As a pastor, I read all sorts of books. Some are books of the trade - commentaries or leadership books that help me teach, preach, and serve my congregation well. Other books are sources of inspiration; I seek to be inspired by stories that challenge me and move my soul to action. And still other books are works that feed the spirit, strengthening me and encouraging me while engaging my mind and touch my heart. This last category is the type of book I most need, for it is the type of book that adds color to my days and meaning to my life.
Love Big, Be Well: Letters to a Small-Town Church falls into this last, and most important, category for me. When I received the book, I set it aside for a moment of leisure; it struck me upon receipt as a fun read, enjoyable in the same way I have found other books like Phillip Gulley's Harmony series and Patrick Taylor's Irish Country Doctor series to be enjoyable - and it was. Yet as I turned the pages and immersed myself in the series of letters written by a pastor to his flock (in a context I recognized intimately, because of both geographic and cultural nearness), I found myself engaging the story on a deeper level. It was not just an entertaining story well-told. It was a vessel for ultimate considerations: life and death; friendship and social dislocation; community cohesiveness and external threats; God and humanity. I came to know and love the characters, in part because I saw myself and others I know and love in them. Their lives seemed real to me, because they reflect a life I know and can identify with.
Winn Collier's newest book is a deceptive gem. It came wrapped in a slim paperback cover, suitable for throwing in a bookbag and reading in a hammock. I should know; that is what I did on a recent vacation. Yet as I turned the pages, I not only found myself enthralled as I would with any story well-told, but also thinking back on the words I had read long after the book was closed and set to the side.
Who is this book for? Pastors and church members, yes - but also many more. Read this book if you wish to hear good news in an approachable format. Read this book if you want to meet folks you'll already recognize. Read this book if you have even just a few hours - because they will be hours well spent.
(Please note that I received this book as a complimentary review copy, with the request that I submit a fair and impartial review.)
I'll be purchasing a copy to give away through my blog! If you would like to be entered in the drawing, go to my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ThoughtsFromThePastorsMoleskine/) and like and share the post by October 15 to help spread the word about Winn's book. Winner will be announced in time to have the book shipped to their home from Amazon.
Love Big, Be Well: Letters to a Small-Town Church falls into this last, and most important, category for me. When I received the book, I set it aside for a moment of leisure; it struck me upon receipt as a fun read, enjoyable in the same way I have found other books like Phillip Gulley's Harmony series and Patrick Taylor's Irish Country Doctor series to be enjoyable - and it was. Yet as I turned the pages and immersed myself in the series of letters written by a pastor to his flock (in a context I recognized intimately, because of both geographic and cultural nearness), I found myself engaging the story on a deeper level. It was not just an entertaining story well-told. It was a vessel for ultimate considerations: life and death; friendship and social dislocation; community cohesiveness and external threats; God and humanity. I came to know and love the characters, in part because I saw myself and others I know and love in them. Their lives seemed real to me, because they reflect a life I know and can identify with.
Winn Collier's newest book is a deceptive gem. It came wrapped in a slim paperback cover, suitable for throwing in a bookbag and reading in a hammock. I should know; that is what I did on a recent vacation. Yet as I turned the pages, I not only found myself enthralled as I would with any story well-told, but also thinking back on the words I had read long after the book was closed and set to the side.
Who is this book for? Pastors and church members, yes - but also many more. Read this book if you wish to hear good news in an approachable format. Read this book if you want to meet folks you'll already recognize. Read this book if you have even just a few hours - because they will be hours well spent.
(Please note that I received this book as a complimentary review copy, with the request that I submit a fair and impartial review.)
I'll be purchasing a copy to give away through my blog! If you would like to be entered in the drawing, go to my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ThoughtsFromThePastorsMoleskine/) and like and share the post by October 15 to help spread the word about Winn's book. Winner will be announced in time to have the book shipped to their home from Amazon.
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