The Book Club

Oprah has nothing on us.

Okay, well, besides her massive wealth and fame and Stedman and her friendship with both Cruise and Obama and the fact that she has her own glamor shot on the cover of a monthly magazine that bears her name –other than all that, she has nothing on us.

Because here comes our book club.

I’ve hinted at it, batted the idea around. Today, I say, what the heck?

So, during May, consider joining me with a good read. We’ll reflect on the book a month for now. You have two options:

>If you want to go fiction, May’s choice will be G.K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare. Chesterton called this piece of his work “a very melodramatic sort of moonshine.” I’m intrigued. Any fellow who writes with the heart of a romantic as well as with the mind of a philosopher has my attention, not to mention the fact that he was a major influence on C.S. Lewis. You may have read Chesterton’s classic work, Orthodoxy or his Father Brown mysteries or his work in literary criticism. This, however, will be a tale that I think will snag your interest.

>If you want to go theological, May’s choice will by N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church. Few theologians are having as much impact as Wright on the Western theological scene (particularly as it relates to theological praxis in Christian communities). Even Newsweek has taken note, calling Wright “the world’s leading New Testament scholar.” This book will not be some dry treatise on vague, theoretical concepts, however. It will expand your imagination to think quite differently about the reality of heaven – and about our role as the people of God here on earth.

I’m pretty excited about reading both of these. I’d love to have some interaction around these books when we convene our club here in a month (btw, should we name it? I mean, every good club has a name, right?). Drop me an email or land a comment if you plan to join up. The more, the merrier.