Busyness and Laziness...

Last week I read "The 4-Hr Work Week" by Robert Ferris.  It's an interesting book.  While some of it is hokey, much of it is self-aggrandizement, and a little of it is actually helpful.  Here are two things I took from it:

1. "Being busy is a form of laziness...lazy thinking and indiscriminate action."  Ouch, that one hurt because it is so true in my own experiences. 
   
2. Every knowledge worker in America can (and should?) have a VA (Virtual Assistant).  Ferris indicates that for $5-$20/hr you can find "YMII" (Your Man In India) to outsource a variety of tasks to.  From simple e-shopping for Christmas, to more complex research and collaboration, you could likely save yourself lots of time and be sure to get the basic stuff done that is over your head.  Check out www.elance.com for a variety of alternatives for YMII.

Now that you've seen that, you don't need to have your VA order the book for you and you can keep from being too busy (or lazy...whatever).

Really good "Christian" fiction...

I'm not a big fan of "Christian" fiction.  I guess that's mostly because I can't stand going into "Christian" bookstores.  It just drives me crazy to see the crass commercialization of the simple message of Jesus.  Anyhow...that's another soap box for another blog entry.

Today, I want to hawk a great book that I just finished.  Silence by Shusaku Endo.  The book was written in 1966 and it's really wonderful.  I suspect every person who has ever been drawn to missions, or who has participated in missions in some way (even a short-term missions trip) will connect with this book.  It was originally written in Japanese and it portrays the missionary journey of a Portuguese Catholic Priest to Japan in the 17th Century during a time of intense persecution. 

I don't want to give away the story, but let's just say it's a tragedy of sorts.  Albeit a very redemptive one.  It is not a feel-good, God is awesome, and give-me-some-of-that-Touchdown-Jesus! type of book.  Rather, it's a thoughtful exploration of the faith challenges inherent in suffering, missions, and loving Jesus while serving institutionalized religion.  I highly recommend it.

PS - Thanks to my favorite Republican Political Scientist for recommending this to me.

A fun summer read...and more on the flu and plague...

I've blogged before about the Flu Epidimic of 1917. Well, I recently finished one of the more enjoyable books I remember. Ken Follet's World Without End. It's long (1100+pages), but is was super fun. I started it before flying to Europe a few weeks ago. I read it on the plane while Michelle slept there and back, and then finished it on the plane to OKC. I highly recommend it (Bort-you'll love it!).

One of the interesting plot devices in the book is the plague. It comes on like a whirlwind killing 1/2 the population of Europe in the 13th Century. Interestingly, they have no theory of germs, or contagion and simply can't understand what it is. Their existing world-view assumes it must be the judgment of God on their sin. It's fascinating to imagine the sense-making that goes on around this time.

I was thinking of this last week when I saw the preview for this new movie. Sounds like the same premise put to modern sensibilities. I can't wait to see it!

War, death and destruction...

I'm teaching a course on "Virtue and Commerce" this semester and really enjoying exploring the different views of virtue revealed in characters of modern fiction. We use a good number of short stories.

I just discovered a new author whose works are very powerful...Heinrich Boll. He's a German who wrote during and after the Second World War. His work has a sense of hopelessness and chaos that is deeply true.

I read a story today, "The death of Elsa Baskoleit" (you can read most of it here) that has shaken me. It's only a six-page story and you can read it in just a few minutes. You should. It's gripping.

It makes me think of the tens of thousands of Iraqi families who have lost children and loved-ones in our current war. Whether you think the war is "just" or not, you must be disturbed by the escalating death count of the war. This short story is a powerful reminder of the depth of loss felt by those who lose a loved one to war. Not a happy thought..but worth reading to confront the truth of our situation.

Going Broke in America

If you've had any occasion to see the ugly underbelly of modern consumer lending, you may find this book worth a read. Using psychology and behavioral economics Vyse explores why Americans are increasingly finding themselves in dire straits financially.

I recommend getting it from the local library and giving it a read. You'll think twice about what you buy, when you buy, and why you buy it.

If you read it, drop me a line and let me know your thoughts. You can also chat online with the author on 3/20 with Michelle Singletary from the Washington Post.

Flu, Disease and Epidimic

When this book first came out I thought, "that looks interesting...I didn't know there was a flu epidemic..." Since then I've wanted to read it, but haven't.

Well, it just moved to the top of my list.

Last week, a good friend of Matt's at school went home with the flu. A couple days later, Matt came home with a fever and spent Wed-Sat in bed. By Sunday afternoon Michelle was in bed with a fever and aches all over. She literally did not get out of bed until Thursday! Today is the first time I've been in the office all week. I essentially quarantined her to the bedroom all week to try and keep the virus from spreading.

This thing has been travelling all around the neighborhood and the city of Malibu. Then, today I found it's even in Austin, TX. Now I'm curious to find out more about epidimiology and how this virus spreads so quickly. And why some people are able to resist it, while others (in the same household) come down with it bad.

Anyway, Michelle is better now (but still very tired) and so far no one else has any symptoms. Hopefully we're in the clear.

Missions and Meaning in the Global South

This past weekend I was blessed to attend the Christian Scholar's Conference at Rochester College near Detroit. The conference was enjoyable for many reasons but none more so than the plenary speaker, Philip Jenkins. Dr. Jenkins is a Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies at Penn State (and you thought they only played football and volleyball!) and he has recently written several books on global Christianity.

This weekend he presented two plenary sessions on the emerging shape of Christianity in the Global South (a term loosly used to refer to Africa/Asia/South America). The first session was a fascinating discussion of how reading the Bible is a fundamentally (no pun intended) different experience in the Global South than in the Global North. This lecture was based on one of his recent books (if you are at PU, this work is available as an "eBrary book" and can be read online in its entirity through WaveNet). This lecture was a 1-hr reminder of many of the pressing lessons we discussed during my MS in Missions at ACU (which oddly enough is now being led by one of my MS colleagues). I firmly believe--just as I did then--that every Christian should become familiar with these ideas. Nothing will shatter ones familiar (and often tired) views of scripture, authority, meaning, and truth than a realistic examination of how the "living oracles" come to have meaning in different ways in different cultures. I highly recommend Jenkins' work.

The second plenary session was on a book currently in progress tentatively titled "How Christianity Dies" (isn't that provocative?). In this session he discussed the rise (and fall) of Christianity in Asia and the "middle-east" from the first century to the 14th. It was a fascinating look at a time in history that has many similarities to our own. While many American and European Christians fear that we are moving towards a "post-Christian" world, this session gave me hope that God is simply moving in new and powerful ways around the world. The hegemony of the north and west may be coming to an end, but the Spirit is alive and well. For further thought on a very similar topic, I recommend Leonard Allen's recent book which I re-read on the plane from Detroit).

Political Parties and People of Faith

One of the issues that has troubled me the most over the past decade is the depth of the attachment between many well-meaning Christians and Christian-themed organization (e.g., Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, NAE...) and the Republican Party. Now, I am not bothered by Christians who vote Republican, work for conservative causes, and generally act out politically based on their religious principles.

I do the same.

What bothers me is the depth of the attachment not to causes, principles, and beliefs, but to personalities and the Republican Party. IMHO, the GOP has played the Christian vote as powerful voting bloc with no intentions of delivering the level of governmental, regulatory, and legislative renewal that many of these people desire. For example, isn't it interesting that over the past six years with a Republican control over all three branches of Federal government we have not seen any of the changes that these Christian groups lobby for?

So, I am encouraged by recent events that indicate that many other Christian people are beginning to realize this as well. They are recognizing that politics is politics...and that it is not the primary work of the Kingdom of God. Here's a good article by E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post on a few recent events.

Link to E. J. Dionne Jr. - Christians Who Won't Toe the Line - washingtonpost.com

I also recommend Christian, Evangelical & Democrat? by George Hunter, and Tempting Faith by David Kuo.