On Selling Books

Yesterday I did something I’ve never done before: I took a stack of books and sold them at the local used book store. This was a major step for me. I’ve accumulated books for a long time - pretty sure I still have books on my shelves that I got in elementary school - and rarely let any of them go. My rationalization has been that someday maybe my kids will want to read them, or I’ll strategically want to loan them out or give them away to friends.

But when I was looking for a book a few weeks ago I did another assessment of my burgeoning bookshelves and came to a realization: those things aren’t likely to happen.

Sure, I’ll keep some of them. I fully anticipate my girls will want to read The Lord of the Rings at some point in the next decade. But The Hunt for Red October? Probably not so much.

And then there’s the piles of theology texts. Some floating around from college. Some freebies I got and reviewed on the blog. Some were gifts. Some I agree with a lot less today than I did when I bought them. Many I’d be hard pressed to recommend or want to gift.

So I sold them.

I didn’t get much - basically garage sale prices, but where you just carry in a bag and walk out 10 minutes later with money. Beats the heck out of having to hold a garage sale and hoping the right buyer shows up.

I managed to clean out one whole shelf. That’s enough room to move my recently-read pile from the top of my dresser down to the shelves. Then I can start attacking the to-read pile that sits next to my bed.

I think this is the year I’m going to fully embrace accumulating ebooks instead of hard copies. I like the ability to read, easily highlight and share text, and archive them someplace smaller than the dozens of feet of shelf space occupying my basement.

You know, I converted from CD buying to MP3 buying a couple years ago. I guess this is the next logical progression.

Books I read in 2013

Here’s my one year-end post: a little summary of what I read this year. I’m not gonna list ’em all - you can go check out the list on Goodreads if you’re really interested - but I’ll include some highlights.

I finished 57 books this year - about average for me over the past several years - and 27 of them were non-fiction, which is as close to fiction/non-fiction parity as I’ve ever gotten before. My non-fiction was mostly theology this year, which reminds me I need to pick up some more history, biographies, and the like in 2014.

Top Non-Fiction

I really need to write a full review post on Playing God. It was probably my favorite of the year, and the one that I then bought two copies of to give as Christmas gifts. I’m feeling a little bit better about my theological variety, too - it isn’t just all Anglicans on my list this year!

Top Fiction

It feels like a cheat to list Robinson’s book here, since she uses the fictional narrative to drive home a bunch of theological and philosophical points, but hey, it’s good stuff.

The worst I’ve gotten better at just putting books down if they seem like clunkers, so I have just a single one-star reviewed book on my list this year: The Panther by Nelson DeMille. Here’s what I wrote on Goodreads:

Plot is thinner than thin. Hundreds of pages and nothing happens except we get a tour of Yemen and page after page of insufferable narrative. It’s as if Mr DeMille had a quota of smart-ass internal dialog per page that he had to fill. If you cut out half of it, the book would shorten by 20% and still be just as boring.

I’m ashamed I wasted as much time on this one as I did. Avoid.

Plans for 2014 I’m likely to always be a theology, politics, and sci-fi geek, but I really would like to read some more history, some classic literature, and maybe even a little poetry. Hit me up if you have recommendations!

A little inspired art

We were looking for a family movie tonight and Netflix recommended The Secret of Kells. I had only a vague familiarity with the movie, but the reviews and info looked good, so we gave it a go. It turned out to be a beautiful little movie, in a unique 2-d animated style, relating a story around the Book of Kells, an illuminated copy of the four Gospels created by Celtic monks in the 7th century. Neat movie.

That took us to the Book of Kells iPad application, which I had gotten months ago when it was a freebie but had never really looked at. The girls were suddenly intent to look at the pictures, try to understand the text (whoops! it’s Latin!) and KP (age 4) even pulled out a Bible then to find the book of John after she found out it was part of the Book.

[caption width=“460” align=“aligncenter”] An Illustration from the Book of Kells, courtesy of Wikipedia[/caption]

But the fun doesn’t end there. Shortly thereafter, using their Christmas notebooks and glitter pens, they started on their own Kells-inspired artwork. (Click on each to see it full-size.)

From KP:

From AG, age 7:

From Laura, age 9:

Across the centuries, art inspires art. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

The last word on Mark Driscoll for a while

I can’t imagine anybody saying things much better than Jared Wilson did today over on The Gospel Coalition. Bits and pieces:

There are lots of people who want Mark Driscoll to fail and fall. I am not one of them. I love and respect Pastor Mark… I want to repeat: I do not want Pastor Mark to fail and fall. I just want him to walk in step with the truth of the gospel. … I would “confront” him to his face if I could. Even though this is not a Matthew 18 situation, and Pastor Mark has not sinned against me personally, last week I tried to contact him privately through the two avenues available to me, but I received no response. I did not demand or even expect one. … But I have an obligation to Pastor Mark… I feel as though I owe it to him to speak thusly to him. Or about him, as the case may be, since I do not want to presume he would read this. … And I feel I have an obligation to the young men coming up into ministry, exploring the gospel-centered paradigm, learning and studying and practicing missional ministry wherever God has called them. I don’t want them to think the way to lead is to insulate from critique, ignore challenges, and adapt to some echo chamber of mutual admiration. I don’t want young men looking up to men like Mark or listening to lesser voices like my own to think gospel-centered ministry means passivity and silence in the face of obvious needs or, worse, aggression in the area of reputation, dominance and swagger in leadership.

I really appreciate Jared’s point here. I know several men who have come up admiring and imitating Mark Driscoll, and while their gospel proclamation is great, they need to have other voices telling them that “aggression in the area of reputation, dominance and swagger” is not something desirable to imitate.

This is not merely about lazing writing… It’s about what this one latest incident in the accumulating evidence of Pastor Mark’s empire-building says to us, his brothers and his customers… This latest episode is just the latest example indicating an evident lack of accountability and personal responsibility. All along, I’ve trusted that Pastor Mark had the right people around him, speaking the hard truths to him. I assumed those voices were there and authorized by him to keep him honest. I no longer believe this.

Pastor Mark, if you’re reading this — you are losing us. Forget about the “haters.” We ain’t them. We are the ones who love you, who want to see you succeed and prevail. And we won’t stop, no matter what tribe you’re in or which conference stage you take. But we want you to take responsibility for your actions and your attitude. It does not commend grace. We want you to walk in repentance. We want you to seek the way of Christ in more humility, to drop the image and the posturing, and remind us of what drew us to you in the first place: the fame of Christ’s name, not the protection of your own. What would the truth of the gospel have you do? What would adorn the gospel? What would make Jesus look big? I believe it would a reversal of the trajectory of pride you have been on. I’m asking you to turn around and show us why we were so drawn to you in the beginning. I’m asking you to show us Jesus. He has become lost in your shadow.

Jared provides a great example and challenge to me and others who appreciate the gospel-centered history of Mark Driscoll’s preaching but who are concerned by his recent direction. It’s worth reading the whole thing.

Fitch on Driscoll: why doesn't he just repent?

Professor and pastor David Fitch has some powerful words on the Driscoll plagiarism topic today, and more broadly on celebrity leadership in evangelical churches.

And so the question really is NOT did Driscoll plagiarize or not (he did). It is, why doesn’t Mark Driscoll simply repent? Why doesn’t he just go before his congregation, lie prostate [sic] on the ‘stage’ and confess his sins of plagiarism, greed, trying to do too much publishing too fast, and what he will do to rectify and make the situation whole. It’s what us Christians do? Of course this too could be used ideologically. But at least this would be the actual practice of the Christian faith (Matt 18:15-20, James 5:16) one step removed from managing the ideological factors (his public image, his sales etc.).

Instead Driscoll’s silence in this regard reveals that there is ideology at work. His clear avoidance of one of the most basic practices of the Christian life and the continuing charades surrounding him, the publishers and the lawyers to avoid dealing with the lies, illustrate how far the Driscoll’s book and leadership has been removed above the actual practice of on-the-ground Christian life in the form of a celebrity pastor, and has become a product to be sold, an image to be upheld. This is not Christianity, this is ideology, and (for all the reasons mentioned above) I believe cannot lead our churches anywhere.

Ouch.

Then Fitch expands the discussion to the broader evangelical church.

My observation is simple. Once Christianity/church devolves into an ideology it ceases being an authentic embodiment of God’s Triune work in the world. It becomes a product. It works off antagonism (or lack) as opposed to being the overflowing of abundance of God’s work into the world…

Celebrity leadership is the death knell of the evangelical church in America. It’s killing us. And so I believe it’s of utmost importance that everyone under the age of 35 reject celebrity leadership. Realize that once beliefs, products, preaching, leadership is extracted from the local life of the local concretely engaged church, it tends to quickly devolve into ideology. And we then are just a short period away from the death of that church in a swirl of inevitable contradictions, hypocrisy and moral failures that inevitably attend celebrity leadership.

Fitch nails it in that last paragraph. Keep things local and engaged. As I said last week: we are called to be faithful, not famous.

Follow-up thoughts on Mark Driscoll, Plagiarism, and Power

I’ll start the blog post with a disclaimer, because heck, why not?

Disclaimer: I’m not for a second going to claim that I have anything new or profound to say about the little Mark Driscoll plagiarism brouhaha that’s been appearing (and disappearing) throughout the blogosphere over the past couple weeks. Much has been said, more clearly than I could, by many others. But recognizing that there are a handful of people who might read my post but won’t get to the other stories, and because I’m a little bit bored on a business trip and found a quote in a book I’m reading that I want to share, I’m writing anyway.

OK, so now that that’s over with…

If you’re unfamiliar with the Driscoll plagiarism fiasco and want to know more, I’d refer you to the excellent reporting by Jonathan Merritt for Religion News Service:

(There’s also been some good discussion on watchblogs like The Wartburg Watch and Spiritual Sounding Board.)

My short synopsis: I tried to write a short synopsis and it ended up being two paragraphs. I guess I can’t write a short synopsis, sorry. OK, I’ll try once more. Basically evangelical megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll was accused of plagiarism, including one case that seemed pretty obvious. After a week of eerie silence from Driscoll and his people, the radio host who had been pressing the case suddenly removed everything about it from her website and gave an on-air apology to Driscoll. Allegations were made by the radio host’s assistant producer that this was the result of an “evangelical celebrity machine”, but the radio host refuses to comment.

I ran across two things today that merit linking in to this story.

First is a blog post by the ornery pastor, author, and blogger Douglas Wilson. I’ll be honest: I thought it’d be a cold day in hell before I would agree wholeheartedly with a Wilson post. But today he published a ((quite) lengthy) bit on the topic that spoke clearly and fairly about all the key issues concerned: plagiarism, the use of ghost writers, the responsibility of having your name on the cover of the book, and the inevitable push to manufacture scandal whether one exists or not. Highly recommended reading.

As an aside: I don’t often embrace Wilson’s arguments or his style, but how can you not love a guy who starts a piece like this:

I don’t have much to say about the ruckus these last few weeks concerning the allegation of plagiarism by Mark Driscoll, an allegation that was made by Janet Mefferd, and then subsequently withdrawn by her. Not having much to say, I intend therefore to not say it.

and then goes on to write more than 4000 words?

The last thing I want to highlight in this post is a quote from Andy Crouch’s Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power. I started into it on a flight this afternoon, and while I’m only 30% in, I can already recommend it. (At least for that 30% - here’s hoping the last 70% is equally awesome and I can recommend the whole thing by the end of the week.) Toward the end of Chapter 5, Crouch examines the old story of the Emperor’s New Clothes, and draws out how it relates to those in power. (This isn’t anything new, but said really well…)

Power, even up to the absolute power of an emperor, is invested in ordinary human beings… who underneath even the most exquisite trappings, or for that matter armed with the most fearsome technology, are naked mortals. The maintenance of power, then, comes not from any extraordinary quality in the powerful themselves, but from the consent and continual reaffirmation of those around them.

Sound familiar?

Carols for Christmas (reprise)

Last year I recorded some piano arrangements of familiar Christmas songs. I called it, originally enough, Carols for Christmas.

As I explained it last year:

It’s just over 30 minutes worth of music, all piano versions of traditional Christmas carols. There’s not a lot in the way of production - I recorded them using my Casio midi controller keyboard in single takes in GarageBand and did a minimal amount of editing to remove the clunky notes. The perfectionist part of me wishes I had another 80 hours to really refine and polish the arrangements and recordings; the engineer in me has declared “good enough”. The engineer won the debate this time.

If you’re so inclined, please enjoy Carols for Christmas as my gift to you this season. This download link will let you listen and/or download MP3s from Dropbox.

Correlation and Causation

All the correlation / causation talk around Dave Ramsey this week brings this classic XKCD cartoon to mind. Happy Friday!

Called to be faithful, not famous

Wenatchee the Hatchet pointed me this morning to a devotional post written by Jeff Bettger, who up until recently was Arts Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle.

It begins with a good meditation on Ephesians 5, where Paul says that works of darkness should be brought to light.

Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Ephesians 5:8 - 14 (ESV)

Bettger then goes on to hint at practices going on at Mars Hill that he believes should be brought to light. More of a personal confessional than an accusation and calling to account, it still raises some serious issues. Some bits and pieces:

Having a mega church background for the last 16 years I have witnessed first hand the tyranny of injustice done in the name of God. Layoffs during Christmas, weeks after new children are born and first homes purchased. The use of tithe money to purchase books at retail cost in order to build a mans platform and make the NY times best seller lists. All with the name of God stamped on it, and self justified because the rest of the business world has those kinds of practices.

What I see Paul telling us here in this passage is to expose injustice, worldly thinking, business pragmatism, immorality… These shady mega church practices are all impure and covetous, and are hidden in the darkness by people calling themselves “Christian professionals” or pastors. They say that it would be unhelpful for the body to know such information. They say it would be gossip and if you haven’t experienced it directly but only heard second hand than it is hearsay and gossip to bring into the light. That is a lie from the pits of hell that gives justification to keep the truth hidden and the ones committing the injustice from true repentance.

We get so amped up on fighting sexual immorality we forget all that Paul is actually saying in this section of scripture. Any part of our life that needs to be hidden for whatever reason is not in the light, and should be exposed. Human politics and cunning are not an out-flowing of the Gospel but rather a system built by human hands for human ends.

Ouch.

So why am I posting this here? Partly because I have friends and family who are involved in Acts 29 churches and who I hope could at least become aware of some of the tactics that get used with the excuse that everybody’s doing it and that the ends justify the means.

But also because we all need to be keenly aware in our own hearts, in our own lives, in our own churches, how these attitudes can sneak in. We are called to be peaceable and humble, not defensive and self-justifying. To be faithful, not famous. To make disciples, not empires.

True Gospel success is demonstrated in the tender, repentant heart, not in the size of our Sunday congregation or the success of our latest book.

If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us, and His grace abounds to us. If we try to hide them and justify them in the name of building the church and spreading the Gospel, we are only deceiving ourselves and setting ourselves up for a bigger fall, whether that’s in a megachurch in Seattle or a little church in Iowa.

Pastor Jeff showed humility and leadership with yesterday’s post, and we should commend his humility and repentance as an example to be followed.

Accepting truth, discarding error

Yesterday I wrote about the need to be willing to accept truth (and discard error) from wherever we find it, not just when it’s from our favorites (or least-favorites). A friend on Facebook noted in a comment on my post that she has lately been “tuning out” certain bloggers whom she has found repeatedly irritating or unhelpful.

As negative as I first thought it sounded, in truth I resemble that remark. It wasn’t that many months ago that I asked some friends for their opinions on whether I should keep certain websites in my regular reading list, even if they were irritants, or whether it was appropriate to just delete them if they were consistently making me crazy.

So after writing yesterday’s post I find myself in a bit of a quandary. How do I go about learning from even those people who I often disagree with if I’m going to stop reading them at all?

Well, I’m not gonna read everybody

I should acknowledge that there are a certain set of folks who I just won’t read, because the value-to-noise ratio is so small that it’s just not worth it. Sorry, 9/11 truthers. Sorry, Mr. Third Eagle of the Apocalypse. There’s only so much time in the day.

In Which I Choose Not to Name Names

Part of me really wants to list a bunch of names of bloggers that I need to consider re-adding to my feed reader. But all that would do would provoke reactions from folks who like the folks I’ve deleted, and the point of this post isn’t to get into arguments about who’s worth reading and who’s not.

More important is deciding to read, and to have the humility to read and at least consider the views of those even who I think I’m fairly likely to disagree with. This accomplishes several things. It hones my critical thinking skills. It broadens my general knowledge of the arguments that are out there on any given topic. It provides me the opportunity to humbly understand that I might be wrong on certain points, and to correct my own thinking.

Yes, but…

There may still be times when some author is driving me crazy. Am I wrong to delete their feed and not read them for a while? Probably not. But more important than what I’m reading is why I’m reacting so strongly. If I’m reacting because an author truly isn’t making sense on a regular basis, maybe I really should delete them. If I’m reacting because I don’t like what’s being said, why am I reacting?

There are millions of words written every day that I disagree with. Why do those particular words make me react? What does that reflect about my heart, thoughts, and intentions? Once I get that settled I’ll know better what to do with that pesky blog subscription.

Draw your own conclusion.

My conclusion for myself is that I should add a few feeds back to my reader. (Your conclusion for yourself might be different.) Then, if I still have a strong reaction, I’ll work to understand why I have that reaction. I’m hoping I’ll learn more about my personal biases and blind spots. God knows I have plenty to learn.