iPod "A" Night

One of the jobs I'm doing while at seminary is as a security guard/facilities guy at a large church down here in Dallas.  This job affords me some opportunity to do a little homework while at work as well as some flexibility to listen to music while doing rounds.  Last night was apparently A night for my play list.  Most I thoroughly enjoyed, some I tolerated to give them a shot, I think there were two that I just forwarded through.

Athanasius
Abandon
Abandon Kansas
Abel's Offering
Accafellas (this is well before Glee came out btw)
Astaire
The Archies
Ambassador
Antonio Carmona
Arrested Developement
Ayeisha Woods

I know I have some Anberlin, but couldn't find it (must be tucked away in Various Artists).  I'm not sure how I didn't take in any The Almost, The Afters or Addison Road or Aerosmith.  Anyway...just thought I'd throw that out there.  To anyone who actually read all of this and feels that I've wasted a couple of minutes of your life, I apologize.  I'll try to come up with some more significant things to write.

Book Review: The Sacred Meal by Nora Gallagher

I've been quite excited for The Ancient Practices Series that's been released by Thomas Nelson and was looking forward to reading and interacting with this book.  Communion is a beautiful time in the life of the church.  Sadly, for many it is prone to become just a rote tradition, losing much of the emphasis of Christ asking His disciples to "remember" Him.  With this ebb in the significance of communion, I eagerly anticipated reading this book.  I have to say, that anticipation was unfounded.  There were certainly some high points in Gallagher's work but for the most part, I was quite disappointed with the way she handled the subject.

It seems that Nora Gallagher truly approaches the Lord's table with a passion and enthusiasm that is exemplary.  The way she delights in the eucharist, truly giving thanks (as the word would suggest) is an encouragement and should serve as a model for the church.  She delivers this passion in an engaging manner of story-telling, including several very touching moments and an easy, inviting tone that draws the reader into conversation.

Unfortunately once that conversation begins, it seems that her theology on the Lord's Supper lacks development.  She relies far more on moving stories than she does on developing a Scriptural approach to communion and its place in the believer's worship of Christ.  At times her reverence for the sacred meal seems to elevate the practice of communion to the subject of worship rather than a means of worshipping our Lord.  Her desire to see the church identify as a great community in the practice of taking communion (which is a noble ideal) gets stretched to the point of a mystical connection that focuses far too much on us and too little on our Savior.  

While there were some good concepts offered and ideals with which the reader should struggle and consider, overall I would not recommend this book.  I'm sure there are much better books on the Lord's Supper.  If you can't find one, a great place to start would be Luke 22 and 1 Corinthians 11 - just a thought.  

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255