August Book Briefs

Ah real life. It does not afford as much time for reading as vacation and study leave. Go figure.

1. Robert L. Plummer, 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible (Kregel 2010). I’m intrigued by this series (especially looking forward to Tom Schreiner’s forthcoming 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law). It’s a nice concept–clearly laid out chapters, easy to use, and after each question there are reflection questions and recommended resources for further study.

I admit I have not carefully read every chapter in this book. But it’s not that kind of book. You’ll want to use it as a resource to consult or find the most relevant sections and read through them first (the book is divided into four parts). I found the chapters on genre to be the most helpful. Any layperson, and pastors for that matter, will be helped by Plummer’s wise counsel when it comes to narrative, hyperbole, poetry, proverbs, or parables. I plan to use many chapters from this book in personal discipleship.

Whether you preach every week, lead a Bible study, or just want to grow in your own study of the Scriptures, you’ll find this book immensely valuable.

2. Brandon J. O’Brien, The Stragetically Small Church: Intimate, Nimble, Authentic, Effective (Bethany House 2010). This book is a mixed bag. On the down side: the cover seems odd. The color schemes, the random rectangles amidst lots of white space, and the lower case letters strike me as neither nimble nor effective. But that’s not terribly important.

More significantly, the book lacks a strong theological center. At times O’Brien seems anti-organic church. Later he commends their leaders. He seems not to like multisite, but he also thinks it’s a good way for good churches to get small. O’Brien argues against modern “it works” pragmatism, but his argument for small churches often boils down to “in today’s culture, they will give people more of what they want” (my words not his). O’Brien downplays the importance of preaching and appears to have no problem with women pastors.

All that to say, this should not be your go-to book on church ministry. But if you are looking for encouragement as a small church pastor or congregant, O’Brien will be helpful. I pastor a medium-sized church and found good food for thought throughout. You’ll be exhorted to be yourself and stop trying to keep up with the big dogs. You’ll learn to see your smallness as an opportunity instead of an obstacle. You’ll learn to be more strategic and more content.

The verdict: if read with discernment, there is some good counsel here for the small church Christian. And, as O’Brien reminds us, that’s most of us.

3. Brett McCracken, Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide (Baker 2010). This is a deceptively important book. This is not a how-to hipster manual. It is not satire. Neither is it a jeremiad against all things relevant as Books and Culture seems to think. The book is an analysis on where the concept of cool comes from and how Christians have become so infatuated by it. I’ve not always been in agreement with Brett’s theological instincts, but this book on cultural analysis is much more his forte.

From the outset I should say that Brett is a hipster and I most definitely am not. I don’t say this as a badge of honor or shame. It’s just a fact. Of the most popular hipster shows (according to Brett)–Flight of the Conchords, Important Things with Demetri Martin, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Dexter, Lost, 30 Rock, Mad Men, The Wire, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, The Office, Big Love, Breaking Bad, Project Runaway, True Blood, Sons of Anarchy, Jersey Shore–I’ve watched an entire episode of only one of these (The Office). I’ve heard of a few more (Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, 30 Rock, Jersey Shore), but most of these titles mean nothing to me.

I’m even more hapless when it comes to hip music. Under the section on “Dilettante” hipsters, Brett mentions the following music: “Heavy on lo-fi, glo-fi, shoegaze, sh-tgaze, or whatever the indie trend of the moment happens to be. Wavves, Neon, Indian, Memory Tapes, Washed Out, Real Estate, Thievery Corporation, Air France, Lykke Li. Anything Swedish is also acceptable” (57). I don’t have the foggiest notion what any of those words mean. That’s no exaggeration. I could not tell you one single solitary thing about Thievery Corporation or Lykke Li. I do not know if sh-tgaze is a type of canine or a swear word.

Thankfully, Brett understands hipster culture. You get the sense that from his own personal tastes and his previous work at Relevant Magazine that Brett “gets” the music, the look, the ethos of hip. In fact, I would argue that it is his background at Relevant in particular that has provoked him to react so strongly against the allures of hipsterdom. One look at the Relevant website or magazine and you’ll see why Brett is so concerned that some Christians are too concerned to be hip (as of this writing the three main features scrolling at Relevant were a recap of the Emmys, a look at the television show The Closer, and a review of Ice Cube’s new movie The Lottery Ticket).

Of course, everyone will argue whether this person or that church is really “hip” (hey Josh and C.J., Covenant Life Church made the list! Who knew?). But getting caught up in “who’s hip, who’s not” misses the point. Brett wants Christians to stop trying so hard. He doesn’t expect people who like lo-fi to give up, well, whatever that means. But he does call hipsters to stop caring so much about all that stuff. If some Christians end up being cool, it must be because they just are, not because they packaged themselves that way.

Perhaps the most important reminder in the book has to do with rebellion. Cool by its very nature depends on differentiation. Hipsters must always be the minority, the rebels. They are “in” when the masses are not. And once the masses get in on the “in,” the hipster is forced to move on to something else. That’s the nature of cool. Brett is right to warn against this perpetual chasing of rebellion, of danger, of now-ness and relevance. There’s also the real temptations to vanity, pride, and obsession with self.

But please don’t think this is a book affirming people like me. We all are tempted to the vices listed above. Don’t read the book to feel smug about your un-hipness. The point is we all should pursue what is “certain, true, and solid–something the church can certainly be if it only gets its head on straight and mounts an epic reversal of the [culture’s] ripple effect” (228). The bottom line: we must not point people to cool or to the status quo; we must point them to Christ.