Top_5_Lists! (2011)

Here they are! (see also 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)

Songs

1) Father Along: Josh Garrels
I needed this song in my life this year. 2011 was hard. This song spoke life back into my soul. Simple as that...killer lyric Still I get hard pressed on every side//Between the rock and a compromise//Like the truth and pack of lies fightin' for my soul//And I've got no place left go
2) Holocene: Bon Iver
We saw Bon Iver for the first time this year. SO good. Justin Vernon has the ability to instantly transform your mood, take you somewhere, and break your heart with the first two chords of a song...killer lyric say nothing, that's enough for me//and at once I knew that I was not magnificent
3) Poison and Wine: The Civil Wars 
I remember sitting in the cafeteria at UMASS this year reading the student newspaper when I stumbled upon an article about a concert the reporter had been to doing an article on Cafe 939 (cool little spot near the hotel REUNION meets in). They had seen an "up and coming new folk duo from Nashville." I looked at the photo and said: "that sure looks like Joy Williams." Turns out it was...crazy to see this old Mount Hermon connection blow up this year: Leno, awards shows, album of the year lists, and even 2 grammy's for Joy and John Paul (and it gets bigger). This song is incredible has one of the best turns in any song you will ever here...look for it right after the first chorus...killer lyric your hands can heal, your hands can bruise//I don't have a choice, but I still choose you
4) Timestretch: Bassnectar
2011, the year of dubstep. I was introduced to the phenomenon by a Berklee student on our spring break trip and I couldn't stop listening for months. This is my favorite Bassnectar track by far...killer lyric no need for lyrics, just feel that bass!
5) One Last Thing: Angels&Airwaves
I loved this band when they started...their first album blew my mind. It's been a slow decline in quality and interest since then. They released their fourth album this year (Love, Part II) and overall it's my least favorite of the four. This song, though, sounds exactly like what it is trying to say...the world is full of stuff that kills hope and belief but hope is not impossible. And it's better. And this song sounds like hope. Can't stop listening to it...killer lyric (the whole song really) I try to rest, but it starts to hurt//Living here is a lot of work//but I found, one last thing, to believe in

Books (required reading)

1) To Change the World by James Davison Hunter
I wrote about this briefly right after I finished the book. I don't have much more to add now. One of the most thought-provoking and challenging books I have ever read. Please read it so we can chat about it!
2) One.Life by Scot McKnight
Another book I posted about upon finishing. This book has quickly elevated itself as a must read for our leaders, students, and anyone who wants a primer on the language and theology of REUNION and Sojourn. Best book on discipleship available right now.
3) The Pastor by Eugene Peterson
Any regular readers know I love Peterson. It was fun to read this memoir and see the marks of his other writings present through his life story. So many great moments, here's just one: "Story is a way of language in which everything and everyone is organically related. Story is a language that insists that persons cannot be known by reducing them to what they do, how they perform, the way they look. Story uses language in which listening has joint billing with speaking. Story is language put to the use of discovering patterns and meanings--beauty and truth and goodness: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the seemingly random and disconnected pieces of experience and dreams, tasks and songs, promises and betrayals that make up daily life, words and sentences detect and reveal and fashion stories in places of hospitality." Thank you Eugene for this, for your commitment to and advocacy of the pastorate, for your writing about story, and for so much more.
4) From Wild Man to Wise Man by Richard Rohr
I appreciate a lot of what Father Richard Rohr has to say and so as I've done much reading on maleness, gender, and spirituality I was excited to check this book out. And not disappointed. His chapter on the three men in Luke 6 is worth the price of the book.
5) College Ministry in a Post-Christian Culture by Stephen Lutz
One of my staff partners read this and said, "If I didn't know better I would have thought you and Tim wrote this book." Thanks Bob, that's high praise. A big thanks to Stephen Lutz for writing this book: it describes what we do and why we do it in one handy place. We will be reading this with our student leaders this spring. 
Honorable Mentions: Insurrection, The Meaning of Marriage, The Outrageous Idea of Academic Faithfulness, The Sacredness of Questioning Everything, The King Jesus Gospel, The Faith of Leap, The Homiletical Plot, Quitter, The Great Emergence, Love Wins

Books (non-required reading)

1) Open
As far as autobiographies go this is storytelling at its finest. Andre had some help (JR Moehringer who wrote The Tender Bar), but who cares? An incredible story of redemption, marriage, and what it means to give your life away.
2) Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me
If you aren't at least a little intrigued by this title than you hate books. Good writing, funny stories, and a lot of grace through difficult experiences. Ian Cron does an incredible job unpacking some sensational stuff in a beautiful and compelling way. 
3) I Am Ozzy
Quite possibly the exact opposite of Open on first glance, but extremely similar for this reason: strong second marriages saved their lives. If you don't mind f-bombs and a little craziness check out Ozzy's story. You will not forget it soon. 
4) A Band of Misfits
COME ON I HAD TO PUT THIS ONE IN HERE!!! 
5) The Millennium Trilogy
I finally took the plunge to see what all the hype was about. These books are crazy, violent, disturbing, but also the best page-turners I've read in a long time. Totally worth the week it will take to read through all three!
Honorable Mentions: Manning Up, Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders, How the Mighty Fall

New Feature: Top 5 Posts of 2011

1) 64659
Even though this one is recent it makes it into the top spot. We have grown a ton as a ministry this year and I think this post reflects some of that fruit. Grown not just in numbers, but in depth, clarity, and direction. I can't wait to see what 2012 holds for Sojourn.
2) 61259/61559
These were the top 2 most read posts on the Illumination Dilemma in 2011. Only serves to highlight what a big transition my family has been through this year. Once again, well done Mom and Dad...I so admire your grace and faithfulness even when it's been hard.
3) 63259
The writing in this post is my personal favorite from the year. I am learning in all kinds of new and interesting (and hard and difficult) ways what it really means to live by a "hermeneutic of sacrifice."
4) 58659/59359
A couple of reflections on getting older. 'Layers' is another reflection post that continues to be a major life theme even months later. 
5) 62559
This post sums up a series I did on Sojourn: the what and why behind our ministry. Always good revisit this stuff.

The End...Happy New Year!!!

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Killer_Quote_of_the_Day

"To love is to suffer...and that's probably why we generally don't do it well. Unwillingness to venture, plus a desire to be safe, holds us back from love. To be sure, most of us do have a vision of what makes a good life, and as believers we know that it involves growing in the love of God. What we seem to lack, however, is the will to attain to this good life of love. Most of us prefer to skip over the pain and the discipline, to find some easy, off-the-shelf ways to sainthood. Christian self-help spiritualities are a classic dodge of the real issues and manifestly do not produce maturity. We do well to be reminded of the cost of shortcuts in Carl Jung's penetrating statement, 'Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering.'"

- Michael Frost  and Alan Hirsch in

The Faith of Leap

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Summer_Reading

It's been a good summer for reading with traveling, vacation, and long bus rides to PT appointments providing plenty of space to plow through my stack of books. Here are some of the highlights (in chronological order)...

Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me A beautiful memoir, gracefully told. Heartbreaking and hopeful Cron tells a story of family brokenness and healing. There are a lot of "evangelical" memoirs out there right now, and I have to think this is one of the best (if not the best).

The Great Emergence I have read a lot of books about the "emerging church." WAY too many. Most of them go like this: hey-there's-something-going-on-in-our-culture-and-I-think-we-should-maybe-think-of-some-ways-to-respond-to-it-so-here-are-some-ideas:story-candles-Jesus-mission-ancient-future-post-turn-down-the-lights-blah-blah-blah. Tickle stays far away from mechanics and offers one of the most interesting and compelling looks at historical trends that have shaped our current moment, not just recently but throughout the whole history of the church. Fascinating stuff.

The War of Art Pressfield's work has been around for a while now, but what a breath of fresh air this was! Not what I expected at all, it's unlike most books I read in several ways. Definitely a "this book found me at the right time" read. I especially enjoyed his section on the professional vs. the amateur. Very challenging and something I needed to hear this summer.

The Millennium Trilogy Summer is a great time to read some fiction, and though I am super late to this party, these three books about the Girl who did a bunch of crazy stuff were perfect (especially on those bus rides).

The Homiletical Plot Super helpful book on sermon prep, sermon writing, and approach to the teaching process. But also, a lot of good stuff on how story works, why we respond to it so powerfully, and how tension and arch are essential to great teaching (whether it is from the pulpit or not).

The Faith of Leap I had extremely high expectations for this book, so, honestly, I was actually a little disappointed in it. That said, I love what the authors are doing here and agree completely with their basic premise: risk and adventure are inherent in the gospel (and in mission) and should be a center holding our theology together, rather than an outlier experience we only have from time to time.

(Other summer reads: Why the Mystics Matter, How (Not) to Speak of God, Quitter, The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership, A Hidden Wholeness, For the City, My Losing Season, Falling Upward)

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Vacation


time to go to california...to rest and relax after a crazy busy year...to spend some sweet quality time with the fams...to go to a giants game...and, of course, to read some books.


see you in two weeks boston!

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one.life


highly recommend scot mcknight's book One.Life for anyone working with students or needing a resource for a basic discipleship conversation. i feel like a lot of these types of books are pretty boring, corny, or out of date (at best). so i appreciate Scot's work in presenting a "classic" conversation in a fresh way with language that is helpful for emerging generations. plus scot is a wicked smart dude and you can tell he has thought deeply about each of the topics he hits. good stuff!

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man_up

Where have the good men gone? This is the pulsating heartbeat of Kay Hymowitz's writing in Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men in to Boys.

Long on critical analysis and short on answers, Hymowitz examines how "girl empowerment", the knowledge economy, and the extended state of "preadulthood" has shaped gender dynamics in the 21st century. The results (far from being anti-feminist) are fascinating, and hold tremendous implications for ministry and the church.

Consider:

"The child-man (think of any Adam Sandler/Will Ferrell comedy and you have the 'child-man') is the lost son of a host of economic and cultural changes: the demographic shift I call preadulthood, the Playboy philosophy, feminism, the wild west of our new media, and a shrugging iffiness on the subject of husbands and fathers. He has no life script, no special reason to grow up. 

"Why should he grow up? No one needs him anyway."

You can read the introduction to the book (and the gist of her argument and most of the killer quotes) by clicking on this link.

There's much to said and debated about her writing, but it holds up in church too, I think. Last year we had 250 new students come to Reunion and fill out welcome cards. 185 of those were female. Tim, Sojourn's Director, spent some time recently with other campus ministry leaders and one of the hot topics of conversation was the lack of male leadership on campus. They asked the same questions: Where have the guys gone?

There are a lot of ways to go with this, so whatever I write here can only be the beginning of an ongoing  conversation, but here are two thoughts I have at the moment. These thoughts, interestingly enough, come from another book I read recently: Open the autobiography of Andre Agassi.

1) Agassi repeats over and over: "God wants us to grow up." If anyone has actually led the child-man lifestyle it's been this guy. He describes it at great length in his book. However, when he "grows up" (i.e. starts focusing on tennis, gets married, has kids, starts a charitable foundation) he finds some level of peace in his life. He has a story to live. We need to recapture and recast things like marriage, fatherhood, generosity, and work in masculine terms. We need men to do these things and do them well. God wants us to grow up.

2) Along those same lines one of the most moving passages of the book occurs when Andre describes introducing his wife (Stefi Graf, the greatest women's tennis player of all time) at her Hall of Fame induction. He says: "Every man should have the chance to introduce his wife at her Hall of Fame induction ceremony." I agree! I think marriage is a particularly crucial aspect of recapturing a sense of manhood. 

Older married men: tell younger men how great it is to be married, and tell them often.

I could go on and on with ideas that this book has generated. But I think those are two big starting points. Grow up and love your wife. We might have less books like one if more dudes did this.

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updates_and_thoughts

in no particular order:

1) on thursday Northeastern goes before the Student Government for our final approval to become an RSO (registered student organization) at that campus. pray for us!

2) finished A Band of MiSFits...thoroughly enjoyed reliving the Giants' run to the World Series title last year.

3) speaking of baseball, check out BaseballMonk whenever you get a chance...our "viewership" is ever increasing over there and it continues to be a fun outlet. btw: 2 days until the season starts!

4) amy and i are now both back in boston, together, for the indefinite future. the last two weeks saw us traveling apart from each other (i went to KY with students and she went to NC for a PT conference). both trips were good but it is GREAT to be back together. this has been the most time we've spent apart since we were married. funny story: i used to think one of the hardest parts about being married would be sleeping in the same bed (i am a sprawler =), but i do not sleep as well by myself now which is an interesting discovery.

5) also finished Love Wins...i defer to Eugene Peterson' comment on the book: it's about elevating our conversation and expanding our imagination. 

6) much time is being spent towards ending the semester well with students and setting ourselves up for what should be an incredible fall!

7) very much looking forward to the weather warming up.

8) should have a post up by the end of the week on Manning Up and its implications for the church and collegiate ministry.

that's it for now... 

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books

finished this book today. absolutely amazing. i experienced a wide range of reactions to his ideas: everything from wanting to throw the book out the window to standing up and cheering. in the next 2-3 years someone (rob bell?) will write the popular version of this thesis and everyone will be talking about it. important stuff...challenging stuff. his conclusion is very close to mcknight's in a community called atonement, but he comes at it from a different academic discipline. a must read for anyone who is in any type of position of influence.

top_5_lists

Top 5 lists!!! (check out previous years: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006)

Songs

1) Sigh No More - Mumford & Sons 
2010 was the year of Mumford mania. only controversy here was which song to pick. "awake my soul" might actually be my favorite, but this one kicks off the record and sets the tone for everything that follows: a quiet start, a big build, and a huge payoff. killer lyric: "love that will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, it will set you free, be more like the man you were made to be."
2) City With No Children - Arcade Fire
from their incredible album, "the suburbs." they upped the ante with this effort. killer lyric: "you never trust a millionaire quoting the sermon on the mount, I used to think I was not like them but I'm beginning to have my doubts."
3) Invented - Jimmy Eat World
it might be that i love this band even more now than i did ten years ago. their stuff holds up, and they've aged well. soundtrack to over a third of my life. crazy. killer lyric: "i'm one more here, some old-time pioneer, who believes with shaken faith, i still have some cool."
4) The Ladder - Andrew Belle 
saw this humble songwriter at cafe 939 here in boston and fell for him immediately. melancholy, wise beyond his years, and gentle in his approach, The Ladder was probably the one non-mumford album i listened to the most this year. killer lyric: on a ladder from there to here i'll climb, all this clatter between my ears i find, does it matter if i can't clear my mind, there's a right and a wrong time.
5) Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National
weird song, and not one that at first listen you would imagine to be humming hours later, but it is totally catchy. and at first glance the lyrics seem surreal and bizarre but end up being quite profound on repeated listens. killer lyric: "i still owe money to the money to the money i owe, i never thought about love when i thought about home, i still owe money to the money to the money i owe, the floors are falling out from everybody i know."

Books (required reading)

1) Practice Resurrection Eugene Peterson
the fifth and final installment to his "conversations in spiritual theology" series, which is my all time favorite canon of books on theology. i absolutely, with no hesitation, recommend these books to anyone the least bit interested in theology.  
2) Almost Christian Kenda Creasy Dean
maybe the "problem" with youth ministry isn't youth pastors, or the culture, or facebook, but the church? that's the central question of this startling book. dean argues that the "problem" with youth ministry is that we (adults, the church, theology) are not giving kids a compelling story to live, rather we are simply asking them to be "nice" (the cult of "moral therapeutic deism"). challenging stuff.
3a and b) The Seven Storey Mountain Thomas Merton and God Was In This Place and I, I Did Not Know Lawrence Kushner
a little bit of mysticism here in the middle of the top five list. these authors go about this in very different ways (one is Jewish, the other Catholic; one a midrash, the other an autobiography), but both push the reader to open themselves up to presence of God in the midst of us: right here, right now.
5) The Wisdom of Stability Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
a challenge to buck the cultural trend of constant movement and upward mobility and to see stability (calling one place home) as a spiritual discipline.

Book (non-required)

1) Born to Run Christopher McDougall
one of the most well written books of any type or genre i have ever read. i actually like the next book on the list more, but McDougall gets top billing for doing an amazing job at weaving everything from bio-mechanics to anthropology to good-old-fashioned sports writing into a masterpiece. you don't have to like running at all to appreciate this work.
2) Are We Winning Will Leitch
i love books. i love books about baseball. i love books about coming of age. i love books about quirky/semi-dysfunctional young guys who finally decide to get their stuff together. this book is all of that in one. changing the setting to san francisco would be the ONLY way to make me love this book more. i look forward to reading it again soon.
3) Cardboard Gods Josh Wilker
in many ways this book is very similar to Are We Winning, only the era is different and the style a bit more literary. i loved holding and looking at this book, and reading it wasn't a chore either =)
4) Zeitoun Dave Eggers
eggers made a name, and a fortune, for himself by telling his story (some would say "exploiting" and "embellishing" but i would vehemently disagree). since then he's taken to telling other people's stories. this is the most straight-forward, simple storytelling eggers has done, but it still packs an emotional punch. i love what he is trying to do and i hope he keeps on doing it. 
5) All Souls Michael Patrick MacDonald
talk to anyone who has lived in boston for the last 20 years and they have an opinion on this book. a strong one. a customer at starbucks who grew up in southie and moved out when he went to college calls it a "pack of lies." our friend bob says it's pretty accurate. the divisiveness makes me think he hit on some sort of truth. very helpful in illuminating some recent boston history, the racial tensions and divisions that still exist, and the yearning for peace that still permeates our streets. 

Movies

Didn't watch many movies this year, again. I will point you towards Willie's excellent movie blog because he will probably have some good year end stuff up soon. Here are a few i did enjoy in no particular order: Toy Story 3, Inception, The Town, The Fighter (love the Boston area films =), and I will be watching over and over the Giants' World Series DVD!

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books


i've actually read a lot of the books in this book. does that make me pretentious, well-rounded, over-educated, or someone with too much time?

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being_a_fan


i am obviously enjoying the Giant's playoff run so far. it's been fun to "go through" this with amy who has never had the awesome privilege of experiencing my behavior during a playoff swing. 


in my life time Giant's baseball has been a "tortured" affair (to use the trendy descriptor of this 2010 version of the team). i recently explained the torture of my particular life from '85's 100 loss team, to '87's NLCS collapse, to the WS earthquake in '89, to the team almost moving to tampa, to the bonds era, to the marlins in '97, robb nen and the one game playoff in 98, to benny agbayani in 2000, to falling 2 games short in 2001, to the world series collapse in 2002, to the marlins again in '03 (this time with the horrible iconic images of jose cruz jr and jt snow), to the late season disaster at the hands of the dodgers in '04 (darn you steve finley), to the dark ages of '05-'08, to the "are-we-really-going-to-waste-historically-good-starting-pitching-with-this-lineup" of last season, to some of my sojourn colleagues. i don't think they look at me the same way.


baseball seems to produce a special kind of suffering...a suffering that cannot be brushed aside for a week and engaged only on sunday's...no it is deeper and more pervasive than anything other sports can offer. giants fans, often overshadowed by the red sox (until 2004) and the cubs and the indians and various other teams, have suffered as long and as traumatically as anyone.


this postseason can end triumphantly and ecstatically or with another chapter of suffering written, but either way, without a doubt, i will be back next year (sooner actually because i will likely be scouring the internet for off season news). 


i've been reading some excellent baseball books recently, and the one seen here (are we winning) is now safely among my all time favorite books. will lietch nails what it means to be a fan:


"these men (referring to management and players) can go somewhere else: dusty baker can go to chicago and then cincinnati. jeff kent can become a dodger and an astro (i changed examples here for the sake of the analogy). we have no such options. we're not going anywhere.


when you break it down, what exactly is a sports franchise? is it a succession of ownership? an institutional philosophy? a corporate machine? pretty orange and black uniforms? all of these can be changed...


...but when people talk about The Giants, they are not talking about players or managers. they are talking about us. that's the constant. that's the single continuous line..."


Go Giants!   

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greatness

born to run is the best sports book i have ever read. i love books like this: the author weaves a variety of stories and topics together around a central narrative...it's a book about running and yet it reads like a suspenseful thriller. it's absolutely fantastic writing.

it is a book about running but it's also a book about love, passion, anthropology, biomechanics, shoes, crazy people, ultra races, joy, and what it means to be a good person. all of this information crafted and told by an expert story teller.

the most compelling part of the book to me centered around a crusty old cross country coach at adams state (in alamosa, co not too far from durango). this dude unlocked every secret of running and training from a scientific standpoint, but still felt like he was missing part of the puzzle. 

coach vigil: "couldn't quite put his finger on it, but his gut kept telling him that there was some kind of connection between the capacity to love and the capacity to love running. the engineering was certainly the same: both depended on loosening your grip on your own desires, putting aside what you wanted and appreciating what you got, being patient and forgiving and undemanding."

later in the book the focus turns to scott jurek, the greatest american ultra-runner ever.  jurek would win races and then spend hours at the finish line encouraging fellow runners and cheering people on. the author writes: "what Coach Vigil had sensed about character...Scott had been his entire life. the reason we race isn't so much to beat each other, but to be together...Scott learned that early on...other runners tried to disassociate from fatigue by blasting ipods or imagining the roar of the crowd in Olympic stadium, but Scott had a simpler method: it's easy to get outside yourself when you're thinking about someone else."


good stuff!