The Bush Was Blazing But Not Consumed

by Eric H.F. Law

Best-selling author Eric Law shows how to work with the dynamics of diverse cultures to create a truly inclusive community.

Genres: Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1996

Reviews

[M Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Law's work both inspires and terrifies me. This is the third of his books that I've read (the second, I believe, in publication order) and I've attended several workshops with him and members of his Kaleidoscope Institute. I never fail to be deeply moved by the work and its results. Rev. Law is a champion of multicultural ministry and relationships. His work with churches and other institutions has been a great blessing to many, healing divisions and bringing a sense of new belonging and fellowship to a fractured community.

So, why terrifying? Because after reading his books (or attending his classes), I always feel the weight of responsibility to take the lessons I've learned back to my little congregation and to put them to use. But then I also feel the weight of my own inadequacy. Fortunately, both in writing and in person, Rev. Law anticipates this reaction. He knows how difficult the notion of leading change can be and how difficult change itself can be even when people desire the recommended change. His books, therefore, are full of specific, concrete examples of how to take his exciting theories and make them reality. Both in the text of this book and in the appendices which conclude it, there are litanies, lesson plans, scripts and guides. I recommend to anyone interested in multicultural ministry or community building that they contact the Kaleidoscope Institute about their workshops but having Rev. Law's books is an excellent substitute for the live experience.

I've seen Eric's ideas work. The church I serve is a member of an association built on many of his techniques. Never have I been a part of any other organization which so honored the diversity of its members nor one in which cultural barriers were so honestly dealt with and true bridges between groups and individuals built. Rev. Law's work bears real spiritual fruit.

[Lawrence · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has one nice meditation on page 68 and a nice description of the "in-between" person a few pages later. Also, its discussion of how we view others or ethnic issues is good, but the information is taken from another writer and is not the author's. The same is true of the discussion of high-context and low-context groups.

The metaphor of the burning bush is impossible to construe. Mr. Law conujured it out of the Bible and twisted it up in an attempt to provide theological cover for his attempts at solving problems in multiculturalism.

Otherwise, this book is self-promotion by a widely retained facilitator of multicultural dialog. He wrote it because, in my opinion, he thought he should write a book.

I think that often consultants create a theory of the problems that they are called on to help manage and then they become essentials of the process they devise. They love to talk. Essentially, I think this book is all about talk-talk.

[John Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fr. Law, an internationally known professional consultant in the area of multicultural leadership and organizational development describes in detail in this succinct book a technique to creating a workable multicultural community. As I read this book I found that this technique might be beneficial in Congress with the Democrat and Republican cultures. The book includes several appendices to guide the reader in organizing an intercultural worship service and an intercultural dialogue program.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for EfM.

[Sean Mcdermott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some very concerning parts to this book.

First off, he completely, unfairly throws LAPD under the bus the first few chapters. His interpretation of the events re: Rodney King are completely biased - from a progressive, intellectual, academic perspective. It's OBVIOUS he has not spoken to anyone who was actually there - let alone watched the entire footage of the Rodney King beating.Eric H F Law

Second, he uses (and misuses) "golden calf" and "towers of ethnocentricity" way, WAY too much. I mean BUY A THESAURUS.

Third, he references HIMSELF a bunch of times. It gets to the point where big parts of the book seem like ads for his first book.

Last, the set-ups to the issues he tackles have very rocky beginnings, however he seems to land the plane (if you fully believe his story) most of the time.

[Julia Alberino · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is meant as a "how-to" for religious congregations interested in fostering intercultural and/or interracial understanding and communication. While some of it is rather dated, the instructions provided are for the most part clear. I did have a minor "quarrel" in that some elements were glossed over with a recommendation that the reader refer to a previous book of the author. I felt that if this book were to stand on its own, it would have been more useful to summarize those elements instead of expecting the reader to have read the earlier book. A lot of what the author provides is just common sense, but it is useful to have the information collected in one place (with the exception noted of needing to refer to another book for additional help) for someone interested in facilitating intercultural/interracial dialogues.

[Shifty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was impressed with Law's depiction of the "dance" between dominant and marginalized groups and how each incident reinforces the dichotomy.

I also appreciated the description of the stages of ethnocentrism, particularly the assertion that most people get as far as knowing which words or phrases are "bad" and feeling empowered to correct or judge others for using them, without necessarily having the context to understand why they are problematic. I got caught up in this a bit with reaction to the Je Suis Charlie movement, where some writers got into trouble by trying uphold the satirists' freedom of speech while being sure to make it clear that they did not agree with the magazine's message.

[Eric Ledermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Eric Law's followup to "The Wolf Shall Dwell With the Lamb: A Spirituality for Leadership in a Multicultural Community" (1993). The Bush Was Blazing is a very practical book with amazing insights for people of all sorts of cultures to become aware of our own tendencies and implicit cultural contexts that often cause communication issues with other cultures. This and Law's previous book are must reads for anyone involved in community dialogue, whether perceived as multicultural or not (a term that is too often narrowly defined).

I read this several years ago, and have just completed it again in preparation for a D.Min. course on group dynamics. Worth the read!

[Sandy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Law's follow-up to The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb, and to a degree I got more out of this one than the other. I'm almost thinking I'd have preferred reading them in the reverse order. This book gives some good background or foundational material that fleshes out what was in the previous book. I'm now finding myself wanting to go back and re-read the first book now that I've got the information in the second book. These are both valuable works on understanding and becoming more competent in multicultural dialogue.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book in an Australian context, it was difficult to relate to the examples in the first half, as they were so centred in America, a country where the right to bear arms is assumed. This is so alien to the Australian way of thinking that we can't even imagine riots occurring here like those described in the book. A few international examples would have made the book more acceptable in other countries.
However, the premise was good, and the ideas in the second half very helpful, and likely to be used. It is worth reading through the first half to reach the practical ideas of the second.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written just a few years post-Rodney King when Law was living in LA. He addresses the cycle of control and rebellion - a cycle of fire that threatens to consume. He then suggests dialogue as a way to step into that cycle of violence. This is similar to the cycle of violence which we are witnessing again in Ferguson, Staten Island and across our nation.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a religion class, Education for Ministry. While I think that the ideas presented are good ones, I wasn't at all impressed with the writing, and the author really beats his metaphor of the burning bush into the ground, to the point of annoyance. Nonetheless, it is a good book to read with a group interested in moving beyond mere tolerance of people different from us.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric's work makes sense for those churches that have done nothing in the way of diversity. It is accessible, easy to "serve up" and goes down easy for those congregations that are frightened to enter into anything having to do with this subject matter.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

The theology helped recognize our downfalls while specific, actionable steps are given. I liked this mix immensely. These steps are useful for interfaith, intrafaith and any other form of intercultural dialogue processes.

[LisaS · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, I was reading this for a Bible study class I am doing. The first 1/2 of the book had some interesting concepts and life experiences. The second half bored me. More appropriate for a larger multi-cultural, muti-racial organization.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was on a really important topic: multicultural dialogue, community and ministry. While it was not the most exciting to read, I think many of the images that Eric Law presents will stick with me for a long time.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to developing a multicultural dynamic within a group. I learned a lot from this book and it'll help me be more culturally sensitive to others.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book describes an easy to use process to overcome cultural differences in a congregation or faith community. Very insightful!

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a Education for Ministry class. He has great ideas for bringing together people with disparate backgrounds and ideas and helping them to work together.