I've said it here before and elsewhere, Baker Books and others release a slew of missional books cause it makes money. Most are pretty good too. But at the end of the day the likes of Frost, Hirsch, Halter, Cole, Jones, McNeal, Sweet, Viola, etc., really don't need to write a new book every 4 months (Hirsch).

I'm all for new material, I also understand the fact many of these guys aren't insanely wealthy and they make money from their publications--and there's NOTHING wrong with that--but it does saturate the missional book market.

All that to say that Frost, somewhat ironically, echoes my sentiments on missional saturation. I would like to see these authors spend time creating a magnus opus for the missional hermeneutic rather than a new book every six months!

Enough with the griping, let's do a brief review. Continue reading →

We've written briefly at PomoTheo on the subject of pornography and the church. The stats don't lie, and they're probably an understatement to the current crisis: churched or non-churched, young people are exposed and use online pornography in record and disturbing numbers.

Young people under-18 are being exposed to the material earlier and earlier, but the issue grabs addicts right across the age spectrum. What's worse about the addiction to pornographic material is the seeming inability for the church to even have an honest discussion about a subject that's still enormously taboo.

Luckily there are more relevant resources rolling out that go beyond the 'control your drives through prayer and fasting' (I say somewhat tongue in cheek).

Eyes of Integrity: The Porn Pandemic and How It Affects You, is an XXXChurch.com resource. Their experience from the porn industry provide a behind the scenes perspective missing from most resource books.

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Another book from Speakeasy arrived in the form of Carl Medearis' latest' Speaking of Jesus'. THe book is another foray by David C Cook publishing in the 'Gospel' category; a challenge to reinterpret Christianity as a Jesus centered movement rather than a conservative, arguably Pharisaic, brand of rules and moralistic regulations. Leonard Sweet released a couple books on the subject like Nudge, this is Medearis' first on the subject.

There must be an obvious demand for this type of material, and although I appreciate the direction David C Cook is taking, I would opt for a blog form for books that are short and poignant like Carl's. Of course, you do'nt make money off of blogs as a publisher, so you print a book.

"Speaking of Jesus" has a sub-title of "the art of not-evangelism" which provides a bit more clarity with respect to the books direction. Essentially, cast off the religious rituals and expectations, and instead, replace it with a renewed pursuit of Jesus.

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Quotes of the day for you to muse on this Labour Day weekend.

First, Hirsch & Frost in their book 'Faith of Leap' on love:

...all Christian spirituality can be traced back to Jesus's complete (re)affirmation of the shema--the unavoidable call to live a life of wholeness under the One True God, loving him with heart, soul, mind, strength, and loving one's neighbors as oneself....To love is to suffer...and that's probably why we generally do'nt do it well. Unwillingness to venture, plus a desire to be safe, holds us back from love.....Most of us prefer to skip over the pain and the disicpline, to find some easy, off-the-shelf ways to sainthood.

And then from the same book, a quote from Douglas Coupland on the middle class: Continue reading →