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Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

2/27/2017

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J.D. Vance is a hillbilly. At least that's how he would refer to himself. It's an odd description of oneself since hillbillies usually do not conjure up admiring images in most American minds. Typically, some combination of the Beverly Hillbillies and the banjo playing child from Deliverance flashes in our mind. While some truths maybe be lined in those hillbilly characterizations, they are certainly not an exhaustive representation.

Hillbilly Elegy is the memoir of J.D. Vance. J.D. is a product of the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky and the Ohio Rust Belt. J.D.'s Grandparents (Mamaw and Papa) left the mountains of Kentucky for Southern Ohio, after World War II, in search for a better life. In a lot of ways they found it, in many ways they didn't.

J.D. grew up with his mom and a revolving door or male companions she cycled through. After his biological father left the family when he was young, J.D. was constantly saddled with the feeling of if not when the next male figure would make his exit. Between the constant emotional wrestling from living with his abusive and drug addicted mother, and the shuffling of men in his life, stability is not something J.D. was well aquatinted with. If that was not enough of an obstacle to overcome, J.D. found himself caught in a downward spiral of two worlds. He was influenced by the hillbilly culture that was formed in the "holler", and now was trying to survive in a postindustrial Midwestern town. His hillbilly culture taught him that screaming, fighting, and running away was an acceptable avenue for conflict resolution. You upheld your families honor with brutal violence. You spoke of hard work, God, and patriotism even if you didn't always display those virtues or see that lived out around you. He learned firsthand that addiction and failed marriages are a common occurrence. In his postindustrial Ohio town he learned that chasing your dreams is meant for other people, other towns. He learned that the outlook for kids like him is bleak, and nothing around him indicates otherwise. Pessimism is not just and outlook, but a way of life. Yet from those life lessons and circumstances, J.D. Vance graduated from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. From a place where dreams were not just crushed, but dreams were never even had, J.D. Vance dream was realized. To get knocked down and still get up is commendable, but to pull yourself up and out of, when every statistic and circumstance is pulling you back down, that's a miracle. That’s the story of J.D. Vance.


Memoirs are quite possibly my favorite genre of book, so I am kind of a memoir snob. In addition to that, I have heard nothing but praise for this book. I was ready to be disappointed. I couldn't have been more pointed (that's the opposite of disappointed right?). Hillbilly Elegy is a wonderfully written and insightful book. While this is the story of a particular person, Vance does a wonderful job of using his and his family’s experience, to paint a picture of Southern Appalachian sub-culture. Of course, this won’t represent everyone, but provided a perspective into a culture I had little experience with. Vance's ability to provide insight came of particular interest to me in the light of our last Presidential election. Again, that is not to say his experience and perception represents all and can explain a broad and complex issue, but it was insightful to say the least. I was also impressed with Vance's ability to walk the cliffs edge of describing his experiences, but also periodically interjecting his thoughts and assessments on particular issues, especially now that he is on the other side of the experience. While I can appreciate letting the details speak for themselves and allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions, I am also always curious on the author’s analysis of the situation. They have lived an experience that I haven't, and I am reading not only for the story, but for their thoughts as well. Hillbilly Elegy is a prime example of how one can tell a story and give an opinion simultaneously.

One of the conclusions Vance presented, that I appriciated, is the way we (society) typically take an either or approach to problems. Let’s take poverty as an example. Historically, liberals will conclude that this particular problem is due to oppressive societal factors (i.e. it’s out of the persons control), while conservatives will conclude that the issue is due to personal choices and lack of personal responsibility (i.e. it’s all due to the personal choices). Yet, it’s absurd to think a problem like poverty is singularly an "either" society "or" personal choice issue. The possibility that it could be both gets lost in the desire to be right. Of course it can, and probably most often is, due to both factors! The percentage of each factor will likely fluctuate from situation to situation, but the quicker we can realize that both issues needs to be addressed, the faster we can actually effect change. It's possible to promote social equality and personal responsibility in the same breath.

One critique I did have of the book was his seemingly inconsistent assessment of Christianity. It was not his conclusions on if Christianity was true or not, but his seemingly inconsistent critiquing of how people expressed their faith. Vance was very critical of his father’s legalistic expression on his faith (personally I agreed with Vance). However, he didn't seem to apply the same critique to his Mamaw for her verbal expression of faith in God, but showing no daily discernible signs of how that faith impacted her life. If we are going to be critical of those who profess faith and live it out with an oppressive legalistic expression, we need to apply those same standards to those who profess a faith and yet don't show any signs of it in their daily lives. Both approaches can be hypocritical, but he seemed to take issue with just one.

Hillbilly Elegy lived up to the hype for me. It gave me a lot to think about and provided a perspective into a culture I knew little about. I think this is an excellent read for anyone today. Not because everyone will agree with it, but because it does a wonderful job of providing a perspective, and sometimes perspective does wonders

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Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel By Russell Moore

2/17/2017

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"American Culture is shifting, it seems, into a different era, An era in which religion is not necessarily seen as a social good. Christianity in its historic, apostolic form is increasingly seen as socially awkward at best, as subversive at worst."

In Russell Moore's newest book Onward: Engaging the Culture without loosing the Gospel, he attempts to navigate the apparent tension between Christianity and our current culture. Moore's main objective is to addressed the question of how do we engage with our current culture? To answer that, Moore first identifies two tactics the church has failed in using when engaging the culture.

First, we encounter the strategy that so conforms Christianity to the culture that it loses any distinctive flavor or qualities. The hope in this approach is to shed the "awkwardness" of christianity within the culture. But the problem with this approach is that from the very beginning Christianity has been awkward. The inherent tension of Christianity and the culture it lives in did not find its genesis in the last several decades. The narrow way has always been the narrow way. In fact, a Christianity that has lost its distinctiveness won't be any more appealing to the culture anyway. As Moore says it like this:

"We can not build Christian churches on sub-christian gospel. People who don't want Christianity, won't want an almost-christianity."

The uniqueness, the awkward contrast, of the gospel is what the culture will actually find attractive. The gospel will always stand out.

Second, Moore identifies a strategy of engaging the culture that is a toxic blend of Christianity and Patriotism. It's the strategy that tries to take us back to the days when our country was run on Christian values. Back to the so called good ol' days. This is another attempt to reduce the awkwardness and tension with our culture, but this time, by bring the culture to “us”. I find this strategy being deployed frequently with evangelicalism and it seems to be the driving force behind out recent "culture wars." There are a few problems with this approach. First, when in our history has the country truly embraced the gospel or did we just embrace the comfortable Christian Values (i.e. happy marriage, family, kids who listen, etc)? Moore describes it like this:

​"Christian values were always more popular in American culture than the Christian gospel. That's why one could speak of "God and Country" with great reception in almost era of the nation's history but would create cultural distance as soon as one mentioned "Christ and him crucified." God was always welcome in American culture. He was, after all, the Deity whose job it was to bless America. The God who must be approached through the mediation of the blood of Christ, however, was much more difficult to set to patriotic music or to "Amen" in a prayer at the Rotary Club."

Bring the culture back to these values by force of governmental laws does nothing if that’s the stand alone goal. (by the way, that does not mean we don't use the democratic process to bring about good social change that aligns with the values). Without the Christ centered gospel, these values mean nothing. Its just a religious facade. At times evangelicals can get so caught up in the "culture wars" that we forget that the United States of America culture is not the goal. The Kingdom and those sharing in its inheritance are. Culture changes when people change, not when governmental law changes. Moore articulates it again by saying:

"Our end goal is not a Christian America, either of the made-up past or the hoped-for future. Our goal is the kingdom of Christ, made up of every tribe, tongue, nation, and language."

Just as conforming Christianity to the culture is faulty, so can forcing the culture to conform to Christian values devoid of the gospel, or with a sub-gospel, can be just as disastrous. Moore again says:

"But it would be a tragedy to "get the right president", the "right Congress", and the wrong Christ. That's a very bad trade-off."

So how should we engage the culture? We engage with a Gospel Mission as our motive. The gospel is unique and will always be awkward in the culture. We engage while remembering Human Dignity as fellow image bearer of God. (I re-read this chapter twice it was so good.) We engage with Convictional Kindness speaking truth in love, with clarity, and seasoned with salt. We engage with a Gospel Counter-Revolution remembering the power of the gospel and that God uses people we least expect. As Moore puts it "the next Billy Graham might be drunk right now." When we have a Kingdom minded mission, treating each person with human dignity, speaking truth in love, and remembering how God uses sinners we can engage the culture effectively without losing our distinctive message.

When I finished this book I let it sit for a few days. I had some initial thoughts and feelings, but I wanted to make sure that I gave myself a few days to simmer on these. Its a heavy subject matter and I did not want to speak off the initial emotions after finishing the book. Now, 2 week removed, I still feel confident in saying that I have not read a book in recent memory that I thought more accurately, logically, and graciously dissects evangelical culture while giving us an outline for engaging culture we live in. The church has a powerful unique gospel message thats relevant and needed, and we can do that without coming off as a curmudgeon. I think this book is timely and is a desperately need message to current evangelicals. As we engage the culture we need to get back to what is ultimately important. Moore again puts it better than I can:

"Once Christianity is no longer seen as part and parcel of patriotism, the church must offer more than "What would Jesus do?" moralism and the "I vote values" populism to which we've grown accustomed."


I hope so, then we will be able to address with the culture the most important question. The question Jesus asked of Peter: "who do you say that I am."

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The Beyond Experience by Michael Reid Jr.

2/6/2017

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What if I told you that you could have one more conversation with a loved one that has passed? What if you no longer had to wonder  "if only?" What if it was possible for you to finally say "I love you" instead of missing your opportunity? What if I told you that you could go to heaven? What would you do? What would you give up? Would you do it? The Beyond Experience by Michael Reid Jr. sets his foundational plot with this premise while weaving together a story about love, redemption, friendship, deception, jealousy, and faith.

Dr. Ethan Lewis has created a groundbreaking treatment for anxiety and depression. With his trusted lab assistant Kyle, they begin researching the effectiveness of their treatment on patients. Dr. Lewis and Kyle push the limits of their treatment and stumble upon an amazing discovery.  Not only are their treatments 100% effective, all patients are describing eerily similar descriptions of what could only be characterized as heaven. Could patients possibly be gaining a momentary glimpse into heaven?  Dr. Lewis, a natural skeptic, is not so sure. Especially for a man who has never experienced the goodness of a so called God shine on him. The death of his fiancée and the beatings he experienced during his childhood are proof of that.  Dr. Lewis and Kyle explore the possibilities of this exciting treatment as they press farther into worlds unknown, each willing to assume the risks for their own selfish reasons.  But this type of power, this type of experience in the wrong hands could be disastrous.  Because of this treatment, Dr. Lewis, Kyle, and their staff will experience love and hate, loyalty and betrayal, curiosity and greed, gain and loss, and the earth and what is beyond.

The Beyond Experience has everything you are looking for in a good novel.  A storyline that grips you from the beginning, relatable and lovable characters, twists and surprises that will keep your fingers anxiously awaiting to turn the next page. The author does an excellent job of immersing you in the world of medicine and medial research without overwhelming you with details and medial jargon.  You are easily swept away by the story and not bogged down by the technical aspect. In fact, don't let the medical suspense/Si-fi/ label scare you away.  This novel is more about love, friendship and redemption with a medical plot as its background.  The skeletal bones of this story capture the basic human questions we all deal with. What is love? What happens when we die?  Why do bad things happen?  This is why The Beyond Experience will appeal to a wide variety of readers.  We all share the same basic experiences in humanity.  

The Beyond Experience is a good combination of Romeo and Juliet plus Grey's Anatomy. When you are finished with this novel you will want to immediately start reading it again. I found myself echoing the words of Bryan McKnight: "and I started back at one." Chapter one that is.
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    I love everything about books. The feel of the page between your fingers, the sound of a book spine cracking, even the smell of an old dust jacket. Looking to share that passion with others.

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