a parody of Bell’s book Love Wins with a parody of Twilight and all of the other vampire TV shows and books in pop culture and wrote a novella e-book that I titled Love Bites (you can still download the whole 15,600 word e-book). I didn’t have an agenda other than helping us step back from the angry debates, laugh a bit, and hopefully returning to our conversations with a little less… well… bite.

I want to make it clear that I really like Rob Bell. His book Velvet Elvis echoed many of the things I’ve been thinking (you could say it’s a more accessible take on some of the stuff I say in Coffeehouse Theology).

Hopefully everyone who reads the book noticed another character: Ned Ciwinski. Ned is a parody of myself: a bumbling, dorky writer obsessed with being relevant with theology and culture. One of my friends thought he was the hero of the story, but that was purely a mistake on my part if anyone thought that. I really wanted Ned to just provide comic relief, to get lucky at a few key points with his half-witted ideas, and to provide that parody of myself that I’ve longed to put together.

Ned Ciwinskiy reminds me that I can get lost in my theology and isolate myself to the point that I end up forgetting how to relate to others. To a certain degree, Ned was my round-about way of getting to the excellent point made by Don Miller that Jesus doesn’t need theology experts to advance his Kingdom. Sometimes the theology experts can lose their way.

I currently have a book proposal that I’m sending around that examines what we can learn from the people who rejected Jesus. The majority of those who rejected Jesus were the theology experts of his time. I’ve often written on this blog that the New Testament reads like a horror story for seminary students.

I have a feeling that Ned wouldn’t want to read a book like that, which is why I needed to write a silly story about our theology debates with vampires and a self-absorbed and self-proclaimed theology and culture expert named Ned fumbling his way through the story.

Ricky Gervais once said to Steve Carrell (who plays Michael Scott on The Office), “If you don’t know someone like Michael Scott, then you are Michael Scott.” Along similar lines, if I couldn’t write that story with Ned in it, then the truth is that I could very well become just like Ned—without the vampires I hope.

My annual April 1st book release is happening a day early due to some traveling we’ll be doing today and tomorrow. So, without further ado, I’d like to announce my next book release that you can both download AND read today:

Love Bites: A Story about Life, the Undead, and the Fate of Every Person Ever Bitten by a Vampire (Download It Now)

In this novella by Ed Cyzewski, Eva attends Stoker College in dreary Sporks, Michigan after a voice calls her there and finds intrigue, danger, and the kind of love that bites in a beautiful stranger named Thomas who believes unusual things about the undead. In fact, Thomas believes that all of the undead may be able to live forever.

Will Eva find true love without having to sacrifice herself? Will Thomas ever stop asking questions? Will Ned Ciwinski ever find a publisher for Coffeehouse Vampirology? Will Max the werewolf ever find a shirt? Unfortunately you’ll have to read all 15,600 words of this Love Wins/Twilight parody in order to find out.

You can download the full novella (all 15,600 words of it) for free here.

If you can, please consider chipping in $.99 for an ebook download from Amazon.com. It’s a huge help to me, and enables me to continue offering fun projects like this at no cost to the general public.

Don’t forget: There’s more to this than just this blog post. This is a real book you can download and read.

If you enjoy this book, please consider:

• Tweeting: “Farewell @edcyzewski! #LoveBites http://bit.ly/dPXYBy.”
• Posting to Facebook: “Farewell @Ed Cyzewski! Love Bites: http://bit.ly/dPXYBy.”
• Returning to http://inamirrordimly.com/love-bites in order to download Love Bites for $.99. Every little bit helps!
• Contacting Ed, edcyzewski (at) gmail (dot) com, so that you can learn when the Love Bites Special Edition is coming out with a discussion guide, a sample chapter from Coffeehouse Vampirology, and an exclusive interview with Ned Ciwinski.

Previous April 1st book releases:

The Lost Tweets of Jesus: Uncovering the World’s Greatest Ancient-Digital Mystery (book to download)

Coffeeshack Theology (blog post)

Christianity teaches, among other things, that God can change us and that disciples of Jesus should live different. In keeping with the teachings of the Bible, Christian leaders are held to a high standard, but what should happen when our leaders fail?

We can debate our ideals on this matter, but Pastor and author David Trotter knows what it’s like to follow Jesus, to lead a church, and to then abandon himself to a series of sins that tore apart his church, his family, and eventually himself. He writes about his experiences with powerful, raw honesty in his book Lost and Found: Finding Myself by Getting Lost in an Affair.

I won’t lie to you, this book is difficult to read. It’s hard to watch a Christian make so many destructive decisions. It killed me to watch Trotter’s wife suffer through his neglect and unfaithfulness. I hated to read about Trotter’s indulgence in an affair with his wife’s best friend. I became upset as Trotter became depressed and suicidal, eventually checking himself into a hospital for three days.

This is a book that I can’t say you’ll “enjoy.” However, David has worked hard to sharpen his writing in this self-published book. He presents more details than necessary for the purpose of his story, but the book is important because he raises issues about leaders, churches, sin, and restoration that are essential topics today.

It’s a well-written account that I found hard to put down.

David and his wife Laura are opening up their lives for the benefit of the church, and whatever your first impressions may be of their story, you’ll be a better leader or church member for having read it. I don’t mean they have all of the answers for us. I wouldn’t be surprised if some readers disagree on certain points. However, if we read David’s book we’ll be much better prepared to handle pastoral affairs with greater compassion and understanding.

The subtitle suggests that David “found himself,” but that isn’t really the point of this book. In fact, the subtitle almost turned me off to the book. Trying to find himself was the problem in the first place. He got lost because he was consumed with himself and what he wanted. What he found at the conclusion of this book wasn’t necessarily himself. He really found a core group of reliable friends, his two children, and a wife who simply defies description with her character, strength, and grasp of forgiveness.

While this is David’s story, his wife Laura outshines everyone else in the narrative.

She endured one devastation after another, and yet she was willing to work with David and to eventually take him back (something you’ll know since she wrote the afterword to the book). After taking him back she lost a number of friends who were not willing to forgive him, thereby adding to the tragedy of the story.

I don’t want to minimize David’s pain and suffering, which were severe. However, Laura’s strength to continue working and serving her children, to reconcile with David, and to even edit this book leaves me amazed.

The reconciliation of David and Laura alone makes the book worth reading.

While watching David’s painful downward spiral will alert us to the personal hell that engulfs pastors in the midst of scandals and will help us prayerfully consider ways to help them, the restoration of David and Laura’s marriage shows us that God is able to change lives, to heal, and to restore what is broken.

Whatever you think of this book, David and Laura are worthy of respect for so openly confessing and sharing their story. I can’t imagine willingly reliving such a terrible time for the sake of a book, and that alone makes this book an important source for our discussions about leadership, accountability, expectations, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

You could say that this book proves that the Gospel is true.

If we truly believe this stuff about Jesus, then we have to believe that David and Laura can be reconciled even after he ran away from her, demeaned her, and suffered a breakdown. We need to talk about the expectations we place on pastors, the power and control that pastors demand, and how we are all complicit in such scandals. However, the most important lesson from this book is one of healing and reconciliation.

Besides my qualms with the book’s title, I also noticed that David often mentioned prayer and different points of growth with God, but the details were lacking. Since David personally sent me a review copy and I’m more interested in letting him tell his story than saying “Gotcha”, I asked him to flesh that out in a blog post. His post also raises the important matters related to the ways that pastors can misuse scripture and prayer as part of the “God business.”

Super-blogger Chad Estes has another review of David’s book and an interview that gives an excellent introduction to the book and to David’s heart.

I have previously addressed pastors and affairs in the following posts:

Why Pastors Fall Into Affairs

The Dark Side of Pastors

Note to authors/readers: I don’t review many books. If you read my blog and think I may be interested, drop me a line. However, I may take a pass on it. If I do review your book, I will try to be a critical reader.

I met Dr. Bradley Wright, a sociologist at the University of Connecticut, about a year ago at a small group meeting in his home. We quickly set to talking about publishing, writing, and his upcoming book that dispels myths about the state of Christianity. Since my project at that time relied heavily on a 2007 survey by the Barna Group, I was eager to learn more.

I spent the following day getting a taste of his work at his blog, and was delighted when he handed me a copy of his book about a month ago. While I bring the perspective of a friend to the following review, I hope you’ll see why Brad’s book is essential reading for pastors, journalists, and writers of Christian nonfiction…

Review of Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites and Other Lies You’ve Been Told

Bradley Wright’s new book Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You’ve Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media">Christians are Hate-filled Hypocrites and Other Lies You’ve Been Told, dispels a number of widely held myths about Christianity that are often trumpeted from pulpits, in newspapers, and on the news. In the process of sharing his findings, Wright establishes himself as a trustworthy guide to surveys, polls, and other research, training his readers to both seek out reliable sources and to critically evaluate their methodology and analysis.

Wright’s book walks readers through myths that have taken hold of late. Are Christians living just like the rest of the world or worse? Is Christianity veering toward extinction in one generation? Based on the research available, the answer is a resounding no to those questions and many others addressed in the book.

Poorly-worded questions, small sample sizes, and faulty analysis have resulted in head-line grabbing studies and stories about the downfall and failure of Christianity. In fact, for church-attending Christians, they are generally more likely to remain married, to tell the truth, and to avoid drugs.

Wright’s conversational prose and frequent use of graphs make this a fun and easy book to read, which is myth-busting in and of itself when it comes to sociology books. An interesting sociology book? Get out of here! Hilarious one-liners sprinkled throughout each chapter add to the book’s charm and hint at Brad’s light-hearted and gentle spirit.

As the title suggests, Wright does not spare anyone from warranted criticism. There are some big names in Christianity such as Josh McDowell who regularly rely on faulty statistics that deliver more shock value than accuracy. In addition, conferences, publishers, and magazines have latched on to these polls in their marketing, and Wright gently chides them for irresponsibly utilizing faulty data.

And if you don’t think Wright’s book is important, just look at Brett McKracken’s article in the Wall Street Journal lamenting the state of Evangelical young people. While McKracken makes several salient points, he once again relies on shaky shock numbers at the front of his piece. I can’t blame McKracken for citing that poll, but if he had read Wright’s book, he may not have relied on the LifeWay poll so completely when there is conflicting data and analysis available from a professional, peer-reviewed sociologist.

Before we can prescribe solutions for what ails Christianity today, we need a clear idea of the real problems. I don’t think we need to worry about wholesale moral failure or the demise of Christianity based on Wright’s book. Though he never claims certainty about his analysis or predictions, I put his book down convinced that we’ve spent a lot of time worrying about problems that aren’t quite as severe as we’ve thought.

Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You’ve Been Told: A Sociologist Shatters Myths From the Secular and Christian Media">Pick up a copy of Brad’s book today or check out his blog.

On certain occasions when I’ve served with my in-law’s prison ministry, I’ve met some men who were entangled in the occult and all sorts of dark magic. Their conversion experiences were dramatic, spiritual encounters with Jesus. They remind me that Christianity is dealing with real spiritual powers.

I recently learned about Kristine McGuire who is a former “Christian witch.” She wrote about her experiences with the occult in a book entitled Escaping the Cauldron: What You Should Know About the Occult.

I think Kristine raises some issues that are worth considering. The little that I’ve learned about spiritual warfare has been beneficial in my own Christian walk.

Christine offers a perspective that is beyond anything I’ve ever encountered, which speaks to a void in our Christian discourse today. My interview follows. Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

One of my greatest concerns with Christianity is our tendency to argue without grace and compassion to the point that we sometimes slander one another and even divide. In Mere Christianity Lewis provided me with my first refreshing taste of ecumenical Christianity worked to find common ground.

Much has been said about Lewis’ notion of a common room in a large house where all residents can identify with one another, the core dogmas of mere Christianity, even if everyone eats their meals and sleeps in separate rooms, the particular denominations and doctrines we have adopted over time.

As I considered going to seminary in order to figure out what was important in Christianity and how to sort out the many voices clamoring to be heard, Lewis grounded me both in his content and in his approach.

It’s tough to write about theology in a conversational style, while not cheapening one’s content. Lewis was a master of weaving metaphors and apt illustrations into his work. I am not only a better Christian and theologian for having read his work, but a better writer.

I first read Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship while studying in seminary. He challenged my notions of easy Christianity where Jesus isn’t Lord—someone who determines the course of our lives. I have since read this book several times with each reading yielding a powerful and practical application punch.

Before we heard the clichés of Christianity being a relationship and not a religion, before we wrestled with theology and culture in the emerging or missional movements, there was Bonhoeffer. He saw the consequences of cheap grace that brought salvation without discipleship and the emptiness of religious practice without a commitment to Jesus as Lord. He also witnessed the terrible results of a church that integrated itself into culture without critically engaging it.

At a time in my life when I was wrestling with my calling and my beliefs about Christianity and culture, Bonhoeffer proved a reliable guide that I turn to quite often. His call to costly discipleship instead of cheap grace that gives salvation without taking up our own crosses rings powerful and true today.

When today’s churches rely on media, entertainment, advertising, cultural integration, promises of wealth, or a spiritualized salvation that fails to address our physical world, Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship stands out as a fresh and relevant message that only strengthens with the passage of time.

What book influenced your concept of discipleship most?

We’ve all read books that have changed our lives. Whether they tell incredible stories or challenge us to live differently, books can redefine the rules, expose error, and help us think deeply about important issues.

A little while back I made a list of books that proved quite significant in my life, and starting next week I’ll take some time to talk about each book and why it’s been a game-changer for me.

Though I could list a broad group of books for this series, I’ll focus specifically on several Christian books that changed my walk as a disciple of Jesus.