21 Miles, 4 Books, and 2 Key Lime Pies

That's a fairly accurate summary of my vacation last week. My day consisted of eating, sitting at the beach and reading, eating some more, running, and then eating some more. Along the way I pondered two important questions. 1) If you run as much as you want and eat as much as your want, which one will win? In other words, do miles cancel out pies? The answer is no. They don't. Trust me on this one. 2) If you read as much as you want will you retain as much as you want? Again, the answer is no. I read 4 books (two on Christian topics and two historical novels). What have I retained? Bits and pieces. Although, I do find it interesting that I can tell you much more about the two novels than I can about the Christian topics. That's because they were stories. Stories stick with us. What does that say to the way about the way in which we ought to be teaching on Christian topics?

Here's a brief rundown of the books.

1. Songbirds are Free (P.M. Terrell). A story from the early 1800s about the abduction of Mary Neely from the Fort Nashborough area. The dialogue was imagined, but the events were true. Makes you think about how easy we have it compared to the early settlers. We fold up when the air conditioner goes out.
2. More Ready Than You Realize (Brian McLaren). A post-modern approach to evangelism (although post-moderns don't really approve of the word evangelism). I find myself agreeing more and more with this guy and for some reason that scares me. When I read McLaren I think "that idea makes a lot of sense" but then I think "that idea could get me in a lot of trouble." Isn't it interesting how traditions continue to bind us long after we thought we were free from them?
3. Simple Church (Thom Rainer, Eric Geiger). It's billed as "not another church model" but what I found in it was another church model. Although, a good one, I might add. It felt like a re-working of the Purpose-Driven Model, with a simpler approach of course. I especially liked the thoughts on discipleship vs. programming.
4. The Known World (Edward P. Jones). A story from the mid-1800s (pre-Civil War) about free blacks who owned slaves. Interesting topic. Explores all the moral complexes and contradicting rationales surrounding the idea that people are property. It's interesting to me how just 150 years ago that was a commonly accepted idea (even among Bible-believing Christians). Makes you wonder which of our commonly accepted ideas will be considered deplorable in 150 years?