patlo's Reviews (1.32k)

Sometimes you pick up a book and know you'll like it because you know you agree with it, and you know you'll review it well to support the authors and get the ideas out there with some more traction. And that's not a bad thing.

But occasionally, something from that stack REALLY jumps out to you as IMPORTANT. This book is that way. It's IMPORTANT.

The co-authors build from the themes of the Slow Food movement into a general Slow Church movement, while saying "this isn't the next big thing. it's just ordinariness called into life." As such, it's not Missional, Incarnational, House, Seeker-*, Network, or any other good idea that ends up just getting franchised. This is a theological, cultural and pragmatic foundation for Church. Of all flavors, but which will be engaged in neighborhood, community, relationship and reality. It's given me a broader language for the Church, and also some energizing ideas about how spiritual formation might be approached in a similar, slow, holistic, ordinary way.

I highly recommend it to all who lead, pastor, attend, or care about the Christian church, in all its flavors.

This novel set during the 70s junta in Argentina (and its kidnappings, tortures, rapes and killings) is gritty, imaginative, dark and hopeful - all at the same time. What happens when citizens respond to a military junta with imagination and storytelling (which may even be prophetic and creating a new reality)? How does that impact the way that people choose to believe and to fight the terror they live with?

A fascinating look at imagination, memory, story. And birds. I started highlighting those themes as I read the book.

(recommeded by Matthew Rock)