One for Your Christmas Gift List

Susan Swagler, on WBRC's Good Day Alabama, offered book gift suggestions for Christmas. She gave a nice review of our new anthology, Poems for Hungry Minds.

 

The book is available now on Amazon or at Barnes and Nobel.

 

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A Brief Look Back

Here is a brief rundown of a few of the popular posts on Not Dark Yet over the past quarter.

There are two features that occur without fail each week. Every Monday, I share a musical offering (usually from YouTube). By far, the most popular Monday Music offering this past quarter was by Nat King Cole, "When I Grow to Old to Dream." On Saturdays, I post an original haiku. The haiku that received the most views during the last three months was "Inner Woods" (which was accompanied by a painting by e.e. cummings).

Personal essay is another primary feature on my blog. I try to have a variety of topics ranging from social commentary to spirituality to human interest and literary topics. The most widely read essay this time was "On Spiritual Practice, Poetry, and the Inadequacy of Language." 

After the tragic shooting in Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life Synagogue, I wrote an essay, "Standing with Friends in Synagogue," in which I recounted my visit to The Great Synagogue in Florence, Italy. 

One of my posts from 2012 always gets renewed interest each winter, "Winter Solstice and a Poem for the Longest Night." That post features one of my poems, "To Zarathustra," and I was pleased that once again it was one of the most frequently viewed posts this time.

I re-posted some of my journalistic poems last fall, one of which was "No Time for Weeping," which was an appeal to greater care for the environmental. Then I reworked one of my previous posts on Hildegard of Bingen which I titled, "The Feminine Voice for a Pivotal Age," and was pleased that it was one of my more popular posts.  

A Place of Gratitude is another re-post that I thought would be a good way to begin the new year. It turned out to be another one of my most frequently viewed post for the entire quarter.

In connection with Martin Luther King Day observance, I found a video with King's "I Have a Dream speech." I shared that 17-minute video because I felt that it was important to take the time to listen to the entire speech at this time when we find ourselves hoping for some glimpses of the better angels of our nature.

Last month I included a book review.  Bluebird, Bluebird, by Attica Locke, is a suspenseful page-turner of a novel.  A great story with fully developed characters, but more than that, the writing is sheer beauty.

Thanks to all readers, followers, and visitors to this blog site. I hope you will continue to stop to peruse my offerings each week!

The Wayward Way: A Book Review

The Wayward Way: The Power in Wilderness Journeys

New Hope Publishers

By Taylor Field

My friend Taylor Field, director of Graffiti Church and Community Ministries, sent me a copy of his latest book, The Wayward Way.  I was glad to receive it, having enjoyed his previous books including Mercy Streets, and Upside Down Devotion.  I am also glad to offer a brief review of Taylor’s latest book.

The New Hope Publishers promotional site for the book states:

Written primarily for pastors and ministry leaders in seasons of transition, The Wayward Way is the thirst-quenching encouragement needed for those longing to find their way back to purpose in the ministry. The relevant examples of wandering aimlessly in ministry, coupled with biblical principles and personal insights, offer inspiration to view the transitional seasons of ministry as opportunities for exploration. It’s time to find your way out of the wilderness and embrace the purposes God has for those called to ministry.

For my part, I found Taylor Field’s latest publication to be a helpful book for anyone who has experienced some rough patches along their life journey. “Wilderness” is a biblical term that harks back to Moses and the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. It also evokes the time when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness.  The term has often been used down through the years to describe those dry periods in our lives, those times when the energy and excitement are gone and we seem to be plodding through a barren wasteland.

Field offers insight into navigating those “wilderness journeys,” that are sometimes chosen, but more often are thrust upon us when life takes an unexpected turn.  He draws from over 30 years of ministry on the streets of New York City for insights on how to find spiritual strength, courage and guidance from our personal wilderness encounters.   

Each chapter is grounded in a biblical story that speaks to some plight that is all too familiar in our own lives. Rejection, fear, humiliation, neglect, betrayal, and loss are all things that can put us into a tailspin, or send us on a wilderness journey where we can emerge with a new outlook on life. In addition to scripture, the author draws from the wisdom of poets, philosophers, artists, psychologists, and other writers.

With a down-to-earth writing style and presented in  a very accessible format, Taylor Field has given us a guide in The Wayward Way that will be useful for anyone seeking advice for authentic living. His writing is refreshingly honest as he presents a real-world spirituality. Since he speaks from years of ministry on the streets of New York, rather than simply offering nice platitudes, he demonstrates a lived wisdom that only comes by trial and grace.

“Takeaways” listed at the end of each chapter and a section with discussion questions given at the end of the book will make this a useful volume for group study as well as for any individual who is interested in discerning God’s guidance in their personal journey.

Details:  

The Wayward Way

New Hope Publishers, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-62591-538-2

Format: Paperback

Language: English

Size: 6 x 9 Inches

Page Count: 176

Publisher’s purchasing information at https://www.newhopepublishers.com/shop/the-wayward-way/ 

Also available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wayward-Way-Power-Wilderness-Journeys/dp/1625915381

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Pilgrimage: A Book and a Movie

A Trip to the Library Turned my Mind Toward Sacred Pilgrimages

Some time last year, I found a book at our local library’s book sale that looked interesting. Sacred Roads: Adventures from the Pilgrimage Trail, by Nicholas Shrady is the author’s account of walking six different sacred pilgrimage sites. The pilgrimages include a hike to the source of the river Ganges, a trip to Medjugorje at Christmastime, a visit to the birthplace of the Buddha, a walk along the Way of St. James in Spain, and a journey to Rumi’s tomb in Iran. I kept the book on the shelf for many months until I decided that the time had come to read it. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and it was a perfect fit for my nighttime reading.

Sacred Roads is not devotional literature. It is more of a kind of travelogue that is highly respectful of each of the sacred roads the author travels, yet realistic in its accounts. The chapter titles give the reader a quick understanding of where the author is going:

Chapter One: A Christmas with the Virgin in Bosnia

Chapter Two: Meeting Mother Ganges

Chapter Three: In the Footsteps of the Buddha

Chapter Four: The Way of St. James

Chapter Five: A Sometimes Holy Land

Chapter Six: To Rumi’s Tomb

Before I began the book, I was particularly interested in two chapters listed in the table of contents: “In the Footsteps of the Buddha,” and “To Rumi’s Tomb.”  In spite of the personal interests I brought with me to the book, I found that the chapters I enjoyed the most were the one describing the author’s trip down the Ganges (Chapter Two), and the one on The Way of St. James (Chapter Four).

While reading Nicholas Shrady’s account of the temple full of lights at Varanasi, India’s religious capitol, I had to search online for pictures. The same thing happened in my reading about the Way of St. James. I found myself seeking out images of the Cathedral in Leon and the one in Santiago de Compostela where, according to legend, the bones of St. James are interred. 

Every chapter was fascinating. Shrady's accounts of his adventures peaked my interest with each journey. I was enthralled by the trek down the Ganges River, and later I was completely engaged in the pilgrimage through Spain along the Way of St. James. These were unexpected joys, which always makes for a memorable reading encounter.

El Camino de Santiago

I had very little previous knowledge of the Way of St. James (El Camino de Santiago) prior to reading Shrady's book. In addition to seeking out images online, I recalled having read about the movie, The Way, directed by Emilio Estevez and starring his father, Martin Sheen along with Estevez. I remembered at the time being interested in this father/son cinematic project. After I finished Shrady’s book, I looked for the movie. I happened to find it online on YouTube. It is a Spanish release, so the credits are in Spanish, but the dialogue is in English.     

The Way, is about a successful American doctor (played by Martin Sheen) who learns that his son (played by Sheen’s real life son, Emilio Estevez) has died in an accident while hiking in the French Pyrenees Mountains on the first leg of the journey along the Way of St. James. 

At the beginning of the movie, we learn through flash backs about the father’s strained relationship with his son. The father, who at first planned only to fly to France in order to bring his son’s body home, decides instead to finish the trip that his son started.

As the movie unfolds, we meet others who are on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. A few of those travelers band together and travel along the pilgrimage route with Martin Sheen’s character. We learn that The Way of St. James has been walked by pilgrims for over a thousand years. We also see some of the reasons that modern day pilgrims make the journey, and we get a glimpse of the local people encountered along the way.    

The Way, like Sacred Roads, is not intended to be devotional and would not be a “religious” movie, per se, though it is set in the context of a religious pilgrimage. It is, however, a spiritual movie in that we see a man begin to open up to what his son must have been about, and begin to see some important things about life that he has walled himself off from in his life as a successful doctor.

I recommend The Way for its beautiful photography, its explanation to viewers about the Way of St. James, and most important, for its engaging story with several underlying plot lines involving the travelers who have come together in their pilgrimage (one reviewer on Amazon.com called it a delightful modern day Canterbury Tales). 

For anyone interested in the idea of religious pilgrimage but not religious propaganda, I can recommend Shrady's book as well as Estevez's movie. Shrady provides us with the fascinating details of pilgrimage in different faith traditions. Estevez shows us the meaningful human drama that takes place when people make connections and open up to themselves and the lives of those around them.

Details:

Sacred Roads: Adventures from the Pilgrimage Trail, by Nicholas Shrady

Hardcover, 268 pages

Published April 1st 1999 by HarperOne

ISBN 0060671122 (ISBN13: 9780060671129)

The Way

PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)

Release date: October 7, 2011 (USA)

Director: Emilio Estevez

Screenplay: Emilio Estevez

Executive producers: Janet Sheen, Julio Fernández

Producers: Emilio Estevez, David Alexanian, Julio Fernández

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Is That You Coolidge? A Book Review

I did a series of posts a couple of years ago that I called “Friends Writing Good Books.”  Today I have another entry to make with a book by my long-time friend from college days, Mark Sims. Is that You, Coolidge? is Mark Sims’ memoir recalling the life of his father, Calvin Coolidge Sims. 

In the foreword by former Alabama Governor Bob Riley, who hails from the Sims’ hometown of Ashland, the Governor says that this book might be used as a primer for parents seeking to raise their children with love and solid values. The book indeed works on many levels.

Great Storytelling

Mark Sims is a master storyteller. As he relates the many stories of life in the small town of Ashland, Alabama, he skillfully sets the stage to bring the reader fully in to that world. He readily evokes interest, along with laughter and tears, as he tells of the life of his father and his own experiences growing up in the 1960s.

Oral History

Coolidge also serves as an oral history from an important time and place in our culture. In reading this memoir, one will find first hand accounts of what it was like to be part of that generation of young men (and women) called to serve their country in one of history’s greatest hours of need. Hundreds of thousands of young men were called to service in response to Hitler’s rise and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Sims was able to record in his father’s own words what it was like as a young soldier to advance with the troops onto Normandy Beach, and what it was like to come back home after all the cheering had faded.

The memoir also lets us see what life was like navigating the Great Depression years in rural and small town America. We get to watch as Coolidge Sims makes that transition that made his generation unique: moving from simpler days in the rural South to seek an education and enter professional life (Coolidge Sims was a pharmacist). We also get a first-hand account in the author’s words of the uncertain days of the civil rights struggle as schools and churches were confronted with social change.

What some may not realize today is that small towns were once where most of the action took place. Most families, businesses, schools, and social activities in this country were centered in small towns. Coolidge allows us to see the vitality of small town American life during its heyday – before the suburbs swelled and before so many manufacturing industries moved their enterprises elsewhere.

Family Life

In some ways, Coolidge is like a family album (yes, there are even family photos), but Sims tells the story of Coolidge and his family in a way that many will relate to and can take delight in reading. The life stories include all the joy, sadness, and tragedy that accompany any life fully lived. The author is especially effective in his unfolding of themes such as father/son conflicts, family dynamics, and close friendships. We get to watch as adult children respond as they learn how to care for their elderly and ailing parent. We listen in, as it were, as new insights arise as Sims comes to see his father in a new light.  

Real Life Wisdom

There is a lot of lived wisdom in Coolidge. In one memorable passage, Mark Sims comments to his father that he has kept his upbeat attitude even in his increasing illness. Coolidge’s response is one that I highlighted as I read it.

Son, I’m sure you know the Bible says there’s a time for everything – a time to laugh and a time to cry. Believe me, I’ve had my fair share of crying. I’ve lost both of my parents, my brother, and both of my sisters. And losing your mother was the saddest thing I’ve ever experienced. It was hard to shake it off, and in a sense, I’ll never get over it. And I never want to because she was always part of my life. But I’ve learned that the only way to cope with sadness is to let laughter overtake it now and then. There’s always something you can laugh about. If not in the present, then at least you can go back in your memories and laugh again and again at the things that brought you happiness in times past. You can choose to revisit past sadness or past joys. They’re all still in there, waiting to be remembered.

By way of disclaimer and full disclosure, I mentioned at the beginning that Mark Sims is a good friend. He is also an associate pastor at Kingwood Church in Alabaster, Alabama. He has given us a great gift by sharing the story of his father. The gift, I am sure, is even more important for his family and for those who knew Coolidge Sims, but it is story that any reader will benefit from.

Mark Sims is also author of Call It Incredible, about the remarkable life and ministry of his mentor, Ron Cox.

Book Details:

Paperback: 323 pages

Publisher: Rocky Heights; First edition (October 16, 2017)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1937908690

ISBN-13: 978-1937908690

Package Dimensions: 9 x 5 x 2 inches

Is That You Coolidge? Is available on Amazon.

  

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Book Review: Mockingbird Songs

  Treasures in Earthen Vessels

A Review of Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee

Reading Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee, by southern historian Wayne Flynt, is a sheer delight. There is so much of a “Southern feel” about it that it gives me a greater appreciation for my own Alabama roots. Moreover, it provides a truly endearing image of Nelle Lee both in her own written correspondence and in the author’s reflections upon their friendship. Wayne Flynt’s work will give readers a better understanding of the world of Harper Lee from which her celebrated novel arose. A lady emerges from these pages who is quintessentially southern while forever chaffing at the confines of her South Alabama hometown.

Of course, the backdrop of any discussion of Harper Lee is her influential novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Having been translated into so many languages and made required reading in schools throughout the world, Ms. Lee’s impact upon our thinking and our living is without question.

Truman Capote, Harper Lee’s cousin, makes a “cameo appearance” in Mockingbird Songs as Dr. Flynt relates some of their conversations. Those conversations reminded me of a wonderful experience I had years ago. I went to a dramatic reading of “A Christmas Memory” at the Birmingham Unitarian Church. I had seen the film production with Geraldine Page on television, but hearing his words read aloud by just a few people that Sunday morning was incredibly moving. I had known of Capote primarily as that eccentric fellow who appeared now and then on TV talk shows. That morning, however, there were tears throughout the congregation. My thought at the time was that it is remarkable that such an odd little man could make me feel so good about growing up in Alabama. Maybe that is just another way of saying with St. Paul that “we hold this treasure in earthen vessels.”

Perhaps that is part of what Atticus Finch reminded us of as well, that we hold this treasure in earthen vessels. I was glad that Wayne Flynt included in his book the eulogy he delivered for Harper Lee at her funeral, “Atticus’s Vision of Ourselves.” It had been a speech that Dr. Flynt presented in 2006 when Harper Lee was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Birmingham Pledge Foundation. She told him at the time that she wanted him to give that same speech at her funeral.  “Atticus’ Vision of Ourselves” is certainly an important word for all of us, and needed now as much as any time before.

Mockingbird Songs is a loving “filling in of the blanks” of Nelle Harper Lee’s life, which we could not otherwise have known. 

Book Details:

Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee

Author: Wayne Flint

Publisher: Harper, May 2, 2017

Hardcover 240 pages

ISBN: 0062660101
List Price: $25.99

 

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Friends Writing Good Books: Taylor Field

Taylor Field
on the streets of New York

I met Taylor Field back in 1981 when we were both teaching at Hong Kong Baptist College (now Hong Kong Baptist University). He was in the Religion Department, and I was in the English Department. We were both in a two-year volunteer program called the Journeyman Program with the International Mission board of the SBC. Taylor took a very active role, both in the classroom and out, in guiding the young students as they prepared to launch out into their world to find meaningful careers.

Taylor has always been strong in academics as well as action. He came to Hong Kong after having received his master's degree from Princeton and having experience ministering in the inner city of New York. After leaving Hong Kong, he earned a Ph.D and went on to direct Graffiti Ministries in New York City's Lower East Side. His latest book, Upside Down Devotion, has a lot to do with action as well as contemplation. In fact, the subtitle of the book is, Extreme Action for a Remarkable God.

Here is the review I fist posted in June of 2014:

Taylor Field's Upside Down Devotion

Taylor Field has been ministering in New York City’s Lower East Side for almost 30 years at Graffiti Church. In his new book, Upside Down Devotion: Extreme Action for a Remarkable God, he brings a wealth of insight for anyone involved in any of the helping professions. This small volume is a delight to read, and in those pages, Taylor Field moves seamlessly back and forth from insights learned on the streets to insights from literary authors, philosophers, and biblical narratives. He handles the heart of a New Testament passage with just as much insight as he has for the heart of a marginalized person living on the streets. He speaks with straightforward wisdom that will be immediately accessible to readers from all walks of life.

Upside Down Devotion is not the first book authored by Taylor Field. He has written about his work in New York City in A Church Called Graffiti: Finding Grace on the Lower East Side (2001), and Mercy Streets: Seeing Grace on the Streets of New York (2003). Taylor Field has the education and the credentials to be a university professor or an uptown pastor, yet he has chosen to take his learning and his ministry to the inner city streets. In the interest of full disclosure, one reason I know about Taylor’s background and credentials is that we became friends back in 1981 when we were both teaching in Hong Kong. I came to know him as a man of great integrity and strong intellect as well as having a heart for service, and we have kept in touch through the years. It was indeed a pleasure to read this latest work of his and I was glad to be invited to review it.

Taylor Field brings a unique perspective to bear that measures success and effectiveness differently from what one usually sees in the many “how to” guides on the market today. It is from that vantage point of faith and ministry that he began his “Upside Down” series, beginning with Upside Down Leadership: Rethinking Influence and Success in 2012 and now with his latest, Upside Down Devotion. I would definitely put Upside Down Devotion on the list of inspirational books. It is one that those who are working with relief agencies, church ministries, or in social work will find inspiring and encouraging. It is also a book that will bring inspiration and enlightenment to anyone interested in deepening his or her own spiritual life. Taylor Field brings authenticity and balance to his presentation of spirituality and social outreach.

Drawing from the Old Testament prophets, Field shines a light on the true nature of worship and devotion. If a Sunday church service ever seems stale, boring, or out of touch to you, you might be surprised that it can make God downright sick and disgusted. That is what the Old Testament prophet Amos said, and that is how the first pages of Upside Down Devotion unfold. Throughout the book, the author gently guides the reader to a place of balance, where one’s worship and one’s service can come into alignment to allow for healthy authentic living. By reminding us of the liberating words found the words and actions of Jesus, and by sharing his own stories of service to people dealing with issues ranging from addiction to mental illness and homelessness, Taylor Field demonstrates the value of living according to principles. By sharing insights from such writers as Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Soren Kierkegaard, he shows us how to live a genuine life that may seem “upside down” to some but meaningful to the one who seeks to practice faith in the real world.   

Upside Down Devotion is a book that offers practical advice to inner city ministries, social workers, relief agencies, and church mission projects (check out the appendix for a handy “Short list of Community Ministry Rules” drawn from the author’s own experiences). It can be a valuable source of inspiration for individuals wanting to live out their faith by giving something back to the community. It is not everyday that one finds a book that brings scholarship and spirituality to the street level where it can be applied to daily life. Upside Down Devotion: Extreme Action for a Remarkable God is such a book.

Book Details:
Upside Down Devotion: Extreme Action for a Remarkable God

Author: Taylor Field

Paperback: 192 pages

Publisher: New Hope Publishers (April 7, 2014)

ISBN-10: 159669405X

ISBN-13: 978-1596694057
For more information, go to: http://www.newhopedigital.com/2014/02/upside-down-devotion/

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Friends Writing Good Books: David Brazzeal

David Brazzeal
(photo from author's website)

Continuing my series highlighting friends who have written books, today's feature comes from my friend and former college classmate, David Brazzeal. David and his wife, Sanan, are currently missionaries in France. I say "missionary," because he is commissioned by the International Mission Board of the SBC, but he is more like an ambassador for the arts, having a unique outreach to the artistic community.

David's book is Pray Like a Gourmet: Creative Ways to Feed Your Soul. His writing, though easy to follow, reflects a deeper authenticity than one typically finds in popular spiritual/self-help writing. The note about the author on his book cover states, "his work is inspired by the synergy that exists between the spiritual and the creative. He loves nudging those who are creative toward deeper spirituality and those who are spiritual toward heightened creativity."

The following is my review of his book which was originally posted in April of 2015. You can also follow David's blog at http://davidbrazzeal.com/.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have known David Brazzeal, the author of Pray Like a Gourmet, since we were freshmen in college. I have also followed along on his blogsite of the same name and have participated in some of the activities and dialogue on that site. Also, it was my privilege to attend one of his prayer workshops (which he calls “prayer tastings”) where he elaborated upon his concepts of prayer. The workshop was done in the context of a shared meal to emphasize the “gourmet” aspects of his approach to prayer. In addition to food and instruction, there was music, interactive participation, and periods of quiet meditation. When David asked me to review his book, I was happy to do so and he sent me an advance copy to review. That being said, I must also say that Pray Like a Gourmet is one of the most complete and accessible volumes on prayer that I have read.

David Brazzeal shares some of
his "prayer recipes"

Beautifully illustrated, the book is organized in an intuitive manner that would make the book a wonderful guide for small group study or for individual practice. What struck me is how the author expands the notion of prayer and offers the reader a prayer guide that is borne out of his own deep longing for a more real and meaningful connection with God.

Just as a good meal will offer a full range to the palate from light to heavy,  from savory to sweet, Pray Like a Gourmet encourages the reader to experience a wide range of prayer practices. Brazzeal offers a number of “prayer recipes” from his own experiences. He describes many simple prayer activities designed to help one break out of his or her prayer-time rut. Throughout the process, the author encourages the reader to live with gratitude and to take note of the world in which we live. One example is his “Slice of life” prayer practice:

Take just one “slice” of your life—focus on a moment of transition, of confusion, of illness, of inspiration, of transcendence. Then begin to “thank” your way through all the details: the people, the events, the decisions involved at that crucial time. Feel free to express your gratitude however you feel at the moment: say it, sing it, draw it, write it, walk it, or eat it . . . the more variety, the better (and the more interesting).

Brazzeal advocates a number of different ways to practice prayer and meditation such as walking through the park and taking note of the people you see, doing a “museum meditation” at the local museum of art, or a “forest walk” to nurture a sense of wonder, praise, and gratitude.

A "prayer tasting" workshop led by the author of Pray Like a Gourmet

A quick glance at the Table of Contents will show the reader something of the range of prayer practices that the author presents: praising, thanking, confessing, blessing, observing, meditating, asking, interceding, etc. He even includes an important section on lamenting. Here the author very skillfully guides the reader in how to bring our sorrows and losses before God. The lament is a form of prayer we can find in scripture, but it is often not covered in your typical religious instruction.  It is certainly not addressed enough within the context of prayer and it is one more indication of the book’s authenticity – that it is not just the “nice and lovely” that we include in our prayers to God. Moreover, as the author points out very early on in the book, prayer is not just a matter of asking for things.

Having been to one of David Brazzeal’s Prayer Tastings, and now having read his book, I can heartily recommend Pray Like a Gourmet for individual or group study. The book also comes highly recommended by others who have previewed it, such as this quote from Brian McLaren: 

If I were a beginning cook, I would want a guide who was experienced, flexible, enthusiastic, and sensitive to the questions and insecurities of an absolute beginner. And if I were a beginner in prayer, I would want David Brazzeal to be my teacher. Even as someone who has prayed for most of my life, I found PRAY LIKE A GOURMET to be nourishing, delicious, and delightful.  

Details: 

  Author: David Brazzeal

  Paperback: 192 pages

  Publisher: Paraclete Press (April 28, 2015)

  Language: English

  Price: $18.99

  ISBN-10: 1612616275

  ISBN-13: 978-1612616278

  Product Dimensions: 7 x 8.5 inches

About the Author

David and his wife, Sanan

David Brazzeal makes his home in France where he enjoys warm baguettes from the boulangerie and fresh cheese from the marché. Since 1986 alongside his wife Sanan, David has worked with the International Mission Board in Brazil, Guadeloupe, Québec and France, playing a leading role in five innovative new churches. Whether writing poetry, creating guerrilla labyrinths, or electro-meditative music, his work is inspired by the synergy that exists between the spiritual and the creative. He loves nudging those who are creative toward deeper spirituality and those who are spiritual toward heightened creativity.

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Friends Writing Good Books: Chervis Isom

Chervis Isom
(Photo from author's website)

I met Chervis Isom one summer a few years back at the Alabama Writers' Conclave. We struck up a friendship and had some nice discussions in between conference sessions. Since that time we have met periodically for lively discussions about writing, living in the South, and life in general. His book, The Newspaper Boy, came out in 2014, and I wrote a review in July of that year. It is a story about “Coming of age in Birmingham, Alabama during the civil rights era.”  I found the book to be engaging, informative, and instructive on many levels.

I mentioned in my review that  "I learned important details about how local government was structured, and how speeches by a rabble-rousing Ace Carter of the White Citizens Council revved up the populace in an attempt to preserve segregation." In fact, when Donald Trump was first gaining momentum in the presidential race, I immediately saw some similarities between his campaign and Ace Carter's demagoguery in Birmingham during the 1950s. I contacted Cheris for his input and observations on today's political climate and wrote about that in another blog post earlier this year.

Here is the review I shared in July of 2014:

 

The Newspaper Boy: A Memoir that Looks into the Heart of a City 

 

I just finished reading a very important book. The Newspaper Boy, by Chervis Isom, is a well-written and entertaining memoir, subtitled, “Coming of age in Birmingham, Alabama during the civil rights era.” I first met Chervis a few years ago at the Alabama Writers’ Conclave and have always enjoyed my conversations with him. When news of his book came out, I was eager to get a copy.

The Newspaper Boy is fascinating on several different levels. It is delightful and engaging as a story about a boy growing up in a working class family, going to school, discovering girls, and getting his first job delivering papers. It is also an important first-hand account of an historical time in the city of Birmingham. I have written before on this blog about civil rights and growing up in the Deep South under the apartheid of racial segregation, but in reading Chervis Isom’s memoir, I gained a much clearer picture of what was happening in Birmingham during those days leading up to the civil rights movement. I learned important details about how local government was structured, and how speeches by a rabble-rousing Ace Carter of the White Citizens Council revved up the populace in an attempt to preserve segregation. I also learned about the important work of some open-minded civic leaders such as David Vann and Abraham Berkowitz.

It was inspiring for me to read about how an ordinary young fellow growing up in a society steeped in racism began to question a way of life that had once been accepted without question. It is a story about being able to listen to another point of view and thereby beginning a slow process of change. It is a story about how a liberal arts education can propel a young college student to approach life with a much broader view. It is a story about quietly finding liberation from the shackles of cultural ignorance.

For more information about this important book, you can visit the author’s website for The Newspaper Boy at http://www.thenewspaperboy.net . To read a very fine interview with the author in Weld, go here. For another review of the book, go here. The Newspaper Boy is a thoughtful reflection of a life lived during times of change. It is also a book that is important for our time as we face new hopes and challenges for building a city that works for the benefit of all.

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Matthew Fox, Etc.

Taking another look at Matthew Fox’s Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised and Updated)

  

“I arise each morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. That makes it hard to plan the day.”

                                                                                          ~ E. B. White

It is a privilege for me to have been invited to write a review of Matthew Fox’s Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest. I received an advance copy of the book in order to take part in the “the blog tour.” I am actually reading it for the second time since Confessions was first published in 1996, three years after his conflict with the Vatican had led to his expulsion from the Dominican Order. At that time, he had recently found a place to continue his work when he was received as a priest in the Episcopal Church. Now, almost twenty years later, we have a revised and updated version of his autobiography so we can see how his life has unfolded since, and learn anew of the lad from Madison, Wisconsin whose formation as a Dominican priest set him on a life-long and vibrant spiritual quest.

I discovered Matthew Fox by sheer serendipity shortly before he became all the rage with Original Blessing. I had just returned from a two-year stint as a Baptist Missionary teaching English at Hong Kong Baptist College. I had a seminary degree and I was trying to figure out where to go from there. In a used bookshop in Auburn, Alabama, I found a little book titled, On Becoming a Musical Mystical Bear. I was immediately fascinated because I had been nurturing an interest in mysticism and was finding very little interest in the topic among my Baptist colleagues. Evelyn Underhill (Anglican), Rufus Jones (Quaker), and Thomas Merton (Catholic) had been among my chosen sources in spirituality and spiritual practice.

When I read that volume by Matthew Fox, I realized I had found a true kindred spirit. He was talking about bringing together the prophetic voice and the mystical experience, with some exciting concepts on prayer, action and devotion. He was bringing meaning to the spiritual life and giving voice to some of the very concerns that I had been trying to foster myself.

The following year, I found my way to the Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama and began to hear talk about an exciting new book, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality, by that same Matthew Fox I had already happily discovered. Those were energetic days, and I was glad to see so many people turning to Original Blessing to gain new insight on what a life of faith can entail.  

A Prolific Writing Life

Since those days, Matthew Fox has been quite prolific in his writings, with some 30 books to his credit. Bringing the depth and discipline of an academic, he writes in a conversational style that makes ancient wisdom readily accessible. Moreover, he brings that wisdom to bear in new concepts and paradigms for a meaningful spiritual life. I have been greatly encouraged as I have followed him by way of his writings. In his groundbreaking Original Blessing, I found affirmation in my own pilgrimage as well as new guidance with the four paths of his creation-centered paradigm for spiritual practice. Later, I welcomed his work on The Coming of the Cosmic Christ. I had been enthralled years earlier as I read Pierre Tielhard De Chardin’s The Divine Milieu and was equally excited about Fox’s presentation of a concept that had been sorely lacking in religious discussions. 

While Teilhard's work had given me great hope with his concept of the “Christofication of the universe” (something mysteriously taking place now and will fully come together in the future), Fox's view of the Cosmic Christ was transformative in the here and now. He drew upon the mystics as well as upon Pauline epistles to call us to social action, compassion for the earth, and deep ecumenism. In addition, his continued writings on Meister Eckhart and Hildegard of Bingen have offered a refreshing infusion of spirituality from the mystics of the church.

Pushing the Boundaries

Matthew Fox (photo from his web page)

Matthew Fox has made it his business to push the boundaries, and as a result, I found my own world becoming more expansive. His views on “deep ecumenism” were wondrously challenging. I told a friend at the time, “Matthew Fox is the only person I have read who is more ecumenical than I am!”  It was that challenge of deep ecumenism that enabled me to grow to an even greater appreciation of all faith expressions. 

A Remarkable Mentor

In Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest, Matthew Fox shares with us the events and experiences from which his ideas arose and unfolded. For example, we are introduced to Père Chenu, priest, theologian and mentor to Fox at Institut Catholique de Paris where he did his doctoral studies. Chenu must have been quite a remarkable scholar. He articulated for Fox the two streams of theological thought: Fall/Redemption vs. Creation-centered spirituality and thus lit a fire that has not gone out.  Chenu also articulated the concept of liberation theology to a young priest from Latin America, Gustavo Gutierrez who was also studying at ICP, thus lighting another revolutionary fire within the church. Fr. Père Chenu is therefore regarded as the grandfather of both Liberation Theology and Creation Spirituality.

When Institutions Fail

One thing that becomes evident in Matthew Fox’s story is that while institutions can bring us great benefit, they can also be places of sorrow, pain, and conflict – whether it is the Vatican in the 1980s with Cardinal Rattzinger’s theological police and henchmen, or Fox’s own later attempts to establish a school for Creation Spirituality. Surely part of the problem is that we have not figured out how an institution is supposed to work in the 21^st century. The institutions that we have grown up with in the U.S. – religious, educational, economic and political – had their formation during the Industrial Revolution. They are all slowly dying. My own view is that we have not yet found the institutional structures that can serve us in the 21^st century world. Until those structures coalesce, we will continue to see many starts and stops along the way. The good news is that the fire that Matthew Fox has ignited in his writings has a vitality that cannot be contained by established institutions. Where current institutional models fail, the ideas continue to thrive.

 Improve the World, Enjoy the World

I began this essay with a quote from noted children’s author, E.B. White: “I arise each morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. That makes it hard to plan the day.” I first heard that quote a few years ago when it was cited by Garrison Keillor on The Writer's Almanac.  It has become one of my favorites because it captures the place we often find ourselves. We live in a beautiful world to be enjoyed, and we also live in a world that is broken and in need of repair. I often call these words to mind because they reflect my own struggle to balance the enjoyment of the world with the need to set about repairing the world.

On the one hand, I wondered if Matthew Fox had this same struggle. Judging from his writings, he lunges full-throttle at both notions simultaneously to enjoy creation while working tirelessly to repair the brokenness of the world. On the other hand, in looking back at that first book of his that I read, On Becoming a Musical Mystical Bear,  I was astounded to find a sentence I had underlined on page 73 that sounds very much like E.B. White's observation: “A tension in our life-response asserts itself in the dispute between our desire to enjoy life and our drive to improve it...” I was astounded because I underlined that sentence by Matthew Fox more than 25 years before discovering the quote by E. B. White. In each case, I found a resonance with the concept. 

Perhaps it is that blend of the mystic and the prophetic that Fox has exhibited from the outset that allows him to enjoy the world even as he tries to improve it. In that early work, Fox describes the concept of our our desire to enjoy life and our drive to improve it as a “dialectic [of] rooting [and] uprooting that is the arena of an adult spiritual life.” Indeed, one can read in Confessions about that calling to an adult spiritual life. Moreover, Matthew Fox seeks to call us all to an adult spiritual life that will celebrate the mystery of creation, respect other voices, and work to mend the world.

No Turning Back

Toward the end of Confessions, Fox has some guardedly hopeful comments about Pope Francis. He said that he has been asked if he might return to the Roman Catholic Church now that Francis is bringing his refreshing message of justice and compassion. Fox admits that having been nurtured for the first 54 years of his life in the church and having served as a Dominican priest for 34 years, there is much that he never really left. It will always be a part of him. Having gratitude, however, for how his world has expanded, he apparently has no thoughts of turning back. He finds agreement with contemporary sociologist Walter Truett Anderson who, in writing about our postmodern times, “makes the point that today we all belong to so many communities at once that we should write ‘etc.’ after our names.” 

And so it shall be. The autobiography has been expanded, but life continues on beyond the printed page. If you have never read anything by Matthew Fox, Confessions is a great place to start. If you are already familiar with his writings, you will certainly find this updated and revised autobiography to be both inspiring and informative.

  

                           ~ Charles Kinnaird, RN, M.Div., MSN, Etc.

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