The Parable of the Lost Sons

What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life. Jesus asks, "Do you love me?" We ask, "Can we sit at your right hand and your left hand in your Kingdom?" (Mt. 20:21). We have been tempted to replace love with power.--Henri Nouwen

Henri Nouwen was a Dutch priest and renowned author, who left behind his life of awards, accolades and speaking tours to live among and care for the mentally disabled. On one of his many travels, he experienced a chance encounter with Rembrandt's painting "The Return of The Prodigal Son."

At first glance, Nouwen experienced a mysterious draw to this painting, which lead him to engage in serious reflection on Rembrandt's interpretation of Jesus' timeless parable. Nouwen describes his feelings toward the painting upon his first encounter:

It had brought me into touch with something within me that lies far beyond the ups and downs of a busy life, something that represents the ongoing yearning of the human spirit, the yearning for a final return, an unambiguous sense of safety, a lasting home.

The result of his contemplation on both the biblical telling of The Prodigal Son and Rembrandt's unique perspective is his book, "The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming."

He saw Rembrandt's portrayal of the Father's embrace of His runaway son as representative of God and Humanity and the peculiar expressions on the faces of the distanced bystanders representing our reluctance to get directly involved in what God is doing, in celebrating, embracing, and having compassion.

Nouwen examines the three main characters of the parable: the prodigal son, the elder son, and the father. Nouwen finds himself in both sons and realizes the call to not only allow himself to be embraced by the father, but to become like the father, moving beyond the role of receiver of forgiveness and compassion to the the role of imparter of forgiveness and compassion to others. Nouwen notes that the painting, as well as the parable, could have been titled The Parable of the Lost Sons. His analysis of the elder son's "lostness"is simply brilliant. The elder son externally achieves the right behavior, but internally wandered away from the heart of his father. The elder son resents His father's compassion and unconditional love and forgiveness. which is at the heart of who the father is. Nouwen then translates the perspective of the elder son to how he himself has felt and how many in the church feel throughout times in their lives.

There is so much resentment among the "just" and the "righteous." There is so much judgment, condemnation, and prejudice among the "saints." There is so much frozen anger among the people who are so concerned about avoiding "sin." The lostness of the resentful "saint" is so hard to reach precisely because it is so closely wedded to the desire to be good and virtuous. I know, from my own life, how diligently I have tried to be good, acceptable, likeable, and a worthy example for others. There was always the conscious effort to avoid the pitfalls of sin and the constant fear of giving into temptation. But with all of that, there came seriousness, a moralistic intensity--and even a touch of fanaticism--that made it increasingly difficult to feel at home in my Father's house.

Nouwen's take on this parable and painting--the motives of each son and the father, how it relates to the church today, and the ambiguous ending that calls for the readers/viewers to make their own decision about how to respond to the Father--is filled with rich insight that will stay with me always. This book is truly a masterpiece, a book that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

And since this book is about the prodigal son parable, I thought I would include a clip from the movie, Jesus of Nazareth. It is absolutely my favorite cinematic interpretation of this parable. The filmmakers chose to set Jesus in Matthew's house, dwelling among sinners, while Peter and the other disciples stand outside, refusing to enter, lest they become "unclean." The parable of the prodigal son thus becomes an agent of reconciliation between Matthew (a prodigal son type) and Peter (the elder son type). It's a beautiful truth of the gospel.

Created To Be His Help Meet?

God has set the type of marriage everywhere throughout the creation. Every creature seeks its perfection in another. The very heavens and earth picture it to us. -- Martin Luther

Created To Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl is a book about how women can make their marriages heavenly. She and her husband, Michael Pearl, put together a variety of writings on marriage, family, gender roles, and children training (I am least familiar with their advice on childrearing, because I am childless and don't read much on that subject). While I have found that the Pearls have some helpful and insightful things to say, I part ways with them on a number of issues and foundational beliefs (i.e. some of the way they interpret scripture). I would never discredit their ministry on a whole and I respect them as fellow christians who mean well and do a lot of good.

So, I'm not bashing here, I just wanted to make that clear before Deann pulls out her nine and busts a cap into my brain... hehe!

Anyhow, Created To Be His Help Meet is a beloved book among many wonderful women in my church. I love and respect these women and their devotion to their husbands, children, and God. And because I value their perspective, I am curious about what they think of this blog. It's put together by a married couple, much more conservative than I, who share a lot of common ground with the Pearls, and do not personally attack them or berate them. They do, however, question some of their teachings, examine some of the claims put forth in Debi Pearl's book and the scriptures used to support those claims.

Here is a summary of the points this particular site examines as it appears in the blog's introduction. Ladies, if you so wish, pick the ones that most interest you and share your thoughts. Others, who have constructive input, may also weigh in. I want to be fair to the Pearls. I would like to hear from people who agree with them and people who do not. I want to know if the people who admire them and are better acquainted with their teachings find these criticisms to be fair, a cause for concern, or invalid and the reasons why. But let's keep it nice! :)

Point 1: CTBHHM takes away the very heart of a woman’s identity as a child of God, created in His image, by Him and for Him. It takes a wife’s God given role – being a help meet to her husband – and asserts that for every woman, being a help meet (as defined by Debi Pearl) encompasses her sole purpose for existing and her only true identity. It goes so far as to state that Eve was created in the image of Adam rather than in the image of God.

Point 2: It presents a woman’s husband as a mediator, a kind of high priest, between herself and God.

Point 3: It consistently asserts that a woman/wife bears responsibility for a man’s/ husband’s sins, going so far as to say a husband’s complete sanctification and deliverance from temptation is provided to him through his wife and her actions. It seems to teach that women are deceived by Satan but men are not, and that men’s primary weakness is their desire for (or to please) women. Therefore, women cause men to sin (or not) by their actions and submission.

Point 4: Its use of Scripture often seems wrong or out-of-context—so often that we frequently feel as though the author is stretching to find scriptural support for her own pre-determined conclusions. We feel it is more appropriate to first study the scripture and let it guide the conclusions.

Point 5: It discourages women from spending time in prayer, Scripture study, or meditation on Scripture, hinting that a woman’s spiritual connection to God is primarily determined and built through her actions towards her husband. It asserts that that there is no woman in Scripture who is commended for doing “spiritual” things (i.e. praying, reading Scripture, etc.)

Point 6: The book itself is full of inconsistencies and can be very confusing.

Point 7: CTBHHM advice to women involved in an abusive situation (it advocates enduring in silence for the glory of God) is not only Scripturally suspect, but is also potentially lethal. The book also suggests that when a woman is abused by her husband, it is usually her fault.

Point 8: The writing often lacks grace and compassion towards those struggling, calling women names that should never be used to describe human beings made in God’s image.

Have Women Been Had By The Church?

"The consensus appears to be that as it is presented and practiced in our churches the gospel is NOT Good News for women"--Elaine Storke, President of Tearfund, a christian relief and development charity organization.

In any debate, unfortunately, each side will too often cherry pick the evidence that best supports their stance and gloss over or completely ignore any contradicting information. 10 Lies The Church Tells Women: How the Bible Has Been Misused To Keep Women in Spiritual Bondage by J. Lee Grady, is refreshing because not only does the author cogently present supporting evidence, but he tackles ALL the evidence employed to support the OTHER SIDE. No matter where you fall on women issues, you have to respect an intellectually honest, holistic argument. Grady is an award winning journalist, ordained minister, and directs the Mordecai Project, an international ministry that confronts the abuse of women and challenges the church to release women in ministry.

I realize that the title alone of this book will offend many, so I would like to reiterate the introduction of the book that provides a few specific disclaimers to clarify what this book is NOT about. This book does NOT call for or advocate: female domination or rejection of male authority, an alliance with a radical secular feminist agenda or movement, gender androgyny, justification of female rebellion, bitterness, or resentment in response to male oppression or skewed biblical restrictions.

This book is about hope, healing, freedom and restoration for ALL of God's children, male and female alike; a call for all to take part in the spiritual inheritance made possible through Jesus.

The 10 lies Grady examines are:

1. God created women inferior being, destined to only serve their husbands

2. Women are not equipped to assume leadership roles in the church

3. Women must not teach or preach men in a church setting

4. A woman should view her husband as "the priest of the home"

5. A man needs to "cover" a woman in her ministry activities

6. Women who exhibit strong leadership qualities pose a serious danger to the church

7. Women are more easily deceived than men

8. Women cannot be fulfilled or spiritually effective without a husband and children

9. Women shouldn't work outside the home (not to be confused with MUST work outside the home either though).

10. Women must obediently submit to their husband in ALL situations.

Now, not all of these are complete lies, as Grady thoroughly covers, and some of them are only taught in very rigid fundamentalist churches, so some women may have never even encountered a few on this list.

Grady boldly explores the Genesis account, examining God's ideal creation, the miserable consequences of the Fall, and the miraculous, wondrous consequences of the cross: the restoration of both men and women to their original divine inheritance through Jesus' sacrifice. He examines the lives and implications of the female heroines of the bible: Deborah, Hulda, Miriam, Mary Magdelane, the many other Marys (hehe), Junia, Proverbs 31 woman, Priscilla, Philip's daughters, etc. He analytically and holistically examines Paul's writings, which seemingly appear to bar women from teaching/preaching/praying/leading in the presence of men, limit the spiritual gifts and capabilities of women, and advocate a heavily restricted-participatory status in the home, marriage, and society. Grady masterfully weaves together the the text, original historical and cultural contexts, the original language and the various interpretations among biblical scholars. He then shifts to a holistic approach to offset these isolated verses with the heart and message of the rest of the bible, believing scriptures should affirm each other and not stand in opposition to one another. He explores church history, challenging the basis for which some of these male-dominated interpretations emerged. The book has a personal feel to it, because Grady includes the stories of great Christian women leaders throughout church history and present day women who are restricted and conflicted. His scriptural study is EXTENSIVE, exploring stories and verses in Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Job, Judges, Ester, Psalms, Proverbs, Joel, Jeremiah and large chunks of nearly every book in the New Testament.

To fight my long-winded propensity, I will refrain from relating the specifics of Grady's case (so, you should just buy the book!). I will, however, be using this book as one of many sources in my eventual multiple part study on biblical roles of women in each domain: home, marriage, and public church life.

Regardless of your stance, this will be a great read, even if it's is just to find out the reasoning for the conviction many christian brothers and sisters have to live out an egalitarian home, marriage, and church.

"'When [the women] came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven. … But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense."--Christianity Today column.

"People do not know that while Barak trembled, Deborah saved Israel, or that Esther delivered the children of God from supreme peril … Is it not to women that our Lord appeared after His Resurrection? Yes, and the men could then blush for not having sought what the women had found."--Christianity Today column.

They Like Jesus, But Not The Church

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ."--Mahatma Ghandi

They Like Jesus, But Not The Church: Insights from Emerging Generations, by Dan Kimball, fearlessly explores the current and emerging landscape of American culture: how these generations are changing, how they view the American church, and how the Church can respond.


Kimball graciously deconstructs the confines of the christian subculture, clearly conveys the most prevalent perceptions found among the young unchurched American population regarding Jesus and the church, and provides practical and loving ways for the church to reach out to a generation hungering for Jesus.

Kimball examines the six perceptions of the church most commonly found among 18-30 years-old people, to which Kimball concludes the church needs to offer both an apology and an apologetic. To some of the claims that are valid, let's apologize and to the claims that are misunderstood, let's put out and live out an apologetic. Much like the early church did when the culture at large thought Christians were incestuous atheists that engaged in cannibalism. The church began explaining their beliefs (apologetics), so these misunderstandings could be cleared up.

Here are the top six current perceptions Kimball takes on in his book:

1. The church is an organized religion with a political agenda

2. The church is judgmental and negative

3. The church is dominated by males and oppresses females

4. The church is homophobic

5. The church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong

6. The church is full of fundamentalists, who take the entire bible literally

Just to be clear, Kimball DOES NOT advocate altering our beliefs to become more attractive to the outside world. This book is more about being able to communicate with people outside the church, demonstrate love, respect, and kindness to them, and maybe even consider some of their criticisms that may be valid. Are there behaviors of the church that are inconsistent with the teachings and example of Jesus? Well, of course there is, because the church is made up of people, and we are a flawed bunch. That's the beauty of having a Savior. It's like Tony Campolo jokes:

"The Church is the Light of the World and like all lights, it attracts bugs. You're a bug. I'm a bug. We're all bugs."

So, yes, valid criticisms exist from those outside the church. And here's why it's important to consider them. Although it is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit to draw people to Jesus, the public image of the church, whether the church itself has cultivated it or the media manipulates it (I think it is both), our image, well, it sucks. The misunderstandings over what the church IS has become a stumbling block to many people who are interested in Jesus, but are turned off by the church. And it's not just the old "of course the world will hate us because they hated Jesus" line. As Christians called to love those in the world, this should concern us. We shouldn't be something we're not or compromise our beliefs, but we absolutely should make an effort to reach out beyond the four walls of the church: apologize for our faux pas and provide an apologetic to correct the prevalent misconceptions, through open communication, love, example and service.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and HIGHLY recommend it. Kimball puts a face and a story behind the perspectives found in our culture. Smart, sincere, searching people weigh in on the church's image and share their own experiences. Kimball puts forth a brave look at our present dilemma and provides creative ways to go about responding.

To drive the point home about the prevalent perceptions of the church among non-christians, I thought I'd share this clip. This is a clip from Bill Maher, the host of Real Time on HBO, who happens to be the epitome of an "unchurched" generation, only way more bitter. I don't agree with his views in this clip, especially since he's endorsing Hillary Clinton for President (although the personal hatred toward her from many christians disappoints me), but I recognize that his description of evangelical christians is a popular one. Is the church's image a victim of total media distortion or do we in the church perpetuate some of these stereotypes somehow? Does our approach to politics taint our witness? By aligning too closely with the republican party, does the world think that all the tenets of republicanism are the tenets of the church? Does this contribute to the disconnect they perceive between Jesus' teaching and the church? I'm not sure to what extent this plays into it, but let's get out into the world and find out!



WARNING: Maher uses the word "penis" and "ass" during this monologue and makes a few edgy jokes, so you probably shouldn't watch around children. And to clarify, I am not posting this video because I agree with Bill Maher, but because I think his view represents the increasing popular view held by many in our culture.

The Wonderful World of Books

"A book is always a dialogue with other readers and other books."
-- Tim O'Reilly

I've been tagged by Terry, a wonderfully witty, intelligent, spunky woman and writer, who is also at times my ideological arch-nemesis! :) This is a survey all about books, and I LOVE BOOKS.....so here we go. But I don't follow rules so well and can't just settle on one for each question, so deal with it. :)

1. One book that changed your life: Speaking My Mind by Tony Campolo and God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and The Left Doesn't Get it and Soul Survivors: How 13 unlikely mentors helped my faith survive the church by Philip Yancey. These books introduced me to another side of Christianity, expressing alternative methods of approaching faith, church, politics, poverty, and living out the Kingdom of God.

2. One book that you have read more than once: The Chronicles of Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis. C.S. Lewis' fictional portray of Jesus helped me grasp the actual Jesus: one that is both Just and Merciful, awesome and terrible, knowable yet mysterious, and definitely not a tame lion. :)

3. One book you would want on a deserted island: The Bible and the Chronicles of Narnia.

4. One book that made you laugh: America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide To Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart.

5. One book that made you cry: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Rivers creates a beautiful, riveting work of fiction, demonstrating God's endless, redeeming love in the midst of complex human dysfunction. It is based on the book of Hosea found in the bible, where God commands the prophet to marry a prostitute. God goes to extraordinary lengths to redeem us, eh?

6. One book that I wish I had written: Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 by Steve Stockman. If I had wrote this book, I mostly likely would have been able to meet Bono, so there ya go.

7. One book that you wish had never been written: OK, this is a book that I am actually glad was written, but disagree with its many of its conclusions: Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart Erhman. It's about textual criticisms and the process that took place of translating and transposing the New Testament. Erhman's findings are intriguing, but SOME of his conclusions are obviously not congruent with people of fatih, and other conclusions should be prayerfully considered. But even Christian scholars concede to the veracity of his work, but disagree with many of his conclusions. It's a book that more Christians should read, just for the challenge of digging deeper into their preconceived notions, beliefs and faith.

8. One book you are currently reading: They Like Jesus, But Not the Church by Dan Kimbal and Everything Must Change by Brain Mclaren. So far, I am fascinated by these books, so there will be more to come on each.

8.One book you have been meaning to read: The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri Nouwen (love him) and 10 Lies the Church Tells Women by J. Lee Grady (reading for part of the research I'm currently doing on the roles of women, so more to come on this subject too.). I'm just waiting forAmazon to ship 'em to me!

There you have it, just a small portion of the books that have resonated with me.

I am going to tag Makeesha over at Swinging From The Vine, Catrina over at It's Me, Tonya over at The Kissack Chronicles, Deann over at The Rollins Family, and Angela over at Our World.

One Preacher, Eleven Presidents

"Those who believe that religion and politics are not connected do not understand either"--Mahatma Ghandi

Billy Graham became a larger-than-life icon for millions of evangelicals during the last seven decades. He is believed to have physically addressed more people in more places than anyone else in history, preaching the gospel to more than 210 million people, in 185 countries in 417 crusades! But becoming the first global ambassador for Christ is not the only unique role in Graham's life; he has also personally known, befriended, and counseled 11 U.S. Presidents in a row, from Harry S. Truman all the way down to George W. Bush. Think of all the history that has unfolded in the last fifty years: the Korean war, the cold war, the cuban missle crisis, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, the women's movement, the student movement, the Iranian hostage crisis, roe v. wade, the assassinations of JFK, MLK, and Robert Kennedy, the emerging drug culture, counterculture, 9/11, etc. etc. Through it all, Billy Graham has been in the unique position to appeal to each sitting President from a spiritual foundation, offer counsel, prayer, and strict confidentiality. The story is a fascinating and sobering tale.

The Preacher and The Presidents: Billy Graham's White House Crusade, by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, journalists for TIME magazine, who conducted multiple interviews over the course of a year with Billy Graham, chronicles the political aspect of Graham's ministry during the past fifty-odd years. Gibbs and Duffy, who remain surprisingly fair and objective, skillfully relate Graham's remarkable tale of spiritual counsel and influence on the world's most powerful leaders. Alas, influence comes at a price. Graham's sincere faith in both God and our nation's leaders led to occasions of political manipulation, over estimating certain presidents' character (hi, Nixon), and blind spots to the corruption that all too often accompanies power. However, Graham's humble demeanor, willingness to admit failure, and relentless pursuit of God's grace for all people set a higher example that far outweighs any shortcomings of his half-century ministry.

Gibbs and Duffy describe Graham as displaying a rare and unique quality:

"Sincerity, like a paint stripper, removing any pretense and pride. He volunteered regrets before we probed for them...He was perfectly transparent about his own failures, but slow to pass judgment on anyone else. 'We are all sinners,' he said, 'in search of grace.'"

In addition to depicting Graham's relationship with our nation's leaders, the book also reveals new dimensions to our Presidents' spiritual side, or lack there of, in some cases. Presidents, like all people, wrestle with matters of faith, and it is intriguing to see how that personal battle intersects with public leadership, policy, and the political machine that seeks to exploit it.

From influencing Eisenhower to push for "under God" to be added to the pledge of allegience to helping sow peace between race relations under John F. Kennedy and Linden B. Johnson, to counseling the Clintons after Bill's very public affair to witnessing to George W. Bush, Billy Graham, like no one else, has faithfully ministered (for better or for worse) to the most powerful men in the world. His story is well worth the read.

A Skeptic's Crash Course on Global Poverty

"Poor people die not only because of the world's indifference to the poor, but also because of the ineffective efforts of those who do care."--William Easterly

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint, when I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist"--Helder Camara


The Skeptic's Guide To Global Poverty, compiled by Dale Hanson Bourke, is a must read introductory analysis of Global Poverty, articulately summing up all its many facets, taking on the toughest frequently asked questions by everyday people about this crisis--how bad it is, why so many people are poor, who's responsible to help, the misconceptions, how poverty happens, how it grows, what the contributing factors are, and how best to help. This pithy 100 page book provides a vast amount of overwhelming statistics and information on everything from third world poverty to American poverty, AIDS to Malaria/Tuberculousis, hunger to gluttony, debt relief to trade reform, governmental responsibility to private responsibility, capitalism at its best to capitalism at its worst, economic factors to environmental factors, and social factors to political factors.

Dale Hanson Bourke remarks:

Being poor, it turns out, is much more complicated than lack of money. Poverty runs deep into the family and community, robbing individuals and whole societies of life-saving information, health-care, food, and water. Poverty robs individuals not only of security and health, but also dignity. A poor person is often too busy surviving the present to spend much time thinking about the future. Yet, the poor have dreams--especially for their children--much like ours... But just as knowledge is power to the poor, it is also power to those of us who are relatively rich. We can make a difference, but we have to understand more. We need to be smarter about poverty.

This book provides an excellent beginning to the understanding of this dire complex issue, the kind of understanding that breeds focus, direction, and action.

The following are some of the statistics from the book that I found most revealing/shocking:

• Poverty and hunger claim 25,000 lives EVERY day
  
• Nearly HALF of the world's population live on LESS than $2 a day


• The combined economies of ALL 48 sub-Saharan African countries are about the same as the CITY of Chicago


• Over 80 percent of Americans believe the government gives 20% of the federal budget to foreign aid, when the US gives LESS than 1 percent and only a small part of that 1 percent goes to alleviate poverty


• The GDP of the poorest 48 NATIONS is less than the combined wealth of the world's three richest people!


• 20 percent of the population in the developed world consumes 86 percent of the world's goods. America makes up 6 percent of the world's population and consumes 43 percent of the world's resources!


• 6 million children under the age of five die every year of malnutrition

There are more than 2,000 verses in scripture that deal with caring for the poor. As imitators of Christ, it is imperative to educate ourselves on global poverty, so we can commit ourselves to the most effective methods to alleviate needless suffering and death among our fellow human beings. I recommend this book because it is a small starting line to the long marathon ahead of us as a people of faith, as the living body of Christ.

"'He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?' declares the LORD."--Jeremiah 22:16

A Faith That Bleeds

"The state of emergency lies within the church--it lies within us. It's our problem. We can't leave Africa's children lying by the side of the road as we pass on by."--Tom Davis



The Red letters: Living A Faith That Bleeds by Tom Davis is great little book that lays the foundation of how to live out the teachings of Jesus in the context of today's culture, in light of our own generation's struggles, tests of faith, circumstances, and moral dilemmas. Davis briefly, but compellingly depicts the current state of affairs within the world and the myriad of practical, yet revolutionary ways the church could respond: focusing primarily on the world's poor and the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

Davis begins with an apology on behalf of the church's shamefully slow response to the AIDS pandemic and ends with a hopeful, redemptive blue-print for how the church can rise to be the hands and feet of Jesus to our suffering world. Davis' mixture of harsh statistical facts and retelling of real-life people's heart-wrenching stories breathe life into Jesus' call to care for the least, the lost, and the last of this world, as found in those controversial red-letters. The overwhelming rate of disease, extreme poverty, starvation, malnutrition, and the spread of AIDS both inform and rouse righteous anger over the injustice befallen God's beloved people. Hopefully, it spurs the kind of moral outrage that transcends vocal condemnation and leads to compassionate action.

The Red Letters provides a vast wealth of information on dozens of organizations that everyday people can easily get involved with, support, and work along side. Plus, just by purchasing the book, you feed an orphan for an entire month! The proceeds are donated to compassion international to provide the needs of an orphan. This quick read jump starts our vision for the church to rise above rigid institutionalism, and become transformed into the radical, revolutionary living organism that Jesus calls it to be.

"Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence only encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."--Elie Wiesel

Hope Vs. Optimism

I am in the middle of gathering books and other materials to continue researching various perspectives on bible interpretation, theological and spiritual matters, and expressions of the christian faith. I came across a book written by R. Kirby Godsey, former President of Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia, entitled, "When We Talk About God, Let's Be Honest." I read few excerpts, and found evidence of a promising read on humanity's relationship to God and each other. The vivid picture he paints of the many facets of hope and how hope translates into definite action deeply resonated with me.

Unlike naive optimism, hope faces the tragedy of all that is not right and fosters within us the courage and energy to work toward making things right. Hope rights the wrongs. Hope does not say, "Don't worry about it; God will take care of everything." Hope becomes the agent of God in making the world right. Hope searches for ways to overcome terrorism. Hope becomes a part of undoing the violence of abuse and abandonment that threatens us. Hope embraces the lonely. Hope carries coats to the elderly in winter. Hope takes the homeless home. Hope feeds the hungry and clothes the naked. Hope forgives the hurt. In very concrete, specific ways, hope is the eternity breaking into the time of our lives. God's presence changes the character of our time on earth. The Christian understanding of last things is not, then, chiefly about judgement day or heaven and hell. The Christian's last word is about hope. To be Christian means being present in time with the power of hope.

I'm looking forward to reading the book in its entirety! Thank God for the printing press, eh?

The Upside Down Kingdom

Don't let the recent phenomenon of The Da Vinci Code color your interpretation of the title of this book. Brian McLaren's, "The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything," is no fanciful creation of a conspiracy junkie, but a revolutionary exploration of the radical teachings of Jesus and the contexts in which they originally emerged: socially, religiously, politically, and historically and what it means for us today.

McLaren examines how the church throughout history has defended itself against the teachings of Jesus...keeping them at arms length, constructing practical qualifiers and rationalizations to tame the wildness of His message, control its controversial core, neutralize its radical nature and implications, and to "wisen up" its foolishness.

This book explores the multi-dimensional content, contexts, and crux of Jesus' message ("The Kingdom of God is at hand..."), the style in which the message was delivered, and what that message means for our beliefs and strategies for evangelism, social reform, politics, war, church, eschatology, epistemology, and relationships.

Chapter 17: "The Peaceable Kingdom of God" was an absolute Godsend for me because it dealt with the topics of violence and war. I severely wrestle with the validity of war for a Christian, so it was extremely beneficial to explore the various perspectives adhered to throughout our 2,000 year history of faith and the biblical interpretations those perspectives arose from.

I was thoroughly challenged by this book and it's commitment to rediscovering the heart of Jesus' message and finding ways to truly live it out. I HIGHLY recommend this book, especially for group settings, such as book clubs, bible studies or home groups. You may not agree with everything, but you will be forced to reexamine your assumptions and preconceived notions, dig deeper into the scriptures, challenge the prevailing values of the status quo, and ponder the ways in which we are called to live and BUILD Jesus' upside-down kingdom.

To Emerge or Not To Emerge?

The Emergent Church. It's a diverse movement of Christians that has both been a Godsend to the many questioning the current state and role of "traditional church" and a repellent to many traditionalists wary of open-ended questions, embracing of mystery, and call to change. Some call it a necessary and healthy progression of active faith, reaching out to our very own culture, time, and place. Others deem it a dangerous faction spiraling downward the slippery slope of universalism and moral relativism. The fact is, because The Emergent Church has an affinity for mystery and grey areas, refuses to settle for pat answers concerning the more complex dilemmas of life, encourages questions and ongoing conversations between diverse viewpoints about faith, the bible, and how a Christian should live out his or her life, it is tough to nail down a precise black and white creed of must-have beliefs. This frustrates some and encourages others.


I committed the ultimate critical-thinking sin and listened to the criticism of outsiders of the Emergent Church, before finding out about the Emergent Church from those in it, developing it, and living it. Recently I've interacted with quite a few Emergents and experienced how faithful and committed they are to furthering the kingdom of God and how very similar their beliefs are to my own. That's why I read this book, "An Emergent Manifesto of Hope," to give a fair listen to a group of Christians that yearn to transform the world through the foolishness of the cross: with love, humility, and sacrifice.

Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones, two prominent leaders of the Emergent Movement, compiled a variety of short essays on various topics from key leaders in the Emergent community. Contributing writers include: Brian Mclaren, Dan Kimball, Sally Morgenthaler, Will Samson, Tim Keel, Barry Taylor, Samir Selmanovic, Karen Sloan, and Ryan Bolger. Topics covered in this book include: importance of community and relationships, personal experiences of becoming emergent, parenting, postmodernism, existing church and emergent church matrix, social justice, environmentalism, how the biblical ideal of hope translates to today, and biblical interpretation.

One of the main tenets of the Emergent Church is to go out among the people and be the hands and feet of Jesus in one's own community. The old structure of getting the people to come to "church" is scrapped, and Emergents seem to be dedicated to go out to the people, meeting their needs on their turf. The concepts of "missional living," "the Kingdom of God," and "incarnational lifestyles" are cornerstones of the Emergent perspective.

Chapter sixteen: "The Sweet Problem of Inclusiveness: Finding our God in the other" is an imperative chapter that expresses some of the fundamental differences between the mindset of traditionalists and emergents concerning the differences between Christianity the religion and the kingdom of God. It gave me MUCH to think about.

Regardless of what conclusions you arrive at about the Emergent Church, give Emergents an honest chance to explain and live out their viewpoint of faith in Christ and what it means to be His follower in the context of the time we live in.

This is a great intro to the Emergent Movement and the various viewpoints within it.

How Do You Interpret The Bible?

"It will greatly help you to understand scripture if you note – not only what is spoken and written, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goes before and what follows."

--Miles Coverdale

I would venture to say that there are as many interpretations of the bible as there are readers of the bible. Everyone who reads the bible, interprets it, no matter how "objectively" they approach it. I've never met anyone who holds the EXACT same understanding of the Bible. There are many schools of thought on how to interpret the bible: literally, figuratively, culturally, or historically, (i.e. flawed humans sincerely wrote down a testament to or of God's truth, but still were subject to err). Many readers combine a variety of methods to interpret biblical texts. Even the most staunch literalists admit to figurative aspects of scripture, such as Jesus' parables or instances when makes statements like: "...Drink my blood and eat my flesh..." Obviously Jesus in not literally telling us to drink blood and eat flesh, He's using a metaphor to symbolize the nature of salvation and the importance of His sacrifice.

Lately, I have been reading books written by scholars who hold different views of the bible and how it should be interpreted, from conservative evangelicals all the way to agnostic unbelievers. It's very important to me to challenge my beliefs by honestly listening to the views of others, not just automatically dismissing any notion that runs contrary to my beliefs and assumptions. The latest book I finished reading on the subject of bible interpretation is:

"How To Read The Bible: History, Prophecy, Literature--Why Modern Readers Need To know the Difference and What It Means For Faith Today," written by Steven L. McKenzie, a professor of Hebrew Bible at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.

McKenzie explores the notion of genres in the bible. He claims that certain books within the bible are of different genres and therefore have different purposes, contexts, and methods to convey truth. Some are literal, others are figurative, some satirical, others poetic, some prophetic, and others historic. He also elaborates on the ancient concepts of prophecy, history and literature and how they differ from modern understanding. I learned greatly from this book, although I did not agree with many of its conclusions. But the most important thing to be gained from books like these is this: Literalists often accuse nonliteralists (or partly literalists) of not taking the bible seriously or randomly picking and choosing which parts to take literally or not. I am finding that many people who hold alternative views DO indeed take the bible seriously, more seriously than I have, if I am being honest. They take it SO seriously that they have learned the original languages fluently to read and compare the earliest manuscripts of the bible and have mastered the histories and cultures from which bible texts emerged to better understand the context, language, purpose, and style.

Now, that doesn't mean that every conclusion nonliteralists/partly-literalists arrive at is the end all be all, it just means that accusing them of haphazardly picking the parts of the bible that suits their tastes to be taken literally is just not the case. I was guilty of making that accusation as a teenager. Now, I realize there is a very in depth process of sifting through biblical text and uncovering their genre, intent, and meaning. Agree or disagree with the conclusions, but give credit where credit is due. McKenzie, in particular, holds the Bible in VERY HIGH REGARD and asserts that there is nothing wrong with the bible, but only people's understanding of it. The debate is not about IF the bible is truth, but which form truth takes in each book of the Bible. His analysis of the book of Jonah was absolutely astounding. I will forever read the book of Jonah with new eyes because of it.

Strengths: It's thought-provoking and challenging and will introduce you to the world of textual criticisms and biblical interpretation.

Weaknesses: McKenzie, like a true scholar, tends to be a bit tedious and repetitive in explaining textual jargon.

Read, if you dare. :)

"The Bible is a harp with a thousand strings. Play on one to the exclusion of its relationship to the others, and you will develop discord. Play on all of them, keeping them in their places in the divine scale, and you will hear heavenly music all the time."

--William P. White

The Spirit Moves in Mysterious Ways

Soul Survivor: How Thirteen Unlikely Mentors Helped My Faith Survive The Church is written by Philip Yancey, the editor of Christianity Today and author of numerous books, including: The Jesus I Never Knew, What's So Amazing About Grace? and Disappointment With God. I read this book about a year ago, but picked it up again because of my recent musings concerning how "perfection" fits into the Christian life, how and to what extent do the imperfect fit into God's Kingdom, and the reality of messy spirituality that all believers are ravelled up in, whether they admit it or not.

Soul Survivor is one of my favorite books because it tells the compelling story of Philip Yancey, who said, "I spent most of my life in recovery from the church." He rejected Christianity after escaping his 1950s childhood "fundamentalist" church in Georgia, that blatantly embraced racism, sexism, and hatred. Yancey recounts the lives of thirteen unconventional public figures, some Christian and some not, who helped lead him back to faith.

The thirteen mentors that lead Philip Yancey back to faith include: Martin Luther King Jr., G.K. Chesterton, Dr. Paul Brand, Dr. Robert Coles, Leo Tolstoy, Feodor Dostoevsky, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. C. Everett Koop, John Donne, Annie Dillard, Fredrick Beuchner, Shusaku Endo, and Henri Nouwen.

Each chapter is devoted to one of his "mentors," humanizing their larger-than-life, often idealized personas, separating reality from legend, and honoring their lives without editing out their flaws. Yancey brilliantly conveys the work and lives of these men and women as he intertwines his own life into their remarkable stories.

Each unique examination of the eclectic mentors highlights the strengths and weaknesses of humanity, the mysterious paths faith can take a person, and God's ultimate grace and faithfulness constantly reaching out to every life.

The chapter on MLK was intriguing because of how it recounts Philip Yancey's own deliverance from racism. Yancey skillfully and somewhat frighteningly recreates the 1950s and 1960s racial landscape of the South. He recalls the divisions, the rhetoric, and the oppression ultimately overcome through nonviolence. Yancey also tells of MLK's personal struggles and weaknesses that are rarely mentioned in other works about him. I find this important, because those who have accomplished great things, tend to be immortalized, idealized, and have their humanity annihilated. The acknowledgment of imperfection, conflicts, and struggles reminds each of us that God uses the insufficient, the weak, and the flawed and yearns to use the rest of us that fall into those categories as well.

Other fascinating aspects of the book include the section on Dr. C. Everett Koop, the controversial pro-life Surgeon General under the Reagan Administration, who would not sacrifice honesty for the cause he believed so deeply in; Dr. Paul Brand, who wrote about the blessing of pain after witnessing the curse of the pain-free existence of leprosy victims; and Mahatma Gandhi, whose assertion of the disconnect between Christ and Christianity forced Yancey to look at faith in a whole different light.

There is an eye-opening and heart-wrenching chapter on Henri Nouwen (the wounded healer), the priest that worked among the poor and paralyzed, who struggled with homosexuality his entire life. Yancey highlights Nouwen's writings that ministered to many, while hinting at his own inner turmoil and weaknesses. This man took a vow of celibacy, and though at times was lonely, learned a deeper dependence on God and a love for the least, the lost, and the last of this world.

Soul Survivor is an honest account that teaches the lessons learned by the author and the thirteen people who guided him back to faith. It's a book that will inspire grace, challenge opinions, and reveal the presence of God in the midst of the most unlikely people and places.

Elvis Has Entered The Building

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith is written by Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Michigan.

Do not be fooled by the short width of this book, for inside lies a thought-provoking and daring examination of the 21st century Church, the evolution of Christian history, and how today's believer interprets scripture.

The term "Velvet Elvis" is referring to an old, worn out painting collecting dust in the author's basement and is his metaphor concerning the old, out-dated, and increasingly irrelevant MECHANICS of the Christian faith, not the faith itself, (that is a crucial distinction to understand when reading this book).

Rob Bell whole-heartedly plunges into somewhat uncharted territory (well, at least territory that is not usually vocalized publicly). With candor, whit, and humility, Bell ventures to illuminate the interpretations of scriptures throughout history, examine the past interpretations that serve as building blocks for continual growth that is essential for a living religion, and to probe the concept of "binding and loosing" prescribed in the Gospel of Matthew. Some reviews of this book insinuate that Rob Bell treads on thin ice, dangerously close to breaking through into the cold waters of heresy. This is microscopically understandable, since one must proceed with great caution when anyone advocates changing God's Word. However, an honest reading of this book will reveal that the premise is not to change God's truth into yet another form moral relativism, but to build upon the unchangeable foundational truths of Christianity that change our understanding of God's truth, in some cases, broadening it, in others, narrowing it.

The author puts it like this:

"God never changes, nor do the central truths of Christianity. But our understanding of those truths is in constant flux. Christians will always be exploring and discovering what it means to live in harmony with God and each other."

To me, anything worth reading has to be somewhat "controversial," because one of the marks of truth is indeed, controversy. Besides the stirring of constructive controversy, another much-appreciated strength of the book is that the author does NOT gloss over tough questions and touchy issues with the usual mind-numbing christian cliches or christianese jargon. It's raw. It's honest. It wrestles. It's left open to be tested and questioned.

Being the opinionated gal that you all know and love, ahem, I did not jive completely with everything in this book. However, the brilliance of Rob Bell is that he is NOT dogmatic and is NOT claiming to have all the answers. The gist is: Seek the truth for yourself and test all things that you find to be true...and false. I would recommend this book to anyone who is not afraid to break out of box, to anyone who is tired of checking their brain at the theological door, and to anyone who desires to examine the roots of their own beliefs and interpretations.

The Power to Rule Or the Power to Serve?

"Blinded By Might: Can The Religious Right Save America?" by Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson (no relation to James Dobson) is the fascinating testimony of two former leaders of the Religious Right. Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson, who left the Religious Right, are neither bitter, disgruntled, nor exploitative. They deliver a well-researched, fair analysis of the history of the Religious Right, the compromised principles yielded for political power, how it correlates to church politics and activism throughout history, and the hard lessons they learned.

The dangerous entrapment of partisan loyalty detailed in this book is a refreshing and much-needed reminder of what happens when the people of God are tempted to impose morality onto the world through flexing political muscle, instead of truly transforming the hearts and minds of people by living out the gospel in our homes, churches, offices, neighborhoods, and government. Power is not the objective. We have power. The question is how do we use our power? It comes down to whether we succumb to the futile temptation of using our power to rule or rising above to the higher (and more effective) calling to use our power to serve.

The authors do critique the Religious Right's Leaders (Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and James Dobson), but they do not demonize them or try to negate their sincerity or faith. Although this book was penned in the late 90s, it is extremely relevant to the current political landscape.

Blinded By Might is an enlightening history of how and why the Religious Right emerged, came to achieve political power, crumbled, and resurrected several times. It's an important book for any Christian interested in politics and evaluating the best ways of achieving justice and true societal transformation.

Living in the Real, Striving for the Ideal

I just finished reading "Messy Spirituality: God's Annoying Love For Imperfect People" by Mike Yaconelli, the founder of Youth Specialties and The Door, the only existing Christian satire magazine. Sadly, the author was tragically killed in a car crash in 2003.

The book is a quick read that is simple in concept, but more difficult in practice. The premise is: "STOP PRETENDING!" Mike Yaconelli, who pastored an unconventional church, advocated honesty in the church. It sounds funny that honesty would need to be advocated in the church, but it did and still does. The author articulates the dangers of image, denying the reality of our messy relationships with God and each other, and pretending to live in the ideal instead of striving for it.

I've never read an account from a pastor that is so UPFRONT about his own shortcomings, struggles, doubts, and spiritual state. It is so honest, it's uncomfortable; it makes you squirm a bit. But the sentiment could not be more true. It's a shame that the pretenses of image pressure so many believers to deny the real and pretend the ideal (and you know it's true because it rhymes!).

I wouldn't call this book life-changing, but it is a refreshing encouragement about God's continual use of imperfect, unfinished, doubting, struggling, stubborn people and the need to be real about our earthly and spiritual state to cultivate real intimacy with God and each other.

Messy Spirituality was written for the silent majority of us who have been convinced that we just don’t do Christianity right. We spend most of our lives worried about what we don’t do instead of what we have done, focused on our imperfections instead of God’s fondness for the imperfect. Why? Because we’ve been bombarded with books, tapes, talks, seminars, and movies convincing us that real Christianity is all about perfection. Michael Yaconelli dares to suggest that imperfection, infiniteness, and messiness are, in fact, the earmarks of true Christianity; that real Christianity is messy, erratic, lopsided . . . and gloriously liberating.

What if genuine faith begins with admitting we will never have our act completely together? Maybe messy disciples are exactly the kind of imperfect people Jesus came to earth for and whose company he actually enjoyed--and still enjoys. If you want to find Jesus today, look for him in the midst of burned-out believers, moral misfits, religious incompetents . . . men and women whose lives are, well, messy.

Messy Spirituality is a strong antidote for the spiritual perfectionism in us all. Here are truths that can cut you loose from the tyranny of ought-to’s and open your eyes to the deep spirituality of being loved, shortcomings and all, by the God who meets you and transforms you in the midst of a messy and unpredictable life.

FOR ANYONE CLINGING TO THE SPARKS OF HOPE FOR CHANGE

"God's Politics: Why The Right Gets It Wrong and The Left Doesn't Get It" by Jim Wallis, the editor of Sojourner Magazine, is possibly the best book ever written concerning the current state of polarized politics, how it compares to the "politics" of the Bible, and presenting a "third way" for Christians to deal with ALL the pressing issues of our time without aligning with either the democrats' or republicans' SELECTIVE moral issues.
This is an excerpt from the book outlining its premise:

"God is not partisan; God is not a Republican or Democrat. When either party tries to politicize God, or co-opt religious communities for their political agendas, they make a terrible mistake. The best contribution of religion is precisely NOT to be ideologically predictable nor loyally partisan. Faith must be free to challenge BOTH right and left from a consistent moral ground."

The most refreshing thing about this book is that it is NOT merely a protest or complaint, but it's an ALTERNATIVE. Instead of just pointing the finger, illuminating what's wrong with everyone else, it provides well thought out, well researched, biblical solutions as an alternative to the OLD, ABUSED, and whittled down compromised choices of just "left" and "right" politics. The topics covered in this book include: abortion, family breakdown, poverty, wealth, accountability, private, individual, and social responsibility, gay marriage, capital punishment, war, peace, nonviolence, the environment, stewardship, moral economics, biblical politics, new vision, imperialism, nationalism, social reform, justice, the dangers of empire, and POWER.

This is an excerpt from the chapter analyzing political responses to poverty:

"I am always amazed at the debate about poverty, with one side citing the need for change in personal behavior and the other citing the need for better social programs, as if the two were mutually exclusive. Obviously both personal and social responsibility are necessary for overcoming poverty... The conservatives are right when they say that cultural and moral issues of family breakdown, personal responsibility, sexual promiscuity, and substance abuse are prime reasons for entrenched domestic poverty. The liberals are right when they point to the critical need for adequate nutrition, health care, education, housing, and good paying jobs as keys to overcoming endemic poverty."

Without sugar-coating, Jim Wallis lays out and analyzes the fundamental assertions, goals, and ideologies of both Democrats and Republicans, critiquing each party's falsehoods, hypocrisies, and weaknesses, as well as praising each party's moral truths and strengths. He compellingly challenges the misguided, narrow, and extreme passions of the far-left and far-right and the resulting indifference-laced cynicism consuming politically-moderate Christians that are stripped of hope for real change by the abundance of irrelevant and ineffective political rhetoric.

This is an excerpt from a chapter encouraging hope for the cynics:

"Cynicism is the place of retreat for the smart, critical, dissenting and formerly idealistic people who are now trying to protect themselves. They are not naive. They tend to see things as they are, they know what is wrong, and they are generally opposed to what they see. These are not the people viewing the world through rose-colored glasses...But ultimately cynicism protects you from commitment...Perhaps the only people in the world who view the world realistically are the cynics and the saints. The only difference between the cynics and the saints is the presence, power, and possibility hope."

My belief in Christ is deeply rooted in hope: hope for salvation, hope for growth, hope for the poor, hope for justice, hope for strength, hope for guidance, and hope for CHANGE. Whether Jesus comes back tomorrow or in a hundred years, I refuse to let any end-times defeatist mentality rob me of the hope for the Body of Christ to rise up and change the world in concordance with loving our neighbors as ourselves. I highly recommend this book for people who desire to be active bridge-builders, justice-seekers, and peacemakers in an effective, realistic, fair, and biblical way.