Most Popular Book Giveaway Ever
February 11, 2014
I have two traditions at Cornerstone. One (shamelessly stolen from Capitol Hill Baptist Church) is giving away good books to adults and children. The other is Tabletalk.
Tabletalk has been going on for nearly ten years now. Numerous times each year, myself and
the present Lady Trueman invite the seminary students (plus wives, significant others etc.) back after the evening service to Trueman Abbey for desserts and wine. After the eats, the women retire to the drawing room for a glass of madeira and to talk about how cute kittens are, the cuddliness of puppies, and the latest fashions for ladies of quality. The 'chaps' -- all decent sorts -- remain behind, smoke cigars, drink brandy, and tell manly stories about feats of derring-do.
Actually, it is nothing like that. By and large, we do not buy into the all-too-common 'the biblical view of gender roles is exactly what they were in the culture of my homeland 100 years ago, before the feminist rot set in' idea that seems so popular these days. Instead, we all stay together and talk about matters of relevance to ministry today.
This Sunday, the two traditions -- of book giveaway and Tabletalk -- came together. In the morning, I gave out copies of Catherine J. Stewart's book, Letters to Pastors Wives and in the evening we discussed how important a functional marriage, with a shared vision and passion for the church, is for a married minister. Indeed, if a man is married and his wife does not share his vision and passion for ministry, then he should not be a minister because it will end in disaster. A man does not have to be a pastor to serve the church faithfully; he is, however, commanded to love his wife.
Anyway, I gave away five of these books in the morning. By the end of Tabletalk, I needed to order a further ten, a Cornerstone record. The book is excellent. One of the seminary wives took a copy in the morning, devoured it in the afternoon, and praised it to the skies at the gathering in the evening. Her most telling comment: 'I'd never heard of the women who wrote the essays but they are amazing.' I responded that that was because these women were married to pastors in churches like the ones her husband will probably pastor: on the whole, small, not flashy, no vast staff. This is not a book written by the usual cast of characters; it is a book written by unknown women who really know what life is like in a normal pastorate. Very highly recommended.
Tabletalk has been going on for nearly ten years now. Numerous times each year, myself and
the present Lady Trueman invite the seminary students (plus wives, significant others etc.) back after the evening service to Trueman Abbey for desserts and wine. After the eats, the women retire to the drawing room for a glass of madeira and to talk about how cute kittens are, the cuddliness of puppies, and the latest fashions for ladies of quality. The 'chaps' -- all decent sorts -- remain behind, smoke cigars, drink brandy, and tell manly stories about feats of derring-do.Actually, it is nothing like that. By and large, we do not buy into the all-too-common 'the biblical view of gender roles is exactly what they were in the culture of my homeland 100 years ago, before the feminist rot set in' idea that seems so popular these days. Instead, we all stay together and talk about matters of relevance to ministry today.
This Sunday, the two traditions -- of book giveaway and Tabletalk -- came together. In the morning, I gave out copies of Catherine J. Stewart's book, Letters to Pastors Wives and in the evening we discussed how important a functional marriage, with a shared vision and passion for the church, is for a married minister. Indeed, if a man is married and his wife does not share his vision and passion for ministry, then he should not be a minister because it will end in disaster. A man does not have to be a pastor to serve the church faithfully; he is, however, commanded to love his wife.
Anyway, I gave away five of these books in the morning. By the end of Tabletalk, I needed to order a further ten, a Cornerstone record. The book is excellent. One of the seminary wives took a copy in the morning, devoured it in the afternoon, and praised it to the skies at the gathering in the evening. Her most telling comment: 'I'd never heard of the women who wrote the essays but they are amazing.' I responded that that was because these women were married to pastors in churches like the ones her husband will probably pastor: on the whole, small, not flashy, no vast staff. This is not a book written by the usual cast of characters; it is a book written by unknown women who really know what life is like in a normal pastorate. Very highly recommended.
