Deus Misereatur

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt My rating: 4 of 5 stars Evolutionary biology and psychology, neurobiology, sociology, developmental and moral psychology...it's all in there, along with some artfully crafted chutzpah. Jonathan Haidt, the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University's Stern School of Business, who is ethnically Jewish, religiously atheist, and vocationally a moral psychologist, has pulled together an intriguing read that skillfully and sportively answers - from his perspective - his subtitle "Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion." Since there are thousands of reviews of the book that have already been broadcast, I'll simply say three things. First, it was fun to read, thought-provoking, instructive and insightful. As a Christian minister I can't, and don't, go along with many of his premises (evolution, utilitarianism, etc.); nevertheless, I...

Indispensable: The Basics of Christian Belief by David P. Cassidy My rating: 5 of 5 stars Are you looking for a book to hand to someone that strongly gives them the rudiments of the Christian faith? Is your young college student or High Schooler needing a good resource on the nitty-gritty of their Christianity to which they can return and use over and over again? New folks coming to your church, and you're wondering how to communicate the nuts-and-bolts of what we believe and why? David P. Cassidy, lead pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee, has happily, healthily and handily provided us with just the thing in his new 240 page paperback, "Indispensable: The Basics of the Christian Faith". Easy to read and simple to follow, it's perfect for intelligent middle-schoolers to the seasoned and venerable. The author walks readers through many important subjects. The book is not a systematic theology or a Confession of faith, but it does tackle huge s...

{Today's prayer is led by Psalm 63. It concludes with a Memorial Day prayer at the end) O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. It has been good to enter your great assembly; to earnestly seek you; to have our dry and thirsty souls quenched with you, O fountain of living waters. We pray for those who don’t know you and have never known the joy that you are and the life you give…. May they hear your invitation and come to the festival. Father, we pray for those who maybe feel themselves to be in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Maybe the parchedness is from their sickness or disease; maybe from depression or mental darkness of some ki...

A Pastoral Rule for Today: Reviving an Ancient Practice by John P. Burgess My rating: 5 of 5 stars With two decades of military life under my belt, and now two decades of ministry, I can honestly say that having a devotional plan, a religious rhythm, to shape each day, week, month and year is essential for my own well-being. Therefore I was quite pleased to see the new 208 page paperback, "A Pastoral Rule for Today: Reviving an Ancient Practice" hit the streets! John P. Burgess, the James Henry Snowden Professor of Systematic Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; Jerry Andrews, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in San Diego, California; and Joseph D. Small, retired director of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Theology and Worship, spent years pulling together the contents and backdrop for this manual. It is written primarily for pastors and ministers of any Christian tradition; and it is written to help them hash out a "rule" - a guide ...

The Good Shepherd's Pasture: A Story of Your Baptism by Elizabeth Harwell My rating: 5 of 5 stars How do we tell our children about Jesus? In what ways can we explain the Gospel so that it gets into little ears and nabs little hearts? Then, we have to think about the value of our little ones' baptism and how to communicate it to them. Elizabeth Harwell has crafted a wonderful 39 page, reading-out-loud hardback, "The Good Shepherd's Pasture," to convey to our children all of those things. The story nicely draws in the Old Testament rite of circumcision and connects it's forward-looking to the coming of the Good Shepherd and baptism. Harwell also artfully teases out our sin, the Good Shepherd's remedy, that the child needs to trust in Jesus for herself or himself, how they belong to the Good Shepherd and his pasture, that their baptism marks them as belonging to Jesus, and that they also should sing the love songs of the Good Shepherd to others. As you...

{This congregational prayer is all dressed up in Psalm 112} Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed . Thank you that in Jesus Christ the Righteous One, we have now been made the generation of the upright! We pray for your Church, O God; for your sacred society all over the world, in this country, throughout the State of Oklahoma, this congregation, and Shartel Church of God, South Agnew Church of God, Church of God in Christ on NE 65 th Street, and Greater Coates Temple Church. May your Church be blessed walking in the fear of God and delighting in your commandments. May your people be mighty in the land for generations to come, godly and blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous . Look on us, our homes an...

Let Us Prey by R Glenn Ball My rating: 5 of 5 stars "Hi. My name is Mike, and I'm a recovering narcissistic!" That's how I felt while reading this 228 page paperback, "Let Us Prey: The Plague of Narcissist Pastors and What We Can Do About It" penned by authors R. Glenn Ball, ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and Darrell Puls, founder of Peacebridge Ministries. This little book is ideal for pastors, pastoral candidates, churches, and pastor search committees; but it is especially written for anyone who has been burned and battered by a narcissistic spiritual leader! The first five chapters of "Let Us Prey" unpacks and deciphers narcissism in ecclesiastical leaders for the purpose of helping the reader recognize what she or he has been through. The authors draw from Ovid's description of Narcissus, and point out that what "Ovid wrote well describes the modern narcissist: he is in love with the image of himself, a...