Books by Ken Baker

"A rabbi once told me that the right place to start reading the Bible was in the book of Psalms. It's an interesting thought isn't it? You might think to begin at the beginning, or to first learn the historical story, or attempt to understand its high theology. So, why the Psalms? Because the Psalms operate out of relationship, and that's where your walk with God begins. And continues. It's also wonderful to us to consider that the Psalms were the prayer-book of Jesus. He knew its songs intimately, and in fact he quotes the book of Psalms more than any other book. The reason is that Jesus lived in a warm and constant relationship with Father God, such as I can barely imagine. But we want to imagine it! More- we desire to live it. It's a life of happy trust; of constant awareness; and confident expectation. This little book is split into thirty short chapters with the idea of spending a month reading some of the Psalms, and seeking that relationship with the Father that Jesus enjoyed."

A "grace note" is a music notation that the individual performer has to interpret for himself. Isn't that amazing? Here's the main melody (the composer seemed to say), and sort the rest of it out for yourself! It's like a parable for how to do life. There are general broad principles to follow, like the Ten Commandments, but the real fun comes in the grace notes, the extra bits that you learn to play by feel. The New Testament word is Charis. In modern Greek it's the word for birthday present! Imagine that. Something you just don't deserve at all, but which is rather nice and makes you smile inside. This is a prayer journal: that is to say, it's a daily-collected random assortment of prayers, notes from books that I'm reading and reflections on my daily reading of the Bible. Some of these pieces made it into sermons, or even into magazine articles. Most languished in online blogs, until summoned into service into this little book of grace-notes. Hope you hear the song.

During the 18th Century, or rather overlapping it somewhat, four radical voices spoke out in Bandon, County Cork, creating a strong impression that has continued to this day. Though each voice came from a (broadly) Christian context, they were sternly critical of the established Church, totally committed to social activism, and energetically engaged in bringing about change. In different ways they each paid dearly for their faith-stance. In this little book we examine the contribution of John WESLEY, William HAZLITT, Dean SWIFT and George FOX.

Taking us on a journey through workplaces large and small, traditional and contemporary, this book explores the relationships between people and the buildings in which they work. Showcasing dozens of examples, it highlights practices that utilise space to promote creativity and collaboration, improve morale, and ensure employee health and safety.