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Small Church, Mega Church, No Church

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Brad Powell’s book, Change Your Church for Good, is actually a revised edition of a 2007 book by the same name. Essentially, it is just another book about how a pastor took a struggling church, made a few tweaks, and it is now a thriving mega church. The emphasis is on developing leaders and casting vision for the future. It’s a decent book if you’ve never read a book about such things.

However, as with all such books, the strong implication is that if you make similar changes, your church can become “mega” too.

To be frank, I’m tired of these kinds of books. I am sure Brad Powell is an excellent pastor, a great man, and a fine leader. He’s a fairly decent writer, handsome, and has done quite well in becoming the pastor of a mega church. I wish him continued success.

But the truth is that for every pastor who changes a struggling church into a mega church, there are a 1000 pastors who do the same things, lead the same way, and try the same changes, but still see their church decline. It’s not just about working harder, or having bigger faith, or pressing on until you see the blessing, or choosing leaders carefully, or sharing your life, or being passion ate when nobody else seems to care (all things Powell talks about in his book). Lots of pastors do these things, and their churches still die.

So what’s the answer?

Maybe, just maybe….our goal should not be to become a mega church. (Gasp!) Maybe, just maybe, the sign of success is not necessarily a bigger budget, bigger buildings, and more people. (Double gasp!) Maybe, just maybe, size has nothing to do with church effectiveness, and even if you get more bodies, bucks, and bricks, you still may not have a “church.”

I’m beginning to think that the key to being a church is not getting more people into the church building, but getting more people out. When is someone going to write a book called, Close Your Church for Good?….that’s a book I’d like to read. Maybe I’ll write it.

Will this Rock in Rio?

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I recently wrote  that Jim Petersen’s book, Church Without Walls, made it into my list of top ten books. This book shares some of the principles and ideas which guided his ministry among unchurched Brazilian students. I liked the book because the principles he shares encapsulate my thinking from the past five years about the kind of life I want to live among the people at my job and in my neighborhood.

But principles are one thing; stories are quite another. Don Duntch of Quest Ministries recently told me that stories reveal where God is at work, especially stories of people gaining freedom in their lives and in their thinking.

So it was with great excitement that I recently learned about a book by Ken Lottis, who was Jim’s ministry partner in Brazil. The book is entitled Will This Rock in Rio? and is basically the story of what Ken and Jim did in Brazil.

Now that I’ve read both, I can say that the two books go together. While Jim’s book is informative, Ken’s is inspirational. While Jim’s book affirmed my thinking, Ken’s encouraged me to actually start reading John with someone. While Jim’s book answers the “Why” and “How,” Ken’s books says “Go” and “Do.”

I believe that if you read one book, you must read the other also. If you are a person who wants to love and live among the people who will never “come to church” both books are “must reads.”

Plan B, C, D, E…

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Plan B by Pete Wilson is a great book for reviving hope in a person whose life has gone terribly wrong. Through biblical truths and stories, it shows that although life may not turn out the way we planned or imagined, we can trust God to resurrect something good from our shattered dreams.

Part of me wishes I had read this book about two years ago when I was going through a very difficult and trying time in my life. So if you or someone you know is going through the loss of a job, or the death of a loved one, or facing a divorce, this book contains some good ideas for recognizing that God is a God of detours, that He is sovereign over shattered dreams, and He can heal any wounded heart.

However, there seemed to be a glaring omission from the book, which I have come realize in my own path through pain and uncertainty, and it is this: Things don t always work out. Every story in the book pointed to the idea that even though life may take a turn for the worst, in the end, it will all work out. Joseph goes to prison, but becomes the second in command over Egypt. Joshua faces hard times in the wilderness, but leads the people across the Jordan into the Promised Land. A man commits adultery and loses his job as a pastor, and almost loses his wife, but then gets to go on a speaking tour around the country helping others in the same situation.

The message of the book seems to be: Have things gone wrong? Don t worry. It will get better soon.

Sadly, this isn’t always true. Does God redeem and rescue? Yes! A thousand times, yes! But does He always? No. At least, not in this life.

Take John the Baptist. He proclaims the coming of the Messiah, and with Him, the Kingdom of God. But he gets arrested, and instead of getting freed, ends up getting beheaded. This was not the rescue he hoped for.  All the prophets had similar stories. The writer of Hebrews says that many of them were tortured, imprisoned, stoned, and sawn in two. There is no happy ending to being sawn in two.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m glad I read Plan B. It helped me a lot with my own questions and issues. I just think it sometimes painted too rosy of a picture that does not fully fit with either Scripture or reality.

Of course, no one wants to read that sometimes you may lose your job, go into bankruptcy, have your children die,  get divorced, contract terminal cancer, and finish out your days in suffering and despair. And since a book like that will never get published, there’s always Plan B.

How a Drunk Jesus Picks up Women

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I am reading Will This Rock in Rio by Ken Lottis. It’s a fantastic book, and I will review it on this blog later this week. In it, he explains how he and Jim Peterson invited Brazilian men to read the historical document of the gospel of John and ask two questions as they read: “What does this book say about Jesus?” and “If what it says is true, what should our response be?”

As I read, I began looking for opportunities to do the same thing. On Friday, I met a man named Jamie  just hanging around outside my office. We talked for a few minutes, and then sensing an opening, said, “Hey, do you want to read a book about Jesus with me and talk about it?”

“I would love to!” he said. We read John 1 that day and talked about it for about an hour. Then we ran out of time.

Today he came back and asked to read and talk some more. For the next two hours we read and discussed John 2-4. Below are some of the comments he made as we read. You won’t hear these in any sermon…

John 2: Jesus turning water into wine
When Jamie read that Jesus turned six containers of water into wine, he said, “Hey, Jesus brought a six-pack to the party!” And when he read that each container held 20-30 gallons, he did the math, and when he realized that Jesus just made about 150 gallons of wine, said, “Man! I wish Jesus could come to one of my parties!”

I wanted to weep. Not because I was offended by Jamie’s comment. Far from it. Jamie saw immediately who Jesus is: Someone who was fun to hang out with.

John 4: The woman at the well in Samaria
When he read that Jesus sat down at a well with a woman and asked her to draw some water for him, he remembered what Jesus had done with the water in John 2, and said, “I know what’s coming! It’s going to be a well of wine!” It didn’t turn out that way, of course. But when Jesus said, “Go, call your husband and come here,” he laughed out loud and said, “I see what Jesus is doing! He’s trying to get it on with her!”

It was the best “Bible study” I have ever been part of. His remarks were so fresh, honest, real…and insightful. And no, I never corrected Jamie’s thinking. To be honest, I didn’t have to. All I did was laugh along with him, then say, “Wow, I’ve never looked at it that way before. Let’s read on to see what happens.” And of course, Jesus doesn’t get drunk, and He doesn’t take the woman off to His hut. He just loves people, has fun with them, and invites them to believe in Him for eternal life. How simple and refreshing.

Bad Christian, Bad!
I must tell you, however, that part way through, a Christian that I work with saw what we were doing and asked if he could join. Inwardly, I groaned, but Jamie cheerfully said, “Yeah! The more the merrier.”

I felt bad as the discussion went on, because I had to keep telling this Christian to stop talking (he went on and on and on…and on). He kept wanting to go off and talk about the baptism of the spirit, and fasting and praying, and the importance of getting water baptized, and how infant baptism was not enough, and how we need to go to church, and pray in faith, really meaning it in our heart, and trusting God, and obeying God, and get on our knees before God, and ask God to do his will in our life, and read the Bible, etc., etc., etc.

At one point, he told some story about how even though the thief on the cross didn’t get baptized before he died, he really did get baptized because it rained on him. WHAT? Every time he started to talk, I wanted to pull my hair out, and I could tell that Jamie was getting more and more confused.

Oh, and he was present when Jamie thought that Jesus was hitting on the woman at the well. He didn’t laugh.

Sigh….

On a completely random way of ending this post, I saw a Hasidic Jew playing an electric guitar tonight while dancing and rapping. He was amazing on that guitar! Watching him rock like Jimi Hendrix while his curled side-burns bounced around as he danced is a sight I never thought I’d see. It’s a crazy world.

Be a Miracle

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I believe that God can (and does) perform miracles in this world at various times and places, often (but not always) in response to the prayers of His people.

However, as followers of Jesus, we need to realize that God often wants to work in and through us in “non-miraculous” ways, which are actually quite miraculous. It all depends on our Spirit-inspired creatively and our definition of a “miracle.” Let me give some examples.

Many churches pray for God to heal people who have cancer. But maybe God wants you and your church to love and entertain children who have cancer. Or maybe God wants you to set up free medical clinics for cancer victims in your community. Or maybe you can offer help to people who smoke and eat too much cancer-causing foods.

Many churches have building funds, and ask the people to pray about how much God wants them to give to it. But maybe, rather than pay for a new church building, God wants you to feed the poor in your community. The average church building costs at least $1,000,000. Do you know how many people that would feed? At $10 per meal, that’s 100,000 people you could feed! Not even Jesus fed that many!

Maybe, rather than praying for God to miraculously keep troubled marriages together, you can set up free marriage counseling through your church, which includes things like free babysitting, budgeting help, anger management, conflict resolution, and other things that married couples struggle with. For a couple in trouble, another couple offering to help is a miracle.

Maybe, rather than praying for God to bring people to your church to fill the pews on Sunday morning, you can go to their houses and change the oil in their car, mow their lawn, or help replace shingles on the roof.

These are just a few ideas. The possibilities for miracles in your community are endless. But most often, they don’t occur by praying for them. Pray if you want to, but I say, “Stop praying for miracles, and just go be one.” It’s true…maybe you can’t feed 500 people…but you can feed one, and you will be a miracle to that person.

This post is based on the Grace Commentary for Luke 4:31-37.

No More Head Trips

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I recently read Charles Foster’s book, The Sacred Journey, which, according to the back cover, is a book about calling Christians to go on a pilgrimage.

Prior to reading it, I imagined it to be a book about going on a metaphorical pilgrimage, a spiritual trip within your mind. You know…recognizing that we are all “on a journey” and how we can take certain “steps” to “progress” in our life of “following Jesus.”

But it became quickly clear to me that this is not what Foster meant at all. In his book, he calls Christians to go on a literal pilgrimage. Yes, that’s right. Getting off our butts, packing a bag (or just a change of clothes), and setting out (on foot is preferable) to go somewhere.  The destination, he says, doesn’t really matter, because it’s the journey that counts. Foster’s book explains the biblical basis behind this idea, and recounts many of his own pilgrimage stories.

I kept on waiting for him to say, “Now if you can’t go on a literal pilgrimage, you can always stay home and go on a metaphorical, spiritual pilgrimage.” He got close to this in the last chapter, but he never really came out and said any such thing.

And so I became very uncomfortable with the book. I have a wife and three young kids. I have a job. I can’t go traipsing off  into the wilderness just to see what happens. Sure, I may connect with God, but I may also lose my job, my house, and maybe my family. He didn’t speak about how his own wife and kids handle his frequent journeys other than to say that he leaves them behind and misses them (p. 159). And of course, he writes books as a job, so he can take that with him. If I tried to take my job with me…well, I’d get put in prison. Those of you know what I do understand what I mean.

So while I enjoyed the book, and was challenged by it, I must conclude that most of us do not have the luxury to be a nomad.

But aside from that, is what he is calling for truly biblical? Certainly it is true that the Bible is chock full of examples of nomads, pilgrimages, and journeys. Yes, Jesus and Paul moved about. Yes, followers of Jesus have nowhere to lay their head. I can’t deny it.

But it seems to me that nobody in Scripture ever went somewhere just so they could connect with God, learn something about themselves, or grow on the journey. Whenever God’s people go somewhere in Scripture, it is so they connect with people, or more specifically, to connect people with God. A biblical pilgrim is not one who embarks on a journey to find himself, find God, or visit a holy site. Rather, a biblical pilgrim is one who embarks on a journey to find others.

So our “going” must be with people in mind. Foster did bring this out somewhat. For example, he says, “The purpose is not primarily to ‘inquire,’ but to meet: the ‘wise men’ are all the people you bump into, particularly if they’re on heroin and state benefits” (p. 141). But such statements are rare. I wish he would have elaborated and emphasized this point more.

He said over and over that the destination is not what is important; it was the journey that mattered. However, he seems to have made the journey the destination. To me, the significance of the journey is not the journey itself, but the people on the journey.  It is not “Where are you going?” or even “How are you going?” that matters. Rather, the real questions are “Who are you going with?” and “Who are you going to?”

And I think if you answer these questions, you will still go on pilgrimage, but it may not be to Jerusalem, Canterbury, or Rome. Instead, you may find yourself traveling to the next cubicle, the neighbor’s house, or the closest bar.

The Ingrown Gospel

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Ingrown toenails are painful. They make it difficult to walk and wear shoes.

There is also such a thing as an ingrown gospel, and it is just as painful.

The gospel, by its very nature, demands input from outside and demands to be put out in culture. If your gospel is not taking you out into the world to love, serve, and befriend those who would not “fit” in your church, and if you never allow someone from the outside to criticize or challenge your life, or your church, you have an ingrown gospel.

And if you are never taking the gospel into other cultures, settings, and situations to see how the gospel both transforms and redeems that culture,  and is itself transformed by the culture, you have an ingrown gospel.

For many Christians, the gospel is only about their own salvation. They know they are saved because they have believed in Jesus for eternal life, and while they wait to get swept up into heaven at death or the rapture, they sit around with painted smiles, singing hymns and attending church. Such a life is not a gospel life. This is not being a gospel light, but gospel lite. If the light is the gospel, the church has become a basket, not to carry it in, but to hide it from the world (see Matt 5:15).

The first step to correcting an ingrown gospel is similar to correcting an ingrown toenail. You gotta dig it out, which can be painful.  One way to dig out the gospel is to invite input from the outside. We must invite criticism. Painful, harsh, criticism. Allow it to be anonymous even, if that will make it more honest. I know churches that actually pay atheists and people of other religions to attend their church and write a critical report of their visit. Maybe you could bring in Christians from another church tradition or from the other side of the world to come and find fault with how your church is accomplishing (or not accomplishing) your mission.

Once the criticism is received, we must not respond angrily in self-defense, but must move outside our borders, and take the gospel to others. We must bless, love, serve, encourage, heal, and restore.

This entire process is seen in Luke 4:18-30. Jesus taught the gospel in 4:18-21. He then corrected the people on how they were not accomplishing it (4:23-27). The goal, of course, was to challenge them to become participants with Him in being a blessing to the world (cf. Bailey 2008:166). Instead, they tried to kill Him (4:28-30).

How do we respond to critics? Could it be that they are right? Has it ever occurred to us that the voice of the critics may actually be the voice of Jesus?

This post is based on the Grace Commentary for Luke 4:20-30.

The Mission of Jesus

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Luke 4:16-19 may be my favorite passage in the entire Bible. It is certainly a key text in Luke, and, I would argue, a key text for understanding Scripture.

In it, Jesus explains His mission. He explains what He intends to do in His ministry. If you and I are followers of Jesus, we need to soak our lives in these verses so we can follow these same principles.

Many churches, Christians, and religious leaders “spiritualize” these verses so that they only deal with realities of the Spirit and the afterlife. I believe this is wrong. Jesus was not concerned only with the spiritual side of people, and neither should we. While He did help meet the deep spiritual needs of people, He was also concerned with their physical, psychological, and emotional needs. Luke 4:16-19 deals with all of these.

If we are His followers, we will focus on such things as well.

But it doesn’t mean you have to do exactly the same things Jesus did in exactly the same way. He performed supernatural miracles, whereas, we may perform the same miracles, but through science or technology. We can work to accomplish the same things Jesus accomplished – healing the sick, setting captives free, giving sight to the blind, giving liberty to the captives – but using different methods.

Most Christians are quite uncreative when it comes to “living as Jesus lived.” We see him feed 5000 people and so if we want to “follow Jesus” we think that we have to get five loaves and two fishes, and pray over them until a miracle happens. But that’s not true at all. We can still feed 5000 people, or 50,000, or 500,000 people, simply by living less selfish lives, and being more generous with our money.

For example, let’s say you spend $5 per day on Starbucks coffee and $2 for a scone. Right there you have your five loaves and two fish.

That $7 a day doesn’t seem like much. But over a work week, it comes to $35. Through an organization like Compassion International, you can feed and teach a child in a third world country for $35 per month. So with the money you save, you could give three meals a day (and a biblical education) to four children every month. Over the course of just one year, that is 4320 meals. Jesus fed 5000 people, and we call it a miracle. Each one of us can do almost the same miracle every year for the rest of our lives, simply by giving up our five loaves and two fish (coffee and a danish).

This is just one example. With a little bit of creative thinking and self-sacrifice, we could come up with similar miracles in health, finances, and education. We can accomplish the same things as Jesus did, or even greater things (John 14:12)!

This post is based on the Grace Commentary for Luke 4:16-19.

Is Easter Named after a Sex Goddess?

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On Easter, someone probably said to you, “Happy Sex Goddess Day!”

No? That didn’t happen?

Well, it probably did, and you just didn’t know it.

Easter = Pagan Sex Goddess

Have you ever wondered why we call the day that Jesus rose from the dead “Easter”? That word is not found anywhere in the Bible, so why do we call it “Easter”?

There are many theories about the origin of the word “Easter” but among the main contenders is the idea that it comes from the name of a sex goddess (or fertility goddess). Here are three such fertility goddesses:

  • Ishtar, the Assyrian/Babylonian fertility sex goddess
  • Eostre/Ostara, the Germanic fertility sex goddess
  • Astarte, the Greek/Mesopotamian fertility sex goddess (referred to in the Bible as Asherah or Ashtoreth)

Our English word “Easter” seems to be drawn from the name of a pagan sex goddess.

Also, based on my research, our modern celebration of Easter appears to be a conglomeration of various parts and pieces of all three sex goddesses listed above.

In some of the traditions related to one or the other of these fertility sex goddesses, celebrants would rise early in the morning to observe the sun rising in the east.

In others, people would feast on ham.

In still others, children would go outside and hunt for decorated eggs. The eggs were supposed to have come from divine bunnies, which were revered for their ability to rapidly reproduce (… you know the saying: breeding like rabbits).

In others Easter traditions, it was thought that rabbits brought forth the light of spring from the sex goddess.

By worshipping the fertility sex goddess in these ways, the people were welcoming the longer days of spring, and were praying for fertile flocks and fertile fields.

The Truth of Easter

So is this why we call Easter “Easter”? Well, people argue over it, but wherever “Easter” (the name) really came from, there definitely seems to be numerous connections between the spring equinox, sunrise, new life, spring, bunnies, eggs, fertility rites, and a sex goddess.

So when then did the church adopt the practice of referring to the day Jesus rose from the dead as “Easter”? Some Christians, of course, refuse to call it “Easter” and refer to it instead as “Resurrection Sunday.” They do this because they know about the pagan roots of “Easter” and think that it detracts from what the significance of the resurrection of Jesus.

But does it? Is it wrong to refer to “Resurrection Sunday” as Easter?

I don’t think so. To the contrary, I think that “Easter” is a perfect name for the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. I also think that when the church chose “Easter” to celebrate the day Jesus rose from the dead, they did this intentionally because of what the resurrection of Jesus signifies.

So what is the explanation? Why did the church choose to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, which is named after a pagan sex goddess?

The reason the church adapted some of the symbolism and practices from their surrounding pagan culture is an interesting study, but the simplest explanation which makes the most sense to people today is found in our own culture.

easter bunny easter eggsHave you ever seen t-shirts that say “God’s Gym” or “Abreadcrumb & Fish”? I’ve seen t-shirts with the Guitar Hero design, but on closer inspection, it says “God is my Hero.” Similarly, there are “Amazing Grace” t-shirts that look like the “American Idol” logo, and I have seen shirts with the superman logo, but with “JC” instead of “S.” I’ve seen a Staple’s “Easy” button with the word “Jesus” on it instead.

Is all this silly, commercialized, “Jesus Junk”? Yes. I roll my eyes at most of it. I cannot believe people make this stuff, but more than that, I can’t believe people buy it and wear it.

Of course, the reason companies make this “Jesus junk” is because it sells. People buy $4.6 billion of this stuff every year. And one reason Christians buy it is because such things help them bring Christ into culture. I would argue that there may be better ways of doing this, but that’s a different subject …

The point is that, 2000 years ago, some Christians decided to combine some of the sex goddess traditions of their culture with the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Why? Well, for one reason, the resurrection of Jesus and the sex goddess holiday occurred right around the same time of year.

But another reason is that they realized the same thing we do today: Why do some Christians have “iPray” hats and “Got Jesus?” bumper stickers? It’s an attempt to be contextual. Early Christians borrowed some of the symbolism of the various “Easter” celebrations they observed around them, and incorporated them into the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

But there is something even more important than that.

Should we just Fry the Eggs and Kill the Bunnies?

Some Christians are aware of where the “Easter” traditions came from, and, thinking of passages like Jeremiah 10:2 (Do not adopt the ways of the Gentiles…), refuse to say “Happy Easter!” Instead, they say “He is Risen!” Or “Happy Resurrection Day!”

Those are good things to say today, because, of course, this is the day we celebrate the historical event of Jesus rising from the dead.

But you want to know what? I’m also fine with saying “Happy Easter.” Is that because I worship Ishtar? Far from it. Have I adopted the ways of Ostara? No. Am I going to fall down in front of an Asherah pole? Of course not.

Instead, calling Resurrection Sunday “Easter” reminds me of my redemption. How?

Easter Redemption

easter redemptionThe simple fact that most people don’t know the origins of the word “Easter” shows that a shift has happened over the past 2000 years. The day has been redeemed. Though Easter is a commercialized holiday, most people still associate it with Jesus and His resurrection from the grave.

Of all the days in the year that people “go to church,” Easter is in the top two (the other being Christmas Eve). People associate “Easter” with Jesus; not with Ishtar.

The very fact that people think of Jesus rather than Ishtar when they say “Happy Easter!” is proof that this sex goddess holiday has been redeemed.

Because of this, Easter reminds me of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Though his readers used to be adulterers, fornicators, slanderers, thieves, drunkards, idolaters, and swindlers, they were not this way any longer. They were washed. They were cleansed. They were purified, sanctified, justified. They were no longer who they used to be. In a word, they were redeemed.

Similarly, we can talk about the way Ishtar Day used to be. We could talk about the rites, the rituals, and the pagan practices. But it is not that way any longer. Easter has been redeemed … just like you and me.

On Easter, rather than getting drunk and visiting a temple prostitute, most people celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Yet we still call it Easter. This is redemption!

Sure, we might eat ham, look for Easter eggs, and give Easter candy. But when we do these things, nobody thinks about Ishtar. Most are just enjoying a fun day with the family (a wonderful Christian practice), and many others of us are remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (the most important event in human history).

Jesus is in the business of redemption. He not only redeems people, but He also redeems history, culture, places, events, customs, and holidays, “until all things are placed under His feet” (Eph 1:22-23; 1 Cor 15:27). Jesus has redeemed Easter.

So, this Easter, when you wish someone “Happy Easter!” remember that just as Jesus has redeemed a pagan sex goddess holiday, He has redeemed you as well.

Religionless Church Planting

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Every once in a while I read a book that puts into words what I have been thinking, but couldn’t quite express. These are not so much “Aha!” moments as “Yes! Someone who understands!” moments. This last month, I happened to read two such books. Both put into words what I have been thinking and feeling for two-three years now.

Previously, I wrote about how the average reader can only read about 4000 books in a lifetime. These are two books I am glad are on my list. Both books might have made it into my Top Ten List. Definitely my top twenty.

The first book, Church Without Walls by Jim Petersen, is a book I’ve owned for about ten years, but never got around to reading. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t read it ten years ago, because it wouldn’t have meant much to me back then. Ten years ago, I thought I had church all figured out. I even wrote a book about it (I thank God it never got published…). Jim Petersen bases his book off of some church planting work he did in Brazil in the 1960s. He found that to really reach people who wouldn’t step foot in the typical church, he had to radically change the way the church looked and functioned. In the rest of the book, he summarizes the historical, theological, and biblical insights he came to as he struggled with how to allow this new church of Brazilian Christians be the church in their culture. (I recently learned that this this story is further developed in a new release, Will this Rock in Rio? by Ken Lottis.)

Jim Petersen then takes the lessons he learned in Brazil and applies them to our own time and culture. His basic conclusion is that various traditions have locked us into doing church a certain way, and have ceased to be helpful for many of the people we are trying to reach with the gospel (cf. p. 208). By abandoning some of these traditions, we actually liberate the church to live the gospel in our culture and communities. I’m looking forward to reading this book again.

The second book which got my heart racing is Repenting of Religion by Greg Boyd. Most Christians love to say they have a “relationship” not a “religion.” But the truth is that most of us just have another religion. I see this first hand every day at my job where I get to interact with people of seventeen different religions. Whatever differences they all may have, one thread runs through them all (Christianity included) — judgment and condemnation.

As Christians, we judge gays, lesbians, the rich, the homeless, people of other religions, atheists, heretics, criminals, drunks, drug addicts, prostitutes, pimps, politicians, and anybody else we can think of to point our finger at. Greg Boyd points out that Scripturally, these are not really the sins that God is most concerned about.  God is more concerned with other sins, which happen to be found in the lives of most Christians, especially those of us here in the United States.

But even this not Boyd’s point. He doesn’t just want us to shift our finger pointing from one target to another. He wants us to stop the pointing altogether. Finger pointing — judgmentalism — is a symptom of religion. “But wait!” you say, “Jesus judged. Paul judged. We are even told to judge each other! What about those texts?” Boyd is not ignorant of these texts and deals with all of them. His basic conclusion is that the only judging Jesus and Paul do is to judge the self-righteous, hypocritical, legalistic religious people for committing the sin of judging others.

As with everything Boyd writes, this book challenges your thinking and causes you to see certain Scriptures in a new light. If you want to learn to live out the love of Jesus within this world, you must read this book.

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