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1) Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus, by Robin R. Meyers (2009). I read this in the spring and hope it will be a book for discussion this coming year at Good Sam. Robin Meyer, a UCC pastor, is an engaging communicator of progressive Christianity. His understanding of Jesus is bold and compelling. He also challenges the reader to consider: Faith as Being, not Belief; Original Blessing, not Original Sin; Christianity as Compassion, not Condemnation; Religion as Relationship, not Righteousness. Archbishop Desmond Tutu says of this book: "Every once in a while, a book comes along that changes everything. This is the book."
2) 10 Things Your Minister Wants to Tell You (But Can't Because He Needs the Job), by Rev. Oliver "Buzz" Thomas (2007). Ginger Breitkreutz shared this little book with me. I thoroughly enjoyed it -- probably nothing you haven't heard at some time from the Good Sam pulpit -- but it is told with precision and memorable anecdotes by a Baptist minister who is also a constitutional lawyer. Joan Campbell says, "Buzz Thomas makes God accessible even for those who find church difficult."
3) Welcome to the Wisdom of the World and Its Meaning for You, by Joan Chittister (2007). Benedictine nun and scholar Joan Chittister takes on the deep questions of life that most of us grapple with at one time or another. Then she turns to stories from five great religious traditions: Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic, and interprets them for today. This provides a sound background for our upcoming Muslim-Christian dialogue on spiritual practices.
4) Jump Time: Shaping Your Future in a World of Radical Change, by Jean Houston (2000). Houston makes a case that we are living in the midst of a great quantum leap beyond anything the world has ever experienced. She calls on us to make our own creative leap of consciousness to remake the world, with the power of the wisdom of the great spiritual traditions uniting us.
5) A Passion for the Possible: A Guide to Realizing Your True Potential, by Jean Houston (1997). This is a little book of spiritual practices to get in touch with your God-given inner resouces through increased awareness of the sensory and psychological realms and recognition of our own mythic and spiritual journey.
6) The Yellow Square: A Pop-up Book for Children of All Ages, by David A. Carter (2008). I discovered this at the Borders bargain table and fell in love with it. It is a book to be experienced and enjoyed in all of its surprising creativity -- an absolute delight!
7) Natural Mandalas by Lisa Tenzin-Dolma (2006). This is another Borders bargain and I am enjoying the mandalas from nature, from snowflakes and frogs to flowers and the tree of life.
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