Postkiwi

John Scotwise Brown at Scotwise has tagged me to take part in the latest blog meme. It’s a game that should do wonders for the interconnectivity of the blogosphere. Just trace back the links through the referees listed in each blog.

Anyway here’s my response to the tag…

1. Total number of books I own
2. The last book I bought
3. The last book I read
4. Five books that mean a lot to me
5. Tag five people and have them do this on their blogs.

1. Total number of books I own would be about 2500. This would include a selection of books relating to mission, theology and church leadership, generational theory, Bibles and Bible commentaries, NZ church history, science fiction and fantasy, detective novels, cartoons, photography, recipe books, and childrens books. We gave lots of books away before moving from New Zealand to Australia. We’re about to give away most of our books designed for young children.

2. The last book I bought was Edward de Bono’s “The Six Value Medals“, published by Randomhouse in March 2005. I was in Brisbane International Airport waiting for family to arrive from Auckland. Discovered I had an hour or two to wait so took a look in Collins Bookshop. The shelves were half empty. Apparently a change in ownership was due and stock was being emptied out. As it turned out I didn’t get a chance to read the book immediately as my guests walked into the terminal just as I walked out of the bookshop.

3. The last book I read was “A Passion for Evangelism” edited by Bronwyn Hughes and John Bellamy for NCLS and Willow Creek Association Australia. I’ve got a review copy for Australian Theological Forum. There was some hold up in sending me the copy but I’m finally reading it and writing my 1000 word article for the ATF Book Review. The book addresses the connections between styles of leadership and shared personal motivation for a visionary missional lifestyle.

4. Five books that mean a lot to me…

This is a harder one to answer. Perhaps I could write about the five books that have influenced me most during my life.

1. Fritz Ridenour’s “How to be a Christian without being religious” first published in 1967. I read the book in 1977 as a fifteen year old. Fritz takes his readers through the book of Romans helping them discover the heart of Christianity as a relationship rather than a set of rules. I enjoyed the humorous approach. And I’ve found myself using that relational approach to faith ever since. I’ve moved a lot in my approach to life since then and I wouldn’t sit comfortably with Fritz’s worldview but I still appreciate the gift he gave me back in my formative years.

2. John Powell’s “Why am I afraid to tell you who I am?“, first published in 1969. I read the book as a shy sixteen year old growing up in a family affected by alcoholism. I didn’t like the rules of alcoholic culture, “Don’t trust, don’t feel and don’t talk” and snapped up this book as an alternative. I enjoyed Powell’s introduction to psychology, especially as the conservative Evangelical church environment I was in discouraged interest in such things. Powell’s five rules for ‘gut level communication’ were life savers for me.

3. J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” which I won as a prize for music in my last year at high school. I read it in the small hours of the mornings during the University holidays in 1981 while I was singing in the NZ Opera Company’s “Marriage of Figaro” in Dunedin. I remember thinking at the time that Tolkien’s Middle Earth felt a lot like New Zealand. It was a pleasure to see the Peter Jackson films in 2002, 2003 and 2004 - it was like seeing postcards from home.

4. Eugene Petersen’s paraphrase of the Bible, “The Message“. I’ve found each release of The Message significant. First of all the New Testament. Then the Psalms and Proverbs. And finally the Full Old and New Testaments. Don’t think Petersen’s worked on the Inter-Testamental writings. Reading Petersen’s fresh words and phrases has been like reading the Bible for the first time. The whole translation process used by Petersen has resourced me in developing a contextual approach in my own communication.

5. Practicing Our Faith, edited by Dorothy Bass, is the fifth in the list, although it comes fairly close in significance to the Renovare Spiritual Formation workbook. Practicing Our Faith outlines an earthy life-affirming approach to spirituality, with enough questions to get me engaged in practical application of Christian faith. Most ’spiritual practices’ I grew up with involved withdrawing from the world to get in touch with God. I’ve often thought that this seemed strange when Jesus embodied the opposite. Sure, he took time out by himself for renewal and solitude. But that wasn’t a withdrawal from the world as much as it was changing environments.

OK - now I get to pass the baton to Ennis at Too Old to Blog, Craig at Mountain Masala, Darren at Planet Telex, John at Forming Faith, and Peter at Go Grow Get Together.