Last week, Fern and I spent four days in Baltimore where I attended the yearly gathering of the Evangelical Theological Society. On Wednesday afternoon, I presented a paper comparing Spurgeon's Down Grade Controversy and the precipitating events of the Southern Baptists' Conservative Resurgence. Besides sitting in on a variety of lectures and walking through the bookstore (best prices on books all year long), we were able to catch up with peers in other schools as well as former students. Four questions are common to these catching up encounters: "What are you writing these days? What are you reading? Where are you now and what are you doing?" I would like to take a few paragraphs and highlight the second question.
In the last month or so, I have read three books of note and am half way through the fourth. The first two are by Daniel Pink, a business guru who takes sociological research, digests it, and applies it to business, educational, and institutional communities. The first book I read was Drive. This is a study of motivation and especially how people are motivated in their work environments. He argues that culture has gone through three phases which he identifies as Motivation 1, 2, and 3. Motivation one lasted up until approximately the year 1800. People as a whole were motivated simply to survive. The next phase, which was in effect up until 1980 or so is what I summarize as essentially the "carrot and the stick" mindset. It assumes that people want to do as little as possible. Therefore, their superiors motivate them with rewards (carrots) or threats (sticks). Since 1980, the model which has been growing in implementation is "purpose-driven." It assumes that workers want to do well, want to have meaning in what they do, and want to make a difference through their work. According to Pink, this applies to almost all institutions. Those stuck in a Motivation 2 Model will find themselves increasingly out of touch and unable to retain the services of their best employees.
Pink's newer book is entitled To Sell is Human. It is an interesting study of how almost all workers today find themselves in the position of needing to sell, even in jobs which require "non-selling sales." His point? No matter what you do, you will need to sell yourself and persuade people. So, why not do it well? This volume is packed with suggestions on how to be an effective communicator.
A third book I recently read is Bryan Litfin's Getting to Know the Church Fathers. This volume provides chapter snapshots of a select number of Patristic Fathers and Mothers.
Anyone who wants a nice concise review (or introduction) to Patristic leaders will find this volume informative and relevant. Litfin works hard to make these early Christian leaders come alive.
A final book, one that I am still reading, is John Fea's Why Study History? A more accurate title might be What is an Historian, What is History, and Why Is It Worth the Trouble to Study? It is in fact a very sound introduction to the discipline of historiography. It is filled with discussable insights that will help any student grasp an understanding of the benefits of studying history. I thought one particularly important point was that any new history is "revisionist." It is the essence of incorporating new facts, insights, and interpretations to old events and their perception. For the record, some revisions are sound and other revisions are poor. Not all revisions are worth the paper they’re printed on.
I can readily recommend any of these volumes as tools to help you gain new insights from old subjects, or fresh understanding to new subjects.
What have you been reading lately?
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