(Original post available here)

Serve God, Save the Planet is written by J. Matthew Sleeth, a former emergency room doctor, ER director, and chief of medical staff. He writes primarily out of his experience in evangelical Christianity, which is reflected by many of the theological assertions in the book. While I don’t necessarily agree with all of the theology he espouses, I do think that his core tenets of tying the care of creation with our love and service of God and fellow humans and are sound.

Though it’s not an incredibly long book (~250 pages total) it does cover a lot of ground. There are 16 chapters in all, so rather than summarize each one I’ll simply hit some of the book’s high and low points and provide some general reflections:

High Points

Style & Format – Sleeth writes in a very readable style, making this a book that can definitely be enjoyed by anyone who has a basic background in Christianity. As I mentioned there are 16 chapters, only 10-15 pages each, and 5 helpful appendices including a workbook, an energy audit, and an environmental to-do list. I could definitely see this book being used as the basis of an ongoing discussion group using the included workbook questions as a starting point.

Global emphasis – An important consideration when talking about the environment is that many of those who suffer the greatest from the damage that is done to the earth live in poorer countries around the world. Sleeth provides global insight into the problems of pollution and overconsumption through both facts and figures as well as personal anecdotes from medical misisons trips.

Practical – This book definitely appeals to my practical side. Even though many of the examples Sleeth shares from his own life are far more drastic than most people will be ready to undertake initially, he does provide other, smaller suggestions that are more easily incorporated into every day living. So while his story of living in a house that is the size of his previous garage may seem like an unattainable goal for some (depending on the size of their garages), his suggestions to use compact flourescent light bulbs, plant vegetable gardens, and hang laundry outside to dry are all more easily incorporated.

Inclusive – I think that too often we focus simply on the actions that are beneficial or detrimental to the environment instead of focusing on the attitudes behind those actions. Sleeth addresses this by grounding creation care in love of God and love of neighbor. He discusses how our attitudes about child-rearing, population control, and even our modern, western fixation on fitness and medical wellbeing can have a large impact on the natural world.

A call to simpler living – I have a theological and spiritual appreciation for simple living. The Church of the Brethren, the denomination I am a part of, has historically emphasized simple living in community as how we are called to live out our faith as Christians. As I read this book, much of what Sleeth said resonated with me not only because of my interest in the environment, but also because I value the quest to seek out a simpler way of life in the midst of modern busyness. What he says about rampant consumerism, our sense of entitlement, and our ignorance of how disproportionately wealthy we are compared to the rest of the world is not new. However, it is something we need to be reminded of often since our commercial-driven media is constantly trying to make us forget.

Low Points

Theological & biblical issues – As I mentioned earlier the theology of the book is more on the evangelical side, and I found my theological hacklesraised by some of the assumptions he puts forth as facts (like some issues of biblical authorship) and some of his choices regarding biblical translations. He uses the King James Version, which in my opinion is based on outdated scholarship and is often contextually irrelevant in the 21st century, and the New Living Translation, which is more of a paraphrase, for many of his scriptural quotations. While I had no trouble reading around these issues and didn’t see them as affronts to my own beliefs, others who have less familiarity or are less comfortable with the diversity of Christian belief may find it more difficult to do so.

Too broad? – I know that just moments ago I praised how inclusive Sleeth is when dealing with the issue of environmental care, yet I wonder if he’s possibly a bit too broad in his approach. Let me explain. Many of the things he writes about do have an impact on the environment, yet some are much more tangential than others. For example, he has entire chapters on his thoughts about television, work patterns and sabbath rest, family dynamics and child rearing, and even a chapter on childhood misconceptions and Santa Claus! While there are no doubt some environmental implications to each of these, the way he writes about them sometimes seems to lack the emphasis I might have hoped for.

Anecdotes – While Sleeth is a very readable writer and a pretty good storyteller, I sometimes found his anecdotes to be a bit much. Almost every chapter seemed to have at least one story from his experiences as an emergency room doctor, a medical missions trip, or his family life. While these stories often serve to prove a point, other times they are a bit graphic and shocking. Maybe that’s what he was going for, turning our stomachs to turn our thought patterns. I’m sure others may appreciate these stories more than I did, so this one I might just chalk up to personal preference.

To Read or Not To Read

Over all I found this to be a very enjoyable and thought-provoking book. I would suggest it to anyone who has an interest in learning how care for the environment can be a natural outgrowth of Christian belief. I also think this would be an excellent read for Christians who might be having a hard time figuring out why so many other Christians are jumping on the environmental bandwagon. They may even find themselves jumping on too!

Those who are already theologically-grounded Christian environmentalists may enjoy reading about Sleeth’s personal lifestyle changes in light of his conviction for creation care. Though I can’t recommend all of his theological nuances, I think his overall reasoning is very sound and I found myself greatly appreciating how he portrays saving the planet to be a natural outgrowth of serving God.

I’ve read two of his previous books, Preaching Re-Imagined and Church Re-Imagined, so I was excited to hear that he was getting ready to release a new one, titled A Christianity Worth Believing (or ACWB for short.) Here’s a quick “trailer” for the book, from Doug’s blog:

I’m excited about ACWB because it touches on some of the issues that are challenging Christianity and the church as we move into the 21st century and towards postmodernity. There are so many theologies, understandings, and rituals in the church that were created for particular communities in particular times that are no longer necessarily relevant to our time and place. Giving people permission to recognize and name this and the tools to then begin to do something about it is incredibly important to me. I’m hoping that Doug addresses this in this new book.

This fall Doug is going to be trying to host a six-week online book club on ACWB. I’m not sure when it will start, but I’m going to give it a whirl. I guess that means I might have to wait until then to read the book. Either that or I’ll just read it now and then again later. I might also be interested in orchestrating a group reading & conversation series around ACWB as well. This could be either web-based or in person. If you’re interested in doing something like this, speak up and we’ll see what we can put together!

Just this past weekend there was an event that hasn’t seemed to get a whole lot of coverage in the media. The Compassion Forum was held on the campus of Messiah College yesterday, Sunday April 13th. All three current presidential hopefuls were invited to the event, though John McCain chose not to attend. Some selected clips are available on the Compassion Forum videos page. Videos of the event in its entirety can be found on either YouTube or other similar venues.

What strikes me most is how little of this 90 minute event (aired live on CNN) is being retold in the media. It seems that the only topic most media outlets are talking about are the few minutes from each candidate regarding Obama’s recent comments about how some people are “bitter” about lost jobs and unfulfilled promises. I feel there was much greater depth to this event than is being reported that makes it worth watching for anyone who is interested in learning how these two politicians approach their own faith (and the faith of others) in the public sphere.

The complete videos of the Compassion Forum are also a good opportunity to see what the candidates are like in a less scripted setting, with each giving a number of responses that I felt were thoughtful and honest. These include Hillary Clinton’s comment that she doesn’t know why God allows suffering in the world and Barak Obama’s admission that how God intervenes in the world is a mystery beyond our comprehension. The topics addressed varied widely and included abortion, torture, sex education, poverty, the environment, and yes, how faith impacts our participation in politics and the public sphere. It was this last question that I was particularly interested in. Not because I don’t think the others are important, but because I think it’s an issue that many Christians and other people of faith in this country continue to struggle with.

As I said at the outset of this post, I feel that if we are to be true to our faith then we cannot refuse to allow it to influence our interactions in the political and public square. Does that mean I think that we should dissolve the separation of church and state? Not in the slightest. However it does mean that when we as people of faith engage in the politics of our country that we should not have to check our faith at the door. What excites me most about events such as the Compassion Forum isn’t hearing candidates talk about topics other than healthcare, the war, and the economy. It is the opportunity to see how candidates approach a wide array of topics as persons of faith, putting their religious beliefs in conversation with their political actions.

As I prepare to graduate seminary and enter into what will likely be a relatively visible position of professional ministry, I am reminded that I will be looked to as an example of how to appropriately put faith in conversation with public life. This will especially be the case because of this being an election year. However I believe that being able to enter into such conversations in an intentional and appropriate way is a task that every person of faith should also seek to undertake during such an important time in the life of our nation.

While I’m still unsure of what candidate I will ultimately give my personal support in the upcoming election, I must say that I was very impressed by Barak Obama’s insightful and (in my opinion) appropriate comments about this topic at the Compassion Forum. I’m not sure if I agree 100% with his statement about needing to translate our religious language into one that will appeal to everyone. I would rather say that we must speak in ways that can be heard by others in the interest of starting conversation and moving towards understanding. Here’s the video, let’s hear what you think about all this in the comments …

Central to Baker’s model of so-called “girlfriend theology” is providing girls opportunities to share their stories and reflect theologically on those stories with other adolescent girls and older female mentors. The idea is that this will provide safe space for these young women to be “heard to speech” and give them a way to begin constructing their own theologies that are informed by their lived experiences.

Baker makes the critique that early feminists, in their attempt to re-define women’s place in society, often left their young daughters behind. While she herself is deeply informed by feminism she also draws on other branches that have grown out of western feminist theology. These include mujerista theology which draws on the experience of Latin American women, Asian-feminism, and womanist theology from the experience of African-American women. Baker asserts that these other forms of women’s emancipatory theology all do a better job of recognizing the role of young women in the theological process than traditional western feminism.

Baker’s model for engaging in girlfriend theology is a four-step process of “story theology” intended to be undertaken with a small group of adolescents and a couple of adult mentors. The way Baker describes it seems to presuppose that these mentors are women well-versed in both theological and feminist thought, so that they can help the young women to flesh out the thoughts and ideas that may arise. The first step of the process is hearing the story at hand. For each session one woman in the group is asked to prepare a story from her life to share that they find meaningful, but one they have not already shared and reflected on in other settings. It should also be a story without many overtly religious elements (such as a story of conversion) because that may potentially limit the depth of the conversation to be had. Some examples of stories Baker gives are the death of a childhood friend, a cherished memory of a “perfect day”, an experience of relating in a new way with an adult friend or family member, or another time when God seemed particularly close.

After the story has been shared the group enters into a time of sharing their “near” experiences. These include feelings, memories, and associations brought up by the story and noting key themes, symbols, and images that may arise. The group then moves to sharing “distant” experiences and exploring the meaning of the story. During this time theological themes, connections to biblical stories and Christian practices, and even echoes of other religious traditions may be brought into the conversation. This is the time when the question: “where is God in this story” is considered.

The fourth and final step is preparing to go forth from this time of storytelling and reflecting. The group discusses how they have been changed by the story and in what ways they will look at life a little differently now. They consider how the practice of their faith will be changed by what they have learned. Importantly, there is also recognition that different meanings may exist and they should leave space for those differences.

While I greatly appreciate what Baker has done with this book in providing a lengthy support of why it is important to engage in this sort of theological and spiritual formation exercise with young women, I had some difficulty relating to the book and method much of the time. Being a man, I often felt like an outsider looking in, even though this has not always been my experience with feminist-oriented texts. Despite Baker’s assertion early on that this method can be “translated” for groups other than adolescent girls, I think that the many ways she connects this method with feminism and its importance for young women makes it more difficult to make that translation.

I think that for adolescents this process would definitely work best in single-gender groups because of the complicated social dynamics that are at play during that time in live. For slightly older, more mature young adults, let’s say post-college age, I think that mixed-gender groups would be more acceptable. I recently had the opportunity to participate in an example session of this sort of story theology with a mixed age and gender group of fellow seminarians. Since we were a group that had an established relationship it was probably easier for us to enter into this activity than it would be for a group that did not have a preexisting relationship.

I like Baker’s use of story theology and appreciate her way of claiming this form of group theological reflection as one way to reach out to young women during a time in their lives when they are in need of safe and supportive ways to more deeply explore their own faith and spirituality. And while Baker only addresses how important this is for young women, I think it is just as important for young men. I found that her powerful support for why this is so important for women made it more difficult for me to imagine how it could be translated for men. Story theology is undoubtedly a viable way of engaging in group theological reflection in settings other than adolescent girls, however Baker’s girlfriend theology application is so well-supported by her feminist/womanist approach that translating her ideas to other settings seems very awkward.

To Read or Not to Read: Anyone who anticipates engaging in the ongoing spiritual formation of young women (as a Sunday-school teacher, youth group leader, pastor, etc.) should probably put Doing Girlfriend Theology on their reading list. While it would be most helpful to women who are seeking to take up this task,  anyone would probably find it to be a valuable resource for envisioning and providing ways to help adolescent girls grow spiritually and theologically. Otherwise, while some of the ideas covered in this book could be used more widely, if you are interested in reading more about story theology in general there are likely other books that would be more worthwhile and more easily applied in a broader range of settings.