Zowie! After a respite in December, the third Sunday in January (Book Club date!) is galloping towards us.
I sat down this evening to begin Phyllis Tickle’s, The Great Emergence, Soon I got up to fetch a dictionary. A little later, having a world atlas handy seemed like a good idea. (With on-line dictionaries and maps, these books don’t get used very often anymore.)
How and Why Christianity is Changing
You really don’t need a dictionary or an atlas. Just curiosity, I guess. “Carapace” was the first fuzzy word. It means shell. It also seemed important to know where the islands of Rhodes and Malta are in relation to each other.
Tickle is an excellent writer. In the first sixty pages she presents a fascinating and concise history of how Christianity got to where it is today. Each brief chapter has provided “Aha” moments as I realized, “Oh, that was Luther’s real contribution.” Or wondered, “Why didn’t I know about Joseph Campbell?”
I cannot wait to read the rest of the book. Tickle takes select puzzle pieces of historical and contemporary Christianity, and slides them into place so the reader can see a coherent and vibrant picture.
If you are looking for a short, insightful read, this may be the book for you.
So that you can plan ahead, here is our list through April:
- Jan 15 The Great Emergence, by Phillis Tickle
- Feb 19 Here if you need me, by Kate Braestrup
- Mar 18 I refuse to lead a dying church, by Paul Nixon
- April 22 What Good is God? by Philip Yancey
Survey results. BTW, the results from our survey a couple of months ago were overwhelmingly to continue meeting each month. A thoughtful suggestion is that if monthly is too frequent for anyone, select a title you want to read later on the list, and start reading now. Then you’ll be ready when that book comes up!
Who can join? This Conference Call Book Club welcomes those who like to expand their awareness of books with spiritual themes and who would like to discuss them in a group setting.
If you’re not specifically on the Book Club list and would like to sign up, just let us know by commenting below. We meet the third Sunday evening of each month, 7 – 8:30 pm CT.
This is such an important book. I am glad you all will be reading it!
I read this book a year ago and was just as wowed. It gave me an entire new view of Christianity as a broad sweeping movement through history–and where we fit in today. Good to hear your group is reading it.
Phyllis Tickle is quite an amazing person. As founding editor of the Religion Department of PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, (this is the international journal of the book industry), she has done much to forward the discussion of religion in the media. Todd – I had the same reaction. It gave me a sense of the ongoing tenacity of the movement of Christianity – where its been , where its at now and a glimpse of where it may be going.
Thanks Sandi, I will pick that book up! Warmly, Tawny
this book sounds great. I hope to be part of the talk.
Claire
So far, I have not been able to participate in your Book Club, but I have been following closely the books you have read and the reviews from the participants. Please let me know what I have to do to join up. The book which you have selected to read next sounds quite interesting.
I used to live in Chicago, but moved to NJ back in 2001. If I still lived in Chicago, I would definitely be active in your group. I love what you are doing to bring some new life back into the CS church.
Isn’t it neat how we are all still connected, Brad :0). Loved my Illinois days with your sister and brother-in-law…and with Nancy from TX and others. Schaumburg church was formed in those days… book mobiles in the parks–Noel was ahead of his time. Can’t tell you all how grateful we of 60′s church period are that you are doing this…eventually it will spread to us in New Jersey. it has been said that the 13 original colonies are the last to get on the band wagon–hold to their deep-rooted traditions. Hope we can prove that no longer applies. Keeping a good eye on you, Now i’ll download, or is it upload, an e-read of Phyllis Tickle’s book (I hope)… and see what Sandi has been enjoying. Thanks, folks…
Hi Brad, Claire, and Tawny,
Welcome aboard; hope you can all make the Conference Call. Your names have been added specifically to the book club list, so a day or two before the 15th, you’ll get am email with the call-in number. This occasionally changes from month to month, so we send the number out fresh each time.
Tawny, if you didn’t intend to ask to be on the list, let me know! We’ve been reading some amazing books which I probably would not read without this incentive.
Interesting list. I liked Yancey’s “What’s so amazing about grace” (never finished it, tho!) And just last week I was telling a good friend about the Lindbergh book [Gifts from the Sea] and thinking I should read it again, as it’s been years. I remember it’s really short! (But you ThINK a lot!)
I’ve never been a TV watcher, either. We watch a news hour while we eat dinner – and maybe one other news program. And I do watch “American Idol” and “So you think you can dance” – during the time of the year when these are on. (I love seeing the genuine talent and hard work of the young folks.) So – I should be able to work books in.
I’m looking forward to the Fellowship book discussion so much. I’m so interested in this book.