Overview

Jesus' invitation is simple enough: ""Come, follow me"" (Matthew 4:19). But both the conditions of our culture and the conditions of our hearts can make following him difficult. We need help re-tuning our hearts to the good news of Jesus and the, often, slow ways of God. The habit of reading fiction can serve as one of our greatest allies. A good book can open our own stories in new ways. Reading slows us down. It invites us to pay attention to the details of life. And following Jesus only happens in the details. We can only walk in faith, hope, and love within the unique circumstances of our lives. Inspired by the wisdom and wonder of writers like Wendell Berry, James McBride, and Marilynne Robinson, All Swirling and Weaving models how the reading life can help us see the ways God is at work in our own stories. With humor, vulnerability, and a pastoral heart, Douglas Basler weaves together the fruit of reading twelve contemporary novels with Biblical reflection and experiences from his own life and ministry. Fiction has the power to renew our Christian imagination in ways other reading does not.

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Reviews

""In a world of blustering, rumpus, platform-infatuated pastors and writers, it is both joy and balm to encounter a pastor who knows the way of beauty (both with sentences and with people). These pages do what good writers and good pastors are supposed to do: open the world's doors wide, beckon us out, and help us revel in all the wonder and holiness. We need more of these kinds of words in the world."" --Winn Collier, Director, Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination ""Good reading ennobles us, gives us the imaginative resources to scale what Rilke called 'the mountains of the heart.' Doug Basler knows this. Knows that curious, attentive, deep reading has the power to put us in conversation with our own lives in ways that might bring about what the New Testament calls metanoia--a changing of the mind that changes everything. All Swirling and Weaving is a valuable witness and apprenticeship to this critical skill. Highly recommended."" --Andrew Arndt, Lead Pastor, New Life East ""As Flannery O'Connor might have said, a good pastor is hard to find. But we've found a fine one in Douglas Basler, both in his service and in his writing. As you taste his reflections on the novels that undergird his ministry, you will not just want to read these works of fiction yourself; you will also want to emulate Doug Basler's care for the ragged souls that are all around us--and within."" --Paul J. Willis, author of To Build a Trail ""The first time I heard Doug read an excerpt of an essay that would appear in this book was at a reading one night near Lake Michigan. The tone of the room changed after Doug started to read, because he has a clear, understated, and profound way of merging ideas and context. Suddenly, we were all paying attention. Like that first reading, I loved this writing. All Swirling All Weaving gives readers permission to slow down, be present, and take notice. In a frenetic and divided culture, this book is a gulp of fresh water. This collection meets readers where we are in a voice that is personal, pastoral, and profoundly human."" --Sara Billups, author of Nervous Systems

Author Information

Douglas Basler is a Presbyterian pastor in Des Moines, Iowa. He holds a doctor of ministry in the Sacred Art of Writing from The Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary and an MDiv from Gordon-Conwell. He has written for Leadership Journal, Ekstasis Magazine, The Presbyterian Outlook, and The Rabbit Room. Basler and his wife, Katie, have three children.

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