Postcards From Myself

Note: This review was published in the November 29, 2009 issue of The Post & Courier. The reviewer the Rev. Robert M. Knight, pastor of First Christian Church of Charleston.

Mitch Carnell, a lay leader at Charleston’s historic First Baptist Church, is concerned about a lack of civility in public affairs and church life. His concern has led him to edit an insightful book called “Christian Civility in an Uncivil World.”

The essays are written by notable church leaders representing various Christian traditions. John Gehring and Alexia Kelley are Roman Catholic laypersons who write about mediating and modulating too much inflammatory rhetoric and negotiating the politics of the church they know and love.

The Rev. Sally Dyck, bishop of the United Methodist Church, Minnesota Conference, draws on a distinctive Wesleyan tradition she terms “Holy Conferencing.” Dyck outlines an approach to negotiating and problem-solving designed to minimize the unfortunate consequences of a church life reduced to “winners” and “losers.” She has adapted this approach from Methodism’s founder John Wesley.

Another bishop, the Rev. Stacy Sauls of the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington, Ky., who is also an attorney, writes with notable pastoral sensitivity concerning the conflict in the church he loves and serves surrounding the matter of one’s sexual orientation.
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The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God expect of Us? The Answer that Changed my Life and Might Just Change the World is not so much about a hole in the gospel or the Bible as it is about a hole in the way people live their lives. People today are caught up in the trappings and appearances of being good. They worry about what other people are doing and what modern entertainment might be doing to the morality of our youth. But what these people aren’t doing is letting their lives serve as their example.

Richard Stearns was a man who seemingly had it all. He was a successful businessman, community leader and family man. He had the big house, the Jaguar, and the country club membership. But just at the time he was at the peak of his career, he was called upon to do something more. Something much harder. He had to face the real evil in the world – he had to face the hunger, need, and want of the forgotten.

Too many of us would rather concentrate on our lives, write the occasional check to charity, and forget about the real calling of all moral people – Christian or otherwise. What Stearns calls our attention to in this book is that we are all called upon to lift up each other. We do not succeed in making the world a better place by memorizing verses, patting ourselves on the backs, or isolating ourselves from problems. It is only by putting our lives, not just our money, where our mouths are that we can perform the duties that we were put on this earth to perform.

To fill the hole in the gospel, we must fill the hole in our hearts and in our world. We must go out and make the world a better place. This is the message that has often been missing and the message that Stearns delivers powerfully through this book. Whether you are a Christian, member of another religion, or a member of no religion, this book is important and moving. The hole exists for us all, no matter what gospel we follow, and it is our duty and privilege to work on filling in that hole.

The Noticer by Andy Andrews, published by Nelson Nelson, is a newly published work that aims to teach the value of perspective. By noticing the different perspectives from which we approach the decisions in our lives, we gain understanding. This can be understanding of how others see us, understanding of the consequences of our actions, or understanding of how our lives intertwine with others.

The central figure in The Noticer is an impossibly old and mysterious man by the name of Jones. Not “Mr. Jones”, just “Jones”. He is goes by other names to non-Anglo individuals and appears of differing ethnicity to those other cultures also. Jones tends to appear basically out of nowhere to comfort and advise troubled people during their darkest hour. While the story takes place in a small Gulf Coast town, it might as well be “Anywhere, USA”. The town and the name of the protagonist aren’t important. What is important is the lessons he imparts.

The book is a quick, enjoyable read and falls into that category of self-help books that try to convey advice through parable. While the book is enjoyable and the advice worthwhile, I found The Noticer a bit hard to get through in places simply because the story was just too cloying. Much as you really get tired of the mice in the business book Who Moved My Cheese?, you start to get tired of the characters and predictability of their reactions in the work. If the book was much longer, you might just put it down.

As it stands though, this is the type of book that you will read, get out of it what you need, and then pass along to someone else because out of the 180 odd pages you will find four or five that speak directly to an issue you have. And for that, it is worth the price. (The explanation of the four ways that love is conveyed and perceived was just that tidbit for me.) I can also see The Noticer being given by many as gifts for those entering into new relationships, business opportunities, or even graduation. And in those situations, again, if the reader can even find just four or five pages that speak to them, then the reading will have been time well spent.