P.A.T.H. Book Report (vol. 5)

The last book required to be read before training... and we leave tomorrow... talk about cutting it close. Well, here's the last book review, then I'm off to pack!

Don't Step on the Rope
Walter C. Wright

As I began to read this book, I found myself wondering why it had been so very difficult to acquire. It was easy to read, seemed to be well written and had a clear intent and focus. As I read through the model of teamwork presented by the author, I found why perhaps this book was not available at my local library.

I did find that the book was heavily bogged down by the metaphor presented in the title. For someone, like myself, who knows very little of the subculture that exists in the hiking and mountain climbing community, it took a long time for me to break through all of that cultural nuance before I began to feel the beat of the metaphor. The author drops a lot of names and uses a lot of rather specialized examples to convey his teamwork model, this served somewhat to illustrate his point, but ultimately muddled it (at least for me, the uninitiated). The focus becomes the concept and metaphor and not the methodology.

As books on leadership and teamwork go, this one wasn't too bad. The principles and practices presented through the metaphor of mountain climbing were relatively sensible and seemed to hold a practical wisdom that could certainly be applied. This model of leadership and teamwork will only work if the team is dedicated to the task at hand. In a ministry application it is quite likely that this would be an effective model, however in an organization where the objective of the employee is a paycheck and the objective of the owner is savings and profits it would be a difficult model to implement. Many organizations do their very best to engender a pride in their staff that will translate into an objective more in line with the company objective (profits and savings). Sometimes this is even done through profit sharing or stock options, sometimes simply by trying to draw a correlation, for the benefit of the staff, between company profits and their paychecks. This can be effective for a time, but I can see this model of 'team' and leadership being only moderately successful in that sort of environment (to quote one of my favourite movies, "that'll only make someone work hard enough not to get fired"). An example of this can be seen, somewhat broadly in the so-called 'pyramid schemes'. The leadership and teamwork is an ever expanding pyramid of invested team members focused on the goal of expanding their 'net'.

This book would certainly be highly enjoyed by someone immersed in the mountain climbing culture. I didn't find it un-enjoyable, but would recommend that you not become overly burdened with the illustrations, and focus on the leadership model being presented. And keep in mind that it is just a model being presented in a sterile environment. Working with people (especially in a leadership role) is never textbook and never clinical, it requires wisdom and discernment and although leadership books can offer a guiding principle or concept. You will ultimately need to step up.

P.A.T.H. Book Report (vol. 4)

Well, I have to say, I was a bit disappointed in this one. But I've tried to give as honest a response as possible, there were certainly truths in this book that are vital to ministry, I just found myself so distracted by the negative political, socio-religious, and racial overtones that the message was certainly muddied at best.

White Man's Gospel
by Craig Stephen Smith

This book was not what I expected. I was under the impression it would examine the relationship of the Gospel to Native American Spirituality and Animism. It broached this topic only briefly.

A brief synopsis of the subject matter would clearly reveal a healthy understanding of a need for good Worldview Training and a clear and biblically grounded presentation of the Gospel. A presentation of the gospel, untainted by the prejudices and legalisms (and liberalisms) of the modern church. With this there is no argument that can be made, it is a widely acknowledged fact that there is dysfunction in the church and the way it seeks to fulfill it's mandate to GO and preach the gospel. Further to that, there is a growing understanding among mission organizations of just how to go about this (or at least the necessity of examining it). A studied, practical and culturally appropriate method is certainly what is called for biblically. However, to come to this conclusion from reading this book requires a fine tooth comb and a grain (or kilo) of salt.

Throughout the book Smith attempts a level of humor and what would seem to be tried cuteness that comes across rather poorly. At one point he shares a rather racist poem, although intended cutely, it took away dramatically from his credibility as an author. The purpose of sharing this poem was to correlate the sense of funny among Australian Aborigines and Native Americans. I failed to see the value. From page one to the end scene the author uses broad generalizations and sweeping indictments, these serve only to steal from his credibility and lend to an overall tone of bitterness and resentment. Although his point is good and sound, and his conclusions accurate, his presentation is poor and highly self-contradictory.

It is vital to be sensitive to the needs, history, culture and traditional values of Native Peoples. I feel strongly that discipleship, mentoring and a clear presentation of the gospel with an ultimate goal of building self sustaining Native churches is what the great commission is calling us to (and indeed what is presented in this book) without question. However, there are books available that present this method more clearly and under a much less questionable tone. I would recommend one of those be read long before this.

P.A.T.H. Book Report (vol. 3)

I've completed the third book that I selected to read for our upcoming P.A.T.H. training. There is certainly a recurrent theme among books dealing with Cross Cultural ministry. The need for understanding, the ability to learn and listen, the importance of building genuine and honest relationships with people as a base for sharing with them the Word of God. These are certainly Biblical Truths, and yet why is it that we are only focusing on them in a missions context? It seems to me we are all commanded to do these very things (Mark 12:28-31; Matthew 28:19-20) in our everyday lives.

Ministering Cross-Culturally
by Sherwood G. Lingenfelter
and Marvin K. Mayers

This is an excellent little book. If I were to hold a criticism of it, I would say only that it were too short. I found the practical examples of the Yapese culture to be a great aid in understanding the concepts being expressed in the book (and very interesting as well). I would certainly have enjoyed more narrative along those lines.

The idea of an incarnational model with respect to ministry is very practical, as well as biblical. The author does an excellent job of expressing just how to adequately go about this. Further to that, he cautions against being too sterile in our approach to non-Western cultures. Developing genuine relationships with people must never be second to our agenda. Worldview and understanding of culture are all vital parts to the incarnational model. The 'questionnaire' and charts are an excellent practical and visual assistance to understanding the thought behind the incarnational model. It would be an excellent idea for anyone working with others in a team to all take the time to complete this exercise and examine just how they will interact together. I would hazard to say it would be very enlightening and resolve a great deal of potential conflict.

A recommended read!

P.A.T.H. Book Report (vol. 2)

This was the second of the five books that are required for reading prior to going to P.A.T.H. training. There is a selection of eight books to choose from, the five posted here will be those we picked to read. This selection falls under the Missionary Family Relationships category and as such I think is intended to give us an idea of what it might be like on the field.

Letters Never Sent
by Ruth Van Reken
Throughout the latter portion of this book, the author brings some insightful truths. Her words are helpful and encouraging, I can certainly understand how this book is helpful in counseling applications.
Throughout this book, the author attempts to express some of her experiences, initially as a third culture child, and then as a cross cultural missionary herself. Although it can be infinitely helpful to read of the experiences and struggles of someone else, I believe it is also important to remember that no two people will struggle the same way or even respond similarly. I say this because I felt as though the "hindsight" of writing from the perspective of a child from the vantage point of mature healing left me as the reader feeling a bit daft for not having had that level of wisdom or composed expression when a child myself.
The relationship between Ministry and Family that is presented throughout this book gave me cause for pause as well. I am uncertain if I entirely agree with the presentation of this relationship in the book. If anything else it has prompted me to consider the topic more closely.
It is a simple read and would certainly be worth your while to read it. The author is transparent and practical and you will learn from her experiences. We can certainly all take something away from lessons shared!

Update:
 I have had the opportunity to hear this author speak at a recent conference. Referencing this book, she spoke about her experiences and the purpose in writing the book in the first place. Her personal epilogue to the book afforded some clarity for me that had not initially contributed to my reading of it.

I had felt that perhaps the concept of writing as an adult through the eyes of a child was disingenuous, when in fact this was not how the letters were written at all. Ruth explained to us that she was not trying to re-experience or re-imagine, she was, in the form of letter writing, experiencing these things for the first time. These letters are her dealing with her childhood experiences for the first time. This revelation certainly sheds an entirely different light on the subject matter.

P.A.T.H. Book Report (vol. 1)

P.A.T.H. training is looming, as a part of the course requirements we are required to read several books and give report on them. This is the first of the five that I have read, I thought I'd share a few thoughts here to give you an idea of what we will be looking at while we're out at P.A.T.H. training in April, May and June.

The Grieving Indian
by Arthur Holmes

The Grieving Indian is written by an Ojibwe man by the name of Art Holmes. It is not a lengthy read, but it is packed with powerful insights and practical illustrations. The practical life experiences of Art serve as a poignant backdrop to his book and as a powerful base for his ministry.

His understanding of the fundamental needs of those grieving and suffering loss or separation is clearly presented throughout the book. And although this is written with a focus on Native peoples, the truths are something everyone should understand.

I personally found his expounding on the stages of grief and the correlation to abandonment or separation to be very insightful. It is interesting to me to see how the attitudes of generations past have deeply impacted the attitudes and reactions to personal suffering in people today.