Saturday Rant
Angles and prophets carried a message of hope and God’s great deeds in ages past. Now, celebrity preachers write books, travel to conferences, and leave pulpits to further their ministry. Why do our methods of proclaiming the topsy-turvy kingdom of God now look so sleek,so familiar to our internet culture? Inverting the old ways just leads to something we are comfortable with, something like us, something devoid of prophetic life.
The value of a martyr is not that they are brave enough to die. The true glory of martyrdom is the life preceding the death, a life that by its very way of expression proclaims something so different, so other, so holy they powers that be deem it as a threat to their familiar, their safe, their way of wielding power.
So, why does a blessed christian life look so much like the American dream? Why do pastors we think successful look like CEO’s, motivational speakers, and entrepreneurs?
The danger of conforming to the world is not that we will end up looking like the unwashed masses. The real devastation comes when our life loses its prophetic voice because the home we point to looks exactly like the demon of success. Maybe we should sell everything we have, give the money to the poor, and follow Jesus… not because poverty is more spiritually pure, but rather because that kind of action is so unfamiliar to our beautiful, savvy culture that shops at Ikea.
If our Message is Jesus and his new kind of life, should we really be telling people Jesus will give them everything they have ever day dreamed of?
What would you invest in?
Would you invest time, resources, money, etc… into someone who might become a church planter?
What if we helped identify peoples gifts, trained them to use them in a local context, mentored them, gave them a laptop full of resources and ideas… all before they they were ready to “launch” a new church plant? Like years before. Like so far in advance, they may not even be sure they want to be a missional Church planter…
What if we (prayerfully, as local communities, with the support of a larger network of congregations) chose to invest in every way in the gifting/calling/work of God in someone’s life, rather than a single project (Church plant).
On the Verge: Review
Full disclosure: I received a free copy of On the Verge in exchange for writing a post reviewing the book. All the opinions contained in this post are mine alone. I was not given the book in exchange to positive words about it. I don’t roll like that.
This post is part of a larger blog tour happening all this week for the book On the Verge. While I am rather late with this post (it is still the 15th), this book has given me a ton to think about and wrestle with in my own thinking about the church, the Church, and how we Christians go about engaging mission. I am hoping to pump out a couple more posts interacting with specific parts of this book. But for now, a review:
Buy and read this book.
The primary focus of On the Verge is about a paradigm shift. Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson assert that the true core of Christianity is understanding that it is a people movement, not an institution. We have been doing and thinking about Church the same way since the days of Constantine. It isn’t working any more. It’s not true to our core identity, our DNA, as people following Jesus.
Please don’t think this is simply about moving towards a more grassroots or “international” method of practicing/patronizing. On the Verge isn’t another anti mega-church, pro simple church book. It’s a call for the western church to embrace the beauty of and. Shifting our paradigm is moving away from the battle that some of us feel between church growth methods and more organic styles of church.
Sorry this review isn’t more in-depth, but as I said I’m still working through the concepts, applications, and ideas presented. There is tons to think about and interact with in these pages. This book is full of large ideas, practical steps, and over all a heart that beats for the church in the west to rediscover it’s identity, it’s DNA, and to become a movement that alters the world for the glory of God.
Father, Husband, Theological Dreamer, Web Designer, Photographer, Coffee Chugger... Jesus obsessed & dreaming of a better Christianity. It's kind of like listening to a cross between guerrilla radio and a street corner prophet with a bad case of tourettes.
