lifeasmission

“The best critique of the bad is the practice of the better.”

– Richard Rohr

ht:Bob

I had the good fortune of receiving an advance copy of Scot McKnight’s newest book, The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible from Zondervan who asked me to post a review, which I am happy to do.

Scot begins with the following assumption:

Everyone of us adopts the Bible and (at the same time) adapts the Bible to our culture… Everyone picks and chooses.  I know this sounds out of the box and off the wall for many, but no matter how hard we try to convince ourselves otherwise, it’s true.  We pick and choose [what to adopt and how to adapt].

He then goes on to suggest that we do well to…

1. Approach the Bible as a story - “Until we learn to read the Bible as Story, we will not know how to get anything out of the Bible for daily living.”  (Sidenote, Scot could have said this better.  How it comes across is out of harmony with the larger scope of what he is trying to communicate.  This sentence by itself perpetuates approaching Scripture as a commodity - what can I get out of it for my daily life? - but this isn’t really what he means I don’t think.

2. (Re)Learn how to listen as we dwell in Scripture - “Our relationship to the God of the Bible is to listen to God so we can love him more deeply and love others more completely.  If God’s ultimate design for us is to love God and to love others, we can only acquire that love by learning to listen to God.”

3. Practice discernment - “The pattern of discernment is simply this: as we read the Bible and locate each item in its place in the Story, as we listen to God speak to us in our world through God’s ancient Word, we discern - through God’s Spirit and in the context of our community of faith - a pattern of how to live in our world.”

The final part of the book is an exercise in trying to follow this 3-pronged approach to Scripture by wresting with the issue of women in ministry.

Kudos to Scot for writing a book that makes much of the excellent work being done in biblical hermeneutics accessible and for providing a resource to those of us trying to help others embrace a missional paradigm of the church that pertains specifically to the place of Scripture within that paradigm.

As all college professors should be, Scot is clearly more concerned with the formation of people than the conveyance of information.  This aspect of his character bleeds through the pages of his book and, all by itself, should merit an audience for what he has to say about how we approach and use Scripture.

Perhaps my favorite line in the book, “… God designs all biblical study to be a ‘useful’ process that leads us to the Bible in such a way that it creates a person who loves God and loves others.”  I would want to tweak this only slightly to read, “… God designs all biblical study to be a ‘useful’ process that leads us to Jesus in such a way that it creates a people who love God and love others.”  But again, I think in the larger scope of what Scot is saying, this sentiment comes through.

It is just this sort of sentiment that I think holds great promise to help correct both those who elevate the Bible to an almost idolatrous level as well as those who would merely cast it off as impossibly relative or irrelevant.  More than this, Scot’s book can be helpful in freeing the Bible from the grip of Western individualism by helping readers to understand the primary role of Scripture as a centering text for a community.

If you value the Bible, and perhaps especially if you think you’re got a pretty good handle on the Bible, I’d highly recommend picking this book up when it comes out.

more good stuff that’s not mine

from here.

I have a hundred things in my head to write about, but no time, it would seem, to get them down.  So, in the midst of my own blogging silence, please enjoy a penetrating parable from a favorite theologian/pastor/author of mine, Peter Rollins.

The following parable will be included in my forthcoming book The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales (March 2009). A compilation of 33 parables and commentaries. This parable is called, ‘No conviction’,

In a world where following Christ is decreed to be a subversive and illegal activity you have been accused of being a believer, arrested and dragged before a court.

You have been under clandestine surveillance for some time now and so the prosecution has been able to build up quite a case against you. They begin the trial by offering the judge dozens of photographs which show you attending church meetings, speaking at religious events, and participating in various prayer and worship services. After this they present a selection of items that have been confiscated from your home: religious books that you own, worship CDs and other Christian artefacts. Then they step up the pace by displaying many of the poems, pieces of prose, and journal entries that you had lovingly written concerning your faith. Finally, in closing, the prosecution offers your Bible to the judge. This is a well-worn book with scribbles, notes, drawings, and underlings throughout, evidence, if it were needed, that you had read and re-read this sacred text many times.

Throughout the case you have been sitting silently in fear and trembling. You know deep in your heart that with the large body of evidence that has been amassed by the prosecution you face the possibility of a long imprisonment or even execution. At various times throughout the proceedings you have lost all confidence and have been on the verge of standing up and denying Christ. But while this thought has plagued your mind throughout the trial, you resist the temptation and remain focused.

Once the prosecution has finished presenting their case the judge proceeds to ask if you have anything to add, but you remain silent and resolute, terrified that if you open your mouth, even for a moment, you might deny the charges made against you. Like Christ, you remain silent before your accusers. In response you are led outside to wait as the judge ponders your case.

The hours pass slowly as you sit under guard in the foyer waiting to be summoned back. Eventually a young man in uniform appears and leads you into the courtroom so that you may hear the verdict and receive word of your punishment. Once seated in the dock the judge, a harsh and unyielding man, enters the room, stands before you, looks deep into your eyes and begins to speak,

“Of the charges that have been brought forward I find the accused not guilty.”

“Not guilty?” your heart freezes. Then, in a split second, the fear and terror that had moments before threatened to strip your resolve are swallowed up by confusion and rage.

Despite the surroundings, you stand defiantly before the judge and demand that he give an account concerning why you are innocent of the charges in light of the evidence.

“What evidence?” he replies in shock.

“What about the poems and prose that I wrote?” you reply.

“They simply show that you think of yourself as a poet, nothing more.”

“But what about the services I spoke at, the times I wept in church and the long, sleepless nights of prayer?”

“Evidence that you are a good speaker and actor, nothing more.” replied the judge, “It is obvious that you deluded those around you, and perhaps at times you even deluded yourself, but this foolishness is not enough to convict you in a court of law.”

“But this is madness!” you shout. “It would seem that no evidence would convince you!”

“Not so,” replies the judge as if informing you of a great, long forgotten secret.

“The court is indifferent toward your Bible reading and church attendance; it has no concern for worship with words and a pen. Continue to develop your theology, and use it to paint pictures of love. We have no interest in such armchair artists who spend their time creating images of a better world. We exist only for those who would lay down that brush, and their life, in a Christ-like endeavor to create it. So, until you live as Christ and his followers, until you challenge this system and become a thorn in our side, until you die to yourself and offer your body to the flames, until then my friend, you are no enemy of ours.”

At long last, all the major painting I wanted to accomplish since moving into my new home not quite 2 months ago is finished.  Two living spaces, a hallway, a bathroom, the kitchen, and the master bedroom are all looking fresh and clean.  Check out the before and after shots.

This was originally the “dining room,” but by pushing the table into the corner, raising up the light fixture, and adding a couch, I have opted to just use the kitchen for eating space and made this the “sitting room,” since it has a nice fireplace.   It is the room you walk into from the front door.

The room directly behind this room is the living room.  Mmmmmm armoire.

Bathroom.  From pink to brown… still doesn’t make the tile look all that great though.  I love this perfectly fitted shelf I found.

The kitchen is what took the longest.  Ugh.

And my bedroom.

There are a few more pics here, some of which have little notes attached to them.

Next up… roommate(s)!

I had a pretty elaborate post prepared on the whole economic crisis/bailout proposal that I was ready to publish, (instead, I will just point you to this great segment from This American Life, “The Giant Pool of Money,” which clearly and insightfully spells out just how we got in this mess) when another thought struck me - this great opportunity for the Church to shine.  It was this bit of Jesus’ teaching that came to mind specifically.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

This economic crisis is a great heart-check for the Church.  Where… What… Who is our treasure?  What a fantastic opportunity for the Church to witness to the watching world - to, in the midst of economic fright and despair, to be MORE generous, MORE sacrificial, MORE giving; to not “conform to the pattern of this world,” but to put on display a hope and a joy that is no way threatened, but is rather emboldened in times such as these.

But I wonder… will we shine?  I fear that the extent to which the Church in the West has so wedded its identity with that of the American dream will make this very, very difficult.  Thankfully, we worship a God who desires to work miracles amongst a repentant people.

I was listening the other day to a message given by a teaching pastor that I respect.  He was teaching on baptism, specifically whether or not aspiring members needed to share the official doctrinal stance of the church before being accepted as members.  Rather than addressing that question directly, he decided to take a round-about approach.

He spoke of how important it is for the church to create a

relational culture…that is more intentionally and radically servant-like, other-oriented, thoughtful, outgoing, humble, thankful, aggressively concerned and caring, moving into the lives of others rather than moving away from them, committed to the hard work and sweet rewards of loving other people in the church.

He drew these characteristics from Colossians 3:12-17.  And his point was essentially this; it is in this sort of context that wisdom flourishes and when wisdom flourishes we can hope to come to agreement about baptism.

And here was my first thought.  If you have successfully created a relational culture of the sort mentioned above, who in the heck cares if you are in agreement about baptism?!

Do you see what I mean here?  It’s like finding ways to mutually inspire love, affection, connection, commitment, and excitement in marriage and then, when you do, thinking that it would be a good idea to talk about how you define love.  Who cares how you define it if you ‘re already both experiencing it?  In fact, defining it might be the most sure-fire way to kill it as you nit-pick at nuanced differences.

I am not in the least bit saying that there is no connection whatsoever between doctrine (what we say we believe) and praxis (how we live).  I am just saying that if you are living out a faithful Christian witness and example where God is glorified, your doctrinal stances matter very little.

Another problem.  At another point the pastor said,

As a member of this church, you can be wrong on election, wrong on the power of sin, wrong on the extent of atonement, wrong on the power of grace, wrong on perseverance, and wrong on the sovereignty of God… [but you can still be a member]

Man, I chafe under this sort of mentality.  “We, as the pastors and elders, have all the important doctrinal stuff worked out, and you don’t have to agree with us to be a member here, but this is the way it is, and we will pray for you to come around.”  I can imagine nothing more inhibitory to what Chritian community is all about than this sort of mindset.  How is the church supposed to listen to the Holy Spirit and fall in love with God through Scripture together if it’s a 1-way street?

I seriously pray for myself that I would always be more passioante about God than my limited ability to understand and articulate God.

I LOVE THE FALL.  There is just no two ways about it, I look forward to it all year long and it always ends far too quickly.  Today was the first day of fall and it was a great start.

For starters, I found my Tracy Chapman album (New Beginning) from college.  I played this thing to death and today it emerged from the depths of my stuff as a timely surprise.  Here’s my favorite track off the album, The Promise.

Then it was off to a party with some friends, complete with warm cider, pumpkin carving, and my personal favorite, baked pumpkin seeds.

It was a beautiful evening, 72 and clear.  There was great conversation, Corn Hole, and that little extra something in the air that just makes the world feel like a better place.  See, told you I love the fall.

Quote from Christianity Today article, “A Deeper Relevance“…

It is precisely the point of the liturgy to take people out of their worlds and usher them into a strange, new world—to show them that, despite appearances, the last thing in the world they need is more of the world out of which they’ve come. The world the liturgy reveals does not seem relevant at first glance, but it turns out that the world it reveals is more real than the one we inhabit day by day.

This statement about liturgy, a term we could easily replace with, “corporate worship,” is perhaps a perfect remedy to arguments we so often hear over cultural relevance.  Churches who seek to be “culturally relevant” in their worship (as opposed to incarnational in their lives and witness) have flipped the gospel on its head by beginning with the world the gospel addresses rather than the world the gospel call us to.  This is a call for the corporate worship gathering to be first and foremost a means of formation and discipleship for those who comprise the body of Christ as followers of Jesus.

Our church community is spending three months wrestling in and through the Psalms.  It is our hope that this time would be much more than a simple sermon series, but a season of spiritual formation for us as a community.  As part of that desire, we have created a blog and various people are posting entries in an effort to stimulate discussion.  So, whether you are a Living Hoper or another friend, hop on over there, check out the first couple of posts and share your thoughts.  Here is my recent submission…