Resurrection Life

On the Verge: a journey into the apostolic future of the church by Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson. A Review

On the Verge is an amazing snapshot and leadership guide to what church just may be in the first part of the 21st century.  Hirsch and Ferguson have teamed up to give us a look inside 12 churches that are experimenting with life "on the edge" of where contemporary Christian communities are in an effort to bring forward the best practices for how we can be church whether large or small, urban or suburban and yes even rural!

Because, face it, we aren't being churches all that well right now.  But the authors' main point is salient and very well-taken... churches as they are constructed and run today are basically competing for the same share of the marketplace with other churches and so they are in the arms race of being the "best" everything to everyone.  We have lost our missional impulse, the impulse that says, "No, the real market is the world of unbelievers who are running around outside our door and never being invited into a community of faith!"

These 12 profiled communities are examples of those who "get it" in the 21st century... there will be no more institutionalization of the church, we simply can't affort to calcify traditions.  What is needed is a constant cycle of imagination, shifting and innovation.  If a church leader can help his people capture that process as their new life together, they will have every chance of surviving and thriving in the new era.

The book is hard to put down.  It is something every leader will want to explore with their council or elders.  I especially implore pastors in smaller mainline churches who think they don't have much else to offer the world to give the world that Hirsch and Ferguson are painting a look.  It may just be the hope you are looking for.

Hunting the Divine Fox: an Introduction to the Language of Theology by Robert Farrar Capon

Did you know that theology is supposed to be playful? The science surrounding "play" has gotten some serious attention in recent years, and no more so than the world of faith and religion has been due for some humor and joy itself! 
Capon's book is just such a playful gem. I don't mean that Capon does not take faith seriously, it is because he *does* that he wants to free the idea that only bearded serious men can dare have conversations about God! No! Open your Bible, ask questions, and do so knowing that the final chapter of your story has already been written, so, in light of that, how should we "hunt the divine fox" other than with lightness of heart and joyful travels? 
If you are looking for an entry into the language of "theology", as an individual or even a small group, this is the book to start with!

Reading the Bible in 90 Days: Day 37: Nehemiah 4 - Esther 1

Ahh Nehemiah, such a wonderful story of the reality of sin and the faithfulness of God!

God watches out for his people.

And even when the people act wickedly (chpt. 9) God remembers his covenant.  

One of my favorite authors, Brennan Manning, wrote a book a few years ago entitled, "The Furious Longing of God".  The Furious Longing of God.  I loved the title and I loved the book even more.  Even in our ideas about "seeking" God we put our sinful selves in the middle over and over again.  We are the main actors, we are in control, it is OUR Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story.  We are reminded in Nehemiah, as Manning picked up thousands of years later, God is the subject of this story, we are the object.  God's longing is for you and me.  When we forget our promises to God, how we will never ever do anything bad ever ever again, God does not forget the promise he made to us because it was sealed by the blood of his Son.

Another aspect of the life of God's children is the giving of our resources to fund the worship of God.  I find this to be the side of stewardship that is often lacking, we can think of all sorts of hooks and slogans to "get people to open their wallets" but the reality is that it is part of the obligation of a believer to give back to God a portion of what God has already given us!  I can't think of any simpler way to talk about it.

A word on Esther: this is a compelling story of a Jewish girl who becomes the Queen of Persia and saves the Jews... read on!

Reading the Bible in 90 Days: Day 34 2 Chronicles 11-25

I hope you all are doing your best to keep up! If not Chronicles is a good respite as the two books give us a basic summary of all we have learned so far. Hang in there because the prophets are right around the corner!

The Blackberry Bush by David Housholder

The Blackberry Bush is a novel by David Housholder. Housholder is the pastor of Robinwood Church in Huntington Beach, CA. He is an Oxford scholar and Lutheran pastor who runs with the charismatic/evangelical tribes as well. This novel is a story but it is also a theological text and both tasks are undertaken with grace and innovative storytelling.

The novel centers on Kati and Josh, two people born on opposite sides of the world at the same moment in history: the fall of the Berlin Wall. Through backstory and narrative, Housholder explores how two people with seemingly different backgrounds came in contact with each other at one brief time that changed both of their lives. What I found most telling in this novel was an answer to my own question: how will faith and spirituality be passed on to once and future generations in a time that seems to have no time for these kinds of things?

The answer, for Housholder, lies in the families and the stories that surround these two young people. Who of us has not wrestled with the impossible demands of life and those who live and love with us? Who of us has not been stopped in our tracks by life and found ourselves in "need of rescue"?

For those of us called to minister to young adults in particular, this novel might open up some amazing and transformational dialogues. How much pressure are your young adults under to "succeed"? And, before maturity, how much pressure already exists in the realm of school grades and sports?

And finally, in the end, how do people find each other in the first place?

The tone and pace of the book is perfect for young adults but all readers will enjoy the history and conversations across the generations that you will find inside. Housholder has provided good study group questions at the end of the book and is also available on Facebook and Twitter to engage in further conversation. Pick this book up and read it, then grab a few more and gather your young adults around you and see what happens.

Technorati Tags: Blackberry Bush, Housholder

Crossroads Road by Jeff Kay: a review

Crossroads Road is the first novel by the hilarious Jeff Kay. Jeff is most well known for his creation and nurturing of The West Virginia Surf Report, a blog that has found it's own cult following for it's documentation of life in suburbia. (Disclaimer: The WVSR is not a good source for sermon ideas)

Crossroads Road is the story of a family that is brought together in a quite unique way when the main character's mother-in-law wins a $254,000,000 jackpot. She decides to offer each of her kids $2,000,000 and a new house with one caveat - all of the houses will be built in the same cul de sac in California. Needless to say, hilarity ensues.

Each character is well developed and comes with their own neuroses and problems. Each of us will find someone from our family in there, even ourselves. If you are in need of laughter to the point of tears... this would be the book for you.

Technorati Tags: Crossroads Road, Jeff Kay, puppy, puppy

Join me in reading the Bible in 90 days

Friends, beginning June 1 I will be reading around 12 pages of Scripture a day from Genesis to Revelation. Would you join me in taking this challenge? I will use this blog to post thoughts along the way and welcome your comments as well.

Technorati Tags: Biblein90, Chris Enstad

Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words by Brian D. McLaren

Naked Spirituality by Brian D. McLaren is his seventh book and ranks, in this writer's opinion, near the top of the list. In the world of rockstar Christianity, a world which McLaren inhabits and, indeed, probably helped create, many writers and speakers have, perhaps, one good book in them followed by years of fluff. McLaren has bucked this trend repeatedly which has landed him on the Time Magazine list of the top 25 most influential evangelicals. This book is a sort of follow-up, and companion, to _A New Kind of Christianity_. In this book McLaren strips the Christian spiritual life down to its bare essentials using twelve words: here, thanks, O, sorry, help, please, when, no, why, behold, yes, silence. Each word begets a chapter full of exposition and history that really is McLaren at his best. In his own inimitable way, McLaren has provided a catechism for those of us who are concerned that the language and rhythm of the Christian life is quickly disappearing into the consumer-driven morass of modern American culture. It is telling to me that McLaren, known so much for his social justice activities, has chosen to focus on the individual and his or her spiritual life. However, when I think of it, our crazy existence is probably the largest roadblock to the transformative power of Christian community! This book, then, acts as a subversive pandering to the individual Christian desire to "be closer to God" knowing that when we do so we will find ourselves called to new mission in the world.

Technorati Tags: Book review, Brian D. McLaren, Naked Spirituality, puppy

Neruda's Memoirs by Maureen Doallas

I just had a review of this engaging book of poetry published here:

http://erb.kingdomnow.org/featured-nerudas-memoirs-by-maureen-doallas-vol-4-6/

Read and enjoy!

Technorati Tags: literature, poetry, review

Jesus Died For This? by Becky Garrison a review

Politics has long been an avenue for satire: the biting critique of observed behavior. Religion has also gone in for a fair turn from satirists (Dante anyone?), but it's interesting to note how religious folks really don't bear well under criticism. For those who proclaim that Christ died one and for all, we sure do take ourselves seriously and that seriousness and good American/Calvinist back-to-the-plough earnestness leaves religious folks open to all kinds of hucksters, shim sham artists, and just plain 'ol wackamoles.

Becky Garrison was a contributor to the now-defunct Wittenburg Door, the last good Christian satire magazine. She, however, trods on and in this book takes us along on a truly once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage, of sorts, between the Holy Land, comic con, a book convention or two, and Joel Osteen's Lakewood empire.

But the real gems in Garrison's book are the folks who are operating "under-the-radar", the "ordinary radicals" as she likes to call them. These are the people who aren't seeking the glitz and glamour of the American relgious scene, these are the folks doing the simple things of God, usually on a shoe-string or worse budget. It is for the discovery of these still, small voices that God calls reporters like Garrison to the field.

Pick up this book to check in on the state of the Church in America and in the world. There are some truly shining examples of Christ at work and Garrison's satire will help you know that you are not alone when shaking your head at something you see on TV or hear on the radio.

One final word on the Prosperity Gospel, it is fitting to note that Garrison piles on to the prosperity preachers with customary vigor but, in light of what is happening in that world at this moment, rather than see it as old news it is good to read these words as prophecies from a wondering sojournor who reminds us to be asking ourselves when writing a sermon, going to church, walking forth into the world, "Did Jesus really have to die for *this*?"

Technorati Tags: Becky Garrison, Book review, Jesus Died for this?, satire