Reading between the lines

Salvos Online continues a new weekly column – Three Books. Today’s guest bookworm is retired officer Lieutenant-Colonel Laurie Robertson.

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Besides the gospels and Psalms, which is your favourite book in the Bible and why?

I have a deep affinity with 2 Corinthians. It is a ‘go to’ book for me as it reveals Christian life and relationships warts and all.

It has all the ingredients to be made into one of today’s TV reality shows. There is relationship betrayal, infighting, division, passion, pain, positive persistence, forgiveness, outsiders trying to undermine and loving determination for unity.

This was the first Bible book that I took a really deep dive into as I was finishing my Diploma in Ministry at Ridley College in Melbourne. I had a spiritual mega-charge and a history feast during the 15 weeks of 90-minute lectures by Dr Colin Kruse.

Dr Kruse had recently returned to Ridley after a 12-month sabbatical in England, where he wrote the Tyndale Commentary on 2 Corinthians, and his lessons were a massive inspiration.

Despite our 22.5 hours of study in 2 Corinthians, Colin said we had only scratched the surface, and during the ensuing years, I have confirmed that he was right. Thankfully, there are many layers of depth in the Bible books, and God continues to unearth new insights for daily holy living.

Second Corinthians is a gold, platinum and diamond mine for body, mind and spirit life lessons and if you want to gain deeper insights, including about its wider context (i.e. Is Corinthians two, three or five letters?) then I suggest you quickly go and snuggle up with Dr Kruse’s Tyndale commentary!

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Besides the Bible, what is a Christian book that has strongly influenced your faith?

I am an extrovert and find it hard to slow down my active mind and mouth. Contemplative is not a word I ascribe to myself; however, The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson powerfully confronted and impacted me just over 30 years ago.

God put this book in front of me just as Simone and I were moving from our appointments in The Salvation Army National Editorial Department in Australia to again become corps officers.

While it is aimed at pastors in a USA context, this is a brilliant book for every Christian. Having pulled it off the shelf and read much of it again for this article, I enthusiastically verify that its contents are still perfect for us in 2026.

It’s hugely and practically countercultural to the life of busyness and quick fixes that so often fill our agendas and schedules. Peterson grounds his contemplativeness in everyday life and takes us into the deeper world of who we are and who we can become in Christ – relationship. He compellingly reveals how the life of faith is actually the real world, not just a nice addition to the rest of our life.

When I first read it, I was shocked and rocked in the very best kind of way. This book helped shape my Christianity and leadership for the decades to come with its emphasis on prayer and positive, subversive Christian living.

I haven’t always lived it out as life did become extremely busy, but I kept coming back to the Biblical truths Peterson powerfully portrays, as I engaged with others who were trying to make their priorities mine.

These sample chapter headings give a glimpse of the treasures within The Contemplative Pastor: The Unbusy Pastor; The Subversive Pastor; Ministry Amid the Traffic; Curing Souls: The Forgotten Art; Praying with Eyes Open; Desert and Harvest: A Sabbatical Story.

Footnote: I resisted the urge to select one of the many fantastic Salvos Publishing books I have read.

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What is a secular book that has revealed to you a Christian message or theme?

I’m stretching the friendship with Salvos Online here, as this is science fiction and it is a series, not just one book, I am selecting, and the winner is E.E. ‘Doc’ Smith’s Lensman books, written in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Along with Isaac Asimov, Doc Smith was one of the most impactful early science fiction writers, and this series was runner-up in the 1966 Hugo Award for the Best All-Time Series. Asimov’s Foundation series pipped Lensman at the post.

The main connections with a Christian message I gained from this exciting space opera are: beyond the visible world there are supernatural beings; there is a battle between good and evil; people have an imperative part to play; love, kindness, caring, integrity, goodness are vital for life; the supernatural and the physical need to work together for good to conquer.

The overall theme includes looking out for others, helping people grow in their skills, abilities, and understanding, and recognising that there are greater forces than us sharing our space.

I found that these broad connections triggered me to think more deeply about faith and action. The choices the main characters had to make led me to discuss my own life choices with God.

So while these are certainly not Christian books – there are many aspects that don’t fit my Christian theology – I see Christian facets throughout. But maybe that’s because throughout my life I have seen God at work in the most unlikely of places.

And a footnote: because they were written mid-last century, there are cultural areas that are extremely different to today. But this didn’t stop me from scouring secondhand bookstores to get copies for my son and son-in-law!