Recently, Pastor Troy Dorrell (www.pastordorrell.com) gave me a book that he told me would be “an easy read.” On the flight home from California this past weekend I decided that I needed a diversion from my studying and proceeded to start this “easy read.”

Now I think I know what Pastor Dorrell meant by an easy read (you know, narrative style, fiction, short book, etc.), and I definitely had no trouble reading the book in short order. However, the book was anything but easy to assimilate. It was understandable enough, but packed with convicting truths about how many of us have allowed society’s values to entice and to enslave.

From his vantage point in 1969, H.L. Roush wrote a fictional account of one man’s (Henry’s) discovery of the benefits of our great society. Full of ironies, the book details Henry’s “ascent”–read, descent–into the benefits that come from greater access to technology and travel. Ironically, the life Henry traded in order to obtain the “good life” was the life he endeavored to recapture… but to no avail.

You will see yourself in this book, I promise. Although I probably wouldn’t recommend the Amish-esque lifestyle Roush seems to espouse, I have nonetheless pondered his insightful words and considered seriously the truths he wittily taught.

This book would be a good read for anybody who finds himself trapped by an overwhelming schedule or discontent in spite of great material advantage. Older children and teenagers would probably enjoy the book as well. If you’re interested in an “easy read with some hard truths,” I would recommend Henry and the Great Society.

admin Uncategorized book, Book Review, dorrell, henry, read, society

So I officially launched this quite primitive blog on Saturday, telling very few people that it even existed (for fear that some might actually read it!). One of the few people I did tell was my son, Nathaniel, a freshman at West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, CA. He liked the blog but offered the one glaring criticism that his picture was not on the page. (He inherited his humility from his mother.) Anyway, it was  my first official comment and it was semi-complimentary, so I decided to honor him by including his picture. Please feel free to throw darts. Oh, by the way, he’s the tall one right next to the dashingly good-looking guy to his left and your right.

admin Uncategorized Family, personal, random

A couple of pastor friends have encouraged me to begin blogging for several reasons: (1) Blogs provide an excellent opportunity for pastors to stay connected to people they love (and who love them…in most cases). (2) Although church provides an excellent outlet to preach the Word and provide healthy spiritual messages, it does not allow for enough time sometimes just to be informal and folksy. (3) In a world in which people are increasingly wired, the internet can be a tremendous tool for good through a medium like this.  

My intention for this blog is that I might open my life up a bit more to you all and share some of the ways by which God and others are sharpening me. Obviously a passion of mine is to communicate truth, and I trust that this medium will give me another important outlet for that communication to take place.

So whether I offer some prayer requests for my family, or pass along some thoughts from a book I’m reading, or simply opine on the myriad of subjects that God allows my somewhat convulated brain to ponder, I hope that you’ll join me from time to time! …And even offer your opinions along the way.

 

Pastor

admin Uncategorized personal, random