My next book should be out within the next month or so, but I am really having trouble giving it a title. So I thought you could help!
Oh, and by the way, if you want to get this next book for free, make sure you have signed up to get updates through my email newsletter. That is how I let people know that the free books are available. By way of saying “Thank you,” I will send you “Skeleton Church” just for signing up.
My Next Book Has No Title (yet)
My next book is about two different things.
The first part of the book is about transforming the practice of baptism and the Lord’s supper to something that more accurately reflects the symbolism and significance of these events when they were first done by Jesus.
The second part of the book is about willingly sacrificing our God-given and constitutional rights for the sake of others. It is not uncommon for people (even Christians) to sue others because their “rights” were violated. I often wonder what would happen if, for the sake of the gospel, rather than sue people over our rights, we followed Paul’s advice in 1 Corinthians 6:7: “Why not rather be wronged?”
You might say “What a strange mixture for a book.”
Yes, but when you think about it, they go together quite nicely. Christians get up in arms whenever anybody messes with the “rites” of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and we get up in arms whenever anybody messes with our legal “rights,” such as the right to free speech, the right to practice our religion, or the right to bear arms.
Do you see where I am going? In our efforts to protect our “rites” and our “rights” we are ruining our witness and destroying the clarity of the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not about defending our religious rites or our legal rights, but about sacrificing everything for the sake of others.
If you want to read a rough draft of the content of this book, check out the sections on this page: “Close Your Church for Good” about “Giving up Your Rites” and “Giving Up Your Rights.”
What Book Title Do You Suggest?
So, with all of that in mind, does anybody have any suggestion for a book title? Here is a brainstorm list of my own:
- Dying to your rights
- Die to Your Rites/Rights
- No Rights to your Rites
- Give up your Rites/Rights
- The Right Rites
- Getting our Rites Right
- Dying to Religion and Empire
- You have no rights/rites
- Don’t Fight for your Rights/Rites
- No Rights to your Rites
- The Religious Rites
- You Have the Rite to be Wrong
- Am I Rite? Am I Right?
- Brighter Americans: Not Clinging to our Guns and Religion
- Divine Rites to Unholy Rights
- The Right to Give Up (Thanks Jim Davey!)
You don’t have to choose from these. Make up your own, and suggest it in the comment section below! Use the share buttons to invite others to give their input.
I know it doesn’t cover the aspect of rite of Lord’s Supper or any other rites that a Christian may participate in,but would something like “Immersed in Sacrifice” work? Or, “Rite of Sacrifice”?
Rites, Rights and Wrongs
based on the three R’s.
The True Contract
I both like the title “You Have the Rite to be Wrong” and the seemingly desperate double question “Am I Rite? Am I Right?”, Jeremy, because you are right.
But in order to add my two cents as well [Okay, okay – I know here comes the poet(ess) 😉 ], how about, “Gaining Insight into the Divide between Right and Rite”?
🙂
Kinda off the wall, but how about, “Why hold the cup when you’re meant to drink?” With the subtitle, How religious rites and political rights have led the church away from Jesus.
You might like this. . . Eric Foley works with brothers and sisters inside North Korea who are underground. . . they’re the real deal. People here ask Eric how to pray for the NK followers so he asked them. Their response, “You pray for us. We pray for you.” When asked why, they responded, ‘Because Western Christians often put so much faith in their prosperity and political freedoms that they don’t know what it’s like to have to depend completely on God. And because of that, they often do not get to know him in all the ways he invites us to.'”
Jeremy,
I like…
Rights of Passage
Thanks,
Swanny
Putting Your Trust in God Rather than Your Rites/Rights
I like “Dying to Religion & Empire”
What about, “When There Are No Right/Rites To Be Had”
For the sake of love.
Is being right, right?
Taking the rights out of rites
“Profane Grace”
Celebrating Sacrifice, Living Sacrifice: Believers Immersed in the Brokenness of Jesus.
Or something 🙂
Wrong Rites: Political Rights Qua Religious Wrongs.
Rightly Rites and Ritely Rights
Rights and Rites Really Bites
Ha! I love that.
Ha! Thank you.
It comes form …real life of “doing church”… where I was bitten many times.