Today let’s talk about stewardship! And to make things more interesting, let’s talk about teaching stewardship to children! In the minds of many adults, the word stewardship has become linked to “asking for money”. Many churches discuss stewardship once a year, when asking people to make a pledge to support the church’s financial needs. Not many children have financial resources of their own, and therefore, with this narrow definition of stewardship, children are often not involved in stewardship programs.

Let the Children Give: Time, Talents, Love, and Money by Delia Halverson reminds us that stewardship is a broader concept than simply raising money to meet a budget. A steward is one who manages the affairs of others. As Christians, we are all (regardless of age) called to be caretakers of God’s creation by using the talents God has given each one of us.

I often reread books, sometimes multiple times. For me, rereading a book is like eating comfort food. The familiarity is soothing. I often notice things I had either missed the first time or forgotten.

During the last month, on three separate occasions, I was reminded of Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos, a book I read for the first time a couple of years ago. Taking the hint, I dug it out and reread it.

As I read The Dawn of Days by Denis Horgan, I found myself transported back to high school English. I could see the essay question in front of me, “Did the author intended to portray David Rhodes as a Christ-figure? Support your answer.” (The actual question many years ago was about Billy Budd.) Of course, this is one of those questions where, if the answer were “no” the question would not have been asked.

A subscriber to The Daily Voice recently asked for my thoughts about online and downloadable curricula, and I've been giving this subject some extra thought as a result. Over the next few months, I'll be reviewing a few of the many options now available for downloadable curricula. My hope is that as I share a few thoughts about each of them, you'll take some time to think through and weigh the pros and cons of digital vs. other forms of curricula.

First up: The Wired Word, a product of Communication Resources, Inc.

The stack of books on my desk keeps growing, and these three are similar in the fact that they are summaries of research in three very different topics. The first I recommend to everyone; the others are for those with more specialized interests.

What Americans Really Believe by Rodney Stark. Baylor University Press, 2008, 208 pp.

The Pew Forum's US Religious Landscape survey has gotten a lot of press in recent weeks, and it's absolutely essential reading for church staff members and leaders. Another book, though, is equally valuable reading. Stark's research is highly respected by those who study the development of Christianity in our country, and his expert analysis of other writers and studies is concise and clear. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in knowing how Christians in different denominations think about everything from views on sin and evil to who believes in UFOs and angels. Want to know what the statistics say about youth participation in church? Want to know why Americans have such high rates of church attendance? Is religion "hardwired" into certain kinds of human personality? The answers to those questions and much more are in this fascinating (and well-written) book. It would be an interesting book to read as a church staff, I think.

By its own admission, Nature’s Witness: How Evolution Can Inspire Faith by Daniel M. Harrell, is a book that may raise more questions than it answers. Such is often the case when one discusses theology. Nature’s Witness is part of the “Living Theology” series, a cooperative effort between Emergent Village and Abingdon Press. The goal of the series is to make theology approachable and to encourage conversation.

It is incorrect and begets misunderstanding to read Paul for what he was not: a Lutheran Protestant criticizing Roman Catholicism or, worse still, a Christian criticizing Judaism. It is correct and avoids misunderstanding to read him for what he was: a Christian Jew within covenantal Judaism criticizing Roman imperialism. We must read his letters within their original situation and Paul's original intention. (The First Paul, p. 157)

Every time I teach an introductory Bible course (e.g. Disciple Bible Study), I am always struck by the fact that everyone has at least one part of the Bible they dislike or rarely read, usually because of false assumptions they have about that book or section. Once upon a time, my own disinterest in the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament, as I would have called it at that time) was so great that I managed to graduate with a BA in Religion without having taken Intro to the OT! Of course, that eventually changed (thanks to my seminary, which of course did not let me make that mistake twice) and now I love to read those 39 books.

Lately, I have realized that my own disinterest has shifted to Paul's letters (including the disputed and pseudo-Pauline letters.) For example, my bookshelves have had at least two scholarly books on the historical Paul awaiting my attention for years, but I've found the time to read a dozen or so books on the historical Jesus. There are plenty of reasons for this deficiency, but a new book has finally put my mild phobia to rest. That book is The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon, by Marcus J. Borg & John Dominic Crossan (Harper One, 2009). 

No Matter What by Debi Gliori does not use “spiritual” language. It never mentions God, Jesus or the church. And yet, its message beautifully conveys the essence of God’s grace. In this case, a picture book is worth a thousand words (even though it contains far fewer.) Here is a book that all church libraries should have.

From time to time, a book by an avowed atheist gets a lot of public attention in the media. Think, for example, of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins or Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris, which came out about two years ago. The latest of these books to make a splash is Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible by Bart Ehrman. Ehrman, a former evangelical turned secular  Biblical scholar and historian, has in recent years released a number of books about the Bible, and he seems to have a great publicist. (In recent weeks, he has been on Fresh Air with Teri Gross and in Newsweek magazine, for example.)  Some of his books I really enjoyed, while others I found to be mostly disappointing. This latest book, for me anyway, goes into the mostly disappointing category, though I would still recommend it to many potential readers. 

Today's Daily Voice marks a major milestone for us: this edition of The Daily Voice is #100! We're doing the happy dance, of course, but not for long...there's too much work to be done! (Our store is just about ready, we're working on writing our first curriculum releases, and lots more.)

If you haven't looked through our archives to read about everything from the lowly table tent to a great, free online tool for storing your notes, then take a few minutes today to poke around! Here are 10 of our personal favorites (from oldest to most recent).