Category: Books

  • Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica

    Kristen and I like to eat out. A lot. In fact, if we could figure out a way to afford it and not gain 1,000 pounds we would probably eat out for every meal of the day 365 days per year. We love the experience of going to new places, trying new things, and watching people.

    I’m not going to lie. Waiter Rant exposed just how much I ignore the people who make our dining experience enjoyable. We rarely converse with wait staff and I tend to treat waiters like a caddy. In my opinion, the best waiter is quiet, prompt, and available to answer questions. Steve’s stories of a life in the restaurant business have likely changed my perception of waiters forever. While I’m far from a jerk customer, listening to the waiter’s tales taught me a valuable lesson about the Golden Rule.

    Waiter Rant gives readers a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to work at a restaurant. The author explores it from a lot of unexpected and fun angles. He dives into the emotional side as he realizes that his temporary gig turns into 6+ years. He documents the power struggles between the owner, the chef, and the waiters who ultimately decide if the place succeeds or fails. He delves into he pecking order and how that relates to the best shifts and subsequently the most money. He documents what makes a good customer and a bad one. He shares what it means to get a bad tip. He even goes as far as to talk about the nasty parts of restaurants… dirty kitchens and waiters who do things to your food. He places owners, chefs, and waiters into understandable categories. The book even has a couple of appendixes. One is for waiters, so they can know what to look for in an employer. The second is for customers, providing an insiders guide to know if a restaurant is well-run.

    This book isn’t about restaurants or even waiting on tables. Waiter Rant is about Steve’s search for his life calling in the midst of dealing with the hand he dealt himself. I think anyone can identify with Steve’s predicament. Sometimes we all get caught up paying the bills while in full knowledge that, while we may enjoy our present situation, it isn’t the dream we’d had for ourselves. In the ebb and flow of that we see the waiter master his life position and then lose control of it. As he feels himself lose control of his once expertly maintained head waiter career, he tailspins out of control in many areas of his life. Anger and bitterness slip in where joy once lived until he could take it no more. Smack dab in the middle of this angst-filled time Steve discovers his true calling as a writer. (One letter off from “waiter,” by the way.) Amidst the toughest of times the waiter see’s his blog, Wait Rant, become a best selling book. Life is just like that.

    You’ll certainly never look at a server quite the same.

  • Slam by Nick Hornby

    I picked up Slam in the Nashville airport the other day and read it on the flight home. I’m not much of a power reader, it took me 3 years to read Master and Commander, but I got this one done in 2 sittings.

    Slam is the story of a 16 year old boy, Sam, and his self-reflection towards becoming a teen dad. When I read the jacket cover I wasn’t really that excited about the story because I thought, “eh, this is going to be Juno from the boys perspective.” In some ways it was but in big ways it wasn’t.

    Sam is a guy who is really into skating and Tony Hawk. In fact, Sam read Tony’s autobiography so many times that he can have conversations with Tony and he comes up with what Tony would say based on quotes from the book. It was his Bible. This aspect provides and interesting perspective as Sam repeatedly seeks out a Tony Hawk poster for advice instead of adults in his life who could help him make better decisions.

    Adding to the mix is Sam’s mom, a single mom herself who had Sam at 16. In subtle and sarcastic ways she reminds him over and again that he ruined her dreams… and she warns him over and over again not to make the same mistake. Imagine Sam’s horror when he realizes he’s repeating the cycle.

    Enter Alicia, the hot girl from the private school who just broke up with her boyfriend because he was constantly pressuring her for sex. They meet at a party where they are the only two teenagers and hit it off. Oddly enough, after their first date the new couple finds themselves having sex. In fact, for the next several weeks they skip the date and just have sex. What I like about this book is that it somehow captures the story from an adolescent perspective. Hornby manages to never break character, the whole thing is from Sam’s lens, how Sam would react, and how Sam would think. Even down to the detail of Sam’s fantasy life and dreams of “whizzing forward” in the story.

    The crux of the story happens when Sam and Alicia discover that they’ve somehow gotten pregnant. Sam asks, “How is it that 2 seconds of stupidity can ruin your life forever?” From there, the couple struggles with the reality of their situation. (What I’ve shared is basically a summary of the first couple chapters, still plenty of story left.)

    Why should youth workers read this story? Isn’t it obvious? This is a story about real life. Teen pregnancy happens. We adults have a tendency to look at pregnancy as an adult thing and we look at it through the lenses of our adult sexuality. What we miss when we do that is that we view sex as for adults only, pregnancy as good for married people and bad for everyone else, family life as simple when it is truly complex, and we forget how much confusion and fear play into the mix.

  • Disagreeing with the Alma Mater

    moody studentDo you ever have times when you look at your college and you go, “What are they thinking?” That’s how I feel about my alma mater, Moody Bible Institute lately.

    Actually, I don’t have a single problem with the education they are providing. The longer I’ve been away from MBI the more I’ve appreciated their focus on ministry preparation. They are doing what 99% of Christian colleges refuse to do, prepare students for vocational ministry at the undergraduate level. I am very thankful for the excellent degree I earned from Moody. If anyone is looking for a ringing endorsement of their programs… you’ve got one from me.

    But I am disappointed in Moody Press. (An arm of the school) I’ve reviewed several of their books in the past and one of the things that drives me nuts is that they seem to have a negative bend on pop culture. (Look at their website, you’ll get a glimpse on the style of fear they use to sell books.) For instance… the books I read last year all mentioned September 11, 2001 in the opening chapter as a literary hook to the books over-riding topic of spiritual warfare. [Sorry, I think that’s as cheap as appealing to Hitler to talk about politics.] And this year they have released a couple of books with a negative view of “emerging church.” (Something I’m neutral on.) Now, it doesn’t bother me that
    they want to write apologetics for “traditional evangelicalism” as that’s to be expected from an institution who forced out a bunch of professors who took a positive view on something as benign as progressive dispensationalism. What is bothersome is that these publications approach cultural questions from a defensive, rather than discussion, angle. (Here’s my review of their hot title right now, “Sex, Sushi, and Salvation.”) In Sex, Sushi, and Salvation… the author essentially made fun of the emergent discussion. To me this lacked class as it devalued the many good people who are exploring it legitimately.

    Let me clarify. I don’t think this is an abnomaly/conspiracy for Moody. I think this is very much the “old traditions” doing what they always do… keep the base happy, don’t take risks, publish things that are safe even if it offends the majority with its simplicity.

    What breaks my heart about this approach is that as they continue to publish books with a very “1990s” approach to culture and the result is that readers are paying less and less attention to what is being published. I can’t think of the last time people were buzzing about a Moody book.  That’s a concern. I want to see the best stuff with my alma maters name on it… and if it weren’t for Ray Pritchard I’m not sure I’d be excited about anything they are publishing. I keep trying and will keep trying, it just hasn’t been rewarding lately.

  • What Book are You?



    You’re Watership Down!
    by Richard Adams
    Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you’re
    actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their
    assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they
    build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You’d
    be recognized as such if you weren’t always talking about talking rabbits.

    Take the Book Quiz
    at the Blue Pyramid.

    HT to Jay

  • Brick and mortar vs. Digital media

    barnes & nobleTonight Kristen and I spent an hour walking around our local Barnes & Noble. Each time I go there I have a recurring vision for what I am supposed to do with my life.

    I’m a messenger.

    I believe God has placed me on this planet to convey a message. And the most important part about being a messenger is that you need your message to be heard.

    What’s that got to do with the bookstore? 

    Imagine all the very important messages stuck in books you will never read? People walking around a bookstore pick up books for random reasons. The jacket design. A catchy title. Because the worker turned it out instead of in. Because someone picked it as something interesting to read.

    The point is, with 50,000 titles at the local bookstore… if you’re life’s mission were to convey a message… a bookstore sucks as a place to spread it.

    In my case, that translates into “find a better method to spread your message.“

  • Nominations for Best of Youth Ministry 2007

    Best of 2007Over at YMX, we’re accepting nominations for “Best of 2007” from the world of youth ministry.

    Here’s the link.

    If you post your list on your blog and post the link in the comments section by 12/30/07, we’ll put your name in a drawing for a $25 gift card from Amazon. (Drawing on 12/31/2007) Don’t post your link here… post it here!

    Do I have to be “in youth ministry” to nominate? Nope. It’s open to anyone with an opinion. The only requirement to be in the drawing is that you have to post a link to your nominations in your blog/website.

  • Going All the Way: A review of Craig Groeschel’s Latest

    Going All the WayI had the pleasure of reading Craig’s latest book. This one is about intimate relationships and it may be the best book on dating and marriage I’ve ever read. Check that, since it was actually good it was the second book I ever finished on dating and marriage.

    Here’s an excerpt of my review for YMX.

    This is how many books on marriage are marketed to the reader–the author takes the position as a expert guiding the reader through several easy steps to relational bliss. If the reader will merely submit to the author’s successful plan, the reader’s marriage and in turn, life will be much easier. To further the stereotype, the covers of these books often depict a happily married couple who look as though they’ve never had an argument as they look longingly in to one another’s eyes sporting smiles befitting a Cialis commercial. Fortunately, Craig Groeschel, in his book Going All the Way: Preparing for a Marriage that Goes the Distance, takes a refreshingly realistic angle on marriage. Craig’s style flies in the face of the typical, resulting in a page turning book on relationships. That’s right–a book on relationships actually worth reading! Read the rest…

    If you haven’t noticed, I’ve added a few tabs up on the top. If you want to see what else I have written head on over to the articles tab.

  • Vacation Reads

    I am not a prolific reader. In fact, I almost never finish a book. Furthermore I tend to read 4-5 books at a time. So here are the books I pounded out while on vacation last week.

    Cash
    The Man Called Cash     by Steve Turner
    I can’t lie. I wanted to know what all the hype was about. Certainly, Johnny Cash is a known name to me. But I never really knew his story. Now I can see why so many people are fascinated by this man. The thing I found interesting about Cash was just how authentic he was. He sinned, knew he was a sinner, battled sin, wrote about sin, and just kept on trying to do life "right" and always managed to stumble into wrong. This was a book that kind of cleared the air about a lot of things and a good way to start off my trip.

    Thedip
    The Dip by Seth Godin
    I don’t want to say too much about this little book. (Other than go buy a copy and read it.) Starting in November I’m going to be hosting a series of guest bloggers who reflect on the principles of this book. Bob (my friend, pastor, and boss) kind of turned his head funny when I told him I was reading a book about knowing when to quit… stay tuned to see how this twists and turns.

    Raisingcorn
    Raising Less Corn, More Hell by George Pyle
    Not sure why I picked this one up. It was very interesting to say the least. Half propaganda and half a reality check for a consumer. I was hoping to kind of look at this as a metaphor for small internet businesses versus the big dogs of internet media. But it didn’t really come through clearly. But now I know how the farming business works.

    Adams
    John Adams: Party of One     by James Grant
    As a lover of all things biographical I knew I would dig this one. It’s half academic look at the life of a founding father and half whimsical look at his personal life. The main problem with this book is that it’s kind of a bruiser at about 500 pages. Since it’s not a page turner it is going to land on my night stand for a few more weeks.

  • Free book from Group Publishing

    For those who like free things… and who doesn’t. Group Publishing is giving away their book, Emergency Response Handbook for Youth Ministry, for free.

    This seems to be a great resource for anyone working with students. I would have added "hurting students" but I think the reality is that all students are hurting on some level.

    Download it here

  • Annoying Common Themes

    I’m finishing my third book review from the same publisher in as many weeks. As I read these three books, written by three different authors, written to three different audiences by the same publisher, (My alma mater’s publishing house, Moody Publishers) I got frustrated to have the same type of content in three different books.

    Gijoe
    Several months ago I read an article and a "rant" by a well-known youth ministry blogger. The article (not by him) and his rant were blasting the idea that so much stuff uses "battle" or "fighting" metaphors. When I saw that I was a bit put off because I actually think we ought to teach people that we are in a spiritual battle with our adversary, Satan, and that we’re good teachers to tell people the truth. And if the visuals of fighting and warfare are politically correct or are overly dark… stay out of the book of Revelation!

    Now having read these three books, I have to agree to some extent with the concept I before thought was just another soft, PC statement of the wimpification of Christ’s church.

    In each book there is imagery of spiritual battle. I’m 100% cool with that as the Bible uses this metaphor plenty. There was a call to action. I’m cool with that too, the Bible is God’s instruction manual to us for what we should do. But they all also connected spiritual battle imagery to September 11th, 2001 and the war in Iraq. When I read the first book… it didn’t bother me. When I read the second one I thought, "Hmm, interesting coincidence." When I read the third book I thought… "What the heck, did Moody tell these guys they had to use these metaphors or what?"

    Reading the same ideas in three books by the same publisher has just gotten annoying. Was 2007 Moody’s year of spiritual warfare books? For some reason, it’s just annoying to me. It actually has made book three almost impossible to finish because I feel like I’ve already read this book twice.