An Emerging Dictionary for the Gospel and Culture: A Conversation from Augustine to Zizek [Paperback]

(Written May 4, 2011)

Recently I received a copy of An Emerging Dictionary for the Gospel and Culture written by Leonard Hjalmarson. I've been able to read it at a slow methodical pace over the past few weeks working through a chapter here and a chapter there. The beauty is that that chapters are nice and bite-size to making reading in this way rather easy and doable.

One of the first impressions of the book is that it is well written and covers such a wide array of topics ... just like the subtitle says: A Conversation from Augustine to Zizek. Each chapter revolves around a letter of the alphabet ... "The rules are simple: no more than five words per letter; names and personalities can occur on either side, attached to a definition or as referencing a word or concept; the tone is positive and constructive; and, while the overall interest is theological, the focus is life and mission - not theory." (x)

Last night, as is somewhat customary, I walked a few blocks over to my neighbourhood McDonalds for a drink (Dollar Drink days are back!). I love our McDonalds in that it has the feel of the old TV show Cheers. The Canucks were playing in the NHL playoffs so I stood for a while at the counter talking to the workers and watching the game with them. Only in Canada.

I had Len's book in hand and eventually found my way over to a table where I sat down and picked up where I left off from the last chapter. As I sat there and read I couldn't help but think of how well researched, thorough, and might I add thought-provoking the book is. Like the quote above alludes to, it's not simply some theoretical mental gymnastics - it is grounded in reality of the here and now and practical to life. What I read was both encouraging and convicting. It made me think. The whole way home was spent for me mulling over what I just read.

I appreciate this book and Leonard on different fronts. First of all, there is a theme throughout the book that drives us back to mission whether addressing topics of place, consumerism, the Gospel, or justice, and so much more. Each letter in the alphabet and each chapter points the reader back in some capacity to the mission of the church and sometimes the course correction smarts a little as, like a mirror, we're confronted with our own wanderings as we read from the works of Augustine, or Bonhoeffer, or Bosch. Another aspect that I appreciate is that Len is Canadian. I believe there is a growing and strong voice of Canadian thinkers and writers who're pushing mission forward and doing so in true Canadian fashion. Humble, gracious, thoughtful, and very global. This book is written from that cultural milieu.

It's a great book and I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

I've been reading Len's blog for several years and appreciate his deep inquiry into the mission of God. Len is continually thinking out loud for the world to see and consistently says something that captures my imagination.

So when he released his book, An Emerging Dictionary for the Gospel and Culture, and offered me a copy to review I jumped at the chance. Len has been followed the long transition from a "certain" culture to a "mysterious" culture, on the recognizes the profound nature of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, and offers up a string of important words that inform that conversation.

As a follower of the emerging conversation on church, Len provides the words everyone should know, like liminal, communitas, conversation, and sacramental, to the words that we may not necessarily think of, like exile, Kuhn, theopoetics, and Zizek. I'm a huge proponent of language and learning to find a deeper meaning in words, and Len provides some fantastic conversations regarding these words. My favorites sections include conversations on empire, exile, kingdom, but especially God.

The book is surprisingly a very fast read. But I found myself making mental notes of words that I would again go back and look over.

If I had one critique of the book it is that Len didn't share more stories that informed his impressions of the words, and why he chose each word. When he does share those stories, it gives us an understanding of the words value, which I really liked. I could have added twenty more words, but that is another day...or maybe another volume.

Jonathan Brink, author of Discovering The God Imagination: Reconstructing A Whole New Christianity