From where Reggie and I sit, here’s our annual ranking of The BEST BOOKS of 2011. (photography by Bill Dahl 2011).

As I have said before, I read approximately 100 books a year. 2011 was an exception for several reasons:

1. I read some MONSTER volumes re: U.S. history – inhabited with microscopic print. Digesting these behemoths takes time.
2. I have experienced an unanticipated, disruptive, enduring health issue.

(In any event..I read dozens and dozens of books in 2011 – I follow a very strict discipline NOT to review books I don’t care for) The result of this annual process was the following ranking (1= BEST)  by Category:

I.                  Faith & Culture Category – Non Fiction

1. Naked Spirituality – A Life With God in 12 Simple Words by Brian McLaren – HarperOne  New York, NY

2. You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church and Rethinking Faith: – by David Kinnaman – BakerBooks Grand Rapids, MI

3. Practice Resurrection – a conversation on growing up in Christ - by Eugene Peterson (a 2010 publication I didn’t get to until 2011) – Eerdmans Publishing Grand Rapids, Cambridge, U.K.

4. God Without Religion – by Andrew Farley – BakerBooks Grand Rapids, MI

5. Love Wins – by Rob Bell – HarperOne

6. The Sword of the Lord – The Roots of Fundamentalism in an American Family by Andrew Himes – CreateSpace

7. Healing The Heart of Democracy by Parker J. Palmer – Jossey-Bass

8. The Cause Within You – by Matthew Barnett and George Barna – Tyndale/Barna

9.  Stumbling Toward Heaven – On Cancer, Crashes and Questions by Mike Hamel – CreateSpace

10. The New Evangelicals – by Marcia Pally – Eerdmans Publishing

        II.                   Fiction

1. Matterhorn – by Karl Marlantes – Grove Press New York, NY

2. The Ambition – by Lee Strobel – Zondervan

III.    Public Policy/Socio-Cultural Commentary/Investigative Reporting

1. Reckless Endangerment – How Outsized Ambition, Greed, And Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon by Gretchen Morgenson & Joshua Rosner – Times Books

2. The Evolving Self – A Psychology for the Third Millenium by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi – Harper Perrenial

3. Boomerang – Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis – W.W. Norton & Company

4. That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back by Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum – Farrar, Straus and Giroux

5. The Social Animal by David Brooks – Random House

Bill Dahl’s – THE Best Books of 2011

1. Naked Spirituality – A Life With God in 12 Simple Words by Brian McLaren…simply THE BEST BOOK of 2011. A treasure.

2. The Evolving Self – A Psychology for the Third Millenium by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi – I have a personal discipline – For every 5 books I read, one of those books MUST be at least five years old. This one was published in 1993. READ IT TODAY.

3. You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church and Rethinking Faith: – by David Kinnaman

4. Reckless Endangerment – How Outsized Ambition, Greed, And Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon by Gretchen Morgenson & Joshua Rosner

5. Practice Resurrection – a conversation on growing up in Christ - by Eugene Peterson (a 2010 publication I didn’t get to until 2011)

6. God Without Religion – by Andrew Farley

7. Love Wins – by Rob Bell

8. That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back by Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum.

9. The Social Animal by David Brooks

10. Matterhorn – by Karl Marlantes

 Honorable Mention in my Top 10 for 2011 — just because it’s so darn good….

CLASSICS – Enduring Contributions to American Literature – Read in 2011. Please consider at least one of the following for your reading in 2012:

In 2012, I hope you will make an intentional choice to read some of the titles I have identified in my Best of 2011 and a “classic” – as identified above.  Please keep me posted on what your insights and recommendations.

 Blessings to you and yours in 2012.

In one sense this book is about you, the American citizen. It’s a call to come off the couch and assume a new posture of chutzpah and humility. Chutzpah to speak your mind or your heart about issues in America. Humility to do so in a civil and respectful way – holding the same tolerance and courtesy toward those whose views are contrary to your own.

Consider the following:

“But as long as distrust and contempt keep “We the People” from having a generative conversation, our will cannot be known let alone voiced.”(p.16).

Just as the central thesis of much of Palmer’s writing is about the human heart- a subject this book cannot escape.  “The heart is where we integrate the intellect with the rest of our faculties, such as emotion, imagination, and intuition. It is where we can learn how to “rethink the world together,” not apart, and find the courage to act on what we know.” (p.18).

The book is filled with prescient observations:

“in the absence of an engaged public, democracy begins to die, and some form of oligarchy emerges to take it’s place.” (p.25).

“We must develop habits that allow our hearts to break open and embrace diversity rather than break down and further divide us.” p. 36.

“Democracy demands that we become engaged with “the other.”p.38

Palmer goes on to illuminate Five Habits of the Heart required by the American citizenry to respond to 21st century realities:

1. We’re all in this together

2. The need to develop an appreciation for the value of “otherness.”

3. The ability to hold tension in life-giving ways.

4. Generate a sense of personal voice and agency.

5. Strengthen our capacity to create community.

Palmer’s life’s work can be summarized in what he writes on page 60: “there is an eternal mystery about how the shattered soul becomes whole again.” He suggests we are now at a place in time within the evolution of the “idea of American democracy” whereby: “We are now at such a place as a nation: we must restore the wholeness of our civic community or watch democracy wither.”p. 60. Again, he goes to the reality of the heartbreak that permeates the American landscape as the source of opportunity to “heal the heart of democracy.” He suggests that “We the People” must become “a vital reality rather than a philosophical abstraction.” (p.99).

Palmer also highlights the penchant for focusing on short-term tasks that promise instant , visible results – yet, maintain paralysis on the larger challenges facing the broader society.

The works of Parker J. Palmer are both numerous and noteworthy. As a point of  forthright, full disclosure, they populate my personal library. Palmer can be considered, in my opinion, a legitimate spiritual cardiologist, who has spent a lifetime exploring the mysteries and miracles of the human heart.

As I read Healing The Heart of Democracy, I recognized not only his acumen with matters of the human heart, but an authentic concern with the heart and soul of America – in all its various dimensions – government, principles, representatives, sources of power and influence, citizens, processes, humility, the silent, the overlooked, the marginalized, freedom, hope, innovation, and creativity.

You can’t write a book like this unless:

a. You are deeply concerned over the state and trajectory of America.

b. You possess the courage and strength to publicly share your concerns.

c. You have both the wisdom and experience with the “matters of the heart” to define legitimate, well thought out approaches to healing the maladies that currently threaten our collective health.

Read this book. Get three and share it with others. Intentionally gather to talk about it’s call to action. This isn’t a book filled with words and catchy phrases – it’s a behavioral prescription  for healing…our hearts – and that of our nation…

Both of which Parker J. Palmer deeply cares about…

If your cardiologist looked you in the eye and gave you specific instructions to “change your lifestyle or else!” What would you do? This is the question and posture that Parker Palmer leaves us with. You have the cardiologists instructions – now it’s up to you!

a. Reckless Endangerment – How Outsized Ambition, Greed, And Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon by Gretchen Morgenson & Joshua Rosner,

b. Futurecast – What Today’s Trends Mean for Tomorrow’s World by George Barna,

c.Healing The Heart of Democracy by Parker Palmer,

d. God Can’t Sleep by Palmer Chinchen,

e. The Power of Mindful Learningby Ellen Langer,

f. Falling Upward by Richard Rohr,

g. Herself by Madeleine L’Engle,

h.Manias, Panics and Crashes – A History of Finanncial Crises by Charles P. Kindleberger,

i. Growing Up Before You Grow Old by Charles Wear,

j. Baldwin – Collected Essys by James Baldwin,

k. Tiger Trap by David Wise,

l. Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes,

m. Prophet of Innovation, by Thomas K. McCraw,

n. Haunting Legacy by Marvin Kalb & Deborah Kalb

Unfortunately, I don’t have enough time to review them all. However, I enjoyed them all. You will too.

From the author who has written the stories of Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, as well as the national bestseller The Invisible Government, Tiger Trap’s focus is the ongoing spy game between the U.S. and China. Only an author who has dedicated his life who writing about espionage, national security, the intelligence community is capable of providing the reader with such a fantastic journey inside the world of U.S.-China counter-intelligence

I really enjoyed this book. You will too.

McLaren, Brian Naked Spirituality – A Life With God in 12 Simple Words HarperOne – an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers New York, NY. Copyright © 2011 by Brian D. McLaren.

By Bill Dahl

Beyond Beautiful – or – It’s Wednesday – But Sunday’s A Comin’

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas has said, “Theology is not best understood as a system — narrative might have something to do with theology.”[i] Narrative is fine Stanley – but I’d like some tools that have practical application to my life, and those around me, as a person of faith. I’d also like some boots on the ground authenticity from the real life experiences of a fellow sojourner.

Enter Brian McLaren – Naked Spirituality – A Life With God in 12 Simple Words. Here’s the honest truth about the impact this book had on my life:

I had just finished Chapter 20 “Why – When You Have Come to Zero.” My wife arrived home from work. She began to prepare dinner and I wandered into the kitchen to catch up together on the day’s events – an uneventful Wednesday.

As we stood there chatting, the phone rang. It was our daughter Liz calling from her home in Utah. Liz and her fiancée Aaron had buried Aaron’s mother on Monday – just two days ago. They had just received a phone call – Aaron’s father had been killed in a car crash.

We concluded the tearful call with our daughter. I went into another room and sat silently – questions, remorse, sorrow, anger, dismay, confusion – ricocheting throughout my being. We ate half our dinner and adjourned to a couch. Jacki looked at me – sorrow and befuddled are two words that were embossed on her facial expression. We were both at zero – in shock – wounded – naked and fully exposed to the unconscionable in life. I leaned forward, grabbed my reading glasses and Brian’s book. I turned to the first page of Chapter 20 and read the chapter aloud to my wife.

I looked up and closed the book. “Beautiful?” I remarked, gazing at my wife. – “Beyond Beautiful,” she replied – as restorative waves of soothing, healing truth rolled through our souls.

In Naked Spirituality – A Life With God in 12 Simple Words Brian McLaren gets real with God, with life, the seasons inherent within human existence – sharing his boots on the ground experience as a fellow sojourner. Another formulaic, step-by-step, overly simplistic, bogus promise-laden landmine from an over-caffeinated evangelical Christian? Not Hardly.

At this stage in life, I need to learn from the experience of others…others who live in my world…the real world – the world of faith that Brian McLaren lives in. I’m worn out on opinions, perspectives and narrative nonsense of people trying to sell books – suggesting that “if you do this, you’ll be fine.”

In this book, Brian shares his own personal life lessons that are raw, real and uncut. McLaren’s dance with language provides hues of color that I had overlooked in the life of. He provides vistas and vantage points where the reader can stand side-by-side with him gazing beyond what we are presently able to visualize. There’s no artificial ingredients in the flavors McLaren serves up.

Take a seat with Brian McLaren – at his table – The table of life with the living God. Enjoy the feast that Naked Spirituality provides – one course at a time. Savor the tender, succulent, mysterious seasonings contained in each course: Here, Thanks, O, Sorry, Help, Please, When, No, Why, Behold, Yes and Silence.

No, this is not another fast-food systematic theology or another bland narrative. For us, Naked Spirituality is a unique and nutritious innovation from Brian McLaren – as he continues to evolve his craft in delivering fare for the faithful. There’s one thing that separates Brian from the rest of the authors in faith and culture – he has eaten his own stuff before he allows anybody else to sample it in print. He readily identifies the faith dishes he has dined on, admits the tastes he has worn out, the spices that have turned out to be bland, the sinew of life he has choked on – the wards of people he has encountered, hospitalized after being poisoned with the fare of faith served up with a seal of God attached to it.

“Beautiful?” – “Yes – Beyond Beautiful.”

For us, this book was, and shall be, both a timely and enduring blessing. For us, it was It’s Wednesday – But Sunday’s a Comin’.

Forgive me Tony – Thank you Brian!

Please pray for our daughter Liz, son-in-law Aaron and their daughter Rebekka.

This book is precious – so is life – so is the privilege of relationship with the living God – here – today – in any and all circumstances – even when you’re at zero….or not.

NOTES

Today, everyone must insure that our respective “crap detectors” are fully functional. From time to time mine needs a tune-up. That’s why I started searching for this indispensable companion – I use it as a crap-detector tune-up tool. So, I went out and bought it again and placed it in a distinguished location in my library. I read it again, 3 times (it’s a small volume).

Finally, it’s the holiday season in many countries where gift giving is part of the various celebration rituals. It’s a PERFECT gift during this gift-giving season. Trust me – upon opening your gift of “ON Bullshit” — you will be showered with smiles and adoration for such a thoughtful, appropriate gesture (don’t be surprised if the remainder of your holiday gathering includes reading aloud some quotes from “ON BULLSHIT” followed by raucous laughter and the acknowledgment Harry G. Frankfurt, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University’s Department of Philosophy has truly contemplated this matter – for all to consider.

A precious little treasure to accent the atmosphere of your holiday gift giving gatherings. Heck, buy 5 on Amazon and pass them around to specifically targeted colleagues, customers, friends and family members.

Sometimes “life happens.” Well, it has. I am preparing for a major surgery in ten days (you cannot “plan” these sorts of life events). I am juggling, work (a real job), family, my wedding anniversary – and then my literary love….

I hope you will forgive me for the delays. I am told I will have plenty of time during recuperation to “read and write your brains out Bill.”

My apologies.

The most fantastic, engaging book you will ever read regarding the life of a dog, and the impact that life has on man. Unequivocally an adventure of the heart and the mind. Get it at the local bookstore. Trust us….you’ll be very glad you did.

Berns, Gregory Iconoclast – A Neuroscientist Reveals How To Think Differently, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, Boston, MA Copyright © 2010 by Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.

Required reading for the intellectually adventurous. Warning: This book will change you! Here are a few excerpts I adored:

“The definition of an iconoclast as a person who does something that others say can’t be done. This definition implies that iconoclasts are different from other people. Indeed, this is true, but more precisely, the, iconoclast’s brain is different.” P. 6

“the brain runs on about 40 watts of power ( a light bulb!).” p. 7.

“perception is a process that is learned through experience, which is both a curse and an opportunity for change. P. 8

“To see things differently than other people, the most effective solution is to bombard the brain with things it has never encountered before. Novelty releases the perceptual process from the shackles of past experience and forces the brain to make new judgments.” P.8.

The problem with novelty, however, is that, for most people, novelty triggers the fear system of the brain. P.8.

Fear is the second major impediment to thinking like an iconoclast and stops the average person dead in his tracks. P. 8.

the word iconoclast, which means literally “destroyer of icons,” p. 10

“The brain must be provided with something that it has never before processed to force it out of predictable perceptions.”p.25

“we can say one thing about the iconoclast’s brain, it would be this: it sees differently than other people’s brains.” P.32

Iconoclasm begins with perception. More specifically, it begins with visual perception, and so the first step to thinking like an iconoclast is to see like one. p. 32

“But epiphanies rarely occur in familiar surroundings. The key to seeing like an iconoclast is to look at things that you have never seen before. It seems almost obvious that breakthroughs in perception do not come I from simply staring at an object and thinking harder about it. Break- throughs come from a perceptual system that is confronted with something that it doesn’t know how to interpret. Unfamiliarity forces the rain to discard its usual categories of perception and create new one.” P. 33

“Imagination comes from the visual system. Iconoclasm goes hand in hand with imagination. Before one can muster the strength to tear down conventional thinking, one must first imagine the possibility that conventional thinking is wrong. But even this is not enough. The iconoclast goes further and imagines alternative possibilities. P.37

“but creativity seems to become more difficult for many people as they get older.” P. 37

“we cannot see that which we don’t know to look for. Second, the ability to see these subtle differences depends on experience. And this means that perception can be changed through experience.” P. 42

“In order to think creatively, and imagine possibilities that only iconoclasts do, one must Jreak out of the cycle of experience-dependent categorization-or what Mark Twain called “education.” For most people, this does not come naturally. Often the harder one tries to think differently, the more rigid the categories become. There is a better way, a path that jolts the brain out of preconceived notions of what it is seeing: bombard the brain with new experiences. Only then will it be forced out of efficiency mode and reconfigure its neural networks.” P. 54

“It typically takes a novel stimulus – either a new piece of information or getting out of the environment in which an individual has become comfortable-to jolt attentional systems awake and reconfigure both perception and imagination. The more radical and novel the change, the greater the likelihood of new insights being generated. To think like an iconoclast, you need novel experiences.” P. 57-58.

“Categories are death to imagination. So the solution is to seek out environments in which you have no experience.” P. 58

“The critical fears that  inhibit people from sharing their ideas: the fear of being rejected. At its core, this fear has its origin in social pressure, which is one of the most common of human phobias.” Pp.77-78

Individuals who tended toward social reticence felt comfortable pitching half –baked ideas.” P. 78.

The soft-minded man always fears change. He feels security in the status quo, and he has an almost morbid fear of the new. For him, the greatest pain is the pain of a new idea. – Martin Luther King Jr. p.83.

“We know what we see, and we know right from wrong, but with enough social pressure, we cave in to the fear of standing alone. — If we grant that we are all a bit reticent at times to stand up for our personal opinions, this leaves the door open to act as individuals when we choose. It is a noble grasp for free will. But-and this is the kicker-we must be brave enough. This was Asch’s point. Even in a neutral laboratory setting, most people are not that brave.” P. 92

“Groups are, indeed, superior to individuals, but only when they are diverse and individuals act as individuals. Statistically, most people in a group will lie along a spectrum of opinions, but because of the social pressure to belong, these opinions contract to the social norm. The availability of a minority position breaks the stranglehold of conformity, and groups that allow for minority opinions are statistically more likely to make better decisions than groups that require unanimity.” P.103.

It an institutional level, the implications are clear: committees should not be required to arrive at a unanimous decision. Dissension must be encouraged.” Pp.104-104

“The most effective way for a group to make a decision is by aggregating the opinions of independent individuals. Lt also follows that a group with a lot of diversity among its members is more likely to arrive at a good decision than a group that is composed of members who are alike.” P.104.

“The human brain comes to like that with which it is familiar. And it is this sort of familiarity that the successful iconoclast must strive for. Rightly or wrongly, people put their money into things that they are familiar with.” P. 141.

“In a culture of complete and absolute trust, evolution begins to favor creatures that can deceive other members of the species.” P.150.

“Human  adolescence is marked by an intense drive to explore the world. It is marked by a desire to try new things and eschew that which is perceived as old and stodgy. It is also the time when the dopamine system reaches its peak in physiological activity. Time and again the dopamine system pops up as a key player in both innovation and iconoclasm. Understanding the relationship between dopamine and novelty also explains why some people are receptive to new ideas.” P. 191.

“To be efficient, the iconoclast should target the high-dopamine novelty seekers first. These people will provide the bridge to everyone else.” p. 194.

A newborn child, for example, has a brain about one-quarter the size of an adult’s, but this reaches 80 percent by age two. Not all of this growth is in the number of neurons.” P.196.

“In many ways perception may not ever be mature. Perception, in particular, may be the most plastic and adaptable of all cognitive functions.” P. 198.

“The brain is lazy. It changes only when it has to. And the conditions that consistently force the brain to rewire itself are when it confronts something novel. Novelty equals learning, and learning means physical rewiring of the brain.” P. 199.

Berns is a boundary buster…he is on the frontier of breakthroughs in how we think and ways in which we might become more (much more) than we believe we are capable of becoming.

REQUIRED READING!!!

I am fond of this work, Marcus Borg’s fantastic first fling at fiction. You’ll enjoy it too!

The story line was pleasant. The character development was exquisite. The dialog flows flawlessly. The real-life context is uncharacteristically authentic. The story is superb.

This is a story that a wide audience can relate to. No complicated, theological background required to fully appreciate the story Marcus is spinning here. Yet, as a quote from Frederick Buechner illuminates, a thesis near the end of the book that might be overlooked: “Listen to your life. Listen to what happens to you because it is through what happens to you that God speaks….It’s in the language that’s not always easy to decipher, but it’s there, powerfully, memorably, unforgettably.” (p. 335).

Based upon the public life of Marcus Borg, one cannot help but surmise that this quote is as pertinent to the author’s life experience, as it is to the story line he crafts in this work. The philosophy, epistemological underpinnings and practice of Christianity have been the life of Marcus Borg. Formerly professor emeritus in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University where he held the chair in Religion and Culture, this story was, in this sense, somewhat predictable. Marcus seems to be allowing his “life to speak” through this story (not that Borg could ever be characterized as one who has exercised undue restraint when the opportunity to arose to speak his mind).

“Fiction?” Maybe. Well, not hardly. The story line encounters a number of mainstream ‘faith & culture’ issues on personal, group, systemic and organizational levels. All the tensions that Borg weaves into this novel are very much alive and well today. The story provokes ample opportunity for dialog on a personal, and a group level. A wonderful novel that can be used to explore these issues further – together, in a myriad of forums.

We need more fine fiction story-telling in the faith & culture literary genre. Perhaps, Borg’s “Putting Away Childish Things – A Tale of Modern Faith” will provide the essential encouragement for others to do the same.

The nature of this style of writing is magnetic — a book you look forward to returning to digest more of this splendidly crafted tale. Yet, this novel is powerful, memorable and one that you can confidently recommend to others….as I now recommend it to you.

Something tells me this may be the first in a series of novels from Marcus Borg. I certainly hope so.

I’m wondering what Kate Riley is going to encounter at Scudder? You’ll have to read this novel to understand my question.