Sie sind auf Seite 1von 9

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

BOOK REVIEW: MARGIN-RICHARD A. SWENSON

A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. RUSS BARKSDALE OF THE LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS PLED 625

LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

BY PAUL J LIMATO 111

NORFOLK, VA i

APRIL 2013

ii

CONTENTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................1 SUMMARY............................................................................1 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................1 CONCLUSION/APPLICATION....................................................5 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................1

iii

INTRODUCTION In the his book, Margin, the author Richard A. Swenson, writes from the vantage point of a medical doctor and who is also a believer in Jesus Christ. He uses the term margin to e plain what he sees missing in the bus!ness of life and ministr!. "n this boo#, Swenson reveals his observations from the patients he sees and people he encounters to reveal the emotional, ph!sical, financial, and time burdens that lead to burnout. Margin is obviousl! written to a Christian audience but brings words of practical wisdom to a world that seems to have lost control and is moving at a ever$accelerating pace. Swenson does a phenomenal wor# of uncovering this b! using analogies from his life in his practice that resonate with his readers. SUMMARY %he Author Richard Swenson, in his boo# Margin, is see#ing to address the impact of progress in the life of man. He does this b! e posing progress& benefits and detriments to life. Swenson begins his boo# b! promising a cure to the ills of progress in the introduction. He follows this introduction b! partitioning the boo# into three ma'or parts that see# to both (uantif! and address the problem, almost in a clinical manner, much li#e might be e pected from a medical doctor&s e amination) first, b! diagnosing the illness *or %he +roblem) +ain,, secondl!, b! offering a treatment *or %he +rescription) -argin, and thirdl!, b! giving a prognostic assessment after treatment *or %he +rognosis) Health,. .ithin each of the three chapters, the format sta!s the same) Swenson shares an e ample or two from his medical practice and how what he is getting read! to discuss e presses itself in true health problems. Swenson throughout the boo# uses the effective tool of stor!$telling to draw the reader further and further into his boo#. "n +art /ne, Swenson addresses for the reader the issue of pain. He la!s out five a ioms that he believes contribute to the sabotaging of what he calls margin, a term he defines in the iv

introduction as having breath left at the top of the staircase, mone! left at the end of the month, and sanit! left at the end of adolescence.0 %he a ioms describe the impact of progress on the life of human beings, e.g. acceleration in both speed and (uantit! of offerings of various #inds, an increase in stress, comple it! and overload, the unchanged limits of a human&s ph!sical, emotional, and financial limits, the danger of e ceeding thresholds and eliminating needed margin, and the unnatural limitations in openness and abilit! to e pand on the human e perience placed on humans when their lives do not have sufficient margin. Swenson also differentiates the human e perience into five environments for his readers, two of which underlie the topic of progress) the ph!sical and cognitive environments. %hree others are the ones that Swenson identifies as the cause man the most pain) the social, emotional, and spiritual environment. Swenson aids his readers in focusing on the inward and outward results stress has on man. Swenson differentiates the different responses to stress, identifies contemporar! stressors, such as change, mobilit!, e pectations, time pressures, wor#, and relationships, and finall! shows the true impact of this stress in people&s lives. Swenson show the reader of Margin that the e pression of stress can be seen in ps!chological, ph!sical, and behavioral s!mptoms, and ultimatel! in burnout. Swenson deepens the reader&s understanding of the enormous impact of stress b! highlighting how stress can e press itself in various t!pes of overloads. "n +art %wo Margin, Swenson offers the reader relief from the pain he has suffered. Swenson offers a total of 12 prescriptions *aptl! titled R 3, across four areas, providing tangible points of reconciliation to a more peaceful, less stressed e istence, which he brea#s out and aligns with restoring margin in emotional energ!, ph!sical energ!, time margins, and financial margins. %he Reader will find this part of the boo# to be incredibl! practical.
Richard A. Swenson, Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives *Colorado Springs, C/) 4av+ress, 5226,, 07.
0

"n +art %hree, Swenson leads the reader to one profound concluding message) 8ive simpl! and contentedl!. 9! following his prescriptions and incorporating this essential message, Swenson offers the reader health in the areas of contentment, simplicit!, balance, and rest, leading to emotional, spiritual and ph!sical health and a restoration of relationships. He concludes the boo# b! as#ing the (uestion Are !ou read!:5 Just in case the reader is not, an appendi of two pages of graphs follows on the ver! ne t page to refocus the reader on the e ponential growth and impact of Stress and how Margin can trul! help the reader. CRITIQUE Swenson has written a boo# that is without doubt one of utmost importance to an!one who is in ministr! or desires to live a life that is less cluttered and trul! desires to 8ive simpl! and contentedl!. -ost people ma! not even reali;e the gravit! of their situation and the dangers of living over$e tended lives. Swenson offers the reader with real solutions. .hile Swenson describes what he means b! margin in the first chapter, this writer found the term defined to be vague, and it is ver! difficult to trul! grasp the concept until one gets further into the boo#. "t would have helped this reader to have a clear definition earl! on. -uch of this is due to the poetic and stor!$telling st!le that is mi ed with the clinical approach. "t is not until half$wa! through the boo# that the reader learns that the author himself had to simplif! his own life and, b! doing so, built margin into his da!s. %he reader of this boo# Margin will find the author to be strongl! authentic as opposed to other self$help t!pes of boo#s where the author ma#es the reader feel inferior. %he author is willing to bleed on the pages of his boo# and share his own stor!. Swenson sa!s of himself, " am not a wealth! man, and " will never be a wealth! man<not from an inabilit! to generate wealth<not that " am unable to be wealth!, but rather " am unwilling to be wealth!.7 %he
5

"bid., 506. "bid., 071$7=.

vi

practicalities of this realit! could have been more clear but is sufficient for the reader to engage in their own process of simplif!ing their own life. %his writer would recommend this boo# to those that are in ministr!, but even more so those who are out in the secular wor#force and are struggling through the enormous pressures that man! find themselves under in this fast$paced western culture that we live in. Margin is a boo# for an!one desiring to get their life bac# and 8ive simpl! and contentedl!. CONCLUSION/APPLICATION "n his boo# Margin, Swenson identifies how man can regain a level of sanit! in his life again b! recogni;ing the pain being caused b! his margin$less life, inevitabl! brought about b! progress, bringing this margin bac# into his life through measures that address emotional energ!, ph!sical energ!, time, and finances, and allow him to gain a health! balance through contentment, simplicit!, balance, and rest. He leads his readers into the timeless truth of Scripture and reminds them of promises of old that still are valid toda!. %his reader and writer found this boo# to be incredibl! challenging in several wa!s. "n the opening pages of Margin, Swenson ma#es the statement, -argin, on the other hand, is having breath left at the top of the staircase, mone! left at then end of the month, and sanit! left at the end of adolescence. %his statement is challenging to this writer personall!. "n ministr! one feels pulled in fift! directions and all of which often feel e(uall! important and valuable, but when one loo#s at life through the appropriate lens, !ou simpl! #now that not all of these opportunities is e(uall! important or trul! all that valuable. 8ife and ministr! tend toward comple it! if margin is not fought for. %his writer is wor#ing on balancing what Swenson spo#e of in A iom 5 in which the author define as the spontaneous flow of progress is toward increasing stress, change, comple it!, speed, intensit!, and overload. %his is the life of a church planter, which is what this writer is. %his writer with the help of the elders of the church in which

vii

he serves is see#ing to create what Swenson defines as breathing room. %his is no eas! tas# but is worth the effort. %he second wa! Margin applies and is helpful is in this writer nurturing the right relationships. As a pastor and planter, this writer can find himself spending time with all #inds of people rather than spending time with the right people. -uch of this is for the purpose stated above, which is progress. However, Swenson has helped this reader to understand that progress trul! isn&t progress if !ou leave behind the right relationships that reall! matter. %his writer is trul! challenged b! this. %he last wa! Margin applies and is helpful is measuring progress rightl!. %his is hard in a world that is constantl! pushing us to clamor for more. %his boo# has pushed this reader to de$ clutter and measure progress b! the things that >od defines as a success. %his is no eas! tas# but this writer desires and is presentl! wor#ing on getting their life bac# and 8ive simpl! and contentedl!.

viii

BIBLIOGRAPHY Swenson, Richard A. Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives. Colorado Springs, C/) 4av+ress, 5226.

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen