Articles for tag: LeRoy Lawson

January 28, 2012

Christian Standard

Looking Upward, Outward, and Inward

By LeRoy Lawson The Day We Found the Universe Marcia Bartusiak New York: Pantheon Books, 2009 The Next Christians: The Good News about the End of Christian America Gabe Lyons New York: Doubleday, 2010 The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex Is Too Important to Define Who We Are Jenell Williams Paris Downers Grove: IVP Books (InterVarsity Press), 2011   Many years ago I read that naturalist William Beebe was a guest of President Theodore Roosevelt in his Sagamore Hill home. At the close of an evening, the two went out on the lawn, searched the skies, and Roosevelt said,

January 3, 2012

Christian Standard

Aging, Dying, Disasters . . . and Joy

By LeRoy Lawson   Emily Alone: A Novel Stewart O”Nan New York: Penguin Group, 2011 Death with Interruptions Jose Saramago Orlando: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008 A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster Rebecca Solnit New York: Penguin Books, 2009   I speak fairly often for seniors” conferences. I used to speak for youth conventions. As a wag has noted, that means I”m still talking to the same people. Last year I was on the program for two such conferences in Oregon, one at the state convention grounds in the Willamette Valley, the other at Camp WiNeMa

December 13, 2011

Christian Standard

Four Books About Microfinance

By LeRoy Lawson   When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor and Yourself Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert Chicago: Moody Press, 2009 Banker to the Poor: Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty Muhammad Yunus with Alan Jolis New York: Public Affairs, 2003 The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World Jacqueline Novogratz New York: Rodale, 2009 A Billion Bootstraps: Microcredit, Barefoot Banking, and the Business Solution for Ending Poverty Phil Smith and Eric Thurman, Forward by Muhammad Yunus New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007 First, hear the story: “Elephant and Mouse

December 5, 2011

Christian Standard

The Poor You Will Always Have with You . . .

By Doug Priest “I am married and have four children. I received a loan of $400 to start a business making jewelry and shoes. With the money, I purchased a sewing machine, the raw materials needed, and paid the rent for my business house. I have since been able to employ part-time workers.” “”Moses, a slum dweller In Matthew”s account of the anointing of Jesus by Mary of Bethany, he quoted Jesus as saying, “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me” (Matthew 26:11). Mark, who also wrote about this event in his

November 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Two Books about Hell

By LeRoy Lawson Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived Rob Bell New York: HarperOne, 2011 Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It)  Brian Jones Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2011 In July, I met with an exciting group of campus ministers from universities around the world. These engaged and engaging young men and women never fail to challenge me with their penetrating questions about today”s leading theological issues. This time there were two issues under consideration: gay marriage (one by one the states are voting to approve it””what are

October 27, 2011

Christian Standard

You Must Read This . . . Challenging Prejudices

By LeRoy Lawson Allah: A Christian Response Miroslav Volf New York: HarperCollins e-books, 2011 Many years ago my doctoral dissertation was published as Very Sure of God: Religious Language in the Poetry of Robert Browning. My question was, “In his poetry, when Browning says “˜God,” what does he mean?” My answer was, “Not much.” Of course it took me a book to explain what I meant. Ever since this exercise I”ve been listening closely when people say “God.” You can explain a lot of their behavior this way. Now Miroslav Volf has published Allah: A Christian Response. His question is,

September 23, 2011

Christian Standard

Reconsidering Politics, Revisiting Columbine, and Rediscovering Fun

By LeRoy Lawson The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America Jim Wallis New York: HarperOne, 2008 Columbine Dave Cullen New York: Twelve (e-book), 2009 Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul Stuart Brown, MD New York: Penguin Group, 2009 I didn”t read Jim Wallis”s The Great Awakening when it came out in 2008. My “must-read” stack was pretty high then, so I opted to skip the Sojourners founder”s sequel to God”s Politics, his opinion of””and this is the book”s subtitle””Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn”t Get It.

August 13, 2011

Christian Standard

Embracing Mystery, Remembering Churchill, and Reconsidering the Classics

By LeRoy Lawson Einstein”s God: Conversations about Science and the Human Spirit Krista Tippett New York: Penguin Books, 2010 Churchill and America Martin Gilbert New York: Free Press, 2005 Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin Tracy Lee Simmons Wilmington: ISI Books, 2002 There”s no yelling in Krista Tippett”s Einstein”s God, no name-calling. This book is not another shootout of science and religion. Instead, these transcripts from 10 episodes of her radio show Speaking of Faith thoughtfully raise issues that thinking people can”t avoid: Can science and religion get along? Can you believe in God and evolution? What is the primary

July 25, 2011

Christian Standard

Believers, the Bible, and Prescriptions for Health

By LeRoy Lawson American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010 The Book that Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization Vishal Mangalwadi Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011 Pause Points: The Mindful Pursuit of Health and Well-Being Gene Harker and Curt Smith Bloomington: WestBow Press, 2011   Well, it”s happened at last. The third-largest “religious” group in the United States is “Nones,” people who claim no religious or institutional affiliation. The group is more numerous (17 percent) than mainline Protestants (14 percent). Only

June 17, 2011

Christian Standard

Dead Guys and a Living Church

By LeRoy Lawson Southern Seen: Meditations on Past and Present Larry T. McGehee, Edited by B. J. Hutto Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2005 The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt T. J. Stiles New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009 The Church Awakening: An Urgent Call for Renewal Charles R. Swindoll New York: Faith Words, 2010 What so disappoints me about Larry T. McGehee is that he is dead. You read someone”s book, you become enamored of his wit and charm, you look forward to reading more and maybe even meeting him. Then you discover you can”t. As

June 16, 2011

Christian Standard

Our Finest Hour, Our Ongoing Challenge

By LeRoy Lawson My subject today is missions. Please don”t yawn. Sometimes preachers are made to feel a little defensive when promoting this essential part of a church”s life. Announce a “missions emphasis weekend” and watch the attendance plummet. Announce that giving has been falling behind and expenses have to be cut and you can count on a chorus of calls to slash missions giving. It”s a hard sell””this missions enterprise. That”s why I bring the subject up. Please don”t be cynical, either. You might object that I think this matter is so important only because I work for a

April 15, 2011

Christian Standard

Trying to Keep Up with Books by “˜Us”

By LeRoy Lawson Superman on Earth: Reflections of a Fan Gary D. Robinson / Baltimore: PublishAmerica, 2010 Thoughtprints: Poems En Route Wilma Curtis Buckner / ©Wilma Buckner, 2009 Daily Disciple: A One-Year Devotional Guide Gary Holloway / Abilene: Leafwood Publishers, 2008 Steppes of Faith: Discovering God”s Goodness in Ukraine Janice Lemke / Purpose Press, 2010 Eyes of Integrity: The Porn Pandemic and How It Affects You Craig Gross and Jason Harper / Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2010 I remember grumbling with some fellow Christian church ministers many years ago that we did not seem to be a publishing fellowship. We

March 15, 2011

Christian Standard

Charting a Course Through the Humanities

By LeRoy Lawson The West in the World, Vol. 1, 3rd Edition Dennis Sherman and Joyce Salisbury Columbus: McGraw-Hill Fleming”s Arts and Ideas, 10th Edition Mary Warner Marien and William Fleming Thomson Wadsworth, 2005 Greek Tragedies, Vol. 1, 2nd Edition David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, editors Chicago: University of Chicago, 1992 The Odyssey Homer; Stanley Lombardo, translator Indianapolis: Hackett, 2000 The Aeneid Vergil; Sarah Ruden, translator New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008 Beowulf Seamus Heaney, translator New York: Norton, 2001 COURSE: Humanities 101: Ancient and Medieval Cultures PROFESSOR: Lawson REQUIRED READING: see above The Milligan College freshmen who signed up

March 10, 2011

Christian Standard

Back to College””45 Years Later

By LeRoy Lawson When Pat Magness was a Milligan College student in the late 1960s, she was Patty Phillips and I was her professor. Now Dr. Magness is the head of the area of humane learning. She is my boss. Which goes to show you that it pays to be nice, even to freshmen. You never know . . . My rank indicates my place on the academic totem pole. One step lower and I”d be in the dirt. I”m a visiting substitute adjunct professor of freshman humanities. This just may be my all-time favorite title. Dr. Magness extended the invitation to

February 23, 2011

Christian Standard

A Troubled Continent, a New Dream

By LeRoy Lawson The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence Martin Meredith New York: Public Affairs, 2005 Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles Richard Dowden New York: Public Affairs, 2009 Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream David Platt Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Multnomah, 2010 Returning through Amsterdam”s Schipohl Airport from Kenya last year, I picked up a couple of books on Africa that, once I started reading, I couldn”t stop. Not that I enjoyed them. I didn”t. But I had just been to Africa and am fascinated by the people and countries I”ve visited. What these

January 4, 2011

Christian Standard

Changed Lives, Reformed Hearts

By LeRoy Lawson The Brain that Changes Itself Norman Doidge, M.D. / New York: Penguin Books, 2007 Dark Journey/Deep Grace: Jeffrey Dahmer”s Story of Faith Roy Ratliff and Lindy Adams / Abilene: Leafwood Publishers, 2006 In the 1950s Norman Vincent Peale”s The Power of Positive Thinking became a surprise best seller. Robert H. Schuller took up his mantle a generation later with a host of self-help books with a variation on the theme, the power of “possibility” thinking. It has been pretty easy for cynics to dismiss Peale and Schuller and their ilk. Too easy, too Pollyannaish, so much “pie

December 27, 2010

Christian Standard

FROM MY BOOKSHELF: From My Vacation, for Your New Year

By LeRoy Lawson The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves Matt Ridley / New York: HarperCollins, 2010 Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker / Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2009 Why Does E=MC2? Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw / Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2009 How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In Jim Collins / New York: HarperCollins, 2009 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got that Way Bill Bryson / New York: Perennial, 1990 This column”s books have one thing in common: They provided my entertainment on a recent trip to Europe.

November 28, 2010

Christian Standard

From My Bookshelf: It Matters What You Believe

By LeRoy Lawson Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality Manjit Kumar New York: W.W. Norton, 2008 Pearl Buck in China: Journey to The Good Earth Hilary Spurling New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010 The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century Steve Coll New York: Penguin Press, 2008 “What is REAL?” asked the Velveteen Rabbit in that all-time favorite children”s book, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. “What is REAL?” asked some of the 20th-century”s most brilliant scientific minds. We”re still waiting for their definitive answer. Manjit Kumar”s Quantum records their best guesses

October 31, 2010

Christian Standard

FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Lessons from Lives Past

By LeRoy Lawson Stanley: The Impossible Life of Africa”s Greatest Explorer Tim Jeal New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007 Cleopatra: A Biography Duane W. Roller London: Oxford University Press, 2010 George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I Miranda Carter New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010 “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Who hasn”t heard Henry Stanley”s famous greeting when, after an incredibly arduous search for the missing missionary-explorer, he uttered this premeditated, deliberately understated line? More Than a Counterfeit That greeting, frankly, is about all I could have told you of the man before reading

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