leswag97's reviews
228 reviews

This short booklet is a helpful tool for the purpose of spiritual formation and discipleship. Especially in the West, where the emphasis on spiritual practices and apprenticing the way of Jesus only goes as deep or broad as Scripture reading and attending a Sunday morning service, A.J. Sherrill's brief work serves followers of Christ in aiding them to discover not only more about their personality, their self, or Enneagram Type, but even more so, he uses the Enneagram as a means to a far greater end: discipleship.

Rather than sitting comfortably with a "one-size fits all" mentality when it comes to discipleship and becoming more like Jesus, Sherrill has realized that the Body of Christ is diverse, and therefore, the ways in which we commune with God and that we are transformed more into the likeness of his Son are diverse as well. For Sherrill, the Enneagram is a helpful way to lead followers of Christ into greater self-awareness and self-understanding, not for that sake alone, but rather to help each apprentice of Jesus know their strengths, weaknesses, vices, and virtues better, in order to better set themselves up for success in the journey of becoming more like Christ.

While the first half of the book looks at briefly at what the Enneagram is, how to "type" oneself, and what the implications are for each specific Type, the second half integrates the self-understanding that comes from the Enneagram with the biblical narrative and a host of spiritual practices. Truly, the second half of the book is where the true "gold" of Sherrill's work lies. For every Enneagram Type, he creates a connection between the Type and a biblical character or narrative; ultimately, he gives helpful insight into what practices or spiritual disciplines are most helpful for each Type. He does so by labeling a practice (or for some, multiple practices) as "downstream" or "upstream"; downstream practices are ones that a specific Type would find easy, enjoyable, and life-giving, while on the other hand, an upstream practice could prove to be a more difficult practice for any given Type, but will serve each person in transformative ways. Finally, Sherrill also draws each Type's attention to the season (or day) in the Church Calendar that would be the most helpful or important for that Type.

If you are at all interested in the Enneagram, then this book would be extremely helpful, especially in seeing how this personality theory could help us in our walks with Christ, in becoming more like him. If you are like me, in that you have not given the Enneagram much thought or consideration, I still would encourage it as a resource, because all members of the Body of Christ are unique, serving different functions, and experiencing God in a host of ways. If anything, it will be helpful in your interactions with others who are experiencing health and help from the Enneagram, and could aid you in the process of disciple-making.

Gregory Boyd's "The Myth of a Christian Nation" finds itself in the good company of many other notable works on similar topics. While Boyd pulls from these works, and while his work might be viewed as a "beginner-friendly" introduction to the subject, I would posit that what makes Boyd's book so helpful and also unique is that it is pastoral in nature. This is not surprising considering that Boyd is a pastor, and that all of the questions he is confronting and/or asking in this work are ones he initially was forced to confront and/or ask in a community and congregation of believers, some of whom agreed with him, and others who did not. In fact, the Church setting, and the implications of certain held beliefs and convictions as they are enfleshed in the Body of Christ, is the primary reason Boyd gives for why he decided to write this book. Thus, while "The Politics of Jesus" by John Howard Yoder is a must-read, and Preston Sprinkle's work on non-violence, "Fight," are both works which I have found personally important and helpful in my journey of resisting Empire and Violence, Yoder approaches the conversation from a deeply theological and philosophical point of view, and Sprinkle does so from the perspective of a biblical scholar; Boyd writes from his viewpoint of being a pastor, which allows for him to speak candidly but also lovingly and pastorally. His heart bleeds through in the pages of his work.

"The Myth of a Christian Nation" is a reasonably short book, and I sped through it faster than expected, but Boyd does a great job of addressing problems, asking questions most would never think to ask within the American Church, and showing how the example of Christ and his followers provides us with a better way. He opens his book with the foundational setting of two alternative kingdoms, two "rules" that are in opposition to each other: the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God. Boyd consistently refers to the kingdom(s) of the world as the "kingdom of the sword," wielding "power over" authority; the kingdom of God, though, is the "kingdom of the cross," exercising "power under" authority, which looks a lot like self-sacrificial love and Jesus on the cross. It is from this foundation that Boyd builds his argument in favor of the Church not confusing or synthesizing the ways of Caesar with the ways of Christ.

Boyd shows how from the perspective of history, America is (and has been) far from being a "Christ-like" nation, and that this myth has dangerous and evil ramifications, for both the Church and for non-Christians alike. What history has taught us is that if the kingdom of God is merged with the kingdom of the world, there will be bloodshed and a compromise of the cross of Christ. Indeed, Jesus has shown us a better way of relating to the world. Because Boyd is a pastor, he does not shy away from practical implications of Christ's teachings or from many questions he has received since voicing his opinions on these matters; in fact, the entire last question focuses on his responses to specific questions that have been voiced against him and his views. This is a great entry into the discussion about the ways of Christ and his followers, and the ways of the kingdom of the world. I would also highly recommend reading this book in tandem with the two aforementioned books on similar subjects: "The Politics of Jesus" by John Howard Yoder and "Fight" by Preston Sprinkle. I know of countless other works that speak on the subject, but these two works are ones I have interacted with directly and that I have found very helpful.

Brian Zahnd's 46-day devotional through the season of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Saturday, is helpful, insightful, and overall enjoyable. I have not successfully read through an entire devotional book before, as I am not usually that interested in, but I appreciated this one. The season of Lent is important, and it's the most difficult season we encounter in the Church calendar. This book is a helpful companion during the Lenten journey. It can be rather simplistic at times, and Zahnd does not shy away from discounting and discrediting opposing viewpoints and hermeneutical approaches to the passages he reflects upon. Ultimately, this should not be surprising, given the title of the devotional, "The Unvarnished Jesus"; Zahnd's goal is to strip away the build-up and the lacquer that has covered up the portrait of Jesus he finds in Scripture, and this will ultimately lead him to make claims some might find different or surprising.

I first heard of Jay Y. Kim and his book "Analog Church" from a podcast interview, and I was immediately hooked by his thoughts and the thesis of his book. Little did I (or anyone, for that matter) know that it would be released and that I would have the chance to read it while in quarantine, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this unprecedented time, all churches, whether big or small, Catholic or Protestant or Orthodox, are required to meet virtually and in digital ways, for the sake of the most vulnerable of our communities and for the sake of the world. That being said, it is incredibly ironic that this book about "Why We Need Real People, Places, and Things in the Digital Age" was released to the public when we could not meet in person, could not fellowship with our church communities, and could not partake of the Eucharist consistently together.

Rather than viewing this current moment in culture and history as evidence that Kim's thesis for his book that we are in need of embodied and incarnational community in our churches is wrong or misguided, however, I realized that I now understand and agree all the more with Kim's work. For the past month, I have not been able to meet with my Church face to face, we have not been able to pray for one another in person, share meals together, or partake of the Eucharist together. While I believe these are good decisions we are making, to make sure that we take care of people during this time of disease and contagion, it proves to me that the Church is an embodied reality, as our God is an embodied reality in the person of Jesus, his suffering and death is an embodied reality in the Bread and the Wine of the Lord's Supper, and the mystery of our salvation and life out of death is an embodied reality in the waters of Baptism.

This extended time of digital connection has taught me that while our digital spaces and our technologies are helpful means to an end, they can never be an adequate substitute for the real thing: incarnation. We should allow the digital age to serve the growth of the kingdom, rather than crafting the Kingdom in a way that ends up serving the digital age that is much more comfortable and convenient. When we approach the Kingdom of God and the Body of Christ in purely digital ways, we begin to approach the beauty of the gospel and the work of the Church as individualistic, disembodied, private, and consumeristic. Kim does an excellent job at laying out the implications (both positive and negative) that the digital age has on Christian worship, the Church community, and our understanding of Scripture. This book is incredibly helpful, and should be heeded by the Church worldwide, but especially in the West, where we have blindingly followed after the digital age in an attempt to be relevant.

Kim's work is very pragmatic, and much of it is written from his first-hand experience of leading churches in Silicon Valley. I would have appreciated there to be more of an emphasis on what theology, Church history, and the Bible say about this subject. His last chapter focuses briefly on the Eucharist, and while it is good, I would have appreciated more of a focus on the Lord's Supper, as I believe it has a lot to say about this specific subject. In the same way, I think it would have been helpful to point to the theology of incarnation, not only in the person of Jesus but also in his united Body of believers; all of our individual bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, coming together to build a much bigger temple for God's Spirit. Kim's book is much needed, and I would recommend it to anyone in the Church, but most especially to Church leaders; I pray it changes the ways in which we approach the Church and the monumental task of shepherding the flocks with which Jesus has entrusted us.

“What could be more important than to live and work with the oppressed, with the ‘rejects of life,’ with the ‘wretched of the earth’?” (133) writes Paulo Freire in his classic work "Pedagogy of the Oppressed." As I finish this book, I know it will be one that I return to throughout my life; it is a dense book, but it is a crucially important read for anyone who has a desire to work with the oppressed or the downtrodden in their struggle for human existence in our world.

I believe this book is especially helpful for those who might consider themselves "allies"--those who are not of the lower class or the marginalized group, but are perhaps lost in the middle or a part of the "dominant elite," but who have a strong desire to fight with the oppressed for liberation and justice. Freire encourages these allies to not approach this fight from the viewpoint of fighting FOR, but fighting WITH the oppressed; allies must stand in solidarity with the oppressed and the marginalized. Freire writes, “Attempting to liberate the oppressed without their reflective participation in the act of liberation is to treat them as objects which must be saved from a burning building" (65). Rather than objects, Freire encourages for the oppressed and those who stand in solidarity with them to view them as Subjects, who can, in fact, change and transform reality.

What I found very helpful in Freire's work is his emphasis on the dehumanizing nature of oppression, not only for those who are oppressed, but also for the ones oppressing. The oppressed are dehumanized, but so are the oppressors, for it is dehumanizing work to dehumanize another. It reminds me of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that "no one is free until we are all free." And as aboriginal activist Lilla Watson says, "If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."

This collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories is an enjoyable and light read. While Fitzgerald is not my favorite early 20th-century fiction writer (my personal favorite from this time period is Steinbeck), he is funny and lighthearted, and a number of stories contained in this collection I would recommend, like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "The Camel's Back," and "The Cut-Glass Bowl," to name a few. My first introduction to Fitzgerald was "The Great Gatsby," which I enjoyed; these shorter stories are not nearly as gripping as that classic, but they do show Fitzgerald's wit, style, and writing skill. I would recommend serious Fitzgerald fans to pick up this collection, but for those who have never read Fitzgerald before, I would recommend beginning with "The Great Gatsby."

Henri Nouwen's "Spiritual Formation" was deeply insightful and helpful. It is recommended that this book be read slowly and thoughtfully, and so I devoted a week to each of the book's seven chapters. At the end of each of the chapters, there are reflection questions and opportunities to journal thoughts down; as someone who can zip through a book quickly, it was difficult at times to take this work so slowly, but it allowed for me to really chew on the meat of the text, and to get something from it that was formational and transformational.

The seven chapters all focus on a "movement." The "movements" that were especially helpful to me were the movement from resentment to gratitude (Chapter Four) and the movement from fear to love (Chapter Five). One of my favorite aspects of this book is Nouwen's incorporation of the spiritual disciple of "visio divina," which is Latin for "sacred seeing." Nouwen includes in this book a number of color reprints of works of art that have been especially helpful to him in his spiritual formation and in these "movements." Some of these works are paintings from Van Gogh, others are icons from throughout Church history, another is a sculpture, and still another is a piece done by members of L'Arche Daybreak in Toronto, Canada. Meditating on and really "seeing" these images were helpful for me as I worked through the course of the book, and were wonderful, concrete examples of the "movements" Nouwen speaks of.

Originally published in the early 1960s, "Christian Attitudes Toward War & Peace" is a little dated by this time, and the imminent danger of nuclear warfare, although not having disappeared, seems to be less on the consciences of the world's inhabitants. Although cast in the dark shadow of the atomic age, Roland H. Bainton's survey of the history of the Church and its relationship to warfare and peace-making is insightful and helpful. Bainton, a pacifist, devotes the majority of his work to the historical stances of the Church throughout major eras and ages of world history, but allows for his own beliefs and opinions on the subject of war and peace to surface in the final two chapters.

The traditional stances of the Church throughout history have been threefold: adherence to pacifism, to the just war, and to the crusade. I found this book helpful in showing the diversity within the Church in regard to war and peace, primarily after the time of Constantine (prior to Constantine, the majority Christian attitude was one of peace-making and pacifism). The Just War Theory, although the most popular of the traditional stances, proves to be much more of a complex theory when it is taken realistically and pragmatically. When one takes into account the various stipulations required for declaring a war truly "just," one would have to declare "there has never been such a war." It causes me to wonder what stance the majority of Christians, then, espouse? It must be a middle way between the Just War Theory and the crusade; sadly, at times, the crusade seems easier for many Christians in the U.S. to accept, because of a longstanding belief in the myth of a "Christian nation." While I espouse a more pacifist (or "nonviolent") approach, I commend the Just War Theory and would love if truly our wars were waged with a sense of this theory, as I believe it would deter us from the majority of national and international conflict.

Hannibal Johnson's "Black Wall Street" is an important and informative resource for anyone interested in what has taken place in Tulsa, OK, over the last century and beyond. Tracing the roots of the Greenwood District all the way to its Renaissance in the late 20th century, including the horrific Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921, Johnson explores what made Black Wall Street what it was, and how Greenwood might be regained, if only in part. Ultimately, the destruction of the District in 1921, followed by economic decline in the area and urban renewal--otherwise known as "urban removal"--has left many scars not only in Greenwood, but in much of North Tulsa; to say that this is simply "how it goes," or that it is predominantly because of the poor choices of the individuals in those areas, would be naive and ahistorical. It is important for anyone interested in race relations in the U.S. to take a long and hard look at the happenings in Tulsa's Greenwood District; especially for Tulsans, this book is a must-read.

The book is insightful and historically grounded, but Johnson is also an engaging writer. It is a relatively short work, with about 150 pages of main text, which is followed by 100 pages of appendices. I would greatly appreciate a 2nd edition or revised edition of this work, because in the past 20 years since its writing in 1998, much in Tulsa and in Greenwood has changed and taken place. 2020 is a fitting year to read about the history of Greenwood, but also to ask to seek justice for Greenwood, reparations for the African-American community in Tulsa, and to create a Tulsa that is both just and unified. I strongly encourage people in Tulsa to read this book and to face our dark and painful history. #JusticeForGreenwood