March Reading Log

I had a reading slump midway through March, where I went nearly 2 weeks reading little and barely registering what I did read. Nevertheless, there are 31 days in the month of March, so I was able to make up for that slump on the front and back ends. Here's what I completed last month!

THINK: THE LIFE OF THE MIND AND THE LOVE OF GOD by John Piper

About once per year, I decide to read a book by John Piper, the enormously influential and prolific former theologian and pastor who served as the godfather of the Young, Restless, Reformed movement within evangelicalism. Inevitably, I get a few pages in and remember: while I respect Piper (even though we are not 100% aligned theologically), I really don't enjoy his writing style.

Such was the case, once again, when I read Think, his treatise on how believers should regard intellectual curiosity. I appreciate Piper's mission with this book, seeking to find a middle path between the anti-intellectual attitude of fundamentalism and the cold, sometimes faithless liberalism of the academy. Turning to Scripture, he argues for the importance of reading, research, and critical thinking, even as he disputes the notion that thoughtful consideration must be undertaken absent sincere faith.

Unfortunately, as I've learned and relearned so many times, I think Piper's just kind of a boring writer. As a preacher, he's always been the type that has you flipping from reference to reference, prooftext to prooftext, a style which analytical types appreciate but more artistic/creative temperaments find tiresome. As someone closer to the latter category, I see the same pattern in his writing. I don't question his passion or sincerity, but functionally it's a drag to read.

I appreciate the project of Think, and Piper's contention that you can be full of curiosity and faith, that you can be a scholar and a pastor. But, at least for my taste, I think there are authors who make the case in a more compelling way. See you again at this time next year, John Piper.

ANATOMY OF A REVIVED CHURCH by Thom S. Rainer

As part of my church's strategic planning process, I assigned this book as required reading, having previously read and benefitted from it myself in 2020. That review can be read here,

THE ONLY RULE IS IT HAS TO WORK by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller

In 2015, baseball writers Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller had an idea while cohosting an episode of their Effectively Wild podcast: what if statistically minded baseball fans like themselves were given free reign to run a baseball team as they saw fit? It didn't take long before, after a series of phone calls and meetings, they got their wish: for the 2015 baseball season, they joined the front office of the independent Sonoma Stompers, where they were empowered to make whatever changes they felt they could get away with without burning the team to the ground. Their only self-imposed limitation became the title of the book chronicling their experience: The Only Rule Is It Has to Work.

Ben and Sam—forgive the informality; I've been listening to their podcast for years, so we have that weird parasocial relationship where I feel like they're my friends even though we've never met—learned a lot over their season running the club. For one thing, they almost immediately saw why front offices have such conservative approaches—baseball players and coaches are creatures of habit, and anyone looking to change those habits needs to tread lightly. For another, they observed how the kinds of stat-based innovations which fans obsess over—everything from infield shifts to using relief pitchers in nontraditional situations—make minimal (though not nonexistent) differences to the outcomes of games.

But truthfully, their experiment is not what I found most interesting about the book, nor do I think it's what they found most interesting themselves. What makes this book such a fun ride is its portrait of independent league baseball, which runs on shoestring budgets and big dreams. Far removed from the affiiated minor leagues, indy ball is where unsigned college players go to keep chasing their dream and where veterans who can't hack a AA roster go to delay getting a real job for a few more months. It's a place where the general manager leaves in the middle of a game because the video crew needs an extension cord. It's a place where a late round draft pick can get traded for half a dozen donuts—literally.

The charm of the smalltime league contrasted with the incredibly high stakes for the players—all of whom, delusional or not, still dream of making the majors—makes for captivating human interest stories. And it's when the people, not the strategies, are center stage that this book sings. Sam's chapters in particular—he and Ben alternate—focus heavily on the writers' attempts to get to know the players in pursuit of making them better.

For baseball fans, this book is a fun ride, the kind that will make you fall in love with the game all over again and have you Googling the nearest indy league game. Highly recommended.

BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK by Ben Fountain

Until just a few months ago, when he returned home to North Carolina, Ben Fountain was Dallas' literary light, largely due to the popularity and critical acclaim of this debut novel, 2012's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Ostensibly, this is the story of a group of Iraq war veterans who, following a heroic operation overseas, are paraded around the U.S. in support of the war effort even as they struggle with the trauma of what they endured.

But in Fountain's able hands, there is much more going on beneath the surface. Told mostly from the perspective of Specialist Billy Lynn, this novel examines everything from the propaganda of the military-industrial complex to the guilt non-veterans feel for not serving to the reality of PTSD for soldiers. What is exposed throughout the book is hypocrisy: that of a government that sends young people off to die with too little regard for the consequences, and of the soldiers themselves who are treated like heroes even as they behave like ordinary men.

This was a captivating, if not a particularly enjoyable, read. Due to both its reputation and the author's local connections, I finally picked it up midway through March, and was glad I did, but didn't find myself eager to read it once I began. While immensely readable and even funny at times, it's a heavy read. Recommended, but with the qualifier that it'll go slower than you expect.

DANNY, THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD by Roald Dahl

My kids were eager to read this every night, and distraught whenever I said we couldn't. Was it the quality time with Daddy they were hungry for? The chance to stay up a little longer? Or did they really just love the tale of Danny, the Champion of the World?

If the last answer is the right one, they were seeing something I wasn't. While far from Roald Dahl's worst book, this one was a slog for me, 214 pages of book for a plot that only warranted 75. It tells the story of nine-year-old Danny and his father, who live in a gypsy caravan and operate a filling station. Early in the book, Danny learns that his father has a secret past as a poacher of pheasants on the nearby land of mean Mr. Victor Hazell. So clever Danny devises a plan to help his dad bring in the biggest haul of pheasants anyone's ever seen.

That's pretty much it. The book leans heavily on the admittedly endearing relationship between Danny and his father—there are no fantastic chocolate factories to be found in this book, no witches or BFGs. As a result, this is a grounded (and pro-poaching!) father-and-son tale. If it was half its length, I probably would have found it charming. As is, I thought it was bloated and a little boring, at least by Dahl's standards. If I were to give this a one word review, I'd have to borrow from modern slang: mid.

ESSENTIAL X-MEN VOL. 9 by Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri, Jim Lee, et al.

This volume serves as a sort of bridge between the so-called "Outback Era," when the X-Men were presumed dead but secretly operating out of a remote headquarters in Australia, and the reconstitution of the team with the bestselling X-Men #1. As a result, this is a book full of side quests—indeed, for a good chunk of this volume, there is no true X-Men team, even as the main title was coming out every 2 weeks.

As a result, this volume is a mixed bag. On the bright side, you get the introduction of Jubilee, who wins readers over almost the moment she is introduced with her irreverence. You get the famous image of Wolverine crucified on an X-shaped cross by the Reavers. And you get the boldness of Chris Claremont dismantling Marvel's most famous team and refusing to put them back together again until the story calls for it.

But on the downside, this book spend months feeling like it's treading water. Even for a writer as talented at juggling storylines as Claremont, there are a lot of balls in the air, and at times it feels like he's just forgotten about storylines the readers are invested in. According to Reddit, Claremont wanted the X-Men to remain disbanded until issue #300 (this volume only runs through #268), and I'm grateful that Marvel editorial put their foot down before that point.

The true highlight of this book is the introduction of Jim Lee on art. While Marc Silvestri did an admirable job before Lee, his style winds up feeling like he was merely setting the table for his successor, as Lee brings a dynamism this title had been missing since the days of John Byrne in the early 1980s. There will be more Lee to come in volumes 10-11, but this is where he gets his feet wet.

I doubt this is a particularly beloved era of X-Men comics, but it's a necessary one. Required reading for all X-fans, but definitely not a good starting place for the casual fan.

True Story (Friday Devotional)

 

For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

- Psalm 33:4

This Tuesday, if you weren’t careful, it was easy to get tricked—it was April Fool’s Day. For corporations with social media accounts, that meant making mock announcements designed to get lots of clicks and comments. For high school seniors, it was a day to unveil their big practical joke on their favorite (or least favorite) teacher. For my 8-year-old son, it meant dropping a piece of ice down my shorts while I did the breakfast dishes.

All in all, April Fool’s Day is a holiday for harmless pranks, silly jokes, and little white lies meant to garner a laugh or two. For one day, up is down and down is up, and anything that seems too good to be true definitely is.

But at the risk of making too much out of too little, April Fool’s Day also gives us reason to ask that famous question Pilate once threw at Jesus: “What is truth?” In a world of propaganda, marketing, and spin, truth is whatever you’re being sold. In a world of tribalism and division, truth is whatever your team says it is. In a world of mind-bending relativism, truth is whatever you can talk yourself into.

But for believers in Jesus, there is objective truth we can rely on, and it comes from the word of the Lord. God is faithful even in a world that is fickle; he is righteous even in a world that is wicked. When all the noise of the culture is deafening, there is peace to be found in his still, small voice.

There are a million voices trying to get your attention today, trying to divert your focus, trying to get you to listen to their story, and many of those stories are as false as the ones you hear on April Fool’s Day. So in your search for truth, don’t turn on the TV or pull out your phone—open God’s Word, and be set free by the truth.

Always There (Friday Devotional)

 

"For the Lord is good, his love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."

- Psalm 33:4

Yesterday was unquestionably one of my favorite days of the year: Major League Baseball’s Opening Day. With MLB conveniently scheduling the unofficial holiday on my day off, I spent most of the afternoon switching back and forth between games, hanging on every pitch. No highlight escaped my notice, no star was ignored, and every box score was carefully studied before I went to bed last night. I couldn’t get enough.

It was Opening Day, and so I was transfixed by every moment of every game. But here’s the funny thing about professional baseball: all those teams are going to play again today. And again the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that. In fact, virtually every day between now and the first weekend of October, there is going to be at least one baseball game.

As a result, there are going to be plenty of days when the sport doesn’t have the tight hold on my attention that it did yesterday. In the dog days of summer, I will go weeks without even thinking about the Miami Marlins, much less studying their box scores. By September, I probably won’t be able to tell you three players on the roster of the Chicago White Sox. On busy days, even my beloved Texas Rangers will warrant little more than a quick check of that night’s final score.

That’s the beauty of baseball—unlike football, where every game is so consequential that it demands your undivided attention, baseball has 162 games in a season. Fans aren’t expected to live and die with every pitch; that would be unsustainable. Some days you’ll plop down on the couch and watch an entire game from start to finish, some warm afternoons you’ll fall asleep in the 3rd inning, and some days you won’t watch at all. But whether you’re watching or not, baseball is always there.

That kind of constancy reminds me of what the Bible tells us about our God: even when we are inconsistent, fallible, and faithless, his love endures forever. When our devotion to him wanes, his faithfulness remains steadfast. When we are shifting sand, he is a solid rock.

In a life of faith, you will have seasons when you are on fire for the Lord, when your worship is passionate and your obedience is unmatched. But you will also have seasons when you’re barely holding on, when your doubts and fears threaten to consume you. In those times, what a blessing to know that God is unchanged, that he is constant when you are variable. And what a blessing to know that, when your strength is failing, the Lord has more than enough grace for you.

You have good days and bad days, highs and lows. But God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What a blessing to know that, even when we are volatile, the Lord is constant.

My Pleasure (Friday Devotional)

 

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance…You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.

- Revelation 2:2-4

If you go to Chick-fil-A for lunch today, there is an exchange I can guarantee you will take place. They’ll hand you your meal, you’ll mumble a quick thank you, and, invariably, they will respond with two words: “My pleasure.”

Never “you’re welcome.” Never “sure.” Never “no problem.” Always “my pleasure.”

This practice goes all the way back to the chain’s founder, Truett Cathy, whose most important value in business was customer service. From his childhood days delivering bottles of Coke door-to-door all the way to his tenure as CEO of a Fortune 500 company, he wanted his customers to know that business was more than a transaction to him. It was an opening to make a connection, an opportunity to show he cared. It was his pleasure.

In a life of faith, not every day is a pleasure. From Job to Moses to Elijah to Jesus himself, the Bible is packed with examples of godly, obedient servants whose faith was tested by trials which threatened to consume them. Still today, at some point you will undoubtedly experience seasons of struggle, times when stress or anxiety or grief leave you so exhausted that it’s all you can do to put one foot in front of the other.

When those times come—and God’s Word assures that they will—perseverance can feel like the first priority. Power through. Keep moving. Just keep swimming.

But while that endurance is commendable, it’s actually not paramount. More important, the Lord says, is maintaining and growing in your love for him. You can attend church and serve the community and give abundantly—but if you lose sight of why you’re doing it, if it’s just checking a box, then you’re missing something.

God didn’t hire you to be a worker in his factory, he adopted you as a child in his family. He wants your service, but even more so he wants your love. So keep the first thing first—give the Lord your worship, and then service to him can truly be your pleasure.

Trust the Lord and Get to Work (Friday Devotional)

 

When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

- 1 Samuel 17:48

A week ago, we had storms come through, accompanied by strong winds. Our house didn’t sustain any serious damage, but the wind did blow a metric ton of leaves onto our front porch. Lindsey and I observed the mess, but neither of us did anything to deal with it right away.

As the week went on, we started to notice something. Every time anybody went in or out the front door, one or two leaves made their way inside. At first, we attributed it to the kids being careless and tracking the leaves in on their shoes. But it didn’t take long to see that there was basically nothing we could do to keep leaves from trailing inside once that door was open.

Well, nothing except the obvious solution, that is. And so yesterday, I finally grabbed the broom and spent 10 minutes sweeping the front porch. No more leaves, no more mess getting tracked in. Our long national nightmare had come to an end.

Whether it’s leaves on your porch, the weird sound your car’s been making, or the phone call you’ve been dreading returning, everybody’s got some kind of a problem they’d rather avoid than deal with. Maybe, we think, if I ignore it long enough, it’ll just go away on its own. Better to live with the stalemate of things as they are than the unpleasantness of confronting the problem.

In the famous story of David and Goliath, the armies of Israel were living with just that sort of mindset. Every day, the Philistine commanders would send out Goliath, their fearsome champion, to belittle and humiliate the Israelites, demanding they send someone to fight him. And every day, the Israelites would cower, unwilling to meet him on the battlefield.

It took David, God’s anointed, to stand up when others stood back. Armed not with the king’s armor but with only his simple shepherd’s tools, David rushed to the front lines when others were unwilling to do so. Because David trusted in the Lord, he was willing to confront a problem that others would only avoid.

Not every problem is as big as Goliath (or as small as leaves on a porch). But the principle remains true no matter the size of your issue: waiting for things to work themselves out on their own rarely gets the job done. Maturity means facing the questions, the conversations, and the problems that others would rather dodge. It means counting on God to give you strength and then putting that strength to good use.

Wishing problems away won’t make things better. So instead, trust the Lord and get to work.

Strength in Gentleness (Friday Devotional)

 

[The fruit of the spirit is] …gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

- Galatians 5:23

Years ago, my kids were playing in the front yard while I observed from the porch. Though they would periodically come to the porch to tell me something, and it was during one of these check-ins that Katherine shrieked and pointed at the ground.

“Daddy, LOOK!!!”

Glancing down, I saw a slug slowly oozing its way across the concrete. I laughed and bent down to get a closer look while Katherine shrank back and Andrew ran over to see what the commotion was. Seeking to reassure Katherine, I said, “Don’t worry, Sweet Pea, I’ll kill it.”

“No, Daddy!” Andrew cried out. “You don’t have to do that. Why can you just move it to the dirt? Then Katherine won’t be scared and it’ll be off the porch, but it’ll still be alive. That seems nicer to me.”

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the conviction I felt in that simple moment. There are so many times in life when showing strength is the fastest way to solve a problem or get your way. Flexing your muscles—whether literally or figuratively—impresses onlookers, swells your ego, and oftentimes helps you get results. But when strength is wielded to dominate others, when you make yourself feel big by making someone else feel small, you may get your way, but you lose something important in the process.

In the crucified Jesus, we are given the perfect picture of godly strength: a Savior sacrificing himself for others. When Jesus could have called down a legion of angels to lay waste to his persecutors, he instead prayed for his enemies’ forgiveness. When he could have ended his own suffering by inflicting pain on others, he instead trusted God for deliverance. Glorification for Jesus didn’t come through victory on a battlefield, but death on a cross—not through justified violence, but gracious sacrifice.

Sometimes the simplest, most efficient path to getting what you want is to bulldoze whoever’s in your way, to say or do whatever it takes to get your way. But for those who have been filled with the Holy Spirit, there is a better way to live. Gentleness need not be confused for weakness, and self-control need not be abandoned in the name of strength. The cross is the proof: true strength is not found in crushing the weak beneath your feet, but by lifting them up with a hand of grace.

February Reading Log

It doesn't feel like I read a lot of books this month, but my book log begs to differ...8 books completed in the shortest month of the year! Take a look to see what I finished over the last 28 days.

GOD DREAMS by Will Mancini and Warren Bird

This was another book I read as part of Texas Baptists' PAVE program for church revitalization, having been recommended to me by my coach and fellow pastor David Lorenz. Its mission is to help pastors and church leaders determine and articulate the vision for their churches, using 12 different templates developed by the authors. The goal is not to give you a copy-and-paste vision statement—the explicitly warn against that, arguing that each church's vision must be its own—but rather to help you figure out what kind of church you are seeking to be so that your vision statement will reflect that dream and so that you can align your goals with it.

This is one of the more technical church revitalization books I've ever read—while not absent biblical exposition or case studies, it's chock full of principles and graphics. This is meant to be used like a manual, not read like a novel. For somebody in my context, that's no problem—I need a manual at this stage! But I offer that as a word of warning for anyone reading merely out of curiosity rather than for imminent use.

The content seems helpful, though I suppose the jury is out to some degree, since my next step is to be coached through its process alongside my church's strategic planning committee. I expect that after that I'll be able to recommend this book as a resource, but stay tuned!

THE SECRET LIVES OF BOOKSELLERS AND LIBRARIANS edited by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann

I do love a book about books. Or in this case, the places we get our books.

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians is a collection of short essays by the employees of our nation's bookshops and libraries, all about what life is like between the stacks. In some cases, these are stories about the struggles of running a small independent business; in others, they're polemics against censorship; in still others, you get an anecdote or two about the strange but lovable customers they encounter. What all the essays have in common is a deep love for books of all kinds, from "serious literature" to the trashy romance novels of BookTok.

This was an impulse grab from, appropriately enough, the public library, and for three weeks it was my go-to during school pick-up and before bed. If read straight through, this kind of anthology would get repetitive, but in 10 minute bursts, it was always a warm, comforting respite from the world. Kind of like a bookstore or a library.

THE TWO TOWERS by J.R.R. Tolkien
THE RETURN OF THE KING by J.R.R. Tolkien

See last month's review of The Fellowship of the Ring.

THE ODYSSEY by Homer, edited by Robert Fagles

My first exposure to Homer's The Odyssey came via the PBS show Wishbone, where Odysseus was played by a Jack Russell Terrier. My next exposure will come from a rereading of James Joyce's Ulysses, one of literature's most famously difficult texts, and one whose structure follows that of The Odyssey. So with that wide of a spectrum of experience, it seemed like a good time to read the text itself, one of the most famous and influential in the history of literature.

The Odyssey, strange as it is to say, is a sequel, a follow-up to the epic tale of The Iliad. But where that was a wide-spanning story of war and peace, The Odyssey has a tighter focus, telling the story of one's man's quest to return home after years at war. Odysseus, a noble Greek warrior, must battle the Cyclops, resist the lure of the Sirens, overcome the wiles of Circe, and then ultimately battle his wife's greedy suitors before receiving his well-earned happy ending. Both aided and beset by Greek gods acting behind the scenes, Odysseus' quest to make it home takes on proportions as epic as the war he fought in.

Written as an epic poem, in Robert Fagles' translation, The Odyssey is presented in modern verse. It makes for an accessible translation, if occasionally feeling stilted in its desire to render the ancient in contemporary terms. I would have to assume other translations, such as Edith Wilson's recent and critically acclaimed edition, are more technically accurate. Nevertheless, for a casual reader like me, Fagles' translation gets the job done (and can easily be found at any used bookstore.)

The Odyssey is one of those classics which is so influential that reviewing its content feels almost beside the point. With that being said, this is the kind of ancient work that, at least in this translation, is relatively accessible and interesting. I'm glad to cross it off my TBR list, and found the journey to finish it to be a worthy one.

I SEE YOU, BIG GERMAN by Zac Crain

It's been an, ahem, eventful month for the Dallas Mavericks. Perhaps you've heard. (We miss you, Luka!)

In the midst of both mourning the loss of an icon and ruing the self-sabotage of the team, I decided it was as good a time as any to take a walk down memory lane. I See You, Big German is an ode to the city's most beloved athlete, the other European superstar known throughout Dallas by only his first name: Dirk.

Zac Crain, the late pop culture writer best known for his music writing with The Dallas Observer and D Magazine, wrote this book not as an objective journalist, but as a dyed-in-the-wool MMFL (that's "Mavs Fan for Life" for the uninitiated.) Its conceit is a letter from Crain to Dirk, seeking to walk through Nowitzki's career and to explain why he came to mean so much to both the writer and his city. Tracing Dirk's rise from unknown, doubted European prospect to incandescent but always-falls-short MVP to NBA champion, the book hits all the highs and lows that Mavs fans know so well from 1998 to 2011, when Dirk willed Dallas to its first and only championship.

But the book's central thesis, quoted on its back cover, is that 2011 isn't what made Dallas love Dirk. 2012-2019, when he stuck around despite slapdash rosters and his own declining skills, was. It was Dirk's insistence that being a Maverick was more important to him than winning another ring elsewhere that made put him on the city's Mount Rushmore. Having lived through Dirk's whole career, I'm inclined to agree with Crain. Dallas loves a winner, make no mistake—but maybe even more, we love being loved by a winner.

Who knows when the Mavs will win another title. Count me as one of the vast majority skeptical that Anthony Davis will bring home what Nico Harrison decided Luka could not (despite Luka being only 3 wins away literally last year). What I do know is that no Maverick—not Davis, not Dončić, not a player to be named later—will ever hold the place in our heart that Dirk does. It took every bit of his 21-year career, all the heartbreaks and all the points and that one unlikely, glorious triumph in 2011, but now we know: Dirk stands alone.

THE WITCHES by Roald Dahl

What if you found out that the world was secretly full of witches in disguise plotting to eat children? What if you discovered that a cabal of them, including the Grand High Witch herself, was having its annual meeting in your hotel? And what if, worst of all, you learned that they had crafted a special formula that could turn children into mice and were prepared to unleash it upon the world?

Well then, I suppose that would make you the protagonist of Roald Dahl's The Witches, one of the darker entries in his canon (scary enough in the early goings that we thought about aborting for Katherine's sake.) This one has a small cast and is light on plot—nearly a third of the book is just the protagonist narrator eavesdropping on the witches' annual meeting—but carried by Dahl's characteristic blend of imagination and humor, it makes the most of its 200 pages.

The ending is a bit unsatisfactory—in fact, if this book was released today, everyone would assume Dahl was just cynically setting up for a sequel—but the ride is a fun one. I wouldn't put this in Dahl's top 3 books, but it might be able to squeeze into the top 5. 

ESSENTIAL X-MEN VOL. 8 by Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri, et al.

This volume is comprised of the X-Men's so-called "Outback Era," a time when the team was thought dead by the world (even mystically hidden from all technological detection) and they made their headquarters in the wilderness of Australia, conveyed to their missions not by a sleek jet but by an aboriginal mutant named Gateway. It's also a time when the team itself was made up largely of B-listers: Psylocke, Dazzler, Rogue, and Longshot are key players, and only Wolverine and Storm are so-called "main characters" on the team.

That may sound like a drag, but it actually made for my favorite volume of X-Men stories in several months. The change in scenery was a welcome one, and the team's under-the-radar status provided an interesting wrinkle to their various adventures. Thought dead by the world, the X-Men in these issues must not only save the world, but do it on the down low.

It all comes to a head with Inferno, the first true X-crossover event, which sees Cyclops' wife, Madelyne Pryor, transformed into the Goblin Queen as Limbo threatens to encroach onto this dimension. This particular story is classic X-Men in that there are are reality-defining implications, yet the character dynamics are the most interesting part of the story. With Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri leading the charge, the  story is in good hands. I'm eager to see where things go in volume 9!

ABSOLUTE MISTER MIRACLE by Tom King and Mitch Gerards

Darkseid is.

With that simple sentence, Tom King gives voice to the anxiety that seems to dominate our world, the foreboding feeling that everything is wrong. Repeated as a mantra, often a non-sequitur, throughout the book, it acts as the voice in the back of your mind anytime things seem too good to be true.

Darkseid is.

That anxiety prompts Scott Free, the eponymous Mister Miracle, to attempt suicide in the book's opening pages. That trauma is a lurking shadow throughout the book, even as life goes on. Scott is thrust into a war between the dueling planets of Apokolips and New Genesis, where he must serve as a general and then eventually as Highfather. He leads an assassination attempt on the vile Granny Goodness, the master of torture who raised him. He is judged by Orion, a brother figure who despises him. He tries and fails to make peace at a summit with Darkseid's son Kalibak. It all feels so hopeless, so impossible.

Darkseid is.

At home, in the Los Angeles condo he and wife Big Barda share, they fret about the more workaday aspects of life. Should they renovate the condo? Who will watch their baby when they're off fighting the war? What kind of cake should they get for his first birthday party? The concerns are all small, with none of the epic elements of the Fourth World, but they're real. They're worrisome.

Darkseid is.

The book is a constant contrast of the fantastical and the normal, the Fourth World and the real world. Played for both humor and pathos, images like Darkseid eating a carrot stick or Scott cutting his son's umbilical cord with an Apokolips-forged fahren-knife dominate the book. Mitch Gerards' realistic, sketchy art style contrasted with the bright colors of Kirby's characters helps accentuate this dichotomy.  

It all culminates in the book's penultimate issue, when Scott kills Darkseid, only to learn that, as had been foreshadowed throughout the book, things are not as they seem. Is Scott actually dead, and the whole book has been a dream of sorts? Is Scott infected with the Anti-Life Equation? Is any of this real?

Darkseid is.

The book's final issue doesn't necessarily answer of these questions, not definitively. But life goes on for Scott and Barda. They have their home, their son, another baby on the way. They have each other. And, whatever trauma has happened and whatever anxieties are still to come, Scott determines they will face it all together. The darkness is real, but they won't let it have the final say. They'll enjoy what they have for as long as they get to keep it.

It's a small victory, maybe even an illusory one. But sometimes it's not about the sweeping battles or the swelling music. Sometimes hope is beautifully ordinary. And sometimes that's enough.

"Darkseid is."

"Yeah, I know. But we are too."

The Sickness of Sin (Friday Devotional)

“It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

- Mark 7:20-23

Two weeks ago, my son Andrew was unusually lethargic when we woke him up for school and was running a low-grade fever. With so many bugs running rampant, I took him to Urgent Care to see what was up and, after running the usual tests for strep, flu, and COVID, the doctor came back with a verdict: influenza A. We were instructed to keep him home from school for the rest of the week since that’s how long he would be contagious.

Here's the thing—after that first day, Andrew seemed to feel fine. He had plenty of energy, a normal appetite, and no discernible symptoms. Nevertheless, following doctor’s orders, we kept him home from school all week long. He watched waaaaay more TV than we would normally allow. He stayed in his pajamas all day. Being sick, he decided, was pretty great.

But then the following week, just when we were ready to send him back to school, his flu had some sort of a surge (or he came down with something else). Suddenly, we couldn’t keep his fever below 101 degrees for more than an hour or two. He didn’t want to eat anything. He was rarely awake for more than a couple hours at a time. Just like that, he decided it wasn’t so fun to be sick anymore.

It occurs to me that sin is a lot like my son’s experience with the flu. At first, yielding to temptation is often pretty satisfying—your flesh is gratified and any potential consequences seem to be a million miles away. But inevitably, after the binge comes the hangover—whether it happens immediately or years down the road, brokenness within leads to brokenness on the outside.

But here’s the good news: just as we were able to treat my son’s illness with medicine, there is a cure for the sickness of sin. Jesus died on the cross so that, by grace and through faith, we could be healed, so that sin would not have the final word. If you confess your sins, the Lord is faithful to forgive you and cleanse you, to make you new in him.

Our world excuses and glorifies sin, but all it takes is a little life experience to see that the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Being sick isn’t fun—so come to Jesus and be healed.

Two Travelers and a Bear (Friday Devotional)

 

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

- Psalm 34:18

Aesop’s fable of “Two Travelers and a Bear” tells the story of two friends who were walking through a forest when suddenly, a large bear appeared on the path. Terrified, one of the men quickly climbed a tree and hid, leaving the other behind. The second traveler, who could not climb, fell to the ground and played dead, knowing that bears do not attack lifeless bodies.

The bear came close, sniffed him, and then walked away, believing him to be dead. When the bear was gone, the first traveler climbed down and laughed nervously, asking, "What did the bear whisper in your ear?"

The second traveler replied, "It told me never to trust a friend who abandons you in danger."

In difficult times, you quickly learn which people in your life will stand by your side and who will scamper to safety. Sadly, there may even be times when, like that second traveler, you feel entirely alone in your stress, doubt, grief, or pain.

But the Bible reminds us that, even in the depths of despair, the Lord remains by your side. When you are at your lowest point, where none but those closest to you dare to follow, God is still with you. He never leaves his children, and his grace gives you sustaining power when your own strength is gone.

Sometimes life throws a bear at you, and sometimes all you know to do is play dead. But even when others forsake you, the Lord never will. He is near to the brokenhearted, and he stands ready to raise you up.

Do the Next Right Thing (Friday Devotional)

But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

- Luke 10:33-34

The TV was blaring. Katherine was sobbing. Isaac was fussing. Andrew, transfixed by the TV, was oblivious. And there was water everywhere.

It was Super Bowl Sunday, and my family had made it through the first half, rejoicing at the extravagance of snacks for dinner and extra screen time. Even baby Isaac, who hadn’t been feeling his best for days, was in relatively good spirits, especially if he was snuggled up against his mom. But as the halftime show began, Lindsey asked where her water bottle—one of the giant plastic cups they give you at the hospital—was. And as I reached down to grab it, my eyes got big: instead of sitting upright, it was knocked over on its side. And the liter of water it had held was all over the floor, seeping into the pile of toys in the corner of the room and spreading under the couch.

Lindsey and I leapt to our feet, startling the kids. She ran to grab towels, and I stood there frozen for a second. The couch needed to be pulled out. The toys needed to be picked up and set aside to dry. We needed to see if anything had been ruined beyond repair. And the water, of course, needed to be mopped up. But with this giant mess before me, what was I supposed to do first?

Sometimes the crisis is so big, so overwhelming, that you don’t know where to start. Your brain gets overwhelmed by all the different things that need to happen, by the desire for a plan, by the fear of what will happen if your solution is the wrong solution. And so you just freeze in place, waiting for the problem to solve itself.

There’s an expression that’s become common over the last few years—to the point that a song in Disney’s Frozen 2 has it as its title—which I really like: do the next right thing. Instead of waiting for a roadmap of the most efficient path to victory, take care of what’s immediately in front of you. Instead of trying to map out the perfect future, deal with the present. Do the next right thing.

In Jesus’ famous parable, when a man was beaten and lying by the side of the road, there were two men who failed to do that. Some have speculated that their lack of aid was motivated by devotion to purity laws—on their way to worship at the temple, they couldn’t risk contaminating themselves by touching a body which might die at any moment. Others say they were too busy to stop, late for an appointment in Jerusalem. Still others think they were worried the bandits who had beaten this man might be nearby. Whatever the case, they talked themselves out of helping.

But the so-called “good Samaritan,” who may well have had some of these same concerns, stopped. He approached the man. He bound his wounds with oil and wine and whatever strips of cloth he had handy. He set him on his own animal. He took him to a nearby inn. And upon arriving there, he made arrangements for the man to stay as long as his needs dictated.

Did the Samaritan have all these steps plotted out the second he spotted the injured man? Did he wait until a master plan presented itself before acting? I doubt it. He simply went to work, and step by step, he did the next right thing.

In a complicated world, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, and to think you need a foolproof strategy before you can make a difference. But in whatever ways you can—the ways you come up with and the ones which present themselves—don’t be afraid to be a helper. Don’t be paralyzed by the scale of the mess—just do the next right thing.

Holding His Hand (Friday Devotional)

 

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

- Psalm 56:3

Last Saturday, my family and I spent some time at White Rock Lake enjoying the sunny day. We went for a walk, threw the football around, and finally, wound up at the playground.

The big kids knew what to do, as you might expect of a 5- and 8-year-old. But Isaac, our 1-year-old, was a little more tentative on the playground equipment, especially the slide. He would eagerly crawl up to it, smile on his face, look down…and then turn around and crawl away from the edge. He did this several times, each time getting a little further out, but never far enough to take the plunge. Finally, we held one of his hands—and then and only then did he have the courage to go down the slide.

It occurs to me that we never fully grow out of that behavior pattern—part of the way we deal with fear is by drawing on the strength of others. Whether you’re afraid of heights, air travel, or the monster hiding under your bed, the way you conquer your fears is by holding somebody’s hand and trusting them to get you through it.

In the Bible, we see countless examples of God’s people facing frightening situations, from Moses in Egypt to Paul in prison. Again and again, we see these biblical heroes endure—not because they relied on their own inner strength, but because they leaned on God’s. When they were looking over the edge, unsure they could continue, they reached out to the Lord and grabbed his hand.

When fear and anxiety grip you today, you can do the same thing they did. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. He promises never to leave you or forsake you. So don’t let the doubts of the day overcome your faith in the one who holds tomorrow—just reach out and grab his hand.

January Reading Log

This is going to be a weird year for this log, I can already tell. Thanks to several of my 2025 New Year's resolutions, I'm currently reading 8 books according to Goodreads, most of which I'll still be plowing through well into the spring. My reading each day is less "read one book for an hour" and more "read 5 books for 10 minutes apiece."

Nevertheless, I managed to finish off six books in January. Take a look!

I WILL by Thom S. Rainer

This book's chapters are serving as the outline for my current sermon series (I gifted a copy of the book to every family in the congregation). Each chapter is a different call to commitment for church members, with topics like "I Will Worship," "I Will Serve," "I Will Give," etc. The idea is for the book to encourage its readers to abandon a consumerist, me-me-me understanding of church in favor of one where they are looking for ways to better serve the Lord and his kingdom.

Like most Thom Rainer books, this is a concise, snappy little book that still manages to pack a punch. For my pastor friends, it's not necessarily breaking a lot of new ground, but it would get the attention of most church members. A good resource, and one my members seemed happy to receive (of the 50 copies I purchased for the church, only 1 is left!)

THE CHURCH REVITALIZATION CHECKLIST by Sam Rainer

I read this book as part of my cohort with PAVE, Texas Baptists' ministry for church health and revitalization. As the name suggests, it's something of a how-to guide for revitalization, from figuring out where your church stands to getting where you need to go.

It's a little more technical than the kinds of books Sam Rainer's dad Thom writes—this isn't a literal manual by any means, but neither is it as reader-friendly as I Will. With that being said, this is a useful resource for pastors, and Sam Rainer manages to toe his dad's company line while also offering some insights of his own. Furthermore, he is currently a pastor himself, so he has some boots-on-the-ground experience that his consultant father does not. This book is a helpful guide for church revitalization, if not necessarily the Holy Grail its title makes it out to be.

LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL by Martin Luther King, Jr.

My review from January 2023:

I make a point to read this American epistle every MLK Day, and this year was no exception. Addressed to a collection of white, moderate pastors who were concerned with Dr. King's protest-centered approach to social change, its central theme can be summarized by its most famous quote: "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Drawing from Scripture, American history, and outright common sense, King systematically dismantles the concerns of his fellow pastors, showing how both his faith and his heritage demand that he remain outspoken on the subject of civil rights, and how the methodology of the movement is not only effective, but moral. Furthermore, King respectfully but forcefully decries the caution of his fellow pastors, convincingly arguing that there are times when God calls his children to boldness, not moderation.

For someone who proudly identifies as a moderate on social and political issues, Letter from Birmingham Jail challenges me on an annual basis. I consider it to be right up there with the Gettysburg Address among the greatest works of American political writing—if you've never taken the time to read it in its entirety, do it now.

MATILDA by Roald Dahl

I had been putting this one off as me, Andrew, and Katherine made our way through the works of Roald Dahl, worried that its antagonist would be too scary for Katherine. But Andrew wore me down—I'd made the mistake of telling him that this was one of my favorites—and we gave it a try in January.

It was a roaring success, because Matilda remains an amazing children's book.

For those who never had the pleasure to read this book or see the 1996 movie (or, for that matter, the musical whose filmed adaptation hit Netflix in 2022), Matilda is the story of a gifted little girl who learns that her unusual brainpower not only enables her to read the collected works of Charles Dickens before kindergarten, but also gives her the telekinetic ability to move objects with her mind. When she starts school and runs afoul of the vile headmaster Mrs. Trunchbull, it's only a matter of time before she has to figure out how to use her powers to take on the brutish principal.

While most critics consider Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to be Roald Dahl's best book, Matilda was always my favorite as a child, and that was only reinforced after reading it to my kids. Maybe it's the protagonist, a sweet child who loves books. Maybe it's the villainous Trunchbull, a frightening caricature of every child's fears about authority figures. Maybe it's the tightness of the story—like Charlie, this one has no wasted chapters.

Whatever it is, me and the kids loved reading through Matilda this January. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING by J.R.R. Tolkien

I first read The Lord of the Rings in middle school, when the films were coming out one by one every December from 2001-2003. At the time, I thought it was a transcendent fantasy masterpiece, on another level from any other book in the genre. But as time went by, that reputation crystallized so much that I was a little worried to pick it up and reread it. What if, as a grown-up, I didn't like it anymore?

Nevertheless, I decided to plunge back into the waters of Middle Earth at the beginning of this year, reading about a chapter a day of The Fellowship of the Ring. And thankfully, that world was as comfortable and familiar as a warm blanket, and as much of a joy as I remembered.

For those who've been living under a rock, The Lord of the Rings is the story of a hobbit named Frodo who, having been entrusted with a magical, sinister golden ring, must journey to the fearsome Mount Doom to cast it into the fire from which it was forged. Journeying with him is a crew including other hobbits, a wizard, two men, an elf, and a dwarf. The Fellowship of the Ring, the first two books of six, sets up the story and sees the formation and dissolution of the group.

J.R.R. Tolkien, an Oxford philologist by trade, intricately created the world of Middle Earth before he wrote this story, and it shows. The book is filled with songs and legends that don't tie directly into the story, but which nevertheless give the world depth. Before "world building" was a thing, Tolkien was doing it.

That love for the world, however, is what makes the book occasionally feel like a slog—Tolkien offers a lot of descriptions of Middle Earth's natural features, and never met an Elven name he didn't want to put to paper. But these are minor quibbles, not true criticisms. The Lord of the Rings, starting with this book, is a classic for a reason. I'll try to finish it next month!

ESSENTIAL X-MEN VOL. 7 by  Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri, Jon Bogdanove, Alan Davis, Barry Windsor-Smith, et al.

Following the Mutant Massacre, when a group of serial killers laid waste to the Morlocks and severely injured several X-Men along the way, the team simultaneously seems to be running in place and rapidly changing. On the one hand, the roster is almost unrecognizable to the casual fan—Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Shadowcat are all sidelined by injury; Storm is still team leader but powerless; and the original X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, and Iceman) are their own team in X-Factor. This leaves only Wolverine and Rogue as familiar faces on a team otherwise occupied by newbies like Psylocke, Dazzler, and Longshot.

Despite all this turnover, however, the book seems a bit aimless during this volume. There are a lot of side quests, like when Dazzler foolishly takes on Juggernaut singlehanded and when Storm goes searching for Forge to regain her powers. What's missing is the propulsiveness that writer Chris Claremont once specialized in. Thankfully, that page does seem turned in the final story of this volume, "The Fall of the Mutants," which starts the so-called "Outback Era"—the X-Men are believed dead by the world, Storm's powers are back, and they establish a new base of operations in Australia, where they work in secret.

The highlight of this volume is the arrival of Marc Silvestri on art, whose exaggerated, sketchy style would define the book until Jim Lee ultimately surpassed him in the early 1990s. All in all, this is an entertaining enough collection, but mostly picks up the pieces from volume 6 and sets the table for volume 8.

The Sound and the Fury (Friday Devotional)

 

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

- Colossians 3:13

Every morning, Lindsey and I have expectations for the kids before they go to school. They need to make their beds. They need to get themselves dressed. They need to practice piano. They need to eat breakfast. And they need to brush their teeth.

As for me and Lindsey, we also have things to do. We have to get dressed, make our bed, and brush our teeth too. She makes the kids’ breakfast, I get their backpacks ready to go, one of us changes the baby’s diaper, and I do whatever kitchen cleanup is needed.

All of these jobs have to be completed in an hour—between 6:30 AM, when I rouse everybody out of bed, and 7:30, when everybody loads into the car for school. On a good morning, when everybody wakes up cheerful and ready to move, that’s more than enough time.

That being said, there are five of us—the odds of everybody waking up perky on the same day are slim.

So what we wind up with most mornings, frankly, is a lot of yelling. Me yelling because Andrew is bouncing a basketball instead of playing piano. Lindsey yelling because Katherine’s been at the breakfast table for 20 minutes and she still hasn’t taken her second bite of eggs. Isaac yelling because he’s a baby. Lots and lots of yelling.

It’s not ideal, and it means the day starts with a dark cloud over it. But 95% of the time—whether on the way out the door, on the drive to school, or at dinner that night—something happens that brings a little light. Me and Lindsey take a breath and apologize to the kids for losing our tempers and ask them to forgive us. The kids say it’s ok and admit they weren’t being as good of listeners as they could have been either. And we all say ‘I love you.’

Repentance. Forgiveness. Reconciliation.

We understand how this works between ourselves and God; it’s a foundational doctrine of our faith—if you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Our relationship with God is built upon the knowledge that we are sinners in need of his grace.

But what we are slower to acknowledge is that we need to live out that same process in our relationships with our fellow human beings, from our family members to our friends to our neighbors. Being in a relationship with someone means bearing with their faults and forgiving when there is grievance. It means showing a fraction of the grace you were shown on the cross.

Everybody has a bad day occasionally But when those bad days come—whether you’re the one doing the yelling or you’re the one getting yelled at—let grace be your guide toward reconciliation.

The Pursuit and the Prize (Friday Devotional)

 

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

- Philippians 3:14 

My son Isaac is endlessly fascinated by the sight of me in a baseball cap. The moment he sees me wearing one, he reaches out to grab it—doesn’t matter what colors are on the hat or what team it represents. He is locked on my cap until he manages to wrest it off my head.

But I’ve noticed something funny: once he has a hold of the hat, he doesn’t know what to do with it. Sometimes he’ll put the brim in his mouth, other times he’ll raise it above his head like a trophy, and still other times he’ll crawl away clutching it in one hand. Whatever he does with it initially, he almost always gets bored after a few seconds, at least until I put it back on my head. He’s like the proverbial dog that caught the car—he knows he wants it, but once he’s got it, he doesn’t know what to do. 

There are things that people spend their entire lives pursuing. From fame to fortune, from power to prosperity, we thirst for those things which will make us feel successful, those things our culture says bring happiness. 

But what many find is that once they graduate from the pursuit of happiness to the achievement of their dreams, they still feel empty. Money can’t buy happiness, and power doesn’t win you love. The deeper longings of the soul are not rewarded by earthly gain, no matter how much you acquire.

Scripture speaks of a different pursuit than the kind our world glorifies. Paul wrote about pressing on toward the goal to win the prize—not a trophy or a title, but the prize of knowing Christ in life and thus being assured of resurrection after death. This pursuit was one that drove him every day to share the gospel—and this prize was one that lasts for all eternity. Knowing the Lord, he showed, satisfies your soul.

Everybody needs a reason to get up in the morning, some kind of chase motivating you to keep pushing. Don’t settle for worldly prizes that inevitably disappoint. Instead, find your purpose in his glory.

The Main Thing (Friday Devotional)

 

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

- Matthew 6:33

If you go to football stadiums around the nation, from MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte to AT&T Stadium right down the road in Arlington, you’ll see advertisements and sponsorships everywhere, from the parking lot to the concessions stand. Indeed, just the naming rights for major arenas are multimillion dollar contracts. Go to any college or pro sporting event these days and you’ll be bombarded with marketing.

Everywhere, that is, except for the largest of them all, Michigan Stadium, a.k.a. “The Big House.” The Wolverines are one of only two FBS programs—the other is Notre Dame—to eschew corporate advertising in their facilities. Where you might normally find a Coca-Cola logo or a Geico sign, you instead find photos of past Michigan greats and other reminders of the school’s history. Not until last year was there even discussion of introducing corporate advertising, because the football program’s mentality is simple: we want to keep the main thing the main thing.

In a field like college athletics, where money is everything, that attitude seems contradictory, even foolish. But for Michigan, it hasn’t seemed to hurt the bottom line—Michigan has the most all-time wins in the history of college football, is a title contender every year, and won the national championship as recently as 2023. By maintaining their focus on what matters most, they trust that the smaller things will take care of themselves.

Believers can learn something from that attitude. We often get hung up on our own concerns, priorities, and opinions, running ourselves ragged trying to make sure things are under our control. But Jesus told us what priority number one ought to be: “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Following God, not pleasing ourselves, is supposed to come first.

And the beautiful truth is, when you do that, the things you would otherwise have been obsessing over tend to work themselves out—as Jesus put it, “these things will be added unto you.” While the secular proverb says, ‘God helps those who help themselves,’ the Bible teaches that God blesses those—whether spiritually, emotionally, or materially—who align themselves with his will. Keep the main thing the main thing, and the secondary stuff comes second.

So here’s the big question: what comes first in your life?