Did I drink the Kool-Aid???

I just finished reading a book by John Savage titled "Listening & Caring Skills". I know, I know -it sounds I drank the Kool-Aid, and I might have. But it did taste pretty good! Despite the book's eighties-riffic cover and laughable titled, the content was surprisingly good. As the title would indicate, it was very practical and the author did a really good job of adding in personal experiences and stories to illustrate his points. Toward the end he started to get into some of the deeper stuff that we don't always get around to looking at - our own history. He gets into how things that have happened to us or ideas that we have adopted in the past can come back to haunt us in very real ways down the road. It was interesting how he illustrated that even our theology is colored by our own life experiences. For example, those who suffer as a child might have a theology focused on suffering or victimhood, or one who has self-esteem issues as a child may find themselves questioning whether God really loves them like He claims to. Granted, some things just have to be taken with a grain of salt, but all in all, I would say that it was a pretty decent book. If you're looking for fun reading, this ain't the book. If you're looking to actually be a more attentive listener, and thus a better friend or pastor, this could be a help along the way.