Thorough, articulate, and astute advice for Christian leaders.
In this Christian guidebook, debut author Klender offers 40 rules, or “keys,” to help fellow religious leaders guard against spiritual downfall.
Referring to an Old Testament king whose pride led to his ruin, the author uses the term “Uzziah Syndrome” to describe how some religious leaders start their ministries well but end them dishonorably, for various reasons. Klender puts forth “a biblical strategy for inoculating leaders against the spiritual malaise of the Uzziah Syndrome,” relying on biblical quotes and personal accounts of spiritual experiences, often drawing analogies from his own service as a U.S. Navy chaplain. Throughout, the author urges readers to take seriously the various threats that he believes Satan poses. He presents a wealth of advice in 40 chapters, including essays on avoiding selfish ambition and egoism, not allowing comfort to stunt spiritual growth, embracing a correct view of God, and forgiving oneself and others. One of his overarching principles is that one should maintain a keen awareness of one’s thoughts, words, attitudes, and actions, making course corrections when needed. He follows each chapter with meaningful review questions that invite both reflection and application, such as “Can you think of a time in your ministry where spiritual success or victory made you vulnerable to temptation?” and “Is there an offence that has been committed against you that you refuse to forgive? Explain.” Some readers may find 40 “keys” to guard against personal apostasy excessive. However, each one is unique, valuable, and well-developed. The author’s prose offers a pleasant balance of memorable stories, supporting quotations from the Bible, and a variety of other sources, as well as Klender’s own insights. His questions, in particular, truly evoke contemplation as they attempt to promote personal change. That said, there are occasionally distracting punctuation errors, and some readers may find that the occasional right-leaning political opinions feel out of place in the spiritually focused text.
Thorough, articulate, and astute advice for Christian leaders.Pub Date: Dec. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-973610-42-7
Page Count: 666
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.
A teacher and scholar of Buddhism offers a formally varied account of the available rewards of solitude.
“As Mother Ayahuasca takes me in her arms, I realize that last night I vomited up my attachment to Buddhism. In passing out, I died. In coming to, I was, so to speak, reborn. I no longer have to fight these battles, I repeat to myself. I am no longer a combatant in the dharma wars. It feels as if the course of my life has shifted onto another vector, like a train shunted off its familiar track onto a new trajectory.” Readers of Batchelor’s previous books (Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World, 2017, etc.) will recognize in this passage the culmination of his decadeslong shift away from the religious commitments of Buddhism toward an ecumenical and homegrown philosophy of life. Writing in a variety of modes—memoir, history, collage, essay, biography, and meditation instruction—the author doesn’t argue for his approach to solitude as much as offer it for contemplation. Essentially, Batchelor implies that if you read what Buddha said here and what Montaigne said there, and if you consider something the author has noticed, and if you reflect on your own experience, you have the possibility to improve the quality of your life. For introspective readers, it’s easy to hear in this approach a direct response to Pascal’s claim that “all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Batchelor wants to relieve us of this inability by offering his example of how to do just that. “Solitude is an art. Mental training is needed to refine and stabilize it,” he writes. “When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul.” Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it.
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-300-25093-0
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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