Went to church this morning and stopped at the church library. Browsing new books, my eyes fell on the name Joshua Harris. The name was familiar--I'd read reviews of earlier books--but this title was especially fascinating: Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters. Harris, I knew, was on the younger side compared to me and the picture of the dude with the shaved head on the back cover bore it out. Yet I felt drawn to the book.
Here's why. I found it heartening that someone of the younger generation of Christians is interested in doctrine and theology, and, from what I could see, regards it as essential to knowing and serving God. I look forward to getting inside the head of this young man so different from me--learning who he is and how he thinks.
My point is that in reading this book, I am quite sure I will come away feeling "connected" to the author. It's what happens when we read. Despite new ways to communicate, people today feel increasingly isolated. Books, I believe, can help eliminate the distance and help us understand people similar and different from ourselves. Books go deep in ways You Tube, Facebook, tweets, texts, or e-mails generally do not, or can not.
Also fascinating about Dug Down Deep, by the way, and illustrating my point, were the front and back cover blurbs. The one on front was by Donald Miller, a non-traditional ("emergent"?) Christian voice of Gen X'ers; the one on back was by 85-year-old theologian J. I. Packer. Despite the generational and cultural gulf, the blurb writers found common ground in a well-written book.
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