July 19, 2021
World on Fire
Quick Reminder: Post Script is going on vacation. Your next letter arrives August 23!
I’m excited to tell you about a book that released last week and to which I contributed. It’s called World on Fire: Walking in the Wisdom of Christ When Everyone’s Fighting About Everything.
Here’s some of the back cover copy: “We live in the information age, with more access to knowledge than ever before, flowing to us in a never-ending digital stream of updates, statistics, polls, opinions, news, and narratives from those on opposing sides of any issue. And while we’d assume this influx of information would help us find a good, informed way forward in our culture, it actually stirs up all sorts of anger, anxiety, and even loneliness. This all contributes to an increasingly defensive society that feels like it’s not only fracturing, but could go up in flames at any moment.”
Does that sound overstated? Or does that sound like it describes the moment we find ourselves in?
As one of the contributors, I had a front row seat to how the book came together. It was January 2021, and after a year of division over pandemic response, racial injustice, and divergent political commitments, we wanted to offer a book that was biblical, rooted in the hopefulness of the gospel. We wanted a book that helped readers self-examine and church leaders lead.
For these aims, we tried tackling a lot of thorny questions by working our way through the Beatitudes.
My chapter is called, “Salt and Light in a World of Decay and Darkness,” and it tries answering the question of how we can preserve both our distinctiveness from the world as well as our missional love for the world.
There are such fantastic people who contributed chapters to this book: Hannah Anderson, Jada Edwards, Rachel Gilson, Ashley Marivittori Gorman, Jasmine Holmes, Rebecca McLaughlin, Mary Wiley, and Elizabeth Woodson.
I can’t recommend this more highly for you and possibly even your small group this fall. At the end of each chapter, there are many thoughtful discussion questions under four different sub-heads. First, Looking In. This is a call to self-examine. Second, Looking Up. This is a call to see the character of God. Third, Looking Out. This is a call to interrogate our responsibilities in the world. Fourth, Looking Ahead. This is a reorientation to hope.
Reading:
I’ve spent the bulk of my time lately reading lots of poetry for my upcoming MFA residency. When I have the time, I’m looking forward to starting The Weight of Memory, a novel written by my friend, Shawn Smucker.
I’m also looking forward to starting 8 Habits for Growth in August by Darryl Dash. I wrote the foreword for his wonderfully practical and accessible guide to important spiritual habits, and I plan to gather a group virtually to discuss it over WhatsApp.
Until August!
Jen