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• Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ © 2010
• Eerdmans
• 290 pages

Practice Resurrection is Peterson’s meditations on what the church is, according to Ephesians. As you would expect from him, the church is not some nebulous concept but a very practical household—among other metaphors.

If you’re stuck with the idea of church as a mere building, or something exclusive between you and Jesus, Peterson’s book will challenge you to think more biblically about Christ’s bride. Every page has quotable zingers that cut to the quick of North American spirituality. Even if you don’t agree, you’ll be challenged.

Practice Resurrection is the final volume in Peterson’s “conversations” series. He started the series strong with Christ Plays and Eat This Book. The Jesus Way was mediocre, and Tell it Slant was almost disappointing—I wondered if Peterson had wrote himself out of ideas. Thankfully, Practice Resurrection wraps up this series with both style and substance.

• The Curse of the Viking Grave © 1966 (reprint:  1980)
• McClelland and Stewart
• 243 pages

It’s an old story. An author produces a singular work of genius that receives rave reviews and awards, only to follow it up with a weaker sequel.

The Curse of the Viking Grave is not a horrible book. It’s just can’t compare to the grandeur of its predecessor, Lost in the Barrens.

The biggest problem I found was the lack of singular direction in the plot. The first 70 pages tell a different story than that rest of the book. Combine that with a slower pace and a distracting romantic sub-narrative and you’re left with a decent-yet-unremarkable adventure story.

I should note that the charcoal illustrations by Charles Geer are stunning. He’s able to capture the movement and excitement of a canoe in rapids perfectly.

If you’ve read the first one, you should read this too—just don’t set your hopes too high.

Normally when I finish a book, I pull out one or two quotes for this Weekend Wisdom series. Occasionally, I find a book that’s good enough to warrant more attention (Remember von Balthasar’s Love Alone is Credible?). Peterson’s latest, Practice Resurrection, is one of the good ones. Here’s the first of six posts on how God’s grace is beyond our comprehension:

God isn’t a noun to be objectively defined. God is the verbing of a noun.

We’ve made it to the last of the MPS Papers. Just a reminder, the stated intent of these papers is to “provoke thought and discussion”, not to layout the PAOC’s official position on these matters.

The last paper is written by J. Martini regarding the boundaries between Classical Pentecostals (CP) and the Charismatic Movement (CM).

Paper #6:
There is No Spoon
by J. Martini

Martini was commissioned to “assess the impact of neo-pentecostal/charismatic pneumatology on classical pentecostal spirituality” (1). (This is a nebulous topic to say the least!) He presents his conclusion at the start of the paper: “There is no compelling, concrete characteristic distinguishing pentecostals, ‘classical’ or ‘charismatic’” (1). If it’s so difficult to find boundary markers between CPs and the CM, maybe it’s time to admit that we’re not all that different. Read more

• Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music © 2009
• Scribner (Simon & Schuster, Inc.)
• 262 pages

Ripped is 262 pages of the most compelling music-industry journalism I’ve ever read. I know that’s a big statement, but it’s true. I’ve read my fair share of Rolling Stone and other music ‘zines, and this outclasses them all. Here’s what I liked:

1. Kot knows his music. He’s telling the meta-narrative of the music business, but he never hesitates to dive into an analysis of a main player’s album.
2. Kot uses quotes well. When you finish a chapter on NIN, for instance, you really fell like you’ve heard from Reznor.
3. Each chapter is a self-contained article, tied thematically to the overarching story. You could pick any chapter out of this book and enjoy it alone.
4. Kot’s analysis of the music industry explains the Top 40-Style slop we’ve been bombarded with since the turn of the century.

If you’re interested in music, business, or both, you’ll enjoy this insightful book.

Here’s an observation on the need for preachers to be serious about their craft (in Encounter with Spurgeon):

Freedom in Christ is no soft spot for the lazy. And the grace that does not enlist a man to serve but is misused as a license for Christian sloppiness and dilettante slovenliness degenerates from costly to cheap grace.

Let’s continue our look at the MPS Papers. Just a reminder, the stated intent of these papers is to “provoke thought and discussion”, not to layout the PAOC’s official position on these matters.

Paper no. 5 was written by Jim Lucas, the president of Canadian Pentecostal Seminary. The last line of the document reads, “For a Denominational Leaders Day at Trinity Western University,” so we’re looking at a speech more than an academic work. Here we go:

Paper #5:
The Ethos of Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada Churches: Spirit and Power
by Jim Lucas

Lucas, like many people, have trouble finding one unifying way to describe Pentecostals. Aside from 1) a common Statement of Fundamental and Essential Truths, 2) a nation wide set of credentialing criteria, and 3) a joint mission program, we’re free as individual congregations to follow the Spirit wherever he may lead. In spite of this, Lucas describes some common threads in our shared experience which we’ll look at below. Read more

• Lost in the Barrens © 1956
• M&S Paperback (McClelland & Stewart) © 1989
• 244 pages

This is juvenile fiction at its finest. Mowat used his experience of life in the Barrens of Northern Canada (see: People of the Deer & The Desperate People) to tell an adventure story about a white city-boy and a young Cree making big decisions and surviving off he land.

The pacing is perfect, and the content’s meaty enough to enjoy this book even as an adult. I dare you to read it without imagining yourself in those situations. The book certainly deserved its 1958 CLA Children’s Book of the Year award.

As I read it I had this vague sense of déjà vu. I suspect one of my grade-school teachers might have read this to our class. I can hardly wait until my three-year-old son is old enough to enjoy it when I read it to him.

Avison developed this observation after watching birds approach her on foot (“Resting on a Dry Log, Park Bench, Boulder” in Not Yet but Still):

But play is part
of any living creature’s
energy.

I like to think birds walk
for fun. . . .

Let’s continue our look at the MPS Papers. Just a reminder, the stated intent of these papers is to “provoke thought and discussion”, not to layout the PAOC’s official position on these matters.

Paper number four was written by William Sloos, a guy I went to Bible College with back in the ’90s. Let’s have a look:

Paper #4:
Defining Pentecostal Identity – Differences between Charismatics and Classical Pentecostals
by William Sloos

Sloos’ topic is interesting. Have you ever wondered what separates pentecostals from charismatics? He tackles the subject with some opening remarks on the two movements, followed by nine differences between them (according to P. D. Hocken). Sloos concludes by pointing the way forward toward a renewed Pentecostal identity. Read more