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Spring 2005: Reading Recommendations
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"What shall I read?"
Wondering what books would most inspire and inform you—and other leaders—as the days lengthen during the spring? Congregational Resource Guide staff ask you to consider these top pics. (Click on the book’s title to access the publisher’s or retailer’s Web site.)
We at the Alban Institute and the Indianapolis Center for Congregations wish you and yours hope and blessings during this season of renewal.
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40 Days and 40 Bytes: Making Computers Work for Your Congregation
Aaron Spiegel, Nancy Armstrong, and Brent Bill, Authors. Herndon, VA: The Alban Institute, 2004.
An important book for any congregation that wants to use computer technology more effectively, 40 Days and 40 Bytes is essential for congregations that have made costly mistakes in the past—and want to avoid those mistakes in the future. Aaron Spiegel, Nancy Armstrong, and Brent Bill (all from the Indianapolis Center for Congregations) offer not only their understanding of computer technology, but also their experience working with congregations of all sizes and contexts. They supply the tools for making wise decisions—the first time. Examples include a technology assessment form; questions to help your technology team choose software wisely; and a process for creating a technology plan.
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Beyond the Chuppah: A Jewish Guide to Happy Marriages
Joel Crohn, Howard J. Markman, Susan L. Blumberg, Janice R. Levine, Authors. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2001.
Based on 20 years of clinical research and grounded in over 4000 years of Jewish wisdom, Beyond the Chuppah begins with the challenging issues that are specific to Jewish and interfaith couples today. Then the text explores issues common to any marriage: communication, expectations, commitment, conflict, and more. Since every relationship involves more than confronting "issues," the last section is all about nurturing friendship, fun, and intimacy. A thought-provoking tour-de-force, Beyond the Chuppah is specifically intended for—and will be most useful to—couples where one or both partners are Jewish. Rabbis, pastors, and therapists who work with these couples may also find this enriching.
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Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Malcolm Gladwell, Author. New York, NY: Little, Brown, and Company.
This new book focuses on how people make decisions—especially those that seem to be made instantly but are not as simple as they seem. Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, explores why some people are brilliant decision makers, why some people find success by following their instincts, how human brains actually work, and why the best decision makers are those who have mastered the art of "thin-slicing"—filtering the very small number of factors that matter from what can seem an overwhelming number of variables.
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Chronicles: Volume One
Bob Dylan, Author. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2004.
In this first volume of his autobiography (we're assuming volume two will come later), folk singer Bob Dylan doesn't get caught up in the typical discussion of sex, drugs, and the music industry. He doesn't even offer a rehearsal of professional facts. Instead he tells his story from the perspective of self discovery, the meaning of music, and his surprise at being a cultural icon while busy being himself. Readers will enjoy his renditions of life in early 1960s Greenwich Village, as well as his well-crafted narratives of other places that informed and inspired his music, outlook, and relationships.
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God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It
Jim Wallis, Author. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 2005.
Jim Wallis makes three claims: God is not politically partisan; neither major political party provides a satisfying option for those seeking to inform their politics with their religious faith; and both religion and politics should be holistic, not selective, about relating values to social issues. He writes that "Religious people must refuse the ideological categorization and actually build bridges between people of good will in both liberal and conservative camps." He combines conservative approaches on issues of family values and personal responsibility with liberal approaches on issues such as poverty, racial justice, and ecology. Personal ethics and social justice are linked, argues Wallis, because "God is personal but never private."
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Islam: A Concise Introduction
Huston Smith, Author. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2001.
Renowned authority on world religions Huston Smith offers non-Islamic readers just what the title suggests—a concise introduction to Islam. Motivated by the U.S. experience of 9/11, the author has added a new introduction to text excerpted from his well-known The World's Religions. In less than 100 pages, Smith challenges stereotypes and assumptions, while providing a basic grounding in the religion of more than 1.2 billion people. Three common misconceptions are challenged: that Islam is a violent religion, that Islam oppresses women, and that Islam is unidimensionally fundamentalist. Smith also documents the historical context of Islam and presents an overview of Islamic beliefs and practices.
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Leading Diverse Communities: A How-To Guide for Moving from Healing Into Action
Cherie R. Brown, George J. Mazza, Authors. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2005.
This study manual, based on the National Coalition Building Institute’s leadership development program, explains 32 principles for building diverse communities. Principles are grouped into four chapters that analyze neighborhood contexts, wrestle with issues related to multi-character groups and organizations, push for implementing diversity, and lift up committed and impassioned leadership. Each principle is succinctly stated, then elaborated in a one-page explanation that includes "theory," "example," and "activity." A worksheet follows, allowing the principle to become a transferable concept and action point. Each section finishes with a summarizing quote, and each chapter concludes with a description of a community or organization actively pursuing the principles outlined in that chapter.
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Our Community: Dealing with Conflict in Our Congregation
Susan M. Lang, Author. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Press, 2002.
Pastor Susan Lang explores how conflict can develop and grow in family and congregational systems. She describes both healthy and unhealthy conflict by giving real-life examples. A brief, to-the-point, and clear text is augmented with informative sidebars and text boxes. In addition, every chapter is grounded in Scripture. Exercises, prayer suggestions, and useful tools make this a book that leaders can turn to again and again for guidance. While ministers, congregational leaders, pastoral coaches, and consultants will all benefit from Lang's experience and wisdom, this book will be especially helpful for those in positions of authority during conflicted times.
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Sacred Circles, Public Squares: The Multicentering of American Religion
Arthur E. Farnsley II, N. J. Demerath III, Etan Diamond, Mary L. Mapes, and Elfriede Wedam, Authors. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2005.
This study of the Indianapolis religious landscape is the summative volume of the Lilly Endowment's Project on Religion and Urban Culture, conducted through the Polis Center. The goal of the project—and this book—was to explore, and raise public awareness of, religion's changing role in public life. The book examines the shaping of religious traditions by the changing city. It sheds light on issues such as social capital and faith-based welfare reform. One primary narrative examines "decentering" (the creation of multiple (sub)urban centers) and repeated attempts to reassert a city center. In Indianapolis, civil religion helps to bind these centers into one metropolis.
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A Song to Sing, A Life to Live: Reflections on Music as Spiritual Practice
Don E. Saliers, Emily Saliers, Authors. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2005.
In this contribution to the "Practicing Our Faith" series, Don Saliers and Emily Saliers (father and daughter), share a conversation about what they call "Saturday Night music" and "Sunday morning music." Don (a professor, organist, and church musician) and Emily (a folk-rock singer and song writer from the popular group The Indigo Girls) explore the power of music to transform, empower, and illuminate our human condition as well as to praise God. This book—a spiritually nourishing hymn to the complexity and beauty of life—would serve as an excellent study for worship teams, pastors, church musicians, and anyone wrestling with questions about guidelines for music in worship.
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Voyageurs: A Novel
Margaret Elphinstone, Author. Berkeley, CA: Cannongate US, 2004.
Canadian voyageurs, the War of 1812, and earnest Quakers combine for an exciting read about the adventure of Englishman Friend Mark Greenhow as he searches for his sister Rachel—who has disappeared into the wilds of Canada after marrying a smooth non-Quaker fur trader while on a mission trip. Unable to accept apparently brutal facts, Greenhow resolves to make the journey from England to Quebec and then on to the Great Lakes to find his sister. Canoeing through the Great Lakes with the voyaguers, Greenhow struggles with the meaning of faith on the frontier, his responsibilities to his sister, and the Friends peace testimony in a time of war.
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Why I Wake Early: New Poems
Mary Oliver, Author. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2004.
This collection features forty-seven new poems by Mary Oliver, winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for poetry. These poems—which roam from crickets to clouds to geese to toads—give voice to the mysteries and wonders of the physical world. Oliver finds within the most ordinary settings and moments the inspiration for living more fully and attentively. Although not religious in a traditional sense, these poems encourage readers to recognize the creative force behind the physical world and to find a greater connection with the spiritual world.
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