A Penny For Your Thoughts: Everything Must Change

I have just finished the book “Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crisis, and a Revolution of Hope” by Brian McLaren. I wish to hear thoughts from those of you who have read the book, but mostly challenges and critiques. However, before I do that, I want to state as honestly as I can the assumptions and biases from which I speak.

I do not function from a position of a socially conservative Evangelical. I fully affirm the ancient creeds about the Trinity, the work of Christ, and hold Scripture to be the word of God. However, I am unapologetically affected by post-modernity and its critiques of old dominating meta-narratives and its recognition of modernist arrogance. In the same vein, I hold loosely the exclusivity and absolutism of the specific strain of Protestantism of which I am a part. I want to recognize the development of theology and thinking in light of a given historical context. As cultural creations, I do not believe that people can view truth objectively, even though Truth exists in the person of Jesus Christ. We look through a glass darkly and await the day we will see clearly, face to face. Given such assumptions, I desire to view my own tradition with humility, knowing that it was not shaped in a vacuum nor bestowed in a pure untainted form from on high. In the same breath, I seek to listen to the voices of those from other Christian traditions with the belief that God is not a tribal God. I am inclined to give a hearing to women and non-Western traditions, because God is not a white Protestant male. I desire to listen to the voices of the poor and oppressed, to see how the Gospel manifests itself among those who do not have money and power behind their words, because these are people God favors. I believe that left unchecked, our cultural waters have and will continue to inform our understanding of our faith more than our faith will change us. I believe in listening to those of different faiths or non-faiths, because God can use whomever he chooses to give a clearer perspective of his realities.

With that said, “Everything Must Change” is built upon the work of post-modernity’s understanding of dominating meta-narratives, a la Foucault. McLaren first establishes and names the narratives that our culture lives by, and then proceeds to discuss why such narratives are fundamentally dysfunctional, referring to people as disparate as Rene Padilla, Jim Wallis, Philip Jenkins, Wendell Berry, Cornel West and our own Dr. Bruce Benson. He then appeals to the scholarship of people like N.T. Wright and Dominic Crossan in the understanding of a Historical Jesus and how the historical Jesus spoke to the dominant (and equally corrupt) narratives of his day. McLaren draws a parallel between what Jesus said and did in the 1st century and what we he says to our global context today. He uses people like MLK, Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela to illustrate the true power of what happens when Christians undermine faulty narratives with the [reconstructed] Christian one. He doesn’t hesitate to critique the religious structures in their perpetuation of the fallen narratives, and challenges the church to reform itself according to Jesus’ narrative, one that truly subverts the massive powers and principalities at work in the world.

I appreciate McLaren’s willingness to listen to many different voices. Undoubtedly, his association with liberation theologians, left-leaning Evangelicals, economists critical of globalization, Christian pacifists/tree hugging poets and the simple mention of "post-modernity" will turn off a more conservative reader. However, as I’ve stated from the outset, such things do not count against him in my eyes.

I ask for a critique because I am predisposed to accepting what McLaren says. This book was referred to me by a man I respect, its contents contain authors, theologians and philosophers that I tend to agree with, and even the book’s specific contents aren’t so much an exposure to new ideas as it is a clarification, connection, or reframing of certain ideas I’m already open to. I appreciate a good deconstruction and am interested to hear if anyone has other thoughts.

Lots of "craps", but not so many giggles. (A treatise, and a thought.)

A treatise:

Given the general Evangelical cultural norms, I feel like I need to justify my use of "profanity" to my brothers and sisters who do not necessarily feel the same way I do. It's a multi-faceted argument, one that I don't want to spend a lot of time on, but will throw out there so that you might have at least a general sense of where I stand on this, and not think that I've gone apostate for imbibing in an Evangelical taboo.

- First is the emphasis on loving our neighbors. Anything, whether it is labeled as a curse word or not, if said in anger, is out of the question. If you like labels, I'm advocating for the label, "spirit of the law."

- Second, words are contextual. They are fluid. Different contexts grant different meanings to words. They same four letters are not the same across different spheres or circles. There is a complicated interaction where the word itself has a historical meaning, then has a cultural context, then an intended use, as well as a perceived meaning by the receiving parties. Care needs to be taken especially with the perceived meaning, given Paul's pleading for us not to cause anyone to stumble in Romans 14, hence the explanations of my actions. However, not causing anyone to stumble needs to be balanced with simple mindless appeasement.

- What's the difference between Christian curses such as "frick, shoot, darn" and normal curses? They are used the same way, often in the same context.

- I am fully aware and agree with "let no unwholesome thing come out of your mouth" and our words and actions being the overflow of our hearts, as well as blessing other people with our words. However, this is not to say we should muffle an expression of frustration, especially when darn or shoot just doesn't encapsulate the depth of our emotion. Which leads me to the next point...

- Cursing, if used, should be used sparingly and intentionally. If used loosely, it loses its ability to emphasize and highlight. Therefore, when used in the proper context for the sake of emphasis, I find the carte blanche prohibition against cursing, among other things, to be quite simplistic.

- Paul curses. In Philippians 3:8, when he talks about considering all things to be "rubbish" for the sake of knowing Christ, it is a consensus among Biblical and Greek scholars that the term "skubalon," which we translate to be "rubbish," is actually more accurately translated as "human excrement" with the same offensive connotations to that audience that we would attribute to the word "shit" today.

Given all of the above, this does not mean I always flawlessly abide by what I believe. But it does mean that I do not say what I do carelessly and without thought. I am not looking for vindication from my brothers and sisters, since it is the Lord who I am trying to please. But I am not unaware of the issue... which honestly, given the severity of many other things, (oh I don't know, like love, justice, redemption, peace, etc), I don't think is quite as big as a deal as some make it to be. I could quote Campolo here, but I won't push my luck.

Don't think that I don't love Jesus just because I have made a conscious decision to season my life with selective colorful language :). And for the sake of respect, for those to whom it is offensive, I will censor myself.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

A thought:

We are so fragile. In our youth, when our bodies are well, we hardly give them a second thought, putting our vessels through abuse thinking that we are invincible. But something so tiny as a microscopic virus can put us through a very keen awareness of our fragility as humans. It reminds us that we are neither impervious nor superhuman, and that our bodies are so tied with who we are and our wellbeing. It humbles us to recognize that our being is in Christ, and that we are so dependent on He who holds us together. As I was reminded during stressful finals week, and as I was reminded by yesterday's Mexican food, lots of shits do not make for lots of giggles.

My HNGR friends, third world amoebas and parasites are going to add a very realistic and important dynamic to our internships.

The Lord will be our strength in ways we've never experienced before... quite holistically, if you catch my floater. I mean drift.

Hellllooooo Pepto.

His grace is surely sufficient.

Wholly unmerited, fully undeserved grace puts me on my face. To know that the goodness, provision, and undying love of God remains constant despite my flagrant rebellion and disrespect towards the One who grants it to me... who am I to receive such an otherworldly thing?

Fear produces change for as long as the threat seems eminent. Love changes people by creating a gratitude that responds in far deeper and more intrinsic ways.