Everyday Faith: Practical Essays on Personal Faith and the Ethical Choices We Face in Daily Life (from the Pages of the Akron Beacon J [Hardcover]

Terry Pluto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2004

"Writing about religion can kill your career," a friend told sportswriter Terry Pluto.

"Don’t do it," advised media colleagues.

Pluto followed his conscience anyway and began writing a new column for the "Your Faith" section of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Turns out it was a good decision: now, thousands of loyal readers turn to his column each week for a regular dose of down-to-earth spiritual inspiration.

This book collects the best from the first three years of that popular column.

Really, though, Pluto doesn’t write about religion. He does write about church and about God. But mostly he writes about the important issues we all confront in everyday life. Like getting along with our siblings. Setting a better example for our children. Listening better to our spouses. How money makes us do silly things. The lure of gossip. Feeling lonely. Giving in to anger. How we feel when our prayers go unanswered.

Pluto writes from a very personal perspective, as when he discusses the vanity of his own approach to baldness, or reveals white lies he has used to make himself feel better, or describes the temptation to tell off his boss at work. It’s this honestly humble approach to finding the spiritual in the ordinary that gives Pluto’s writing such broad appeal.

"I don’t care if you are a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, or a skeptic; there is a spiritual thirst in most of us," Pluto says. "I try to write about God and us and what that means for our lives."

For a sportswriter who never thought he’d write about faith, Pluto has brought a great deal of meaning to the lives of his readers. This collection will serve as a great way for Pluto fans to revisit the many inspirations found in his writing—and to share them with a new audience.

Editorial Reviews

Review

On sports [Pluto] takes you to the game. In faith issues, he takes you to your heart. -- Pastor Knute Larson; The Chapel

About the Author

Terry Pluto is a faith and sports columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal. He also is the author of 19 books. He has twice been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, has twice been named the nation’s top sports columnist, and has been named Ohio Sportswriter of the Year eight times. He has also won an Amy award for his faith writing. He and his wife, Roberta, help lead weekly prison ministry services at Summit County Jail; they also volunteer at the Haven of Rest City Mission in Akron.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Gray & Company Publishers (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886228817
• ISBN-13: 978-1886228818
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #924,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Collection of Terry Pluto's Columns, June 27, 2004

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Everyday Faith: Practical Essays on Personal Faith and the Ethical Choices We Face in Daily Life (from the Pages of the Akron Beacon J (Hardcover)

In the name of full disclosure, I need to confess that I am a huge Terry Pluto fan. For those of you who have never heard of him, he is an award-winning faith and sports columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal and the author of nineteen books. Among readers of the Beacon, he has a legion of fans. On a personal note, Pluto is the reason I subscribe to the Akron Beacon Journal, even though I am a major contributor to the Beacon's competitor, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. Journalists like myself subscribe to the competition to know what they're up to. Not me. I buy to read Pluto. There, I've said it. With that out of the way, I can get down to business and tell you about his latest book EVERYDAY FAITH, a collection of fifty-seven of his "Your Faith" columns, published Saturdays in the Beacon's Religion section. I'm very familiar with each of the essays contained in this latest anthology. In fact, most of these columns I've clipped, saved, copied and shared with distant friends. They're that good.

They're good because he asks the questions we ask of God in the middle of the night, when we can't sleep. They're good because Pluto realizes that faith and living are inseparable and that it's faith that oftentimes makes living more understandable. They're good because he seeks answers on how it all fits together as we tuck our kids in bed at night, are called on to discipline an employee, deal with a sibling, handle grief or the death of a dream, or when we don't feel like praying. In his writing, Pluto works out his faith with "fear and trembling," like the Good Book suggests, and we, who have the privilege to read him, are the beneficiaries.

In one essay titled "Clergy: Your People Want To Know What Happens to Their Prayers," he challenges pastors, rabbis and imams to talk to their congregations about prayers that don't seem to get answered. Pluto writes: "Your people...want to know they are not alone, that others also have had a feeling of dropping off God's radar screen. They're not so much angry as they are seeking hope. They want to know they still matter to God, and the trials they are facing will end and there is a purpose behind it." Pluto also tackles --- no, wait, tackles isn't the right word; he doesn't "tackle" issues, he merely leads the discussion.

Another essay is titled "Where Is God When People Die?" and brings out questions so many of us asked after 9/11: "Where is God among the rubble and bodies? Where is God in the tears, the blood, the agony? Where is God when innocent people die, when it seems the world no longer makes sense?" In less than 200 words, Pluto untangles evil and assures us that when we weep, so does God. He's not a preacher. He's a searcher, just like us.

Pluto weaves universal truths from simple questions, using down-home stories about people like you and me, pulling in quotes from area clergy to round it out and make his point. Scripture is quoted liberally. The biggest criticism I hear of his work among some of my Christian friends is that his columns are too basic and simplistic. But I say, "Viva le Simplistic!" Pluto doesn't pretend to be a theologian (though what he writes is theologically correct). He's real. He struggles. He questions. He ponders. And then he writes his heart out.

And we are so blessed because he does.

--- Reviewed by Diana Keough

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, February 8, 2005

By 

K. P. Considine (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everyday Faith: Practical Essays on Personal Faith and the Ethical Choices We Face in Daily Life (from the Pages of the Akron Beacon J (Hardcover)

Terry Pluto flies under the radar as one of the most insightful and most talented writers in the country. This book is a collection of his newspaper columns on faith and life. Pluto tackles pertinent topics of faith and life in these columns and provides more illumination and reason in a short column than many pastors do in an entire sermon. He cuts straight to the bone of any discussion with his words and maps out difficult intersections between faith, theology and life. He's not afraid to be uncertain of the answers but he always will probe for life's ultimate meaning. This collection is wonderful reading regardless of whether you are clergy, agnostic or anywhere in between. You will not be disappointed by Pluto's work and you may come out a little bit more wise for the effort of reading this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars every day life in a nutshell, December 3, 2008

By 

Bernard Divis - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everyday Faith: Practical Essays on Personal Faith and the Ethical Choices We Face in Daily Life (from the Pages of the Akron Beacon J (Hardcover)

Terry Pluto is of course most known for his sports columns, and it was a great day for the Cleveland Plain Dealer when he came on board. He has a gift of expressing very deep and complex issues in a plain and human manner. "Everyday Faith" is like a bowl of nuts, providing small satisfying treats, and sustenence for the spirit. It is a great "keeper" book for any family and a wonderful gift for young as well as older adults.