Career Aside

Under the Unpredictable Plant by Eugene Peterson, Eerdmans, $18.95

Reviewed by David Hansen, pastor, Belgrade Community Church, Belgrade, Montana.

Trying to speed-read this book reminds me of a two-hundred mile drive I once took to a retreat center. There I would spend a few days walking, praying, resting, meditating. I was cruising down a wide-open Montana highway, pedal to the floor, pushing to arrive on time, when blazing-blue lights flashed in my rearview mirror.

I got a ticket for speeding to a retreat for quiet and contemplation.

After I cooled down from being ticketed, I realized I needed to slow down. Not so that I didn't get another ticket, but so that I wouldn't waste another second. By slowing down I began to notice where I actually was: the pines, the river, the big sky. I started to notice God. I started to pray. My retreat began on the way.

In Under the Unpredictable Plant, Eugene Peterson arrests speeding pastors, urging them to slow down to pray. This is not a book ...