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Review: Metaxas’ “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy”

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Adam J. Copeland

I read many books, but seldom biography. Perhaps that’s due to negative experiences with book report assignments growing up. Who knows? Upon a social media acquaintance’s recommendation, however, I picked up a Kindle copy of Eric Metaxas’ biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Quickly, I found myself looking forward to evenings in which I could read the thick biography. It’s an absolute triumph of a book.

Many aspects of Bonhoeffer’s remarkable life compelled me. First and foremost, I enjoyed learning about the man whose theology I had only really encountered in snapshots — quotes from Cost of Discipleship, snippets of his Advent and Christmas sermons, prayers, etc. I had a taste of Bonhoeffer’s strong words and generous spirit, but not the context in which to view them. For example, though I constructed an Advent worship service last year around Bonhoeffer’s Advent/Christmas sermons, I didn’t understand that they were written during the Nazi party buildup in Germany, while Bonhoeffer was already plotting with the opposition and organizing the Confessing Church.

Second, I was very intrigued with the window into the holocaust that Metaxas’ gives the reader. I have studied a bit of the history of WWII, but mainly from American perspectives. Certainly I’ve run into many moral components of the holocaust in philosophy, ethics, and religion courses, but it is so difficult to get the full context of what was happening in Germany at the time. Bonhoeffer allows a window into the slow rise of Hitler and the Nazi party that I didn’t previously know much about.

Finally, Bonhoeffer the man is wonderful to read about because he is so damn well-rounded and, well, extraordinary. A skillful pianist, poet, theologian (but even better pastor), preacher, philosopher, historian, son of a brilliant scientist, speaker of many languages, singer, humorist, family man, prophetic Christian, and more, the sheer breadth and depth of Bonhoeffer’s knowledge and skill astounds me. I’m left wondering: do we simply not make women and men that way any more, or was Bonhoeffer truly set apart?

I wholeheartedly recommend Bonhoeffer. At 624 pages, it takes a bit to read, but I always found myself looking forward to picking it up again. (Oh, and by the way, I think Bonhoeffer, were he living today, would definitely be a prodigious blogger. He was constantly writing to hundreds of friends, family members, and colleagues, both individually and in circular letters.)

I’ll close with a quote from the pastor himself:

There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture and can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security. To demand guarantees is to want to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself completely to God’s commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes. Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won when the way leads to the cross.

Metaxas, Eric; Timothy J. Keller (2010-04-20). Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (p. 241). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

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What? You don’t have a TV! (part 3)

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Adam J. Copeland

[For previous installments of this series, see Part 1, and Part 2]

The amount of time Americans spend watching TV has gone up in recent years. Studies differ, but it’s usually estimated we watch on average nearly three hours of TV a day. Since I don’t have a TV, what do I do with my time? And, what must I be missing?

Besides work, cooking, cleaning, blogging, running, and that sort of thing, I do have some leisure time. So, mainly, I read. There’s magazine: TIME, The Christian Century, Harper’s, The Atlantic and others. There’s books: mostly fiction, sometimes churchy. There’s the web: dozens of blogs, news sites, social media. There’s radio: MPR (OK, I only listen to MPR, but that’s because it’s the best). And, there’s also the TV one can stream online.
 About once a week, I’ll stream a show on Netflix (Mad Men is my current project). I’ll also sometimes stream The Daily Show with John Stewart and The Colbert Report. Netflix gives options for streaming movies (though the selection is lacking). Amazon Prime, as of very recently, offers streaming, as does, of course, Hulu.

By far the most frustrating aspect of my non-TV life is the lack of streaming sports online. My Internet Service Provider does not offer ESPN3, so I can’t easily watch ESPN-broadcast sports online. While Major League Baseball and the NFL now package some online-related programming — via smart phones and iPads — neither allows realtime streaming of in-network games, even at a price. I’d gladly pay a few bucks for the joy of watching an occasional Twins game on my iPad, or Vikings, or FSU anything. I hope television networks release their hold on the rights to distribute such games as soon as possible. I mean, come on! I’ll pay, but I just want the option to watch sports online.

This way of watching TV — streaming shows after they air, but seldom — I see as a sort of DVR TV approach, but only more extreme. If folks who DVR have the option of watching only the top shows they want, at the times they want (and with the commercials they don’t want), then I take same sort of approach, just a little more intensely.

If there’s a great show about which I hear a lot — like The Wire, and Mad Men — I can figure out a way to watch it, but sometimes it takes a few years. If John Stewart was particularly strong one night, I can go back and watch it the next day. I’ll usually only do so, however, if I hear, or see online chatter, about a high quality show. So I don’t watch much mindless stuff. My TV watching — or streaming, as the case may be — is very intentional. And, due to the limitations of TV online these days, it’s also limited to significantly less than three hours a week. Just the way I like it.

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Review: “The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry” by Root & Dean

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Adam J. Copeland

I’ve never been a youth ministry sort of guy. When I was looking for a call out of seminary, oftentimes folks would assume that since I was in my 20s I’d be going into youth ministry. They did not know me. Don’t get me wrong: I love youth and youth ministry, but it is not my primary calling. And, believe me, youth out there, it really is “me, not you.”

That said, when I heard Andrew Root and Kenda Creasy Dean had come out with a book on theology and youth ministry, I was most interested, for these fine professors know that youth ministry is not some subset of “real ministry,” but true tough theological work. Their book, The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry shows just that.

The work is in two parts, the first on “Theological Starting Points” and the second on “Theology Enacted.” Root and Dean go to great lengths to claim their work as a theological task, and boy did they convince me. Root writes,

“If youth ministry is to have a future that avoids these deadly traps of self-justification and isolation, it must move boldly into deep theological construction. What I mean is that we must begin to see ourselves not primarily as youth ministry directors but as theologians who do constructive theology in the context of ministry with the adolescent population.”

This book is perfect for that Senior Pastor who scoffs at youth activities as simply games and lock-ins; this book is perfect for youth directors who know their work is deeper and richer than it’s perceived, but are searching for the theological means to describe it.

That said, perhaps the book’s main flaw is somehow inherent to its purpose: in so proving the theological richness of youth ministry, the book’s sheer complexity would make it a very challenging read for the average youth ministry volunteer. Thankfully, helpful discussion questions conclude each chapter, but the work stands so far above the fluff some expect of youth ministry that for these folks, Theological Turn will be a bit of a shock.

From its opening pages to its close, Theological Turn does good very well to ground youth ministry as it should. Also compelling, however, is the constant reminder that, as is put in the Introduction, “young people are not bored by theology. They are bored by theology that doesn’t matter.”  Those who read Theological Turn will get a wonderful reminder of why theology matters in the first place.

Based Upon a Review Copy

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New Same-Sex Marriage Study for Youth

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Adam J. Copeland

Are you looking for a way to discuss same-sex marriage with youth, a way that gives credence to multiple perspectives and acknowledges that (no matter your personal view) Christians read the Bible in different ways? Well, you’re in luck because The Thoughtful Christian.com just published a youth study that attempts to do just that (and it happens to be written by yours truly).

As I put in the blurb, “The idea of same-sex marriage and the question of its appropriateness is prevalent in our culture and media today. It’s also important for the church to be willing to address this topic with youth and discuss their questions and concerns.”

Too often, in mainline churches where same-sex marriage is controversial (or just not addressed) among our members, we fail to discuss it with youth. Not only does that not help youth think theologically about an important question, but it teaches them the church is not the place to discuss tough, challenging issues. This study, through use of art, case studies, discussion, personal reflection, and question-asking helps make a space for youth to discuss the question of same-sex marriage. (There’s also an adult version at The Thoughtful Christian.com).

So, check it out. The $5 study comes with an 8-page Leader’s Guide and handout for the youth. If you don’t know about The Thoughtful Christian‘s book deals, you’ll want to look into that as well. It’s a great site with a wide array of downloadable studies. And, thank goodness, at least most of the authors are really top-notch.

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What? You don’t have a TV! (part 2)

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Adam J. Copeland

[For previous installments of this series, see Part 1]

When I’m traveling for work and staying in a hotel room, I’ll often turn on the TV set. Generally, I’ll watch live sports, ESPN highlights, or CNN. It’s sort of a treat. On vacation, however, I never watch TV. For me, TV watching is somehow antithetical to vacation. Let me explore both of these claims.

First, though I don’t have a TV at home, I watch television in hotel rooms because it’s novel. I enjoy catching a baseball game or seeing what personalities in the news actually look like. When I travel for work I’m usually busy 10+ hours a day, so when I get back to the room I like to veg if I can. TV access makes that easy.

If I had a television at home, I might use it this way as well, but I think the unusual nature of TV access while traveling makes it more enjoyable. Like that delicious smoked turkey each Thanksgiving (and maybe Christmas), it’s best enjoyed as a special treat.

In fact, this leads me to the second point, that I don’t watch television on vacation (one exception being FSU football games). For me, vacation is a time to rejuvenate, read books, take walks, surf the Internet, just be. So it just happens, without me really meaning for it to occur, that on vacation I rarely watch television. Movies, I’ll watch. But more on that next post.

In fact, I’m beginning to feel like these posts are more parts self-disclosure than helpful reflection, so I’m stopping here for today. I don’t like it when my blog descends into navel gazing rather than more broad-minded critique. I do plan, though, to post soon regarding the media I do watch online — including several TV shows.

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What? You don’t have a TV! (part 1)

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Adam J. Copeland

Megan and I are part of the 1% — we don’t have a television. In fact, we haven’t for over five years (well, ten years, if roommates’ TVs don’t count). The decision to eschew a television was not one we pondered for long. It was not a measured countercultural stand against multinational corporations’ braincell-destroying dross called “entertainment” these days. Rather, we just figured, “Nah, guess we don’t really want a TV.”

People’s reactions to the disclosure that we don’t have a TV can be put into two categories. The first, is plain disbelief. Folks sputter, ask rapid-fire clarifying questions, search our cupboards and bookshelves for a surely-hidden flatscreen. They’re flabbergasted, gobsmacked, bewildered even.

The second reaction is even more telling. Many people respond by saying something like, “Oh, well, I don’t actually watch much TV at all. I mean, I should probably get rid of it too.” As if our decision not to have a TV is intended to cast aspersions at them.

This reaction — and it is quite common — cracks me up because it turns out that my decision not to have a television is in no way an attack on all televisions everywhere any more than my decision not to make french press coffee is a rebuke of delicious beverages. I’m not a TV hater. They do not offend me. I have never smashed one to pieces (though I have turned off a few that play Fox News in public spaces).

So, believe me when I say, “I’m not trying to make you feel guilty.” I promise. Therefore I don’t need to hear you apologize for the little television you do watch. I don’t need to have you explain, “I only watch one show a week.” Or, “we really should get rid of it.” Come on, folks. Own it, don’t apologize. (Or, if having a TV really does make you feel guilty, get rid of it.)

Over the next while, I’m going to take some posts to reflect on our lack of TV. I do this, in a small way to “come clean” — after all, it’s hard to know what to say when people say, “Hey, you know that commercial when….” Invariably, I don’t.

Mostly, though, I’m writing this series as an exercise in self-reflection. I wonder about things. How has not having a television for 10 years shaped me? Does that fact I don’t consume much television media influence my consumption of other media? In what ways is not watching TV a “spiritual practice,” or even a protest of powers and principalities?

Any questions of your own? Do me a favor: on a commercial break, send them my way.

image by Jay Lopez

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A Monday Smattering

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Adam J. Copeland

  • Google+, I have no use for you. Though you offer a few benefits over Facebook, the downside — that nobody really uses Google+ — far outweighs the slick interface and social circles.
  • Begrudgingly, I am becoming a NFL fan — or a Minnesota Vikings fan, to be precise. Growing up in Tallahassee, the home of the Florida State Seminoles, I had no need for pro football. Few of my friends even had a favorite team. So it’s only appropriate that my Viking fandom has slowly begun as Christian Ponder, a FSU alum, starts as Minnesota’s quarterback.
  • Speaking of Minnesota, the fact that Carhartt is now hip cracks me up. Farmers don’t need a fancy “Work in Progress” brand name to know it’s quality product.
  • On another regional note, I recently bought a snowblower. Did I say, “sometimes I miss Florida”?
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