Review of Meredith Gould, Ph.D Why Is There a Menorah On the Altar?

Published by Seabury Books, Why Is There a Menorah On the Altar is a book devoted to help Christians understand the deeper history of Christian worship (primarily in the liturgical tradition) in light of the Hebrew/Jewish roots from the days of Moses to early Christian times.

Dr. Gould, who as she writes in the Forward, is “a Jew in identity, a Christian in faith, and a Catholic in religious practice,” takes us through the rituals/ordinances/sacraments that have been a part of the Christian faith for centuries.

Beginning with a chapter on ‘Reading Scripture’ in which she delineates the differences between exegetes, Theologians, and Religious Study Scholars and unpacks the variations and history of the development and translation of the Bible, Gould provides a very useful introduction to lay persons about the Bible and how to read scripture in a meaningful and helpful way.

Chapter 2 focuses on the history and development of what is know as the liturgical year as compared to the calendar year. Within this discussion, she also provides a very helpful historical time-line of the development of the two Jewish sects featured in the New Testament – the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The remaining chapters, 3 through 6 focus, respectively, on worship, baptism, Holy Communion, and Confirmation. As Gould addresses each topic, she takes the reader on a journey back into the Old Testament and points out possible points of origin for the various parts of today’s liturgical worship. For example, in the chapter on baptism, Meredith provides us with a broader perspective on the symbolism and use of water in the Biblical story beyond mere hygiene and points us to its use as a deeply spiritual substance.

Interspersed throughout the chapters (and primarily at the conclusion of each chapter) Gould shares a short personal story related to the chapter subject. In each of them, she evidences a clear and passionate faith and pursuit of God. I also benefitted, as will the reader, on her Jewish perspective. This came through in her discussion of the discussions between Jesus and the Pharisees and Sadducees as “debating Torah.” (Page 25)

Why Is There A Menorah On The Altar is a book that takes the often tangled web of Christian history and development and untangles it with an enthusiastic but serious approach that creates a good starting point for further reading and discussion on each of the topics presented. This book would be of great use in a study, in both the parish and college settings, about the development of the major Christian faith practices, and, the faith journey of one person and how those practices have aided that journey.

Now, in the interest of self-disclosure and integrity, Dr. Gould is a person that I have networked with through the social networking site, Twitter (www.twitter.com) this past year. She graciously (and serendipitously) sent me a copy of this book last month for my library.

So, in light of this self-disclosure, I say, “Meredith, first of all, thank you for your book. I enjoyed it and appreciated your self-disclosure and thoughts in this book. Now, when, and if, you do a revised edition, I would encourage you to include looking at the broader Protestant views and thoughts of the topics that you addressed as I believe that this book is worthy of a larger audience. And second, I encourage you to write of your faith journey as I think that it will resonate with a large audience.”

Advent Reality: The Dialogue Called Prayer

Many years ago, I remember praying for a new bicycle and I prayed hard for it! But, it was a prayer not answered and I kept the same bicycle until I went off to college and then received a new one a little over a decade ago after a space of twenty years without one.

I remember begging, yes, begging one of my Sunday School teachers for a new Bible even though I was really not doing any of the work that was to be rewarded by getting one. I got one and I remember one of the girls in my class really read me out for getting one even though I did nothing to earn one.

How much of my praying, as I remember these two separate situations, has been begging God for the wrong thing at the wrong time and for the wrong reasons?

Eugene H. Peterson has reminded me today, ‘The world revealed by God’s word has so much more to it, in it, and behind it than our ego-centered world that we can’t be expected to understand it all at once… Prayer is the way we work our way out of the comfortable (and selfish, I might add) but cramped world of the self and into the self-denying but spacious world of God.” (Eat This Book, page 108 parenthetical comment mine)

Question: I wonder if Joseph felt this way when the angel came and told him that the baby was not his?

Advent Reality: The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us

But although the world was made through him, the world didn’t recognize him when he came. Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted. John 1:10-11 (NLT)

“A friend reports to me that one of the early rabbis selected a different part of our bodies to make the same point; he insisted that the primary body part for taking in the word of God is not the ears but the feet. You learn God, he said, not through your ears but through your feet; follow the Rabbi… The most important question we ask of this text is not, “What does this mean?” but “What can I obey?”

Eugene H. Peterson Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading

Pages 61 and 69

One of my favorite words is serendipity, which means, among many things, ‘coincidence.’ I really do not believe in coincidence but rather Providence, i.e. God.I am experiencing a providential encounter with God this Advent season through the writing of Eugene Peterson’s marvelous book, Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading.

It is a wonderful book on reading the Bible in the right “way” by letting the Bible get into you and shape you in ways large and small.

This evening I encountered the two separate quotes above that focus around the key issue of obedience so that the Bible shapes us as we, in Peterson’s words, ‘eat’ it.And I reminded again that Advent is more than a cute story that we like to read to children. It is a story about obedience, Jesus’ obedience to the Father’s plan; Mary’s obedience to the Father’s plan; Joseph’s obedience to the Father’s plan, not to mention the shepherds and the wise men’s as well, also to the Father’s plan.

I am seeing more clearly that I must conform to scripture not the other way around. I must obey the word of God by following Jesus with my feet. The Bible is shaping me in some new ways that have only just begun.

Question: How is scripture shaping you these days?

Advent Reality: Becoming Flesh and Dwelling Among Us

Advent is about waiting according to Joan Chittister (and others). But I also believe that Advent is about dwelling among us. Chew on what Eugene H. Peterson says,

“Never, impatient with the limitations of time, did Jesus slip through some time-warp and bypass the waiting. Never, chafing under the limitations of place, did Jesus replace the local with some generalized and ethereal spiritual “presence.” Anything and everything in creation was an occasion for the glory, the entire creation manifesting the bright presence of God, even in, especially in, the most unlikely times and places; the line between supernatural and natural constantly was blurred. Very God in the utterly ordinary-waterpots, mud, fragments of bread, basin and towel, the 153 fish-that we continue to handle and deal with wherever we live. And Very Man speaking simple words that give content to salvation- vine, door, shepherd, water, light – words that we continue to speak as we go about our daily work.”

Eugene H. Peterson

Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places

The Pleasure of Re-reading an Author

Thirty years ago, I was an aspiring literary scholar and the focus of my passion was William Faulkner.  I seriously considered applying to the University of Mississippi for a Ph.D in Faulkner studies. God, however, had other plans.

At the college I attended, the fall semester ended in mid-December and the spring semester did not begin until the first part of February. That left January as a unique term of study called Interterm.

Once I set my heart on English as a major and a career as a literature scholar, for some reason, I focused on William Faulkner as someone that I would like to spend my life studying. So during Interterm my senior year, I took a two hour independent study and read almost all of Faulkner’s novels. ( I also took a four hour cinema course during the mornings and so by the end of the day with all of the viewing and reading, my sight was ready for a long rest.)

As I graduated and moved further into adulthood, I left Mr. Faulkner behind and within a 12 years gave away all of his novels to a library sale.

Fastfoward to this year.

My oldest son, now a student in the pre-AP (Advanced Placement) Language Arts had to read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. His struggle with a test over the material and the nature of literary anaylsis of that book, brought back pleasant (yes, pleasant) memories of my literature courses and papers.

Realizing that I am probably going to be a guide (sometimes welcomed and sometimes not) for him, kindled a desire to pick up were I left off 30 years ago. So this past weekend I went to the local library and checked out two of his works, As I Lay Dying (which I remember reading) and Sartoris (which I do not remember reading.)

And the pleasure of being lost in Yoknapatawpha County among the MacCallums and the Benbows and Sartoris’ has all come back.

I am not sure that I will be doing any serious study of Faulkner at this point but is that the point? No it is the pleasure of reading great American literature and thinking about life, God, love, faith and family while doing so. It is also about further understanding what it means to be a human being.

Book Review Disclosure

I have read around the ‘Net that there has been an effort to require bloggers to disclose if they are doing book reviews on behalf of a publishing company.  I have decided to co-opt any such requirement and let you know that I have, and will continue to, review books from Tyndale House, NavPress, and Thomas Nelson. (I am open to reviewing for other companies as well.)

For Thomas Nelson, I have reviewed The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns. For NavPress, I have reviewed Helping Those Who Hurt by Barbara M. Roberts. For Tyndale House, I have reviewed The Short List by Bill Butterworth.

I enjoy doing this and if you have a book that you would like for me to review as part of its debut, please reply to this post and ask.  I do not charge for this service (and never would) but would only asked for a copy of the book to review.

Review of Quitting Church by Julia Duin

A conversation that I have had with increasing frequency over the past year with ministerial colleagues has been about declining church attendance. It is a subject addressed from many quarters and is given many reasons why it is happens.

Because of my personal experiences in previous churches as an associate, one reason always comes to my mind, ‘they don’t like the pastor.’ Such a belief, I have come to learn, is not necessarily the reason.

So why are people “quitting” church? Why are long time members “quitting” church?

So, as I stood in the Family Christian Bookstore in Anderson, Indiana last week during the North American Convention of the Church of God, I prayed about which two books to buy as part of my travels and participation at that event for I treat it as not just church ‘business’ but as a continuing education event as well.

I had several in mind but one I decided on after reading a few pages was Julia Duin’s Quitting Church: Why the Faithful are Fleeing and What to Do about it.

It rattled my cage…

Duin, who is the Religion Editor at the Washington Times, told stories about people who for a wide variety of reasons, have ‘quit’ church; not the faith; but the church.

Her stories and her story gave me pause for serious reflection as I thought through the ministry views and values that I have held over the years and that perhaps they need some ‘adjustment.’

Two chapters have given me the most to think about. The first was chapter 5, “The Loneliest Number: Why Singles over Thirty-Five Are Saying Good-bye.” As I read it, I felt conviction about how I have approached those over 18 and single the past several years in a manner that has been harsh and uncaring. Duin honestly and caringly reminds us that those who are single are not the ‘sex crazed’ adults we often have been made to believe they are.

Instead, they honestly and deeply struggle with sexual purity and the desire to be married is one that has been framed by some quoted in her book, as not God’s will. Though I do not tell people that it may not be God’s will that they marry, names and faces came to my mind as well as a desire to make some things right with some that are a part of my congregation today.

The second chapter was chapter 6. “Not So Solid Teaching: Why Christians Cannot Exit the Obstetrics Ward.” In this chapter, Duin shares the honest desire for solid teaching that seems to be non-existent in the minds of some. As I read, I was reminded that I have been in “The Ministry” for so long that I have forgotten the struggles of those who live and work in very different environments and often have to make difficult decisions regarding values and priorities that I have all too easily dismissed as bad decisions. I need to “hear” more often from those in the pews about what is going on in their life.

I wish that I would have heard from some more diverse voices such as those in rural and small town America as most of her subjects reside in the D.C. and other urban areas and were, for the most part, well educated. But the book is valuable in that there are some very human reasons people have left and are leaving the church.

Slowing down and listening I think is a place to start.

(Note: I bought this book for personal and professional reasons and wrote my review simply to share my thoughts about it.)

Review of Howard Gardner’s Five Minds for the Future

In this book, Gardner, a professor at Harvard University, introduces us to ‘five minds’ he believes we need if we “are to thrive in the world during the eras to come.” (p. 1)

They are, in the order presented:

The Disciplined Mind

The Synthesizing Mind

The Creating Mind

The Respectful Mind

The Ethical Mind

There are many good quotes in this book and I very much appreciate his critique of current educational practices, notably the over-emphasis on testing.

Yet, what I value most about Gardner’s book is that he takes us back to some bedrock values that are part of these five minds. And I summarize them as follows ‘Good thinking, good work, good values.’ (The first two are his words and not mine.)

I would use this book in all my classes, if I were a college/seminary professor, at the beginning of each class before teaching ‘the course subject.’ Why? Because I believe that what Gardner says should be understood by those who are seeking to be professional and ethical people.

A book for your library and yearly review.

Review of Followership

“I could conclude this chapter about values by making a list of the traits and capacities of good followers, like all those other lists we have of the traits and capacities of good leaders. But I will refrain from so doing for two simple reasons. First, ideally such lists should be situation specific. For what it takes to be a good follower (and leader) is different in different circumstances. Second, such a list, would, in any case, strongly resemble those with whom we are already familiar, those that name the traits and capacities of good leaders. In other words, curiously, counterintuitively, what it takes to be a good follower looks a lot like what it takes to be a good leader. Like good leaders, good followers should be informed, energetic, independent, and so on. And, like good leaders, good followers should have the capacity to cope with complexity, to manage change, to exercise good judgment, and so on.”

From chapter 9, “Values,” page 236, Barbara Kellerman in Followership: How Followers are Creating Change and Changing Leaders

I first heard Barbara Kellerman’s voice on Harvard Business School’s podcast, “IdeaCast 131: ‘What Charisma Really Is (and isn’t),’” before I read her book.

The title immediately caught my attention and my library contact at our local library found the book available through Inter-library Loan (ILL) from Valparaiso University’s Moellering Collections. (Thanks Kendallville Public Library and VU!)

This book causes you to sit up and take notice. In it, she speaks of four kinds of followers, “by-standers” who stand by and do nothing, “participants,” who are more involved than by-standers but less than the next two, which are, “activists,” and “diehards,” who are followers who get involved and get things done, even to the point of death. She writes of “by-standers” in the context of Nazi Germany’s Holocaust, “participants” in the context of Merck’s situation with Vioxx, “activists” in the context of the Voice of the Faithful who took on the Catholic hierarchy in regards to the tragic revelations of clergy abuse, and “diehards” in the context of Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan.

Each of these situations are honestly examined regarding leader-follower dynamics and the impact (including life and death impact) on those involved. I also appreciate her work on the issues of values (from which chapter the above quote is taken) and how followers can meaningfully contribute to the health and development of an organization and even a nation.

I happen to agree with her about leaders having less power to do what ever and that as organizations have grown ‘flatter’ and the power that information has today, leaders have less room to maneuver than in previous years. But it was the quote above that really sealed the deal for me as to the importance of this book in leadership in the faith community as well as business, government, and the community as a whole.

Leaders are both followers as well as leaders and there is a larger ethical and social responsibility these days that we must come to grips with. Put this book on your reading list and shelf and discuss it with those you work with and for.

Reading Reflections 4: Leadership in the Rural Church and Community; A Rural Take on President Obama’s Inaugural Speech; A renaming of the blog; some more thoughts on being rural and missional

I continue to be impressed and inspired by Jung and Agria’s text: Rural Congregational Studies: A Case for Good Shepherds and especially with chapter 5 on leadership.

Two words define this chapter for me: process and listening. Both are skills and a mindset. I believe that their point that rural ministry requires a patience for process that is accomplished by listening is spot on.

They quote a summary of important qualities/characteristics that rural pastors need to develop and cultivate from a coalition of Iowa pastors. (Jung and Agria, page 93)

a. [help] parishioners understand relationships,

b. [help] them clarify their options

c. [help] them process change.

I have personally experienced these things in my current ministry. Regarding B and C, this has occurred in our relocation efforts. Our church sits on a street corner here in Kendallville and has been at this location throughout its life since it started in the 1940’s. The facility has evolved over the years but elements of the original home building remain.

Not long after I came, I heard from several different persons about the building. So in my annual report at the end of my first year, I suggested they pick 5 people they trust to examine all of the options regarding facilities.

After year one of study, it was narrowed down to either adding on or relocating. After year two of study, an almost 100% vote to relocate was made. That was in September 2003.

Then after an almost 5 year search and several offers, we bought land. Now we are in a process to present an initial design to the congregation for approval and a new capital funds campaign.

It has been, at times, painstakingly slow to me. But, the congregation has strongly embraced the relocation process and are just as excited as I am!

Dear Mr. President,

I appreciated your pointed and visionary inaugural address last week. I think that Dr. King would be please with what we heard. In fact, I heard Dr. King at several points as you spoke.

I listened to it from the perspective of a rural pastor and rural citizen. I was especially listening to how your goals, both economic and, for lack of a better term, ‘community building’ would empower the rural parts of our nation.

At one point you said this, “For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.”

Mr. President, do not forget that the rural towns and counties of our nation can both benefit and assist in this important goal. We need new roads and bridges; we need to harness the sun and the wind; we need to build partnerships with national and international business because we have great workers here as well; we need to educate and re-train the people in places like Noble County who are losing and have lost their jobs. We have a role to play in the renewal and revitalization of our nation. Don’t forget us.

Mr. President you also said this, “For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

Please remember Mr. President, that rural America is not monochrome but kodachrome. There are people of all faiths and languages in our small towns and rural counties. In our own, I know that there are Latino, Hispanic, and Yemeni as well as black and white. There are conservatives, moderates, and progressives ‘out here’ so please remember that we struggle to be a community for all.

Mr. President, do not forget that rural people are people of hope, faith, and trust in God and in our nation. Keep us in the loop as we move forward under your leadership.

I have renamed the blog, Reflections on and about Rural Life because that is the direction some of my writing has taken. I will continue to report on the work of Hometown Competitiveness here in Noble County but also rural community life as well.

Finally, as I continue to think about being missional, I am reminded of what Jesus said in Luke 4:18 and 19 (New Living Translation)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim

that captives will be released,

that the blind will see,

that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors,

¹⁹and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

This is a missional statement – healing, releasing, redeeming, empowering that focuses on the establishment of the Kingdom of God through the redemptive work of Christ Jesus.