From Sampler to Sower

A person’s life is shaped by many things – among the most important are the questions she or he can’t help but ask.

Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren

So begins the second chapter in Brian McLaren’s book Everything Must Change. I’m returning to the book in the second installment in the series I began a little over a week ago with my post on “Hope Happens.” As I said before, I hope you’ll pick up a copy, read along with me, and join in the discussion either here, or on the Anderson Zone Nazarene Youth Pastor’s blog, where I will be reposting this.

Summary

In chapter two, McLaren introduces the two questions he claims are among the most shaping things in his life, “introduces” being the key word. If you’re looking for many answers, or even an in depth exploration of the questions, you’ll be disappointed. That’s coming later. This chapter is simply meant to get us thinking about these two core questions:

1. What are the biggest problems in the world today?
2. What do the life and teaching of Jesus Christ have to say about them?

These are questions that McLaren feels don’t get asked enough, especially by the church. At least according to him, the Jesus portrayed by most churches is concerned with either a) how I can get to heaven when I die, or b) how can I be more happy and successful as I wait for (a) to happen. Note the emphasis on “I”. The Christ of modern Christianity is too preoccupied with the fate of individuals to worry about the world. Or so says McLaren. (more…)

There is much to dismantle, much to overturn, much to rebuild, much to imagine and create and there are many seeds to be sown and grown.

Everything Must Change by Brian McLaren

With those words, Brian McLaren ends the introductory chapter of his book Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope. And I must admit, I find those words just a bit inspiring. The emerging church has been about the business of dismantling some one the self-serving concretions of Christianity that came with its establishment as one of the major centers of power in society. There’s been a lot of deconstructing, a lot of overturning.

But there hasn’t been as much rebuilding, imagining and creating as I might hope. Pockets of creative re-imagination can be found here and there, especially within the last decade, but it’s a process that is only beigning and I have hopes that McLaren’s book will carry that reimgining forward in regard to the global crises facing our world. Constructive criticism has it’s place, but in the emerging church there are times it seems like there is far too much criticism and not much construction. I suppose that too is part of the everything that must change.

In that same concluding paragraph McClaren suggests an optimal way of reading his book: “slowly and thoughtfully . . . with some friends if possible.” Truth be told, my first time through the book was none of the above. But recently a colleague of mine, Paul Ward, invited the Nazarene youth pastors in our area to read the book together. He even set up a blog where we can discuss what we read.

And so I’m embarking on my second journey through these pages – a little more slowly, a little more thoughtfully, and this time with some friends along for the ride. I’d like to invite you to be among those friends. I’ll be posting my reactions to the reading both here and on the Anderson Zone Youth Pastor’s blog. Feel free to read along and jump into the discussion in the comments below. Let’s do McLaren proud and create a little conversation.

Now to summarize . . .

(more…)