Pastoral Ponderings » evangelism http://vasbyburnie.net The view from the Church Hill Vicarage (of St Bartholomew's, Wednesbury) Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:31:22 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Good enough? http://vasbyburnie.net/2009/11/25/good-enough/ http://vasbyburnie.net/2009/11/25/good-enough/#comments Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:07:43 +0000 Tim V-B http://vasbyburnie.net/?p=207 Check this out.  9 minutes on the most important question: why isn’t good good enough for God?

]]> http://vasbyburnie.net/2009/11/25/good-enough/feed/ 0 You: An Introduction http://vasbyburnie.net/2009/03/28/you-an-introduction/ http://vasbyburnie.net/2009/03/28/you-an-introduction/#comments Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:44:36 +0000 Tim V-B http://vasbyburnie.net/?p=140 It’s the question that lies behind so much of our actions and behaviour: who am I? Who are You? We live in times when asking this question is as vital as ever, yet the answers seem in short supply. Enter “You: An Introduction” by Michael Jensen.

Over 15 short chapters this book explores different aspects of what it means to be human: such as having bodies or being children. This is a fun and fascinating read. Fun because Michael Jensen writes in a conversational way about topics of immediate interest. He is happy to quote well-known theologians The Red Hot Chili Peppers alongside some dead guy called Karl Barth. Like the title, even the section headings within each chapter cause a wry smile in the reader. Fascinating because he has clearly done his research (even interviewing body piercing afficionados!) so that he writes as someone who knows both the world and the Bible. Although short, in each chapter you will find serious engagement with issues of profound significance.

Apart from the last three, there is no need to read each chapter in order. This makes it great for dipping in and out of: ideal bed time reading or, dare I say it, while sitting on the toilet! Yet from cover to cover Michael Jensen shows that the questions of who we are is essentially bound up with the question of who Jesus is. Knowledge of Christianity is never assumed; instead, you will find a compelling portrait of Jesus and a convincing discussion of his relevance.

This is a great book to give to non-Christian friends, even those who tend not to read books. Or maybe for Christians in their late teens through to early thirties. Certainly anyone will find a great deal here to enrich your thought and conversation with others. Perhaps the best way to use it would be as a conversation starter – maybe by being used as the basis for group reading and discussion. “You: An Introduction” began life as a blog and each chapter concludes with some of the comments posted online, so you feel invited to continue the discussion wherever it leads. Best of all, whether you read it individually or with others, you will discover how Jesus is the answer to our deepest questions.


Contents:

  1. what, anxious? Me?

  2. What You are not

  3. life

  4. touched

  5. body

  6. free

  7. stuff

  8. speech, speech!

  9. child

  10. boy/girl

  11. dreams

  12. deep trouble

  13. death

  14. what next?

  15. the real You

“You: An Introduction” can be purchased from here. (The Good Book Company, UK)

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