Essential reading for all church leaders

BEING REAL:
The Apostle Paul’s Hardship Narratives
And The Stories We Tell Today.
By Philip Plyming
SCM. 149 pages. £16.99
ISBN 978 0 334 065 562

I was immediately attracted by the title of this book. I was a bit nervous because the book is based on a PhD Thesis, which could mean “heavy going”, but I need not have worried. Philip Plyming has carefully processed his academic work in conversation with his own story, the Apostle Paul’s story, (mainly in 1 and 2 Corinthians), the gospel story, and 1st- and 21st-century cultural patterns.

This is some achievement in 149 beautifully written pages. How is this accomplished?