Blogging challenge

Alex at Besomami has issued a blogging challenge. She writes:
"Every time I finish a book this year, I am going to post about it. Anyone care to join me? Leave a comment on this post and we can keep up with each other, compare books, give suggestions, etc."

Soooo... OK. I'm in! How about you?

I've already finished three (OK, vacation helped!) and am ready to start my next book. Fun, philosophical, political, educational... I think anything except a comic book counts.

Here's my first three:
Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders by Earl Creps
It's a book for people who want to be honest about missional churches and their impact on (western) culture. There's a lot I liked in this book... I wish, however, he had dealt with the issue of women and ordination, because he was silent about that. And he didn't strike me as someone who was unwilling to let a woman preach.


Ruthless Trust: The Ragamuffin's Path to God by Brennan Manning
I love how he writes. I love how he points me back, every single time, to Scripture and to God's redemptive power in Jesus. I appreciate the raw, real issues he grapples with and throws into my face as a result. Good stuff. Plus he quotes writers I love like Henri Nouwen. :) My journal is filled with quotes to re-read and consider. Good stuff.


Becky Garrison's book Rising from the Ashes: Rethinking Church is a more radical version of Creps' book (above.) She pulls no punches and lets the voices of leaders in the "emergent" church speak for themselves. I have page flags stuck all through this book because of some blunt quotes that made me blink... and then think. If you care about the church thriving past this generation, you need to read it. Even if you "hate" the whole idea of the "emergent" church, you need to think about the issues these voices raise. I'm just sayin...

OK, that's it for now. I will try and pick more interesting, non-theological books too. But hey. I'm in seminary. I am reading pages and pages every week. And it ain't the funny pages. But I will try to be more diverse.

:) Deb