I am not even half way through it and already I came to the conclusion that this is one of the best books I have read. The way in which Brian Mclaren frames Christianity in a new way excites me. I can't wait to preach on the issues he addresses which will no doubt get me in hot water again but hey after spending so much time there one tends to climatise, you know!
It quite a well known fact that every five hundred years the Christian faith undergoes cataclysmic shifts. The reformation in the 15oo's is a good example of such a shift. These shifts are although traumatic for the Christians living in the time they occur (both those who make the necessary shift and those who don't), good for the people who practise it now and will practise it in the future. It keeps faith relevant, makes it interact with the fast changing world people live in, brings about old messages in a refreshing and new way.
Comparing the shift that happened with Martin Luther and the reformation to the shift that is needed now, Brian formulates the process that's going on in a nothing short of brilliant way. Whereas in the reformation Luther made a new statement that lead to a debate which in turn lead to a new state, what we need today is different. We need new questions that won't lead to debate but to conversations which hopefully will unite as in a new quest.
Please buy this book and read it with me and in so doing you will perhaps join a quest that will invigorate your walk with good. I don't know about you but I am more than ready to move beyond self-assured statements, tiring debates that before they create a new state also produce a lot of hate and divide people. I feel much more comfortable with questions that moves people in humbleness toward each other in conversation than with answers of the self proclaimed experts that divides people in camps. I am more than ready to embrace a new kind of Christianity and Brian Mclaren might just be the first one to articulate what's been living in many peoples hearts.
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oh. I made my last comment before I read this post.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by that Mark?
ReplyDelete*blush*
ReplyDeleteI really considered not replying to this.
I guess I read your first post and figured that you were shrugging off the old out of a desire to connect with real, the unchangeable, the immutable.
I guess I read your second post and assumed you were shrugging off the old to connect with the latest fad to hit the shelves at R109.99.
Reading you first post and then this one again, thinking about my comments and thinking when I made them I am not sure I was correct on either account :).
Now I'm just rambling. Does that answer you?
I haven't read the book yet but I enjoyed Brian's talk about it last year at Amahoro Africa before it was published. I think you will enjoy this podcast on Roger Saner's blog: http://www.futurechurch.co.za/roger-saner/2009/06/10/talks-from-the-amahoro-gathering-so-far Scroll down to about the middle of the page and look for The African Reformation - Brian McLaren as well as the next one which contains Q&A about his talk.
ReplyDeleteMark sorry for replying at such a late stage. Not shure if you are even going to read this comment.If you find me difficult to figure me out I don't blame you-I'm having trouble with it myself!I'm well aware that Brian Mclaren might to many be just a new fad but I have been reading his books for a long time now and consider him to be the guy whou helps me make sense of our context the most.That doesn't mean that I should uncritically run after him like he's the next big thing-so I take what I percieve to be a warning from your side seriously. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI'm RSS'ing your blog and comment feed so don't sweat the slow response I’m hanging on every word you say.
ReplyDeleteMy wife says I’m argumentative regarding matters of faith. She's right. I’m working on it.