When I was in seminary there were two books that I read that had a huge impact on me. At the time, they were both books that really fired me up and helped me to begin to see a way forward through the overwhelming array of options that faced me as a student.

This week I am rereading both of these books. My hope is that I will rediscover some of the insights I had when I first read them. Maybe I will even pick up a train of thought that got pushed aside as I struggled to finish my Credo for Systematic Theology. God willing, I will even experience again some of the personal renewal that I felt the first time I read these two books.

Which two books? The first one that I read was The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics by Richard B. Hays. This book provided a sense of immediacy for why one should read and study, not just the New Testament, but the Bible – in order to know how we as Christians should live in the present in order to be faithful. I found Hays’ method to be very helpful and it renewed my passion for living and spreading scriptural holiness. I also felt that in the last part of the book that Hays modeled a way to actually suggest answers to controversial and even painful issues that it sometimes felt like in seminary there were no real solutions to.

The second book that I read was for a directed study on Wesleyan Applications for Ministry, the book was Responsible Grace: John Wesley’s Practical Theology by Randy L. Maddox. My first thought after reading this book was: You should have to read this book if you are going to become a United Methodist pastor! Seriously. And I still feel that way. Responsible Grace really helped me to put the pieces of Wesleyan theology together in a way that helped me to see the contribution that Wesleyan theology has to make to the contemporary church. There are other great resources on Wesleyan theology, but this one was a watershed in my growth in understanding our Wesleyan tradition as United Methodists.

I am happy to say that 50 some pages into both books, I am finding that they are just as good as my memory told me they were. If you have not read either book, I would highly recommend them both!

Which leads me to ask, what were the two most important books that you read in seminary?

Can you feel it? At least here in Oklahoma, the seasons are finally noticeably changing. My calendar tells me that we have been in October for two weeks, but it wasn’t until this morning that I felt that refreshing fall chill when I woke up and opened the back door to let the dogs out. I think I appreciate fall more and more every year.

I know many people bemoan that Christmas starts earlier and earlier every year. The commercial aspect can get out of hand. However, especially with us expecting our first child, I am just really looking forward to Advent. And with the chilly weather this morning, I felt like I was getting ready for Advent (or adventing Advent, if you will).

Halloween is two weeks away, which brings back great memories of Trick or Treating with my brother. (We literally ran from house to house to get as much candy as we could.) And once Halloween is over that means that Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means that Advent and Christmas are on the horizon. And all this comes with the weather changing, leaves turning brilliant colors before they fall, and then someday the first snow of the season blanketing the ground – which is always a grace-filled moment for me.

Today, I am especially thankful for God’s grace and God’s goodness. I just love this time of year.

Yesterday I went to youth group a little bit tired, and to be honest, not expecting much. The Finance Committee meeting immediately following youth group was more on my mind than what was right in front of me. But I have to say I left youth group with a big smile on my face, with excitement, and I even felt personally renewed in my faith and commitment to the church.

Yesterday evening was a gloomy night with thunderstorms passing through. The lightning was pretty severe as the time came for our devotion. We often watch one of Rob Bell’s NOOMA videos as a devotion and conversation starter, but we decided not to because of the storm. That meant that we suddenly had no plan other than eating pizza and playing games. I decided to have us turn to 1 Timothy 4:11-14:

Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift , which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. (TNIV)

We ended up having a great conversation about how they as young people can set an example for the rest of the church. But that wasn’t even the coolest part. After our discussion, I mentioned that we were not going to have our annual Fall Festival because nobody volunteered to coordinate it. They were really disappointed because they were going to help out, and they felt bad for the young kids who always seem to enjoy it. So, they asked if they could do it. All of it. We talked about the responsibility that would be involved and what would be required, and once they knew what they were getting into, they still wanted to do it.

Just awesome. A great example of giving of self out of love for others. And what a great way to live out what we had just been talking about as far as not letting people look down on you because you are young, and setting an example for the church.

Yesterday was an inspiring and reinvigorating experience. And all I did was show up. All I had to do was witness a group of young people opening themselves up to God.

Praise God.

Friday Shout Out is 0 for 1… We will hope for better luck next week. Stay tuned because you never know who might stop by. Best of luck to Brian McLaren as he promotes his new book.

In the October, 2007 issue of CHRISTIANITY TODAY Stan Guthrie critiques the Red-Letter Christian movement. Tony Campolo has been the most visible proponet of RLC, and the the above link has Campolo’s response to Guthrie’s critique. I found the article to be interesting, but I was disappointed that Guthrie spent so much of his energy on the political/partisan implications of the RLC movement. It seems to me that there are much more interesting and important issues.

The article is pretty short, if you have a chance to read the article and Campolo’s response, please share your thoughts. What do you think about the Red-Letter Christian argument? Are you persuaded, what questions or disagreements do you have?

Mark Galli’s “Inside CT” article in the current issue of CHRISTIANITY TODAY had a great thought I wanted to share:

Healthy Christian ministry assumes that… the lights go out in people’s lives with some regularity, and it is prepared to light candles. Yet some ministries seem shocked and appalled when the lights go out. They fumble for solutions and expend energy cursing the darkness of he surrounding culture.

At least it made me go, “Hmm…”