I was excited when I learned this book was to be, but had not really read it until I attended a class on Way of Ministry. Reading it has been an experience of mini-immersions. His style of writing is plain-speaking at its best. For those like me who find such clarity important on issues of faith, this has been like opening a treasure trove that was visible all the while. We Friends love metaphor, and in our independent spirits can be less clear with ourselves -creating inside languages that separate us - when that is all we rely on. Some liberal Friends who cannot translate the language of traditional Christianity into a language of God's Love may be put off by such very Christian references. But if we can suspend disbelief and read it, as we learned to do in high school literature, we may find a more clear understanding of the universality of Friends' experience, and learn better how to translate. This is, and will grow to be even more, a classic for Friends taking on the original task of our forebears: taking on the ministry and laying down the laity.
Reviews (1)
I was excited when I learned this book was to be, but had not really read it until I attended a class on Way of Ministry. Reading it has been an experience of mini-immersions. His style of writing is plain-speaking at its best. For those like me who find such clarity important on issues of faith, this has been like opening a treasure trove that was visible all the while. We Friends love metaphor, and in our independent spirits can be less clear with ourselves -creating inside languages that separate us - when that is all we rely on. Some liberal Friends who cannot translate the language of traditional Christianity into a language of God's Love may be put off by such very Christian references. But if we can suspend disbelief and read it, as we learned to do in high school literature, we may find a more clear understanding of the universality of Friends' experience, and learn better how to translate. This is, and will grow to be even more, a classic for Friends taking on the original task of our forebears: taking on the ministry and laying down the laity.
Posted by Joan Broadfield | February 7, 2010 8:38 AM
Posted on February 7, 2010 08:38