Editor’s Note: Most Saturdays we will feature this “Editor’s Notebook” column. MinistryWatch President Warren Smith will offer his opinion on stories in the week’s news or, sometimes, offer a behind-the-scenes look at how and why we do what we do.
However, once a quarter, we use the ‘Notebook” for Warren Smith’s list of books either released in the past quarter, or those he just got around to reading this quarter. To read last quarter’s list, published in February, click here.
Ministers of a New Medium: Broadcasting Theology in the Radio Ministries of Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier by Kirk D. Farney
Most books that start out as Ph.D. dissertations “reek of the academy.” This book does not. Its ideas are sophisticated, its history thorough, and the prose is highly readable. If you are interested in how and why Christian media – or, for that matter, conservative and populist media — grew to the leviathan it is today, you should read this book.
Life in the Negative World: Confronting Challenges in an Anti-Christian World by Aaron Renn
The big idea of this book is relatively simple. At one time Christianity was seen as a “good” in the world. Now it is seen as a “negative.” Aaron Renn explains why, and how it happened. Renn’s virtue as a writer is that he is clear and direct. His virtue as a thinker is that he stays focused on the big ideas and doesn’t get distracted by side trips. This book has already created a buzz, and that buzz is deserved. I interviewed Renn for the MinistryWatch podcast. You can find that episode here.
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De-Sizing The Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What’s Next by Karl Vaters
Karl Vaters is not categorically opposed to big churches. In fact, he explains why and how big churches can play a role in the ecosystem of evangelicalism. But he is emphatic that they should not be the norm. He says the Church Growth Movement, despite good intentions, has produced a church that is bloated and weak. And he offers advice on what to do about it.
Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect by John Inazu
The author is a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and he brings both his legal and classroom experience to bear in this excellent book. He asks (and answers) such questions as: “How do we learn empathy?” and “What happens when we can’t compromise?” I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. (After all, it was written by a lawyer and a professor. What’s not to hate?) But John Inazu turned me into a fan. Highly recommended.
Moral Vision: Leadership from George Washington to Joe Biden by Marvin Olasky
This book reminds us that “character matters.” An old saw asserts that bad men can be good leaders, but Olasky reminds us that a clear moral vision, and the discipline and character to follow that vision, make all men better leaders. Failures in the areas of discipline, character, and moral vision can tarnish the legacy of even the best readers. Pro tip: This book is a revision of Olasky’s 1999 book The American Leadership Tradition. Even if you have read that book, do yourself a favor and read this one. It has a lot of new material, and the original has been significantly “tweaked.” This really is a different book, and though I loved the original, this book is (to my taste) much better. To hear a conversation between Olasky and me about this book, and other matters, click here.
Ghosted: An American Story by Nancy French
The title of the book is a reference to French’s career as a ghost writer for prominent Republican leaders, but also to the fact that she was “ghosted” by those same people when she refused to follow the populist tide that swept through the GOP. An interesting slice of recent political history, and (of course) well written.
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
The author was raised in a remote part of the Pacific Northwest in a fundamentalist Mormon community. She eventually earned degrees from Harvard and Oxford. The last few years have seen a rash of memoirs from people who escaped fundamentalist roots through a combination of grit and education. Most of these memoirs are not worth reading. This one is.