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Faith and You

28 Short Essays on Faith in Everyday Life

by Terry Pluto

  • Format: Hardcover, 176 pages, 5.3 x 8 inches
  • ISBN: 978-1-59851-015-7
  • Price: $19.95

Where to Buy

Description

“Sometimes I wish my minister would read his column instead of the sermon!”

That's the kind of response Terry Pluto draws from devoted readers of his weekly faith column in the Akron Beacon Journal. A sportswriter by trade, Pluto has earned a reputation for his award-winning sports commentary. But in the past five years, his down-to-earth musings on more heavenly subjects have also drawn a large and growing audience.

This followup to his previous book, Everyday Faith, offers 28 all-new thoughtful essays on faith in everyday life—practical topics such as how to choose a church, learning that it's OK to say No to people, even planning a funeral.

“I'm a sportswriter, not a theologian. I never imagined being a faith writer. I'm still amazed when I speak in churches, or when people come to me with questions about faith.”

Perhaps it's precisely because Pluto doesn't claim to have the answers that so many readers are drawn to his faith writing.

“Real faith writing should be about real life,” Pluto says. “I write as much about my failures as my triumphs, because that is what a life of faith is about. It's often as much suffering as celebration, with lots of mundane, everyday stuff in between.”

“I write for people who may have been hurt by someone in church, people who have been discouraged by one who claimed to speak for God . . . I write for people who have found contentment in their faith but want a deeper relationship with God.”

Reviews
    With its mix of humor, biblical wisdom, and personal reflections, Pluto's book just might be 'the right way at the right time.' . . . Pluto's commonsense approach to writing about faith is one of the most refreshing things about this book . . . The focus is on the simple, everyday questions of faith that are often neglected during the church service, but that are important in the lives of the faithful. The common bond between all of the short essays is Pluto's honest, matter-of-fact approach to writing about religion. He never comes across as preachy, and is the first to admit that he is not perfect . . . Perhaps Pluto's greatest strength is his ability to relate to the reader . . . His appeal in this book comes from the fact that he is one of us: an average guy who works a steady job, has a wife and tries to be good person. Faith is a touchy subject, but Pluto writes like a friend, making the book as accessible as it is powerful. Pluto supports his contemporary musings on faith with biblical verses. In addition, he includes words of wisdom from local religious leaders . . . for friends and family of any denomination. — Akron Life & Leisure
    Pluto's take on things is down-to-earth, as befits his other persona as sportswriter, without being preachy or boring. — Morning Journal
    When I nod in agreement with a point that has been made, laugh at a story or make a mental note about a topic, then I know a book is good. When I see my family, friends and neighbors reflected in the persons involved, then I know a book is even better. Terry Pluto has done both.

    In his new book “Faith and You,” he takes what is preached on Sundays and moves it into the family room, where friends are gathered around talking and sipping coffee. By answering and exploring questions of doubt, prayer, and the relationship between us and God, Pluto succeeds in bringing faith into the every day act of living. And while he writes, Pluto admits he doesn't know all the answers. He falls just as often as he succeeds and that there have been times when he knows what the right thing to do is, but doesn't want to do it. This makes him incredibly human.

    Some chapters reaffirmed what I already knew about faith. Others explored a topic in new ways. My one complaint about the book was its length. It needs to be longer. — Maple Heights Press
About Terry Pluto

Terry Pluto is a sports columnist for the Plain Dealer. He has twice been honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the nation's top sports columnist for medium-sized newspapers. He is a nine-time winner of the Ohio Sports Writer of the Year award and has received more than 50 state and local writing awards. In 2005 he was inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame. He is the author of 23 books, including The Curse of Rocky Colavito (selected by the New York Times as one of the five notable sports books of 1989), and Loose Balls, which was ranked number 13 on Sports Illustrated's list of the top 100 sports books of all time. He was called “Perhaps the best American writer of sports books,” by the Chicago Tribune in 1997. He lives with his wife, Roberta, in Akron, Ohio. More About Terry Pluto

Contains References to:

Akron Beacon Journal, Christian writing, Sports and Christianity, Terry Pluto ,

Other books by Terry Pluto:
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