I realize I said I'd do a book list once a week. However, this week was further proof that in DC, every evening can be filled up with some sort of occasion, which made for little time and less reading. However, I did manage to add a book to the list, and I'm almost finished with it!
1) "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Henri Nouwen. I was hoping to be finished with this by now, but this is not the type of book to rush through. Many who have already read the work have told me the last chapter is the best. I'm not sure about that, though hopefully I will mature into the kind of person who may think that way. The first three chapters are about Gospel Comfort, the way that rebel and pharisee alike are called home to the Father's celebration. The final chapters are about the calling to become like the Father, to "be compassionate as your Father is compassionate." This is where comfort gives way to growth, which is always a more difficult aspect of the Christian life. Nouwen himself is forthright about his difficulties here - which is comforting in its own way: The Harvard scholar-priest who forsook further educational glory to minister to the mentally handicapped confesses many inner difficulties with the challenges of Christian transformation. Needless to say, each paragraph has been a bit of a mountain pass, and if I attempted to speed through it, I would fall into flippancy (I envy people who can speed through these things without such consequences).
2) "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. This book is, of course, part of my efforts to catch up on the "classics." As millions already know, "the Catcher in the Rye" is brilliant. I didn't like it at first - getting used to it was like learning to like dry wine. But now it's becoming a fascinating portrait of Holden Caufield. It's the kind of book I need to savor and think about, so it's slow going. Metro rides to work aren't cutting it.
3) "Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume VI." Nothing new to report here - this is mostly weekend reading.
4) "A Severe Mercy," by Sheldon Vanaunken. I'm moving into the sadder parts. Vanauken seems more real to me in his struggles than in his triumphs.
5) "Gemeinsam Leben" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This is "Life Together" in the original German. I still need that Saturday dedicated to reading it.
6) "Mit Liedern Beten" by Albert Frey.
7) "In the Presence of Fear" by Wendell Berry. I've heard of him, haven't read him. Challenging and thought-provoking economic ideas that deserve their own blog.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Pan's Labyrinth
"Men talked of their deaths and of pain, but they dared not speak of the promise of eternal life."
As the credits rolled, no one moved to the exits. The handful of us who had forgone March Madness basketball for an artsy film sat in the dark in a reverence that transcended mere thoughtfulness. "Pan's Labyrinth" is a beautiful film, not as a sunset is beautiful, but as a Van Gogh painting is beautiful, touching dark parts of the soul that want to be both left alone and expressed.
I know a lot of people who didn't like the film, and there was part of me that didn't want to (and part of me that really wanted to for completely shallow reasons). It's a fairly tale that is not for children, yet it's a child's perspective on the brutality of war. Like Alice and Lucy, the protagonist, a young girl named Ophelia, visits a mystical, fantasy land. But this land is much darker, often literally not just in but of earth, haunted by giant toads and fearsome, child eating trolls. As in Lucy's story, there's a fawn, but this fawn is not fuzzy or huggable. He looks made of the earth, wooden in parts, as if his knees should have leaves shooting out of them. His personality and mood seem to shift every time she sees him - giddy, condescending, spiteful, mirthful, fierce. He is repelling and inviting. He can't be grasped, controlled or predicted. He tells her she is the reincarnation of an underworld princess who must complete three tasks to return to her father. None of these tasks are particularly sanitized.
This fantasy world lurks behind a reality that is much more grim. She has moved to the country with her mother who is "sick with a baby" (as Ophelia sees it) and her brutal step-father. The step-father is a military captain charged with hounding out some resistance fighters in the residue of the Spanish Civil War. He's hot and cold - relish violence, torture and some sort of honorable death in war - and ranks among the best movie villains.
I can't describe the movie much more than that. Yet, there's a lot more I can say, but I want to blog while the film is more of an un-processed feeling. I have the same feeling now as I did after seeing 'the Godfather" for the first time. It's the feeling that this is a complete piece of cinema that needs nothing added to it. Like the Fawn in the film, it's something you can't completely hold or categorize; it's both repulsive and alluring, both damaging and healing. Part of me may long for a more obviously redemptive film, yet it offers the kind of hope that most of us see in this world - something distant, beautiful and dangerously beyond our own definitions and understandings. See the film, though heed the appropriate warning that it is as brutal as its villain, and they do not hide the violence of war or torture.
To taste the feeling of this film, go to the website at www.panslabyrinth.com and listen to the score. The tune is mysterious, playful, teasing, hopeful, full of fantasy, filled with dreams and incredibly sad. Much like the film itself.
As the credits rolled, no one moved to the exits. The handful of us who had forgone March Madness basketball for an artsy film sat in the dark in a reverence that transcended mere thoughtfulness. "Pan's Labyrinth" is a beautiful film, not as a sunset is beautiful, but as a Van Gogh painting is beautiful, touching dark parts of the soul that want to be both left alone and expressed.
I know a lot of people who didn't like the film, and there was part of me that didn't want to (and part of me that really wanted to for completely shallow reasons). It's a fairly tale that is not for children, yet it's a child's perspective on the brutality of war. Like Alice and Lucy, the protagonist, a young girl named Ophelia, visits a mystical, fantasy land. But this land is much darker, often literally not just in but of earth, haunted by giant toads and fearsome, child eating trolls. As in Lucy's story, there's a fawn, but this fawn is not fuzzy or huggable. He looks made of the earth, wooden in parts, as if his knees should have leaves shooting out of them. His personality and mood seem to shift every time she sees him - giddy, condescending, spiteful, mirthful, fierce. He is repelling and inviting. He can't be grasped, controlled or predicted. He tells her she is the reincarnation of an underworld princess who must complete three tasks to return to her father. None of these tasks are particularly sanitized.
This fantasy world lurks behind a reality that is much more grim. She has moved to the country with her mother who is "sick with a baby" (as Ophelia sees it) and her brutal step-father. The step-father is a military captain charged with hounding out some resistance fighters in the residue of the Spanish Civil War. He's hot and cold - relish violence, torture and some sort of honorable death in war - and ranks among the best movie villains.
I can't describe the movie much more than that. Yet, there's a lot more I can say, but I want to blog while the film is more of an un-processed feeling. I have the same feeling now as I did after seeing 'the Godfather" for the first time. It's the feeling that this is a complete piece of cinema that needs nothing added to it. Like the Fawn in the film, it's something you can't completely hold or categorize; it's both repulsive and alluring, both damaging and healing. Part of me may long for a more obviously redemptive film, yet it offers the kind of hope that most of us see in this world - something distant, beautiful and dangerously beyond our own definitions and understandings. See the film, though heed the appropriate warning that it is as brutal as its villain, and they do not hide the violence of war or torture.
To taste the feeling of this film, go to the website at www.panslabyrinth.com and listen to the score. The tune is mysterious, playful, teasing, hopeful, full of fantasy, filled with dreams and incredibly sad. Much like the film itself.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Righteous Deception?
My pastors are going through a sermon series that is purposefully dis-comforting. They say it's supposed to be that way, being Lent and all. They are speaking on 4-deadly sins to which we Washingtonians (have I been here long enough to call myself that?) are particularly prone. Much of the focus has been on how deadly these sins are, and that has actually been good. They have been painful, but like a massage that digs deep below the surfaces of skin and muscle, they have been a kind of pain that brings healing. Repentance of sin leads to a sincere hope in God.
The first deadly sin was deception. When Dan preached on this, he used FBI Agent Robert Hanssen, who sold secrets to the Soviets more for the thrill of deceiving his peers than for the money. (You probably know that he is the subject of the excellent film, "Breach." Oscar nomination for Chris Cooper! Here, here!) Of course, he preached against more normal examples of deception, such as pretending to work while you're really sending personal emails or playing solitaire.
However, we might agree that not all cases deception are evil. In "Les Miserables," a nun whose defining trait was her sincerity, lied to Javert in order to protect Jean Valjean. She was not on the side of law, in contrast to Javert's pious lawfulness, but rather she showed Valjean mercy, somehow sensing he was a good man (I love the scene. Victor Hugo has a wonderful way of using more words than necessary to describe a single moment, and in umpteen paragraphs, we meet the nun at the point of her moral crisis. The build up is beautiful, and there is no way that we are not going to root for her to save Valjean's bacon).
A less morally ambiguous example: I think anyone who has taken Philosophy 101 has heard the Gestapo example. If you lived in Germany and 1942, and you were hiding your Jewish friends in your basement, it would be morally reprehensible not to try to deceive the Gestapo.
I now turn to the "Time" magazine from a couple weeks ago, which reported from the "front lines" of my country's abortion wars. Much of it centered on a particular Crisis Pregnancy Center (I learned that individual centers in this anti-abortion group are much more independent that I thought they were). It reported that some Crisis Pregnancy Centers engage in some fibbery of their own. The specific example was exaggerating the health risks of abortion based on data a couple decades old. When confronted about this, the woman indicated that transparency in this case was something they really had to think about.
This deception was the hot topic of discussion in the readers' letters a week later. Congressman Carolyn B. Maloney wrote that "while many CPCs are sincere, what I call 'counterfeit pregnancy centers' also exist... deceit and misinformation only serve to inflame both sides and emotionally damage pregnant women exploring their options. I have introduced legislation to crack down on the false advertising related to abortion services, and I hope it is something that can be supported by everyone, regardless of people's positions on abortion."
Maggie Nichols of Deltona, Florida counters, "a Planned Parenthood official (referring to the CPC fibs) quoted in your report stated, 'That's taking someones life and playing a really dangerous game with it.' Whose love does he believe is in danger? It is a significant injustice to pretend that there is only one life at stake in these cases. Pregnancy centers shouldn't misinform women--and neither should abortion providers."
I sympathize with the deception here. The justification seem to be, in order to save this child's life, misinformation is certainly necessary. Certainly scaring a woman out of abortion is a good tactic?
Yet something bugs me about that. At stake here is the moral high ground of the abortion debate, which has not only legislative significance, but significance in the hearts and minds of millions of young people enter the world of free thought. A month ago, I marched in the pro-life parade on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The majority of the marchers seemed to be Catholic youth groups. As I looked at all these children with hope, but not without sadness. I wondered what experience would bring them, how the world might deceive them. When the time came, what choices would they make. Marching is quite easy.
To truly be pro-life is to look after society's orphans and widows. To deceive the "widows" is not like deceiving the Gestapo. Life is at stake in both cases, but one must be embraced while the other must be thwarted.
I applaud the work of the Crisis Pregnancy Centers. The embrace the widows more than anyone else I'm aware of. They buy food and clothes and baby needs for those who cannot afford them. They give them counseling and comfort. They are the true evangelists in both an ancient and post-modern sense of the word I want them to not deceive, acknowledging that I am saying this as someone who is far from the realities at stake here. But there is a more powerful truth on their side. Technology has given them new, better ultrasounds. In the same Letter section, Kathie Thompson of Wilsonville, Oregon writes, "...since win has informed choice become a 'guerrilla' tactic? Abortion providers fear that a mother informed of her child's development will change her mind and decide not to abort. I hope your cover picture (of a woman's hand holding four model fetuses) is sufficiently intriguing to pregnant women that they will investigate, as much as possible, that precious life inside them. Ultrasound is not a 'stealth tactic.' It's a window into the womb that reveals undeniable life."
That is the opposite of deception.
The first deadly sin was deception. When Dan preached on this, he used FBI Agent Robert Hanssen, who sold secrets to the Soviets more for the thrill of deceiving his peers than for the money. (You probably know that he is the subject of the excellent film, "Breach." Oscar nomination for Chris Cooper! Here, here!) Of course, he preached against more normal examples of deception, such as pretending to work while you're really sending personal emails or playing solitaire.
However, we might agree that not all cases deception are evil. In "Les Miserables," a nun whose defining trait was her sincerity, lied to Javert in order to protect Jean Valjean. She was not on the side of law, in contrast to Javert's pious lawfulness, but rather she showed Valjean mercy, somehow sensing he was a good man (I love the scene. Victor Hugo has a wonderful way of using more words than necessary to describe a single moment, and in umpteen paragraphs, we meet the nun at the point of her moral crisis. The build up is beautiful, and there is no way that we are not going to root for her to save Valjean's bacon).
A less morally ambiguous example: I think anyone who has taken Philosophy 101 has heard the Gestapo example. If you lived in Germany and 1942, and you were hiding your Jewish friends in your basement, it would be morally reprehensible not to try to deceive the Gestapo.
I now turn to the "Time" magazine from a couple weeks ago, which reported from the "front lines" of my country's abortion wars. Much of it centered on a particular Crisis Pregnancy Center (I learned that individual centers in this anti-abortion group are much more independent that I thought they were). It reported that some Crisis Pregnancy Centers engage in some fibbery of their own. The specific example was exaggerating the health risks of abortion based on data a couple decades old. When confronted about this, the woman indicated that transparency in this case was something they really had to think about.
This deception was the hot topic of discussion in the readers' letters a week later. Congressman Carolyn B. Maloney wrote that "while many CPCs are sincere, what I call 'counterfeit pregnancy centers' also exist... deceit and misinformation only serve to inflame both sides and emotionally damage pregnant women exploring their options. I have introduced legislation to crack down on the false advertising related to abortion services, and I hope it is something that can be supported by everyone, regardless of people's positions on abortion."
Maggie Nichols of Deltona, Florida counters, "a Planned Parenthood official (referring to the CPC fibs) quoted in your report stated, 'That's taking someones life and playing a really dangerous game with it.' Whose love does he believe is in danger? It is a significant injustice to pretend that there is only one life at stake in these cases. Pregnancy centers shouldn't misinform women--and neither should abortion providers."
I sympathize with the deception here. The justification seem to be, in order to save this child's life, misinformation is certainly necessary. Certainly scaring a woman out of abortion is a good tactic?
Yet something bugs me about that. At stake here is the moral high ground of the abortion debate, which has not only legislative significance, but significance in the hearts and minds of millions of young people enter the world of free thought. A month ago, I marched in the pro-life parade on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The majority of the marchers seemed to be Catholic youth groups. As I looked at all these children with hope, but not without sadness. I wondered what experience would bring them, how the world might deceive them. When the time came, what choices would they make. Marching is quite easy.
To truly be pro-life is to look after society's orphans and widows. To deceive the "widows" is not like deceiving the Gestapo. Life is at stake in both cases, but one must be embraced while the other must be thwarted.
I applaud the work of the Crisis Pregnancy Centers. The embrace the widows more than anyone else I'm aware of. They buy food and clothes and baby needs for those who cannot afford them. They give them counseling and comfort. They are the true evangelists in both an ancient and post-modern sense of the word I want them to not deceive, acknowledging that I am saying this as someone who is far from the realities at stake here. But there is a more powerful truth on their side. Technology has given them new, better ultrasounds. In the same Letter section, Kathie Thompson of Wilsonville, Oregon writes, "...since win has informed choice become a 'guerrilla' tactic? Abortion providers fear that a mother informed of her child's development will change her mind and decide not to abort. I hope your cover picture (of a woman's hand holding four model fetuses) is sufficiently intriguing to pregnant women that they will investigate, as much as possible, that precious life inside them. Ultrasound is not a 'stealth tactic.' It's a window into the womb that reveals undeniable life."
That is the opposite of deception.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Econ Exam
It's time. Friends, tomorrow I finally take the Economics exam for an online class I've been in since the summer. This in a way has been my penance for taking all the fun classes in my International Affairs major without taking the less interesting (from my perspective - I envy people who find finances interesting, because they will definitely make the most of what they got), but incredibly important classes. Long story short, almost any graduate program in International Relations of any kind requires more economics than I took in college. I can brag about my GPA and whip out my paper on the Cyprus Conflict, but I could not tell you at what point, in perfect competition, a firm that ceases to be profitable should shut down.
It's a bit like eating your vegetables. Not nearly as tasty as dessert or satisfying as red meat, but you know it will help you thrive. So much of the world is run on money, whether we like it or not, and those who understand these things have potential to do something good. That's why I'm excited that my friend Cam, who has a degree in Economics and a knack for business, has a vision for helping people in Africa in the areas of sustainable growth. He has an awesome chance of helping them on a real individual and practical level.
Meanwhile, I need to go to bed. I understand some basic points of economics now, and I pray that I can remember the necessary terms (understanding is only as good as your ability to explain and apply it). If you read this and think about it Monday evening, pray for me.
It's a bit like eating your vegetables. Not nearly as tasty as dessert or satisfying as red meat, but you know it will help you thrive. So much of the world is run on money, whether we like it or not, and those who understand these things have potential to do something good. That's why I'm excited that my friend Cam, who has a degree in Economics and a knack for business, has a vision for helping people in Africa in the areas of sustainable growth. He has an awesome chance of helping them on a real individual and practical level.
Meanwhile, I need to go to bed. I understand some basic points of economics now, and I pray that I can remember the necessary terms (understanding is only as good as your ability to explain and apply it). If you read this and think about it Monday evening, pray for me.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Good News for Fussball Fans
Well, for all you German soccer buffs, and I know you're out there, you'll be happy to know that the Bundesliga now offers their official website "auf Englisch." Check out http://www.bundesliga.de/ for details, where I learned, reading the original German, that SC Freiburg's winning streak came to an end. Sigh. When are they going to climb out of the second league?
Not to be outdone, ESPN Soccernet now offers their website "auf Deutsch." It's at http://www.espnsoccernet.de, and it promises to be "more than Michael Ballack."
Not to be outdone, ESPN Soccernet now offers their website "auf Deutsch." It's at http://www.espnsoccernet.de, and it promises to be "more than Michael Ballack."
Friday, March 9, 2007
International Women's Day
Here on the East coast of the USA, International Women's day just ended. Angela (www.hereisangela.com) points out that International Women's day has socialist origins, which is probably why I never heard of it until I moved to Europe. Ironically, a pastor I met who used to work in the former Eastern block told me that a friend of his relies on the holiday to keep his flower shop from going under. Ah, the cold realities of capitalism.
So to my mother, my sisters, Dani and all of you other ladies, happy Women's day! May you be blessed and free.
So to my mother, my sisters, Dani and all of you other ladies, happy Women's day! May you be blessed and free.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Book List
I am a very moody reader. I usually am reading five books at the same time, each of I'll read in fits and spurts. I'm not dogmatic about what books I read, but I am always trying to read at least one book that is spiritually edifying and one book that is more culturally edifying. My favorite books manage to be both (at the moment, my favorite book is "Les Miserables," which I consider to be a 1400 page Gospel presentation. 2nd and 3rd place go to the Russians, with "War and Peace," and "The Brothers Karamazov" close behind them. Three cheers for really long epics!). I also enjoy a book that is more like fast-food or candy - something that I can read quickly without much effort. Books like the "Harry Potter" series or "the Good German" have served this purpose. It's easy to surround myself with Christian inspiration without engaging the world. Amidst so many books that I find rather fluffy (though they encourage many better saints than I), there are some real gems, particularly if you are willing to go back in time. Many of these books are worth reading over and over. However, as a Christian I have a commitment to be in the world as well. That means engaging the art that does not appear to be Christian on the surface. For most people, this is not a problem, and it really shouldn't be a problem. I can find myself involuntarily over-identifying my life with certain characters and certain situation, which becomes rather neurotic (of course, this has been a negative with some Christian books as well). For example, I once heard Terri Gross interview Zadie Smith on NPR's show, "Fresh Air." Smith seemed like an incredibly interesting person. She seemed like someone I would want to have coffee with and learn things from. She was talking about her book, "On Beauty" which I bought and read this Fall. Smith didn't let me down. She is a brilliant writer, and her book was a page turner that made me think deeper about the culture wars, race, family, academics and marriage. However, the book is also incredibly sad and prone to some British-style cynicism, and in certain moods, I found it difficult to disengage myself from either of these emotions. I'm not proud of this, and I recommend the book to anyone who can enjoy art more responsibly. Moreover, I rarely completely flee a book, but I read it, like I read everything, in fits and starts, waiting for the mood to sink in to the point where I could find reality.
All this is in preface to a new feature in my blog, which I hope to update regularly, say... weekly. I want to present a booklist of what I am currently reading. I also want to list some of the kind of books I would like to be reading. My moody reading-style, combined with a busy schedule (full of work, friends, church, roommates and sleep), means that I don't get through books as quickly as I would like to.
So, at the moment I am reading:
1) "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Henri Nouwen. I was impressed by his insight as a minister in "the Wounded Healer," but this book has been one of those books that shows me myself and shows me God. I knew it would become a favorite when I started. I am almost finished.
2) "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. This book is, of course, part of my efforts to catch up on the "classics." As millions already know, "the Catcher in the Rye" is brilliant. I didn't like it at first - getting used to it was like learning to like dry wine. But now it's becoming a fascinating portrait of Holden Caufield. It's the kind of book I need to savor and think about, so it's slow going. Metro rides to work aren't cutting it.
3) "Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume VI." My dad did what every reformed pastor probably has done: bought the entire set of Charles Spurgeon's sermons. I am reading this as part of my weekend devotions, though I read it a lot more before I had a job. It's classic Baptist preaching, it's quite Calvinist, and they almost always point to the Gospel in a new and beautiful way. Of course, it is also a look into the age of Christian past. I warn you that his sermons were preached before the days of political correctness, which is refreshingly uncomfortable.
4) "A Severe Mercy," by Sheldon Vanaunken. Anyone familiar with this book knows a girl recommended it to me. The romanticism in the first chapter was so sticky sweet that it almost made me give up, but it's gotten really good, and there are some great quotes about Christianity, education and life. It's a memoir about his marriage and his faith, and it features his interactions and correspondence with CS Lewis (funny aside: Lewis's name is featured more prominently on the cover than poor Sheldon's). I love how it shows to highly-educated dreamers become Christians, and when he's not overly romantic about certain things, I relate to many parts of his story. It is, of course sad as well.
5) "Gemeinsam Leben" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This is "Life Together" in the original German. I am trying to read it, but being in German means I need to double my concentration (not easy for Mr. Short Attention Span over here). I intend to go to a cafe very soon and spend some focused time on this book. The Metro doesn't cut it here, either. However, his opening chapter about his vision for community and what can endanger community, even in its infancy, has made an impression.
6) "Mit Liedern Beten" by Albert Frey. This is "Praying with Songs," by my favorite worship leader. I wish I could share him with my American friends. He journeys more into the heart of what it means to lead others to worship through song, and I recommend it to anyone who leads worship (and speaks German).
All this is in preface to a new feature in my blog, which I hope to update regularly, say... weekly. I want to present a booklist of what I am currently reading. I also want to list some of the kind of books I would like to be reading. My moody reading-style, combined with a busy schedule (full of work, friends, church, roommates and sleep), means that I don't get through books as quickly as I would like to.
So, at the moment I am reading:
1) "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Henri Nouwen. I was impressed by his insight as a minister in "the Wounded Healer," but this book has been one of those books that shows me myself and shows me God. I knew it would become a favorite when I started. I am almost finished.
2) "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. This book is, of course, part of my efforts to catch up on the "classics." As millions already know, "the Catcher in the Rye" is brilliant. I didn't like it at first - getting used to it was like learning to like dry wine. But now it's becoming a fascinating portrait of Holden Caufield. It's the kind of book I need to savor and think about, so it's slow going. Metro rides to work aren't cutting it.
3) "Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume VI." My dad did what every reformed pastor probably has done: bought the entire set of Charles Spurgeon's sermons. I am reading this as part of my weekend devotions, though I read it a lot more before I had a job. It's classic Baptist preaching, it's quite Calvinist, and they almost always point to the Gospel in a new and beautiful way. Of course, it is also a look into the age of Christian past. I warn you that his sermons were preached before the days of political correctness, which is refreshingly uncomfortable.
4) "A Severe Mercy," by Sheldon Vanaunken. Anyone familiar with this book knows a girl recommended it to me. The romanticism in the first chapter was so sticky sweet that it almost made me give up, but it's gotten really good, and there are some great quotes about Christianity, education and life. It's a memoir about his marriage and his faith, and it features his interactions and correspondence with CS Lewis (funny aside: Lewis's name is featured more prominently on the cover than poor Sheldon's). I love how it shows to highly-educated dreamers become Christians, and when he's not overly romantic about certain things, I relate to many parts of his story. It is, of course sad as well.
5) "Gemeinsam Leben" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This is "Life Together" in the original German. I am trying to read it, but being in German means I need to double my concentration (not easy for Mr. Short Attention Span over here). I intend to go to a cafe very soon and spend some focused time on this book. The Metro doesn't cut it here, either. However, his opening chapter about his vision for community and what can endanger community, even in its infancy, has made an impression.
6) "Mit Liedern Beten" by Albert Frey. This is "Praying with Songs," by my favorite worship leader. I wish I could share him with my American friends. He journeys more into the heart of what it means to lead others to worship through song, and I recommend it to anyone who leads worship (and speaks German).
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