The Hive Summer Reading List Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. -From the Book of Common Prayer Looking for a way to grow in faith this summer? One of the best ways to do this is to pick a new book to read this is especially good is you are heading out on summer vacation and looking for a something to read on your journey. Here are some recommendations that will serve as faithful companions this summer.
Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness Will Transform Your Faith By Mihee Kim-Kort I have heard amazing things about this much needed resource. Approachable, thoughtful, and faithful, this is a book for all who are interested in the intersection between gender, sexuality, and faith. Description: Mihee Kim-Kort is a wife, a mom, and a Presbyterian minister. And she's queer. As she became aware of her queer sexuality, Mihee wondered what that meant for her spirituality. But instead of pushing her away from God, her queerness has brought her closer to Jesus and taught her how to love better. In Outside the Lines, Mihee shows us how God, in Jesus, is oriented toward us in a queer and radical way. Through the life, work, and witness of Jesus, we see a God who loves us with a queer love. And our faith in that God becomes a queer spirituality--a spirituality that crashes through definitions and moves us outside of the categories of our making. Whenever we love ourselves and our neighbors with the boundary-breaking love of God, we live out this queer spirituality in the world. With a captivating mix of personal story and biblical analysis, Outside the Lines shows us how each of our bodies fits into the body of Christ. Outside the lines and without exceptions.
Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church By Rachel Held Evans This book was overwhelming chosen for a book study on The Hive this summer and a wonderful conversation was lead by Michelle Bullock! Dive in to see what all the buzz was about. Description: From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans comes a book that is both a heartfelt ode to the past and hopeful gaze into the future of what it means to be a part of the Church. Like millions of her millennial peers, Rachel Held Evans didn't want to go to church anymore. The hypocrisy, the politics, the gargantuan building budgets, the scandals--church culture seemed so far removed from Jesus. Yet, despite her cynicism and misgivings, something kept drawing her back to Church. And so she set out on a journey to understand Church and to find her place in it. Centered around seven sacraments, Evans' quest takes readers through a liturgical year with stories about baptism, communion, confirmation, confession, marriage, vocation, and death that are funny, heartbreaking, and sharply honest. A memoir about making do and taking risks, about the messiness of community and the power of grace, Searching for Sunday is about overcoming cynicism to find hope and, somewhere in between, Church.
Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I ve Loved By Kate Bowler Another favorite title from the Hive Book Club series, this amazing book dives into the lie of the so-called Prosperity Gospel movement which touts a dangerous theology that God will not let anything bad happen in your life if you are good person. The book club went into some deep territory of spiritual exploration thanks to this book. This book would be especially good for those who are experiencing illness or pain. It also has a fantastic podcast companion found at: https://katebowler.com/everything-happens/ Description: Kate Bowler is a professor at Duke Divinity School with a modest Christian upbringing, but she specializes in the study of the prosperity gospel, a creed that sees fortune as a blessing from God and misfortune as a mark of God s disapproval. At thirty-five, everything in her life seems to point toward blessing. She is thriving in her job, married to her high school sweetheart, and loves life with her newborn son. Then she is diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. The prospect of her own mortality forces Kate to realize that she has been tacitly subscribing to the prosperity gospel, living with the conviction that she can control the shape of her life with a surge of determination. Even as this type of Christianity celebrates the American can-do spirit, it implies that if you can t do and succumb to illness or misfortune, you are a failure. Kate is very sick, and no amount of positive thinking will shrink her tumors. What does it mean to die, she wonders, in a society that insists everything happens for a reason? Kate is stripped of this certainty only to discover that without it, life is hard but beautiful in a way it never has been before.
Note to Self: Creating Your Guide to a More Spiritual Life By Charles LaFond Creating a Rule of Life is an ancient practice that can transform your walk with God and those you are in community with. In my life, crafting such a run has been foundational to making space for the Holy Spirit and I absolute commend this practice to anyone who wants to have a deeper walk with God. This practical tool will help in creating such a pattern of living. Description: What do you want for your life? Who do you want to be in your life, and how do you want to live? When it comes to making a consistent effort to be a better person, it helps to have constant reminders encouraging you along the way. In Note to Self: Creating Your Guide to a More Spiritual Life, Episcopal priest Charles LaFond introduces readers to the concept of a "Rule of Life," an ancient method for building soul memory and offering reminders to ourselves of the person we hope to be in other words, the practice of training your mind and soul to be kind and good. In this book, LaFond makes the case that creating your own Rule of Life is grace that only you can offer to yourself, helping remind you to live the life you desire and the life God wishes for you. For anyone looking to improve themselves to grow closer to Christ, this book is the perfect mix of wisdom, creation, and application.
Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again By Rachel Held Evans Evans makes her sedan appearance onto this list with her band new book for this year, Inspired. She offered a fresh take on reading scripture that is as fun as it is informative. Description: If the Bible isn't a science book or an instruction manual, then what is it? What do people mean when they say the Bible is inspired? When Rachel Held Evans found herself asking these questions, she began a quest to better understand what the Bible is and how it is meant to be read. What she discovered changed her-- and it will change you too. Drawing on the best in recent scholarship and using her well-honed literary expertise, Evans examines some of our favorite Bible stories and possible interpretations, retelling them through memoir, original poetry, short stories, soliloquies, and even a short screenplay. Undaunted by the Bible's most difficult passages, Evans wrestles through the process of doubting, imagining, and debating Scripture's mysteries. The Bible, she discovers, is not a static work but is a living, breathing, captivating, and confounding book that is able to equip us to join God's loving and redemptive work in the world.
Faith with a Twist: A 30-Day Journey into Christian Yoga By the Hive's own Rev. Dr. Hillary D. Raining & Amy Nobles Dolan! Be the first to order the newest book from The Hive's own Hillary Raining! Amy and Hillary have blended their love of yoga and faith to create a resource that is accessible to new and experienced yogis alike! Preorder here: https://amzn.to/2m2lxq0 Description: "Faith with a Twist: A 30-Day Journey into Christian Yoga seeks to bridge the gap between spiritual-but-not-religious by blending the ancient church's wisdom and the spiritual practice of yoga. All too often, attempts to blend yoga and Christianity have failed to do justice to both traditions often sacrificing the wisdom of one tradition for the other. Faith with a Twist connects the traditional eight limbs of yoga with the church's understanding and emphasis on living a holy life. This approach creates a unique blend of spiritual practices and religious wisdom that are perfect for the yoga novice and the experienced practitioner alike. Faith With a Twist invites you to strengthen your body, heart, and soul with 30 days of meditations, prayers, and practices. In addition, photos illustrate a series of postures (with helpful modifications that can be done while seated), as well as suggestions on how these practices can complement different seasons in the church year. Written by Amy Nobles Dolan (an experienced yoga teacher, writer, and spiritual director) and Hillary D. Raining (an Episcopal priest, yoga teacher, and writer), this book is full of practices, prayers, wisdom, and insight that can help any person have a transformative spiritual life."