This book has the potential to change everything.
I have to give Rob Bell a lot of credit. It's a risky book for him. It's one thing to write books and preach sermons that are geared at bringing people into (or back to) the church. People will call you emergent and say you don't talk about Jesus enough (both erroneous accusations). But it's a whole new ballgame when you start talking about empire in the Biblical narrative, and how American Christians are power players in the empire. Then people start calling you unAmerican, and level the most popular slur around these days: socialist.
That's clearly a risk that Bell is willing to take with this book. He takes on how much money we spend on military expenditures. He takes on the question of how well people of power can really get at the heart of what a lot of the Biblical narrative is addressing. He takes on the paradigm of loving your enemy.
All of that got me pumped up. There were points where my dog started looking at me funny because I was pumping my fist in the living room. But it was just so exciting to see these ideas go mainstream. I was thrilled that one of the most popular voices in Christian writing right now chose to tackle the difficult subject matter.
Now it will be interesting to see what the reaction is.
Some people will be ticked. And I think a lot of people will agree in principle, but not allow the book to penetrate them to the point where it changes what they do in practice. But I'm convinced that there will be a few who will hear and they will act and it will be powerful. And if an entire group or an entire congregation were to engage with the book and allow it to change how they as a community engage with those around them, it could change everything.
Renew and Restore
I'll warn you up front. This post is very, very ranty. I don't care if "ranty" isn't an actual word. It describes this post.
So a while back I used frequent flier miles to pick up a subscription to The Economist. Strong move on my part. The rag has been great. The depth of coverage is fantastic, and it's really healthy to have a non-American view of the news. Good reporting on Asia, Africa and South America. And no particular lean toward either political party.
The best aspect of the magazine is that it has really challenged my views on the free market. Socialized government has sounded appealing to me over the past decade or so, but now I wrestle with the two paradigms. Clearly, that is a week's worth of posts in and of itself, so we'll just leave it at that.
Imagine my disappointment this week when I get an unexpected package from the United States Postal Service. A small clear bag, boldly stating "We Care". I never accused the postal service of not caring. But clearly, they felt the need to explain themselves since the contents of the package included the cover of this week's Economist. Only the cover. The rest was laying helplessly in some street, or on the floor of the postoffice or at the back of some postal vehicle.
Look, I completely understand that the post office can't possibly bat a thousand. Stuff is going to get mixed up. We're cool. But dang. Of all the weeks to not get The Economist. You know. Only the week that hosted the biggest financial crash of my lifetime.
Still no worries. I read a couple of articles online, but really wanted a hard copy. I had a Border's gift card, and figured I'd swing by to pick up a copy there. But following a 5-minute search of the magazine rack, I was still empty handed. No copies to be found. So I sought out a customer service representative. She verified that they did indeed carry the magazine, but surmised that they were sold out. Fair enough. I could easily imagine people flooding into Borders to get The Economist so they could actually hear about a good idea for fixing the economy. Clearly, the Executive and Legislative brances of our governement don't know how to find those.
I just proceed to the checkout to get a book instead. Slowest...line...ever. The one checkout guy spends five minutes arguing with some lady about why he can't give her the educator discount. So I wait and wait and wait. Finally it's my turn. I pay for my book. I start walking out.
Whaddya know? A rack filled with The Economist is sitting up by the last register as you walk out of the store. No wonder their weren't any in the store.
I pick one up. I glance back at the line. 5 people. Still just the single slowest checkout guy in the history of book selling. No bueno.
But then, a glimmer of hope. This manager is at the register right in front of me with another employee. The sign says the register is closed, but I ask politely if he could just sell me the mag really quick.
"Sorry man. I'm training someone right now."
Seriously, bro. No way am I getting back in that line. I wince. I put the magazine back. I say, "Thanks". I walk out the door.
And that is the story of the last time I ever bought something at Borders.
Renew and Restore
I'm usually the cool kid. I know what's hot, and then I introduce my family to it. Not so much with The Shack. My mom read it first and sent it to us. Then Stacy read it. Finally, when I finished classes last semester, I had a chance to start it.
There are a lot of words and comments on the
interwebs about the book. You can find people who love it. You can find people who think it is heresy. There isn't much I can say that hasn't already been said. I can understand both sides of the conversation, though I'm a little frustrated with people who are on the witch hunt. Look. It's a book that a guy wrote for his kids. It's a parable. It's self-published. This isn't some driven individual who set out to shatter paradigms and change the face of orthodox Christian theology.
There are a lot of people like that. They speak in hyperbole and say
ridiculous things so that others will totally wig out. They deconstruct theological ideas just to mess with people. William P. Young is not one of those cats.
So here's the deal. Once you've read the book, you need to hear the author speak. NEED to. He spoke at Greater
Portland Bible Church for 2 hours recently, and was good enough to let them post the conversation on their website. It's part sermon, part author's notes, part testimony, part insight on writing and publishing. I found it to be an incredibly fast two hours. Without just gushing all over the place here, I might even call it "riveting".
It's 120 minutes that make me want to read the book again. It's 120 minutes that really convicted me about some stuff in my life. And it's 120 minutes that puts into perspective some of the stuff in the book that seems so far outside the box that it makes some people really mad.
So check out the podcast. It's
here. At least for a couple more weeks, at which point it will move to the archive
here.
Fair
Dinkum
Christianity Today had
this article a couple of months back about "How To Save the Christian Bookstore". It seems more and more are falling on hard times. It was an interesting article, especially as I buy a lot of books but rarely at the so-called "Christian" bookstore. So here are some of my thoughts on the subject...
- Be Nice: Two of my coworkers went to a local Christian bookstore to use some giftcards we had. They were having problems finding what they were looking for, so they grabbed a store employee and politely asked if they stocked Shane Claiborne. His reply? "No. We're a CHRISTIAN bookstore." Hmmmmmm. So they asked for some NT Wright. The second response? "No. But if we did, I'd throw it at you." Wow. Not a big fan of the archbishop of Canterbury, I take it. Needless to say, none of us have ever been back.
- Be More Open: I'd go to Christian bookstores more if they had what I wanted. I read a lot of books that inform my faith and contribute to my worldview as a Christ-follower, but probably half of those books can't be found at the Christian bookstore in my church. No Anne Lamott. No Shack. No Ethical Realism. And all of that is fine. Look, far be it from me to make my brothers or sisters stumble because they see me carrying around a book where The Trinity is represented by a Black woman, an Asian woman and a Middle Eastern man. And I understand that the bookstore will order that stuff in for me. But I'm terribly impatient (a character flaw of mine) and prideful (I don't enjoy stuffing Anne Lamott into a brown paper sack and thus feeling like I'm sneaking porn out of the church), so I'm probably just going to order my books at bn.com and get it shipped to my house for free in just under 3 days.
- Be Realistic: The Christian Bookstore has probably maxed out its market share. It is catering to such a particularly thin slice of the reading population, that it's just never going to be a huge seller. That's fine. Just adjust your business model accordingly.
Fair
Dinkum
I've been playing a fun new game this past week. It starts whenever one of my Christian friends asks me what I am doing today. I pretend to ponder the question for just a brief moment, and then I casually announce that I'm taking some kids to see "The Golden Compass".
It is at this point in the conversation where my friends begin to aspirate. Pandemonium ensues. I jump in with a huge smile and a peppy "just kidding!!", right before anyone passes out and gets a nasty bump on the head.
I consider myself to be fairly well-read, so I am a little bit ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Phillip Pullman or "The Golden Compass" prior to last week. What an ignorant dolt I must be. I only mention it so that we are all clear that I'm forming all of my following opinions on second-hand knowledge.
My initiation into this fantastic public debate occurred in the friendly confines of Facebook. One of my friends joined a group entitled "Do NOT support 'The Golden Compass'". I clicked on the link to see what in tarnation was going on, to find that the group had over 120,000 members and that its homepage contained a link to a very fair and balanced story from Fox News.
What I can surmise from my fact-gathering mission is this: my fellow Evangelicals are mad that Hollywood has a pro-athiest agenda. They are calling for us to boycott TGC as a sign of solidarity that we will not support a trilogy of movies based on fictional books that culminate with kids killing god so that they can do whatever they want to do.
I agree that Hollywood has an agenda. It's called money. If bare breasts and swear words sell, they will release movies with bare breasts and swear words. If movies based on a series of books written by a well-known Christian author will sell a gaggle of tickets, they will release such a movie. If a movie will cause Christians to raise such a ruckus that the movie gets tons of free advertising in the form of newspaper stories and tv news debates, they will release such movies.
That's right, friends. You are once again masterfully filling your role as puppet.
It's like I always say...When Hollywood sends you limes, squeeze the juice into your rum and coke and relax.
The last time I checked, people really like to do whatever they want. Not only that, but there are 4 books in my bible dedicated to a story of how people wanted to kill god so that they could do whatever they wanted. And you know what? They actually killed god.
***Spoiler Alert***
Unlike TGC, that isn't the end of the story. Jesus rises again. Truth wins. Grace wins. Love wins. God wins.
***End Spoiler Alert***
So my question is, why don't we just use this movie to our advantage? As someone who works with adolescents, I think there would be great value in watching the films with ensuing discussions on how they fit into a Christian worldview. Here's a question...what would really happen if we succeeded in permanently killing God and doing whatever we wanted? How do we try to kill God every day to do what we want? How is the god in TGC fundamentally different from the God we worship?
I mean, honestly people. In the process of trying to make money Hollywood is throwing you a softball here. Right over the middle of the plate.
There is a good chance that Pullman's trillogy will be required reading in our home when our kids hit middle school. We will read the books together. We will talk about them. We won't get our underwear all up in a bunch. We will grow together and have respectful conversation about who our God is and how we can better serve that God.
Chill out...Don't trip...
Do...Not...Trip
Fair Dinkum
The problem of racial and socioeconomic segregation in Kansas City is a difficult one to wrap one's mind around. Those not from this area have a hard time believing things are as bad as I make them out to be. Those from this area generally have the same reactions, because the "walls" we have built up in this metro area are so high and thick that those with relative power and wealth have effectively insulated themselves from coming in contact with people of color and low socio economic status. The entire situation is difficult and ugly and requires a long nuanced discussion.
Enter Cross-X. A few years back, Joe Miller took on the task of chronicling the season of the area's best high school debate squad. That squad just so happened to be Central High School, which is located two blocks from where I work in the heart of inner city Kansas City. It is 99% black. It is over 90% free lunch. Prior to high school, none of the kids had any debate experience. And yet, they had a habit of traveling to prestigious national tournaments and competing for hardware.
Cross-X is one of those books that tells two stories at once. There is the story of the team, but then there is also the story of the author. As a white man of relative wealth and privilege, it is fascinating to watch how Miller's experience with the team opens his eyes to what is going on in his community. Already a socially conscious individual, he delves deeper into systems of injustice as he stands beside the oppressed and begins to advocate on their behalf while living life with them.
If you live in the KC area, I will put you on notice. You have to read this book. If you don't, you are avoiding the harsh truth about what our community looks like. We are all culpable for the problems it faces, and we all bear responsibility in the renewal of our neglected and oppressed populations. I know those are strong words, but I feel that strongly about how well this book discusses race and power.
If you don't live in the KC area, I still strongly recommend the book. If nothing else, it's a very compelling story. But there is a lot more than that, as well.
Fair Dinkum
One of the kids I work with brought a book home from school yesterday. I was pleased to learn that wordsmith Andy Griffiths has authored
Zombie Butts from Uranus. It is best summed up by its own back cover.
Strange Butt Two - True!!!!
Zack Freeman is on his way to becoming a first rate butt-fighter. He has gone head-to-butt with all kinds of stinky scoundrels and butts-gone-bad. But even our doody-full hero is a-gassed by these latest stench invaders. They're round, blue and smelly. They're ruthless, cunning and very cheeky.
Their odor is unstoppable.
Their mission is downright foul
And they won't rest until Earth is wiped away by their nasty fumes! They're ZOMBIE BUTTS FROM URANUS! And the galaxy is but one boy (and his butt) away from total reek-dom...
The heart-stopping, nostril-burning sequel to THE DAY MY BUT WENT PSYCHO!
Two words: Literary Genius.
Though I am a little mad. Not that this book was published by Scholastic, but that it was not published when I was in middle school. I totally would have read it. Heck, I probably would have memorized it. Hats off to Andy Griffiths for molding the minds of Americas Youth.
Understandably, at least half of you don't think I'm telling the truth. Would
Amazon lie?
Fair Dinkum
A Spirituality of Perfection is not a particularly lengthy book. And yet, it took me for freaking ever to read it. Not because I didn't like it. Not at all. It's a book I read a couple of years ago in a class I took, and I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to go back and read it without the pressures of academia breathing down my neck. The reason it took so long is because it is incredibly dense and was authored by a very intelligent professor from the University of Gonzaga. It was all meat. No stories, anecdotes or jokes. Pretty much a commentary on the book of James, but totally worth a read.
There are two particularly helpful theological lines of thought that Hartin brings out from James. The first is a great discussion on what is meant by "perfection" in the book. Among the plausible definitions are completeness and friendship with God, which he discusses in detail. The paradigm of completeness has been one that keeps standing out to me in my Biblical readings, as well as in the ways that I feel God is calling me to live out the gospel. Striving for my own completeness while at the same time joining others in the struggle to realize their completeness. I think it's a way healthier paradigm that striving to never ever ever ever do anything against the "law", because it's a more constructive concept than one that leads us to a place where we are living in fear and guilt.
The other concept that has had me pondering a lot is the idea of community ethics. That one is a little harder to chew on right now, because we are so often taught that we as individuals need to do the right thing. But what does it look like for communities to strive for completeness, and for entire communities to befriend God and God's values. And while you might think, "isn't that what the church does right now?", I would argue that our focus is way more on getting individuals to do the right thing as opposed to making decisions as a community that lead us down the path of completeness.
But, community ethics require vulnerability and honesty, and those things are hard to come by. And, as I'm finding out now that life is CRAZY, Elli is difficult to get out of the house on Sunday mornings and church is optional, it's also hard to invest the time needed to plug yourself into a community in a way where people really know you and you know them. So shame on me. Or, should I say in the spirit of community ethics, shame on US.
Fair Dinkum
Lauren Winner is perhaps my favorite author right now. I have enjoyed the two books of hers that I have read, and have recommended her to many a reader. Her writing is both smart and funny with just a little bit of sauciness, which are all characteristics I aspire to. I'm probably a little too heavy on the saucy trait right now and light on the other two, but I'm still maturing. So what if I'm 27? I'm not afraid to admit I haven't made it yet.
I would have paid money to go to a conference to hear Winner speak. Lucky me, she accepted an invitation of a local church and led a two hour book discussion on Real Sex, Saturday afternoon and then stuck around to preach on Sunday morning. Lucky us. I kind of felt like Saturday was heaven day, actually. It rained all day, thus making it feel very Portland-esque. Then I went to my book discussion with a nice warm mug of coffee after hanging out with my family all day. Just peachy.
So anyway, Winner. She's the bomb dizzle. Very much all of the things her writing portrays her as. One interesting aspect of the discussion was when she outlined some things she wishes she had not left out of the book. You think about how much work an author of her caliber puts into a book, but then at the same time realize that she will never be completely satisfied with it. I also thought it was cool that as accomplished as she is, she's still humble enough to self-critique.
The one big thought that I came away with after the weekend was said and done is the idea of how we use our bodies as a proclamation of the gospel. As Winner put it, "how we have sex, how we drive, and even where we buy our houses". She did such a great job of keeping sexual ethics in perspective. It's very hard to find the place where you can passionately discuss something like sex as A big deal, as opposed to THE big deal. Very difficult, indeed. But, it does help us to keep everything in perspective, especially as it relates to humans as intricate and multi-dimensional beings.
Fair Dinkum
The Primal Teen by Barbara Strauch was assignment reading. It is no longer in mint condition because it made two round trips to Cali with me, but I swear I did not abuse it on purpose. The book ended up in my hands because we were going to be discussing it at a meeting of Jr High pastors a couple of weeks ago. It was a fantastic meeting, and one I am very glad to have attended. The discussion was good, the location was primo and I giggled more than I have in a long time.
Anyway...the book. It was fantastic. I think I might have liked it a little more than the average member of the discussion, but that can be attributed to the fact that I'm pretty stinkin dorky a lot of times. A book about the brain development of teens was just interesting to me. It's the scientist in me, and the part of me that really wanted to be a doctor interacting with the part of me that loves working with students.
I would actually give this book a broad recommendation. Teenagers are trixy. Their behavior is erratic. And yet, there are scientific reasons for this. By understanding those reasons we can better create situations and environments that help kids learn in safe ways. It's essentially a good tool for helping us find that very slim place between grace and discipline that allows teens to flourish. And believe me, that space is VERY slim. The topics addressed in this book can most certainly provide some good advice for parents of teens, but also anybody who works with teens.
What I admire about Strauch's writing is that she does a marvelous job of making this stuff easy for the average cat like you or me to understand. There is a reason neuroscientists are few and far between. It's freakin' hard. But she takes all of their heady work and spits it in a way that is navigable and helpful. Kudos.
Have a nice weekend. Mine will be silent as we have a silence and solitude retreat starting in, oh, two hours. Should be peachy.
Fair Dinkum
It has been a while since I had read any Anne Lamott. I never did read Plan B which says way more about the number of books on my "to read" list than it does about how I feel about her writing. It is honest, very entertaining and tends to be thought-provoking. I probably would not have pre-ordered this particular book (again, because of the list), but it came with two tickets to her author event so it seemed like a good book to pick up hot off the presses.
It might be a personal mis-perception, but Grace didn't feel like "typical" Lamott. It seemed a little more measured. More subtle. Still shocking, but perhaps on a different level and in a different way than other works.
The two most interesting essays in Grace are probably also the two most controversial. There is one where Lamott addresses her experience and paradigm on abortion and another where she does the same with assisted suicide. Perhaps the two most polarizing issues in our culture right now. Whereas some of Lamott's other writings are remembered for the shock value that a well-placed profanity will cause, this book stands out to me as being masterful in how it discusses these two issues.
Not that I have been converted to Lamott's paradigms. I think we would have a passionate but respectful discussion if we sat down to talk about either of the issues. But, her recounting of events and thoughts did cause me to step back and at least see how a person could accept her positions. Her specific mix of theological constructs, sociological constructs and life experience have led her to a particular place. I cannot go to that place with her right now, but I can see how she got there.
So now there are a couple of more reasons why my church won't be able to stock writings from this particular author. If I special order them from that particular establishment, I'll have to park in the back and slip the books into a small brown bag lest the eyes of my fellow congregants spy my reading habits. And yet, I'll keep reading her. She pushes me, she exposes me to a authentic monologue on faith that churches need to be tuned into if they are going to understand why they aren't very effective at communicating to people who aren't a part of our in group.
Oh. And she makes me laugh. Out loud.
Fair Dinkum
I have this borderline obsessive compulsive behavior where I HAVE to finish books once I start reading them. I need closure. I need to feel like I gave the book every chance possible to enlighten/satisfy/impress me. The only other behavior I have that rivals this one would be checking my alarm clock before I go to bed. I typically will set it, but then as I lay in bed I can't let it go. I wonder if I set it to go off in the AM. I wonder if I actually slid the function button over far enough. It's enough to drive a brotha crazy, I tell you. On many occasions I have bopped out of bed and turned on the light so that I could double check my alarm setting skills. It's more than a little redonk.
You've probably guessed by now that I didn't manage to finish Sex God. Good guess. I came up two chapters short, as a matter of fact. It's the craziest thing, because I so love Rob Bell's work usually. I throw his sermons on the iPod, I thought Velvet Elvis was great and I thoroughly enjoyed the speaking tour that accompanied that book. And yet, Sex God just didn't do it for me.
At first I was a little worried that someone had cast a spell on me and I lost my joy of reading. Not so. When I traded in SG for Anne Lamott's latest book last night, I found out that still have my love for the written word. I breathe a sigh of relief. I also giggle like a little kid getting tickled by a merciless parent when I read Lamott.
I admit that I didn't do SG any favors. I read Lauren Winter's Real Sex right before SG, and that was not fair. Winner is probably my favorite author and RS is an early front-runner for my book of the year. That was not the most sporting precedent to set. And yet, SG has a lot of issues apart from it's spot in my lineup.
The most disappointing aspect was that everything about it seemed rushed. The content didn't push me, which is very unlike a Rob Bell Book. The book wasn't as long as advertised, considering that there were a lot of paragraphs that were only a few words. A convenient way to eat up space and an annoyance of professors everywhere. It was akin to the age old trick of writing a paper in size 14 font of Courier New. I wasn't impressed. In comparison, RS was about a dozen pages shorter, but I felt like it had at least double the content.
So the Sex God is going back to the shelf. Perhaps I'll pick it up again someday with a fresh set of eyes and rosy disposition and be impressed by it. I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it, though I would definitely encourage you to check it out as opposed to buying it.
Fair Dinkum
As of yesterday, I am the official owner of a Kansas City, Kansas Public Library card. In retrospect, it is difficult to understand why it took me so stinkin' long to get one of these puppies. As I learned yesterday, there is a lot of free stuff in the Library. Not just books and mags, but a ton (and I do mean TON) of movies and cds. From my initial perusal, it would seem as though it has a great independent films section, as well as a wonderful kids section. Oh, and where else are you going to go to find the complete DVD anthology of ALF!!! I could hardly believe my eyes that (a) the library actually invested in the complete collection of ALF, and (b) that the whole collection wasn't checked out. Shoot. After college basketball and soccer aren't on TV every Saturday, I'm totally grabbing those disks and camping out on the couch.
By far the most outstanding part of my trip to the library yesterday was that Elli loved it. It took me back to the days when I used to frequent the Portland Public Library on a regular basis as a little rugrat. My sister and I had a babysitter who would take us there every single week. We would go during the time when one of the librarians would gather around all of the kids and do a little story time, and then we would be released into the massive collection of pages, ink, imagination and wonder to pick out our weekly selection of books. I probably owe a lot to that baby sitter, because I'm sure that those field trips have a lot to do with the love of reading that I still have today. Some might say that it went a bit to far and now I suffer from a sever case of book addiction, but I certainly choose to hold to a more positive paradigm.
A couple of things are clear to me as of this point. First, Elli, the Dashiell Child(ren) to be determined at a later date and myself are going to be taking a lot of trips to the library. The highlight of Elli's trip yesterday was the oscillating fan that blew on her face, but judging by how much she enjoys the books she has at our home we are about 18 months away from her truly enjoying the literary aspects of the library. Plus, we'll have to go to pick up some child-friendly films as well. Yesterday, there was this guy there with his 5 year-old son. The kid was begging to be allowed to check out Tron for what appeared to be the 50th time. Apparently, this father had done his duty in sharing with his children the joys of 80's sci-fi flicks. That's what I'm talking about. I was glad to see that there were at least 5 different kid appropriate Star Wars DVD's in the children's section, which means my children will be nursed on the joys that I experienced growing up. Which brings me to my second point. If I ever spend money at Blockbuster again you should pinch me. There are more than enough movies at the library.
Fair Dinkum.
My first experience with Anne Lamott was when I was taking an introduction to Theology class and we read Operating Instructions. It was refreshing to find an author who could write about faith in a way that was real and not stuffy. It was also refreshing to drop in on the thoughts of a Christian who was a little rough around the edges and had a pretty neurotic internal monologue going on. It made me feel a little more normal.
Now, Lamott is not for everyone. She is very readable, but her swearing can sometimes get people worked up a little bit. Not everyone has a conversion experience that includes dropping an F-Bomb, and I get how that can make some folks uneasy. I find it to be slightly charming. I'm not a big swearer myself, but there are people out there who know how to get the most out of a well-placed profanity. Snoop Dogg does not fall into this camp, but Lamott and Bono sure do. I've always said that if Christians acted more like Bono (uttering an occasional swear word while attacking poverty with a vengeance), the church would be a much better place.
I picked up Bird By Bird after reading a passage at a friend's Christmas party late last year, and decided I had to read it. It's technically about writing, though in actuality it touches on a number of different life issues. One of the things I appreciated about the read was how much Lamott stressed that people should write for the joy of writing. Not to get published. Not to become famous. Write to write. It's a great lesson for someone like myself who has to keep the old ego in check on a regular basis, because it is liberating to remember that it's a good idea to do things just for the sake of doing them and not with any intention of adulation.
The other part of the book that was really telling for me was the section on perfectionism. "Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived." (28) The great thing about the demons behind perfectionism is that it forces us into one of two destructive habits. Some of us deal with it by pretending we are perfect even if there are tons of messes around. Others of you work yourselves into such a tizzy by doing way more than is necessary because you refuse to accept the fact that you are not perfect. Both of those behaviors have their issues. Both manifest themselves in the church all over the place. Both need to be deconstructed if our churches are going to function as an outpouring of God's grace and Good News.
Fair Dinkum
All I wanted was my own copy of The Book of Common Prayer. It seemed like an easy enough request. After all, it is an essential worship tool for a significant number of Christians and is the primary liturgical resource for the Episcopal Church (USA), the Church of England, the Church of Scotland and many others. Numerous times I have heard it referred to as "one of the major works of English literature". It must be the only book to fall into that category that you can't find anywhere.
I had a particular yearning for this book for a couple of different reasons. First, I needed a book of order for one of my classes and I felt a certain compulsion toward this particular book when my professor raised the point that most Evangelical churches these days follow the Hallmark calendar more than they follow the Christian calendar. Ouch. I know some absolutely smashing people who work for Hallmark, but it is true that the early church was probably a little more in touch with the spiritual rhythms of the year than Hallmark is.
So I resolved to not only get the book for class but to actual use it. In fact, I plan on using it daily through Lent beginning with Ash Wednesday when I will attend a service at an Episcopal church. I'm excited for the event because I have very little experience in High Church worship, so it should be an illuminating experience for me. If all goes well, I will actually use The Book for an entire year and for the first time in my life experience what it is to worship according to the Christian calendar.
With all this in mind, I set out to find my Book of Common Prayer last week. I was a little panicked, because for some reason I thought that Ash Wednesday was last week. That would have been bad news, because procuring The Book is no easy task. I first tried one of my favorite used bookstores, but to no avail. So I moved onto a favorite independent bookstore only to be offered a novel called a Book of Common Prayer. That just wasn't going to cut the mustard.
Now, I could have just ordered one online, but I'm not that type of guy. Whenever I need to purchase a particularly important volume for my library I feel as though I need to have a relationship with the book. I want to touch it, flip through it and smell it. This can become a weakness when I have to search through numerous bookstores because I am indeed prone to book lust. There is something about the smell and the quiet and the sights of a book store that make my pulse race. There are always wonderful volumes calling me from the shelves and begging me to take them home. And yet, I can't do it. I can't take them all home, no matter how much I might want to. I really do deserve a pat on the back for buying exactly zero extra books during my quest for The Book.
Ok. Back to the story. So after many attempts at being quaint, I finally broke down and trudged into Barnes and Nobel. It's a great store, but it lacks a certain personality. It seemed to be my last hope though, so I bit the bullet and did it. No dice. Not one copy of the book in the entire store. Sigh.
Finally I called one of the largest Episcopal churches in town. The thought ran across my mind to just slip in and steal one of the pew copies, but then I'd have to be reminded of that little sin every time I grabbed the book and that didn't seem like the optimal paradigm for worship. Plus, if the church secretary or Priest caught me on my way out the door I would then have to run over an older person, and I really didn't want to put myself in that situation. Plus, they are probably way more holier than I am and my random act of selfishness would just increase the stratification of holiness between the two of us. So I just called and asked where they thought I could find a copy of The Book. The bad (and amazing) news was that they didn't have any in their own book store. That's just odd. The good news was that they were able to point me in the direction of a Catholic bookstore down in the hood (where I work) where I could probably find one.
Viola! Four stores and two phone calls was all I needed to find a book that should have just been raining down from heaven like manna.
Fair Dinkum
I can't help but wonder what the general perception of Brian McLaren would be within churches today if The Secret Message of Jesus was the first book he released. Evangelical Christians tend to get a little freaked out when reading McLaren. It's only natural, considering that McLaren often challenges theological constructs that Evangelical Christians hold near the core of their worship. There have been times when I've thought..."I see you workin' bro, but I'm not sure I can go there with you." It's just hard to deal with someone shattering your paradigms of creation or hell without getting a little worked up, I guess. Fair enough. I tend not to get totally wigged out though, because in seminary I have opportunity to read the real theological whack jobs. Shoot, I've probably written a paper or two that someone out there thinks borders on heresy.
In my mind, if you want a Cliffs Notes version of the seminary education I have had up to this point, then I suggest reading McLaren. He does a great job of setting the context of the world that Jesus lived in and does it in a way that all of us can understand. The fact of the matter is that we are so far removed from the world of Jesus that we often project our own cultural values onto Jesus' teachings in a way that leads us away from the heart of his message. This idea rubs some people the wrong way because they think we should be able to just sit down with a Bible and understand it adequately enough, but I politely disagree. I really think that the lenses through which we view the world can really taint our theology, even when our hearts are in the right place. Our Capitalistic whatever it is that we are living in today is leaps and bounds away from the culture that Jesus lived in, and so I would contend that understanding context helps immensely in interpreting Scripture. Perhaps a better title for the book would have been The Forgotten Message of Jesus, but that probably wasn't sexy enough for the publisher.
The chapters are short, which allowed me to read them as devotionals, but they are also deep. Better than any other author I have read, he makes the differences between the Sadducees, Pharisees and the like very clear. There will be times when you'll probably wonder where he comes up with some of this stuff, and if you find yourself interested in such questions then follow the footnotes and go down whichever rabbit trail you find interesting. It's not so much that McLaren is saying anything new in this book, but he is saying it in such a manner that brings it to the pews in a way that has not been done before to my knowledge.
If you read nothing else, read chapter 15. I read it twice in a row because I found it to be so energizing in regards to how Christians are supposed to interact with the world. You could probably read the chapter standing in the bookstore, but I will warn you that it will probably compel you to purchase the book. Thus, make sure you don't forget your wallet. And if you have never read McLaren before, please start here and then tackle some of his other books. I'd be interested in knowing what you think of his writings in that light.
Reading business books can be a risky deal for someone in ministry, especially in a culture where ministries often reflect the consumer-obsessed culture that we find ourselves in. Thus, I don't read too many business books. I chose to read Good to Great by Jim Collins along with his monograph for Social Sectors however, because this book was based on very extensive research. It is also one of the most quoted books in business and success seminars so I figured I'd just read the book instead of paying a bunch of cash to go to one of the hype fests.
One of the aspects of G2G that really appealed to me was that Collins and his team did a ton of research in order to determine their findings. There are a lot of business books out there that are pretty anecdotal with little meat, but this one is almost scientific in terms of how much work and intentionality they put into the effort. The result is that the product is meaty and has to be taken seriously.
There were some aspects of G2G that I felt were very pertinent to ministry. The very first chapter outlines the characteristics of the leaders who headed up the companies that were identified as attaining greatness. The top two traits? Humility and work ethic. The authors lay out case studies where people without these traits were able to build companies into good companies, but they were not able to help them reach sustained greatness. It is a huge challenge to leaders both in ministry and in business to cultivate humility and work ethic over and above all of the other things that we often try to build up. In the weeks since I read G2G, humility and work ethic have become a sort of mantra for me because they are great characteristics and they jive well with how God would have Christians carry themselves.
The other section that I found particularly prophetic for ministry was the section about technology. One of the big ideas happened to be that technology can accelerate greatness, but it cannot make up for inadequacies within an organization. I have seen ministry after ministry hold up some type of technology as savior with the expectation that the technology would make them more relevant or effective. Some of the biggest problems with churches in our day and age however are that they have organizational and paradigmatic issues that are keeping them from being what God wants them to be. This, however, is a discussion for my next book reflection.
I'll spread the love. If you can find G2G on the cheap or at a library I'd suggest giving it a read.
Fair Dinkum
Regardless of what I thought of Ducking, I was guaranteed to get my money's worth. I bought it a couple of years back for 90% off when my seminary's bookstore was having it's end of the year clearance sale, so I hardly had anything invested in it. I actually didn't know anything about the book or it's authors, but it had an intriguing enough title and focused on one of my favorite parts of the bible. I make sure to read closely the narratives about David and Saul every so often because they are a helpful portrait of both beneficial and malevolent leadership qualities.
Having made it through the book rather quickly, I have to say that I enjoyed it enough to not put it down very often. I cannot recommend it more highly to anybody who is in church leadership or who is contemplating an entry into church leadership. Far from a how-to book that casts broad visions and vivid dreams, Ducking instead focuses on dealing with many of the pitfalls of church leadership while at the same time instilling a strong sense of responsibility and the providence of God in concern to leadership roles. There is a strong focus on how the inner-life of the leader has a lot to do with how well the leader is able to do things in a way that God would call us to do them. Not necessarily in ways that will help everyone grow huge churches or become famous preachers, but in ways that cultivate wholeness for self and for community. It was so applicable that I used it in my devotional times every day, but it would also be a good resource in a seminary classroom or as a discussion piece for church staff.
More than any other book that I have read on church leadership, Ducking gives an accurate portrayal of the ups and downs of ministry. While there are only 10 chapters in the book, I'm just about sure there is at least one that would speak poignantly to anyone's heart. In fact, if you are not in a position of church leadership this would be a great book to pick up to help you understand a little bit about the tension between the personal, family, emotional and official dynamics that tend to cause leaders issues at some point in their ministry.
And that's really the issue behind the issue, present company included. It sucks to deal with all of the issues in life because congregations expect perfection. That expectation causes people to do crazy things as they become a scary combination of driven and dysfunctional with a veneer of invincibility to cover up any insecurities.
I find some of the same problems in medicine. You take a bunch of highly intelligent and highly driven people and then you put them through the most rigorous training possible. When they graduate, they have the opportunity to go into a field where they are highly respected but where they have absolutely zero room for error. Is it any surprise that doctors can be as motley a bunch as ministers at times? Good thing we have one of each at my house. Ha!
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Fantastic. That's all you need to know. But it's not very nice to leave it at that so I shall elaborate.
Tavis Smiley is a prominent black journalist who put together this fascinating project. The Covenant addresses 10 areas of racial and social inequality in America that need to be addressed. What makes this a stand-apart effort is that it is not only collaborative but is also constructive.
Each of the covenants is prefaced by a short essay. Each essay is written by someone in the field that is being discussed and most of them do a good job at outlining the issue at hand. Then comes a couple of pages that give stats to help the reader understand how pronounced the given inequality is, and finally the chapters conclude with action steps that can be taken to close the equality gap.
The best aspect of the application section is that it breaks down what individuals can do, what communities can do, and what we should lobby our politicians to do. The Covenant takes into account the fact that these problems are complex and are the result of many decades of systematic racism. It is not a pity party however, in that it calls the black community to action and take part in the reconstruction of healthy black communities and individuals. I really appreciated how easy it was to digest the information. At the same time the information was solid and painted a reasonable picture of the problems and the solutions.
There are a lot of people who do not think that racism is a problem right now in America. Unfortunately, a lot of people who think this way are in the Church. It is understandable in the sense that the church is very segregated and thus it is hard for people who are not black to see what the true state of Black America is. That is a sad commentary on the church, because I really think that racial divides are a big deal to God. I also think that social inequality is a problem that is addressed over and over again throughout the Biblical narrative, and if Christians are not at the forefront of reconciliation and equality efforts then we are turning our backs on paradigms that God calls us to address.
My recommendation is for people who do think racism is a problem as well as for people who don't think racism is a problem to check the book out from the library or go buy it. Read at least one chapter and really think about how we can work together to be agents for positive change.
Fair Dinkum
Everyone at work was required to read Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution, though nobody had to pull my arm or anything. It's a book that has been on my list since it came out and it came highly reccomended by my wife. It messed her up in a really good way because it was one of the first books she read where a Christian talked about a new manner of living in a way that really spoke to her. She also told me that she thought I wouldn't like the book as much as she did because it wouldn't be theological enough, but in my opinion she undersold Claiborne in that regard. His discussion was a lot more theological than one might think becuase he does a good job of weaving theology and story and philosophy so that everything just flows together.
I will say that this book will either really speak to you or else it will make you mad. The more money you have the more you will probably disagree with what he's talking about. I hope some really rich people read the book and prove me wrong.
One of the was in which Irresistible really helped me out was that it demonstrated how someone can be passionately counter-cultural but do it in a really humble and non-offensive way. I never got the feeling that Claiborne was diluting his message, but at the same time he wasn't going around throwing people under the bus either. I think that when a person is really living what they talk about it's a little easier to listen to what they are talking about. It also helps that he shares a lot about the process that brought him to where he is today.
If you only have time to read some of the book, then I suggest chapters 6 (Economics of Rebirth), 7 (Pledging Allegiance When Kingdoms Collide), 11 (Making Revolution Irresistable) and 12 (Growing Smaller and Smaller...Until We Take Over the World). If you are really pressed for time, then read pages 159 and 163.
My final reccomendation is that if you just so happen to attend a moderately-sized suburban church that is contemplating building a new facility then you have to have to have to (not a typo) read chapter 12. It addresses issues with building larger, more expensive buildings while there are tons of needs that could be addressed with that money. The chapter doesn't just bash churches that want to build, but instead provides some creative philisophical paradigms that can help churches do what they need to do while still being faithful with their money. As someone who was in on conversations about building and who was enthusiastic about it, this chapter really challenged me to ask questions before buying into any kind of building campaign.
Now lest you think I take myself too seriously, please note that I am currently listening to a couple of songs from High School Musical that have been stuck in my head for the better part of two days. Sometimes I'm just not that cool.
Fair Dinkum
