On to book 3 of 26.
After the behemoth that was American Gods, I decided that my next book would be a tad smaller, so I went from 500+ to 170 pages. My third book could once again meet the requirements of multiple book choices, but the one I have officially chosen for it is #25 A book that is more than 10 years old, seeing as it was written about 20 years ago, depending on its month of publication. If you were paying attention to my last blog entry you already know that book 3 is It's God's Church: the Life and Legacy of Daniel Sidney Warner by Barry L. Callen.
[Once again, if you only want my barebones comment on this book, scroll down]
There's probably a few things that you should know before I get into the meat of this entry. 1) I took several classes with Dr. Callen through both college as well as seminary. 2) Dr. Callen is a very smart man. 3) Dr. Callen put out a 27 page pamphlet last year titled The Top Ten: Why Daniel S. Warner is Still Relevant for You and Your Church which I greatly enjoyed and is the main reason that I had an interest in reading It's God's Church. 4) I wish I had stopped with The Top Ten.
As I mentioned two sentences ago, I really liked The Top Ten and was very interested in reading more about D.S. Warner, after reading It's God's Church I wished I knew less about D.S. Warner. For those of you who do not belong to the Church of God (Anderson, IN) D.S. is one of the founders of our particular stream of thought. Dr. Callen goes to some length to disregard D.S. as the founder, so I will merely say he is 'a founder' as opposed to 'the founder'. One of the main reasons that I wish I had not read It's God's Church is because after The Top Ten I admired Warner and after It's God's Church I came to the conclusion that I probably wouldn't have liked him. Warner often comes across as a man so full of his own belief that there is no room for anyone who thinks differently. Over the course of the book Dr. Callen details Warner's loss of friend after friend and even a wife over theological differences. Where Jesus says his followers will be known by their love it appears that D.S. and his fellow workers were better known by their anger at all that had come after the New Testament and before them.
Besides my problems with Warner the man I also had problems with Dr. Callen's book in general. He takes the first two chapters to talk about the world that Warner stepped into and existed in but often name drops with the assumption that his readers already know who is who and what they did. While I often, but not always, did know the names and situations that Dr. Callen skips across many do not and I felt a little more explanation was necessary. In addition Dr. Callen peppers his book with the statement "It's God's Church" over and over and over again, making it not a statement of sound theology but rather turning it into some corny catchphrase. When we finally do get to Warner's actual life there are often events that are mentioned but then quickly left behind because of an incomplete record of Warner's life, while this is not Dr. Callen's fault per se it made for a, at times, disjointed story.
As I mentioned I am in a church whose stream of thought dates back to D.S. Warner and I have to say that there are things that our movement [not a denomination because those are evil, said by myself tongue in cheek, said by Warner with all seriousness] engages in that Warner would have stood opposed to. In the end I imagine that it is for the best that we hold him in regard without holding him as the ideal, Dr. Callen says that it would not be something that he would want to be anyway.
At base how I feel about this book:
If you really want to know the nitty gritty about Daniel Sidney Warner, if you want to grapple with the man, his thoughts, and his meaning I would suggest you read this book. If, on the other hand, you would prefer just a quick overview of his more positive attributes and actions I would suggest The Top Ten. If you are a pastor in the Church of God, or a lay leader, or just an interested individual I would recommend that you at least read The Top Ten, and potentially read It's God's Church as well.
Peace and Love,
Pastor K
p.s. I should probably thank my friend and partner in theological crime Ryan Carrel, pastor of the Southeast Project in Indianapolis, who kindly let me have/borrow It's God's Church. If you live on the Southeast side or really anywhere in Indianapolis at all and don't have a church, I suggest you check it out. You can have it back now if you want it back Ryan.
p.s.s. I am not sure at the moment what book 4 will be, but you should find the associated blog for it in roughly two weeks
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