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Talks by spencer cummins

and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said and done b... more and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said and done by the Lord. For he had not heard the Lord, nor had followed him, but later on, followed Peter, who used to give teaching as necessity demanded but not making, as it were, an arrangement of the Lord's oracles, so that Mark did nothing wrong in thus writing down single points as he remembered them. For to one thing he gave attention, to leave out nothing of what he had heard and to make no false statements in them." 3. Mark wrote for a Gentile audience. 1. Explained Jewish customs and practices. 2.

Book Reviews by spencer cummins

Perhaps you thought the self-checkout lane at Lowe’s was the quick route from your purchase of sq... more Perhaps you thought the self-checkout lane at Lowe’s was the quick route from your purchase of squirrel repellent to your car, but you were wrong. Minutes later the scanner is not working properly and you have to wait on an attendant to fix the problem. Waiting. Everyone has to wait: for events, weddings, promotions, graduations, and groceries. In his new book The In-Between, author Jeff Goins examines waiting, the in-between time between what’s past and what’s next.

Goins captures the longing of our own hearts as we eagerly wait for the next big thing but miss the opportunity for what’s right in front of us. He writes, “We all want a great story to tell our grandchildren. But many of us fail to recognize that the best moments are the ones happening right now” (p. 17). Written with a moving narrative about early memories of waiting, discovering that slowing down in Seville was better for his life, and fondly appreciating the full wisdom of two elderly church members, this book is sure to open your eyes wide if you are willing to slow down to take it all in.

Goins immediately confronts the tension of searching for the big story but missing what’s in front of our noses in the first chapter by relaying a story about an exchange trip to Seville. Early on we meet Loli, a Spanish woman who bakes amazing tostado, takes her time with Our Daily Bread in the morning, and offers her entire house to two boys (Goins and his roommate Daniel). The frenetic pace of seeking to squeeze out every minute in Seville left Goins tired. For this reason, he writes, “Life’s mundane moments—ordinary times of TV-watching (with Loli) and breakfast-eating—can be embraced as a slow, deliberate, beautiful way of life if we pay attention and see what’s really there” (p. 39). In all his striving for adventure, staying at home with his host family brought more dividends than any jaunt to the nearby club for Goins. And this—the beauty in the ordinary, grace in the mundane—is at the heart of the book’s message. Often, we get the picture that life is only fully lived with our necks straining toward the finish line and our last gasp of energy exerted. Yet this bewildering pace leaves us weary of seeing the in-between moments whether they be enjoying a slice of baked bread or enjoying our child’s smile after a game of Chutes and Ladders.

Brimming with hope, Goins weaves together the story of when he was playing in a band and, having a few days off in NYC, visited St. Paul’s Cathedral. This church “had miraculously survived the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011—despite the fact that it was in the heart of Ground Zero” (p. 69). Hope in an unlikely place was St. Paul’s Cathedral smack dab in the middle of the rubble. For Jeff, this reminder of hope between the big concerts and travel was where God was working in his life. For “God cared more about who I was becoming than what I was doing at the time” (p. 69). The realization in the seemingly quiet moments between the roaring of life’s powerful engine that God is molding us in profound ways is earth-shattering for many. Goins helps us see that there is a reorientation of our entire person, from our passions to our mindful meanderings when we slow down to relish the times in-between. Yet this happens to us through small seemingly insignificant moments.

My only main critique of the book is related to the theme of waiting in the larger stories we believe. I resonate with the author’s struggle between waiting and the thing that comes next. Yet I also wonder how larger narratives like the story of Israel sojourning in the wilderness, waiting in expectation, often grumbling, relate to this major theme of seeking wisdom in the moments in between.

Throughout the book are short snippets of the lives of many people who are battling with the hopes for the future and relishing the time in-between. With wisdom and storytelling that makes you want to read it again, The In-Between is a wise and strengthening read.

The bombardment of media coverage regarding issues regarding global warming, climate change, and ... more The bombardment of media coverage regarding issues regarding global warming, climate change, and environmental politics assault the modern viewer at every angle. From progressive to conservative viewpoints, we are facing a crisis as to which voice is most trustworthy and worth our attention. At the same time, believers of every Christian tradition recognize the need for judicious analysis of the climate change quandary. Into the mass of connective tissue that holds together climate change politics steps Michael S. Northcott, Professor of Ethics at the University of Edinburgh. His new book, A Political Theology of Climate Change, is a riveting in-depth analysis of both anthropogenic climate change and theological reflection on creation. Rather than run the risk of bringing out the outmoded conflict of political polarizing views on the climate change issue, Northcott provides the reader with both the climate change science that is behind the issues and counters the philosophical underpinnings of the view that nature and culture, science and ethics are at odds with each other at their foundations. Engaging with writers as broad as J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl Schmitt, Bruno Latour, and Alasdair MacIntyre, Northcott digs deeply into climate change science and deeply reflects on the world that God has made including his good creation.

Papers by spencer cummins

Religious Studies Review, 2014

Social engagement, social action, and social justice are buzzwords spurring a new wave of scholar... more Social engagement, social action, and social justice are buzzwords spurring a new wave of scholarship. This newest addition to the conversation investigates the place, contributions, and future of social engagement among Evangelicals. Given the stigma of quietism or narrow focus on a few issues often applied to Evangelicals, the essays describe a "new" Evangelicalism that is broader, more diverse, global, and not so easily pigeonholed. The collection begins by describing recent movements and developments including social engagement among college students, Catholic Evangelicals, women, and political trends. A second set of essays identifies

My review of the In-Between covers Jeff's insistence that waiting is common thread in everyone's ... more My review of the In-Between covers Jeff's insistence that waiting is common thread in everyone's life. Not only is waiting important, but it is in the crucible of waiting that we learn to really live

and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said and done b... more and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said and done by the Lord. For he had not heard the Lord, nor had followed him, but later on, followed Peter, who used to give teaching as necessity demanded but not making, as it were, an arrangement of the Lord's oracles, so that Mark did nothing wrong in thus writing down single points as he remembered them. For to one thing he gave attention, to leave out nothing of what he had heard and to make no false statements in them." 3. Mark wrote for a Gentile audience. 1. Explained Jewish customs and practices. 2.

Perhaps you thought the self-checkout lane at Lowe’s was the quick route from your purchase of sq... more Perhaps you thought the self-checkout lane at Lowe’s was the quick route from your purchase of squirrel repellent to your car, but you were wrong. Minutes later the scanner is not working properly and you have to wait on an attendant to fix the problem. Waiting. Everyone has to wait: for events, weddings, promotions, graduations, and groceries. In his new book The In-Between, author Jeff Goins examines waiting, the in-between time between what’s past and what’s next.

Goins captures the longing of our own hearts as we eagerly wait for the next big thing but miss the opportunity for what’s right in front of us. He writes, “We all want a great story to tell our grandchildren. But many of us fail to recognize that the best moments are the ones happening right now” (p. 17). Written with a moving narrative about early memories of waiting, discovering that slowing down in Seville was better for his life, and fondly appreciating the full wisdom of two elderly church members, this book is sure to open your eyes wide if you are willing to slow down to take it all in.

Goins immediately confronts the tension of searching for the big story but missing what’s in front of our noses in the first chapter by relaying a story about an exchange trip to Seville. Early on we meet Loli, a Spanish woman who bakes amazing tostado, takes her time with Our Daily Bread in the morning, and offers her entire house to two boys (Goins and his roommate Daniel). The frenetic pace of seeking to squeeze out every minute in Seville left Goins tired. For this reason, he writes, “Life’s mundane moments—ordinary times of TV-watching (with Loli) and breakfast-eating—can be embraced as a slow, deliberate, beautiful way of life if we pay attention and see what’s really there” (p. 39). In all his striving for adventure, staying at home with his host family brought more dividends than any jaunt to the nearby club for Goins. And this—the beauty in the ordinary, grace in the mundane—is at the heart of the book’s message. Often, we get the picture that life is only fully lived with our necks straining toward the finish line and our last gasp of energy exerted. Yet this bewildering pace leaves us weary of seeing the in-between moments whether they be enjoying a slice of baked bread or enjoying our child’s smile after a game of Chutes and Ladders.

Brimming with hope, Goins weaves together the story of when he was playing in a band and, having a few days off in NYC, visited St. Paul’s Cathedral. This church “had miraculously survived the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011—despite the fact that it was in the heart of Ground Zero” (p. 69). Hope in an unlikely place was St. Paul’s Cathedral smack dab in the middle of the rubble. For Jeff, this reminder of hope between the big concerts and travel was where God was working in his life. For “God cared more about who I was becoming than what I was doing at the time” (p. 69). The realization in the seemingly quiet moments between the roaring of life’s powerful engine that God is molding us in profound ways is earth-shattering for many. Goins helps us see that there is a reorientation of our entire person, from our passions to our mindful meanderings when we slow down to relish the times in-between. Yet this happens to us through small seemingly insignificant moments.

My only main critique of the book is related to the theme of waiting in the larger stories we believe. I resonate with the author’s struggle between waiting and the thing that comes next. Yet I also wonder how larger narratives like the story of Israel sojourning in the wilderness, waiting in expectation, often grumbling, relate to this major theme of seeking wisdom in the moments in between.

Throughout the book are short snippets of the lives of many people who are battling with the hopes for the future and relishing the time in-between. With wisdom and storytelling that makes you want to read it again, The In-Between is a wise and strengthening read.

The bombardment of media coverage regarding issues regarding global warming, climate change, and ... more The bombardment of media coverage regarding issues regarding global warming, climate change, and environmental politics assault the modern viewer at every angle. From progressive to conservative viewpoints, we are facing a crisis as to which voice is most trustworthy and worth our attention. At the same time, believers of every Christian tradition recognize the need for judicious analysis of the climate change quandary. Into the mass of connective tissue that holds together climate change politics steps Michael S. Northcott, Professor of Ethics at the University of Edinburgh. His new book, A Political Theology of Climate Change, is a riveting in-depth analysis of both anthropogenic climate change and theological reflection on creation. Rather than run the risk of bringing out the outmoded conflict of political polarizing views on the climate change issue, Northcott provides the reader with both the climate change science that is behind the issues and counters the philosophical underpinnings of the view that nature and culture, science and ethics are at odds with each other at their foundations. Engaging with writers as broad as J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl Schmitt, Bruno Latour, and Alasdair MacIntyre, Northcott digs deeply into climate change science and deeply reflects on the world that God has made including his good creation.

Religious Studies Review, 2014

Social engagement, social action, and social justice are buzzwords spurring a new wave of scholar... more Social engagement, social action, and social justice are buzzwords spurring a new wave of scholarship. This newest addition to the conversation investigates the place, contributions, and future of social engagement among Evangelicals. Given the stigma of quietism or narrow focus on a few issues often applied to Evangelicals, the essays describe a "new" Evangelicalism that is broader, more diverse, global, and not so easily pigeonholed. The collection begins by describing recent movements and developments including social engagement among college students, Catholic Evangelicals, women, and political trends. A second set of essays identifies

My review of the In-Between covers Jeff's insistence that waiting is common thread in everyone's ... more My review of the In-Between covers Jeff's insistence that waiting is common thread in everyone's life. Not only is waiting important, but it is in the crucible of waiting that we learn to really live