2012 is a year for "bringing our faith into focus" at  Plainfield United Methodist. This year of learning will help participants articulate more clearly what they believe and why. Each month throughout the year, PUMC pastors will recommend books to encourage a deeper understanding of our faith.

Books may be purchased at the Resource Center in the south lobby at PUMC or from your favorite book retailer.

In February Pastors Colin and Elizabeth Recommend...

Opening the Bible, by Thomas Merton. “Opening the Bible gives an excellent frame of reference from which to read the Bible. Merton clearly addresses what the Bible is and what it is not, what to expect and what not to expect. Merton wholeheartedly accepts that the Bible can be shocking, boring, questioning, and tedious. But at the same time he doesn't want readers to simply disregard that which doesn't make sense in one momentary reading. Instead he encourages readers to accept the Bible in its wholeness even though they may not understand all of it at once.

The Bible Makes Sense, by Walter Brueggemann. “In The Bible Makes Sense  Brueggemann proposes that Christians should approach the Bible not as a collection of ancient documents, but as our partner in an ongoing dialog about our life here and now. In it he discusses the issues of the Bible being as much a set of questions as of answers, of being a statement of presuppositions as opposed to conclusions, and the Bible as a living document in a community of confessing people who look to it as a resource for faith. Suggestions for reflection, discussion, and meditation on particular passages provide outlines for group study and for the individual reader's own prayerful Bible reading.”

January Recommended Reading...

A Generous Orthodoxy, by Brian D. McLaren

Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis