What I’ve Been Reading

What a great year for books … I’ve been enjoying some new ones and some old ones lately. Here are a few in various categories –
Ministry:
Jerome Berryman’s Godly Play and Children and the Theologians. I continue to feel that we need a revolution in kids ministry, and I think people like Jerome Berryman, Tom Boomershine, and John Westerhoff are saying what we need to hear.
Human Interest:
Kathleen Koch’s Rising from Katrina chronicles the devastation of the hurricane on the Gulf Coast – and the hard work of recovery in its aftermath. It’s fascinating as an eyewitness story, but it also offers a window into a CNN journalist’s engagement with a story that touches her own life – and a window into the gritty reality of faith struggling and triumphing in a tragic situation.
Fiction:
This summer I read Frank Schaeffer’s trilogy – Portofino, Saving Grandma, and Zermatt. I laughed out loud more times than I have reading any other fiction, except maybe Candide … The three constitute a coming of age story, but also a comic/tragic window into the kind of American fundamentalism I know from my own background. Portofino captures love of place, Saving Grandma is poignantly hilarious, and Zermatt captures the simultaneous, furious, sexual angst of adolescent boys and adult fundamentalists.
Theology/Mission:
Too many great books to name – more in another future post.