It's time again for the Pastor's Summer Book Club.
Join Pastor Jason as he reads through three books this summer.
Hello friends,
School graduations are happening all over our community this week (congrats to all the grads out there!), which means summer is officially upon us!
It also means the time has come for this year's Pastor's Summer Book Club. For those who are new to OSC, here's how it works:
Every summer I choose 3 books to read and invite others to join me.
This is an online book club, so we don't gather in-person, we connect online here at the OSC website.
On the last Monday of each month – June 24, July 29, and August 26 – I'll post my thoughts here on the blog and invite you to add to the discussion.
Here are three books I'm reading this summer:
JUNE BOOK
Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans
If the Bible isn't a science book or an instruction manual, then what is it? What do people mean when they say the Bible is inspired? When Rachel Held Evans found herself asking these questions, she began a quest to better understand what the Bible is and how it is meant to be read. What she discovered changed her--and it will change you too.
JULY BOOK
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr
In Falling Upward, Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up." Most of us tend to think of the second half of life as largely about getting old, dealing with health issues, and letting go of life, but the whole thesis of this book is exactly the opposite. What looks like falling down can largely be experienced as "falling upward." In fact, it is not a loss but somehow actually a gain, as we have all seen with elders who have come to their fullness.
Explains why the second half of life can and should be full of spiritual richness
Offers a new view of how spiritual growth happens...loss is gain
Richard. Rohr is a regular contributing writer for Sojourners and Tikkun magazines
This important book explores the counterintuitive message that we grow spiritually much more by doing wrong than by doing right--a fresh way of thinking about spirituality that grows throughout life.
AUGUST
And It Was Good: Reflections on Beginnings by Madeleine L'Engle
In the first book of her Genesis Trilogy, beloved author Madeleine L'Engle casts long, loving, and perceptive glances not only at the created universe but also at its Creator. L'Engle often crafted stories that dealt with the complexities of the universe, navigating time and space, religion and science, with uncanny ease and insight. This skill--most famously demonstrated in A Wrinkle in Time--is showcased in this nonfiction work, And It Was Good, through her ability to see the connection between Made and Maker at every level. She examines the vast beauty, order, and complexity of our world with enthusiasm and reverence, illuminating the characteristics of God, the first poet.