Presbyterian Handbook- Philip Vivirito (outside reading 1)

I have been working at Hidenwood Presbyterian Church for basically the whole semester, and the job rocks. So of the youth I lead told me about the book, The Presbyterian Handbook, which is basically a handbook on how to be Presbyterian. Right off the bat the cover of the book has Martin Luther in sunglasses, so it was hard for me too take the book serious. Parts of the book seem like jokes to me. There is one part that talks about how to prevent yourself from being burned at the stake. Also there is a section how to avoid gossiping which gives you a checklist to go through to determine if what is being said is really gossip. The checklist seems childish, and it seems like it is commonsense to most people. This was my attitude when reading this book. However, when I finished the book and after of sometime complaining about the book I came to a realization. The book actually has a lot of life truths and biblical truths. It’s a great book for new Presbyterians, which I would consider myself as being. I started to really feel myself applying some of the topics in the book in my life. Yes, some of it is really silly, but I think that’s what makes the book so special. It’s a handbook for believers into today’s time. So should churches and dominations have handbooks for believers? Personal I believe the Bible is the ultimate handbook, but using other materials to understand the Bible is a great idea.