BookPastor >> "Preaching Old Testament Narratives" (Benjamin H. Walton)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on Jan 20th, 2017.

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TITLE: Preaching Old Testament Narratives (Preaching with Excellence)
AUTHOR: Benjamin H. Walton
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2016, (256 pages).

What does it mean to preach with biblical authority? How do we preach in a manner that relates to modern life? What is biblical preaching and expository preaching? This comes from sound exegesis and hermeneutics, followed by an appropriate rhetoric. Beginning with the stories of three pastors trying to preach biblically and with relevance an Old Testament narrative, this book compares the differences between Old and New Testament narratives. We are advised against adopting a "monkey-see-monkey-do" method of interpretation. He teaches us terms like:

• Complete Unit of Thought (CUT)
• Original-Theological Message (OTM)
• Take-Home Truth (THT)

He cautions us from ways of misapplying the Bible: like springboarding; universalizing plot lines; and ways in which we fail to consider properly a CUT; a OTM; and a THT. Walton shows us the way through the following steps:

1. Selecting a CUT
2. Identifying the Theological and Historical contexts
3. Studying the Plot
4. Discovering the OTM
5. Crafting the THT

BookPastor >> "Dr Karyn's Guide to the Teen Years" (Karyn Gordon)

TITLE: Dr Karyns Guide To The Teen Years
AUTHOR: Karyn Gordon
PUBLISHER: Toronto, ON: HarperCollins, 2008, (320 pages).

This is a parenting guide for all interested in connecting with teenagers. Based on her experience with talking to over 200 thousand high school students across Canada, Dr Karyn Gordon has summarized her "inside-out" parenting approach to help us along. She lists the six keys to parenting teens as:

1. Keeping the Big Picture in mind at all times
2. Acknowledging and adjusting our parenting attitudes
3. Understanding and communicating emotions
4. Building our child's self-esteem
5. Communicating effectively
6. Establishing boundaries and providing structure.

First off is the big picture understanding. Key to all of these is the awareness of "inside-out" versus "outside-in" parenting. The latter basically focuses on what is developing inside the teens rather than what they teens are doing outside. This includes observing the reasons why they are doing what they are doing; the motivation; the sensitivity to their feelings; and the readiness to talk. Character development is more important than mere achievements. This means learning to identify positive traits and helping their self-esteem. Communications are important but right communications are even more important. Between authority and influence, teens respect the latter. Learn about the importance of their peers and friends. Choose to connect more than to control. Check to see which of the three kinds of learning they do best. Are they visual or are they more kinesthetic (learning by doing)? Or are they more auditory? Learn to focus more on learning styles and understanding their relationships.

BookPastor >> "The Listening Life" (Adam S. McHugh)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on April 8th, 2016.

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TITLE: The Listening Life: Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction
AUTHOR: Adam S. McHugh
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2016, (224 pages).

Attentiveness is a much needed quality these days. In a culture where distracted driving is occurring more often than drunk driving, people tend to be talking more and listening less. Welcome to an age of distraction and self-seeking endeavors. According to Adam McHugh, "listening comes first" even before we were born. McHugh, an ordained minister with the Presbyterian Church USA is also spiritual director, speaker, and retreat leader. His first book, "Introverts in the Church" talks about the plight of introverts trying to find their place in churches that tend to appeal more to extroverts. This second book of his attempts to contrast the need for listening in a highly talkative world. Why listen? That is because listening is the foundational discipline for what it means to be human. It is the first step of discipleship. It helps us avoid grabbing too much sound space from others. It prepares us with a disposition to receive instructions from God rather than to tell God what God already knew. For preachers, listening comes before preaching. In this very perceptive book, McHugh provides some challenging questions:

• If we learn to listen first, how will that impact our relationships?
• If we discipline ourselves to listen to God first, how will our relationship with God become?
• What if our default position in anything is listening?
• What will happen if we learn to listen first with our ears rather than to move our lips?
• What about listening to our inner selves?

The Language of Nature

Amazing fungi. What we lack is the communication needed to understand the intelligence in life.



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BookPastor >> "Preaching by Ear" (Dave McClelland)

You don't have to be a preacher to benefit from this book. There are lots of tips for Bible teachers and communications in general. This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on Nov 24th, 2014.

conrade

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TITLE: Preaching by Ear: Speaking God's Truth from the Inside Out
AUTHOR: Dave McClelland
PUBLISHER: Wooster, OH: Weaver Book Company, 2014, (176 pages).

Preaching is not only about giving a sermon. It is also about preparing the preacher. This two step process is critical, but it needs to begin at the heart. For once, the heart is right, we have one foot firmly on solid ground. As for the other foot, we will need an "orally based model of preaching." This two-part preaching process is taught in this book, with a very intriguing title, "preaching by ear." I have heard of "playing it by ear" by musicians, as a way in which experienced persons "wing it" or let the spirit flow. In social circles, when people say, "Let's play by ear," it can also mean staying flexible to decide the right moves later. More importantly, in preaching by ear, one preaches out of something rich and full "because the preacher and the sermon are inextricably linked," so says Dave McClellan, Pastor of the Chapel at Tinkers Creek in Ohio. With a PhD in Rhetoric and Communications from Duquesne University, McClelland is well equipped to show us how to move sermons from paper into the preacher's heart, and then to the audience. For the author, preaching by ear is a movement from literary sermon to "the orally driven sermon." The former streams off from the written text while the latter springs from the impressed heart. Preaching by ear carries with it an aura of vulnerability and risk. How do we cultivate a heart that leads to the ability to preach by ear?

BookPastor >> "We Need to Talk" (Linda Mintle)

Conflicts are always around the corner. This is because people are different and whenever there are differences, there will bound to be conflicts. That is why the best way is not to avoid conflicts but to learn to deal with it constructively. This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on June 19th, 2015.

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TITLE: We Need to Talk: How to Successfully Navigate Conflict
AUTHOR: Linda Mintle
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015, (256 pages).

Conflict is inevitable. Sooner or later, even the most cordial of relationships will encounter rough patches. The fact is that conflicts in themselves are not necessarily bad, especially when we can learn to respond constructively when they occur. In Dr Linda Mintle's words, it is simply summarized in four words: "We Need to Talk," which is exactly the title and the central theme of the book. Called a "relationship doctor," Mintle is a popular speaker, a licensed marriage counselor and family therapist, and also chair of the Division of Behavioral Health at the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. She deals with the topic of conflict sensitively but with firmness. Her three basic assumptions are:

1. Conflicts are part and parcel of any close relationships;
2. Under the right conditions, conflicts can help grow relationships;
3. In unhappy relationships, conflicts can escalate and one needs to learn how to deal with them.

Conflicts always involve a power struggle and the key is to manage power imbalances as best as possible to balance between emotional needs, personal integrity, people's well-being, and the stress of life. In order to resolve any conflict, trust must be cultivated. Keeping secrets, being unreliable, history of betrayal, are all examples of how trust can be eroded. In order to build trust, show grace with providing second chances on the one hand and to draw boundaries on the other. Learn of Jesus' humility. Cherish differences without having to pander to every wish and fancy. Beware of the four horsemen of the relationship apocalypse: 1) Criticism; 2) Defensiveness; 3) Contempt; 4) Stonewalling. Anticipate a clash of styles and to learn strategies on how to deal with each. Be realistic with what is solvable and what is not. Like a family, one can disagree but still remember that we are all family. Families must learn to fight fair and to deal justly. There are also gender differences to be aware of. Distinguish the needs behind the desire for sex. One popular belief is that men and women have opposite views of sex and affection. Men puts sex before affection while women sees otherwise. Rather than focusing on these two, Mintle suggests both genders find ways to get validation and love in order to meet both of these needs. Mintle also gives 20 guidelines with regards to social media usage and sex.

Conflict styles also vary. Mintle pays special attention to difficult people that provokes high conflict levels. "High conflict" personalities tend to be too emotional about issues and often see things in black and white. Due to their rigid mental styles, they can become manipulative when they do not get things their way. They tend to yell and lose their tempers. They need help in controlling their anger and enabling lots of forgiveness. Use the serenity prayer as a guide.

With lots of practical tips, this book essentially helps us to clear the decks without dismissing the most difficult players. We learn to recognize the different kinds of styles and the various approaches to deal with conflicts. Sometimes it is good to minimize conflicts. Other times, it is best to deal with the situation at hand. With a positive outlook, confidence and humility need to be used simultaneously. The chapter on "Dealing with Difficult People" alone is worth the price of the book. Mintle has given us a powerful resource on how to live together with well-being of all in mind. Perhaps, for those of us who want to do something about everyday conflicts but don't know how, we need to pick up this book, learn from it, and to be equipped on how best to calm down and to promote a constructive dialogue. For Jesus' sake.

Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book is provided to me courtesy of Baker Books and Graf-Martin Communications in exchange for an honest review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

BookPastor >> "Understanding Media" (Marshall McLuhan)

TITLE: Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man
AUTHOR: Marshall McLuhan
PUBLISHER: Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994, (368 pages).

This is a classic by the late Marshall McLuhan, whose most famously coined the influence of media on society as: "The Medium is the Message." First published in 1964, this book has been republished several times due to the relevance and powerful insights McLuhan has on understanding the nature of media and its effects on people. Born in Edmonton, Alberta Canada, he was a former Director of the Center of Culture and Technology at St Michael's College, the University of Toronto. Influenced by the writings of GK Chesterton, he converted to Catholicism in 1937. His work on media and its effects on culture has become a standard reference in universities offering courses on media ethics and technology influences upon culture. The key conviction lies in studying the culture by studying the influences of media.

"Examination of the origin and development of the individual extensions of man should be preceded by a look at some general aspects of the media, or extensions of man, beginning with the never-explained numbness that each extension brings about in the individual and society." (6)

Comprising of two parts, McLuhan in Part One lays the theoretical foundations of his thesis. Beginning with the now famous chapter, "The Medium is the Message," he contrasts the electric bulb as "pure information" and "medium without a message" versus other mediums that essentially "shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action. Mediums like movies that shape public opinions; paintings that enchant people; and technologies that compel people to behave in "uniform and continuous patterns." He argues:

BookPastor >> "Communication Theory for Christian Witness" (Charles H. Kraft)

TITLE: Communication Theory for Christian Witness
AUTHOR: Charles H. Kraft
PUBLISHER: Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991, (180 pages).

We all believe that communications is important. Whether it is work-related, family-oriented, marriage-centered, or community-work, we all communicate, for we are social creatures. As Christians, we are called to speak the gospel and to communicate it in ways that recipients can understand, and in faithfulness to the pure gospel. In Communication Theory for Christian Witness, Professor Charles Kraft of Fuller Theological Seminary shows us the way ahead to communicate the gospel. For communications is essentially about bridging gaps made by differences in sex, social class, age, education, occupation, subculture, dialect, etc. Kraft begins with the central Messenger: God, that we communicate simply because God first communicates. We learn rules and principles of effective communications. We examine the way of Jesus and how he relates to common folks. Communications has to do with not only sharing the right message but also avoiding what is wrong. He mentions ten myths concerning communications before venturing to talk about a communication theory for outreach.