Book Review - A White Preacher's Memior: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, Robert S. Graetz, Black Belt Press

 

On a visit a number of years ago to the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, I had a fascinating personal experience. In the museum are a number of notable cars, planes, and other vehicles of transportation that have historical significance. One particular bus caught my attention. It was the bus Rosa Parks was riding when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger - an event that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which in turn triggered fresh momentum into the broader Civil Rights movement. 

The bus is open for visitors to board and if my memory serves correctly, the museum has marked the seat she was sitting in that fateful day. I'm not entirely sure why, but I can clearly recall a sense of significance hitting me when I climbed aboard that modest bus and sat in her seat.

Fast forward to 2023 when I discovered that some new friends who had started a Brethren church in Marion Indiana had a special family backstory directly connected to Mrs. Parks, that bus, and that famous part of American history. Our friends David and Sarah Miller planted a house church several years ago after moving for David's job as a chaplain at the local VA hospital. Sarah's father is a retired highly decorated chaplain in the military. But as I got to know the Miller's more, I came to discover her grandfather had been a minister in Montgomery Alabama in the 1950's and personally knew both Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr!

Our families got together a month or so ago and Sarah let me borrow her grandfather's biographical account of his time serving a black church as a white pastor. 

Written and published 26 years ago, the account is comprehensive enough to get a good sense of Graetz's life and preparation leading up to his time in Montgomery but specific enough to keep the reader both glued to the story and more informed of the context of those times. It should be noted that Graetz does not filter out the language and racist mockery that was commonplace in that time and space. For instance, "N"-words are not abbreviated (though always used in quotations of the white supremacist opponents), and labels like "colored" and "Negroes" are employed in contextually-appropriate ways (at least in my judgment).

The Graetz's story is fascinating for a variety of reasons. How he as a white minister found himself called and accepted as pastor of an entirely Black church is interesting. His observations as a supporting participant in the Civil Right's movement are as well. The record shows that he was the lone white pastor who supported the bus boycott. He describes the threats and dangers his family and his community faced in frank transparency. I was also drawn to his description of the various arguments that were held up against the Civil Right's push. I couldn't help but recognize how many continue to espouse similar objections to social justice reforms that are being undertaken today. Told by another, this story could easily fall into the trope of a "white Savior" account. But at multiple points, Graetz has enough integrity to commend his African-American brothers and sisters as the true heroes and pioneers, deflecting any magnification of his role. 

This isn't a book one will easily find at Barnes and Noble, but I highly recommend seeking it out and exploring this part of our nation's past in general.

Book Review - Theologizin' Bigger, Trey Ferguson Lake Drive Books

 

We are all familiar with the axiom, "walk a mile in their shoes". When we observe the cultural battles and conflicts, it seems that it is a principle that is well-known but practiced less and less. As far back as I can remember, God has put opportunities in my path that caused me to get out of my comfort zone. I believe my life is richer for it. 

As it relates to this book, I can remember hosting a prospective seminary student for a visit when I worked at my alma mater in the early 2010s. He was a former professional athlete, a fairly young African-American man who lived just close enough to consider studying at our school. When the topic of who and what our program studied, I remember him listing off a number of pastors and scholars he looked up to. And honestly I didn't recognize any of them. I had visited Black churches and was aware of the general diversity of the American Church. But it was then I realized there was a part of American Christian theology I was wholly unfamiliar with. And my life was poorer for it.

That awareness of my own gap in my theological foundation is part of what drew me to this book. I came across this author on Twitter last year after friends I follow retweeted some of his posts. I have found Trey's humor interesting and theological arguments compelling. 

I'm not always convinced to go as far as he does but I highly value the different perspective he gives. And he pulls no punches and avoids no sacred cows. Read this book or even just his social media posts and you will be challenged to look differently at faith, the Bible, and the world around us.

For me, the penultimate example of this is his chapter "The Church Gotta Pick One" in which he questions whether his readers are striving more after the American Dream or the Kingdom of God.

Two other big ideas resonate with me from this work. I'll summarize them in my own words and hopefully do them justice. 

1. One consistent theme he draws from is the opportunity we have to live in the freedom God provides in Christ. The ways he defines how we might actually "live" in that freedom will stretch us. We'll be uncomfortable and compelled to embrace a counter-cultural path that will force us to face just how ingrained our 'culture' is. 
2. Second, he encourages us to embrace our imaginations to live redemptively in the world we live in. If we do have the Spirit of God in us, our lives won't be cookie-cutter or formulaic. They can be spiritually creative and imaginative. It will also lead us to transforming practical action in our lives.

Those are a couple of my big takeaways but overall I found the book to be engagingly written, with intriguing illustrations that support his points (unsurprisingly, he is a pastor of course). His statement on pg. 157 may encapsulate the book while also serving as a goal to aspire to develop more and more in my own life:

"I am a Christian because the story of Jesus contains truths that have transformed the way I view the world."

Amen. 

Book Review - Elisabeth Elliot: A Life, Lucy S.R. Austen Crossway (2023)

I didn't intentionally take a hiatus from the blog but after a 2.5 month break, we're back!

Last year, I made a personal commitment to read more books. I easily let my free time get preoccupied with web browsing, online games, and endless podcasts. Those things are fine, but it certainly feels more productive when you can give yourself over to starting and finishing a book. 

I want to kick off this little series with the longest book I read, Lucy Austen's new biography on Elisabeth Elliot. It tops out at 609 pages when all footnotes and bibliographies are included. Elliot was an evangelical figure I knew about to an extent. Her life is famous for being a missionary widow at age 29, with 76% of American adults reading her story in Life magazine. Yet as this book recounts, her life encompassed so much more than that one tragedy. 

Austen presents a phenomenal work detailing Elliot's life. This bio is impressively researched, citing her personal journals and letters. The author conducted copious amounts of personal interviews with Elliot's close family and friends. It's clear this work is the product of years, if not a decade or more of hard work. My highest respect to Austen for the blood, sweat, and tears she put into creating this comprehensive account of an individual who has been a spiritual hero to so many.

The book itself is broken down into three main parts - Part 1: 1926-1952, Part 2: 1952-1963, Part 3: 1963-2015. Flows chronologically, Part 1 deals with her early life up to her departure for Ecuador. Part 2 covers her time as a missionary in Ecuador, and Part 3 describes her life and career back in the States.

Beyond the well-known aspects of her life, I enjoyed learning quite a bit of interesting features about her, including:

• Their actual missions efforts to the Auca, more accurately known as "Waorani". The fairytale version I thought I knew was much different than the actual evangelistic efforts to the tribe after the martyrdom of the young men. This biography peels away the sugar-coated veneer of cross-cultural ministry that sometimes gets promoted. It's hard, real, and complicated.
• Her two other marriages are featured in great detail. The ups and downs of life didn't stop in Ecuador. Really I found the rest of her life post-missionary intriguing as she sought to balance God's call and her sudden world-wide fame.
• Because of the aforementioned record of personal journals and diaries, Austen was able to track her personal development beyond just her published writings. While always one to adamantly support her convictions, it is clear her views on a variety of topics changed and evolved over the years.

I walk away from this book with a clear impression of three things from Elliot's life. Her personality, her theological astuteness, and her service-oriented nature are all clear marks of her legacy.

Austen is able to paint a pretty well-rounded picture of Elisabeth's personality here. I probably connect most with her self-critical features because of my own tendencies in that way. She would leave the impression with others as self-assured, but it is clear from all of her writings that she was very self-aware and introspective. That could often lead to negative self-criticism but also caused her to seek to be a voracious learner and deep thinker.

Growing up in the context that she did, there were certainly less entertainment distractions than present day. Still I come away from this impressed by her theological astuteness. "Avid reader" hardly does it justice but the list of works this book recounts that she read is astounding. Her thirst for God's Word is inspiring and convicting. And her never-ending quest to ascertain God's wisdom and will comes through clearly as well.

Finally, as exemplified in her missions work, she was consistently service-oriented. She did not hesitate to lend a hand to causes and opportunities she was in line with. There certainly seem to be seasons of her life where she was over-committed to her speaking engagements and conferences. But her impact for God's Kingdom over her 89 years was remarkable.

Austen's book has an epilogue as it wraps up. And I'll let her words summarize my own conclusion:

"For Elisabeth Elliot, the foundation of life was trust in the love of God. Not trust that she would live...not trust that things would go well, but trust in who God is. If the great hope of her faith is true, then in the end, the rings spreading out across the surface of the pond, the air displaced by the stone as it flew, the stone itself, are all held in the heart of God, where mercy and justice are never in contradiction, and all things in heaven and earth will finally be made whole."

Thursday Thoughts

(The following is a slight elaboration on a Twitter thread I posted earlier this week, so if you follow me on there, you're getting the same but slightly fuller story here)

I grew up in a conservative Christian home. My dad passed away when I was 11 and my mom persevered to be a rock-star parent. She did her best to nurture and guide us four kids, of whom I was the oldest. 

In elementary school, when our classes had Halloween parties, we were excused from school and went home early for the afternoon (though candy and treats did await us). Mom felt conviction that we shouldn't celebrate that holiday. Later on, I wasn't allowed to go to school dances which kind of stunk socially. But personally I was full of angst and social awkwardness that I'm not totally sure how much fun I would have had.

I share all that to give context to one particular story that I was reminded of this week. 

In seventh grade, our honors English teacher organized a class trip to go see Schindler's List, the Steven Spielberg epic about the Holocaust and Oscar Schindler's heroic quest to save Jews from Nazi Concentration Camps. It was an optional trip, meant to supplement our study of The Diary of Anne Frank if memory serves correct.* Proper explanation was sent home to parents and I remember having a serious adult conversation with my mom. It was widely known the film had nudity and violence but in a historically accurate way meant to educate its audience about the awful abuses and offenses done by the Hitler regime. 

About 6 years later, my college basketball coach took several of us on the team on a basketball ministry trip to Europe. One of the tourist stops we took was at the Dachau Concentration Camp. I have a file of pictures I took there including one of a sculpture near the exit that reads "Never Again".

It was clear from our experience in Germany that the country is sensitive, remorseful, and mindful of the atrocities their people were guilty of 70 years ago. There is no avoiding it, only honest admission.

With all that in mind, I found this news item pretty troubling when I read about it:

TN county school board votes to remove use of graphic novel about the Holocaust, Maus from school curriculum. Complains about vulgarity and naked pictures. https://t.co/fUynX6Mu7g pic.twitter.com/v1fkaCMt2N

— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) January 26, 2022

I'm appreciative of the fact that my mom allowed me to be exposed to the horrors of evil depicted in that movie. I'm glad she made the assessment that I could handle it. 

I'm disappointed that these school board members are claiming they need to ban this Pulitzer Prize-winning resource because it has some obscenities that may offend middle schoolers. 

I question a couple things. 

1. Have they met an 8th grader before? These kids know swear words and have probably seen racier things than (checks notes) sketches of sort-of-nude anthorpomorphic mice. Even if they haven't, I doubt it will shatter some kid's "innocence", especially if a parent helps them process it.
2. Have they read the novel? Even a cursory Google search will reveal most of their objections have not actual basis. 

I admit I have not read this graphic novel. I admit there are plenty of other resources that help teach about this dark part of history. Why are we banning this universally-lauded resource that speaks to actual lived experience in a format uniquely appealing to youth?

--------------------------------------

*Honestly, I'm not sure at all about why our English class took a trip to see that movie, this is my best guess.

Book Blog

We live in an era of polarization. Realities are black or white. Opinions are either/or. Especially with politics, there is no room for nuance or middle ground. Beliefs must be strong one way or the other. 

There are lots of problems with this aspect of living in America in 2019, particularly for the Christian. Why for us as Christians? Because often times, the Word of God offers us a third way that is different than one of the extremes.

Russel Moore captures this in his book Onward, which is my final book I'm featuring in this "Book Blog" series.

Moore begins with the well-founded and well-researched premise that America is increasingly departing from it's long-standing Christian influence. He then outlines in ten chapters how we as Christians ought to biblically respond to the changing culture around us. 

The aspect that I appreciate the most about his book is how specifically he addresses very relevant topics. Issues that are often politicized to death, including: religious liberty, immigration, social justice, being pro-life, and biblical family values. And this is all done within a context of urging Christians to rediscover and maintain their focus on God's Kingdom and God's values. This is how he points to a third way, rather than falling back to Republican or Democrat talking points. 

This book was published in 2015 and the "hot-button" topics it focuses on have only become more and more significant within our culture's consciousness. So much so, that reading it in 2017, I was surprised how prescient it was. To me, it was prophetic much in the way I found A.W. Tozer to be prophetic.

His call for Christians to embody God's love, grace, and "convictional kindness" with boldness and confidence is very much needed if we are to live into the mission of the Kingdom as followers of Jesus. Thus, it has become one of my favorite books of the past few years.

I hope you've enjoyed this little series and maybe even been encouraged to read some of these selections. 

Book Blog

Last week, I shared a favorite book of mine that had connections back to my college and seminary days. This week isn't just one I read back in college, it was written by one of my professors. 

Plowshares and Pruning Hooks helped me understand biblical prophecy and apocalyptic literature in a much deeper way. Like Walter Bruggemann before him, Sandy carefully asks some relevant questions about the way we read prophecy in Scripture:

• What was the purpose of prophecy?
• How literally should we take these passages?
• Are we using a consistent hermeneutic?
• What does past fulfillment teach us about promises we're still waiting to be fulfilled?

I've gotten the sense that this book received criticism from some theological circles, but I know it has been widely affirmed in many others. 

Personally, I always found Dr. Sandy to be a humble, engaging, and encouraging teacher. He was more apt to ask us questions than feed us answers. Even if you differed with him, he was willing to listen and engage you. That is no doubt why I appreciate this book like I do, I know the heart behind it.

In the end, I highly recommend this somewhat obscure book for anyone interested in being better equipped to handle prophecy and apocalyptic parts of the Bible. 

Book Blog

This week's featured book was one I caught the second time around. 

By that I mean that I didn't read it the first time I had the chance. It was one of my Bible or theology classes in undergrad and I remember Dr. Soto encouraging us to read it and do a short response paper for extra credit. I must have felt that I didn't have the extra time to put in the extra effort and I'd learn later how much I missed out.

A few years later, as an intern at my home church, our senior pastor had our elders and staff read it for discussion purposes. I'm pretty sure I read it through at a much quicker pace than our discussions because I quickly discovered what a beautiful piece of literature it was and what a profound look into David's life it was. 

A Tale of Three Kings was written by Gene Edwards in 1980. While it is centered on King David, it traces his life in relation to two other kings - Saul and Absalom. 

The central theme is that God desires his people to embrace humility and brokenness. But even that summary barely does the book justice. It's format is one like a play with short scenes reflective of the biblical text. Edwards does interpretively "fill in the blanks" with some details and conversations but never strays from the spirit of the text.

In the first part of the book, Edwards observes David's responses to Saul - submitting to God and refusing to manipulate things to get what is rightfully his. And he keenly demonstrates that those are the same responses David has towards Absalom, who does rebel against the King and seeks to manipulate to get what he believes is his.

The applications that are made both subtly and overtly are what gives this book it's power. Edwards connects the dots to our present day by showing how the leadership issues in play in the stories of Saul, David, and Absalom are vital questions pastors and spiritual leaders must answer in our day. 

How will we react when the leaders above us seem to be unqualified or misguided?

How will we respond when our authority is challenged?

How will we leave if we are forced out of or called away from a leadership position?

This book made a significant impression on me and I enjoy re-reading it every couple years. The truth of it's insights have been validated again and again the more I've been in ministry. Interestingly enough, I got to observe the very same pastor embody these principles a year or two later after reading the book. 

I've come to believe that David wasn't "a man after God's own heart" because of his courage or passion. I believe he earned that title because of his brokenness and repentance. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it's a big piece of the puzzle.

Book Blog

Universally recognized as the greatest basketball team ever assembled, the 1992 United States men's Olympic team genuinely earned the nickname "The Dream Team" by their performance on and off the court.  Amazingly, it wasn't until 2012's "Dream Team" by Jack McCallum that the full story of that experience was told. 

McCallum is a long-time sportswriter and author who has long been recognized as one of the greats in his field. This book is an instant classic offering everything a basketball junkie like me can appreciate - from little personal anecdotes to the broad historic perspective on the impact that team had on the popularity of basketball worldwide. 

What makes this book special is the fact that McCallum himself traveled with this team every step of the way and later was able to procure interviews with everyone - from the players and coaches to the FIBA organizers who originally thought of allowing NBA players in the Olympics. 

McCallum is an enjoyable read and he works through the selection process, preparatory practices, qualifying tournaments, and finally the Olympic games themselves. He skillfully blends in biographical sketches of each of the players too, capturing their personalities and what made them individually great. 

My favorite part of the book is his minute-by-minute breakdown of what's now become a famous inter-squad scrimmage right before the Olympics in Monte Carlo. The scrimmage, like all practices, was video recorded, but copies of the game are extremely rare. McCallum had the connections to get his hand on a copy and he details the ultra-competitive pick-up game that pitted Michael against Magic, Ewing against Robinson, and Barkley versus Malone.

My memories as an 11-12 year old kid are crystal clear. I remember initially desperately hoping that my hero, Larry Bird, would be selected even though his health was deteriorating. I remember them demolishing every opponent but doing so in such a poetic and beautiful way. This team had plenty of egos but never played selfishly. Reading this books account confirms what had stuck in my memory. It was the greatest game being played at the greatest level.

The way we remember things and the way they actually happened are not always in line. Thankfully in this case, it was as spectacular as I thought it was.

Book Blog

My Week 2 book that's made a great impact on my life is "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer. 

I can't remember exactly when first read it, high school or early on in college probably. But from it's first few pages, I knew it was going to powerfully speak to my heart. 

Tozer's been called a modern-day prophet. And he certainly was. Not in the fortune-telling sense but in the conviction and encouragement sense. Prophets in the Bible criticized and energized their people (cc. Walter Bruggemann). Tozer does exactly that as he offers us biblical perspective on what it means to know God. Not just know of Him, but know him closely and intimately and to enjoy the beauty of that fellowship. 

Whenever I feel like my spiritual life has grown stagnant or stale, I go back to Tozer's writings and usually to this book first. It will challenge the hardest of hearts and will inspire the thirsty soul. 

Book Blog

I saw a trend on Twitter a week or so ago that had people tweeting pics of their favorite books without comment and challenging their friends to do the same. I got challenged and accepted because it seemed kind of fun.

So, I'll be setting aside my long-running "Music Mondays" to feature this "Book Blog" (I'm great at titles aren't I?). Here, unlike the Tweets, I will be providing commentary on the books and why I recommend them. I'll try to go with the order of my Tweet Challenge and maybe go from there.

First up, The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons. Ever since he became a featured writer on Espn.com, I've enjoyed reading Simmons' sports takes. It didn't hurt that he was a big Celtics fan like me and that he loved the movie Hoosiers. Published in 2009, my wife got it for me as a Christmas gift and I immediately immersed myself in it. 

I'm not sure, but I've read it a total of 6-8 times I'd guess. I normally do it piecemeal as the different chapters and sections make it perfect for reading in spurts. 

My favorite parts are hard to choose. I love the whole thing. But his fundamental premise is one element that shines. His theory is that greatness in basketball is not about basketball, it's more about making others better. This is a team game and individual talent only matters to an extent. The history of the NBA has shown that things like skill, selflessness, and sacrifice are as important as athletic ability. As a former player, this resonated with me as being absolutely true. 

I also loved his breakdown of the classic Wilt vs. Russell argument. Basketball junkies have long debated these two rivals and many experts consider Wilt as the singular greatest player ever before Jordan. Simmons destroys this revisionist history with facts comparing the two. It's a detailed and sound argument that undermines all the assertions of the "Wilt was better" crowd.

Simmons' greatest contribution is his Hall-of-Fame pyramid, ranking the best 96 players of all time. But the ranking is done in tiers. The thinking is, not all Hall of Famers are equal. What if there was a way to put each player into proper context. So he goes about the painstaking work of ranking the greatest players of all time via these levels. Each player has his career accomplishments listed as well as specific commentary about his game and career. Simmons has done the video and statistical research and his rankings are well-supported, even if one may not agree with them. In the past ten years, he has publicly mentioned how his rankings have changed, so my edition is a little dated. But it is still good fodder for guys who love the history of this sport. For my top 13 players, see the end of this entry.

This is a basketball masterpiece, though I imagine if his writing style doesn't connect with you it may not resonate as much - there is plenty of off-color language, bad jokes, and more pop culture references than you can shake a stick at. I highly recommend this book if you like professional basketball and honestly can't give your basketball opinions any credit if you haven't read this book.

Now, for my top players of all-time (with short explanations) These rankings take eras into account plus their grasp of The Secret - which is how Simmons evaluates the players too:

13. Shaq - dominant at his best, but didn't always max out his potential.
12. Hakeem Olajuwon - immense skills plus astounding all-around stats, 2 rings.
11. Oscar Robertson - great individual talent, I was convinced by Simmons' write up that he has been a little over-rated historically.
10. Kobe - killer scorer who learned The Secret through Phil Jackson.
9. Jerry West - the biggest victim of the great Celtics' dynasties, he was a phenomenal player even when falling short.
8. Wilt - his lack of winning was on him more than it was due to Russell. Reading the accounts of his day plus Simmons' analysis knocks him down my list.
7. Tim Duncan - the most under-appreciated star of the last 25 years. Always made his team contenders and won a bunch of rings in competitive eras.
6. Larry Bird - A great scorer and all-time great rebounder, he let his passing be his signature weapon.
5. Magic - Gets the nod over Bird due to a little longer career and more Rings.
4. Bill Russell - the greatest winner of all-time, his stats are phenomenal as well.
3. Kareem - the definition of greatness over decades. Is underrated because of his longevity.
2. LeBron - has an outside shot at #1 because his peak greatness has been lengthy. He drug mediocre teams to the Finals and I don't knock him for not winning it all more because of it.
1. Jordan - I lived through his prime and it always seemed inevitable that his teams would come out on top. His all-around greatness was only matched by his competitiveness.