Adam Shields

Short Review: This is a very helpful book on organizational development both for minorities trying to process their experience within predominately White ministries and for those that are White in leadership of those organizations. The focus is on Christian parachurch organizations, but there are a lot of principles that carry through to secular organizations as well.

The focus is on structural system that make it difficult for minorities to work in these organizations. There is memoir and personal experience and stories here to well illustrate, but this is not a book primarily of memoir. Anthony Bradley's book Aliens in the Promised Land I think is the closest book to this that I have previously read. But this is more organizationally focused.

Pei focuses this on how many minorities have a a similar experience because the system that they encounter are not individual but structural. And I think that is helpful for system because Whites tend to think about racism as primarily individual animus and not structural. It is the structural nature of racism that makes these experiences similar.

My fuller thoughts (about 1000 words) are on my review on my blog at http://bookwi.se/the-minority-experience/

Short review: I am fascinated by the Supreme Court. I have read at least a dozen books about different aspects of it over the years. I have previously read a light biography of Ginsberg (Notorious RBG) and a book on the court by O'Connor, but I didn't know too much about O'Connor's background.

Sisters in Law is a joint biography of Ginsberg and O'Connor, but I think that O'Connor gets short changed. Because Ginsberg's history includes so much history of caselaw about gender issues, Ginsberg's pre-court discussion is much more detailed than O'Connors'. I would have loved to hear more about O'Connor as a legislator.

Once the book got them both to the Court it was much more balanced. The author clearly identifies more closely with Ginsberg's legal philosophy, but attempted to give O'Connor a fair hearing. Ginsberg was not above critique, but bias of the author did show through.

I was fascinated by the behind the scenes acrimony. Hirshman's point was that being women mattered to O'Connor and Ginsberg's role on the court. Those that voted against them were sometimes sexist. But I would have liked a better discussion of the legal philosophies that were used to support the votes. Because while I think sexism is at least part of the reason, there were legal justifications to those votes and I think that part matters.

My longer review (about a 1000 words) is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/sisters-in-law/

I am not sure if I am going to write a full review of this on my blog or not. I am in the middle of reading a more academic book on O'Connor that I really like (Subversive Gospel). And I thought I really needed to read one of O'Connor's novels since I had only read one of her short story collections previously so that I would better understand O'Connor.

Now I think I am going to finish Subversive Gospel and then read The Violent Bear it Away and Everything that Rises Must Converge and then come back and re-read Wise Blood.

I listened to the audiobook because that is what I had (picked it up on sale a while ago.) But while the narration isn't bad, I always felt like I was missing something. I think that is more about the writing style than the audiobook.

Update: I did write up some thoughts on my blog http://bookwi.se/wise-blood/

Short Review: An exercise in what it means to encourage the life of the mind, bounded by the creed, with the example of history, and with illustrations of how that can work out in practice.

As a whole I alternate between being really appreciative of the concept of this book and the fact that Noll is attempting to work out on paper how we encourage the intellectual life within the bounds of Christianity and being frustrated with how he does it.

Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind was published in 2011 and I wonder how it would be different had Noll written it in 2018. Part of the weakness of Noll's project has been that he has mostly encouraging the life of the mind of academics and theological leaders within the Evangelical church. It is not that he is unaware of average lay person or that he does not think that the development of the life of the mind of the laity is important. But that the pitch of Noll's work catches the interest of those that are already intellectually active.

I was quite frustrated at times with this book. But in the end I am encouraged that it was written, even when I disagree with aspects because Noll's example of intellectual development and encouragement is the point, not the particulars.

I have about 1500 words on this on my blog at http://bookwi.se/life-of-the-mind/

Short Review: This book is designed to counter the concept of God as primarily wrathful as illustrated by Edwards sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Zahnd charts a course through scripture to counter the idea, briefly looking at Old Testament genocide passages before two long sections on the Crucifixion and the book of Revelation. Broadly Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God is trying to help the reader re-imagine God. This is done very differently, but to similar effect as James Bryan Smith's The Good and Beautiful God.

My favorite insight of the book is Zahnd's phrase literalizing metaphors about God. We all know what a metaphor is and that the bible uses them frequently to talk about God. Zahnd thinks our problem is that we lose the concept of metaphor and literalize those metaphors to make God into a concrete form of the metaphor. We do not do that with some metaphors, God as chicken or God as castle, but we do literalize the metaphors in other places.

This is not fundamentally different from a number of progressive Evangelical books. There are places I have issues, but broadly this is a helpful book. I think part of the importance of books like this is 1) to popularize more academic theology and 2) for me personally to read from a variety of streams of Christianity.

My full review, about 1200 words, is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/sinners/

Short Review: I am really mixed on this. I spent three months reading it because I was frustrated with it, but there were things that I think are helpful in it. Mostly the helpful stuff was toward the end and was about the role of confessions and the sacraments in strengthening the believer and the last chapter about praying for healing of the nations. I do think some of the earlier parts were helpful, but there was a lot that was just bad theology. It was also a very modernist take on prayer trying to take it apart scientifically and treating prayer as a technology that we just do not yet fully understand. I think that is the wrong approach to take when thinking about prayer.

And specifically in regard to healing, this directly falls into the problem of placing blame on either the healer or the one being healed if the healing does not occur. Some of the highlights you can find show examples of this.

I do think it is useful to read books from a different era. This is one that is over 70 years old and still in print. I picked it up because it was mentioned in a biography of Dallas Willard.

My longer review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/the-healing-light-by-agnes-sanford/

Short Review: I have read 5 previous books by James Bryan Smith. And I have read Richard Foster and several by Dallas Willard and other spiritual formation authors. So there was not really anything that was here that was new. But part of the reality of this school is that we are not changed by knowledge of what is true, good and beautiful but by what is experienced of what is good, beautiful and true. Smith always has ‘soul practice' exercises in his book. He always wants people to read these books as part of a group. For people to be in community together so that they can encourage one another toward experiencing God as he suggests.

My critique of Smith's writing is that he can be a bit cliche. I don't know how you solve that when writing content and from a philosophical position like what Smith is doing. But the cliche does annoy me a bit.


My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/magificent-story/

Short Review: I am probably primed to like this book for reasons outside of the book. I listen to Fea's history podcast, I vote democrat traditionally, so this book is not a critique of my voting or my party and I already have a very shaky relationship with the current cultural/sociological definition of Evangelicals (see my review of Still Evangelical for more of that http://bookwi.se/still-evangelical/ )

But I did still listen to the audiobook, almost in a single sitting, during a six hour solo drive. The rough argument of Believe Me is that Evangelical voted for Trump for three reasons, fear, the desire for a Christian nation and the needed power to make it that way (Christian nationalism) and nostalgia. Fea then charts how these three issues are not new factors but historical ones that have impacted Evangelicals and the politics and voting throughout US history.

Largely I agree with the analysis, although I think the book was probably rushed to press. There was not a enough discussion of what evangelical means today and historically and I think that impacted the historical analysis. There were some just flat mistakes that made it into the book. (For instance he says DACA is a program that gives citizenship to children of illegal immigrants born in the US instead of a program that gives legal residency to adults brought to the US illegally when they were children. Any children of illegal immigrants born in the US are already citizens). But I think there could have been more development in places. The Christianity Today Review I think rightly critiques the lack of connection made between fear and political power instead of them being development separately ( https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/june-web-only/believe-me-donald-trump-john-fea.html )

But largely this is a book that is helpful because it is focused historically. The end has a short section of what to do now, which is a bit unusually in a historical book. Fea says that as he tested the material with students and others he kept getting a ‘so what should we do now' response. He points to the historic Black church and the civil rights movement as an example of the type of response that an Evangelical church that is descending in cultural and political power can look to as an example. And I think that response is right, although the problem of White Evangelical comes to place because this book is a discussion of the voting patterns of White Evangelicals not theological evangelicals which are about 1/3 minority.

My full review (about 1500 words) is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/believe-me/

Short Review: Baldwin's writing is incredible. Lyrical and moving. I really did not like his characters. They were childish, selfish and unwilling to actually work on relationships. This is yet another book where I see the real skill of the author, but can't really recommend the book.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/giovannis-room/

Short Review: this is a project that is trying to facilitate discussions of race and racism within a Christian context for parents and children. There are many parts of this that I really love. The art is great. It clearly lays out the definitions that are used and uses the narrative arc of scripture, creation, fall, redemption as the basis of the structure. I appreciate that it roots reconciliation in God's reconciliation toward without dismissing the real needs for repairing relationships.

My two minor complaints are about two of the definitions. In trying to get across the idea that race is a social construct and not rooted in genetics or God's teleological plan, the authors use the phrases ‘imaginary concept' or ‘fictional construct' and I think those two phrase communicate something different.

I also think that while the definition of unity isn't bad, it is incomplete in emphasis. We have unity in Christ because we all follow Christ as Lord, not because we are organizationally or culturally similar.

Even with a few minor complaints, I really do appreciate the project and I hope it spreads widely.

My full review as well as some links to videos and a podcast interview about the project is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/gospel-in-color/

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/bound-for-the-promise-land/

Short review: It is fine. Nothing special. Slow start, the end is a bit rushed. If I have not been assured that the series as a whole is really good I would probably quit. But I have been assured the series is really good. So I will slowly work through them.

Just a little over a year ago Dick Gregory passed away. Defining Moments in Black History was his last book. Dick Gregory was most well known as a comedian. His comedy albums in the 1960s and 1970s as well as his comedy tours and TV appearances made him nationally known. But Gregory was also a political activist. He ran for Chicago mayor against Richard J Daley in 1967. He was signficantly involved in the Civil Rights movement.

And as you hear throughout this book, he was at or participated in or knew personally many of the people or events that he is talking about.

I have no idea how to really talk about this book. Much of it is just standard recounting of the parts of history that are routinely ignored or white washed. But other parts are just crazy town conspiracy theories. I think that is part of what Gregory is known for. What is hard to talk about is that not all of the conspiracy theories he is talking about are simply theories. Plots against MLK by the FBI are not conspiracy theories. Cointelpro and the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment are not conspiracy theories.

And then there are the parts that may have some validity, but are unlikely. Coretta Scott King and many others believe that there was a broader conspiracy to kill Martin Luther King Jr. From what I can tell, there is circumstantial evidence, but not definitive proof that the FBI, the Memphis Police or other government agencies played a role in MLK's assassination. But there is enough evidence for the discussion.

I am very concerned about unverified sharing of conspiracy theories. Alex Jones and others have made their livelihood sharing these false narratives and they harm actual people. This is not just entertainment. Dick Gregory, according to Wikipedia actually was on Alex Jones' show at least three times.

So I really do have a hard time recommending this book because some of it is just straight trash. On the other hand, most of the book is really good. Much of our understanding of Black history is poor and many people of all races do not have a real understanding of the many important roles in all history that Blacks (mostly Americans in this book) played in history.

The problem with recommending a book like this, is that if you do not have at least a decent background in Black History and conspiracy theories it would be hard to know what is what. And honestly there are probably at least a few that I dismissed that have some validity to them. The problem is that it is likely people like Gregory that talk about them, but we need some good academic historians to do it as well. But academic historians with the chops to do the work tend to not spend much time in this type of high contentious subject areas.

The best parts of the book are his personal touches. The fact that he knew so many people he talked about does matter and if you do read the book, I think that is probably the best reason to read it.

Short Review: This is an okay introduction to the structure and form of the Episcopal services and the book of common prayer. But I was really looking for how to actually use the book (flipping pages and using it as a devotional) and this wasn't that book. Eventually I found a kindle version of the book of common prayer that had everything written out as a daily devotional so there is no flipping and trying to figure out what you are supposed to be doing.

As an introduction, this isn't bad, but it is in that difficult place of being too basic for anyone that has much background but not specific enough for people that have no background.


My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/common-prayer-2/

Short review:I have been encouraged to pick up Adam Dalgliesh mysteries because I have liked Gamache and Bruno and some others. I did not realize that it had been originally written in 1961, it does not feel dated at all. It does feel a bit like Murder on the Orient Express in some of its set up. I was listening to a Great Courses lecture on great books and it had a section on books that are not traditionally thought of as great books and mentioned this book as the start of mysteries moving from the more formulaic to more character based. I can see that because Dalgliesh feels a good bit like Gamache. But I also think that the lecture was probably taking into account the rest of the series not just this first book. I have been warned that the series takes a few books to really catch hold. So I will pick up some more. I have the first six on Kindle, but I listened to most of this on audiobook from the library. I will probably continue to do that.

My only slightly longer review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/cover-her-face/

Short Review: I can't read this without thinking about Endo's Silence. I will always connect Greene and Endo, but I think these two books are the two that are probably most connected between the two authors. Both are about persecutions, but different types of persecutions. I didn't know anything about the Mexican persecution of the church prior to reading this. I looked up a little bit about it after I finished the book. It was regional and not a serious, but there was still many people that died and the suffering described here seems realistic.

The Power and the Glory is smaller and I think a bit more approachable as a means to thinking about what it means to be a Christian in the face of suffering. Silence is so big. The entire church was essentially wiped out. Graham Greene's story ends more hopefully because as he was publishing it, the persecution was basically ended. The church overcame. So the stories are different because of the endings.

Part of what is interesting to me is how the role of the priest in Catholic theology is different from a Protestant Pastor and so the whiskey priest, as much as he may have been ridiculed because of his sin, was still a priest. A similar book I don't think could really be written about a Protestant pastor.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/the-power-and-the-glory/

Short Thoughts: Critical Race Theory is not really one things, but a general framework. That frameworks is describe in this book as having 12 components. So it is not particularly easy to describe what it it. The approach of the book is to walk through the history, the components of what has made up Critical Race Theory. There is also a discussion of the critiques of CRT and a discussion of the possible future changes and challenges of CRT.

There are certainly aspects of CRT that I cannot agree with. But I am not at all dismissive of CRT nor do I think it is an overall unhelpful approach. I think the paired concepts of intersectionality and privilege are very helpful. I think the bias toward storytelling and assumptions of white supremacy, regardless of intentions together are necessary to empower those that have been disempowered and to counter the history of oppression in the US.

CRT is a critical approach. I think that is necessary at this point. At some point, I think there will need to be more constructive approaches to create systems that are designed to be affirmatively anti-oppression, but we are certainly not at that place yet.

Overall, as I hear people dismiss CRT or demonize it, it seems clearly that most are not actually familiar with the real concepts of CRT and are just using it as a proxy for things they disagree with, (ie calling people cultural marxists.)

My longer thoughts are on my blog at http://bookwi.se/critical-race-theory/

Short Review: This is a very brief introduction to spiritual formation and the basic steps of how to proceed. Parham is a lay person on the board of Renovare (Richard Foster's organization that was started to encourage spiritual formation). And she was first introduced to the concept of spiritual formation about 10 years ago. So she is writing from the perspective of a lay person that was not too long ago unacquainted with the concept. There is nothing new or original here. It is a basic introduction. But as a basic, short introduction it hits all the major points and objections.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/spiritual-formation-primer-richella-parham/

Short review: This was a near perfect audiobook. The narration by Julie Andrews could not have been better. The restrained but useful additions of some of her music as transition was very good (something I don't normally like.)

But overall it was just a very charming story of a humble and gracious woman. It only goes through the birth of her first child (just before filming of Mary Poppins) so there is a lot of story left to fill in.

I am really surprised how much I enjoyed this book.

Fully review at http://bookwi.se/home-a-memoir-of-my-early-years-by-julie-andrews/

Short Review: This is a narrow book on Baldwin in the last years of his life focusing on the books/articles/works toward the end of his life and the cultural history of the era that influenced those final (several unpublished) works.

I was born in the early 1970s. I remember Regan being elected, but it was very early consciousness for me. I graduated from high school in 91 and James Baldwin had passed away before I was even aware of his name. While I have been doing a lot of reading of history lately, I have not read much on large scale history since the early 70s even though this was not mostly about the larger history of the 80s, there was enough context to be helpful to think about what the broader cultural history was all about.

The most interesting chapters for me were 4 and 5. The fourth chapter was about the rise of the moral majority and Baldwin as critic of Christianity. As someone that read a lot of theology for fun and has been to seminary, I think Baldwin gets some aspects of Christianity wrong. But in some ways that are fairly common even among Christians. And I think that he gets a lot of his critique of the Televangelists and Moral Majority right because of their lack of focus on the oppressed.

The fifth chapter on the Atlanta Child murders was fascinating to me because I have been in Atlanta area for just over a decade now. I am not from here, but my wife's family is. So this chapter is local history. I did hear from a friend that there was some DNA connection to Williams and some of the murder victims so that would be interesting to have teased out a bit. But also it seems likely to me that there was a racial component to the murders as well. It was 1981 that a Black man was shot in Cumming for simply being in the town (it was a sunset town with no Black residents in the whole county until almost 2000-you can read Blood at the Root for more about that.)

I appreciated some of the directly connections between Baldwin and how he is understood today especially as a father figure for the Black Lives Matters moment.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/james-baldwin-and-the-1980s/

Short Review: This is the best of the three McBride books I have read over the past year.

It is the story of a young teen, sort of freed by John Brown. But in the process his father was killed. Brown thinks that Henry is a girl because he is dressed only in a long shirt and for the rest of the novel Henry plays a girl. This is both played for humor and social commentary.

The novel continues through the Harper's Ferry raid. Worth reading, but feels a little bit off of perfect but I am not quite sure why.

My longer thought http://bookwi.se/good-lord-bird/

Short thoughts: I picked this up because I heard an interview with the author on a podcast I like (Conversing with Mark Labberton). I didn't know anything going into the book. It is a young adult book, but doesn't feel immature, just pitched to a younger audience. You Bring the Distant Near is the story of an immigrant family coming to the US in the 1970s. It starts with the daughters (15 and 17) coming to the US from London, via Ghana, but born in India. As time passes, the daughters fall in love and get married and then their daughters become the main characters before moving back to the grandmother. The story alternates perspectives, but the perspectives are kept clear. (I listened to the audiobook and many audiobooks with shifting perspectives do not work in audiobook.)

I appreciated the characters being human. They each have strengths and weaknesses and the shifting perspectives gives complexity to the story and motivations.

This is Perkins' most recent book and it was nominated for a National Book award. The New York Public library named her earlier book, Rickshaw Girl) one of the 100 best children's books of the last 100 years. And other books also have awards. Perkins has another book coming out in April 2019. I will read more of her books, but this is the only one that my library had without requesting it from another branch.

my longer thoughts are on my blog at http://bookwi.se/you-bring-the-distant-near/

Short Review: an early 20th century swashbuckling novel set during the French Revolution. It feels a little bit like the classic zorro story, with a bumbling rich young man that is actually the hero. I looked it up and Zorro was written after the Scarlet Pimpernel, so maybe it is the other way around.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/scarlet-pimpernel/

Short thoughts: In some ways Costly Love could be a short article or talk. But this is not a short article or talk because the Church as a whole really seems to have misunderstood what love is and why it is important. That requires a ground up inspection of what love means, why love is not just some aspect of theology or God's character, but a central concern. And then the implications of that love. John's perspective is strongly shaped by his work in what he calls ‘missional ecumenism'. That work is drawing the broad church into greater relationship, understanding, and appreciation of itself.

Like many others good books on aspects of Christianity, Costly Love is a book about discipleship. Discipleship is about transformation long term, not data processing. Information and theology can help us understand God and others and love more deeply, but theology without praxis is never really full Christianity. Love is not something that can only be thought about, it has to be practiced with actual people.

I listened to the audiobook and there were three small audio editing issues that were each only a few seconds long. They were not significant, but they were present.

My slightly longer thoughts are on my blog at http://bookwi.se/costly-love/

Short Review: this is the third book of the Hainish Cycle that I have read. I think it is the best story, but also the one that philosophically is doing the least. Which may be somewhat connected. It is out of print as a stand alone book except for this audiobook edition. It is included in some collections of Le Guin's work.

My full review which doesn't really have any spoilers is on my blog http://bookwi.se/city-of-illusions/