Calvin MillerBesprekingen

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Calvin Miller takes his study of Celtic Christianity and presents 6 different models of prayer: Confessional, Lorica (meaning breastplate, or prayers for protection), Nature, Long Wandering, Scripture, and Trinity.
Some chapters resonated more than others, but I liked the structure of each: explanation, history, quotes, and template.
His Celtic Devotions was more inspirational to me personally, but this book has a lot of food for thought.

The prayers from the Carmina Gadelica were what I liked most about this daily devotional. The book is broken into 30 days' worth of short devotions, and I enjoyed starting my days with them. I'm sure I'll go through it again. It definitely inspired me to check out the Carmina Gadelica.

Calvin Miller has tackled a much needed subject that will be an encouragement to those young men entering the ministry field as well as older men in ministry that need encouragement and a good laugh.

Too often when men surrender to ministry they do so with open and somewhat naive hearts. They want to serve God so badly and they want to serve the flock that they often find themselves quickly overwhelmed by all that goes into this field. It is after all unlike any other field of work on this planet.

I remember when my husband entered this very field part time 14 years ago then full time 7 years ago. He poured over books by the greats. He labored through seminary with great excitement and endurance. He sought out mentors - that he soon found were not readily available. He drank in the wisdom and teachings of older pastors. In all this he would have loved to have had this book. When I saw that this was for review I immediately thought back to those days and requested the book for he and I to review together. My husband has a heart to help young men entering the ministry and currently mentors 3 young men at different levels. However, he is always looking for good resources to recommend to them.

This book was it. My husband became so excited in reading it that he came to me more than once talking to me about it. As I read it I loved the easy and personable style of Calvin Miller. He broaches all subjects with truth and love and an easy comical style that makes the book an enjoyable read. A young man in ministry can't help but find the wisdom that they thirst for and the encouragement they will desperately need when they become parched and overwhelmed by the work load of the pastorate. Also I have a great appreciation for Miller's approach to explaining the dangers and pitfalls that ministers will face. This is a treacherous field - and our enemy is on the prowl within the church walls to deceive those in service and cause them to fall. Miller seeks to give council and guidance with a great amount of tack and humor.

If you know of a young man who has surrendered to the call of ministry, is currently in seminary, is serving in the ministry - Buy this for them!

Thank You B&B Communications for this review copy.

I was drawn by the beautiful titles gracing the pairing of biblical allegory novellas in The Divine Symphony: A Requiem for Love and A Symphony in Sand by author Calvin Miller.

I enjoyed the lyrical flow in this mix of biblical fiction, fantasy, and poetry that tells of Regis and Regina, a man and woman at the heart of creation, as well as their Maker's plan for their descendants' redemption.

Granted, it bothered me to see how much time the first allegory spends on Regina's downward spiral and not on Regis's. If he were so strong in the Earthmaker's love and truth and wasn't dealing with his own hard struggle, wouldn't Regis have been strong enough in his convictions not to give up all that was sacred and eat the forbidden fruit when Regina asked him to? Might he have thought there could be another way?

Also, there were times I got lost in the second allegory and couldn't see the point behind certain developments.

Nevertheless, haunting passages would grab me and resonate, like:

Hate is bread—baked slowly
In the oven of our narcissism
And eaten with such haste
That we devour our hands,
And never notice till
We reach to touch what we adore
And find our fingers gone.

My goodness. Think about it.

And of course, given the core of the second allegory, the characters sometimes break into ebullient song about the incomparable Child soon to come to earth:

"The vast Earthmaker, cosmic in His Grace,
Has locked Himself within a little space."

"Let every mountain range declare with joy
The lion roars and God is born a Boy."

Indeed, this author's work sings of tragedy and triumph in a literary symphony that resounds with hope.

The Earthmaker plans to send an incomparable Child to the earth that needs Him in a poetical allegory by author Calvin Miller, A Symphony in Sand.

Ah! Isn't that title a thing of beauty?

Having read the previous book in this trilogy, I already had a feel for the author's style. Still, there were times I got lost in this second allegory and couldn't see the point behind certain developments.

But then haunting passages would grab me and resonate, like:

Hate is bread—baked slowly
In the oven of our narcissism
And eaten with such haste
That we devour our hands,
And never notice till
We reach to touch what we adore
And find our fingers gone.

My goodness. Think about it.

And of course, given the core of this story, the characters sometimes break into ebullient song:

"The vast Earthmaker, cosmic in His Grace,
Has locked Himself within a little space."

"Let every mountain range declare with joy
The lion roars and God is born a Boy."

Readers who'd appreciate a combination of biblical fiction, fantasy, and poetry would do well to check out this author's work.

"Deny not, Regis, how long you have lived...
you have always lived
In the very vastness of My heart
As the waiting portrait of My eternal being."

I was drawn by the title of this biblical allegory, A Requiem for Love by author Calvin Miller, as someone who very much enjoyed the classic epic poem Paradise Lost by John Milton.

Indeed, I also enjoyed the lyrical flow of this mix of fantasy and poetry that tells of Regis and Regina, a man and woman in love at the heart of creation.

Granted, I didn't agree with all the spiritual points in the tale. And it bothered me to see how much time the story spends on Regina's downward spiral and not on Regis's, as if the responsibility of everything that goes wrong is mostly hers.

I mean, if Regis were so strong in the Earthmaker's love and truth and wasn't dealing with his own hard struggle, wouldn't Regis have been strong enough in his convictions not to give up all that was sacred and eat the forbidden fruit when Regina asked him to? Might he have thought there could be another way? There had to have been more going south with him already, not just with Regina.

Nevertheless, I appreciate how this work sings, and even with its inevitable tragedy, the ending is one that resounds with hope.

I picked up this book from a used bookstore last week when I heard that Calvin Miller past away. I have always appreciated his wit, grace and insights. This book tells the story of Sam, a pastor who is over awed by one of the big mega-church church growth gurus and sets about to pattern his ministry after him by delegating away all his pastoral care/visitation duties to lay leaders so he can dedicate his time to preaching culturally relevant messages. As the story unfolds, some of Sam's parishioners, and later Sam himself is visited by a 17th century British poltergeist named Baxter who calls into question the whole ministry model that Sam is trying to adopt and encourages him to pastor his people.

The tone of this book is similar to 'sermon maker' with the story unfolding on all the righthand pages of the book, and foot notes across the left hand pages. Certainly not a glowing endorsement of mega church models, but I'm okay with that.

Good book. Great content and wisdom from a man who has walked the road of ministry. However, I believe it was poorly written, edited, and compiled. That aside, its a great book. It was refreshing to read a book where the author was unabashed concerning his convictions. Though I had different viewpoints at parts with content, it was nonetheless inspiring and impressive to get inside the mind of a pastor who has been through many experiences in ministry and maintained a healthy marriage, family, and ministry to the end.

In the frigid winter of a Depression-starved Christmas, so shines a good deed... and hope... and love... which so warms and revives the heart and spirit in this, a weary world.

THE SINGER is a narrative , a retelling of an age-old story......a powerful extended metaphor of incarnation and redemption.

Short story really. Poor young widow and coalman's son. Good Christmas read.

Calvin Miller, a well-known author, takes a look at the decline in membership in Evangelical churches and recommends an increase in intellectualism and the arts to restore its vitality in the 21st century. Miller seems to treat the subject fairly. I am impressed by the amount and variety of popular works of the day as well as literary works such as those by Jane Austen that he uses to make his points. He encourages his audience to read the Bible regularly and in an organized plan such as those that emphasize reading the Bible through in a year. He encourages reading a Psalm and a hymn each day. He encourages his readers to study the lives of martyrs and great heroes of the faith rather than spending their time reading the latest materials available in their local Christian bookstore. Miller did a very good job pointing out how Christianity was in the early 20th century, drawing examples from the reaction against liberalism and from the religious debates that were quite popular and well-attended that pointed out denominational differences. While he is not necessarily encouraging a return to the way things were done in that era, he is encouraging a return to the intellectualism that accompanied the era. This should be a popular book with those in Evangelical churches, particularly lay leaders and clergy. This review is based on an e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

volgend jaar maar weer proberen om het helemaal te lezen en dan met Pasen goed uit te komen.

Most excellent!! This is a wonderful read if you are interested in Celtic spirituality or simply interested in a deeper prayer life. Perhaps my bias (being of Scots-Irish descent) has given me a fondness for Celtic spirituality and religious practice, but nevertheless as a person of faith and as a seeker after deeper understandings of God, there is much to digest here. "'The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof' (Psalm 24:1, KJV). And we have been given a mandate to care for God's property (Genesis 2:15). If we allow our environment to deteriorate, not only will we have disobeyed God but humans will have no place to live and worship. ...Never did the sun rise but what the Celts saw the triune God in the light." Miller explores Celtic prayer in nature, in journey and in pilgrimage, as lectio divina, and more. If you have a desire for a deeper prayer life, or if you enjoy Celtic spirituality, Miller's exploration of Celtic culture, poetry, and religion will move you to the means for a deeper encounter with God.

I preach about 50 messages every year—in addition to teaching a number of Bible studies. I've learned that the single most important way to grab someone's attention and connect is to tell a story. In an effort to become more effective, I picked up this book on preaching from a master story teller.

The strength of this book was the perception Miller has gained from years of preaching. Here are a few examples of his insight:

- "The textless sermon is a stammering talk by a prophet whose amnesia will not allow him to cherish the call" (101).

- I think God has never used a cookie cutter to mass-produce prophets" (180).

- "People don't want to know the truth you read (they can read for themselves). They want to know how you personally feel about the truth you read" (182).

My biggest frustration was the old bait-and-switch with the subtitle. I expected to glean insight from a seasoned story-teller. I expected a book on "Narrative Exposition." Instead, I read a text on sermon preparation that spoke about the importance of storytelling while sharing very little about how to actually tell a good story.

Overall, Miller's tone and quick sense of humour made this book an interesting read. I just wish he spent more time on the subtitle.½

The fist time that I read this book as a preteen, I read it in a couple of hours. From that moment, I was hooked. This book I highly, highly recommend. It, as the trilogy subtitle reads, is "a retelling of the story of the New Testament." I have pretty much memorized this story. It is written in a poem-style format, but for the most part doesn't rhyme. It tells the story of how the Singer travels down to the world he made, and delivers it from the clutches of the World Hater.

There is no such thing as an old vision. If the vision is motivating, however old it is, it will appear new. Thus it will draw together a people as though indeed it had just come into existence.

Sometimes faith is hazardous work. In transforming our heartaches to joy, we face doubts that nudge us uncomfortably close to unbelief. In the painful act of pearl making, we are often prone to rail at God and point out as Martha did at the tomb of Lazarus, "Lord, if you had been here . . ."

The bars of our confinement are fashioned from three alloys: seculaiity, self-sufficiency, and prayerlessness

The best presents don't carry a price tag

Some say that lying is always evil and truth is always good. The truth is, truth can also serve evil