Denis Haack: Reader Interview

Current position/title: Co-director, Ransom Fellowship; Editor, Critique; Grandfather to seven above average kids.

Have you always been a reader? If not, how did you become one?

We didn’t have much to read around our house, as I remember, except for the Bible. We were fundamentalists, and didn’t think much of most literature—after all, why read a good book when you could read God’s book? I discovered the library at school in 7th grade (like Napoleon Dynamite, sports were not an option for me) and fell in love with books that could transport me in my imagination to worlds unseen. I read in school every chance I got, saving homework to do at home. My parents, who frowned on unassigned reading, thought I was very studious.

What are your reading habits and practices?

Read all I can, though now I do it with the understanding that good writing, good stories, and good books are good gifts of God. Each year I try to take a look at everything I’ve read recently and make an attempt to balance out the topics and genres so I don’t get too narrow. I also work hard to read works whose authors come from a variety of differing—even conflicting—perspectives (religious, ethnic, political, world view, etc.). When I get too busy to have time to read, I believe I am too busy and so I change my commitments.

Name 3 books that have been very influential in your life and one sentence that explains why.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Perhaps the finest novel written by a Christian in the 20th century, it revealed the power of the written word by helping to unravel the lies of Soviet totalitarianism.

The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer. This was the wedge that pried open the closed box of fundamentalism by letting me see that the fact that Christ was Lord had implications for all of life.

Knowing God by J. I. Packer. I fell in love with theology as something that could be authentic and alive, and with the God that has shown himself in Scripture.

If you could meet any author, living or dead, who would it be and what questions would you ask him or her?

Cormac McCarthy: Would you please tell me the story of your spiritual pilgrimage?

According to a recent study by the National Endowment of the Arts, very few young people are reading. Do you have any ideas on how to get young people to read?

Nothing profound. All I’d suggest is read good stories aloud to them—as often as possible, in every setting possible. We like inviting people over for a meal and then moving to the living to listen to a story. Or when my wife and I speak at a college retreat, Margie offers to read stories at bedtime. Sadly, we’ve found too few grew up in homes where this was standard practice.

Past Reader Interviews

Paul Robertson, CPYU Associate Staff
Kara Powell, Executive Director, Fuller Youth Institute
David Kinnaman, President, The Barna Group

Abbie Smith, author

NEW Leader's Guide for The Outrageous Idea of Academic Faithfulness

While the book The Outrageous Idea of Academic Faithfulness can be used for individual study, we have found that students grasp the content of the book much more thoroughly when read under the guidance of a mentor, small group leader or teacher. Youth groups have used The Outrageous Idea of Academic Faithfulness as a way to prepare students for college. The Leader’s Guide is designed to assist leaders in their preparation for leading discussions around the themes in the book. Our hope is to see a generation of young people take both their faith and studies seriously. May this new study guide help toward that end!

Visit the book's website

Purchase the book from the CPYU Resource Center (save $2)

Learn more about the NEW Leader's Guide

Click here to download the Leader's Guide (.pdf)

Happiness Defined

Reviewed by Derek Melleby

David Naugle, in his new book, Reordered Love, Reordered Lives: Learning the Deep Meaning of Happiness (Eerdmans, 2008), points readers toward a recent study of Americans. The research showed that while the U.S. highly values “happiness,” it came in number 23 on a list of the world’s happiest countries. Naugle writes, “Though there is significant disagreement on what happiness is and how to get it, there is substantial agreement in recognizing it as the bull’s eye on the target at which we aim our lives.” But here’s the problem as Naugle explains: “Scientific, economic and cultural forces have produced a paradigm shift in the way most people understand happiness. It has morphed in the minds of many Americans into a promise of sustained pleasure and painlessness.”

Reordered Love, Reordered Lives invites readers to consider what we should aim for to obtain a truly “happy life.” Naugle suggests that we need “not a hedonistic but an ‘edenistic’ happiness that roots the fullness of human life in God and his creation.” This type of happiness only comes when we learn to love the right things. “The happy life consists of learning how to love both God supremely and the world in the right way at the very same time.”

Using illustrations from history, pop culture and Scripture, Naugle makes a strong case for how followers of Christ can (re)learn how to live a “happy” (properly defined), good life. The book is deep, but accessible, and would be good reading for parents and youth workers as they help young people better understand what true happiness really is. And, truth be told, the message of the book is one we all need to be continually reminded of: Our happiness is found in our love for God.

Click here to visit David Naugle's website.

Click here to read a CPYU Bookshelf interview with David Naugle.

Shop Class as Soulcraft

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Matthew Crawford
http://www.colbertnation.com/
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Mark Sanford

Matthew Crawford's new book Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work appeared on my Summer Reading List. I'm about half way through it and it's certainly worth reading. Crawford is asking fundamental questions about work. With a PhD in political philosophy, and after working in universities and "think-tanks," Crawford opened a motorcycle repair shop. He discovered that not only did motorcycle repair seem more meaningful, but he also found it much more intellectual. Meaning, repairing motocycles required him to think more. He writes, "Given the intrinsic richness of manual work - cognitively, socially, and in its broader psychic appeal - the question becomes why it has suffered such a devaluation as a component of education."

Good question. Why have we devalued "working with our hands?" Perhaps the best sermon I have ever heard preached was by Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church) on a Christian understanding of work: Made for Stewardship (right-click to download). I find many of the strongest points in Crawford's book to be in-line with the historic, Christian understanding of work. We are created in the image of a creator, of a worker, of a God who both works and rests. We have been placed on earth to tend, work, cultivate the creation. Work is not a necessary evil, but it is part of God's good creation, the task given to humans before the fall. To be human, is to work. Of course, after the fall, there are now thorns and thistles related to our work, but we are still called to work. Work is not something we do for money or for leisure, but it is how we image God in the world. Crawford's book gets pretty close to this kind of understanding of work, and I recommend it highly.

It turns out that Stephen Colbert and I have similar reading lists. He's probably a follower of Bookshelf. Enjoy the video!

College Culture

Reviewed by Derek Melleby

Roger Rosenblatt’s novel Beet (Harper Perennial, 2008) was written before the current economic recession, but its comic plot is even more realistic today. The story takes place at fictitious Beet, a small, liberal arts college in New England. Beet College suddenly loses its endowment, and the board of trustees is called upon to make major changes or they run the risk of having to shut down the school entirely. Their solution is to start a faculty committee to develop a creative curriculum that will increase enrollment by giving Beet a marketing advantage. English professor Peace Porterfield is asked to take charge of the committee and work with an impossible cast of professors from diverse departments.

Beet is a sarcastic, sometimes cynical, comedy about higher education in the 21st century. Rosenblatt is clearly trying to make a statement about the direction of some American colleges. By using outlandish characters and subplots, he exposes some of the wrong turns colleges have taken in order to be more appealing to students. Themes such as political correctness, grade inflation, tolerance and many other issues on campus today are explored, giving the reader a unique, often funny, look into the ridiculousness that is found at some colleges today.

Rosenblatt’s purpose for writing, however, is not just to point out what has gone wrong in higher education. Through the characters and plot twists, he also is reminding readers of what is good, right, true and beautiful. At the end of the day, this novel is a plea for institutions of higher learning to return to the central purpose of educating young minds toward moral formation. Beet would be a good choice for someone looking for a summer/beach read that will also get you thinking about education and adolescent development. Similar to Tom Wolfe’s I Am Charlotte Simmons, Beet offers a unique window into current college culture.

Porn University

Reviewed by Chris Wagner

Pornography has become so mainstream in today’s society, that many people no longer label it as a problem. Perhaps the idea that viewing pornography is an acceptable form of behavior is nowhere more prevalent than on college campuses. But does this truly reflect the status quo?

Michael Leahy set out to answer that question in his book Porn University: What College Students Are Really Saying About Sex On Campus (Northfield Publishing, 2009). While in college, Leahy found himself immersed in pornography and sexual behavior. Not until much later, after many broken relationships and hard lessons learned, did he come to grips with the powerful negative impact it played in his life. He now speaks to college students across the country in an effort to educate them about the truths of pornography and the emptiness that comes with so-called “sexual freedom.”

Leahy invites students to visit My Sex Survey to answer a few questions about their own sexual beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Thousands of students have done so, and Porn University is a result of these many responses. The book breaks down those responses and discusses ways in which the statistics manifest themselves in the lives of students and adults alike. Insights are provided about the differences in sexual attitudes between men and women. Leahy explains the patterns of sexual addiction as well as the consequences of consuming pornography and partaking in harmful sexual behaviors. He concludes that only Christ can ultimately fulfill our relational needs, and offers hope to those who are in the midst of struggle.

Porn University will open the eyes of anyone who reads it to the prevailing attitudes about sexuality on college campuses. As such, campus ministers will benefit greatly from the read as they learn how to better care for students.

Summer Reading FREE Book Winner

The winner of the FREE book for participating in the Summer Reading List giveaway is...

Jenn

Jenn, to claim your prize, please send me an email.

Thanks for all who participated. My stack of books "to read" is now much higher!

Happy reading!

Positive Parenting

Reviewed by Walt Mueller

For the most part, I don’t like Christian parenting books. I came to that conclusion several years ago after reading a stack of the most popular titles in our local Christian bookstore. The books either left me: 1) feeling beat up because of the writer’s high expectations, or 2) wondering how enacting the five, seven or 10 guaranteed steps could actually guarantee success. I’m looking for a book that’s realistic, humble, biblically based, full of grace and that takes into account that all of our kids are different.

Consequently, my list of recommended Christian parenting books is rather short. Recently, I added a new book to that list. Scott Larson’s When Teens Stray: Parenting for the Long Haul (Vine Books, 2002), grows out of the experiences of Larson and his wife as they have taken scores of kids from juvenile jails into their homes. While Larson’s experience qualifies him to write to parents whose kids have gotten into trouble, this is a book that will benefit all parents of teens. Larson begins by painting a broad stroke by laying out common myths parents hold about their kids, along with common myths parents hold about parenting. What follows is a treasure of realistic, hope-filled and practical biblically based advice that helps parents to maintain proper perspective and sanity.

While I will continue to recommend this book to all parents, others who work with kids will benefit as well. With a growing number of grandparents raising their grandchildren, When Teens Stray offers them encouragement and godly wisdom during what is a most difficult job. And, youth workers and teachers will find great insights into the dynamics that drive troubled youth.

This review also appeared in Engage: The Journal of Youth Culture from CPYU

Walt's Summer Reading List

Derek asked me to pass on a list of the three books I intend to read this coming summer. I've got a nice pile of summer reading that's growing to the point of insanity, and I'm still trying to put wraps on a book that was on last year's list! Still, Derek got me thinking and I've narrowed my list to the following three.

First, I always try to read something that will expand my theological horizons, and that's related to issues of faith and culture. G.K. Beale's Becoming What We Worship is my pick for this summer. This biblical theology of idolatry traces the replacement of the Creator with created things through the Scriptures. My desire for this book is that it might be used to expose more of my own heart, along with the collective heart of our culture. I'm sure this won't be an easy journey as Beale has a reputation for depth and rigor. . . . a reputation I remember well from my days at Gordon-Conwell seminary and his days there as a prof. The hammock won't be the place to read this one!

Second, I try to read something on culture that will prepare me for things I'll be speaking on in the fall. I've decided to pursue the whole trend towards narcissism from a Biblical perspective in preparation for some seminars that I'm putting together to address the topic at this fall's National Youth Workers Conventions. Jean Twenge seems to be floating away from and above the pack as a researcher who's looking more closely at how narcissism is woven in and through the fabric of our culture. So, my list includes her newest, The Narcissism Epidemic.

Third, there's the obligatory baseball book. Yep, I try to read at least one - if not more - every summer. I've loved the game since I was a kid and coached for almost ten years. Now that I'm no longer sitting in dugouts, watching my beloved Phillies and reading about different aspects of the game will have to do. I recently read a review of Bruce Weber's new book, As They See 'Em: A Fan's Travel in the Land of Umpires. Should be fun. . . and this one's for the hammock.

Finally, there's my wildcard. My friend Dick Doster wrote one of the baseball books that I read last year - Safe At Home. Dick's the editor of ByFaith Magazine and has branched out into writing novels. Safe at Home grabbed me at it told the story of baseball, the minor leagues, the civil rights movement, and breaking the color barrier. This summer, he's released a new novel that's not about baseball, but it is about the civil rights movement. I've felt a strong responsiblity to be reading about this period of our history so that I can understand things from my childhood that I was by and large oblivious to. So, I'm ordering his new novel, Crossing the Lines. It's another one that will turn up the volume on my hammock enjoyment.

Summer Reading Lists: Free Book Giveaway

It’s a good time to give away a free book, don’t you think? And, it’s a good time to make a list of books we hope to read this summer. Summer can be a great time to catch up on our reading or pick up a book that, perhaps, we wouldn’t normally read, but have some extra time to do so. Here are four books on my list so far:

The Chosen by Chaim Potok. This is one of those books that I have heard much about, but, sadly, have never read. Many colleges assigned it as a text for first year students. I’m going to figure out why!

Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement by Steven Bouma-Prediger and Brian Walsh. Both of these writers have been influential on my own thinking and I’m surprised that I haven’t read this one yet. Their call if for Christians to be more intentionally rooted and committed to local communities. If you know me, you know this is close to my heart.

Original Sin: A Cultural History by Alan Jacobs. Jacobs provides a historical overview and analysis of the doctrine of “original sin.” I read the first chapter a few months ago and can’t wait to get back to it.

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew Crawford. Now here’s a good story: a college professor and think-tank employee opens up a motorcycle repair shop and realizes that being a repairman forces him to think more! Crawford wonders: where have all the shop classes gone? My good friend Byron Borger of Hearts & Minds Books is raving about this book. It looks like a winner.

Now it’s your turn:

What book(s) do you hope to read this summer?

(There needs to be at least 10 comments to qualify. Winner will be chosen randomly from list of participants. Only one comment per person.)