My Favorite Things...are mostly books part 2

 I wanted to make a separate post about the next two books on my list, because they're in such a different category from the last two. Here's one non-fiction, and one children's picture book that must go on my list.

1. Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness by Kevin Nye

Kevin interned at our church doing youth ministry one summer. He was one of the first people who made Dan and I feel old. Because here was this very well-spoken, wise grown-up and he was considerably younger than us. And, much, much cooler.

Kevin's path has taken him in some different directions than Kevin would have planned, and has lead to him devoting his life to ministering to and alongside unhoused people, first in Los Angeles, and now in Minneapolis. In this book he shares many of the things he has learned.

I probably started reading this book pretty sure that I knew a little about this subject, and did a decent job at striving to see the Image of God everywhere I looked. I don't believe that some people are better or more worthy of love than others. Yet, page after page I felt the spirit's conviction stirring in my heart. I recalled countless moments where I interacted poorly, or believed some of the "conventional wisdom" regarding poverty, addiction, mental illness and housing, which simply is either not true or not helpful. 

Kevin's book made me aware of topics I knew little about, and helped me see the under-recognized logic behind the "housing first" model, the unavailability of affordable housing, as well as the the importance of harm reduction when dealing with addiction, and our need for trauma informed care. So much of the ways we have been told to address the problems which often coincide with homelessness, such as mental illness, or addiction only serve to escalate them. We've been taught we need to "help" people hit rock bottom before they will want help, when, as Kevin says, "Following a theology of grace, we believe that we are loved into healing not loved because we are healed" (62). 

I know some things about this book will be hard to take. For my pastor friends, and others in helping professions, it's not uncommon for us to form callouses. We are naturally approached for help much more frequently than most and we've definitely all been "played" in one way or another. And even in the face of authenticity, the problems feel enormous, we feel small, and it seems like nothing we could do could really make it better anyway. We get overwhelmed, scared, and burnt out. But maybe one of the biggest problems is that we fear getting it wrong. I for one have certainly gotten it wrong. But I think we have a responsibility to learn, because when you know better, you do better. And, in the words of another justice-focused writer, Shane Claiborne, "How can we worship a homeless man on Sunday and ignore one on Monday?" I believe that Jesus meant the words he spoke in the Sermon on the Mount and I want to be more intentional about being where he's at, and doing what he did.

2. This is the Church, written by Sarah Cunningham and illustrated by Ariel Landy

During the early days of COVID many of us had to ask ourselves what "the Church" really is all about. Is it four walls and a steeple? Or is it more about the people?

Cunningham expands on the little finger-play rhyme I grew up with, "Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people. Close the doors and hear them pray, open the doors and they all walk away." 

But, she makes it clear that the church is more than just a building, and that places of worship and the people who make it a church vary widely. It's young and old, in beautiful buildings, living rooms, and all sorts of spots around the world. 

The day that we announced to our congregation that we planned on leaving to join the home church network, The Table, Moses reached for the microphone and said he'd like to say something.

I got really, really nervous. 

When we started the discussion last spring Moses really, really did not want to leave.

"I read this book here in children's church," he said. "It was about how the church isn't just one building but all the people...and yeah..."

I knew he was saying he found comfort in knowing we weren't leaving "the Church", simply worshiping at a different kind of location with some of our other brothers and sisters in Christ, who were also part of the same "Church." 

We have such a limited view of what church should look like, particularly in North America. We worry that without power point and a list of age-specific activities the whole thing might crumble. It's a good thing our brothers and sisters in creative-access countries see it differently! What a powerful little book this is for teaching our children at a young age the true meaning of Church.

So, what am I reading next?

In a few weeks I'll be starting another class so mostly "Who Needs Theology: An Invitation to the Study of God", and I'll probably also listen to something mildly suspenseful on Audible while I do dishes and go to the gym. In the meantime, I'm planning on "Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas: A Guide for Churches and Families" by Chris Marchand. And, of course all my favorite children's Christmas books. The newest additions to my collection are "Shoemaker Martin", adapted from a Leo Tolstoy story, and "The Legend of the Christmas Tree" by Rick Osborne.

What books would you put on your "Favorite Things" list? I'd love to start my wish list for 2023!