Think Outside The Pew

We covered two of my four reasons for choosing The Year Of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs yesterday.  I’m afraid one of today’s will send me off on the same tangent.  Oh well..here it goes!  The book does not take itself too seriously.  Jacobs does not set about the task of obeying every Biblical rule piously.  He is not preachy or judgmental.  Most books I’ve read that tackle religious themes are out to tell you what they think you should believe.  This book does not do this.  He openly shares his journey and allows the reader to come to his or her own conclusions.  It is meant to be fun.  But it sure does get you thinking.  Isn’t that what our faith should do for others.  I don’t want to tell others that they need to believe what I do.  I hope though, after hanging out for me with awhile, they notice something different about me.  That maybe they see some peace in me, or some kindness and decide that they want that too.  We are called to live lives that witness to our faith.  Not to beat people up with it.

My final reason for choosing this particular book is that it is written by a man.  I have been astounded by how many male readers we have.  This is a book that we can all share.  I want our male readers to be as involved in Book Club.  I encourage married couples to read it together and keep the discussions going over dinner.  Encourage the men in your life to read it with you.

We hope you join us in our first of (hopefully) many Book Club selections.  It should be a lot of fun and we may grow some in the process.  I encourage you to engage in the conversation on Tuesdays throughout August.  There are no right or wrong answers.  We are all just trying to think and stretch our thinking.  Please comment on my post on Tuesdays.  Also feel free to engage with one another through the comments section under the post.  It will take some nerve to step out and say that first thing but it is the only way to include yourself in the discussion.

The discussion will continue all month on the AGOG Facebook page.  If you haven’t found us, click the F icon on the home page of the site.  Be sure to “like” the page so you will receive all of the prompts in your newsfeed.

I am looking forward to interacting with you, sharing some laughs and thinking outside of our pews.