Category Archives: Books

Books

The Preacher

I began blogging as a place to write and to express myself. I was inspired by bloggers like Jordon Cooper and Mike Cope. But no one inspired me more than Real Live Preacher. I would read the Preacher’s posts and be touched to the core. Here were my inner most thoughts, fears, and desires for true authentic ministry and true authentic living in words that will never come, posted for all to see. RLP writes the words that are trapped in my heart and mind. I could never express myself as eloquently as the Preacher does. I won’t even try.

This week I began reading RealLivePreacher.com: the Book. The book is a collection of the Preacher’s greatest hits. It is incredible and not for the faint of heart. A great book from an honest pilgrim. Thanks Real Live Preacher.

Trying to be a Real Live Campus Minister,
Micheal

Books, General, Popular Culture

This is the Morning Report…

Good morning! I had a great and lazy weekend. I hope that all of your were as lucky. Although I sat on the couch all day Saturday I did manage to catch up on (and even finish) some reading.

I finished Freakonomics: A Rouge Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner. What a great book. It delivered what it promised by causing me to look at the world, experts, and conventional wisdom with a skeptical look and a wink. Go get this book.

I began reading David McCullough’s 1776 on Sunday. Hey, my dad’s a history teacher. Back off!

This morning (6/13) I picked up a copy a CD with my morning coffee. Starbuck’s music partner Hear Music has a excusive deal to sell Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill Acoustic: 10th Anniversary Edition until July 26th. The album sounds great. It is the decaf Alanis for you morning commute.

Books, Ministry, Theology

Emergent Response

In 2000, I read a book entitled “Postmodern Youth Ministry” by Tony Jones. I had the privilege of meeting him and his friend Dan Kimball at YS NYWC soon after. Kimball then wrote a book called “The Emerging Church” which I fell in love with church all over again. That book’s follow-up, “Emerging Worship,” was also a hit at the Felker desk. Then came the earthquake: “A New Kind of Christian” by Brian McLaren. I soon discovered other McLaren gems such as “Finding Faith,” “Adventures in Missing the Point,” “The Church on the Other Side,” and now recently, “A Generous Orthodoxy”. These books were so refreshing and honest. They completely spoke to my heart as one who seeks to see the Church become what it was intended to be and not just what we have settled for. This group and its message became known as Emergent.

For a while, Emergent was considered by some to be a fad by the “mainstream”. It was a “coffee and Christmas lights” worship movement and nothing more. It wasn’t dangerous. It wasn’t even on the radar for many (and still may not be).

Now, things are different. As I have followed their stories on blogs and though print I have seen a dramatic backlash against these men and their teachings. I believe one of them (Jones, Pagitt) saw this backlash on the horizon a little over a year ago. Now I’ve seen it to be true. Below I have pasted an article from The Ooze written by Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Spencer Burke, Brian McLaren, Dan Kimball, Andrew Jones, and Chris Seay. The article is a response to some of the criticism that has sprung up. I have met or heard in person almost all seven of these men. They have meant a lot to me and their writings have helped me focus my ministry on Christ Jesus. If you aren’t in on the conversation, get in.

We continue to be amazed by the enthusiastic interest in the work of emergent, a conversation and friendship of which we are a small part. This conversation is bringing together a wide range of committed Christians and those exploring the Christian faith in wonderful ways, and many of us sense that God is at work among us. As would be expected, there have also been criticisms. A number of people have asked us to respond to these criticisms. These ten brief responses will, we hope, serve to clarify our position and suggest ways for the conversation to continue constructively for participants and critics alike. It is our hope and prayer that even our disagreements can bring us together in respectful dialogue as Christians, resulting in growth for all concerned.

First, we wish to say thanks to our critics… (more)

Links:
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Books, Theology

Hell No? Hell Yes?

1 Comment

Rudy at Urban Onramps posted a story asking his readers if they are “linkers” or “thinkers.” I think I am a linker who longs to be thinker. Whaaa!??!?!

Anyway, a few weeks ago I finished reading Brian McLaren’s The Last Word and the Word After That“. On Monday, Brian did a few guest blogging sessions at various “emergent” blogs. On JordonCooper.com here is how Brian summed up the main thrust of his book:

For those of you who haven’t read the book, here are some of the main ideas:
A. Our view of hell has a lot to say about our view of God (and vice versa).
B. For many people, hell means that God torments or tortures people consciously and forever, with no possibility of repentance and no possibility for an end to the tortures.
C. This view of God, I believe, is unworthy of the God presented to us in Jesus Christ.
D. The conventional understanding of hell developed over a long period of time. It wasn’t revealed in the Old Testament, but arose in the period between Testaments. When Jesus speaks of it, he hasn’t invented it, but rather is responding to it as a controversial idea among the Jewish people of his day.
E. The Sadducees were the conservatives who held to the older view that there was no hell or no afterlife. The Pharisees were, in a sense, the liberals who accepted the idea of hell. Many believe that the idea of hell came into Judaism from Persian religion – and that the name Pharisee may be from Farsi, or Persian.
F. Jesus does not follow either the Sadducees (who reject any idea of afterlife), nor does he follow the teaching of the Pharisees and their view of hell. Rather, he charts a bold new path and uses the language of hell (“owned” by the Pharisees) to draw attention to his own message – centered in the kingdom of God, and the character of God.
G. “The kingdom of God” does not mean heaven. Being excluded from the kingdom does not necessarily mean eternal conscious torment after death in hell either.
H. All people will face judgment. God is always both just and merciful in judgment. Being judged does not necessarily mean “being sent to hell.” Nor does being condemned. These words mean being exposed for being disobedient to God, not pleasing God, not serving God.
I. Matthew speaks the most about hell, Mark and Luke, less, and John not at all. Paul speaks often of the reality of judgment, but he doesn’t talk about hell. The New Testament is not as clear about the subject as many people believe.
K. We need to rethink the message of Jesus and the apostles in terms of the kingdom of God – which is God’s will being done on earth, and not be so preoccupied with the issue of hell.

Pretty challenging. I can’t say that I agree 100% with everything here but I can tell you that I am 100% stretched and moved. Brian does such a wonderful job asking questions. The two points that poke at my heart are A and K. I will be wrestling with this for a while and I encourage you to as well. I just wanted to post this link here for us to think about.

Books, Theology, U2

Meeting God Without The Sunglasses

The other day I posted that I was reading Bono in Conversation with Michka Assayas by Michka Assayas. On that post, Beth commented that she was “quite astounded by his complete candor about his faith in the Assayas book.” I could’t agree more. Bono seemed more than willing to open up about his childhood, his family, and his causes. What stuck me more was that Bono could be speaking about the Sandanistas in South America or conversations that he had with his father and seemlessly transition into talk of the Spiritual. On top of that, he never falls into the televangelese of “JEEEEEE-SUS.” When he discusses a scripture reference or uses a biblical example he steers clear of beating his breast for shameless self-promotion by saying “Look at how spiritual I sound.” His words on faith just come out at any given moment in humility and earnestness. They are real and raw. When he is speaking about faith, Bono reminds me that the gospel is good news. It isn’t a weapon or an aurgument as much as it is a life giving story that should permeate our thoughts and pepper our outlook. Brian McLaren speaks of the gospel in terms of the daily paper. The paper has a daily section, a sports section, a religion, a buisness, and a world section. Instead of keeping the Trinity exclusively in the religious section, the Gospel has something to say in every section. The Gospel should interact with every facet of our society just as it inteacts with our heart, body, mind and soul.

I’ll post some of my favorite conversations later this week.

Books, Theology

Snappy Post Title

I just finished The Last Word and the Word After That.

It has been 4 years (to the week) since I first read A New Kind of Christian. This book wrapped up the trilogy. I don’t have time to post my thoughts right now. I am heading to Atlanta for a funeral at 6am so I will try and post a little something about it on Friday. If anyone has read any of the books and would be willing to discuss them with me, drop me a comment. Peace.

Books

Knowledge, Network, Compassion

In 2003, I read Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends by Tim Sanders. This book, by far, has had the greatest impact on me as a minister. Sanders has the uncanny ability to connect the heart with practical stories and practical solutions to helping you grow as a human being and as a professional.

Today, Tim Sander’s The Likeability Factor : How to Boost Your L-Factor and Achieve Your Life’s Dreams is released. During my lunch break, I am going to run down to Books-A-Million and snag me a copy. I would recommend Tim’s books to anyone who wants to succeed at life.

UPDATE: Book in hand!