Hiding in the Light, by Rifqa Bary

Rifqa Bary had her more-than-fifteen-minutes of fame a few years ago when she ran away from home.  When her Muslim parents found out that she had become a Christian, she says they threatened to kill her.  She even says her mother told her that the local mosque called and said they would "take care of her" if her father did not.  Fearing that she was going to be victim of an "honor killing" she fled to Florida from her Ohio home.

Her custody case became a cause celebre among Christians, and an embarrassment for Muslims.  Rifqa tells her story in Hiding in the Light, a heartbreaking yet challenging tale of one teen's determination not to forsake her savior.  American Christians typically don't have to hide their Bible from their parents, living in fear that her father will discover it, yet treasuring it above all other possessions.  American Christians typically aren't threatened by their parents with death if they continue to practice Christianity.  American Christians typically don't have to carefully plan to be baptized in secret.  Rifqa's experiences pointed me to a deeper appreciation for my family, freedom, and salvation in Jesus.

This poor sister in Christ has suffered and experienced more in her short life than most Western Christians ever will.  Her steadfastness in the face of persecution from her family and others should be an inspiration to all of us.  Her experience may not be typical of American Muslims who convert to Christianity, but I have know Muslims from other countries who have been similarly rejected by their families of birth (thankfully not to the death, but the "dead to me" variety).  Let's pray for Rifqa and other persecuted Christians that their witness will be strong and draw other Muslims into the loving arms of Jesus.



2016 Reading Challenge: A book by an author less than 30
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The More of Less, by Joshua Becker

As soon as I started reading Joshua Becker's The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own, I had an urge to go to my closet and bag stuff up to get rid of!  That's his goal--but only part of his goal.  Becker has made a name for himself in the world of minimalism with his blog, http://www.becomingminimalist.com.  The basic message of his blog and The More of Less is to get rid of stuff (and stop accumulating more stuff), but the emphasis isn't simply on minimalism or an uncluttered life.  Becker wants you to get rid of stuff so you will be more free, with more time, money, space, energy, and mental space to pursue things that really matter and serve others.

Becker is practical and doesn't strike me as an extremist.  I don't get the impression that he wants to live off the grid in a treehouse, or reduce his belongings to a single backpack (although he tells a few stories of extreme minimalists).  He's a guy with a house and a family.  There was no point in The More of Less at which I thought, "I could never do that."

In fact, on several points, I did think, "Yeah, I already do that." But there are many more areas in which I could and should walk away from my American consumerist tendencies and embrace a more minimalist attitude and lifestyle.  It's not easy, but Becker certainly makes minimalism, or at least moving incrementally toward minimalism, seem doable, desirable, and worth every bit of effort.


Thanks to Blogging for Books for the complimentary review copy!

The End of White Christian America, by Robert P. Jones

Demographer of religion Robert P. Jones has bad news for White Christian America (WCA).  Few will be surprised at his news, that the heyday of WCA's influential role in United States society and politics is over.  The End of White Christian America is Jones's retrospective and obituary.  Jones quotes E.J. Dionne, who said "white Protestantism served as 'the civic and moral glue that held American public life together' for most of the United States' history." 

I'll be up front about this: I am a White Christian American.  So I have a vested interest in the state of WCA.  Further, as Dionne points out, all Americans, regardless of race, immigration status, national origin, or religious preference have benefited from the moral and cultural milieu which has made the United States the beacon of hope to the rest of the world.  Economics may be the primary reason people want to immigrate to the U.S., but it's much more than that.  And WCA has played a leading role in creating this atmosphere.

Jones traces the decline of WCA by examining ecclesiastical and political trends.  For most of our history, Protestants have dominated the landscape, both spiritually and by the physical presence marked by steeples on the skylines of our cities and churches adjacent to the town squares.  Noting the histories of the United Methodist building in Washington, D.C., the Interchurch Center in New York City, and the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, California, Jones shows the waxing and waning of movements in WCA.  Hopes for a "Christian Century" and the power of the "Moral Majority" dwindled with each generation.  Now we are arriving at a time when WCA no longer has a demographic advantage, either in terms of church attendance or political majority.

As a demographer, Jones has various ways to demonstrate this reality.  A couple of notes:

• Today, young adults (ages 18-29) are less than half as likely to be white Christians as seniors (age 65 and older).
• By the 2024 presidential election, even if the GOP nominee could secure every single white Christian vote, these votes would land 3 points short of a national majority.

Christians might cynically mourn the loss of political power in the country.  Conservative religious voters will no longer be the sought after swing vote, as they were in the 1980s and 1990s.  More important than that, though, is the very real loss of a Christian presence in culture.  Many hospitals, universities, and major charitable institution and movements were founded directly or indirectly out of Christian motives.  What happens to the ongoing influence of these institutions as their Christian foundations are slowly chipped away.  (Hint: we already see it in universities that were founded as Christian schools.  They not only neglect but completely reject their Christian moorings.

Most importantly for Christians, though, especially those Christians considered more evangelical, is the impact on the Kingdom of God.  Churches are never perfect.  Jones points out one big area of WCA blindness: racism.  But one thing churches always are is the body of Christ.  Christians, through the church, represent Jesus in this life, on this earth, and are called to bring the message of his saving grace to the world.  Christians can do that, no matter whether they are in a political majority or not, but Christians should be very concerned about the lack of growth in the church in recent years.  Christians are not teaching their children to continue to life committed to Jesus into adulthood, and are not bringing their friends and neighbors into the Christian fold.  The consequence are eternal and far more significant than who we back for any given election.

Jones doesn't have a lot of good news for WCA.  But American Christians will be challenged to remember that their first commitment is to Jesus, not to politics, parties, or institutions.  Christians better face the new reality and focus on the gospel and not on party platforms.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

2016 Reading Challenge: A book about church history
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Onward, by Russell Moore

Russell Moore, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, will probably surprise some Southern Baptist readers of his book Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel.  Sure, he's theologically conservative. But many of the positions he takes on social and political issues will endear him to the evangelical left and many democrats.

That last sentence is a terrible oversimplification.  I think one of the messages of Onward is that we cannot reduce everything to left and right, red or blue, liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat.  In fact, he warns that "when the 'Christian' position on everything just happens to line up, exactly, with the favored candidate or political party, how can we not expect cynicism from those who naturally start to suspect that 'God' simply means 'our team.'  When everything is prophetic, nothing is."

Christians ought to be a prophetic voice.  Noting that Christianity doesn't set the moral tone for the nation to the extent that it used to, Moore actually celebrates this.  As cultural outsiders, "our call is to an engaged alienation, a Christianity that preserves the distinctiveness of our gospel while not retreating from our callings as neighbors, and friends, and citizens."  The goal is not to be relevant, but to revel in our difference and speak truth in the world.

The biggest Christian distinction--if I'm not overstating Moore's perspective--is the Christian embrace of the value of every human life as the imago dei.  I was reminded of Ron Sider's book in the 1980s, Completely Pro-Life.  Now Moore and Sider may have their differences, but I think Moore would embrace that phrase.  Moore writes, "Abortion, torture, euthanasia, unjust war, racial injustice, the harassment of immigrants, these things aren't simply 'mean' (although they are that too).  They are part of an ongoing guerilla insurgency against the image of God himself, as summed up in Jesus of Nazareth."

No matter who you are, you'll probably find some point of disagreement with Moore.  But he will challenge your thinking as a Christian in public life in a good way, reminding us not simply to follow a party platform, but to embrace the saving, transforming grace of Jesus, and to embody an enduring belief that every person is made in the image of God.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

2016 Reading Challenge: A book you have started but never finished
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Lost Property, by Andy Poyiadgi

When a mailman named Gerald gets a call from a local lost property office to remover a letter opener belonging to him, he had no idea what was in store.  And I had no idea what was in store when I read Andy Poyiadgi's beautiful story, Lost Property.  When Gerald arrives at the lost property office, he notes that the ship in the window is just like one he had as a child.  After he's escorted to the downstairs storage room, he comes to the realization that everything in this place used to be his!

I love the fact that Poyiadgi doesn't offer any explanation for this odd turn of events.  He just uses it as a springboard for Gerald to think about what might have been, to recover his dreams, and to rekindle some of what he thought was lost forever in the past.  Lost Property is a very simple tale, beautifully illustrated with Poyiadgi's lovely, muted, almost dreamlike painting.  But the story and pictures drew me into nostalgia, thinking about dreams I have lost, and wondering where my lost property office might be.


Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

How to Speak Emoji, by Fred Benenson

The first thing you need to know about Fred Benenson is that he is also the author of Emoji Dick.  The first emoji-only book in the Library of Congress, Emoji Dick retells Herman Melville's classic Moby Dick in emojis.  If that sounds like fun to you, you will enjoy Benenson's How to Speak Emoji.

Personally, I'm not all that entertained by the use of emojis.  I'm sure that's because I am a middle-aged fuddy-duddy.  A quick peek at my teenage sons' text messages would tell me that it's probably a generational thing.  They love them.  However, they don't use them as creatively and articulately as Benenson does.  The book is chock full of common phrases and sayings that one can use immediately.  It will also serve as inspiration for emoji-lovers to expand their repertoire.

Here are few selections:

Benenson's emoji phrases are certainly clever.  For most of them, I was happy that he had a translation handy.  I guess that's part of the fun; send these emojis to your friends, and see if they can figure out exactly what you're trying to say.



Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

The Fallow Season of Hugo Hunter, by Craig Lancaster

In Craig Lancaster's fourth novel, The Fallow Season of Hugo Hunter, he explores new ground in familiar territory.  Hugo Hunter, a famous boxer who bumped up against greatness without ever really getting there, is in the waning days of his career.  Mark Westerly, a sports writer for the Billings paper, has followed Hugo's career since Hugo was a teenager.  The Fallow Season reflects on both of these men's careers and the friendship that evolved over the 20 years they've known one another.

Born and raised in Billings, Montana, Hugo was local hero after he came home with a silver medal from the Olympics.  Reviews of the fight, in which the judge disqualified him, clearly show that he should not have been DQed, and should have won the gold.  This sort of bad luck, exacerbated by his own self-destructiveness, follow him in his boxing career.  He potentially could have been a world champion, but. . . .

The Fallow Season covers those buts.  Lancaster's readers will not be surprised to hear that he deftly builds his complex characters, weaves their stories together, and draws the reader into their worlds.  Lancaster writes (forgive my terrible paraphrase from memory) that in fiction everything happens for a reason, while in real life, everything just happens.  In the arc of the story of Hugo Hunter, there is a feeling of everything just happening.  Hugo and Mark's lives are not particularly admirable, but their friendship and personalities make their story worth reading. 

(Fans of Lancaster's Edward books will be pleased to know that Edward makes a significant appearance in The Fallow Season.  In the interest of not being a spoiler, I will leave it at that!)