Ten: Words of Life for an Addicted, Compulsive, Cynical, Divided and Worn-Out Culture - Softcover

Gladding, Sean

Softcover

ISBN 10: 083083656X ISBN 13: 9780830836567

Publisher: IVP, 2013

Synopsis

To most people living in today's world, the Ten Commandments represent archaic rules dictated by a taskmaster God, meant for a society long gone. Many see them as irrelevant, even unattainable, today. But what if we're not that different from those who gathered around Moses as he handed down God's Ten Words to his people? What if they were never meant to be a set of rules, but instead a promise of a covenant relationship? In Ten, Sean Gladding invites you into the story of John, a pastor who spends his mornings in a local coffee shop, as he engages the viewpoints of regular people who wonder at the relevance and meaning of those Ten Words today. Sit in on their lively, heart-felt conversations as they tackle each Word over a cup of coffee and realize the hope of God's promises to his chosen people―yesterday, today and forever.

About this title

About the Author

Sean Gladding is from Norwich, England, but has spent most of his adult life in the United States. He is a storyteller, and his passion in writing is to (re)introduce people to the beautiful, challenging, messy and often confusing Story to be found in the Bible, as well as to address some of the harmful ways that Story has been told. He and his family make their home in Lexington, Kentucky, where they grow food with others, raise chickens, kick a soccer ball around when it's dry, and play board games when it's wet.

Review

"I have read Ten with great interest. Two things in particular struck me. First the way Sean shows how the 'rules' are in the service of a relationship. And second, the way Sean weaves the commandments into real life situations with real people. The latter is a special pastoral gift." Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

"Gladding brilliantly exposes how fragile we are in the face of cultural, political, psychological and spiritual forces that militate against our freedom and set us back on our journey toward becoming fully human. This creative and timely work upends the myth that the Ten Commandments are onerously restrictive, and reveals what God intended the Law to be--a pathway to the joy that is our birthright." (Ian Morgan Cron, author of Chasing Francis)

"Sean Gladding reveals to us a grand biblical narrative refracted through ordinary people's stories. Like light reflected in broken shards of glass, the purity of God's vision for a peaceful, generous, restful, faithful world is described through the struggles and anxieties of everyday folk. You've never heard the Ten Commandments taught quite like this." (Michael Frost, author, The Shaping of Things to Come and Exiles)

"Integrity is a lost art form--or better still, it is a lost life guide. Maybe biblical integrity is as much about loving our culture, world and neighbor as it is about personal holiness. Sean Gladding has taken his love for God and love of the other and invited each of us into a deeper spiritual devotion through the pages of Ten." (Tony Kriz, author of Welcome to the Table and Neighbors and Wise Men)

"Ten is a book for people interested in finding a better way to live. I love the Ten Words and this fresh look at the ancient biblical text of the Ten Commandments. But mostly, I love Sean's perspective. It reminds me of something I tend to forget: Whether we worship in a meeting room with a Big Book or in a congregation that studies the Bible, we humans are more alike than we are different. We are at our best when we are encouraging one another to live well. I give it a ten." (Teresa McBean, executive director, National Association for Christian Recovery)

"Sean Gladding has done it again. In this immensely readable book, the goodness of God and the relevance of Scripture shine through. Sean draws us into a community of honest conversation by masterfully weaving together believable characters, biblical stories, theology and cultural reflection. As the story of Pastor John's Monday-morning coffee-shop group unfolds, the reader is helped to see that the Ten Commandments are an invitation to live in true freedom. I hope this book will be read and discussed widely, both inside and outside the church." (Lindsay Olesberg, author of The Bible Study Handbook)

Edition details

• Publisher: IVP
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 083083656X
• ISBN 13: 9780830836567
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 266