A Closer Look #12 Opening the Book of Faith

A Closer Look
Today I have a review of Opening the Book of Faith: Lutheran Insights for Bible Study by Diane L. Jacobson, Stanley N. Olson, and Mark Allen Powell, a book with Lutheran roots and ecumenical appeal on how to approach (and teach how to approach) reading and interpreting Scripture in a healthy way. You can also read, rate, and comment on my review at Amazon.

This is a must-have book for anyone who finds themselves doing more on-the-job training than they would like in their ministry. It’s short, it’s accessibly written, and its ideas are sound and helpful. “Opening the Book of Faith: Lutheran Insights for Bible Study” is the sort of pocket guide I wish I’d had during my first year in youth ministry – and I’m not even Lutheran!
There are excellent examples of the balance of

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A Closer Look #7 A Time For Burning.

A Closer Look
Today I have a review of A Time for Burning, an excellent documentary about race relations in the church in the 1960s that echoes prescience today. You can also read, rate, and comment on my review at Amazon.

A Time for Burning is a film that grabs your attention immediately, both mind and heart. This 1966 documentary shot by the Lutheran Film Associates examines the efforts of Rev. Bill Youngdahl to rally his all-white congregation to have ten families meet with ten families from an all-black congregation in their mutual city, Omaha, Nebraska. What starts as what Youngdahl calls, “Just a little thing” soon blows up into conversations political, economic, personal, ethical, and theological.

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Rev. Bill Youngdahl

Youngdahl is a wonder to witness as he never loses his cool during his uphill battle with his congregation. His calm demeanor is matched in word and wisdom by 30-year-old black neighborhood barber, Ernie Chambers, who gives Youngdahl the foreboding warning,
“If you try to do something, you’ll get kicked out of your church” in the first six minutes of the film.

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