Have you ever been to or been part of a church that seemed alive but yet something of life was missing? Welcome to Zombie church.  The author contends, and rightly so, that many of our churches today are ‘Zombie’ churches, i.e., churches that have the resemblance of life but are actually dead. From a distance they look as though they are alive, but upon closer inspection they have lost their connection to life: Jesus Christ.

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If you’ve ever been a middle schooler enduring a cafeteria lunch, if you’ve ever spent a recess wishing you could disappear into a brick wall, if you’ve ever longed for home — you may find something to relate to in this novel.

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Paulo Freire is one of the most important thinkers of the last half-century, although you may never have heard his name – unless of course, you have a background in education.  And even among educators, his seminal work Pedagogy of the Oppressed is widely recognized, but not so much is known about Freire, the man, and the context out of which this work emerged.  Enter James Kirylo’s new book, Paulo Freire: The Man from Recife, a work that utilizes a variety of styles (biography, interview, scholarly engagement) to depict aptly the diversity of Freire’s life and work. Engaging Freire on a number of different levels as Kirylo does here, is helpful in shaping a robust image of Freire’s life, but also may mean that parts of the book are less interesting to some readers than others.

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Few people would argue with Daniel Taylor’s fundamental premise: we all have a story to tell. Yet many who agree with that premise would also be reluctant to put that story into words on paper. To Dr. Taylor, this contradiction is regrettable and unnecessary. As well it should be to anyone who wishes they could write their own story and to anyone who might cherish a written story from their parents or grandparents.

To say we all have a story to tell is by now probably a platitude. Dr. Taylor, author of books such as Letters to My Children and cofounder of The Legacy Center, might call it a truism. Our lives are made up of stories, he points out. Each day is a narrative with all the elements of story: plot, character, setting, and sometimes irony, foreshadowing, and even symbolism. It is impossible not to have a story.

We glean Truth from these stories; we also ascribe Truth to them.
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Renee Wilkinson’s Modern Homestead: Grow, Raise, Create offers above all a spirit of accessibility. Around my urban setting of Detroit I’ve watched many a bearded soul roll up their sleeves, dig in, and turn over hard ground. I’ve looked from afar as raised beds go up, and wild flowers border good food grown by good communities – and I will admit it, I feel a little unwelcome. I think it’s partly my own fault. It just seems like a lot of hard work. But when I get over my laziness and make a few phone calls to the green movements looking for volunteers, I kind of don’t feel cool enough.

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There have been a slew of books in recent years where the author tries something new for a set period of time and documents his or her life change in the process. Julie Powell’s 2007 blockbuster book-turned-hit-movie Julie and Julia: My Year Of Cooking Dangerously is a perfect example of this trend.

Writing about the challenges and questions raised by a radical change-up in lifestyle with the goal of seeking spiritual transformation is an evergreen topic in books about the Christian life. Think Henri Nouwen’s 1981 Genesee Diary: Report From A Trappist Monastery or, more recently, Ed Dobson’s The Year of Living Like Jesus: My Journey Of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do. Dobson’s book was based on Jewish author A.J. Jacobs’ The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Quest To Follow The Bible As Literally As Possible.

Part of the expected narrative of these types of stories is an ending proclaiming “See? I am a changed, chastened and wiser human being, thanks to this experience.” But what if an author dedicates a year to seeking life change via the practice of various spiritual disciplines – and no change of note happens in her life?

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The summer after I graduated from high school, I worked at McDonald’s. I was the new person that summer, and even though I had indicated I did not want to work on Sunday, I was told by the manager that that’s the day everyone wanted off, and I pretty much would not get hired unless I agreed I could work that day. I ended up agreeing to work Sunday morning, especially since my church had services Saturday night I could attend.

This anecdote illustrates a number of fascinating things about how we treat the day Sunday in the contemporary world. First, it still has some aspects of sacredness and resting, prompting many, religious or not, to try not to work on that day. Second, there is no longer the legalism of past decades and centuries in which working on Sunday led to social ostracism, since it was one of the pastor’s favorite sermon topics. These are a few of the many points Craig Harline articulates in his book, Sunday: A history of the First Day from Babylonia to the Super Bowl.
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While this is the author’s seventh mystery in the Amish-Country series, it is the first time I have had the pleasure of entering his literary territory.  I have a particular fondness for authors’ book series, but I am reluctant to read out of order because I miss the nuances of character, plot and location that build over the course of time.  There is also a certain sense of satisfaction to discover the ways in which an author’s craft is enlarged and honed throughout several similarly themed books.  So, as I picked up Harmless as Doves, reading Gaus for the first time, I wondered how my out-of-sequence reading experience might affect my reading pleasure.

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Review of Two New Books by Doug Pagitt.

Reviewed by Amy Gentile.

As Christians learn to navigate what it means to be the Church in the 21^st century, there is an important question that must be raised. How do we stay faithful to God’s witness throughout history, the teachings of Scripture and the historic orthodox faith, yet also explore new forms and structures for these teachings as we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit? Doug Pagitt’s books, Community in the Inventive Age and Preaching in the Inventive Age, offer insights that deserve thoughtful reflection.

Pagitt begins both books with a description of several different ages: the Agrarian Age, Industrial Age, Information Age, and finally, the Inventive Age. He also describes some of the unique values of “the Inventive Age” including, but not limited to: “inclusion, participation, collaboration and beauty.” He sees a world being marked by creativity and community, dialogue and openness, and in Community in the Inventive Age, sets forth a vision for what an Inventive Age Church might look like.

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It sounds almost idyllic: students stream out of classes, where they’ve worked and wracked their brains studying everything from math and science to English and Spanish, and head straight for the fields, where they use their hands and lithe young bodies to coax produce out of the ground. Add to this picture an image of these same students sitting down, several hours later, to a meal featuring the fruits of their labors, and you have what many people think of when they bother to think of a student farm at all.

However, as usual, the idyllic picture doesn’t tell the whole story, and that’s where Fields of Learning comes in, to fill in the gaps. Much goes on behind the scenes of a student farm and this book touches on everything from funding a farm to what it takes to start one to practical aspects of integrating what goes on with the farm into the rest of an institution’s curriculum. It will mostly interest those who have been part of a student farm (whether as student, faculty, staff, or in another role) or those who are looking to start one, though those focusing on educational trends will find information of value, too.

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