wordandspirit

A new form of evangelism known as “treasure hunting” has gained popularity in recent years, stemming I think from a book written on the subject (which I haven’t read). The basic idea is that you spend a while praying for words of knowledge concerning specific people (e.g. someone called Brian, someone with a green jumper, someone with a knee problem etc). Then simply go out on the street, looking for people who match those descriptions, strike up a conversation (“I’m looking for treasure, and I think you’re it” – great chat up line!), and then offer to pray for them. For an idea of what goes on, have a browse through Simon Holley’s blog archives.

I have heard many exciting testimonies of people receiving healing, gratefully receiving prayer, engaging in deep conversations about the gospel, and accepting invitation to come to church or Alpha courses. There is a group here in Southampton who are attempting this form of evangelism, and I am hoping that the cell group I lead will be able to join them on one of their next excursions.

I do have to confess to having a few reservations concerning this method of evangelism, which mostly stem from the understanding of a “word of knowledge”. Much of what passes for words of knowledge often seem to me to be nothing more than lucky guesses (in fact, too often guesses that miss the mark totally). The idea that any random thought that pops into my head should be uncritically accepted as God speaking strikes me as a sub-biblical understanding of prophecy.

But enough negativity already. This technique, though somewhat unconventional does have a few important things going for it.

First, on a very pragmatic level, it provides a conversation starter. There is nothing more likely to end a conversation than asking someone “do you mind if I tell you about Jesus?” The whole idea of a “treasure hunt” provides a way to break the ice with a stranger, and allows the conversation to naturally move on to spiritual matters.

Second, it encourages a reliance on the Spirit’s guidance. Even the most ardently non-charismatic groups I have done evangelism with have recognised the vital importance of being Spirit-filled in our witness. To pray for God to divinely guide us to those in whom his Spirit may already have been working in, as well as to trust him for the right words to say is surely the right way to begin any form of evangelism.

Third, it focuses not on apologetics, but on demonstration of God’s power. Important as apologetics certainly is – people do need to face and answer their questions concerning the truth of the gospel, often apologetics can be a red herring. A chance to pray with someone gives the opportunity for them to experience first hand the living God who hears and answers prayer.

Finally, it requires faith. The fear of looking foolish or getting it wrong holds many of us back from stepping out and telling others the gospel. Praying for someone in public is a risk – what if the prayer is not answered? What if they think you’re insane? And yet, it seems that so often God is pleased to act when his people have nowhere to hide, and have to trust him completely.

So it is not hard for me to see why God may indeed be blessing those who use this mode of evangelism. I tried to think of any examples of this being used in the New Testament. I suppose you could point to Jesus’ discussion with the woman at the well in John 4. Though his meeting with her was apparently a chance encounter, the supernatural revelations concerning her circumstances certainly opened her up to consider Jesus’ message.

Or Paul, who had a vision in the night of a man of Macedonia (Acts 16:9). He saw this as God’s leading to evangelise in that region and off he went. Interestingly, he doesn’t appear to have attempted to find the man he saw in the dream. When he got there, he took the strategic approach of searching for devout worshipers of God (Acts 16:13) as well as taking advantage of the chance encounter with the slave girl (Acts 16:16).

So while I am not wholeheartedly endorsing the technique of “treasure hunt” evangelism, I do want to be someone who is full of faith, following the Spirit’s lead, and seeing God’s power at work in changing lives as people hear and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I would be interested to hear of any readers who have done this, and what your thoughts and experiences were.

I have been enjoying listening to a variety of new albums on Spotify again this month, so here’s another round of recommendations for you to try out.

Jars of Clay – The Long Fall Back to Earth.

This album was released only a couple of weeks ago, so it provided the perfect opportunity for me to check out yet another popular and successful Christian artist that thus far had passed me by. It took me a few listens before I really got into it. I would describe it as a consistently good album with no real stand-out tracks. There are lots of gentle, atmospheric melodic tracks interspersed with a few more upbeat numbers, and shades of Coldplay here and there. My favourite tracks on the album are Hero and Heart.

Jon Foreman – Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer EPs.

Jon Foreman is lead singer and main songwriter with Switchfoot, but last year he completed a series of four solo EPs, one for each of the four seasons, with a more acoustic and stripped-down backing than the Switchfoot albums. The quality of lyrics is high, with some songs telling poignant stories, and several based on Scriptural passages. The backing is mostly acoustic guitar with various orchestral instruments quietly in the background adding interest.

Here’s my pick of the tracks from each album. Fall: Equally Skilled. Winter: Behind Your Eyes. Spring: Your Love is Strong. Summer: Instead of a Show

Chris Tomlin – Hello Love

Having enjoyed his last two releases (See the Morning and Arriving) I had high hopes for this album, but must confess to being a little disappointed. Its not that there is anything ‘wrong’ with it per se, it just seems too similar to everything that has gone before.

Opening tracks Sing, Sing, Sing and Jesus, Messiah essentially carry right on from where he left off before. Perhaps he would benefit from working with a different producer and band on future albums. I’m not sure that many of the tracks will have the enduring appeal of previous congregational worship hits such as Indescribable and How Great is Our God. He covers Bluetree’s God of this City, which gives extra exposure to an excellent song. The title track Love, complete with Watoto Children’s Choir would be more suited as a theme tune to a forthcoming Lion King movie.

Jimmy Needham – Not Without Love.

Christianity Today magazine gave this album a rave review and even compared his passionate lyrics to Keith Green. I decided it was worth a listen even though the “jazz-inflected acoustic pop” is not quite my normal choice of music. The opening track champions the apologetic power of love over mere words and arguments, but its hard to be provocative when your making a point everyone agrees with. There’s a nice mixture of moods. My favourite tracks are Before and After and The Author. The spoken closing track is certainly passionate, but in my view a little overwrought. I skipped it on subsequent listens. Overall a refreshing change from my normal listening habits, but probably only one for occasional listening.

PS Apologies to any readers in regions where you can’t access Spotify. I’m sure there are equivalent ways of checking these albums out.

There are not a lot of books available on the resurrection at the moment (although I know of several due to come out later this year), but I did have this volume in the Bible Speaks Today Themes series on my shelf, and decided to tackle it over the Easter period.

The approach Beasley-Murray takes is to work through the New Testament, expounding most of the key passages dealing with the resurrection. He starts with the gospels, devoting one chapter to each. He shows how each gospel author brings a different emphasis to the narrative, as well as being careful to show the unity within the diversity. He points out that many preachers end up preaching more or less exactly the same sermon every Easter Sunday, which perhaps is why the theme of the resurrection is underemphasised – it can be hard to present it in a fresh way. One good way to start is to preach from each gospel separately, and focus on the distinctives of that particular account.

Preaching the resurrection without the cross without the resurrection leads to triumphalism; but preaching the cross without the resurrection leads nowhere: it is a ‘dead’ end.

As for apologetics, he does not systematically set out a case for the historicity of the resurrection, but deals with the evidence and objections as they come up through the gospel accounts.

He then moves on to the writings of Paul, obviously starting with 1 Cor 15, but moving on to tackle 2 Cor 4:7-5:10, Col 1:3-4 and 1 Thess 4:13-18. This of course moves from teaching about the resurrected Christ to showing the implications of the resurrection for us as believers. Then follows a chapter on the witness to the resurrection of “Peter and his friends”. This starts by going through various proclamations on the resurrection in the book of Acts, and then on to passages in Hebrews, 1 Peter and Revelation.

The next chapter is entitled “the witness of other voices to the resurrection”. Interestingly this brings us back to various passages in Paul’s writings, but identifying those passages thought by commentators to be citing early Christian hymns and creeds (Phil 2 being perhaps the most famous example). By this he shows how central the resurrection was to even the earliest Christians. He particularly links it to the Lordship of Jesus – his resurrection is the basis for his exaltation as Lord. And not just Lord of individual believers (though he is that), but Lord of everything and everywhere – Lord of the world.

In confessing Jesus as Lord the early Christians were not in the first place declaring that ‘Jesus is Lord of my life’; they were declaring that Jesus was ‘Lord of the world’.

There is a final brief chapter on the response of various theologians to the resurrection. He starts by listing influential voices who denied or doubted the resurrection (from Rudolf Bultmann through to Bishop of Durham David Jenkins), before surveying those who have written in defence of its historicity (from George Beasley-Murray – perhaps the author’s father? through to Tom Wright).

The amount of material this book covers makes it a very useful comprehensive guide to the New Testament teaching on the resurrection and will be particularly helpful to those looking for fresh ideas for preaching on the resurrection. I’m not sure how well it works as a book to be read from cover to cover as I did. There were a few places in which I got a little bogged down. But it is certainly a valuable contribution to a topic that has been surprisingly under-represented in recent years.

I decided at the start of this year that I would make an effort to expand my musical horizons by listening to some bands I had not heard before. I started buying a new album a month, but since discovering Spotify I have been able explore many new artists in a way that previously had been out of my budget. Sadly, very few Christian British artists such as Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Martyn Layzell, Phatfish, Vineyard UK etc are currently available on Spotify, but despite that there is no shortage of good new material to try out. Here are the highlights of what I have bought and/or heard on Spotify recently:

	Charlie Hall – The Bright Sadness Not really a typical worship album, although opens with a powerful anthem “Chainbreaker”. Has grown on me over several listens and steers clear of typical clichéd lyrics. In “Walk the World” he very makes a very interesting link between the symbolism of the communion meal and our witness.Rating:
	Switchfoot – The Beautiful Letdown Apparently Switchfoot have made it big and been around for a while. Who knew? This is not their latest, but is my favourite of what I have listened to so far. Hard rocking for the most part, and with more intelligent lyrics than you might be expecting.Rating:
	Matt Maher – Empty and Beautiful Not that well-known a name, but his opening track “Your grace is enough” has become well known through Chris Tomlin’s cover. I came across him after his song “I rejoice” was featured on a worship website. Not particularly unique when compared to other worship leader albums, but is very well produced and an enjoyable listen.Rating:
	Marty Magehee – Open Another artist I had never heard of before, who was previously part of 4Him, yet another Christian band who had passed me by. Anyway, this is his first solo album and its an enjoyable listen, with a nice variety of styles and possibly the one and only song dealing with the “da Vinci Code” in his quirky yet hauntingly beautiful track “Leonardo”.Rating:

Are you using Spotify? Any album recommendations for me to check out?

I posted yesterday about the process of restoring those who have sinned. One of the tricky issues that it raises is whether they can be restored to public ministry and if so, how soon? Dan commented that “the church seems to vacillate between talking about ‘disqualified for eternity’ and judging harshly to the other extreme of rushing the individual who has fallen back into active ministry just because they display dramatic gifts!” Cliff pointed to the biblical stories of David and Peter, who apparently were quickly “restored” following sin.

In the case of David, he never lost his job as king, despite his despicable act of deceit and murder. He therefore didn’t need to be restored to his job, though he did need a different kind of restoring and renewal:

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

(Ps 51:10-12 ESV)

Peter’s “restoration” is also not quite so clear-cut. He was not at that time a leader of anything, simply a disciple. Jesus’ gracious words in John 21:15-17 indicated not a ministry he would resume, but a new one he would take up, after the day of Pentecost.

I do however agree with Cliff that examples such as those of Peter and David, show the grace of God in being willing to use those who have failed spectacularly. We could add Moses and Jonah amongst others to that list.

So what can be said about how soon a person can resume leadership ministry? I think some useful direction may be found in the qualifications for elders and deacons found in 1 Tim 3. Notice the following verses:

1 Tim 3:6 “He must not be a recent convert”

1 Tim 3:10 “And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.”

1 Tim 5:22  “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands,”

These verses (amongst others) indicate that Paul did not want Timothy to rush people into positions of leadership. Yes, they may have charisma, but character is vitally important. A leader is someone whose example is followed, thus to elevate someone who is not living in accordance with the gospel can be very damaging to the church.

The concern in 1 Timothy seems to be that an elder or deacon should prove themselves to be of good character over a period of time. Then when they are appointed, they are in a place of having earned the trust of the congregation. Prospective elders and deacons would thus be tested, perhaps for a period of several months or even a year.

It would make sense that no less a standard should be applied to someone who has fallen into sin. A serious breach of trust has taken place. That cannot be “healed lightly” or quickly. Over time though, they may again prove themselves faithful, humble, obedient and repentant. The local church, who know them and can see their lives, will be in a position to judge whether they now trust that person again. In the specific case of Todd Bentley, it will not be overnight that he can prove he is now ready to be a “one-woman man” (see 1 Tim 3:2). (And it will not be the YouTube viewers who are in a position to make that judgment call anyway).

Finally, Rom 11:29 should be a source of encouragement to us all. God does not bestow salvation one day and then take it away the next. And maybe against our ‘better’ judgment, neither does he seem to withdraw other gifts from those who least appear to deserve them. Perhaps that is why we call them charismata – gifts of grace.

Rom 11:29  For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

——

Footnote: none of this should be read as an endorsement of the “restoration of Todd Bentley” process being carried out by Rick Joyner. I still have grave concerns as to his suitability as a spokesperson for the gospel. I do sincerely hope though that he is restored to right relationship with God and with the fellow believers in his local church.

I have refrained from posting anything about Todd Bentley here on this blog, but I thought I would make a brief comment on Gal 6:1, which has been quoted several times by Rick Joyner.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

(Gal 6:1 ESV)

First, any attempt to restore someone caught in sin is commendable. It is sad that so many Christians who fall into sin disappear off the scene entirely and never return to fellowship in their former church (or indeed in any local church). This is clearly not the New Testament intention.

But what exactly is meant by the word ‘restore’ in this verse? Rick Joyner takes it to mean that the person resumes the same ministry they exercised before-hand. But that is an arbitrary definition. One could equally insist that restoration means Todd Bentley should be reunited with his former wife by the same logic.

Can a person who has sinned, particularly in a scandalous and public manner, be restored to fruitful ministry? I think so, but it is usually inappropriate to rush the process. And I don’t believe that return to ministry is the point of this verse in any case. I think the restoration it speaks of has three elements to it:

1. Restored to right relationship with God. The person needs to reach a point of confessing their sin honestly before God, repenting of any ongoing sin, and trusting him for complete forgiveness. They need to come back to a place of daily enjoying his presence rather than hiding from him.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(1 John 1:9 ESV)

2. Restored to fellowship in the local church. Often someone who has been caught out in a sin will avoid contact with believers, whether as an angry reaction to church discipline, or simply due to the shame they feel. This means that the church must take active steps to reaffirm their love for the person involved and welcome them back (assuming repentance has taken place).

6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

(2 Cor 2:6-8 ESV)

3. Restored to right relationship with those sinned against. It is sometimes possible for a sinner to return to worship in church, yet the relationships with those hurt by the sin to remain broken. The gospel gives us no excuse to withhold forgiveness. Our own forgiveness is on the basis of grace, and it is on that basis that we offer it to one another.

13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

(Col 3:13 ESV)

What are we doing to reach out to those we know who have fallen away from God? It can often be difficult as they do not always want our help or appreciate our advice. But Gal 6:1 requires that we seek to restore them. The Greek word katartizo is used elsewhere of setting a broken bone. They have been broken, they need healing. Or as J B Philips translates it, they need to be “set back on the right path”. It is not enough to simply condemn their sin.

As for Todd Bentley, there are other reasons why I have concerns about him taking up his former ministry again, unrelated to his marriage breakdown and remarriage. Important as those are, (and perhaps the subject of a future blog post), they should not cloud our thinking on the vital matter of how we restore those who have been “caught in a transgression”. The gospel way is the way of hope, grace, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Expert blogging tip #435: If you don’t have anything worth saying, just create a random top 10 list. If you really are running low on inspiration, make it a top five list that only has four items in it.

1. A Television

We never planned to own a television when we got married, but well-meaning relatives keep giving the things to us, presumably to ensure that the kids don’t grow up weird or deprived.

2. Anything made by Apple

I’m a cheapskate, what can I say? Plus if I started using Apple products, it would make all the trendy people feel very insecure about themselves.

3. A U2 Album

Sometimes it makes me wonder if I really am a Christian at all.

4. A Coat

I hate clothes shopping. Its best to wait until your wife is so embarrassed by the state of your attire that she goes and buys stuff for you.

Other things I have never bought include lottery tickets and armour of God pajamas. Feel free to comment with things you have never bought…

Incomparable is comprised of 60 short chapters, each one a meditation on a name of God or aspect of God’s character. Each starts with a verse, followed by an explanation of the meaning, always kept interesting by the use of contemporary illustrations. The book is broken into four major sections: the being of God, the names of God, God in three persons and the attributes of God.

As you read this book, you can’t help wondering why no one thought of doing this before. It is brilliant for use as a daily devotional, and can also be a helpful starting point for small group discussions. Despite covering the same material that would be found in a typical systematic theology, the author manages to keep it from being dry and technical. His sense of humour and his love for God shine through in the way he writes.

Its format and style make it ideal for teenagers, or indeed anyone who can manage just 2 or 3 pages of reading a day. As I read each chapter I found myself provoked to worship. It also serves as a source of fresh ideas for those teaching on various aspects of God’s character.

Apparently the book has been so successful that a revised edition is already out. The original version can usually be picked up for under £5 which is an absolute bargain. Get one, read it, and give it away.

I decided I would like to read one of Tim Keller’s books this year, as he is clearly someone who is having a big influence in the whole realm of building gospel-centred missional churches, not to mention his significant contribution to apologetics in “The Reason for God”. I opted for his most recent publication, “The Prodigal God”.

It is shorter than I was expecting, weighing in at 130 pages with plenty of space between the lines! It took less than a week to read through. The book is subtitled “Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith”, and seeks to explain the core message of Christianity, the Gospel, using the famous parable of the “prodigal son”.

Now most Christians have heard countless expositions of this parable (as well as plenty of ropey re-enactments from the church drama team), as it has pride of place as the most powerful and moving of all Jesus’ parables. However, Tim Keller suspects that we have placed the emphasis in the wrong place. We focus entirely on the first son, who squandered everything and returned to be forgiven and accepted by his Father, and ignore the fact that the story involves two sons. It would be better named “the parable of the lost sons”.

Keller argues that the parable uses the two brothers to show two ways of being lost. Each brother represents a different way to be alienated from God – both the religious and the irreligious are spiritually lost. And the sad truth was, that while Jesus’ teaching was attractive to the irreligious, the religious folk (in particular the Pharisees) were offended by it. Therefore the real climax of the story was not the welcoming home of the younger brother, but the cliff-hanger ending where the elder brother’s alienation from the father is revealed, and we are left wondering whether he will come to the feast.

Keller then shows how Jesus uses this parable to redefine sin as putting yourself in the place of God (neither son wanted the father himself, rather they wanted his money). The elder brother’s predicament is especially dire as, unlike the younger brother, he is blind to his need. The parable also redefines lostness. The elder brother has a sense of moral superiority, resulting in an unforgiving, judgmental spirit, and a joyless fear-based compliance with his father’s rules. There are some very provoking and powerful challenges here to Christians who all too easily fall into “elder-brotherness”. Keller suggests that a dry prayer-life is a warning sign that you are falling into this trap.

Everybody knows that the Christian gospel calls us away from the licentiousness of younger brotherness, but few realise that it also condemns moralistic elder brotherness.  … Would you please be open to the possibility that the gospel, real Christianity, is something very different to religion.”

Keller presents Jesus as the true elder brother, doing what the elder brother should have done, that is going after his younger brother to bring him back, not worrying about the cost of forgiveness (in the parable, loss of inheritance). The parable also points to the fact that as a human race, we long for home, yet find it elusive. The message of the Bible is that humanity is a band of exiles, trying to come home, yet a brokenness within and around us prevents that from happening. It is Jesus, who came and experienced our exile who is ultimately our means of salvation. Salvation is represented in the parable as a homecoming feast. He unpacks a variety of aspects of salvation, including the fact that it is experiential, and not just objective, it is material in that God’s plan is to renew his creation, not to destroy it, and it is communal – the feast is not made to be eaten in isolation.

In conclusion, I would thoroughly recommend this as a fresh and powerful insight into not just the parable of the prodigal son, but the gospel itself. Keller has done a great service to the church by reminding us of the need not just to point people away from immorality, but from moral religious hypocrisy, which may be an even greater need in many of our congregations. It is written in a very accessible way, making it suitable for new believers or seekers. But equally those involved in preaching or teaching the gospel would benefit from reflecting on this refreshingly clear articulation of the gospel message. I fully expect this book to set a new trend in the way the parable of the prodigal son is preached in churches everywhere. (Whether or not church drama teams dare to continue beyond the “happy ending” remains to be seen!)

In this book Shane Claiborne tells his story and makes a case for a different way to live as a Christian – the way of the “ordinary radical”. Whilst Claiborne has had a lot of contact with traditional evangelicalism, including an internship at Bill Hybel’s Willow Creek mega-church, he found himself disillusioned with the way that Christians have become conformed to the middle class, and wants to promote an alternative to the “religious right”, which he is strongly critical of.

His passions are obvious – he cares deeply for the poor, for social justice, for the environment and for pacifism. I felt the tone of the book was very positive – he writes with humility, and avoids sneering and hostility towards evangelicals (although I expect those who identify strongly with the “religious right” will not enjoy this book).

He tells of how as a young man he was introduced to a brand of Christianity that had plenty of “do not”s, but was left wondering what, if anything, Christians were supposed to do. A brief stint in the charismatic movement left him equally disillusioned. It was at this point that he began to get to know some homeless people, and soon befriended them. Chapter 2 tells a moving story of how he mobilised many people to prevent a group of homeless families from being evicted from a disused church building.

He then tells of his time with Mother Teresa, where he learned the importance of being faithful above being successful, and to do “small things with great love”. Most importantly, he learned to see the image of God in the poor. It was after his time with Mother Teresa that he headed back to Willow Creek, and found it hard to stomach the totally different culture. He offers a gracious yet provocative critique of the “seeker-sensitive” approach – arguing that when we remove the cross, we end up with cheap grace. He was also very concerned that our churches make it all to easy for rich Christians to not know any poor people.

The remainder of the book unpacks his vision for being an “ordinary radical”. It is not acceptable for Christians to live like everyone else. It is not acceptable for Christians to help the poor at arms length, via agencies of professionals. We need to be willing to get to know the poor, and “shout the gospel with our lives”. He makes some very good points about the significance of baptism and the nature of repentance – we have died to an old way of life – we need to continually live a new way.

He is particularly provocative concerning how churches spend their money. The early church considered their money to be primarily for the feeding of the hungry. They would even fast to enable themselves to feed the poor on occasions. He does not accept the claim that large churches are able to give more to the poor than the same number of people in smaller churches. Claiborne argues that rather than a prosperity theology on one hand or an ascetic poverty theology on the other, we should believe in abundance that is rooted in a “theology of enough”. He likes to quote the saying that God wants to meet our needs but not our greeds, and promotes living a lifestyle that is simple (though not easy).

A number of chapters touch on the subject of pacifism, and it is perhaps here that he will offend many American evangelicals. He speaks out against the “myth of redemptive violence” – the idea that we can bring peace through violent means. The gospel is something worth dying for, but nothing is worth killing for. He is respectful towards Christians in the military, but clearly would prefer them to find alternative employment. I felt that though he made many good points in favour of pacifism, I was still left wanting to know his response to some of the obvious objections that may be made. (Although to be fair, that was probably beyond the scope of this book).

He warns us against tiptoeing through life, avoiding danger and dares us to step out and take some risks on behalf of the poor and oppressed. He speaks out against being cool (which is a little ironic, since at the moment, he is the among coolest Christians out there, but he is at least aware of this irony, and clearly wishes he had fewer fans, and more people who shared his passion enough to actually do something).

I appreciated some of the insights in chapter nine – as humans we are beautiful and wretched at the same time. We cannot carry the cross and the sword. There is a tragic self-righteousness found on both liberal and conservative sides of Christianity, that must be overcome.

Chapter 10 is perhaps the most overtly critical of evangelicals, suggesting that most are following an opposite way to that of Jesus and calls us to be “extremists for love and grace”. There is a third way to approach suffering and evil in the world that is not passivity and is not violence.

He reminds us that the goal is not finding an “issue” to fight for, rather it is about connecting with, and caring for people. He regularly seems to get himself arrested for various protests and acts of civil disobedience, but he desires to be a prophet not a protestor. Like the Old Testament prophets, he certainly is provocative, shocking, controversial and more right than many of us might like to admit. I appreciated his defence of the concept of church towards the end of the book. For all its faults, it is still our family, and leaving it will not do us any good. The church is like Noah’s ark – it stinks, but if you get out you’ll drown.

My Response

So what did I make of this book? First of all, its very well written and accessible. He is humble, funny, interesting and inspiring as well as being provocative. Second, the things he is passionate about – ending poverty, social justice, peace, and care for the environment are all things that as evangelicals we should be more than happy to get excited about. In every evangelical church I have been part of, there have been many people who share these passions and are sacrificially involved in hands-on mercy ministries both locally and abroad. But the uncomfortable truth is that this is often seen as just a small part of what it means to be the church. It is far too easy to leave all that to the specialists and focus entirely on other concerns.

What about our favourite evangelical concern – good doctrine? Well Claiborne rather shrewdly avoids bringing up potentially explosive issues. He seems to take an ecumenical approach, clearly preferring orthopraxy to orthodoxy. But that is a debate for another day. The issues raised in this book are worthy of being taken seriously even if we suspect we may disagree with him on a whole host of other issues.

In a similar way to N T Wright and Rob Bell, he likes to define the gospel being a conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Caesar – Jesus versus the Empire. It does seem to me that certain anachronistic liberties are taken to squeeze modern day America (under Bush) into the image of the Roman Empire. I do agree with his critique of rampant nationalism within the church though.

I have a lot of sympathy for his criticisms of the seeker sensitive movement, and the way that our modern churches require huge sums of money to service their own running costs. Does this mean we should go back to house churches and non-salaried pastors and elders? I’m not sure it would be a bad thing. But equally, I wonder if we could find ways to spend less on ourselves and more on others (check out what Jared Wilson is doing at Element as an example).

Finally, this book cannot fail to inspire some reflection on what way you and your church can do more to advance the cause of the poor. He calls for imagination and tells many moving and powerful stories, but I suspect that many readers like myself will find themselves frustratedly wondering what the next step is. Not everyone can drop everything and head off to Calcutta on a whim. And not everyone has the infectious personality and creative imagination of Shane Claiborne. Many of us deeply want to see the poor welcomed in to our churches, but simply don’t know how or where to begin. I guess we need God to raise up prophets and creative thinkers within our local communities who will not just provoke and inspire us, but initiate and demonstrate ways of engaging with the poor and championing the cause of the oppressed.