Reading between the lines
- deansimpson7
- Sep 15
- 2 min read
Salvos Online continues a new weekly column – Three Books. Today’s guest bookworm is Daryl Crowden, who is The Salvation Army’s General Manager of Emergency, Aid and Development (Mission).
Besides the gospels and Psalms, which is your favourite book in the Bible and why?
I don’t think I have a favourite book – but the verses and concepts that have formed the foundations of my character and ministry come (sorry to break the rules) from Psalm 121 and 1 Peter 5:7.
“… where does my help come from ... the maker of the heavens and the earth” (Psalm 121:1-2) was a promise my mother received when, as a young mum, she took her kids to live and work in the (then, very) foreign land of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Mum remembers many days when all resources were exhausted, but God inexplicably provided. This promise, backed by personal real-time family experience, continues to remind me of God’s provision – and later, deployed to Haiti, it was the promise God reminded me of and I paraphrased for and from a Haitian perspective.
When commissioned as an officer, and in many dynamic (anxious) contexts of ministry (and life) throughout the years, 1 Peter 5:7 has reinforced and affirmed the original promise of provision – because God cares for me!
Besides the Bible, what is a Christian book that has strongly influenced your faith?
What’s so Amazing about Grace by Philip Yancey. It’s an oldie, but a goodie. My default settings have a filter against religion, judgement and legalism, but Yancey’s stories and honest reflections reminded me how grace stands in stark contrast to judgment and legalism. He dives deep into what grace means – not as a religious concept, but as a practical and transformative life choice that can heal relationships, challenge injustice, and reshape how we live. With real-life stories and personal reflections, Yancy invites readers to wrestle with hard questions – like how we respond to those who hurt us, and whether we truly extend grace to others the way we’ve received it.
This book reframed my default settings and continues to be a litmus test for me in my relationships, leadership and management of people.
What is a secular book that has revealed to you a Christian message or theme?
The Thin Book of Trust: An Essential Primer for Building Trust at Work by Charles Feltman was introduced to me when I was working among refugees in Tanzania and Uganda. As a team, we were developing our organisational strategy, and as part of that, we were working with our staff and the refugees to identify what we wanted and were known for – TRUST was the theme that we heard most.
There have been a lot of big books written about trust, but I found this book different because of its clarity: in under 100 pages, with no jargon or grandiose self-help promises, but with examples and illustrations that facilitate discussion, it is a tool that we could use regardless of (English, Swahili or Luganda) literacy.
Feltman invites readers to think deeply about how they show up in relationships and how they interpret the actions of others. It’s a straightforward, actionable approach to trust; the building blocks of which Feltman argues are sincerity, reliability, competence, and care.
