aigner's bookshelf

2011-09-14T12:11:00.001-07:00

This was a very good read, primarily because Johann Sebastian Bach is an irresistible subject. His was a life devoted to creating beauty through music, both sacred and secular. Though he was quite prolific during his lifetime, he fell into and remained in relative obscurity until the 19^th century, when other musicians and composers (such as Felix Mendelssohn) revived his techniques along with his beautiful creations.

This work is fabulously crafted into an uplifting story of Bach as Christian and composer. Most other biographical works on Bach discuss mostly his music, but this one explains how his great faith inspired all of his life’s work.

I recommend it for the music or history lover.

how to get people to hear you

2011-04-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

A Book on Selling Books

So this is a book on getting your book published.

For aspiring (and starving) writers, this book might give them some clues as how to get the “in” they need in order for their career to take off.

The book starts you at the beginning, walks you through the conceptual stage, into the production, and finally helping you walk through the steps of finding the right publisher, making your presentation as striking as possible, and moving through the final steps before publication.

It’s very clear. That can be said for sure. It is very descriptive of the process and might be helpful for someone who is trying to break through.

Don’t rush out thinking this book holds the key to making this process easy.

I do wonder a bit about how wide of an audience this book can find, though.

So if this is something you’re interested in, this book might be able to help. If not, save your money.

Beyond Opinion

2011-04-26T14:35:00.001-07:00

As with most volumes like this, the strength of the different chapters are varied and mixed. On the whole, this is a very interesting treatment of apologetics that is pretty easy reading and doesn't take a huge amount of time. It's readable enough for most Christians with some grounding in faith and doesn't overwhelm.

That's a bit of an upside.

My issue with the book, and it's really more of an issue with the discipline of apologetics. It tends to come off as a bit arrogant at times. I'm all for the belief that truth exists and that we can know the parts we need to know, but there is quite a bit that requires faith; not blind faith, but a certain amount of trust.

Just when we think we have Christianity systematized and wrapped up neatly, we have entered into dangerous territory. Just because the Holy Spirit of God allows us enough knowledge to produce faith doesn't mean we possess or own it. It remains God's.

So my overall feeling about this book is mixed, but that doesn't mean that some good points can't be gleaned from it.

music to shave by

2010-06-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

Herein lies my review of A Guy's Guide to Life: How to Become a Man in 224 Pages or Less by this guy...forget his name...Jason Boyett. This book isn't bad, for what it is. In fact, it gives a bunch of really good advice and pointers for younger (or immature) guys that other books, which are way too worried about sex and eternal punishment for looking at girls below the neck, leave out.

Seriously, sometimes it's good to not be so serious. When I was a teen, reading these kinds of books were usually unpleasantly sober experiences. They spoke too much of lust and too little about how to relate to other people and do important things like tying a necktie.

When this book did talk about sex, it was engaging and not condescending. Really one of a kind.

This book is NOT, absolutely NOT a serious book about theological implications of needing a zipper in ones pants. It's a friendly, unassuming and edifying look at how to survive. Give it a try.

Jesus Manifesto

2010-05-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

This book is fantastic.

Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ is one of the best books I have read in a long time.

Let's face it, Christianity in the U.S. is pathetic right now. It's pathetic because the real Christ is nowhere to be found. Church is depressing.

We make idols out of beliefs and morals and principles and teachings. We try to imitate Christ instead of following Christ. We intertwine Christianity and politics. We have strategies to get people into the building. We offer them frills and entertainment to stay. We have CEOs and business models. We are against time theft.

Our gospel is false gospel.

Sweet and Viola get this. The message of this book is that Jesus has been completely abandoned by those who claim his name. They get this message right. The main thrust of their argument is found, I believe, in this quote:

"Today, many Christians are inviting God into their stories. But God is inviting us into His. And that story is Jesus Christ."

Christ is the focal point. When the idols are torn down, we will be back to being the body of Christ, living and moving in him.

This book is a good start.

are you catholic or something?

2010-05-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

I'll say up front that I rate this one 4 out of 5.

Ken Wilson's new work, Mystically Wired: Exploring New Realms in Prayer is one of those works that is needed most by the people who feel they need it least. Growing up in a mainstream conservative evangelical SBC situation, I was taught, at least by example, that usually prayer should start with "Dear Heavenly Father" and end with "In Jesus name, Amen." That was the long and short of it. Occasionally I would hear someone talking about listening more than speaking when you pray, but I still got the feeling it needed to be in between that specific prelude and postlude set.

There is a place for doggedly persistent verbal prayer, I'm sure. But it's more than that. The title will put off many by its use of the word "mystically," but if that bothers you, cover it up with some tape or something. You need this book.

I remember well the lowest point of my life. I had been doing all the things I thought were right. I was doing the quiet time thing for five to seven minutes and I found myself praying a lot. But I still fell into a deep depression and, though it wasn't a direct result of the prayer I was doing, I began to feel a miring sense of frustration with prayer. The cliche that my prayers were "bouncing off the ceiling" became all too real.

I needed what Wilson talks about. Prayer is an instinct, not a chore.

His most helpful point was possibly the most basic. He says that "learning to sit quietly alone in a room makes a big difference in your praying."

What an important statement. I am convinced that most of us go through life without ever really finding ourselves in the moment. We're not really there. We're driving to work, we're running errands before our feet ever hit the ground in the morning. To experience real, powerful prayer, we need to be in the present moment where we can genuinely meet God.

I don't wish to defend Wilson at every point, but there is much valuable guidance one can take from this book. I highly recommend it.

embracing last night's late show

2010-05-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

Just need to let you know one thing. I'm a guy. But I care about issues that face all of humanity and I appreciate gaining from the perspective of a female voice speaking to these issues.

This is a good book for women (or really anyone) who has reached a place in their lives when they need to reassess where they're going and what they're doing. While most books of this nature are written by homemakers to other homemakers, many of whom have no life outside their husband and children, this book is written to anyone at this place in their lives.

I like that this is not some woman who ignored herself and her calling as a human being for twenty-plus years to watch her children grow up. (Not that every homemaker does - I know many who have had vital, connected lives while doing a fantastic job with their families.) This is a woman who has lived with drive and purpose, but enters a time of transition.

Generally, I appreciated the author's candor. There were times, though, where the author rambled on in an anecdotal kind of way a bit too long. For me, this got in the way a bit. I'm pretty sure the book could lose about 20% of its content and be just as good, but I expect this aspect of the book would resonate more with some people that it does with me.

Some of these stories are a bit strange and disconnected from many people's lives, though. Like the one where she talks about her friend, Sandra, who is wealthy enough to fly to Paris to pick out a year's wardrobe. The author tries to relate it to the discussion, which was a good one about idols, but the comparison between this woman and the general population does not hold true.

Thank you for allowing a male perspective in this conversation. This is not the greatest book, but it is worth reading for anyone who is at life's "halftime."

Falwell is dead

2010-04-06T18:17:00.001-07:00

After the Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery by R. Emmett Tyrrell is, at least, an interesting book.

Politically, I think this book has some insights into the recent blows dealt the conservatives', a term which Tyrrell largely uses to mean Republicans. The writing is gripping, lucid prose that certainly held my interest. Tyrrell has a very quotable way of writing, detailing the ins and outs of a movement that, from the pens of inferior writers, would be parching. From this respect, the book gets high marks from me.

My issue is that I tend to see politics from more of a theological perspective. For a number of reasons, I have distanced myself from identifying myself as a Republican, so this book didn't really ring true for me. I guess I'm less concerned about the intricacies of a movement that, though I often agree with them politically, has not largely helped the cause of Christ's Kingdom. Therefore, in the end, I just didn't connect with this book. I think for most people who see politics through more Christocentric glasses, this book will not resonate.

journey, not beliefs

2010-03-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not saying that I agree with everything Charles Foster says in The Sacred Journey, but that's not important.

This work, like the others in "The Ancient Practices Series," is extremely important for us today. It's important because the Church in our country has turned into a bastion of pragmatism, with ministries based solely on the felt needs of individuals, both Christian and non.

I really appreciate, but am saddened by Foster's argument that the word "christian" should be replaced because of its extremely negative connotations (judgmental, anti-gay). You can be sure we've lost our way when our identity is a predominantly negative one (we are not this, we are not that, we are against these, etc).

We've also come to the conclusion that faith is based on beliefs. As long as we believe the right things, we'll be okay. Beliefs are important, but it doesn't stop there. My marriage isn't based on beliefs. Of course there are some prerequisite beliefs; I have to believe my wife is a woman, that she loves me and would be a good mate. But if it stopped there, would I be married? No, I'd be a creepy guy who stared a lot.

Faith is the same way. Beliefs are prerequisite, but not everything. Relationship is the real basis - a relationship that gives birth to a long journey.

We need to get back to that. We need to recover the mindset that we are on a journey of faith, not standing still and firm. There's so much we need to let go of, to hold with an open hand.

The Voice

2010-03-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

I appreciate this book very much and I think many with negative reviews miss the point. The point is not to contribute a standard, classic translation of Scripture. Pairing the conversational text with commentary helps the reader to understand the Bible as being God's story; a narrative of God's work in human history.

As someone who grew up in a spiritually abusive tradition, it's a breath of fresh air. This and coming generations of Christians are not like those previous. We did not grow up with the full force of Christianity as a ceremonial religion in this country. We don't put up with the judgmental crap and irresponsible Biblical scholarship that's been spewed from pulpits for generations. We speak in different ways a lot of times.

Just read it for what it is. Don't get so worried about . Let God's voice speak.

White Bore King

2010-01-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

I am not a history buff, but I do enjoy reading biographies from time to time.

I don't know where to begin with this one.

It is entirely readable, but completely forgettable. It was an easy read, but at the same time, I couldn't make myself pick it up. Alfred is a completely legitimate figure to study, but you wouldn't understand it from this book.

I know I'm not being clear, but, to be honest, I'm not entirely clear what the purpose and point of this book is to begin with, other than possibly to offer a simplistic and remedial account of history. There are bits and pieces that are interesting, but are squelched by prose that marches along at a turtle pace.

I want to like this book. Really. Mostly because I want to like every book I read in some way. So I looked for a reason. Ultimately, I found none.

The Sacred Meal

2009-11-29T12:14:00.000-08:00

Our culture longs for community. It is more disconnected than ever, both emotionally and relationally. Churches don't often help the matter. That's a sad truth, because that means they're not performing one of their chief purposes. Fortunately, I think we are slowly moving away from the civic institution to the spiritual community. It may take generations, but the evangelical church will be rebuilt from the ground up.

This problem is acknowledged by Nora Gallagher in her work, The Sacred Meal. It is another volume in the Ancient Practices series, edited by Phyllis Tickle and published by Thomas Nelson. Gallagher, in my opinion correctly, identifies Communion as the central act of community in the Church.

I cannot tell you how important I think works like this are, not because I agree with every theological point. In fact, I have more than a few theological disagreements with this author. That doesn't matter. Orthodoxy has never come to a consensus on the sacred meal. We shouldn't be turned off by those who disagree with us.

This book is timely because evangelicals don't grasp the importance of communion, whether they believe in the real physical presence or only remembrance. The supper, when held in high esteem, brings renewal, both communally and individually.

The church where I grew up observed communion, or the "Lord's Supper," every quarter. They would say otherwise, but it was basically for the heck of it, because Jesus said we had to do it. In my opinion, that's completely ridiculous. This is a solemn privilege, not just a constraint. Communion is something we get to do. We don't need to do it every week, but this business of observing it only occasionally completely misses the point.

Additionally, ancient practices really speak to us. They come from a simpler time not bound so much by clock and schedule. They can lead us to a place when we are completely in the moment. That's the only place we can meet God. In a time when so many have completely lost a sense of spiritual reality, we can gain so much from rediscovering these traditions and their original significance.

ancient practices: yes, please

2009-11-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

My newest review in the Thomas Nelson Blogger Book Review program is by a Benedictine nun, Joan Chittister. It is called The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life and it is from "The Ancient Practices Series" which encourages Christians to draw upon the

It is not that I agree with Chittister at every detail, but that I strongly believe modern Christianity yearns for connection with the long tradition of faith and the freedom that is found in liturgy. Our church is fragmented and segregated by a pervasive pragmatism and hyperactive stimulus. We need the devotion and discipline Chittister outlines in this book.

When we participate in the practices of the liturgical year, our hearts participate in the life of Christ. We are connected more deeply with all who have heard His voice throughout the ages. A wholehearted, yearly revisiting of this cycle renews us, increases our faith and brings us face to face with the love of Christ and can make us more like him.

The framework of the liturgical year can actually bring us to the place in which we can meet Christ. Chittister gets this right. Exactly right. You will not find many specific ideas and methods, but that's not the point. If you're like me and were raised in a tradition that had little use for the richness of historical Christian faith, this book is for you. You need it, even if you don't think you do.

Finding Purpose Behind Our Pain

2009-11-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

Finding Purpose Behind Our Pain: Uncover the Hidden Potential in Life's Most Common Struggles by Drs. Paul Meyer and David Henderson is intended to be a motivational work. Its purpose is to encourage those experiencing pain or struggling with past hurt to turn their struggles around into something positive.

The book isn't bad, although I feel some of their Biblical application is far-fetched and out of context. It is a positive, encouraging work on a very practical level. It is important for everyone to realize that their pain, whatever its cause, can be an impetus for significant personal growth. This is invaluable truth.

I didn't feel that the book went beyond a superficial level, though. Our pain is a reflection of a deeper condition within us and is a direct result of the fall. I never felt like this was well addressed.

As someone who has experienced very deep emotional and mental anguish, I don't think this book would have helped me during my recovery. It doesn't help someone identify the source of their pain, nor does it really give helpful strategy for moving out of struggle.

This first must be addressed before a person can view their hurts as positive.

eli gold? was he in the Bible?

2009-10-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

My latest review is Eli Gold's autobiography...memoir...I'm not sure what to call it. Anyways, From Peanuts to the Pressbox: Insider Sports Stories from a Life Behind the Mic (Thomas Nelson, 2009 is about what you could expect from a C-list sports announcer.

I wasn't very familiar with the guy before this book, since I rarely watch NASCAR and college football isn't really relevant to a Baylor grad born during the Reagan administration.

His book is okay. The stories are interesting, mostly light and good-humored. He does give a few heavier accounts of the NASCAR tragedies that have hit home for him.

This book would be interesting to any Alabama fans, at least those from the past 20 years or so he has been involved with Crimson Tide football. Anyone with a special interest in the voices of sports would likely be interested and find it an enjoyable read.

It's not a great piece of writing, however. It's pretty shallow without a whole lot of salient elements that the average non-sports junkie. And you have to be one of the bigger junkies to really, really appreciate the figure behind this account, one that is into NCAA football, NASCAR or NHL.

If you're interested in anecdotal sports accounts that are also good pieces of writing, check out the books of Howard Cosell, Bob Costas, and Jack Buck.

the gospel according to beer

2009-10-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

Recently heard in a sermon: You might be surprised if you knew some of the sinful things I had in my past. I was mean. I closed many a bar down.

I have not recently heard this in a sermon: Beer is good.

There, I said it. I can hear my Southern Baptist heritage crying out with pain at that statement. But, long before prohibition, long before "thou shalt abstain from strong drink" became the eleventh commandment, long before secular became known as the opposite of sacred, Christians liked drinking beer. Billy Sunday and Adrian Rogers probably believed with all their hearts they were preaching the right thing, but they're up against some pretty big names in this department.

Don't take it from me. Take it from a guy named Martin Luther, who once said, "We old folks have to find our cushions and pillows in our tankards. Strong beer is the milk of the old." Of course, that is politely rendered from the original German quote, which may actually be closer to, "I like beer/it makes me a jolly, good fellow/I like beer/it helps me unwind and sometimes it makes me feel mellow."

Baptists don't like beer. I'll take that back. Actually, Baptists in the south don't admit to liking beer. Even though I have long begun to distance myself from the Baptisty position on a lot of things, I was still surprised when I received my copy of The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World by Stephen Mansfield from Thomas Nelson Publishing. It's just not everyday us Texans see Guinness and God in the same sentence, unless it's regarding Sodom and Gomorrah. They were big Guinness drinkers, you know.

This is the same guy that wrote The Faith of George W. Bush and The Faith of Barack Obama. Because of his reputation for writing fair, engaging analysis of cultural snapshots, I was anxious to read his book.

But beer?

I have to say that, excepting Baptists in the south, of course, Guinness is well-known as the preferred beer of theologians, at least the English-speaking theologians. My guess is that if Luther were here, he might have something to say about Heineken, but that's hard to tell. Therefore, I learned to drink it on occasion during deep theological discussion with others. There's nothing quite like having Bible study and beer.

Trust me, folks, they fit together perfectly.

Mansfield realizes this. He also realizes that because of a good beer's ability to bring people together, along with the unique business model of Arthur Guinness's company, make the Guinness story an especially interesting one.

In a day when the bottom line is all that matters and when institutions and corporations have robbed, cheated and lied people out of their livelihood and future, the story of the old Irish brewers is a breath of fresh air. It also begs the question, "Can we see anything like this here in our culture?

I was especially struck with Mansfield's account of a corporation that functioned like community. In a culture when churches continue to run themselves according to a business model, especially an American business model, we have some things to learn. What people are hungering for is Christian community, not good preaching, not entertaining music, not ministries specific to demographics, but genuine community.

Maybe our churches should run more like an - GASP - Irish brewery.

Please don't throw stones. Not yet, at least.

Mansfield's retelling of this story is an inspired and fresh account, a sober analysis, and a motivating conclusion. It is worth the read.

It's also better with Guinness.

riddled with bullet points

2009-10-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

I like owning books. People know this about me. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells like rich mahogany.

I like reading them almost as much as I like owning them.

There's this new really cool thing. Thomas Nelson Publishing will give free copies of select books to bloggers who agree to post an honest review (positive, negative, mixed - anything) on their blogs and copy it onto a retail site. Sounds like a good deal. You pick the book, they mail it, you blog about it and then you pick another book.

The list currently doesn't have any books that I find really attractive, so I chose a new one written by this guy named David Jeremiah, called Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World: What on Earth Should We Do Now? (Thomas Nelson, Nashville 2009). Being a closet consumer of religious media, I have heard Jeremiah on his national broadcast, Turning Point, so I was a bit familiar with him to start off.

This book is a follow-up to his last work, What in the World Is Going On, in which he interprets many current and recent events in an eschatological light. His latest book attempts to offer practical and Biblical principles for living in a turbulent and unsettling time.

I can find one major positive thing about Jeremiah's argument. First, he points throughout to the future hope that Christians have in Christ, knowing that He will prevail at the end. Even though life is tough, we are encouraged to live in this reality.

Jeremiah says up front that this work is less about Christ's return and more about how we should live at this time. I don't think he really follows through with this purpose. The theme of the second coming appears over and over and over. It actually gets a little old, to be honest.

Unfortunately this pessimistic, dispensationalist view is not by any means a Biblical certainty, nor does it have the support of the Christian tradition prior to this century. I find it particularly disconcerting that he points toward natural occurrences as being undeniable signs of the imminent return of Christ. Of course, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and the like are symptoms of a fallen Creation, but it seems contrived to view them as hard evidence we are on the precipice of Armageddon.

Jeremiah, as with a number of Baptist preachers and authors, can come off at times as being cocky or condescending, particularly concerning his interpretation of Scripture. He nearly seems preoccupied with defending his viewpoints and less concerned with discussing Biblical principles as part of God's salvation story, which is problematic, especially as eschatology is concerned.

His writing style is somewhat preachy, simple and base; it's full of alliteration, bullet points and illustration, which make Scripture seem a bit too neat, tidy and manageable. "I discovered ten practical strategies to help us live with confidence in a chaotic world," he claims (xix). Really? Not eight or thirteen? It's dangerous to try and make the Bible more practical. That's where we really get confused.

In conclusion, this work is not entirely bad, but it is somewhat short-sighted and irrelevant if one considers the larger tradition of historical Christianity.

If you are looking for books to help you make sense of what's going on around you, I can always recommend Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller and Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. C.S. Lewis is always helpful. I would even suggest you go back to the works of the Church fathers, like Augustine and Irenaeus.

All of these would offer a more cohesive and salient examination of the subject. And by avoiding 20th-century Baptists, you will also avoid the appeal of alliteration. Those around you will appreciate it.