"To have religion on the level of mediocrity
is the most unqualified form of perdition"
- Soren Kierkegaard
I have been reading Shane Claiborne's delightful and challenging book "The Irresistable Revolution." I remember Greg Boyd once said that Jesus did not call us to religion but to a revolution. Somehow much of Christendom has forgotten that which is why we need some new John the Baptists, savvy disciples like Shane Claiborne, and grumpy philosophers like Soren Kierkegaard.
Shane shares in his book how Don Miller in "Blue Like Jazz" tells the story of a bunch of college students who dressed up like monks and set up a confessional booth but rather than getting people to confess their sins, they confessed their sins and the church's sins to anyone who would listen and forgive. I love hearing ordinary radicals doing something for Jesus whether it's college kids going for broke or old Christians who have decided that they have nothing to lose if they go broke for the gospel's sake.
Claiborne introduces many of God's misfits like Brennan Manning, a recovered alchoholic priest who writes, "The greatest cause of atheism is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable" (p.270).
All of this reminds me of Rob Bell and Don Golden's book provocatively titled, "Jesus wants to Save Christians." Bell has tried his own fair amount of behind the scenes discipleship because we all know too well how easy it is to have Jesus name on our lips but our hearts can be very far from him. Bell wants Christians to genuinely serve and work for the world and not engage in the myth of redemptive violence and empire building.
So maybe the expression "God, save the Christians" is another way of saying "God save the church?"
What do you think?
is the most unqualified form of perdition"
- Soren Kierkegaard
I have been reading Shane Claiborne's delightful and challenging book "The Irresistable Revolution." I remember Greg Boyd once said that Jesus did not call us to religion but to a revolution. Somehow much of Christendom has forgotten that which is why we need some new John the Baptists, savvy disciples like Shane Claiborne, and grumpy philosophers like Soren Kierkegaard.
Shane shares in his book how Don Miller in "Blue Like Jazz" tells the story of a bunch of college students who dressed up like monks and set up a confessional booth but rather than getting people to confess their sins, they confessed their sins and the church's sins to anyone who would listen and forgive. I love hearing ordinary radicals doing something for Jesus whether it's college kids going for broke or old Christians who have decided that they have nothing to lose if they go broke for the gospel's sake.
Claiborne introduces many of God's misfits like Brennan Manning, a recovered alchoholic priest who writes, "The greatest cause of atheism is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable" (p.270).
All of this reminds me of Rob Bell and Don Golden's book provocatively titled, "Jesus wants to Save Christians." Bell has tried his own fair amount of behind the scenes discipleship because we all know too well how easy it is to have Jesus name on our lips but our hearts can be very far from him. Bell wants Christians to genuinely serve and work for the world and not engage in the myth of redemptive violence and empire building.
So maybe the expression "God, save the Christians" is another way of saying "God save the church?"
What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment