The Agile Church: Spirit-Led Innovation in an Uncertain Age

This book was chosen for the vestry at my church to read as the church undergoes very intentional self-study to determine where God is leading them in the future. I am not on the vestry, but I had been sitting in on meetings, so I thought I might as well read the book. I didn't dislike this book, but I didn't exactly like it either. The author, Dwight Zscheile (yeah, you thought of Nietzsche was hard to spell) comes from a background in the tech world and he brings many lessons from Silicon Valley to the church. I found this book uses a lot of different vocabulary for short periods of time throughout, which was hard for me to focus on and remember. This is not a problem in the beginning of the book, but by chapter 4 we are getting terms such as "technical problems," "adaptive challenges," "lean startups," "pivots," "disruptive innovation," "positive deviance," and "holding environment." That's all just in chapter 4. These terms are not how I am used to thinking about things and served as a barrier to me in reading. I am used to reading theology, pastoral care, Bible commentaries, and fiction. This felt foreign and it took a lot of energy to focus in order to understand all of what I was reading.

Aside from this critique, I really like this book. Zscheile is trying to get church leaders (lay and clergy) to think differently about how they lead so that all those in the church (and outside it) can listen and discern where God is taking them and already working among them. This is a book to change how one views the very concept of church-growth. It is inspiring and encouraging. It is encouraging because it takes the burden of growth off of the pastor and the lay leaders and it is inspiring because it resurrects the notion that the Spirit is the one doing the work and it encourages us to look for where the Spirit is already at work.

I like the content, but found the language and terminology cumbersome and prohibitive. At this point I would only use excerpts of this book with lay leadership, although I am curious to know how my church's vestry is reacting to it.

Not this Typist, The Other Typist

I picked up with book because I ran into someone I used to work with at the library and she told me this was the best book her book club had read in the past year. So, feeling obligated, I took down the title and checked it out. I learned something important from this: Beware of unsolicited book recommendations.

This book has been compared to both The Great Gatsby, which I enjoyed, and Gone Girl, which I hated. I find that comparison to be apt. It takes place in New York City during prohibition and features, you guessed it, a typist, as well as, well, other typists. The place of employment for these typists is a police precinct that is chosen to be an example of enforcing prohibition and shutting down speakeasies throughout New York.

This young woman, Rose Baker, is plain, observant, and isolated. When she meets Odalie, the "other typist" her life changes and she is given (and takes) the opportunity to change her style, or maybe to live her life through Odalie. As the book progresses a pivotal event occurs at which someone recognizes Odalie and tries to piece together the truth from a suspicious death years earlier on Rhode Island.

The entire book is told from the perspective of Rose and as things progress you get the distinct impression that her perspective is not entirely accurate. There are also several repeated hints that something tragic has occurred and the reader will be told all about it all in good time. At the end of the book there is a "reveal" which throws much of the rest of the book into question. However, so much is left unresolved at the end that reinterpreting the entire book in light of the ending is a tricky and maybe even impossible task. For this reason I am only recommending this book to people who enjoyed Gone Girl and who promise to tell me what they think really was going on once they finish it.

On a side note, I found the setting of a police precinct during prohibition to be really fascinating. And look at this awesome picture I found:

Apparently Keira Knightly (who I always confuse with Natalie Portman) bought the rights to The Other Typist and is allegedly making a movie out of it. So says the Internet, at any rate. I hope a movie is made because I want to know how this book will be interpreted by whoever writes and directs it.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

I found this book at a booksale and thought to myself "I've heard of this book, I should read it." Well, little did I realize it was about a mental hospital and an unruly newcomer there. I had mixed feelings when I finished it. I liked the setting because I also work in a psych hospital, so I thought the setting was interesting. I liked the way McMurphy shook things up and tried to buck the system. On the other hand there is a great deal of violence and insinuation in the book that I felt uncomfortable with, particularly near the end. The thing that disturbed me was that I wanted some of that violence to happen because I was emotionally embroiled with the characters. Apparently the movie is a bit different. So perhaps that will be an interpretation I can live with.

Lenten Devotionals

This Lent I read three different devotionals;

A Wondrous Love: Daily Lenten Meditations and Prayers by Henri Nouwen and C.S. Lewis
2015 Lenten Meditations by Episcopal Relief and Development
Show Me the Way: Readings for Each Day of Lent by Henri Nouwen

A Wondrous Love

This is a paper pamphlet that I received when exiting the Ash Wednesday service at The Episcopal Church at Princeton (ECP). I greatly enjoy the services at ECP but only usually go to the non-Sunday services since they meet at 9p.m. on Sundays and that is too late for me. This devotional was nice for a number of reasons:

1. C.S. Lewis and Henri Nouwen are BOSS. How could you go wrong with excerpts from their many writings?
2. Neat picture on the front
3. The excerpts are short so can be read easily
4. The booklet is lightweight and not a burden to add to a heavy backpack to be read on the train

A few things I wasn't crazy about:

1. After each devotional is a one sentence prayer that sometimes had nothing at all to do with the content of the actual excerpt.
2. The prayers were not written by CSL or HN and their lack of depth was obvious
3. Sometimes the excerpt didn't seem to fit the day or the bit of scripture it was paired with.

Overall a good devotional I would be happy to use again during another Lent. Since the days are listed according to liturgical time it is not year specific and this is possible.

ERD

I obtained this devotional from Trinity Church in Princeton, but I was turned on to it by a fellow student at General Theological Seminary. The theme throughout is that of social justice and Lent is divided in several sections each with a different theme summed up in an "I believe" statement. Some examples are: I believe that everyone should have access to clean water, I believe that no one should go hungry, and I believe that all children and families deserve a healthy start in life. These are statements core to the work of ERD and connected to the Millennium Development Goals. Each day begins with one of those statements, followed by a bit of scripture or other writing, and then a reflection on that. These are specific to the day, so this is particular to Lent 2015. Some things I like about this devo:

1. There are some nice reflections connecting social justice to personal piety
2. Several authors are involved so if one person writes poorly you don't have to worry about the next devo being bad necessarily
3. Since it is set up for 2015 I found it easier to find the day. Searching by date is sometimes easier than by liturgical day.

Things I did not like about it:

1. Many of the reflections have less to do with personal piety or practice and more to do with the great things ERD is up to (which gives a sense of fundraising in the guise of devotional material)
2. Sometime the scripture and reflection were totally out of sync with the liturgical day, particularly during Holy Week.
3. At the end of the booklet is an envelope in which to send a donation to ERD as "My Lenten Response." While supporting the mission of ERD may be important, I think the emphasis should be more on personal choices and actions, which most of the reflections focused on.

Overall this was not my favorite devo. There were a few reflections I found meaningful and helpful, but most were not. I would not use a devo put out by ERD again.

Show Me the Way

More Henri Nouwen! I found this on my shelf midway through Lent and decided to use it. This book contains longer excerpts from Nouwen's works, about 2-3 pages in length for each day of Lent and each one concludes with a prayer.

1. Nouwen is really great
2. The prayers were thoughtful and deep
3. The length allowed for settling into the reading instead of reading and moving on without much reflection

This review is shorter than the others because I'm tired of writing, but I really enjoyed using this book and will use it in the future.