David Kenney

After reading Becky Garrison‘s latest book, Jesus Died For This,  she gracioulsy allowed me to ask her some interview questions.

David: No author ever feels that they leave no stone unturned – after having written Jesus Died for This? What thoughts are still churning within you? What left over thoughts and or questions do you still feel need to be addressed?

Becky: As I continue along my pilgrimage, I’m learning to stop looking for easy answers and start asking the right questions. The challenge for me as a very active person who can be a bit of a chatterbox is to sit still long enough that I can really listen to the quiet voice of Gold that tends to get lost when I tune in a bit too much to the white noise around me or start talking to myself a bit too much.

At some point, I want to explore my ancestor Roger Williams’ legacy in greater depth, as I sense his views of religious tolerance can help shed some light into how the United States can move forward in an increasingly pluralistic society by placing the first amendment into its proper historical perspective. He was the first to debunk this notion that the US was founded as a Christian nation, a city on a hill, a move that caused him to get banished to Rhode Island and all but written out of the history books. I think the time has come to give my relative his rightful props.

One question that keeps coming up is “Why do you many people love Jesus but abhor Christians?” What the J is going on here? Too often the face of Christianity is someone who espouses a Fox style of faith. Yes, Christians should respond to such gross characterizations of Christ’s teachings but instead of bating Beck, I wish people of faith would exert their spiritual capital into enacting the Beatitudes. It’s my job as a satirist to keep nudging them along this path, while also illuminating those communities who are off in the margins working with those who are deemed to unsanitary and unsafe to be part of the cool Christian crowd – something tells me that’s when Jesus comes back to earth, that’s where he’ll be hanging.

David: You pointed out that the word emergent is not a new phrase when speaking of the church. In your opinion is the new generation the “emerging church” or are they the same church as their parents church, but with a new label (ie, new coke – or church with candles)?

Becky: As far as what constitutes a new church smell – frankly I find a lot of it stinks. Yes, you can find some hipster evangelicals who might swear, wear tattoos, marry same-sex couples (with the media in attendance of course), write provocative pieces as though they’re the first ones who ‘dared to doubt’ and other incendiary theological moves designed to build buzz. But here’s where I would suggest that seekers check out the funding streams to see who is bankrolling these efforts – they’re still evangelical to the core. Women may get to play at the table every so often but I’ve seen too many cutting edge church plants where 90% or more of the preachers/speakers remain white males that may claim to be at the forefront of the faith but then sign book deals with uber conservative imprints like Howard and FaithWords.

Now that I write for more secular than Christian publications, I’m starting to gain a much broader perspective regarding how Christianity is perceived by those outside of the CBA branded bubble. In particular, it’s become crystal clear to me that what I thought were major faith fights (e.g., The Emergents v. Driscoll) are in fact silly or inconsequential to those outside of select emergent and evangelical circles. This awareness has helped me to burst this bubble and report on what’s happening in the larger global context.

As I stated in my interview with the Austin American-Statesman, what gives me hope is that in my travels, I’m observing this growing underground movement of folks exploring what it means to enact Jesus’ kingdom here on Earth. They refuse to be branded and reject labels like emergent, organic church, missional, new monasticism and even Christianity. These folks tend to be very politically conscious but fight for change at the grassroots level because they’ve seen too many progressives lose their prophetic voice by becoming Obamatronics.

David: You often talk about being the outsider yourself, but don’t you think that Christ was also in your line of work?

Becky: Unlike Ann Rice, I’m not quitting Christianity though I consider myself definitely on the fringe of the faith. When I use the word “outsider,” I mean I’m not part of an identified movement. If pushed, I’ll admit to being Anglican but I am not part of any branded author/speaker circuit. Like any writer, I write for a number of publications but that doesn’t mean I share the organization’s viewpoint. At times I can get frustrated that at times a specific publication or website won’t touch hot button issues like abortion or LGBT rights but as long as my work isn’t censored, I’ll keep writing for that media outlet.

But while I’m not part of any Christian inner circle, I remain connected to people who are Jesus followers that struggle to live a life where we all (myself included) lived like resurrected people? I explore this question in this YouTube video asking what keeps us from being like Jesus, who went to the woman at the well and loved those whom society discarded?

Becky Garrison is a Contributing Editor forSojourners/God’s Politics blog.Additional writing credits include work for Geez Magazine, Killing the Buddha, Religion Dispatches, The High Calling and the now defunctWittenburg Door. When she takes a break from her laptop, Becky can often be found kayaking, fly-fishing or hiking.

Follow Becky onTwitter@JesusDied4This, listen to the “Jesus Died for This?” podcastand watch Becky’s You Tube channel. All of these focus on her book, “Jesus Died for This?”.

Becky Garrison’s latest book Jesus Died for This? Is a Satirist’s look at that part of the world that claims to be Christ’s followers. Chapter by chapter, Garrison takes her readers through several places in the world and some key events of her life, all the while narrating her journey through her witty and sometimes dark lens. Even though Garrison says she is the offspring of Karl and Nancy Garrison (a story Garrison tells you in chapter nine) her author’s dialogue sounds more like what I would expect the daughter of Dennis Miller and Kathleen Madigan to sound like.

And in case you don’t know what a satirist is, Garrison will tell you on page 101, “We’re the mavericks, the visionaries who buck hierarchy and prefer to work solo…we’re also the ones who say what has to be said without giving a rip who we offend. Hence we often find ourselves standing alone in a field because no one wants to be near us for fear we might shoot their sacred cow.”

That said, this isn’t reading for the average pew filler, or mascara wearing, bible belt, TBN supporter. Garrison is quick to fire her wit (and charm) at everything from the Holy Land to Christian conferences, to her own family, to comic con to Joel Olsteen and back again. My only criticism (and who am I to judge a published and respected writer, stop reading my review and buy her book) is that sometimes the chapters felt connected, as if she were taking me on a Bruce Feiler-esque journey and other times it felt as though I was reading entries out of her personal diary (and maybe those two are actually the same thing, I don’t know).

But each chapter entry does seem to ask that same question… Jesus died for this? He died for consumerism? For the emergent church? For the crystal cathedral’s Christmas program? For Pastor conferences? For church smart alecks? For fundies? For the homeless and for the unordainable? Maybe to answer the question here is Garrison in her own words…

“I realized along the way that I quit trying to find Jesus and simply let him do the talking, every so often I felt God’s presence when walking on soil, or I saw God’s face in other souls. Other times, I’d feel nothing. But that usually meant I either looked in the wrong place or didn’t sit still long enough for God to enter the picture. Now, even when I feel all alone, I no longer think that God has abandoned me. (After all, who do I think I am? – Mother Theresa?)”

I liked the book, it’s certainly not something I have read before or a book I could compare with others in my pastoral library.

I recently got Pete Wilson‘s book in my Neue resource box, which if you are in ministry right now – and you don’t subscribe to this invaluable box of fun – you are missing out. This is something I look forward to each time.

So I decided to read this book strictly because I felt this is where I was… living in Plan B. A pastor with a Masters Degree who now works with college students and retirees as a ride operator at Disneyland….yea, my life is so Plan B.

The book is filled with bible “stories about every day men and women whose plans didn’t work out. It’s full of people trying to figure out what to do with a life that wasn’t turning out the way they expected.” (page 11)

Chapter by chapter Pastor Pete (I wonder if that’s what his church members call him?) spells out some simple reassuring points to meditate on.

The book certainly is not a “do these six things and your life will turn out fine.” It can’t be… no book can speak to your Plan B, or your situation and certainly no pastor or author can “fix”  this time that you are walking in right now. This isn’t a self-help book (at least not in that regard). No, this book reads more like a devotional where each chapter contains a  bible story and a few of Pete’s own journeys as a church leader.

The best part about reading this book for me has been the “confirming” that I hear from another Christian. I have felt God telling me to stay close to him in this time, to continue to be patient and to stick close to other believers who can continue to encourage and pray for me – and those are some of the things that Pete talks about.

There was one part of the book that I kind of stopped at, it was about the old Christian verbiage, “God will never give you more than you can handle.”

Pete writes, “…it sounds so sweet and biblical, like something my Grandmother wold have done in needlepoint and hung on the wall in her home. Where in the world did we get such a whacked theology? Where is that verse in the bible? Hallucinations 4:32 maybe?”

Well, Pete is right – that verse is not in the bible – at least not written that exact way.

But 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “The only temptation that has come to you is that which everyone has. But you can trust God, who will not permit you to be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, he will also give you a way to escape so that you will be able to stand it.”

So perhaps a rephrasing of that would be “God will never give you more than you can handle.” But certainly the passage seems to be talking about sin and temptation and not the various trials of life that come our way.

One of the things I loved the most and took away from this was something Pete said about walking in these times of darkness. “When plan B is creating havoc in your life and God doesn’t seem to be doing a thing, can you still worship him? Can you still follow him? When he’s not orchestrating the circumstances of your life the way you desire, do you still trust enough to seek him with reckless abandon?” (page 119)

Why do our lives “change” when the world around us changes? Should we  be like a “reed blowing in the wind;” something that is moved and changed by our surroundings? Or should we be like the one who built his house on stone (Matthew 7:24)? Plan B can only be as strong and as devastating as your foundation.

Just last night on the news I saw that a little 10 year old boy was killed by a semi and the first thing I thought was… that entire family just “took a left” on the road of life. Tomorrow will not be the same… everyone in that family will be touched by this and their lives will be forever different. This will bring tears, and shuddering, moments of silence and isolation and ultimately questions about why. But regardless of our natural situation and the world and events that come our way, we should maintain a foundation of Christ first and Christ alone.

The reality is, life brings pain to all of us and through it all our anchor needs to be the saving grace of the cross. To make it through each day, I think we could all use some “power beyond ourselves.” So rather than cursing the sky and shaking our fists at the heaven’s we should be leaning harder on the one who is our shepherd.

In your Plan B make Psalm 18:2 your daily mantra…

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

The opening line from Publisher’s review says, “The Christian church is falling apart and in desperate need of a revival.” I read the same book and that was not the take away I got from Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola’s new book, Jesus Manifesto. What I got from reading the book was just the simple fact that “the Jesus who is preached so often today is so shallow, so small, and so uncaptivating that countless believers are enthralled with countless other things.” (page 20)

What I liked so much about this book wasn’t so much the “problems with the church” (which seem to be all the rave in publishing right now) but the challenging of popularly held ideas by modern Christians.

For instance: the mantra “what would Jesus do.” The authors here would argue that the question is in of itself flawed. A disciple of Jesus should understand that our lives are a result of being attached “to the vine” of Christ.  So a better question is, “What is Christ doing through me.”  (page 68)

So the Christian life should not about trying to “imitate Christ” (which is impossible and therefore self-defeating and leads to feelings of failure) but about having Christ “indwell” within the believer and allowing Christ to work through them. “The gospel is not the imitation of Christ; it is the implantation and impartation of Christ. (page 72)

Much of the Christian walk becomes head knowledge. We try to learn and absorb the bible and facts about the bible. Because so much of the bible is taught “like school” from “teachers” we treat our salvation story like school and American learning. But Jesus taught in a mentor-style way, not a classroom style way. He didn’t conduct lectures and test his disciple’s knowledge – no, Jesus “lived” and “modeled” a way of living and asked his disciples to “follow him.”

“Jesus isn’t a cause; he is a real and living person who can be known, loved, experienced, enthroned and embodied. Focusing on his cause or mission doesn’t equate with focusing on or following him. It’s all to possible to serve the god of serving Jesus as opposed to serving Him out of an enraptured heart that’s been captivated by His irresistible beauty and unfathomable love.  But Jesus led us to think about God differently, as relationship, as the God of all relationship.” (page 94)

I loved this book and felt it was a great companion to Andrew Farley’s Naked Gospel. I don’t think there is anything more important for the Christian to grasp than their identity in Christ and the nature of His message.

Or as pastor Mark Driscoll is so fond of saying, “It’s about Jesus.”

photo credit: TomerCohen

“Christiology is the singularly most important factor in shaping our mission in the world and the forms of ecclesia and ministry that result from that engagement. There must be a constant return to Jesus in order to ascertain that we are in the way. It is no good just revamping our missiology or inventing new cultural forms of ecclesia unless we have first and foremost related them to Christiology.” (page 43)

Before I began pursuing my seminary degree, I used to work for a large Christian university. I began working as a IT phone tech and then after a few months, I graduated to being an on site technician. It’s funny, regardless of what issue the customer would call with, one of the very first things we always asked someone to try was…

…rebooting.

In fact, one year during registration we even made black IT shirts that said “Reboot” on the back.  At the time I remember some of the more “advanced” techs poking fun at us by saying that a “reboot was an easy fix and that a true technician would try harder to solve the problem.”

And there may be some truth to that, but a reboot (although easy) is sometimes the best thing – and in the case of Re-Jesus, the authors suggest that occasionally the church should reboot to Jesus.

I’m sure we have all heard that to be a “Christian” starts with being a “little Jesus.” Some today are even pushing the term “Christ follower,” either way, there has always been a movement that leads us back to Christ as our “ground zero.” (that’s a lot of quotation marks). But “whether one talks about becoming a little Jesus or uses that wonderful old phrase “imitation of Christ,” the essential function is clear – the modeling ourselves upon his life lies at the center of our spirituality.” (page 49)

Soren Kierkegaard says, “to be truly redeemed by Christ is, therefore, to impose on oneself the task of imitating him; as man Jesus is my model because as God he is my redeemer; Christianity can be defined as faith together with a corresponding way of life.”

The irony is, it may be a simple fix to reboot your computer, but for some reason it seems a “difficult fix” to reboot a person to Jesus. Today it seems we would rather be hung up on “aspects” of our faith instead of its center.

• discipleship
• programs
• prayer
• scripture
• church attendance

But what can be Christianity be without Christ? And the answer may be obvious as we think about it, but surprisingly many Christians are not even aware of who Jesus was and what he did.

Shane Claiborne once asked a group of Christians if Jesus spent time with the poor, of those asked 80% said yes. Sure, that sounds like a lot, but realize that 20% said “No.” And you may have gotten the answer correct (good for you), but then Shane asked.

“Do you spend time with the poor?”

From there, only 2% said that they did. Again, my dear friend Soren Kierkegaard…

“Christ is the truth inasmuch as he is the way. He who does not follow in the way also abandons the truth. We posses Christ’s truth only by imitating him, not by speculating about him.”

Sadly, many Christians have been taught to believe that rebooting is the “easy fix” and that we should be discovering “more” than the simplicity of Christ; as if “advanced” Christians have somehow moved past Jesus loves me this I know, and we have gone on to a more Crown Him With Many Crowns faith. (does that even make sense?)

I would argue that we can never get more advance than Christ.

When I worked with youth, they would often ask me how to start reading the bible. I always had a simple answer that I doubt many of them heard…

Read the gospels.

That’s it.

You want to be a Christian or a “Christ-follower?”  Read the gospels, and when you’re done - read them again. Read them so many times you know them forward and backward. Read them so many times, the teachings and life of Jesus begin to inhabit your mind and penetrate your soul.

This reminded me of something I head Rob Bell preach once (of course it did David),  but I found another voice who had actually typed it up…

…At the end of your study at Hebrew school, when you were around 13-14 years old, if you are the best of the best, then you would go and present yourself to a well-known respected, powerful rabbi. And you would say, “Rabbi, I want to become your disciple, your talmudeen (your discilple). Please let me in your Bet Midrash, your house of study.” And so the rabbi would say, “OK.” And the rabbi would ask you lots of questions, to find out if you are the best of the best. Because each rabbi wanted to teach his thinking, his philosophy, his interpretation of Scripture.

Do you know what this was called? It was called his yoke. This rabbi wants to know, when he is questioning this possible disciple, “Is this boy able to become a rabbi himself and to teach and spread my yoke?” So the rabbi would ask all kinds of questions.

And if the rabbi believed that you were the best of the best, that you were able to become a rabbi, He would say, “Lech Acharai – Come, follow me.” And you would leave your family. You would leave your family compound. You would leave your village. You would leave the local synagogue where you had been studying. You would leave everything and you would follow that rabbi. You would become a talmudeen, a disciple, a student. You would give your life to being exactly like that rabbi. And you would follow him everywhere.

One of the Mishnah rabbis would tell disciples or students, “May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi.” Because you would have a rabbi come to the village and behind him would be these tamudeen following right behind him. And the roads were dusty. So these disciples who closely followed their rabbis would get covered with the dust of their rabbi.

You wanted to be so much like your rabbi that when your rabbi would pick up a piece of straw and put it in his mouth then you would. And you would follow this rabbi everywhere. Because the rabbi believes that you can be like him.
But for some Jewish boys when the rabbis quizzed them they did NOT say, “Lech Acharai – Come, follow me.” But instead they said “Ah, my son, you do know Torah. And you know Torah well. But you are not able to be my talmudeen, my disciple, my student.” So the rabbi would say, “Go, home to your village. Make babies. Pray that they become rabbis. Go home and learn the family business – fishing, farming, carpentry. Because you won’t be studying to be a rabbi.” (typed up by Steve Nicholes)

I have even heard some contemporary Rabbis critique modern Christians on “not knowing” the teaching of their supposed Rabbi. “If Jesus is your Rabbi, why don’t you know his words? Why haven’t you taken on his yoke?”

Now, granted – Jesus made his yoke lighter (Matthew 11:30) than the entire text of scripture (or even the entire text of the gospels) with his “greatest commandment” statement…

Matthew 22:36-40

³⁶“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ‘This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Notice that Jesus says “all Torah” is summarized in this statement, so on the one hand an entire “reboot” of our faith or church back to the way of Christ could sound daunting, but if it’s approached from a “Love God – Love Others” perspective, it could be quite easy.

What do you think?

• what would a Jesus reboot look like?
• what have you read  by Soren Kierkegaard?
• does quoting Soren Kierkegaard make me sound smart?

photo credit: ImNotGaryColeman

So, as promised.. here is chapter one of Re-Jesus.

Nobody wants to be “taken captive” do they? That brings to mind other images like terrorism, kidnapping and hostage negotiations. But anyone who has met Jesus in their life may understand the breathtaking tractor beam that takes hold of you when he enters your life.  Following Jesus, becoming a Christian, certainly asks that we begin a new and radical transformation.

The opening story from Re-Jesus is from Baptist theologian Harvey Cox and it was something that grabbed me from the get go. Apparently in teaching the story of Jesus raising Jarius’ daughter from the dead (Luke 8), Mr. Cox then asked his audience, “who” is the one who they (the audience) identified with from the story?

• some said the dead girl
• others the crowd
• others the nervous father
• some even the woman who was subject to bleeding.

..but out of an entire convention room of people, only 6 identified with Jesus. Why do we not identify with the “hero” of the story? The one who we are supposed to emulate, the ethos of our faith? Is it because we are scared? Do we not think it’s possible to be like Jesus, so we are content to come up as a short second?

What is wrong with our faith if only 1 in a hundred identify with its founder?

Maybe its because the Jesus we find in the scriptures isn’t the Jesus we preach from the pulpit, or the Jesus we paint in our art? Do we really think Jesus was some nice, kind, soft spoken, long brown haired, fair skinned, dress wearing, demure, sheep hugging, door knocking, thirty something?

“…where is the scandalous Jesus in our churches today? Where is the Jesus who taunted the religious elite, who teased a Canaanite woman, who evaded arrest, who commended the faith of a pagan, who waited four days to resurrect Lazarus, (and) who promised not peace but  sword? To Re-Jesus the church, we need to take Christians along on a journey of rediscovery, a pilgrimage toward Jesus, to see as Jesus saw. It will involve an embracing of this scandal of particularity.” (page 23)

The irony is, when Jesus came to earth, he spent much of his ministry correcting the current organized religion. It was the teachers and the religious leaders who had the most issue with him; and yet we always think if he came back it would be “our church” that he would want to visit. Jesus was constantly telling the church “you’ve missed the point of scripture” and I wonder if that would still be his message today.

“Through Jesus’ eyes, the church is the sent people of God. A church is not a building or an organization. It is an organic collective of believers, centered on Jesus and sent out into the world to serve others in his name. When we are taken captive by (Jesus), we can no longer see ourselves as participants in a similar system to the one he came to subvert. Not only does Jesus undermine temple theology by becoming the temple himself, but also he undermines the sacrificial system by dispensing with sin without reference to ceremonial washings, rituals or liturgies.” (page 28)

Being a Christian should change the way we see the church, God and the world.

The authors close with another story entitled “Parker’s Back” by Flannery O’Connor in which the main character gets a tattoo of Jesus on his back to impress his “perfect Christian” wife.  But, because the tattoo is of a broken and bleeding man, his wife doesn’t recognize the picture.

Parker’s wife like many of us, prefer a Jesus who is spirit, and unseen. We like the ethereal Jesus who lives in Heaven, who speaks in parable and who tucks us into bed while listening to our prayers.

Do you remember the first time you saw Passion of the Christ? What did you think about Jim Caviezel’s portrayal of Jesus? How did you feel watching him take the lashes and beatings? Some of my own friends thought it was “over the top” and only made for “shock value.” But I would argue that a movie made of Jesus’ three year ministry with that same type of honesty and realism would get the same critique.  So I wonder who it is that we worship?

Jesus?

Or some fabricated idea of Jesus?

Would we even recognize him today?

Good thing for us, Jesus gave us a tip to help us recognize him in our day to day life….

Matthew 25

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him (notice who asks this question), ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Charles Sheldon’s famous book, “In His Steps” brought about the famous WWJD campaign and overtime it became a sort of Joke in both the secular and Christian world. But the true message of this classic book isn’t translated very well in a rubber bracelet…

Sheldon set out to live his life “as Jesus” by asking “what would Jesus do” in every situation. Very similar to contemporary books written by Ed Dobson and A.J. Jacobs, but I believe written with a better premise. Unlike contemporary authors, Sheldon sets out to “act” like Christ, not just live as he did.

Perhaps that is our problem as well. We have all made our faith a lifestyle… going to church, reading the bible, it’s all a series of “life choices.” But Jesus asks us to “obey” all that he commanded (Matthew 28).

A Christian who has truly been “taken captive” by Jesus should have no choice in acting like Christ and obeying the things he taught.

What do you think?

• What is our calling as Christians?
• Is it too high an aspiration to “be like” Christ? Is it better to just be a group of “nice” people?
• Do we preach and teach Christ? Or some blurry image of him?

At first glance Re-Jesus appears to be in the same realm as the other edgy postmodern books sold at hip emergent conferences. But the reality is, you can’t judge a book by its cover. The book should have been called “A return to Christology: a study of the central doctrine of Jesus.” The cover should have had some boring painting of Jesus and I should have been required to read it in seminary.

It’s THAT kind of book.

Not that the book is boring like a text book – it just reads like a text book. The authors made the reading very linear and very weighted, so it’s not an easy read; certainly not devotional material. I would assume that the “famous Christians” inserts, the cover and perhaps even the chapter titles were all “add ons” later by the publishing house in an attempt to make the book appeal to a younger audience. I don’t know if “A wild messiah for a missional church” is the best sub-title either, certainly the book touches on those things, but it’s not the crux of the book.

Oh, you want to know if I liked the book? Yea, I did, but it’s a hard book to recommend. I would almost say the Jesus Manifesto by Sweet and Viola is an easier read or Christianish by Mark Steele. Not that you need an easier read… I’m just saying there are options.

Re-Jesus is certainly not like any book I have ever read on the subject, there is a lot in there to devour and it would certainly preach well with the right amount of delivery. There is a great chapter in there on Jesus in art, and the last chapter on the church is probably the best in the entire book.

I think what I will do for the next seven or so entries is give you a break down of each chapter, pulling out select quotes and thoughts to give you what I think was the “main idea.”

Hopefully these next posts will bring light to the “…discontinuity between Jesus and the religion that bears his name..” (page 5) Until then, consider these questions…

1. what ongoing role does Jesus play in shaping the ethos of the movement that began from him?

2. How is Christianity still shaped by the gospel texts?

3. how do we “domesticate” Jesus in order to sustain our religion?

4. how can a discovery of Jesus and his message lead to a renewal of our discipleship journey?

First let me just say, I know it’s not Father’s Day, in fact it’s actually long past. But the story is, I was suposed to review this bible before Father’s Day and then have a contest to give the bible away… but the publishing house lost my order and by the time I got this book, most Dad’s had long since opened their new ties and cheap cologne.

Another thing is…I have not read this entire book.

Normally when I write a review of a book, it’s one I have actually finished, but since it’s the bible – I think I can slide on this one.

Also, this bible only has one commentator, author Robert Wolgemuth! Yes, THE Robert Wolgemuth! Yea, I don’t know him either, I looked him up on Amazon and apparently he has written a lot of “Daddy” esque books. (She calls me Daddy, Men of the Bible, The Father’s Plan, Father’s of the Bible) etc. I am normally used to bibles that have a veritable myriad of commentators and people with PHD in their names, but again… letting it slide.

The Dad’s Bible (the Father’s Plan)  is an NCV (New Century Version) which if you don’t know is the translation advertised as a “third grade reading level” which is also the standard used by the editors of World Book Encyclopedia to determine vocabulary. Back in 1978 this translation was originally the “easy to read” version for the deaf. But don’t let it’s simplicity fool you, the editors of the NCV wanted this version to be faithful to the original texts as much as possible so a team from the World Bible Translation Center and fifty additional, highly qualified and experienced Bible scholars and translators were given the task.

This is what John 3 looks like in the NCV

16 ”God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him.18 People who believe in God’s Son are not judged guilty. Those who do not believe have already been judged guilty, because they have not believed in God’s one and only Son.19 They are judged by this fact: The Light has come into the world, but they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things.20 All who do evil hate the light and will not come to the light, because it will show all the evil things they do. 21 But those who follow the true way come to the light, and it shows that the things they do were done through God.”

Obviously this book makes a good “gift bible” to those Dads in your life – it seems the obvious choice. But I think any Dad could actually pick this up for themselves, especially those who want to try to be a Godly father for their children. The notes in this book (a lot of which I am sure are taken from the author’s Dad books?) are full of useful tools:

□        Introductions to each book

□        What is authority and how it applies to you as a Dad

□        How to share your faith with your kids

□        Biblical fatherly models

□        Building character in your children

□        And some helpful answers to questions your kids might ask.

Here are the author’s insights from the abovementioned John 3 passage:

“Eavesdropping on the conversation at Nicodemus’ covert, nocturnal visit with Jesus provides us with one of the most succinct summaries of Jesus’ mission on earth. He was here to shine the light of God’s love on the world and to find and to save people like you and me who were lost. Christ’s “light” works. His life was like a flashlight with fresh batteries being turned on in a darkened room. While the brilliance brings clarity, it also brings comfort and confidence. You just tiptoed tentatively through the shadowy room, now you stride along with the light in your hands. Jesus brought the light. Walk with strength; and show your kids the light.”

And I know this is supposed to be a “book review” but beyond the translation and the editor what else is there to comment on? Unless you want my theological opinion of the entire text of scripture? Do you? Nah, didn’t think so.

But one last thing from a Dad.

I know I said earlier that this would make a great “gift” bible for a Dad, but let me clarify. I think if you are old enough to buy your Dad a gift with your own money, get him something else. You obviously were raised well and you obviously feel your Dad did an ok job – so go buy your Dad a classic corvette or a Playstation 3.

But I think this bible would make a cool gift for a new Dad; especially from a wife who just found out she was pregnant. This bible seems to be more targeted to the Dads who still have kids in the house and to the men who are concerned about the influence they still have. This bible can be a valuable tool in the effort to raise a family. Listen to one more quote from the author…

“God never intended for you and me to do our jobs as dads all by ourselves. Believe it or not, he has surrounded us with faithful sidekicks and partners. Certainly, our wives can share in carrying the load. Youth ministers, extended family, neighbors . . . many of these people are only a phone call away from helping with the daunting task of effective fathering… You are not the Lone Ranger. You cannot do your job as a dad all alone. You aren’t even supposed to try. Just remember that even the Lone Ranger wasn’t a lone ranger.”

Dads, this bible can be your Tonto

I received a complimentary copy of The Voice: New Testament from Thomas Nelson publishers. The project founder is Chris Seay, who is the pastor of Ecclesia bible church in Houston, and even though Nelson’s 2006 press release stated that this project would eventually cover the entire Bible; currently, only the New Testament has yet to be released.

Let me save you a long read to simply say: I don’t like it. To anyone familiar with the bible or bible format, this would be like giving a long time PC user an Apple (best comparison I could come up with). The Voice is “supposed” to be cleaner, simpler and in today’s language, but it ends up being confusing.

To their credit, the Voice editors made up all of their own rules – this bible is unique and does not look like any other bible on the shelf.  The only familiar part will be the book order, the fact that there are introductions to each book and that the text is laid out in a two column format.

Beyond that, this “bible” feels more to me like someone took the NLT and then tried to make a Message version from it. In trying to make the bible easy and more assessable, notes are inserted into actual lines of text; which means, this bible is useless for any group activity like church or bible study. In all honesty, I could probably follow along easier in church using Eugene Peterson’s Message translation.

Second, scripture is also removed and altered to allow the various speakers’ names to mark the beginning of their “lines” like you’re reading a script or a play.

Seay’s twitter account says that this bible is “a beautiful and faithful translation of scriptures” – and I would not argue that point, but it is a bit of grandiose embellishment. The text is flowery and beautiful, for a new reader or someone who is a bit bored with the text, this certainly makes a nice devotional, or perhaps a nice tool to read from at Christmas or Easter. I would certainly give this book to my drama team leader.

And yes, one could argue that any “translation” becomes skewed once the language goes from one to another – words are added to clarify, words are repositioned to make continuity. But the sad thing is I feel that so much of the bible has been “reworked” that it no longer feels like God’s voice, but rather the voice of all the editors and contributors.

In the same way a super model is dressed, groomed, photographed and then photoshopped for a magazine cover, I feel that this bible has been “prepared” for its audience. It looks right, it reads like the bible, the stories are still familiar as is the order… and it certainly is beautiful.

But…

For someone who loves the text and who loves these familiar words, it’s really NOT the bible to me. In fact, this “project” to make the Voice has great intentions, but I just feel like it’s all been done before. The 1976 Good News translation for instance is a wonderful “modern English” translation and at the same time is faithful to the original languages and text. The aforementioned Message translation (although some argue is a paraphrase) I still believe captures the thought for thought understanding of the text better as well.

So in the end the Voice simply becomes “a nice read.” Like the back of the book says “the writers produced a work that is uniquely personal in its engagement with the biblical narrative…” and they are right… if you have this book, it will be very personal, because you’ll be reading it alone.

When people like Bono, Bill Hybels, Max Lucado, T.D. Jakes, Jim Wallis, John Ortberg, Tony Campollo, and Eugene Peterson already give high praise for Richard Stern’s book The Hole in Our Gospel – it seems absolutely ridiculous for me to follow them. Stern’s book not only asks the question: What is our role/responsibility as Christians, but actually answers with this profound (often overlooked) reply.

Yes, being a Christian means to follow Christ and to have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, but beyond that it also means having a public “transforming relationship” with the world.

Stern writes, “When we committed ourselves to following Christ, we also committed our lives to living in such a way that a watching world would catch a glimpse of God’s character – his love, justice, mercy – through our words, actions and behavior.”

But if all of that is true, why isn’t the world “fixed?” If Jesus told us to feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the homeless and visit those in prison – why are there still hungry, broken, needy people in the world? The problem certainly can’t be Jesus, and it can’t be the message, so it must be us… are we the “hole” in the gospel? Perhaps in our concern that people make it to the next life (i.e. Heaven) – we neglect them in this one?

Richard Stern takes his reader not only through the spiritual journey of finding the answers to the hole in the gospel, but also the journey of his own life. How he left a career of 23 years as the CEO of Lenox to become the new president of World Vision. How his life changed from selling plates and silverware to one of living with and caring for the poor of the world.

Don’t worry this isn’t a “you should do more” type of book – but Richard’s story will inspire you to adopt a heart for lost and broken people. This is an outstanding and original story that presents its case well, then makes you reconsider the gospel you have always “heard;” and then challenges you to take responsibility. Richard Stearns has done a wonderful job of framing some of the most important questions of life in a very approachable format.

My only word of warning – don’t read this book until you are ready to change your life!

AND: If you purchase the paperback, you will receive a Q and A, colored photographs and much more not included with the initial hardback release.

In case you forgot, the emerging church is dead… which leads me to my next book review. (which is actually a book from 2007 – and even more surprisingly, a book I have never read) But the reason I can review it is because I did happen to read a positive review of it and so “my review” is actually a review of the review. Because for some reason this tome seems to be one of the “classics” in the “death to the emerging church genre.”  And when I was glancing over my past book reviews, this one jumped out to me as a good one… so I am passing it along. Even if this is a book with bad theology, I think my reminders are good ones.

In Roger Oakland’s book, Faith Undone, he claims there are certain key elements that distinguish emerging church leaders such as: the promotion of mysticism (i.e., contemplative), kingdom-now eschatology, ecumenism, a laxed view of homosexuality, an anti-biblical overhauling of missions and evangelism, and a drawing toward Catholicism and its practices.

I read that and I’d think to myself, “yea…I’d be scared of that coming down the pike as well”…but that’s not at all how I would describe emerging church leaders. Or maybe I would….

1. The promotion of mysticism, at first glance appears very wiccan, and new age, but true Christian mysticism refers to the practice and experiential knowledge of deep prayer (ie. meditation, contemplation) involving the person of Jesus Christ. So if being an emergent means I explore all avenues of creative prayer [including the prayer habits of my Catholic and Orthodox brothers and sisters] then I guess “yes” I am an emergent leader.

2. Kingdom-Now eschatology, um… that’s a no brainer. Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is at hand…” Mark 1:14-15 and he taught his disciples to pray “your Kingdom come on Earth as it is in heaven…” So if Jesus was a Kingdom-Now believer, then so am I. [was Jesus an emergent preacher?]

3. Ecumenism – it’s ok if you don’t know what this means, but it comes from the Greek meaning “all the inhabited world.” Being ecumenical basically in this context means that emergent leaders think that there should be greater religious unity and corporation. That denominational lines should be lowered and churches should unite together for a common goal. And I believe Jesus actually prayed to this end: see John 17:21, “…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Funny – Jesus says his followers should be united so that the world may see and believe. I am an ecumenist.

4. A laxed view of homosexuality – this to me is funny because I don’t see “a heightened view of homosexuality” in scripture for emergents to “lower.” I think Mr. Oakland means that emergents don’t make it as big of a deal as others…and that is true. I would argue that other Christian movements have a laxed view on money, and missions and obeying the things that Jesus taught… but if they want to point the finger and say that emergants don’t hunt down and string up homosexuals, well I guess that’s true. Let me just go on record and say that homosexuality is a sexual sin. And as a sexual sin it is on par with ALL sexual sins. That means ANY sex outside of marriage including adultery, lust and pornography. I believe Jesus met a woman who was caught in sexual sin…I would follow his example in these situations. If you don’t remember you can read it in: John 8

5. Anti-biblical understanding of missions: here’s a great definition of missions from Rob Bell in his book, Velvet Elvis:

“Missions is less about the transportation of God from one place to another and more about the identification of a God who is already there. It is almost as if being a good missionary means having really good eyesight. Or maybe it means teaching people to use their eyes to see things that have always been there; they just didn’t realize it. You see God where others don’t. And then you point him out.”

Here is emergant leader Brian Mclaren’s understanding of missions…

“I’ve noticed that conflicts increase when we forget the main reason we’re here. Idle hands – and minds and mouths – can find a lot to fight about when they aren’t primarily focused on the mission Christ gave his disciples, a mission which many of us understand to be the call to make disciples, meaning people who actually live in the way of Jesus. Considering all the crises and catastrophes we face in today’s world, I think we’d all agree we could use a lot more Christ-like people … and the only organization dedicated to recruiting people into a life-long journey of Christ-like living is the church. So that’s what I hope we can all feel called towards, whatever our denominational heritage, and whatever labels we prefer – liberal, conservative, whatever.”

And here is what Shane Claiborne says on the subject of missions…

“The Christianity many of us have become accustomed to is marked by a set of doctrines or beliefs that we hold in common. But in Jesus we don’t just see a presentation of ideas or of doctrine; we see an invitation to join a movement of God.”

6. Anti-biblical understanding of evangelism – I think this stems mostly from Rob Bell’ short video “Bullhorn” in which he says, “...the bullhorn and the yelling is so disturbing to us, it seems like you’re just trying to convert people to your religion. Like their notches on some sort of spiritual belt. But they’re not. They’re people, they’re people that God loves. They’re people that Jesus wants us to love. They aren’t statistics, they aren’t numbers, they aren’t possible conversions. I mean, if I’m loving somebody with an agenda, then it really isn’t love is it?”

And I would argue that the emergent mindset is similar to this.

Sure, people might be “converted” through tacky tracts and someone yelling at them on the street, but is that the BEST way to communicate Christ? I think we as Christians should always pursue the best way to communicate Jesus and his love; and I just don’t see that in a tract made to look like a dollar bill, or one that tells me what an awful person I am and how I will burn in hell for eternity unless I “join the club.” The biblical understanding of evangelism I see in the scriptures is acts of love. Jesus said “go and show…”

7. An embracing of Catholicism – and I would argue that for emergants it’s more about embracing our heritage as Christians. I bet we sing a lot of the same songs, pray the same prayers, read the same books….but heaven forbid we use prayer beads or cross ourselves, fast, meditate, walk a labyrinth or take a sabbatical.

So I guess you can either listen to Roger Oakland who claims that God’s bride [the Christian church] is apostate. Which is basically the same as calling her a whore. In which case, I am going to hide behind you and wait to see if you become a greasy sulfur stain…or you can rest assured that God has all things in his hands and that he works them out for his good purposes; including the emerging church. Because, what is the opposite of an emergence?

Stagnation?

Immobility?

Immaturity?

Oh yea, break me off a piece of that instead.

God forbid the church should ever emerge.

I have so many unread books now I generally try to read books in “themed clumps.” In other words, if I have a bunch of books about Jesus or discipleship I try to read them at the same time so that I am keeping like minded thoughts together.

This is how I came to read Ed Dobson‘s latest book The Year of Living Like Jesus. The title alone and the fact that A.J. Jacobs wrote the introduction to this book led me to believe that for a whole year, Mr Dobson would be trying to live like Jesus.

Another indicator that I was going to enjoy this book was the reviewers on the jacket liner. Brian McLaren, Dan Kimball and Rob Bell all gave their thumbs up. “It may appear from the jacket cover that this is a nice book about growing a beard because Jesus did but be warned – you will quickly discover that Ed’s adventures takes him, and us deep into the heart of grace…which of course has very little to do with having a beard.” ~ Rob Bell

Sounds great, right?

But the sad thing was… his book really was about having a beard. I think Mr. Dobson mentions his beard, how it looks or how it feels in every single chapter.

And it wasn’t that the book was bad or poorly written, I just felt the title of the book was perhaps… suggested to Mr. Dobson and at first he wanted to call it something else… maybe The Year of Living Jewish? Because that is what the book is more about. In the book Ed Dobson describes all of the activities he endures to live like Jesus. He…

• prays the rosary
• prays the orthodox prayer rope
• observes Jewish holidays
• reads through the gospels
• wears a prayer shawl
• and grows a beard

And like I said, I enjoyed his stories and his journey, but I didn’t see how the criterion he selected helped him live more like Jesus (who was one specific named Jewish man) as opposed to any other Middle Eastern Rabbi. How did observing Jewish holidays, praying the Psalms and growing a beard help him live like Jesus? When I think of all the things that made Jesus stand out and be different than every other great teacher before him, it’s not the mundane activity of his day-to-day life that qualifies him.

With a title like The Year of Living Like Jesus I expected a book where someone would; try to love their enemies, devote time to driving out wrong teaching and hypocrisy in the church, teach on the streets and make the good news available to the marginalized, someone who fed the poor, someone who spent time with fishermen, and most importantly… someone who had 12 disciples.

How do you miss that one?

Jesus had a posse. He took his three year ministry and he poured into 12 key people who would take his teaching even further that he did. Why didn’t Mr. Dobson see the importance of a simple thing like discipleship? And it’s not just Mr. Dobson that I feel missed this key element… it’s often missed in our churches as well.

The sermon or a bible study is usually the program that we say is our “discipleship” time. But when we look at the life of Jesus, we notice that there are other “key moments” when Jesus is being intentional about one on one time. I may be able to name my pastor or even my small group leader, but could I also say that this person was discipling me?

And what about the flip-side? In trying to be a Jesus follower how often do we take on our own disciples? I mean, that is what Jesus did, right? Who are you pouring into? Who are your disciples? Because I would argue that even as you look back on your own life you will remember key people who spent their time with you as you walked with Christ, but you won’t necessarily remember specific “sermons” or even “books” that had that same effect.

I did enjoy Dobson’s book, the insight into the modern Jewish lifestyle and their customs and holidays from a Christian point of view was probably the best part. I just would hate anyone to pick up his book and think that the summation of Christ’s life was praying the siddur or growing a beard. Jesus doesn’t stand out in the annuls of time because of the common things he did – that would be like saying in wanting to live like Ghandi you shaved your heard, wore glasses and spent your time in prison.

At the end of his book Dobson devotes several pages to “What he learned” but …I think the value in ministry (at the end of the day) won’t be about the five thousand that you fed, but the twelve or even the three that you spoke life into.

Ultimately you’d think a year of living like Jesus would change more than your own life, it would change the lives of others.

And it’s not just because he has his own dot com (who doesn’t?) is a published author, is funny and has cool publicity photos (as evidenced in this post). He’s cool because, …well I don’t need more reasons…. because he lives in Texas. (I panicked)

Anyway, I recently had a chance to sit down with the author and discuss his latest book, O Me of Little Faith. (ok that’s a total lie, I just sent him the questions in an email and he wrote me back, but it sounded cooler).

DK: I have heard you mention before that writing books was your “second” job, without divulging too much – what is your first? What do you do for a living?

JB: “I’m a full-time, self-employed freelance writer and marketing professional. I have a background in the advertising industry, and primarily make a living as a writer in that world. I write ad copy and communications stuff for corporate clients and do a bit of graphic design, like newsletters or brochures. That’s what I do during business hours. I write my books at night.”

DK: As a writer/blogger who are some favorite writers of yours?

JB: “Some of my favorite bloggers include guys like Seth Godin, Scot McKnight, and the late, great Michael Spencer. As for writers, um, how much time do you have? My favorite religious writers include Buechner, Nouwen, Brennan Manning, Parker Palmer, Anne Lamott, Kathleen Norris, and Eugene Peterson. I’m all over the place when it comes to fiction. Right now I’m into children’s books, so Kate DiCamillo and Roald Dahl are getting a lot of airtime. I’m a Tolkien fanboy. My favorite novel of all time is John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany. And just today I was remembering how much I loved reading Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry. That was about 15 years ago, so maybe it’s time to revisit it.”

DK: Your new book, O Me of Little Faith is a break from your recent Pocket Guides, what prompted you to write a “book” book?

JB: “Yes, it’s definitely a more personal “book” book. It wasn’t an intentional progression, as in “I have written snarky religious-historical books. Now I will write a memoir.” I was actually pitching OMOLF at the same time I pitched the latest round of Pocket Guides, back in 2007. It just happened that those got published first.

Anyway, I’ve been dealing with this doubt stuff for years, and a sequence of events back in 2006-2007 got me thinking that spiritual uncertainty was something we’d been sweeping under the rug far too often as Christians. I got the sense that there were a lot of us churchgoers who doubted… only we were keeping our doubt to ourselves. We were hiding it behind happy spiritual masks, alone in our struggles but pretending to have it all together. It’s been said before that writing a memoir is a way to reach across the loneliness. Doubters usually feel alone in their doubt, so I hope this book offers a way for people to travel the same road together. In sharing my personal story, I hope to encourage others who might be living a similar story.”

DK: Obviously your book is centered on the theme of “doubt.” In your first chapter you indicate that your goal isn’t to “answer all the questions” so was this more cathartic for you just to get some of these thoughts on paper or was it your intention to use doubt as a universal feeling most of us share to bring the reader in and perhaps say you’re not alone in all this?

JB: “To be honest, it was both. Certainly there was something therapeutic about sharing these personal stories and opening up about my internal doubts. Writing is beneficial that way. But it has to be more than catharsis, too. I wanted to let other doubters know that they weren’t alone, and to give them the freedom to be honest about some of this stuff. I don’t have the answers, but I can offer companionship and understanding — and sometimes that’s all we need.”

DK: Do you think to reach today’s modern agnostics doubt can be a stronger approach to evangelism than bold confidence?

JB: “Absolutely. Last week I heard Daniel Taylor (The Myth of Certainty) point out that books like Blue Like Jazz or Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis represent a new kind of “street-level apologetics.” It’s a genre marked by spiritual storytelling, up-front uncertainty, and a willingness to ask hard questions. Even though you don’t typically think of these types of books as “evangelism,” they do provide a safe, cushiony place for people to think about faith. Our generation isn’t going to be reasoned into the kingdom with Josh McDowell-style evidence or rational arguments. Call it post-modernism or relativism or whatever, but story plays a more important role. So does shared experience. I’ve found that conversation is more likely to happen in an environment colored by shades of gray than one marked with black-and-white. Which is to say that agnostics are more likely to be comfortable around an honest doubter with a story to tell than around a rationalist itching for a debate.”

DK: On Easter at Mars Hill Michigan, Rob Bell told his church, “Our hope is that (Mars Hill) would be a place of healing, a place where you could doubt and ask whatever question. A place where there was lots of freedom to explore and discover and be stretched…”  In your opinion, what kind of future awaits the church leader/pastor who perhaps wrestles openly with questions and doubts?

JB: “That’s the hardest question by far. Pastors are people in authority, and personally I want authority figures to be smarter than me. I need to trust them and I want them to have things figured out. But a pastor who wrestles openly with questions — who admits to not having the answers — isn’t going to project the kind of confidence that gets people to follow his lead. So the question is, what awaits a leader who has no one to lead? I honestly don’t know the answer to this. But I do know I’d make a lousy pastor.

I still keep coming back to this idea, though: Is it better to struggle with doubt and be honest about it? Or to struggle with doubt and hide it in the name of keeping up appearances? Real faith or fake spirituality: Which is preferable for a follower of Christ?

The easy answer is to side with honesty. But it gets more complicated when doubt is a chronic, lasting issue rather than a temporary season. What then? At what point do you reexamine your line of work? I wish I had the answer. I don’t.”

I love an interesting question…

In case you didn’t know, there is a new NIV bible translation coming out in 2011; and after they announced it, Zondervan got a slew of email questions asking “Why?” And even though the editors at Zondervan already answered their critics… I want to take a crack at it. I think the Zondervan editors had to answer in a polite “politically correct fashion” – so my answers will be me channeling an imagined sarcastic Zondervan editor who didn’t get to answer the way they wanted to.  I have already answered one question in my own…. idiom so here is…

Question #2: Who are you to change the language of the Bible?

Answer: Well I guess since your email was addressed to the editors at Zondevan publishing, you probably aleady know the answer to your own question. We are the editors at Zondervan publishing… who are you?  It sounds like you are someone who doesn’t know what an editor is.

Well, an editor’s job can be large or small. If you hire an editor you might need someone to check your punctuation, or maybe you need someone to look over larger plot elements. Editors generally work with a manuscript based on the manuscript’s goals, then on the shape or condition of the writing itself. In this case the “editors” have assigned “translators” to create an English reading bible for an English reading audience. The translators will work with the original texts and carefully discern how best to create a modern English bible for the modern English reader.

Did you know that the bible was originally written in ancient Hebrew and Greek? This is the actual “language” of the bible. And since you wrote your question in the “English language”…I assume this is also the language you read in. So yes, we are changing the language of the bible… so that you can read it.

This magical transformation from one language to another is called a “translation.” It’s just like when you are watching a DVD and you push the wrong button on the remote and all the funny words appear at the bottom of the screen. We make translations so that people can read the bible in their own language; and we make changes to those translations after long periods of time after a language has adopted new nuances and subtleties.

So perhaps your question is really about the already existing English NIV translation? Who are we to change the translation of the English NIV bible? Oh good question… well, we are the ones who wrote it in the first place, so we are the best ones to “change it.”

In short: we made it, it’s ours.

And hey, and if you like it – great! That means you probably own one, keep it and read it with our blessing.  Don’t worry we won’t sneak into your house while you are asleep and secretly swap it with the new one when it comes out. Nobody will force you to read or buy the new NIV when it’s released.

So to sum up:

• We are the editors and translators at Zondevan publishing
• The language of the bible is “Greek” and “Hebrew” (not English)
• We created the original NIV translation that you read and love
• We are creating a new NIV translation in 2011 so that more people will read and love it

But maybe you’re on to something… this new translation would really only appeal to people who have noticed these new English nuances. It would probably be that “younger crowd” (people thirty and under) who are always wearing jeans to church and insisting we sing songs with a “melody.” Perhaps if we leave the NIV just the way it is - the younger generations will never want to read it. So maybe your question is really a much deeper sociological symbol for the conflict felt by the emerging generation gap that exists within the church community?

Wow – you’re deep.

By restricting the evolution of biblical translation we are in essence saying that, “We like things the way they are and if you want to change it – you can pry it from our irrelevant dusty fingers!” So the conflict felt by Zondervan is really a reflection of the much bigger conflict that exists within the American church.

The ability to trust and let go…

So I see what you did – you sneaky question asker. You made us all think about the circular logic of this much bigger picture. Who is this “younger generation” that wants to love Jesus, read the bible and design a new church movement?

Well it’s the church.

The church is making “the changes.”

The church is growing.

The church is emerging.

And it’s going to be amazing as we all begin to trust and let go..

………….

NOTE: David’s answers in no way represent Zondervan, their advertisers or their true inner dialog. This article was meant to be humorous and should in no way be read as David’s true voice. Please note that any comments to this article that are harsh or critical will be met with more sarcasm.

Jason Boyett’s latest book O Me of Little Faith, is a nice break from his traditional “Pocket Guides” that you might be used to. If that makes you sad, take comfort that the book is relatively small (222 pages) and may still fit in your pocket.

In this book, Boyett takes the reader down “the doubter’s road” and carefully looks at “the questions many of us have, but dare not say out loud.”

Questions like: Does God even exist? What is your foundation for faith? How can you really be sure you are saved? And where does my faith go when God is silent?

And before you finish your “heretic” sign, know that it’s not the point of this book to cast doubt, but rather to admit doubt. Many times through this reading I found myself agreeing with Boyett out loud (which is stupid, because he lives in Texas and can’t hear me) and I think this book would resonate with a lot of Christians today regardless of how long you have walked with Christ.

What I think Boyett touches on is perhaps we doubt the “pseudo-god” that is created by American Christianity. This is the Jesus from t-shirts and bobble heads who wants to give us money, hugs puppies and looks like a castmember from the musical Hair. “I don’t believe in that God,” writes Boyett. “If I am going to draw close to God, it needs to be a God who’s greater than that.” And there is no reason I can see why doubt and faith can’t exist side by side; one is not the opposite of the other. We worship a God who is both human and deity, flesh and spirit, who died and yet lives… why can’t we as his followers be sinners and saints (as Martin Luther said, “simul iustus et peccator”) from the world, but not of it, free but chosen …and faithful and at the same time doubtful?

“Doubt is a condition of humanity” says Boyett. “but doubt is no excuse for inaction. If you wait until all doubt is removed before you follow God, you’ll never take the first step of faith.”

Boyett’s book is well written and filled with stories that will draw you in and make you laugh. I would highly recommend this book to perhaps the person you know who has questions and wrestles with their own sense of doubt or the person who has always felt they had it all together.

You can win a copy of O Me of Little Faith until April 29th by visiting here.

I received this book for free from Zondervan publishing for the purpose of writing an honest review. In no way did I have to like or endorse this book – even though I did and I do.