There's a reason why I almost put down 'Jesus Manifesto' by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, the first 1/3 was kind of dull. Not because the information was boring, but it was kind of redundant, and 'obvious'. Mind you, I think that's the point, to me a conversation for three chapters on the centrality of Jesus to the Christian faith isn't necessary.

I can understand why it was crucial to include because their target market need to hear the obvious message because the foundation of Jesus has been lost in American churches.

With that being said, the final 1/3 of the book got me thinking about some important questions. For me personally, it forced me to explore some ideas in a way only an NT Wright publication could.... That's a tall order indeed and part of the reason I would recommend this book to the right person.

Jesus Manifesto is so obvious yet so crucial. Christianity today has been taken over by declining yet loud conservative and/or prosperity voice. Most churches in North America glorify only a few core things whether they know it or not: their lead pastor, money, the Bible.

The lead pastor is the CEO leader who gets all the face time. The Bible is set up on a pedestal that not even Jesus can supplant. Both are the wrong things to glorify. Lately, it seems the message coming out of Christianity are two things: do the right things to gain the favour of God and live in prosperity, and fight the moral cause to bash gays, ban abortion, and prop up creationism.

Something perhaps worthy to fight, but not cornerstones of the Christian faith.

In comes Jesus Manifesto which essentially points out the elephant in the room, or in this case the missing Jesus in our churches. We've replaced the CHRIST in CHRISTiaity with convenient truths that help pad the pews rather than seeking out a humble and authentic relationship with the creator of the universe.

The absolute foundation of the Christian faith is rooted in the person of Jesus Christ who, through his death and resurrection, rescued humanity while simultaneously leading his church and people to be part of the rescue plan of redemption here on earth. And this is only a glimpse of the grand revelation behind Christ (then and now).

Sweet and Viola could have lamented on the meaningless things that consume our time in church today, but rather, they focus squarely on the Jesus revelation, and how through Jesus we develop our identity and our response.

But this isn't just a 'be like Jesus call'.

I've been breaking down a paradigm of mine that believes the journey of a Christian is to 'be like Jesus'. It suggests that our job, or our pursuit, is to live a life more and more like Jesus Christ. I've been re-thinking this attitude namely because I don't think that's the whole story to the Christian life. Sure, you can construct a case to support the 'be like Jesus' clause, but I'm noticing something different when I read the New Testament. Here's where the book really come through for me personally.

The construct of 'be like Jesus' implies there's a) something you can do to earn 'more' of something from God, b) if we don't do 'enough' of whatever it is we're left with a sense of guilt and shame, c) the bible is clear that we cannot work towards anything, we're either saved by grace entirely or not, and most important d) to suggest we can 'be like Jesus' means we can individually pursue on our own strength, and gain enough knowledge, to know God.

Why is the last component so crucial? Because 'imitate Jesus' is a pursuit of knowledge. This is a stark contrast to what we find the gospels where Jesus lives in us and us in him. The former is an empty pursuit that leads to frustration, the latter outlines the incarnation of the gospel indwelt within the Christian.

We have received the fullness of Christ which leads to glimpses of the real Jesus for others. Those outside of the church will no longer see vain religion but Christ's love for them. Trying to 'be like Christ' is the tireless quest that breeds failure and relies on rules and regulations. This is the basis for formulaic (and empty) religion which people can also see.

When we opt to care more about rules sand regulations and morality over relationships and love of people, we no longer communicate the fullness of the gospel.

It's not about what cause (be it the abortion debate or daily devotions) you fight for, that's a vain pursuit, but how our Christian faith is rooted in the indwelling Christ which impacts the way we live.

Christians need to rethink whether they're seriously grounded in Jesus, or whether he's a fleeting expression that we've watered down to fit our empty and increasingly lifeless church and personal endeavors.

Jesus Manifesto gets 3.5 stars out of 5. This review was part of a free book for review program with Booksneeze.com.

Review: Jesus Manifesto by Len Sweet and Frank Viola is a post from: PomoTheo - Missional Perspectives

Maybe I'm not the target audience. Actually, I know I'm not. This is for a reader squarely planted in the middle of Christendom who takes in a conservative brand of Christianity weekly. To that person this book is certainly to geared to offend, (as most conservatives are quite easily offended it doesn't take much to receive such a response).

Farley began the book with great promise, the questions he posed caught my attention in his mini introductory exam.

In true or false style he poses the following:

Christians should ask God to forgive and cleanse them when they sin.

Christians struggle with sin because of their old self within.

We should wait on God even before making everyday decisions.

When we sin against God, we're out of fellowship until we repent.

Old Testament law is written on Christian hearts so we want to obey it.

The Bible tells us that Christians can obtain many rewards in heaven.

Christians will give an account for their sins at the great white throne.

Christians should tithe at least 10 percent of their income.

God gets angry with us when we repeatedly sin against him.

God looks at us as though we're righteous, even though we're really not.

It would have been much easier if he had answered the questions directly in the 10 points he presents them, but Farley doesn't--albeit all were in some form answered. (It would have helped me for clarity sake.)

The first quarter of the book seemed to be an endless tirade against Old Testament Law. I got the point, and I suppose I can understand why someone, who treats the OT laws as somehow relevant today, might require the explanation, but it seemed to drag on and on.

I also don't agree with the premise of casting away the entire of the OT law. It's not to say that OT Law should be followed, but I DO believe God had a plan in place with the law that wasn't achieved. I don't agree, which I believe is incompatible with Farley's premise, that God somehow changed the game and made salvation easier through the person of Jesus Christ.

However, I did pick up the essential piece: as Christians we need to be adamant to accept people over rules and propositions. I see how this could be a startling revelation for Christian types who prefer rules; these types are also routinely unwilling to test the statements of their faith treating opinions as canon. Farley does well to highlight some important themes that may sound right, but are not adequately supported in scripture.

Back to the thought on OT Law being the 'Old Law' and necessary to be cast away. I think the Law held a purpose in that it was through the law that the ancient Israelites were to usher in God's dream of new Kingdom. God's dream didn't change, but instead of law the incarnate Christ takes its place (or more specifically Christ replaces Israel as supreme example of God's Kingdom on earth and a glimpse of God's redemption plan to come in the future). To casually toss away the OT law, which I doubt Farley advocates but readers may certainly ascertain a flippant attitude about it, is careless and perhaps dangerous when it comes to understanding the grand narrative of scripture.

I also couldn't comprehend the idea of atonement and forgiveness. Farley spends the entire book condemning OT Law, however, when it comes back to forgiveness he goes back to the very RULES in the law to explain why forgiveness requires blood. Either the OT Law is dead or it's not. It doesn't make sense to suggest that Jesus has to fulfill OT Law if we're to cast it away right after. I'm fine with the Jesus and being a fulfillment of the law, I can work with that, but he could have made a better explanation on how Christ fulfills the very thing he argues against....

Furthermore on that subject, I wouldn't suggest God is even subject to the law -- which was presented for the people. There is no indication that God much follow rules set out for people, after all, he is God (although I'm certain the theological implications of what I just said are complex).

Farley's take on how Christians need to spend less time thinking about building rewards in heaven and feeling guilty about their sins and how it ruins fellowship with God is important (for the very same target audience I labeled earlier). I felt his explanations in the very least were enough to force readers to re-assess how they approach conservative Christian norms for seemingly foundational items (or at least items taken for granted).

Also, the latter chapters dealing with the Holy Spirit as advocate and not invisible guilt tripper was another gem to help set the reader free from potential 'rules and regulation' bondage and hopefully into engagement into a life centered around the person of Christ and his ministry to engage and redeem the world.

Too much time on the 'Old Law' with confusing returns to the very same thing he was trying to outlaw. But enough important elements to make it an average read. Wasn't for me, but for someone in the right space as he's likely shooting for it would be far more relevant.

2.5 starts out of 5.

Review: The Naked Gospel by Andrew Farley is a post from: PomoTheo - Missional Perspectives

After You Believe is preceded by Surprised by Hope, an exceptional work that challenges the conservative Christian perspective of heaven (that we say a prayer and go to heaven by eternity.) It's not only a challenge but quite simply a return to orthodoxy. I found Surprised by Hope to be an exceptional contemporary work that should hit everyone's must read list.

Simply Christian precedes Surprised by Hope. Simply Christian is another gem, not quite on par with Surprised by Hope IMO, but best described as a contemporary 'Mere Christianity'.

But of course, this post is about 'After You Believe'. Admittedly, the third was my least favorite, however, that's not to suggest it's not an important read. Rather, the first two, especially Surprised by Hope, were of exceptional value that could not be matched in the third. (I was reading Brian Mclaren's latest while reading After you Believe and the former doesn't hold water against the latter.)

Simply Christian dealt with the 'urges of humanity (beauty, relationships, justice, spirituality)'; Surprised by Hope deal with Heaven & Kingdom language; AFter you Believe dealt with Christian character.

Wright re-uses the term 'virtue' to highlight the need for Christians to adopt more than vein morality goals or individual authenticity when it comes to maturing in Christ. He compares three primary ways people approach their faith:

1: The wait for Heaven Option (condemning and discarding this world a la evangelicals right-wing)

2: The work for the Kingdom Option (a la left wing)

3: The live out by way of Anticipating the Kingdom

The third option is Wright's proposition to reclaim virtue in Christian culture that's barely skin deep.

Wright is not the most accessible writer, but given his content and scholarship he IS highly accessible. For that reason it makes sense for Christians to pay attention to the message he is trying to communicate. It's not necessary to accept everything he's saying part and parcel, but it DOES emphasize the need to accept his words as grounded in scholarship and orthodoxy.

The conversation obviously extends beyond virtues and character, including church systems and interesting expositions on passages in Romans and Corinthians to support his ‘KIngdom’ perspective (which is in many ways the antithesis of the unfortunately popular neo-reformed perspective).

In the very least, permit all three of his books to alter your Christian paradigm. After all, where you settle is where you'll die.

Simply to Surprised to After You Believe – NT Wright is a post from: PomoTheo - Missional Perspectives

I appreciate Ehrman's contribution to the dialogue of early Christian theology and scripture. He provides some necessary questions that should be answered. The reason he has wound up in his place is largely because of the issue of good and evil and why evil triumphs. I'm not about to try to enter into a blogging war with Ehrman cause if he were to engage me I'd be on the short end of the stick. However, NT Wright is a worth adversary (or perhaps dialogue partner is a better term) and he does articulate important and crucial questions to Ehrman's propositions that he hasn't successfully answered (namely how resurrection plays into the 'answers' of good v. evil.)

So I want to re-read Ehrman and then re-read Wright's book 'Evil and the Justice of God' and comment on both. A nice entry point to review the issue of theodicy IMO.

Ehrman ‘Jesus Interrupted’ Arrives in Paperback is a post from: PomoTheo - Missional Perspectives

Enter the Justice League. The book is a collection of essays from a wide spectrum of writers and thinkers in the contemporary Christian ‘justice conversation,’ including voices from evangelical, mainline, and emerging contexts:

* Rene Padilla
* Peggy Campolo
* Will and Lisa Samson
* Sylvia Keesmaat
* Bart Campolo
* Lynne Hybels
* Tony Jones
* Richard Twiss
* many others

Conservative religious belief systems teach us to choose righteousness over compassion, truth over helpfulness, and responsibility over sharing hope.

There is a change in landscape coming to America. It's not necessarily the demise of the vocal right-wing, but the advent of a post-Christendom society. Canada is already living there. Note, I didn't suggest that you need to be a liberal to believe in justice. In fact, among the 35 authors in the book, you'll encounter at least one person that usher in a change to your paradigm of justice.

I would suggest all Christians need to rethink the justice issue, and then jump on board the surging justice movement. Why? Because at the heart of the gospel message is the call offer glimpses--foretastes--of the kingdom of God on earth. Righting wrongs--seeking justice, are therefore at the heart of the gospel.

This book is accessible to all and could even work as an introductory textbook at the undergraduate level.

I don't write book reviews with glowing recommendations, but this is a must have. IN fact, I don't think I've ever suggested to anybody on the blog that they should go out and buy a book, this is the exception. Whether you've been reading on the issues of justice in the past, or it's relatively new to you, the book will offer a vast spectrum of issues and perspectives that will give you something to digest.

The Justice Project is a Must Have in Social Justice Reading is a post from: PomoTheo - Missional Perspectives

A Prayer to Our Father. Hebrew Origins of the Lord’s Prayer by Nehemia Gordon and Keith Johnson is a 171 page large print narrative adventure about an African American pastor and Jewish academic combining to investigate the Hebrew origins of the Lord's Prayer.

What I enjoyed about this book was the concept of investigating the 'original' text of Matthew which is purported to be a Hebrew text, not Greek. The con of the book is the fact only 1/2 of the pages were devoted to the investigation of the actual prayer component. The other issue I have is the lack of corroborating evidence for the conclusions they make. It is dangerous to make claims implicitly or explicitly and passing them on to t he masses as fact (or not framing them as mere ideas so that people won't treat them by default as 'fact' because they show up in a printed book).

The book opens with the introduction of the union between to the two unlikely characters. I thought it would have made a great blog post to follow.... Perhaps I don't resonate with the racial and religious distinctions, to fully appreciate the combination of African American Christian w/ Jewish academic/scholar, but for me that's not a compelling enough reason to make me read the book.

The introductory components, or half the book, dealt with their travels and anticipation discovering the Hebraic origins of the Matthean account and how it might impact our interpretations today. That is, as I suggested earlier, is an interesting premise. But half the book doesn't deal with the question it poses.

The first half is introduction and then six chapters searching for the physical location where Jesus may have spoken the Beatitudes. How this was relevant to the question escaped me, and spending time in Israel for three weeks taught me one thing--everyone claims to have something, but the original never exists. They pretty much concluded the same thing, and at the end of the day, it was six chapters wasted (although would have made a nice blog series )

I also didn't appreciate the pro-Israeli stance of the book, albeit I should have expected it.

Half-way through I met the discussion about the actual prayer broken down into each section. This was interesting to dive into some of the Jewish traditions that impact how we interpret the Lord's Prayer (Prayer to Our Father) today.

What I did not jive with, however, was the lack of scholarship. Mind you, this wasn't an exegesis of Matthew 5, (although perhaps it should have been thus giving the academy a chance to respond). More work to substantiate claims would have propelled the book to the level of 'resource' rather than a simple recollection of two men's journey of discovery.

One particular issue I had in the investigation was the treatment of the name of God. Johnson seems to ignore the fact that the consensus on the origins of the term Jehovah is a result of a mistranslation by English scholars unfamiliar with Jewish traditions. Do a Google search on it.

I could not find any corroborating evidence in my quick search, not suggesting there isn't any, to substantiate his claim that the English variant of the proper name of God--Jehovah--is merely a translation from the guess of what the proper name of God may have sounded like 2000+ years ago: Yehovah and not Yahweh.

Again, to me this is a startling claim, and I'm surprised a reference to the issue was never made. IT makes me wonder to what extent I can trust their conclusions on this particular topic. More insight and scholarship is needed (post some links or resources if you know of any.)

All in all, half of the book was interesting, the other half unnecessary. Of the half that was interesting, there were more questions raised than answers. I appreciate exposure to the initial question, but thought they could have done a much better job laying out the historical/textual evidence.

if this book, as it's being promoted, is about two unlikely collaborators coming together, then it's not worth picking up, 1 star out of 5. If it's about exposing the reader to the Hebraic roots and interpretation of t he Matthean account (specifically the Lord's Prayer), then it did a half job, so 2.5 stars our of 5.

Many Questions on ‘A Prayer to Our Father’ – Book Review is a post from: PomoTheo - Missional Perspectives

Technorati Tags: a prayer to our father, keith johnson, lord's prayer, nehemia gordon

....Jesus says again and again, this kingdom advances with neither violence nor bloodshed, with neither hatred nor revenge.

Tell that to all the 'Christians' in America who picket against homosexuals or abortion with signs like, "God hates fags". Actually, God hates intolerant white people with racists signage. God also does not stamps his name next to America because they solve their problems in a very pagan way....

No, this kingdom advances slowly, quietly, under the surface--like yeast in dough....:when people believe it is true, it becomes true. And it advances with reconciling, forgiving love: when people love strangers and enemies, the kingdom gains ground. (pg 32.)

Emphasis mine, some food for thought.

Brain McLaren on the Message of Jesus is a post from: PomoTheo - Missional Perspectives

"Church is the place you go to, and attendees don't have to do much in the way of mission because the pros do it for t hem. We show up at church to get what we want ((which is feeding from a leader), not what we need (to feed ourselves and others). If we don't get what we want, we head to the place next door because that chaplain is better at giving us what we want." pg 56

If this is an accurate description of your church may I suggest you reach and grasp something more? You were meant for it.

Tangible Kingdom – Hugh Halter is a post from: PomoTheo - Missional Perspectives

However, I'm not quite sure this is a necessary book to purchase, maybe a good one to pick up from the library. I for one enjoy Barna and his newsletter that arrive via email. Part of me wondered whether the first half of the book that outlined the seven major faith tribes according to Barna would have been better off in the concise newsletter format rather than in book form.

Not surprisingly, the first half of the book outlined sociological trends using Barna research (or in Canada the primary sociologist who has collected faith related data for years is Reg Bibby). I don't really think he noted anything ground breaking pertaining to the major seven (nones, Christians by designation, hardcore Christians, mormons, Muslims, and Eastern traditions).

Surprisingly, the remaining half of the book was spent answering the primary question Barna proposed, "how do we save America from the downward spiral of relativism and immorality?" Part of Barna's questions are not necessary faith based either. His comments on immigration are certainly more intune with maintaining the 'American identity' and not necessary the 'Christian perspective'.

The issues of leadership and engagement with culture took up the rest of the book. Leadership, yet again, a topic for Christians to embrace, and hopefully to use as a catalyst to initiate positive change. That is the extent of his conclusion as well, which I agree with being an economist.

In the free market enterprise, of which America rules supreme, consumers can vote with their feet. The change in culture will only come, not through lobbying or picketing, but by making sound from choosing leaders to buying the right products. Once we change our individual behaviour we can influence others to do the same, and as a whole slowly shape the future direction of America.

2.5 stars of 5, but 5 stars out of 5 if it arrived in a seven part newsletter series via email.

The Seven Faith Tribes – George Barna – Review is a post from: PomoTheo - Missional Perspectives

How compelling....The 'Other' side of the Story. So why is there an 'other' and what would be the apparent 'current' side of the story?

To understand more about the premise of the book, it's important to understand the context of both the author and Western (American) Christianity. Generally the primary voice for Christians in America is the right-wing conservative perspective. That poses huge problems if generation upon generation of Christians believe that right-wring Protestantism is the only form of Christianity yesterday, today, and forever.

Most of that paradigm can be attributed to ignorance--people are simply unaware of rich forms of Christian traditions apart from their own.

Bass looks to combat what she labels as, "Big C Christianity," that tells a historical story that follows this seemingly exclusive progression:

Christ, Constantine, Christendom, Crusades, Calvin, Christian America

As a Canadian focused missional blog the ideas in this book aren't directed to Canada, but definitely the conservative brand of Christianity which relies so heavily on American conservatism in this country will benefit from her historical analysis. Americans will undoubtedly, assuming they bother to pick up the book, develop new questions about their history after reading.

Essentially Bass sees an issue that pegs Protestanism as the only form of Christianity and source of history worth looking into. It seems self-explanatory, even common sense, that Protestantism is one of many traditions in our faith. But since I don't live in her context I'm going to assume (not hard to agree) there are people who exclusively believe in 'Big C Christianity'.

The book itself is outlined in Five primary sections: The Way (100-500); The Cathedral (500-1450); The Word (1450-1650); The Quest (1650-1945); The River (1945-Present).

This isn't a traditional history book on Christianity, and as the title suggests, it is a 'people's history', meaning the stories of select individuals, who are largely forgotten in many historical summaries, are included. These individuals stretch across traditional boundaries and include mystics, desert fathers and mothers, aesthetics, monks, martyrs, and more.

Despite the attempt to stretch beyond Protestantism, which was accomplished, I still felt a blank when it came to Eastern expressions of Christianity. Perhaps the book was solely a reflection of the diversity in Western Christian history, but I still noted the vast forms of Eastern expressions and people that were mostly neglected. Since it's a history of Christianity it would make sense to include those connected into Christendom and not just Western Christendom....then again that would have extended the book into a two volume expression. I digress.

Dare I say it, the primary method of communicating her ideas was quite post-modern. Being a 'People's history' there are stories of people. Each section and chapter were introduced with narratives of people past and present. This form changed what could have been a boring account of systematic dates and events (as many previous history books have been), into an interesting conversation with characters and stories.

That in itself makes the book far more accessible offering the reader to, as mentioned, in the very least, ask different questions about the different impressions and contributions that make up North American Christianity what it is today. If I had a system the book would get 3.5 starts out of 5. But since I don't, try to browse its chapters when you have a chance, especially if you're searching for a more open perspective of Western Christianity.

For more on Diana Bass check out this video interview on her book.

[tags]theooze, diana butler bass, Christianity, history[/tags]

A People’s History of Christianity: Diane Butler Bass – Review is a post from: PomoTheo - Missional Perspectives