bob.blog

Wow- the Author of The Shack tells Driscoll to "Man up!"

Mark Driscoll's YouTube video of the message in which he took The Shack to task was

1. highly watched

2. slightly overblown 

There are some things to be careful of in the Shack, no doubt (my review is here), but my guess is Mark's apoplexy was probably based more on an intern-produced bullet-point summary than a careful reading of the book. 

Now, Paul Young, one of the most irenic men I've ever had the privilege to meet is speaking Mark's language in an effort to get Mark to sit down and talk about public charges of heresy that he's made. While I think the chances of that happening are about the same as Mark reading Psalm 11:5 and being convicted to give up watching Ultimate Fighting, I think the effort is interesting nonetheless. 

Here's what Paul Young says:

“Mark Driscoll has leveled some serious charges against my writing and by extension against me. He has publicly called me a heretic. I’ve decided to ask him to meet me in Seattle on Sept 10th, from 1-3 PM, and have an open discussion in front of a public audience about the different ways he and I view scripture.

I have asked my good friend Jim Henderson to host this conversation. It will not be a debate but a discussion about our differences and because we are both Christians about the places we are in agreement. The audience will be able to ask questions of both of us.

Mark seems quite fond of telling his congregants to “man up” and I guess I am really asking him to do the same. I would like him to say to my face what he has spread around the world via Youtube, and you can be sure I’ll have a few questions for him as well.

I’m sure many ‘non-Christians’ wonder why someone like Mark can say things like this with impunity. When someone is able to garner 350K views on Youtube, or for that matter has sold almost 20 Million copies of a book, I believe the conversations have become public property.”

 

So what do you think? Is this a publicity grab on the part of Jim Henderson? Or Paul Young (though with a book that's sold as many copies as the Shack, probably not)? A real attempt to mend fences? Or just to make a point?

Should Mark talk to Paul? Is Paul a heretic? Should we care about either?

Viral Hope

Great stuff is happening with and through Viral Hope, a recent book I contributed to. You should totally check it out!

• "ViralHope is a bold call to reject any and all reductions of the Gospel that minimize it to 'cosmic fire insurance' on the one hand or, on the other, reduce it to 'social action'. This is a full Gospel and a vision that our world desperately needs to hear." 
  
  - Jim Belcher, Author ofDeep Church

ABOUT VIRAL HOPE

The gospel. The good news. Too often we boil it down to four steps, an easily memorized list of axioms, a diagram on the back of a napkin. But in the midst of all this, we seem to lose the wonder, poetry, and transformational nature of the gospel.

In ViralHope: Good News from the Urbs to the Burbs, fifty authors take on the task of sharing the good news for their city, together weaving a beautiful tapestry of the gospel in all its depth and complexity. These essays reveal how the gospel lives and breathes in neighborhoods around the world.

Interaction/Review- Tony Jones' "The Teaching of The Twelve"

“The Didache is the most important book you've never read,” starts Tony Jones, in his latest book, The Teaching of the Twelve: Believing & Practicing the Primitive Christianity of the Ancient Didache Community.

And while Tony's examination of this ancient Christian manuscript is engaging and thoughtful, I just don't know if I'd go quite that far. I enjoyed reading this book- well-written, I think well-researched... but the main premise is something I find myself wanting to push back against somewhat.

The Didache, according to The Teaching of the Twelve, records "a primitive Christianity" of about the same era in which the synoptic Gospels were composed, and seemingly unfamiliar with the theology of the Apostle Paul. 

And in that, it's a helpful look at some of the rhythms of the early church. The question, of course, is what can/does that early Christianity mean for us today?

Tony attempts to answer that question as he examines the Didache, by also looking at a small, modern community of Christians who call themselves the Cymbrogi- a house church of sorts which includes Trucker Frank, a friend we've gotten to know from some of Tony's other works. 

The Cymbrogi take from the Didache a very praxis-oriented approach to their walk with Jesus. They are in search of that primitive Christianity that "emphasizes how you live."

Tony writes, "The Didache's vision of communal life in Christ is powerful and potentially transformative. For the Cymbrogi, the Didache's primitive rhythms of faith have changed them personally. Each one of them I've spoken to has professed that the raw, organic Christianity that they find in the Didache and now attempt to practice is exactly what they've been looking for all along." Tony continues, "The Didache offers something of an alternative to what many know of Christianity. The real power of the Didache is its ability to remind us of what is truly important in Christianity: showing the love of Jesus to the world."

Okay... Here's where I start to wonder. 

a FIRST CENTURY church?

Okay- in preparation for tomorrow's post on Tony Jones's new book on the Didache, an early Christian document, not found in the NT, let me ask this question...

At various times in my life, I've heard people express a desire to get back to a 1st Century kind of Christianity. To scrape away all the "additions" of the last centuries and recover a "pure" Christianity. 

So- here's my question- 

"If you could practice a faith identical to the earliest followers of Jesus, not yet 'crystalized', before the epistles of Paul, James, John, Jude and Peter, and even before at least 3 of the Gospels were written, would you? What would you gain? What would you lose?"

I'll take a stab at that tomorrow, along with some discussion of Tony's interesting new book. 

Blog Tour: The Teaching of the Twelve with Tony Jones

  Next week I'll be participating in a blog book tour hosted by Paraclete Press. Here's what they have to say, and the schedule:

The Didache, an early handbook of an anonymous Christian community, "is the most important book you never read." It spells out a way of life for Jesus-followers, including how to show one another the love of God, how to practice the Eucharist, and how to take in wandering prophets.

Likely written before many of the New Testament books, this little-known text can enlighten the way that Christians are church today.

Tony Jones new book, The Teaching of the Twelve, unpacks this ancient document with insight and perspective, and traces the life of a small house church in Missouri that is trying to live according to its precepts.

Included in the book is a new, contemporary English translation of the Didache.

Join us on a blog tour of Tony Jones new book, The Teaching of the Twelve: Believing and Practicing the Primitive Christianity of the Ancient Didache Community beginning the first Monday of Advent, November 30:

November 30: An introduction with Tony Jones

December 1: Chapter 1 - The Most Important Book You've Never Heard of - with Adam Walker Cleaveland at pomomusings and Thomas Turner at everydayliturgy

December 2: Chapter 3 - The Didache Community - Then and Now - with Ted Gossard at Jesus Community and Amy Moffitt at Without a Map

December 3: Chapter 4 - There Are Two Ways - with Tripp Fuller at homebrewedchristianity and with Holly Rankin-Zaher at happydaydeadfish

December 4: Chapter 5 - Sex, Money, and Other Means of Getting Along - with Chris Monroe at Paradoxology and Mike Todd at Waving or Drowning?

December 5: Chapter 6 - Living Together In Community - with Brother Maynard at Subversiveinfluence and Mike King

December 6: Chapter 7 - The End is Nigh - with Greg Arthur at Holinessreeducation.com and Mike Stavlund at Awakening

December 7: Epilogue - with Luke C. Miller and Carl McColman at The Website of Unknowing

December 8: Special Question - Is this text - The Didache - really so important? Why? Do we know that it was important to the earliest communities of Christians? with Jonathan Brink at Missio Dei

December 9: Special Question - Does the Didache teach or advise anything that substantively differs from what was decided at the earliest ecumenical church councils (such as Nicaea) with Dwight Friesen

December 10: Special Question - Why is the Didache relevant, in particular today? Is it more relevant today than it was, say 100 years ago? Why? withBob Hyatt

Review: Sim Church pt 1

It's really difficult for me not to come out swinging when a book I've been promised deals with real questions in an even handed manner begins with breathless statements like "Today a new community of the people of God has begun... A change is occurring in the Christian church the likes of which has not happened in centuries...This type of church is unlike any church the world has ever seen. It has the power to break down social barriers , unite believers from all over the world, and build the kingdom of God with a widow's mite of financing . It is a completely different type of church from any the world has ever seen."

And that's just the first page. 

Despite the stated purpose of Sim Church being to counter the "fluff pieces- pretty pictures, nice ideas but little substance" that the author identifies as so far making up the discussion on virtual church, I can't help but feel like, based on the first few pages, that's exactly what I'm I'm in for. 

Let's lay aside (for the moment) theological considerations of just what it is that breaks down barriers, unites people and builds the kingdom (hint: it's called the Gospel!), I think this book already suffers from the main problem of most books looking at issues of virtual church, video venues, etc, that is, begging the question. Assuming that "God is in this" and it only remains to work out the details. It IS church (the refrain throughout the opening chapter is "Today a new community of the people of God has begun"), now we just have to figure out what kind of church. 

And I say, hold on. It's not that simple. 

"Church" is defined by certain markers, the presence of certain elements, without which it may still be helpful, still be worthwhile, and yet not rise past the level of para-church. AA does a lot of good things, builds community, meets needs- but it's not Church. The Masons do most of the things Church does. Service? Check. Ritual? Check. Gathering together? Check. Funny hats? Double check.

But it's not Church. 

I'll get more in depth into what is and what isn't Church as I interact with future chapters (particularly chpt 2 where the author, very briefly, takes up the most critical question: What is Church and does Virtual Church qualify) , but I wanted to do two things by way of intro- push back against the initial first-line-of-the-first-paragraph assumption of this book that Virtual Church is Church and say- that's the very question you need actually to wrestle with, not tip your hat to and move on. 

And second, to point out this. The author makes this statement in closing chapter 1: "The Christian church is engaging far less than 1 percent of the seventy million people who are active in the virtual world. This means the virtual world is by far the largest unreached people group on Planet Earth... We have great work to do."

The obvious flaw in that reasoning is this: the (mistaken) assumption that these people are "unreached" in real life. They may have no credible Gospel witness in their lives, and virtual efforts at evangelism may be worth pursuing. But... it is seriously doubtful that, in missiological terms (and that's exactly what "unreached people group" is)  these folks are online and logging in to Second Life and are "unreached." This feels like a calculated attempt to draw parallels between virtual environments and real ones and play off our emotions regarding unreached people groups who have never had even an opportunity to respond to the Gospel and to bring a sheen of missionary respectability to efforts at building virtual churches. And again, that begs the question. Not an auspicious beginning. 

If you are new to this discussion you can catch up by reading my article There Is No Virtual Ecclesia here (part 1 part 2, Doug Estes' response here, and my response to his response here

Recommendation: The Forgotten Ways Handbook

It's difficult to think of a more influential voice in the missional church movement at this than Alan Hirsch. Maybe his writing partner Mike Frost? 

Their books have not only defined the questions we need to be asking about church in our time and context but gone a long way towards providing the answers. 

The Forgotten Ways Handbook is a crucial piece of that. The original volume, The Forgotten Ways was an erudite discussion of the shape, structure and direction of missional church. The Handbook is a down-to-earth, practical guide to putting the ideas of missional church into action. Whether as an individual or a community, this resource will help you think through contextualizing the Gospel and shaping your life along the path of the missio dei, the mission of God in this world.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. 

Pastor Hack: The Kindle App

I'm all for sharing the wealth. 

So, when I discovered that books I was downloading on my iPhone Kindle app were also showing up on the iPhone I had given to one of my co-pastors at Evergreen, I realized I had stumbled on a cheap way to share books and resources among a small group, like a church staff. 

Amazon's terms of service allow for up to SIX Kindles or iPhone Kindle apps to be registered to a particular account. This means that books bought on that account will show up across those iPhones/Kindles. 

Sweet. Now, for $10 bucks, I can buy a book for our whole staff. And while they can't buy/download books on the Kindle App, Barnes and Noble has just come out with a competing app/service- so if there's something they really want on their phone, it's available. 

Nice. 

And, even fun, as you can send samples of books you think they should read to individual staff member's iPhones. I'm telling you- that one is going to give me HOURS of fun all by itself. :)

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry

Few books hit me like water in the desert. But so far, this one is definitely like that. 

Barton has a way of talking about the realities of leading and pastoring that are both honest and transparent, and yet never lose sight of the solace and strength to be found by leaning in to the person of Jesus. 

From the back of the book:

""I'm tired of helping others enjoy God. I just want to enjoy God for myself." With this painful admission, Ruth Haley Barton invites us to an honest exploration of what happens when spiritual leaders lose track of their souls. Weaving together contemporary illustrations with penetrating insight from the life of Moses, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership explores topics such as responding to the dynamics of calling, facing the loneliness of leadership, leading from your authentic self, cultivating spiritual community, reenvisioning the promised land, discerning God's will together...

Each chapter includes a spiritual practice to ensure your soul gets the nourishment it needs. Forging and maintaining a life-giving connection with God is the best choice you can make for yourself and for those you lead. "

Highly recommended

Book Review: The Furious Longing of God

I find the cover of this book telling...

Whenever the name of an author appears larger than the title of the book, we're being told something. And that's this: This book is more about the author than the content- the voice rather than the words on the page. 

That's not always a bad thing- pick up any CS Lewis book and you'll see the name in something like 150pt type and the title in something considerably less. And honestly- it won't matter- it's all the same: good. (Of course, you don't really need the name on the cover- the voice is so distinctive you could tell within a few paragraphs who was writing)

To a certain extent, that's where Brennan Manning is finding himself. The Furious Longing of God is the latest Brennan Manning book first. It's a book about the love of God second. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but again...

Here's what it comes down to: If you love Manning, you'll love this book. Better written and a bit more cohesive than some of his others, it's still vintage Manning. Personal stories interwoven with theological insights- all centered around the love of God. At times overly simplistic, at other times stop-and-ponder deep, it's Manning doing what Manning does- pushing towards a simple just-let-God-love-you kind of faith. 

Desperately needed for some. 

But in some ways, as I read, I felt as though I read this before. I'm not saying that if you have read one Manning book you have read them all- but close. His voice and style is so distinctive, and his subject matter so narrow in scope that he runs the risk of leaving readers feeling as though they are reading the same books in different packages. 

I also found myself thinking: "You know, IMHO, Brennan would benefit from reading someone like John Piper" - a great mental picture, btw. Also, I think Piper would benefit from reading Manning, but that's another post!

It's just that in the drive to reduce everything down to "God loves you!" I can't help but feel some important nuances are lost. There's a great, solid, Trinitarian perspective represented in this book, there's much about loving each other because of God's love for us... but I'm left wondering: what does a loving, worshipful response to God look like? Beyond loving others, how do I respond to God's love for me with love for Him? Is God jealous for His own glory at all? Or is He simply all about ME? 

The big question for me these days: Will the book find its way onto my shelf or be given away/sold?

Verdict: On the shelf- but just barely. :)

Some links for those who would like to explore further:

Buy the book here: Amazon

http://www.brennanmanning.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLz72f75nyU An awesome Furious Longing book trailer

http://www.davidccook.com/catalog/resources/samples/105875.pdf

Blog Tour: The Divine Commodity

Skye Jethani has authored a new book The Divine Commodity. It's a top rate examination of the forces that are unintentionally (and in many cases, intentionally and by design) shaping the church in the west along the lines of consumerism. 

One of the biggest arguments in this whole discussion is the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" line of reasoning. It's difficult when 2,000 or 3,000 or 10,000 people are showing up to watch you preach to hear any suggestion that maybe what you are doing is less-than-healthy in the long-term. 

So here's the question for Skye: 

Bob: So, what do you say to the pastor or Christian leader who decides to embrace consumer-driven ideas and principles for ministry because they “work?”

(Please- feel free to make comments or ask follow up questions in the comments! Skye should be checking in periodically with the conversation) 

Skye: I’ve heard this argument before—both in ministry books and in discussion with church leaders. I usually have to follow up by asking, “Define what you mean by ‘works’?” The response is typically something related to increasing church attendance. “We started offering coffee and flexible worship venues and it worked. Our attendance is up 38 percent.” Or, “We did a sermon series about having great sex and we had to start a third worship service because it was so popular. It worked!”

It’s hard to disagree. Yes, using consumer-driven principles works if your mission is getting butts in seats. There is no more effective tool to build institutions than those devised by consumerism. But that is not the mission that Christ has given us. He’s commanded us to “go and make disciples.” (One of the great problems the church faces, which reveals our captivity to consumerism, is the popular belief that disciples can only be made by getting butts in seats and through the construction of large program-driven institutions. This is one falsehood tackled in my book.) Consumerism can build institutions, but it cannot build disciples of Jesus Christ. This is because the fundamental values of consumerism are utterly at odds with the values of Christ’s kingdom.

Consumerism advocates the sanctity of personal desires. Christ calls us to surrender our desires, take up our cross, and follow him. Consumerism says a person’s value is determined by his/her productivity or usefulness to me. Christ says all people are inherently valuable—even those the world kicks to the curb. Consumerism puts the consumer at the center of the cosmos and sees God as a divine butler or spiritual therapist we employ to make our lives better. Christ calls us to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength—to put him at the center of the cosmos and organize our lives around his will, not our own.

We have a tendency to celebrate church leaders who have managed to draw a large crowd to their church. But this is hardly an accomplishment in a culture where a few bottles of Diet Coke and a pack of Mentos mints can draw a crowd. The fact that a few thousand people might show up on Sunday to hear you talk seems less impressive when you consider that we live in a society in which millions of people will tune in to watch Sanjaya sing on American Idol.

Aggregating an audience isn’t successful ministry. Fostering women, men, and children toward deep, internal, and unyielding communion with Christ that transforms their lives and produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—that is ministry worth celebrating. To do this work we don’t need the self-centered methodologies of consumerism, but the counter-intuitive and foolish ways of God’s kingdom. And this is exactly why I wrote The Divine Commodity—to show the weaknesses of employing consumer models in ministry, and point in a new direction.

Recommendation: The Divine Commodity

Skye Jethani has a great new book The Divine Commodity, discussing "consumer Christianity." Others have tackled the subject, but probably not with as much style and imagination.

Here's a description from Amazon:

"A growing number of people are disturbed by the values exhibited by the contemporary church. Worship has become entertainment, the church has become a shopping mall, and God has become a consumable product. Many sense that something is wrong, but they cannot imagine an alternative way. The Divine Commodity finally articulates what so many have been feeling and offers hope for the future of a post-consumer Christianity.
Through Scripture, history, engaging narrative, and the inspiring art of Vincent van Gogh, The Divine Commodity explores spiritual practices that liberate our imaginations to live as Christ's people in a consumer culture opposed to the values of his kingdom. Each chapter shows how our formation as consumers has distorted an element of our faith. For example, the way churches have become corporations and how branding makes us more focused on image than reality. It then energizes an alternative vision for those seeking a more meaningful faith. Before we can hope to live differently, we must have our minds released from consumerism's grip and captivated once again by Christ. "

Some other recommendations:

"This book is a top-rate exploration of a critical subject by a really good writer. In this book Skye Jethani skillfully guides us in what it means to be faithful disciples in a culture that has literally sold its soul to the devil of consumerism. The Divine Commodity is a great antidote for the venomous spirit of our age." 
-Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways and reJesus

"Jethani has written a summoning, thoughtful, often humorous report on the pathology of consumerism among us, and its enormous capacity to shape our lives. More than that, he ponders the resources of faith that enable one to resist the power of commodity and to embrace an alternative life in the world. This is as good a book on the pervasive power of consumerism as I have read. Jethani calls things by their right names, and imagines how differently our society could be shaped. This will be a welcome read for those who are willing and able to see us as we are...and still to hope."
-Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

"In this well written and thought provoking book, Jethani prophetically calls on American Christians to wake up to the extent to which we've been co-opted by the values and ideology of consumerism. Jethani makes a compelling case that this isn't simply a matter of Christians spending too much on themselves (which is true). Consumerism is a diabolic cancer that is subtlety undermining the core values and practices of the Kingdom. All American Christians need to read, discuss and digest this book!"
-Gregory A .Boyd, pastor of Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota and author of The Myth of a Christian Nation

"Navigating American consumerism requires both the aptitude of a scholarly mind and the observational skills of a "culture junkie." Skye Jethani exhibits both in his book The Divine Commodity. With care, subtlety, cultural savy and theological acumen, he guides us through the consumerist maze that threatens Christian discipleship in our day. In so doing, he makes The Divine Commodity a primer for discerning a new Christian faithfulness amidst the market forces that so dominate American life today." 
-David Fitch, Lindner Chair Evangelical Theology Northern Seminary

Next up: Skye stops by...

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry

I am loving this book. 

Few books hit me like water in the desert. But so far, this one is definitely like that. 

Barton has a way of talking about the realities of leading and pastoring that are both honest and transparent, and yet never lose sight of the solace and strength to be found by leaning in to the person of Jesus. 

From the back of the book:

""I'm tired of helping others enjoy God. I just want to enjoy God for myself." With this painful admission, Ruth Haley Barton invites us to an honest exploration of what happens when spiritual leaders lose track of their souls. Weaving together contemporary illustrations with penetrating insight from the life of Moses, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership explores topics such as responding to the dynamics of calling, facing the loneliness of leadership, leading from your authentic self, cultivating spiritual community, reenvisioning the promised land, discerning God's will together...

Each chapter includes a spiritual practice to ensure your soul gets the nourishment it needs. Forging and maintaining a life-giving connection with God is the best choice you can make for yourself and for those you lead. "

Highly recommended

Review: Not The Religious Type

Confession- I haven't finished reading this book yet, but I'm enjoying it a lot and have read enough to want to recommend it. 

Dave Schmelzer pastors a church in Cambridge, MA- a church that lives and breathes in the heart of a decidedly secular and even anti-religious community. The book describes some of his journey from atheism to Christianity and some of the thinking and winsome approach that allows a church like his to reach a community like that. 

From the inside cover:

"In the tradition of C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity and G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy comes this illuminating collection of thoughts on faith in a postmodern world.Not the Religious Type bridges the gap between the two communities in which many of us live--the secular and the religious--and suggests a new, unexpected way of seeing the world and our place in it.
Whether we're the religious type or not, there's a certain part of each of us that invariably wonders if it's true--if there's a God we can connect with who is alive and active, with the kind of perspective on our lives and futures that we could never have on our own.
As Dave engagingly explores these most important questions, he invites his readers into "a new and warmer spring," a way of thinking that will help both secularists who never imagined they would become people of faith and also people of faith who perhaps haven't experienced all from God that they've hoped."

The section on Peck's stages of belief and how they apply to the move from a rigid faith to a state of questioning and then on to a more mystical place of belief again was worth reading the book just for that- very helpful in understanding the kind of city I'm living in and what kind of church we need to be...

Check it out: 

Interaction with Doug Pagitt...

Dustin Bagby, one of our elders at Evergreen, has posted an interaction with Doug's A Christianity Worth Believing, particularly with Doug's view of sin and separation. Worth a read!

The Shack- reviewed. At length.

So yes, I've finally read The Shack. Forgive me if for many of you the book is old news. I'm one of those guys who tends to shy away from "phenomenon" books- I think we're all a little burned out on the Left Behinds and Purpose Driven Lifes... In addition, I knew that at the heart of the book is a tragedy that befalls a young girl, and truth is, I have a hard time handling anything like that since I became the dad of a little girl. 

But when Oregon Public Broadcasting called me last week and wanted to know if I'd be on their Friday show with Shack author William "Paul" Young to talk the "Religion to Relationship" transition and about the Shack specifically, I figured I better read the book.

And after reading it, I can honestly say "I'm surprised." By a number of things...

On the radio... with the Shack!

Tomorrow(Aug 1st) from 9-10am I'll be on OPB's Think Out Loud show talking about my journey from mega to pub church, the emerging church in general and about you all 

One of the tangents they want to pursue is the influence of The Shack on the emerging church. It's actually written and self-published by a guy here in Portland and has been a bona-fide phenomenon in the publishing world- selling half a million copies and counting with little or no advertising. 

I'm going to blog it (when I finish reading it), but my question for you is: how many of you "emerging" types have read the Shack and what did you think? (if you answer the second question- use broad strokes- we can deconstruct/really get into it on my review...)

BWIII on Pagan Christianity

New Testament Scholar Ben Witherington demolishes Pagan Christianity...

"First a word of disclaimer. I know Frank Viola, indeed for some years he has asked me loads of good and telling questions via email. I did not really know what his take was on various matters, but I gladly answered his questions. It is interesting to me that this book appears to take no notice of various of these answers which I have given, nor are any of my works found in the bibliography at the end of the book. Perhaps I have missed something in the minutiae of the truly minute footnotes at the bottom of each page, but now I am wondering why exactly I have answered all those questions over the years. It’s a pity.

Frank Viola is a sharp person, but neither he nor George Barna really interact in this book with the scholarly literature that would call into question their strident claims and theses. They are arguing a particular case, and so they largely cite sources that support their case, for example Robert Banks’ work on Pauline house churches comes in for heavy usage. Their claim to present us with bare historical fact and to stand always on the Biblical high ground needs to be seen for what it is from the outset--- good and powerful rhetoric meant to warm the cockles of the hearts of all who affirm Sola Scriptura, but when one actually examines some of the major claims closely, they will not stand close and critical scrutiny...

"My point in the above critique is simply this--- calling more high church worship ‘pagan’ is not only a tragedy which impoverishes the soul. It’s a travesty. And saying over and over again that there is not a shred of Biblical evidence for sacred buildings, particularly church buildings reflects both historical myopia and bad theological analysis of a theology of holiness and worship. Such a view is narrow where the Bible is not narrow, and it fails to grasp the great breadth of ways in which God can be truly, and Biblically worshipped and served, and is indeed worshipped and served around the world every single week. We do not need to be liberated from holy worship—we need to be liberated in and by it, in whatever form it may legitimately take. And that’s the Biblical truth."

more here

Finding Our Way Again

So, all in all, I loved Finding Our Way Again. Loved it. Been carrying it around, sneaking pages when I could... I think I want to make it the text for our Life in the Way of Jesus theology pub, the one designed to introduce evergreeners to the disciplines. Not because the book itself is an exhaustive treatment of spiritual disciplines, but because in the whole sense of "If you want some people to build a boat, don't give them the plans, give them a love of the sea" this book will, I think, give people a passion for Christianity as a way of life which includes a set of common practices that enrich us, change us, and form us.

First, the quibble, then the good stuff.

McLaren on Community and Tradition

"One of my mentors contrasts deciding and trying with training. Deciding is necessary, he says. Nobody finds out they've accidentally trained for a marathon for six months without intending to. But deciding isn't enough, as all of us who have decided to lose weight know. I could even add to my deciding a healthy dose of trying: Sincerely! Passionately! With great commitment and resolution! But unless I put between my decision and the starting line sufficient training of the right sort, it will be 'Marathon- 26.5, Brian- 0'
That same mentor defines training like this: employing appropriate actions within our power by which we become capable of doing things currently beyond our power, and by which we become people we are currently incapable of being. Those "appropriate actions" we could further define as practices. And the community of people who teach us the practices we could define as a community of practice that carries on the tradition...
Most of the truly important skills we learn in life come through training, practice, and tradition or community. For example, we didn't learn to speak our native tongue by deciding or trying, but by training. We didn't even realize we were in training, and our parents (who were the community of practice, carrying on the tradition of English or Chinese or Zulu or whatever) probably didn't even realize that they were training us most of the time... Similarly, when they withheld something from us until we said 'please' and 'thank you,' they were the community training us in the tradition of community, and we were practicing so that courtesy would become natural to us.
It took a couple of years of practice, but in the process, largely without realizing it, we became fluent speakers of our native tongue, and maybe courteous people, to boot. Without the community, without the tradition, and without the practice neither possibility would have been actualized."
-Brian McLaren,   Brian McLaren: Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices

argh.

Just did... and lost... an interview with Brian McLaren.

Had a sweet set-up through my phone into the laptop and recording via GarageBand.

Here's a hint- if you get an error message 30 seconds into a GarageBand recording, and click "Continue" thinking that since you still see the little timeline running along, picking up your vocals that you are actually recording something
... even 30 minutes of great something with a particularly influential somebody...
Don't believe it.

Argh.

Buy Brian's new book.

I'll say more about it soon. It's good. I showed it to someone today and 30 seconds later they walked over to their computer and ordered it on Amazon. It's that good.

Stupid computer.

New Christians wrap up and...

Okay- I know I've been pokey about getting to the New Christians and A Christianity Worth Believing.
Sorry.
Just been pokey in general...

I want to wrap up one and bridge to the other... first, some general comments.

I liked The New Christians. The book has roughly three movements, not so much segregated or delineated, but... The first third is some interesting history of Emergent, with much of the behind-the-scenes thinking and feeling filled in. I was especially glad to read a balancing perspective on what's now risen to the status of "lore" in modern-day evangelicalism: Mark Driscoll and his exit from the original group the would become Emergent.

The last part of the book is a helpful look at various emerging church communities and how they live out their community lives.

The real meat of the book, I think, is in between.

The middle part of the book tackles various themes of theology, truth and objectivity and how "emergents" tend to come at the issues differently. If anyone is going to have problems with the book, it will be here. Jones tries to take a "middle way" approach (something I very much appreciate).
The inherent problem with a middle way approach , however, is that it's highly dependent on what you plot as being the end points of your spectrum. Put John Piper on one end of your spectrum and Rick Warren on the other and you'll get a very different "middle" than if you put Rick Warren on one end and Marcus Borg on the other.
On the spectrum of liberal to conservative in Christianity, we not only tend to lean towards one end or the other, I think we tend to "write off" those at the farthest end from the side we lean towards. So, folks on the more conservative side of the spectrum, even in the emerging conversation tend to view guys like Borg and actively lesbian Unitarian pastors with the same suspicion and through the same lens that those on the more liberal end of things tend to view fundamentalists with big black King James Bibles, wives who don't wear pants and more Old Testament sensibilities when it comes to various social issues... as "sub-Christian."

The Shack reviewed...

Let me confess- I haven't read The Shack yet.
I'm actually afraid to.

I have it sitting on my shelf- it was sent to me for review... The thing is, I know a bit about the plot, and to be honest, since having kids, I have a really hard time with books/movies that portray horrible things
happening to children. The idea reading a book in which the murder of a little girl is discussed is honestly terrifying to me.

But...

500,000 copies of a self-published book! Man. Talk about phenomenon.
So, yeah- I'll read it.
One of these days.

One of my favorite Professors in Seminary was/is Dr James DeYoung. Dr DeYoung was writing about postmodernity, finding meaning in Scripture beyond the obvious, and the role of women in leadership when the emerging church was just a gleam in Brian McLaren's eye.

My understanding is that he's known the author of the Shack for many years, sat in theological discussion groups with him on many occasions... and has now published an extended interaction with the Shack: The Back of The Shack.

He's even set up a site to talk about it, with a number of linked (positive/negative) reviews...
TheShackReview.com

A Christianity Worth Believing: Hope-filled, Open-armed, Alive-and-well Faith for the Left Out, Left Behind, and Let Down in us All

I got a copy of Doug's new book in the mail yesterday: A Christianity Worth Believing: Hope-filled, Open-armed, Alive-and-well Faith for the Left Out, Left Behind, and Let Down in us All

Started reading it while watching the news after dinner and just kept going all the way through American Idol.

It really is great...

I'll write more on the book in a bit- when I've read more and we're not in the middle of Holy Week... But, I think it will do what Doug does best- answer some questions, pose even more, but most of all, send your thinking to places you never would have gotten to otherwise. You need to check this out, whether you are a fan, a critic, or just someone who needs a picture of  A Christianity Worth Believing: Hope-filled, Open-armed, Alive-and-well Faith for the Left Out, Left Behind, and Let Down in us All.

I think everyone who grew up in church should read the account of Doug's conversion. It's pretty rare to read the story of someone coming to Christ who has grown, matured, gotten theological education but hasn't forgotten what it was like to enter the entirely foreign world of faith as an unchurched person. Too often, all that growth and maturity and theological education has the practical effect of whitewashing the memories of first encountering Christ and overlaying all sorts of theological concepts and thoughts that weren't there... Doug recalls the amazing parts and the painful parts of becoming a Christian, and anyone who wants to help other people do the same would do well to read his story...

And, at the very least, it's entirely refreshing to read a book by someone who doesn't think the world in general and Christianity in particular is going to hell in a handbasket.

You can actually read the first chapter here

Tim Keller- The Reason For God

Keller's new book the Reason for God is out- you should probably check this out. Here's the man talking about the book.

So call me a pagan... over and out.

Okay- I was an hour and a half into trying to finish my review of Pagan Christianity, but I'm bailing out now.

I'm sorry- the Adventure in Missing the Point that this book represents is simply too ridiculous to keep reading, much less put that much effort into writing about.

What I hate most about this book is that I have a deep love for the church and a serious desire to see it recover more organic, less-institutional forms of community life. I also have a desire to see it exercise biblical forms of church life, including the development of elders and other leaders and honestly, I think that Viola is so far afield in these areas and actually works against much of it...

His view of the pastorate, of elders, of what organic church could and should be is so narrow, and so ungenerous to any other way of seeing it, while at the same time so over-the-top self-important ("READING THIS BOOK TAKES COURAGE") that it makes me want to slam my computer on the floor, and I've already done that once in the last few weeks, so...

I'm out.

I leave this book with the knowledge that from here on out, when I begin speaking about "organic" church, I'm probably going to have to explain not just what I mean (which I'm used to) but what I don't mean. And that's what really gets me most about this...

Too many good concepts absolutely ruined by this book.

For those hungry for more, click here, here, and here.

And if you are as tired of thinking/reading about this book as I am, click here for something infinitely more spiritually and intellectually valuable.

TNIV- The Books of the Bible

Here's a cool deal...

What if the Bible were arranged more chronologically (and logically)? What if books that originally formed one unit were again reunited? And what what if we left off all the verse/chapter/paragraph headings and just red it as it was originally written- as whole books?

That's what the TNIV Books of the Bible does...

From the publisher's website:
The Books of the Bible project encourages better Bible reading, particularly by emphasizing the reading of whole books. The result is an inviting and clean visual presentation of the Bible, in Today's New International Version (TNIV), that can be understood and enjoyed more easily. The Books of the Bible differs from the format of most current Bibles in significant ways:

• Chapter and verse numbers are removed from the text
  (A chapter and verse range is given at the bottom of each page)
• Each book's natural literary breaks are shown instead
• There are no notes, cross references, or section headings in the text
• Text is presented in one column rather than two or more
• Books that have historically been divided into parts are restored
• Books are presented in an order that gives readers more help in understanding

Here's a type sample

Looks cool and would be especially good for devotional reading

Out of Ur Vs Pagan Christianity- the Smackdown

Rock on.

Out of Ur on the huge shortcomings of Pagan Christianity...

My concern with this book is that it is not what it claims to be. Viola argues that he has presented a careful and thorough exploration of Scripture and Church history. He simply hasn't.

In the chapter “The Pastor,” Viola’s entire biblical argument against the modern pastorate is based on the fact that the word “pastor” appears only once in the New Testament. He does reference (in parentheses) several other passages, as some of you have noted. But he does not interpret them and allow them to challenge his conclusion. Consider the following (Look these up; I can only list them):

o    James 3:1
o    1 Timothy 3:1; 5:18
o    1 Peter 5:2
o    1 Corinthians 9:9

Taken together, these passages don't mean that the pastorate ought to look like it does today. But they do make the issue more complicated than Viola acknowledges.

Regarding church history, Viola says there was no official leadership in the church until the second century. However, Clement of Rome, in the late first century, spoke of the office of bishop (and its "dignity") as if it were established fact (see his Epistle to the Corinthians). Viola also fails to acknowledge that the need for official leadership arose, in part, as a safeguard against heresy—serious heresy, like denial of the deity of Christ.

Viola glosses over the tremendous complexities of historical shifts, as the one from Roman persecution to Constantinian support of Christianity. The clarity of hindsight tells us that Constantinianism did untold damage to the church. But the church fathers must have imagined the shift as the fulfillment of God's kingdom on earth. It is little wonder, then, that they took full advantage of their liberty and built churches where they could gather in peace.

By failing to deal seriously with the messiness of history, Viola is woefully ungracious to the historical figures themselves. Men like Athanasius, John Chrysostom, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa and others in those early years of priesthood felt the full weight of their responsibility as shepherds of men’s and women’s souls. They made mistakes, to be sure, but they are brothers and sisters in Christ and, as such, deserve to be read sympathetically.

Viola’s use of sources is also a bit irresponsible. He relies too heavily on secondary sources. Other times he cites authors who do not support the whole of his position. Karl Barth (p.122), for example, disapproved of the clergy-laity distinction, but he worked firmly within the established church. After all, his magnum opus was entitled Church Dogmatics.

While failing to reference key Scriptures and glossing over historical complexity, Viola pronounces his interpretation as if every other is heresy and abomination. I could ignore the cavalier tone if it did not claim to be “immovable, historical truth.”

Read the rest here...

So call me a pagan... 7

You didn't think I was done with "Pagan Christianity?" Christianity, did you?

(Hoped, maybe...)

(Before we dive back in, it's interesting to see others sharing some of my same concerns about not only the long leaps of logic involved in Pagan Christianity, but the general tone. See, I'm not crazy.)

The next two chapters deal with Dressing Up For Church (an issue consuming the minds and thoughts of millions and tearing congregations around the country apart at the seams) and "Ministers of Music: Second Class Clergy" a chapter title perfectly designed to ding the already fragile egos of music pastors nationwide :)

But seriously, folks...

Chapter 5 is a fine run down of the whole idea of dressing up for church in general, and clerical garb in particular. It's an interesting study and mostly helpful, but...

Again, the whole "early church as perfect church" bias shines through.
"...[D]ressing up for church smacks against the primitive simplicity that was the sustaining hallmark of the early church. The first-century Christians did not 'dress up' to attend church meetings. They met in the simplicity of living rooms. They did not dress to exhibit social class. In fact, the early Christians made concrete efforts to show their absolute disdain for social class distinctions."
(This last claim is footnoted. Apparently, this absolute disdain was displayed through "drop[ing] their general family name, which indicated their social status. They also called one another 'brother' and 'sister.'" Man- freakin' class warriors, those first-century Christians...)

Why quote this section? Do I think we should "dress up" for church? Well, if you call jeans, a button up shirt (I learned the hard way -the lapel mic looks very goofy clipped on t-shirts), sneakers and about half the time a ball-cap dressing up, then I guess I dress up.
No- I don't think there's much to dressing up for church and I really don't think much of clerical robes and such.

But the whole picture that's being pushed here is just silly.

Robbymac on Pagan Christianity?

Robbymac has read more books by Frank Viola than I... and so has seen that what I've seen in Pagan Christianity? is really a pattern that's discernible across a number of Viola's works...

And because it made me laugh and laugh, I'm just going to go ahead right now and nominate this post by Robbymac as the best response to Pagan Christianity? yet written.

tenable?

  More non-Pagan Christianity? news...

from Tony Jones' new book The New Christians:

"The second characteristic of emergents is a high- if tortured- desire for inclusion. In interviews, similar comments were repeated in all eight churches: 'openness,' 'nonjudgmental,' 'wherever you are on the journey,' 'inclusive.' But they were quick to point out that this doesn't necessarily mean liberal or relativistic. One emergent stated 'Just because our church is open to various viewpoints doesn't mean that anythng goes. We really believe things. We just also really believe that we might be wrong.' This is a tricky middle path between the certainties of evangelicalism and the openness of liberalism, and the jury is out as to whether this middle ground is really a tenable place to stand."

I appreciated that last line more than just about anything I've read from "emerging church" literature recently. We talk the game of a "chastened epistemology" pretty well, but when it comes down to it, we tend to proclaim things just as certainly as those in the church structures/paradigms we're trying to move away from.
So, to hear someone like Tony say (in effect) "Were trying to plot a middle course and it may not work" is really refreshing to me. It's putting that particular value into action where it really counts- not just telling others not to be so sure of themselves and their projects, but admitting: What we're trying to build might not hold.

The fault lines have begun to show between the "emergent" and "emerging/missional" camps... Issues of universalism (which really deals with the issue of "to what END are we "missional?" and the place of evangelism in our communities) and how we think of homosexuality ("Welcoming but not affirming" vs "Welcoming AND affirming"), among others are already showing the even within this "third way" kind of movement, there are and may always be left/right polarities.

So call me a pagan... 6

In chapter five of "Pagan Christianity?" Viola takes on the "Pastor."

Oh, Frank...

"So prevailing is the pastor in the minds of most Christians that he is often better known, more highly praised and more heavily relied upon than Jesus Himself."

When I was in College, I can remember being around some folks, and in the midst of our conversation, apparently I made a number of derogatory remarks about myself and men in general. After maybe one too many remarks from me like that, one guy looked at me and asked "Man... What did she do to you? Must have been something bad..."

Halfway through this book I'm starting to wonder who the pastor was that hurt Frank Viola so badly...

The main thesis of this chapter is: "There is not a single verse in the entire New Testament that supports the existence of the modern-day pastor! He simply did not exist in the early church."
So where did we get pastors?

Glad you asked. 

So call me a pagan... 5

In chapter five of "Pagan Christianity?" Viola takes on the "sermon." And again, here is probably where we are closest. I've written a lot about recovering interactivity and dialogue in sermon. We try to do this weekly-
sometimes more, sometimes less. But we always try to do what the people did in Nehemiah: "So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading."-Neh 8:8

Our elders try to do what Paul instructs  in 1 Tim 4:13: and "devote [ourselves] to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching."

We follow Paul's example and use dialogue (Acts 20:7- the word for talk there is "dialogue"), but we try to avoid his example and speak for so long that people actually die (Acts 20:9).

We generally follow the New Testament pattern of "one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given..." (1 Cor 14:26)

I'm not going to work through all of Viola's assertions in this chapter- some are good, some seem silly (like calling the sermon "unscriptural"- again, I know he says he MEANS extra-biblical... but does he not realize how the vast majority of people read this??? Unbiblical= wrong= sin), but I will say this:

Two sides to every story...

We all know they exist, right?

It's been interesting over the years to hear and read Mark Driscoll's side of his "break" with the Leadership Network group that would later become Emergent Village. He's always stated that he walked away from the whole thing over theological differences.

I have heard the other side of that story from numerous mouths who were also there and knew that there was discomfort on both sides- and that, in fact, the rest of the group felt...

Well, I guess you'll just have to read Tony Jones' new book The New Christians to get the rest of that story :)

Yeah, I know... I'm mean. So sue me.

The New Christians

     

And now, in non-Pagan Christianity news...

I'm really enjoying Tony Jones' new book The New Christians. I had a bit of trepidation on picking this up- I wasn't sure if I'd get treated to another late 90's, early 2000's version of "Here's what the post-modern shift is all about!" And while there are elements of that here, it's really the next stage in that discussion- describing the Left-Right polarity in America ad in Western Christianity and how emerging church folk are trying to work past that:

"So these two boxers, "Liberal" and "Conservative," tired, bedraggled and lacking enough power to land any more punches, come back to the center of the ring for the next round of their eternal match, and they can do little more than grasp at each other, wrap each other up. There's a lot of clutching and grabbing, and an occasional shouting match on Larry King Live, or Hardball with Chris Matthews. The referee can't separate them, and neither of them has enough strength to land the winning blow. But they keep fighting.
Meanwhile, a generation of Christians aren't even boxing anymore. They're flying kites. They've entered an entirely different conception of what game we're really playing. They've opted out of the boxing match between liberal and conservative. They're finding a third way between the bipolar strife that has racked our churches and our society."

It's good writing, some good storytelling and some good challenges to those on both sides of the Left/Right spectrum, followed by discussions of theology, post-objectivity and truth.

The only thing that bothers me (and Tony and I have been around this bush before, so I won't go into it too much) is that with this book all vestiges of "emerging" are gone. It's now "Emergents," "Emergent Christianity" and "Emergent Church."
I've often thought that a too-strong tie between Emergent Village (the organization) and the emerging church (the overall movement) was a net-negative in that it made a small group of folks the de-facto spokespeople for us all, and subjected everyone who wanted to be along for the ride to endless confusion between EV and everyone else and between what we actually thought and what critics thought Brian McLaren (and others) thought.
Whew.
My hope was that Emergent Village would change their name, or at least settle for talking about the "emerging church" so as to avoid the appearance of branding, but...

Anyway- it seems like a really engaging book, one that I'm looking forward to working through.

I think you should check it out.

Others weigh in...

... on Pagan Christianity?

(I'm linking to the reviews that are similar in conclusion to mine, mainly to counter the idea that "some", namely me, are taking statements out of context, twisting Frank's words, etc.)

This is a seriously good review by Trevin Wax: "Pagan Christianity, if taken seriously by many Christians, will not lead to a renewal of the church, but to ecclesial amputation - as more and more disenchanted church members abandon their church families in order to seek after the “pure church” of the first century. They will keep chasing the pot at the end of the rainbow, only to find it eludes them because it doesn’t exist."

iMonk makes me laugh: "The sermon is pagan. The book that tells you the sermon is pagan is not. No one should be the designated song leader. Instead, whoever is rude, loud and mentally ill should be allowed to lead. Do not discourage them, as this is hierarchical and pagan.
Restrooms are pagan. Do not use them.
Church should have no hierarchy at all. Please invite me to your conference where I won’t say this, or anything else.
All routine in worship is wrong. In fact, follow the following suggestions to be truly Christian:

-Meet on different days of the week, and don’t tell anyone when.

-The same with where you meet. Keep ‘em looking.

-Don’t use the Bible more than once every few weeks.

-Try out another religion entirely every so often, to break the routine.

Marriage is also pagan. Avoid it.

Parenting is a hierarchy. In fact, so is child care of any sort. Jesus said let the children come onto me, so get them into your meetings.

All of Paul’s commands to Timothy about the duties of pastors will be explained in a forthcoming, revolutionary, non-hierarchical book.

Your objections to my wisdom are traditional and pagan. As are you. And your little dog."

Bill Kinnon gives "a response to Frank's writing style. He writes as a "true believer." The house church movement is the "right way" to do church and everything else is the wrong way. Let me be blunt. I find the writing style grating and arrogant. And even after losing my affection for the megachurch world a number of years ago, I still found Frank's style off-putting. That style is alive and well in PC."

Joe Thorn here, here and here  (This is awesome: "I do not want to dismiss the authors’ concerns, but it’s hard for me to take them seriously when they so grossly overstate things.Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy provocative books. I want others to challenge me and force me to re-think my practices and beliefs. The problem for me is that the book reads more like an ecclesiological version of the Loose Change conspiracy theories concerning the 9/11 attack. A lot of information is collected, assumptions are made, and in the end the final interpretation of history is simply wrong. Not only does their attempt to uncover the truth fail, but more importantly I fear their legit concerns will be ignored by many while others will read the book as gospel because it presents itself as unquestionable history with Barna’s research seal of approval.")

Len Hjalmerson says in the comments to this post: "In the end, I wish this book would go away. No disrespect to Frank, George, yourself and endorsers, some of whom I know and love. I’m not convinced that polemic is all that helpful within this conversation around the gospel and culture. I would rather have careful and respectful dialogue. I fear that the approach Frank and George have taken, broad and sweeping statements.. will only create bad feelings and division."

Darryl Dash: "Barna and Viola have raised some valid issues. Some dynamics of church life that should be present often aren't. We need to take these seriously. But they don't make their case, and their conclusion ultimately falls short. There is room for all kinds of churches, including the institutional. What matters more than structure is the life contained within, and that can come only from God- who, it seems, is more than willing to give us that life."

So call me a pagan... 4

Okay- I thought the next two chapters of "Pagan Christianity?" would be ones I could wholeheartedly get behind, being as they are, critiques of the evangelical order of worship and sermon- two things that Evergreen does fairly differently than your standard evergreen church (see here for a run down on a typical evergreen morning)

But, alas... twas not to be.

Chapter three is a fairly long treatise on the origins of the "order of worship." You know,
Hymns/singing
Scripture Reading
Choir music
Pastoral prayer
Sermon
Prayer
Offering
Benediction.

Viola takes offense at this. "You can scour the Bible from beginning to end, and you will never find anything that remotely resembles our order of worship. This is because the first-century Christians knew no such thing" (pg 50)

You know, the further I get in this book, the more Viola sounds like someone who buys the Regulative Principle. He says he doesn't, but to be honest, he sure talks like he does.

So call me a pagan... 3

Let's get into the main parts of "Pagan Christianity?," starting with chpt 3: The Church Building.

Here, Viola does have some good things to say, and some challenges, particularly as regards how much is spent on buildings and structures by the Church in the West. But as is quickly being seen here as SOP (standard operating procedure) he buries all the good points he makes under an almost intolerable load of garbage- overstatements, mis-implications and outright non sequiturs.

So call me a pagan... 2

A number of people have commented here and elsewhere, that you have to look past the "overstatements"  in "Pagan Christianity" and once you do that, there really are some good ideas in the book.

Well...

I'm certainly going to try. No, really!
But here's the thing.

What if the whole premise of the book is not just an "overstatement"... but a kind of big, huge, whopping over-reach of such grand proportions and sheer arrogance that whatever good is said later is completely eclipsed by the magnitude and complete nerve it takes to open one's mouth (or type on one's keyboard) and make such an Al-Gorsian I-Invented-The-Internet kind of statement?

You know... what if?

Before we go chapter-by-chapter, I just wanted to deal with a couple of key statements.

The first is arguably the central tenet, the supporting pillar of the whole book. It's found on page xx of the intro, written by Frank Viola, and it says this:

"We are also making an outrageous proposal: that the church in its contemporary, institutional form has neither a biblical nor a historical right to exist."

Again, I'll give you a moment to go back and read that again. Slowly.

Okay- got it?
1st Baptist down the street? Illegitimate.
Willow Creek? Saddleback? Illegitimate.
Mars Hill (pick one)? No right to exist.

Okay, everybody... shut 'em down!
Seriously- party's over. We're done here.

Please do as Frank has done and leave "the institutional church to begin gathering with Christians in the New Testament fashion..."

Can someone call Rick and Bill and let them know? And you better break the news to Mark Driscoll. This is really gonna hit him hard.

Viola is absolutely correct about one thing, though. This is an "outrageous" statement.
("Outrageous - greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation")

So far beyond the pale is this central tenet of the book that I have trouble taking the rest seriously- even on the parts where I might agree.

And the whole book seems BUILT on silly, misguided ideas like this and like "Nothing so hinders the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose as does the present-day pastoral role."

Really?

"Nothing"?

NOTHING?

So... ME. I'm doing more to hinder God's purpose in the world than say... sin, than Satan, than brokenness and selfishness and all the other crap out there.

Little old me?

Like I said before- Whoa.

So call me a pagan...

I'm trying to think about how best to blog on Viola and Barna's new book "Pagan Christianity."
I say that because I had a feeling this book would "disturb" me, and so far, it has accomplished exactly that.

And what really gets me is that is exactly the author's (at least, Viola's) intention. That's what I take from the following breathless prose: "We now invite you to walk with us on an untrodden path. It is  a terrifying journey where you will be forced to ask questionsthat probably have never entered your conscious thoughts. Tough questions. Nagging questions. Even frightening questions. And you will be faced squarely with disturbing answers. Yet those answers will lead you face-to-face with some of the richest truths a Christian can discover...
However, if you choose to "take the red pill" and be shown "how deep the rabbit hole goes"... if you want to learn the true story of where your Christian practices come from... if you are willing to have the curtain pulled back on teh contemporary church and its traditional presuppositions fiercely challenged... then you will find this work to be disturbing, enlightening and possibly life changing."

In the words of Neo...

Whoa.

Of course, I don't think I'm disturbed like Frank wanted me disturbed, but we'll talk more about that later. 

Let's rewind.

 .

Christ Transforming Culture?

"Ironically, having set out to transform culture, both liberal and conservative forms of Christianity in  North America today find themselves transformed by late-capitalist, liberal-individualist culture during the last century. It is little more than empty rhetoric, then, for liberals and conservatives to claim to be transforming culture and to accuse those who reject the Christ transforming culture model as irresponsible and irrelevant. What could be more irrelevant than Christian leaders who beg the government to pass laws to coerce their own church members into caring for the poor or refusing the abortion temptation, when those Christian leaders cannot convince their own flocks to do these things on the basis of the Bible? There is a glaring parallel between liberal Christians lobbying the government to tax the capitalists in their own flocks and redistribute the money to the poor, on one hand, and conservative Christians lobbying the government to outlaw abortion, so members of their own flock will not have it as an option. No wonder politicians often have so little respect for religious lobbyists."

-Craig A. Carter, Rethinking Christ and Culture

Christendom VS the Gospel...

"But no matter how we write the history, we must face that we live in a society whose intellectual elites are united in little except a common conviction that Christianity is intolerant and backward and, therefore, represents a barrier to social progress. Privatized Christianity can be tolerated, but Christianity must be banished from the public square, except when trotted out as part of a civil religion designed to rally the citizens in time of war.

The Christianity against which they have reacted, of course, is the Christianity of Christendom: the Christianity of ruling elites and state churches, the Christianity of violent coercion and intolerance, the Christianity of power and privilege, the Christianity of racism, patriarchy and colonialism, the Christianity of the Inquisition and the Holocaust. Christendom Christianity is weighed down with so much cultural baggage that it could not, under present conditions, become dominant in Western culture again without being perceived as a tool of totalitarianism.

But the gospel of Jesus Christ is not Christendom Christianity. The gospel is good news for the poor. The gospel is countercultural, nonviolent and subversive of empire. The gospel empowers women, teaches the equality of all and identifies with Jews as brothers and sisters The gospel works by persuasion, tolerates rejection, and respects even those who do not listen. The gospel creates genuine community out of those who, humanly speaking, have little in common. The gospel is of no use to most political rulers because it outlaws violence and renounces greed. The gospel identifies with no culture exclusively but is embraced by individuals and minority group in every culture all over the world. The gospel has never disappeared through the long centuries of Christendom, despite everything."

-Craig A. Carter, Rethinking Christ and Culture

Wikiklesia wins Major Award

Dustin congratulated me on my chapter in Out of the Ooze, commenting "Congrats!  I mean, it's not "The Relevant Church" but it's pretty cool." The Relevant Church of course is that volume with contributions from the likes of Mark Driscoll, Karen Ward and of course, our own Dustin Bagby, lovingly referred to therein as "the Rock Star."

Well...

No, it's not The Relevant Church, but then again, did the Relevant Church ever win a Major Award?

Because another book I wrote a chapter for won a major award. And no... it's not a Lamp. :)

I wrote a chapter for the experimental Voices of the Virtual World. And it (the book as a whole, not just my bit) has now won a Society for New Communications Research Award of Merit. From the press release:

The Society honors innovative individuals, corporations, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and media outlets that are pioneering the use of social media, ICT, mobile media, online communities, virtual worlds and collaborative technologies in the areas of media, marketing, public relations, advertising, entertainment, education, politics and social initiatives. The award winners were announced at the Society’s awards gala at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston, Mass on December 5th, 2007.

Very cool. If you haven’t already, you can purchase the book here.  All proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Not For Sale campaign.

Out of the Ooze

I have a chapter in the just published “Out of the Ooze- Unlikely Love Letters to the Church From Beyond the Pew”, a collection of articles from The Ooze. It's my essay "Just Who Is Emergent Anyway?" written a couple of years ago in response to many who were jumping on the "Let's light some candles and call it Emerging!!!" bandwagon.

The book is divided into sections: Awakening, Rethinking, Experiencing, Wondering and Responding. Other authors include Andrew Jones, Bill Dahl,  Frank Viola, Peter Walker, Lan Hjalmerson, Alan Hartung, John O’Keefe, Spencer Burke, Lisa DeLay and Sarah Raymond Cunningham. Spencer is the general editor and I'm truly impressed and grateful that he'd want my contribution, even after the fisking I gave him over "Heretic's Guide to Eternity." 

A blurb from Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways:

“Out of the Ooze is a collection of the writings from various exiles, mystics, poets, and dreamers of the postmodern church. As such, it gives eloquent voice to the rich litany of interests and concerns of a generation. Eclectic, edgy, intelligent, and generative, this is a book that will help the reader better understand the ardent search for a place to stand that so characterizes the Western church in our time.”

Check it out here

Book Review: A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

"Prayer is the application of the heart to God, and the internal exercise of love."
- Madame Guyon

For those interested in something a bit different than today's Prayer of Jabez/How to Have Your Best Life Now manuals or wanting to read a primer on contemplative prayer, this book is a great place to start.
This is a new reprint- a "Special Journal Edition" with plenty of blank pages and places to record thoughts on Madame Guyon's ideas on the stages of prayer. Not a long read, but much to chew on, think over, put into practice and make a part of one's prayer vocabulary.

"If any will pursue the little path I have pointed out, it will lead them to intuitive prayer. God demands nothing extraordinary nor difficult; on the contrary, He is best pleased by a simple and child-like conduct.

That which is most sublime and elevated in religion is most easily attained: the most necessary Sacraments are the least difficult. It is thus also in natural things: if you would go to sea, embark on a river, and you will be conveyed to it insensibly and without exertion. Would you go to God, follow this sweet and simple path, and you will arrive at the desired object, with an ease and expedition that will amaze you."

Check it out:

Rest...

"Here's why I'm telling you this: taskmasters are masters of half-truth. They couch their harangue in just enough reality that the whole thing has the ring of authenticity. It's true, in part what they say: there is no end of things to do. I am a touch  on the lazy side and disguise this with busyness. There is a crowd of people disappointed with me, who find me, by turn, indecisive, despotic, timid, rash, evasive, blunt, foolhardy, wise in my own eyes, foot-dragging, impulsive. I do procrastinate  overmuch and at the same time make too many snap decisions. Most of my life is unfinished. Many of my efforts are slapdash and slipshod.

It's true.

So? The lie mixed in here is that, because it's true, I have no right to rest.

And actually, that's true too. I have no right to a lot of things: my health, my home, my family, my salvation. May as well add rest to the list.

But thank God that God could care less about our rights. What God cares about, and deeply, is our needs. And it's this simple: you and I have an inescapable need for rest.

The lie the taskmasters want you to swallow is that you cannot rest until your work's all done, and done better than you are currently doing it. But the truth is, the work's never done, and never done right. It's always more than you could finish and less than you had hoped for.

So what? Get this straight: the rest of God- the rest God gladly gives so that we might discover that part of God we're missing- is not a reward for finishing. It's not a bonus for work well done.

It's a sheer gift. It is a stop-work order in the midst of work that's never complete, never polished. Sabbath is not the break we're allotted at the tail end of completing all our tasks and chores, the fulfillment of all our obligations. It's the rest we take smack-dab in the middle of them, without apology, without guilt, and for no better reason than God told us we could."
-Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God

church...

"Why does church matter? Because 'church' names the people of God who make known God's love for the world in Jesus Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit....
First, I am convinced, with many others, that the good news of Jesus Christ is fundamentally not a new set of ideas or system of belief but the grace of God made known in human lives. The church is the body of people who believe the good news and are chosen by God to bear witness to it. The church's witness bearing is testimony not to its own life but to God's grace in its life. Since that grace is the good news of Jesus Christ, it bears witness to the entire history of Christ's coming, including his continuing work through the Holy Spirit in the power of the resurrection. That grace of the gospel is both judgment and redemption. The judgment of grace reveals our sin, so that we may confess, repent and be forgiven. The redemption of grace is the transformation of our lives into a new people. Thus, the good news to which the church is called as witness is fundamentally a way of life. It must be 'acted out'; it must be practiced."

- Jonathan R. Wilson, Why Church Matters: Worship, Ministry, and Mission in Practice

entertainment...

"The reality TV fad exemplifies this merging of entertainment and real life. News organizations
once provided thoughtful commentary
so they could make informed choices, but today, real-life tragedies and the mundane failures and heartaches of ordinary people are hyped like new movie releases, complete with special effects. The normal human response to a person in need is to help, but that is not the case in an entertainment culture. Actor George Clooney observes, "People's misery becoming entertainment, that's what's dangerous. And that seems to be the place we're going." Humans sit in front of television sets, passively watching human misery unfold, while just outside their door, a real person faces the same problem and there is no one to help them because we're all preoccupied with our favorite characters on reality TV.
When diversion becomes a way of lfe, we avoid the very issues to which we should be most attentive. We are diverted from the grim, unpleasant truth that our lives lack meaning without God, that consumption does not satisfy, that the differential between wealth and poverty is unjust, that our neighbor is in need, and that the appropriate human response to people in need is sleeves-rolled-up service, not simply watching."
-Dick Staub, The Culturally Savvy Christian

scriptureprayer

"The second conviction was that my primary pastoral work had to do with Scripture and prayer. I was neither capable nor competent to form Christ in another person, to shape a life of discipleship in man, woman, or child. That is supernatural work and I am not supernatural. Mine was the more modest work of Scripture and prayer- helping people listen to God speak to them from the Scriptures and then joining them in answering God as personally and honestly as we could in lives of prayer. This turned out to be slow work. From time to time, impatient with the slowness, I would try out ways of going about my work that promised quicker results. But after a while it always seemed to be more like meddling in these people's lives than helping them attend to God.
More often than not I found myself getting in the way of what the Holy Spirit had been doing long before I arrived on the scene, so I would go back, feeling a bit chastened, to my proper work: Scripture and prayer; prayer and Scripture. But the and is misleading. Scripture and prayer are not two separate entities. My pastoral work was to fuse them into a single act: scriptureprayer, or prayerscripture. It is this fusion of God speaking to us (Scripture) and our speaking to Him (prayer) that the Holy Spirit uses to form the life of Christ in us...

A few years after writing A Long Obedience I noticed that a lot of people were talking and writing about "spirituality." I thought I knew what they were doing and was delighted that so many allies were showing up in unexpected places. But it turned out that I was wrong.  I had read my own convictions into their interests. I thought they were interested in living the life of Christ first hand; I thought they were interested in Scripture and prayer, the most accessible means provided to us for cultivating that life and maturing in it. By and large they were not. The torrent of "spiritualities" that continues both within and without Christian communities, apparently without letup, has little liking for  either "long" or "slow."

...[M]en and women who believingly follow Jesus Jesus (what we commonly call "the Christian life" or "Christian spirituality") are best guided and energized by a fusion of Scripture and prayer. For as long as an enthusiasm for Christian "spirituality" accelerates without an equivalent commitment to its means, nothing much is going to come of it. There is virtual unanimity among our Christian ancestors that the means consists precisely in this fusion of Scripture and prayer."

-Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

quoted...

In David Allen's very awesome Ready For Anything:

"Fortunate indeed is the man who takes exactly the right measure of himself and holds a just balance between what he can acquire and what he can use." -Peter Mere Latham