The Mrs. & the Minister

A.L. Kennedy's The Drosten's Curse is not a Doctor Who novel I expected to enjoy.  I came to Doctor Who through the more recent regenerations, so returning to one of the classic Doctors -- in this case, the Fourth -- wasn't something I expected to enjoy.  But A.L. Kennedy has really captured the Doctor at his best. The Doctor is always whimsical , but the Fourth Doctor, especially at the tip of Kennedy's pen, is even more so.  The Time Lord that I've come to love is eccentric and sometimes even disjointed in the most charming of ways -- and Kennedy has given us all that and more in The Drosten's Curse . The story, as my husband informs me, is an expansion of an older short story written by Kennedy, about an ancient alien being that's causing all manner of disturbances on a golf course/spa hotel in Arbroath.  It's stirring up enough of a ruckus to attract the attention of the TARDIS and the Doctor, and he recruits an employee of the spa/hotel -...

Caleb Kaltenbach's Messy Grace:  How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others without Sacrificing Conviction is an important book in the struggling conversation about homosexuality in the Church.  Caleb Kaltenbach's parents divorced when he was but a toddler, both of them identifying with the LGBT movement.  In this semi-autobiographical book Caleb tells the unexpected story of how he went from a decision never to become a Christian to not just becoming a Christian , but a pastor . The first few chapters of Messy Grace offer a window into a real life -- Kaltenbach's life -- a life that began in the heart of the LGBT community (where clubs, parties, marches and the like were the norm).  A life that knows first-hand how graceless Christians can be toward that community.  A life that has lived the harsh truth:  Christians are often less loving toward their LGBT neighbors, in a way that diminishes the Gospel of Grace. So, make no doubt about it...