Sarah Cunningham

Sarah Cunningham — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:26:55 +0000

Are we tiresome museums of faith?

Photo by divemasterking2000

It took me at least twenty-eight years to realize that faith should involve ongoing change. And another year to get around to changing.

Can you relate to any of that? I sure can. It’s from a book I recently finished reading, Picking Dandelions: A Search for Eden Among Life’s Weeds, by Sarah Cunningham (she also wrote Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation).

Although my own childhood faith experience differed from Cunningham’s—she grew up as a pastor’s kid, in a more conservative church—the book really got me thinking about some of my earliest perceptions of church and God, and what I imagined he really wanted from me.

For instance, I always thought there was a right way to live—a right way to be a Christian—and my goal was to figure it out as quickly as I could. Once I had it figured out, I would be golden. Sitting pretty. Ready to ace every test, like a math wiz who has fully grasped all the formulas and only has to plug in the numbers.

This idea, of course, has some flaws. For one, it assumes that we should all be striving to ultimately live the same way. Not only would that make for an incredibly boring world, but it seems pretty clear that God didn’t create the world to work that way.

Another problem with my childhood aspirations is that they didn’t allow room for ongoing change—my concept assumed that you reach that singular ideal and then freeze. All it takes is another look at the world to know God didn’t have that in mind, either. It’s not like a tree grows until it is perfectly shaped and proportioned, and then stays that way until one day it drops dead. And it’s not like our greatest philosophers and theologians fully grasp the meaning of “all this,” write it all in one perfect book, and then that’s the pinnacle of their careers.

It seems pretty clear that we’re in the midst of an ongoing process of change, from birth to death. And it’s not a straight path that takes you from wrong to right, either. It’s a meandering path, with multiple “right” routes.

From transformation to re-transformation

Cunningham addresses change in a compelling, personal way in my favorite chapter of her struggling-with-faith memoir—what I would call her “Conversion (again)” chapter. “After decades of living as a converted person, I am badly in need of further converting.”

Whether or not you’re a fan of the word “conversion” (I’m not, particularly), this is a realization I know well. The moment I think I have arrived—processed my mistakes, admitted my faults, learned the ultimate life lesson, offered myself as completely pliable to God—I suddenly am able to see how far I have to go.

As Cunningham wrestles with the state of her lifelong faith, she starts thinking about stagnancy and change, launching into a discussion with God (on her porch, I might add—I have to approve of anyone who loves porches).

A person shouldn’t really claim to be connected to you if they stay the same year after year after year. Should they?

She continues musing, in her wry way: “…somehow, many of us—and I’m not necessarily saying me—have been willing to accept this same lack of change in the spiritual realm,” and bemoans people who treat others poorly yet proudly wear the “faith” label—“Like faith is just some sort of social label that is in no way linked to transformation.”

Transformation. That’s a word I can get behind. (I’ll have to think more about my issues with “conversion,” and write a post on that later.)

Time to abandon the museum

As I continue to reflect on all of this transformation, I’m going to carry this metaphor around with me for a while:

My faith, I knew, often just sat there, unused in the container of my body…. I began to think of myself as a museum. A terrible, obsolete and tiresome museum that was nothing more than a stiff, shellacked collection of Sunday school prizes and witnessing bracelets from the 1980s.

I know that over the past five or so years I’ve been doing some major spring cleaning in my faith museum. My dumpster is filling up with all sorts of dusty, worn-out ideas. But I still have a long way to go.

And there’s always that other danger, too—the danger that I’ll become so sure of my new way of seeing things that I’ll proudly construct a new museum collection…which will soon be useless. I think it’s time to get rid of that old building, all together. What do you think?

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Notes from My Not-Empty Life

Sarah Cunningham — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:42:20 +0000

No week in my life is ever not full. Whether its helping a friend with his stellar upcoming book, learning about how to put your house up for sale BY OWNER (and whether that is smart) or watching my son empty two kleenex boxes in one day, there is no such thing as an EMPTY day.

On top of the usual norms,of course, is that the speaking tour for Picking Dandelions is still in force. But there are only a few events left before I call it quits for a while. There’s a book signing at a Grand Opening in West Michigan, a local church service, a MISE workshop or two and a series of events in Wisconsin before its all over (learn more under the SCHEDULE tab in the main menu bar).

AND, while I’m talking about events, let me also put it out there that Catalyst One Day will be going on in Seattle the 26th (come join me!) and Story in Chicago (where I’ll be running the Resources area) is just around the corner in September.

Come end of summer, then, I will be winding down the tour and getting back to more regular hellos and how are yous on this blog. Which by the way is in the middle of a redesign by Mission Igniters.

All of that said, the Blog Tour is also still in full force. This week, we hear from Barbara Lane, Christy Wong and Holly Roberts.

Make sure to take a look at the ever-expanding Summer Reading List (progressively added upon by all these reviewers) in the post that follows too.

Blow some dandelions around for me this summer!
Sarah

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More Books Than You Will Ever No What To Do With

Sarah Cunningham — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:45:58 +0000

Here is the updated Summer Reading list with this week’s new picks:

(If you would like to participate in the Picking Dandelions Summer Reading Tour, please just send an email to sarahraymondcunningham (at) gmail (d0t) com).

1. So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore – suggested by blogger, Katrina Sinift

2.Atonement Child by Francine River – suggested by blogger, Katrina Sinift

3. Ocean’s Apart by Karen Kingsbury - suggested by blogger, Katrina Sinift

4. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok – suggested by blogger, Ellen Painter Dollar

5. The Stand by Stephen King – suggested by blogger, Ellen Painter Dollar

6. The entire Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling – suggested by blogger, Ellen Painter Dollar

7. Plan B by Pete Wilson – suggested by blogger, Sherie Drew

8. War of Words by Paul David Tripp – suggested by blogger, Sherie Drew

9. The Fisherman by Larry Huntsperger – suggested by blogger, Sherie Drew

10. Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex and Brett Harris – suggested by blogger, Erica Day

11. Storm Warning by Billy Graham – suggested by blogger, Erica Day

12. The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception - suggested by blogger, Erica Day

13. Jane Austen by Peter Leithart (inspiring biography of Jane Austen) – suggested by blogger, Shelby Clarke

14. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers – suggested by blogger, Shelby Clarke

15. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe – suggested by blogger, Shelby Clarke

16. Demon: a memoir by Tosca Lee – suggested by blogger, Shelby Clarke

17. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen – suggested by blogger, Shelby Clarke

18. Stuff Christians Like by Jonathan Acuff – suggested by blogger, Joanna Muses

19. Permission to Speak Freely by Anne Jackson – suggested by blogger, Joanna Muses

20. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller – suggested by blogger, Joanna Muses

21. Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman – suggested by blogger, Dave Writes Right

22. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery- suggested by blogger, Lynn McMonigal

23. Before the Season Ends by Linore Rose Burkard – suggested by blogger, Lynn McMonigal

24. Waiting for Daybreak by Kathryn Cushman – suggested by blogger, Lynn McMonigal

25. The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard- suggested by blogger, Doug Young

26. The Jesus Way: A Conversation in the Way that Jesus is the Way by Eugene Peterson – suggested by blogger, Doug Young

27. Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by Mark Batterson – suggested by blogger, Doug Young

28. Crazy Love by Francis Chan – suggested by blogger, Lyn Smith

29. Wide Awake by Erwin McManus – suggested by blogger, Lyn Smith

30. The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel – - suggested by blogger, Lyn Smith

31. Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer – suggested by blogger, Barbara Lane

32. Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet – suggested by blogger, Barbara Lane (really, she says the whole series is beautiful)

33. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott – suggested by blogger, Barbara Lane

34. Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers (and watch for Her Daughter’s Dream in September!) – suggested by blogger, Christy Wong

35. Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos – suggested by blogger, Christy Wong

36. Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes – - suggested by blogger, Christy Wong

37. The Orphaned Anything’s: Memoir of a Lesser Known by Stephen Christian – suggested by blogger, Holly Roberts

38. My Name Is Chloe by Melody Carlson – suggested by blogger, Holly Roberts

39. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty – suggested by blogger, Holly Roberts

40. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller – suggested by blogger, Holly Roberts

NOTE:Obviously I haven’t read all the books above. I am just passing on the recommendation to you. Read at your own pleasure and at your own risk. =)

Would you like to participate in the Friends of Picking Dandelions summer blog tour and add your own book recommendations? Just email your name, blog and address to sarahraymondcunningham (at) gmail (dot) com.

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27 Titles and Counting

Sarah Cunningham — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 16:38:24 +0000

Well, I’m back from the west coast leg of the live, in-person book tour.

But my readers of course are still faithfully trekking on with the blog tour while I crash to do laundry. :)

You may have heard that I’ve invited them to not only review Picking Dandelions on their blogs, but to help compile a Summer Reading List packed with books to enjoy on a sunny day.

This week’s contributions start with Joanna Muses, a great mix of blogs about faith and life that offers 37 book reviews you might want to check out. Also throwing in some commentary is David Wheeler, the writer and reviewer from Dave Writes Right and my own hometown local, Lynn McMonigal.

In addition to these voices, Pastor Doug Young and blogger Lyn Smith provided some feedback as well.