catching up on books... everything must change

i have a rather large pile of books on my desk that i have been sent to review...

life has been so hectic recently that i have hardly had time to blog let alone review books. but i am going to try and catch up in the next two weeks. i generally find that my problem is that i think i need to wait until i can write a hefty review. but i think i'm far better just giving quicker shorter reviews/pointers on the books and then they won't pile up!

so first up, brian maclaren's book everything must change (i got sent two of these so if you want a copy and you are in the uk add the first comment and it's yours).

this book sees brian articulating some of the journey that he has been on in recent years to try and join up what is happening with the postmodern shift in the west with global shifts. in particular he has been changed by his encounters with leaders in africa wrestling with what it means to be christian and follow christ in post colonial contexts. i welcome this global emphasis in his thinking as well as trying to get a shift away from salvation being about me and my personal future in heaven (what i call escapology theology) away from the earth.

to cut a long story short he suggests that we need to rediscover the christian faith as a framing story around the kingdom of god. this will give us a different imagination out of which to think and act. of course he's by no means the first to suggest this but it's a good emphasis. he makes a case for action and engagement in political life, environmental activity, and community involvement. to my ears this was welcome but it's nothing new.

but he is writing from an american context where maybe it isn't so obvious, or at least it's not if you are addressing an evangelical audience. one section that reminded me of the difference in contexts is where he draws a contrast  between what he calls the conventional view of the christian framing  story and the emerging view. he suggest that the emerging view is seen by many as 'heresy' compared to the orthodoxy of the conventional view. but to my ears the emerging view was just outlining pretty mainstream orthodoxy! i expected somethign that was at least controversial. but i don't think many people would question it in the uk. and the conventional view would just be seen as a bit of weird out of date evangelicalism that only a few dry right wing conservative types would hold to it...

so it's good but it seems to assume that it's more radical than in might be. certainly if you have been to greenbelt in the uk say, i think the idea that god is concerned with global issues, poverty, the environment, the transformation of life and culture, and that being a christian means getting involved in that transforming is normal. i hope so anyway.

it's great to see brian pushing and nudging the US readership who come from an evangelical background and making a case for engagement and the kingdom of god. but you may be like me and find it a welcome reminder to assumptions that you have lived with for quite a long time already. the challenge is to live them out and think through how they relate to the new global challenges.

Comments

[andy goodliff]

Jonny - I'd happily have your spare copy of McLaren's new book. Regards Andy

[David at free Christian resources]

Oh no! Second to comment so I won't get the book! Personally I prefer shorter reviews. Some book reviews can be so long it is almost like reading the book itself.

[jonny]

andy e-mail me your address and i'll send it over...

[D.G. Hollums]

Yep! I heard there is a Greenbelt event coming to the States....man I would love to go to that!

[Jeff Moulton]

Greenbelt on this side of the Atlantic?

Please, someone post details!

[Matt]

Hey Jonny,

What you wrote touches on a number of things I've been thinking about in relation to the US and A. I too find Brian's writing laborious especially when you get the feeling that he's fighting battles in the States that just don't play out in the global context.

One of this elements of this has got to be what I'll call "pseudo-majority thinking". As if there is some tipping point out there where if enough people get "it" then everything will change. Because religion is so big in the US, there is a lot of the pie to cut up. Just today I read on the washingtonpost.com about elections happening in Mississippi. 70% of the voters in that state claim to be evangelical or "born-again"!

So there are a lot of hearts to be won. And I can't see how some one, even if they have the best of intentions, will escape trying to grab some of that majority.

I should probably make a post out of this...

[Cosmo]

There's a couple of interesting video interviews with Brian McLaren about this book and the way he faces his critics at:

allelon.org

[brian mclaren]

Hi, Jonny - thanks for the review. As you can imagine, I'm thrilled to think that the kinds of things I'm writing about are "of course" for many readers in the UK. But if you google on my name, you'll find out that on this side of the Atlantic, these rather obvious understandings of the good news of the kingdom of God have earned me and my friends the label of heretic, etc., among a lot of U.S. evangelicals.

I really believe the tide is turning here, but the conservative establishment is very strong, and so far, the majority in the middle seem to be quite docile and fearful of angering their brethren to their right.

Because of the US's political, military, and economic dominance/interference in the rest of the world, I think it's quite urgent that we kingdom-oriented/integral-mission Christians in the US make our case. I recently wrote on the sojo.net blog about the concern many of us share that we're going to wake up any morning soon to discover that our government has attacked Iran in another rush-to-war, and that this kind of pre-emptive strike would be heartily defended by the conservative Evangelical establishment. You can imagine where this sort of thing could lead. So even though what I'm writing may seem rather old-hat to many readers in the UK, I hope you'll keep us in your prayers as we try to break out of some very deep and very long-standing ruts here in the US.

I'd also add that in Africa, Latin America, and many parts of Asia, the reduced American version of the gospel (theology of escapology, as you say) is dominant via the prosperity gospel teaching, propagated constantly via TV evangelists, etc. The kind of theological rethinking that you have experienced in the UK is still too rare, not only in the US, but in so many places around the world.

And as you say, Jonny, even after we "get" the gospel of the kingdom, there's so much work to do, figuring out how to live and act as agents of the future.

Jeff - yes, there is some good work being done about an "American Greenbelt." A group of us have been working on this for some time. Please stay tuned ... I expect that there should be some good news to report in this regard some time next year. My website (brianmclaren.net), Sojourners (sojo.net), and emergentvillage.com will all carry the news when it's available.

In the meantime, US readers of your blog here may be interested in a tour I'll be involved with in early 08. Info is available at brianmclaren.net and deepshift.org.

Keep up the great work, Jonny, and thanks for your interest in "Everything Must Change," everyone ...
Brian

[jonny]

brian thanks for dropping by... it's easy for us to forget the challenges you face in the US! i certainly didn't mean to imply that what you are writing is old hat. and i think the point you make about africa, latin america and parts of asia having been influenced by escapology theology is really interesting. i'm sure you're right. keep on keeping on. blessings...

[dave]

jonny i like what u r writing - do you have contact with any people in sydney who connect with your emerging church ideas?

[jonny]

dave, others may be better placed to answer but two communities i know of are
cafe church - http://www.cafechurch.org.au/
small boat big sea - http://www.smallboatbigsea.org/

i am visiting melbourne in june and would love to connect with cms in some way?... i do have a contact there who i will e-mail but if you fancied coming over it would be good?...

[Rob]

Hi Jonny and all,
Great to read the early review draft comments and great to see Brain contribute!!
I have been chasing a copy of the book here in Oz for a few weeks, have seen some of the chapter intro's on youtube and can't wait to get the book as I believe it will sort into logical and inspirational 'order' my view of what my discipleship is about and what I am encouraging others to consider when I speak to groups!!
I am looking at the book title for an Easter Camp theme for 2008 and like you observe I suspect it'll be not so revolutionary here in Oz but Brian's writing style I know will help me order my thoughts and will challenge me not about 'do I get it' but 'am I enacting it'!!
Still sounds a good read!
Rob

[Justin]

I obviously commenting long after you posted this, but I found this post interesting. You thought McLaren's book was a little myopic, but it seems your thoughts here are only as wide as your particular experience in the UK. Brian is right in his comment that Africa, South America, and Asia are highly, highly influenced by the conservative, evangelical "gospel" of the mid to late 20th century. Not only this, but the political and economic thoughts of these evangelicals has a lot of influence in the world-- especially in the UK government-- the Iraq war being a very visible example of this and also the policies towards Israel.
Overall, I do appreciate your blog and find your thoughts very helpful, but I did find this review of McLaren a little narrow in its point of view.