The Faith Code
A Future-Proof Framework for a Life of Meaning and Impact
By Terry Brisbane and Rusty Rueff
Morehouse, 256 pages, $28.95
The Rev. Terry Brisbane, a Bay Area pastor, and Rusty Reuff, a prominent technologist in that community, have written a book meant to be used to foster conversation in small groups that will lead, ultimately, to a personal rule of life for participants.
The book is centered on lessons or chapters with discussion questions. Each has a primary theme, which is discussed in parallel formats by each of the authors. Brisbane opens each with a biblically based teaching, very similar to a teaching sermon. Reuff follows and places Brisbane’s main points into a workplace or technology context that would be more easily understood by non-theologically trained readers. They suggest that the sections could work as weekly conversation starters between small groups of peers who read the material in advance and then bring their ideas and thoughts about application to the conversation.
Essentially, without explicitly mentioning it, the book is a process by which people can create their own Bible-based rule, The Faith Code of the title. (This is a play on the idea of source code, a key part of any modern technology business.) The book has a striking and impressive set of endorsements, particularly from the sort of people who you wouldn’t imagine typically endorse a book of this sort, such as Pat Gelsinger, the chairman of Intel, and Scott Harrison, the author of Thirst.
Brisbane is not the sort of voice often read in Anglican or Episcopal churches. He’s a modern evangelical teaching pastor, and it shows in the way he approaches Scripture and which parts of the Bible he tends to draw from for his lessons. Rueff’s writing is enthusiastic, engaging, and filled with practical suggestions. The writing is clear and accessible, though it’s not a page-turner. The analogies are apt but occasionally read as a bit of a reach.
I could imagine using this book as an early morning, pre-business day Bible study for people on their way to work (or returning from work later in the day). People in the technology fields would find the language, particularly Rueff’s, familiar. The book anticipates that the conversation takes place between two peers, so it’s not something that would be a typical Bible study class. Rather, it’s intended to be used by two or three people, all lay or all ordained, who covenant with each other to read and meet for conversation. As such, it could be an excellent resource for a smaller congregation that doesn’t have regular access to clergy.
