Presbyterian Outlook's Page Turners - November 5 is not the end

November 5 is not the end Dear Outlook Readers,   Are we there yet? Early voting is underway, absentee ballots are being accepted — and my right hand feels like it’s ready to fall off after all the postcard reminders I’ve written to registered voters. Election day is within sight. Yet we know November 5 is not the end but just the next stage in our country’s political life. Regardless of this election’s outcome, Christians have our work cut out for us as we find more ways to live our faith and heal political divides in church and community.   The gospel is never partisan, but it is inherently political. We need resources to help us live Jesus’ teachings in our civic and political lives — and the Outlook has them. In addition to this month’s featured book, we’re sharing several short reviews from Outlook readers, covering the books they’ve found most useful this election season. Happy Reading,   Amy Pagliarella Outlook Book Review Editor BOOK OF THE MONTH Swimming with the Sharks: Leading the Full Spectrum Church in a Red-and-Blue World Jack Haberer Cascade Books, 232 pages Published June 27, 2024 “Truth be told, those other folks are not as bad as we fear, and our folks are not as good as we claim,” Jack Haberer writes. The American system of political parties, he insists, doesn’t serve churches well — it leads us to vilify the “sharks” in the other party while it “hallows” those we agree with. Haberer, a pastor and former Outlook editor, wants us to live faithfully in our political lives by making the Triune God our source.   In Swimming with the Sharks, he encourages Christians to ask, “What was Jesus doing in the world?” Followed by, “How should we imitate, or better yet, emulate him in this world?” When we understand Jesus’ complexity – the full range of his passions – we know there’s more than one way to emulate Jesus. With greater self-awareness, we might see how our own passions bump up against another’s, though both are faithful ways to emulate Jesus.   When Haberer turns to the Holy Spirit, he really gets energized: “The coming of the Holy Spirit was not just an appendix to the major story of Jesus’ sojourn on earth. It was the ultimate purpose of and the climax to his sojourn here.” Haberer’s brisk overview of Spirit-led movements from the early church to the Reformation and beyond isn’t new, but it is a helpful way to introduce us to what he calls the “Empowering Church.” When we – and others, even those we disagree with – are inspired by the Spirit to extend the gospel out into our communities, we can flourish as a “full-spectrum” church in a red-and-blue world.   America’s political divisiveness might have inspired Haberer to write this book, but Swimming with the Sharks will resonate beyond this election season as a “back to basics” reminder that our passions must be rooted in Jesus’ passions. And our work, whether in mission, service, community organizing, congregational care or more, must be guided by the Spirit. QUOTE OF THE MONTH “Mesmerizing charismatic experiences have a way of bypassing our analytical filters … When groups of people using the evidence and assuredness from charismatic experiences enter the public square, as protesters and contenders in political arguments, those experiences can become a monkey wrench to democratic debate. Democratic politics requires a certain down-to-earth humanism — a willingness to keep the intergroup conversation in the realm of the mundane. But if (as noted) spiritual experiences are invulnerable to argument, then how do we publicly debate or adjudicate them?” The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That is Threatening Our Democracy Matthew D. Taylor Broadleaf Books, 292 pages Published October 1, 2024 READERS' RECOMMEND The Party Crasher: How Jesus Disrupts Politics as Usual and Redeems Our Partisan Divide Joshua Ryan Butler Multnomah, 224 pages Published March 5, 2024 Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood Chalice Press, 264 pages Published July 9, 2024 Jesus Is Not King James W. Miller 157 pages Published May 1, 2024 Book Giveaway!  Congratulations to last month’s winner Claiborne Walthall. Thanks to David Brown Howell and Resource Publications, they received All Saved Great and Small: Surviving a Chesapeake Cult and an Appalachian Apocalypse. This month, one fortunate reader will receive a copy of The Violent Take It By Force by Matthew D. Taylor, generously donated by our friends at Broadleaf Books. If you're reading this note, then you're all set! Know someone else who should be reading Page Turners? Send them this link and they'll get entered for a chance to win, too. The contest closes on November 20.   OTHER READS Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor by Caleb E. Campbell, reviewed Raymond Roberts The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World by Joyce Shin, reviewed by Allison Pugh Creating a Culture of Repair: Taking Action on the Road to Reparations by Robert Turner, reviewed by Antonia R. Coleman The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith and Refounding Democracy by Jim Wallis, reviewed by Amy Pagliarella

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