booksneeze

The Sacred Journey: a review

October 31, 2011 By prophetsandpopstars Leave a Comment

I’ve owed Booksneeze this review for quite a while.

The funny thing is this, I haven’t written it because I’ve been on a…well, I’ve been on a sacred journey. The two years between reading the book an review have been a pilgrimage from Arizona to Southern California, director to Pastor, father of two to father of three.

Foster introduces, or reintroduces for those who read nothing but commentary on the spiritual journey, the idea of pilgrimage in clear and fast terms. When Jesus invited his disciples to “follow him,” there was an expectation that you would just go.

It seems true that American Christianity has become quite sedentary: we sit and read books, sit in the car and drive to church where we sit in pews or chairs, only to sit in a chair at lunch to discuss the service and sermon to then sit on the sofa with our small group and discuss whatever book we feel like. There is a despairing disconnect that Sacred Journey speaks to, not only as a diagnosis with what’s wrong, but a prescription for how to fix it. I have to be fair. This book is not a step by step, ‘How to have a livelier faith in seven easy steps,’ but rather a theology of faithful movement.

The pilgrimage is movement. It doesn’t happen in a living room, instead it happens living outside of rooms. To engage pilgrimage, we have to embrace a theology of wandering. It’s difficult to grip in our culture. In fact, a quote that made me laugh out loud, says much the same, “Christianity is an eastern religion that has had the misfortune to be particularly popular in the west (where its chances of being understood were lowest).”

I can imagine a great deal of push back on a quote like that, but that would prove the point. We are no longer a journeying society. We drive, fly and ride, but don’t journey. The Sacred Journey is meant to return the wonder of “the journey” to a culture of disciples who have forgotten that the point of a journey is not where we arrive, but the journey itself.

If you are at a place where you are looking for something to add to your spiritual itinerary that will lead you and your faith away from the ‘beaten path,’ then A Sacred Journey will be a fine companion. “Pilgrimage involves doing something with whatever faith you have. And faith, like muscle, likes being worked.” Just do yourself a favor: Don’t read this book and put it on the shelf when you’re done. Start Tickle’s introduction as you are walking out the door. I realize this will invite certain hazards that you wouldn’t normally deal with, but that’s the whole point of pilgrimage.

“The point of the journey is not to arrive. Anything can happen…” Rush, Prime Mover.

Reviewers Note:
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their [...] bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Filed Under: booksneeze, sacred rhythms Tagged With: booksneeze, sacred journey, spiritual disciplines

Book Review: Jesus Manifesto

June 16, 2010 By prophetsandpopstars 1 Comment

Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ

Let’s begin with Narcissism.

Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola write in chapter six, “Our problem is this: we have even created a narcissistic form of Christianity, in which ‘conversion’ is less a turning toward Christ than a turning toward success or fame or fortune…Of the top 100 [CBA best-selling] books, just 6 were about the Bible, 4 were about Jesus, and 3 were about evangelism.”

If what the authors presume here is correct, and I agree that it is, then the Jesus Manifesto is Cipro for rank bowels of religious publishing. Jesus Manifesto is penicillin for the self-adulating, one with my inner Jesus, navel gazing virus that has taken over the Christian imagination. This aptly titled book is an explosive collection of thoughts and ideas designed to rock the heart of the reader from the cold, steely complacency of religion. Anchored in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, Sweet and Viola sweep us into a journey of faith, where Christ is the north star, Christ is the ship and Christ is the sea.

Jesus Manifesto is both a manifesto and story of manifesting. It is both a creedal conversation and commentary on Christ’s incarnation. What Walsh and Keesmaat did for Paul and Empire in Colossians Remixed, Sweet and Viola accomplish in respect to Christ and Cosmos. What many believers need is a redux of belief, a reminder that what we believe in is worth believing in. Certainly, this was part of the problem in Colossae and the problem remains still. Like the genie in Aladdin, we are content to imprison the cosmic, infinite power of the resurrected Lord in a little bottle that we rub when it suits us on Sunday or we need something.

Usually, I’m turned off by books that make the statement I just did, but it’s because they leave it there – take a shot, complain and hope you’ll buy the next book. Jesus Manifesto, by contrast, only makes the point in passing. The rest of the book, ala manifesto, is a statement of why our belief is so worth believing. It doesn’t take much to pick out a problem. There also isn’t a whole lot of art in revealing a new model where the old model will just be replaced by a new one. However, a manifesto — buy nature — is meant to reveal why we are who we are and how we are going to become more of who we are. Just as Paul meant for the church in Colossae, Sweet and Viola intend for their audience. Jesus Manifesto is a New Living Commentary on the book of Colossians, for those in the church who are no longer able to connect with it. The authors have even managed to compress Colossians into a four page letter from Jesus at the end of the book. The letter alone is worth owning on Kindle.

Caveat Emptor. While I’m sure the goal was to write in mass spectrum appeal, Jesus Manifesto may not be an easy read for you. It may take you a while to get through it, but it takes a while to tune a piano, too. I imagine this to be a great discussion starter for a small group or book club. Jesus Manifesto is about Jesus, who Jesus is, where Jesus belongs in the world and how we can live in the fullness of his life.

Narcissism is a disease that causes us to focus so inwardly, we scarcely exist at all. Jesus Manifesto distracts our gaze from small living and points the way to an expansive, musical, creative and faithful existence founded in our cosmic Creator.

Supernova-size it.

** reviewed in part for booksneeze **

Filed Under: booksneeze, jesus and the kog Tagged With: booksneeze, colossians, frank viola, jesus manifesto, leonard sweet, NT

Review: The Gospel According To Lost

January 21, 2010 By prophetsandpopstars 4 Comments

If you are a blogger and you don’t know about BookSneeze, you should. Thomas Nelson Publishing has initiated a new program to create book buzz on their Christian titles. Bloggers can sign up at the site (and follow on twitter) to receive free books for review as long as the reviews are posted, shared, tweeted, etc.

My first review for BookSneeze is Chris Seay’s The Gospel According To LOST. I looked forward to reading this title for several reasons. First, I am a LOST fan. LOST is a fantastic voyage, a journey of imagination marked in hour long segments. Secondly, I am familiar with the coolness that is Ecclesia Church in Houston, the church plant where the author Chris Seay is head pastor. Several years ago, I cold called the church to ask about their methodology and had a great conversations with one of the pastors who was overly generous with his time and spirit! I am also an ex-Houstonian, so there’s Lone Star style affinity happening. Lastly, I wanted to see what a Christian leader would write about LOST, if they got the chance to.

The first real question to answer when looking at a book of this nature is, what would drive someone to write an entire book connecting the Gospel story to the LOST mythology? I think the answer is simple: You get to watch the whole series and call it “research.” Genius, I tell you!

Seay does more than watch TV, however. In my view, the The Gospel According To LOST (TGATL) accomplishes three things. First, the author allows the reader a glimpse of his interaction with the story. Second, he provides a blueprint for how one might use the series to teach in a Church-type setting. Third, Seay draws parallels between LOST‘s main characters and their types to those in Biblical literature.

TGATL provides the reader with a means to interact with the story. Too often, we watch something, especially on TV, and are a passive entity. That, however, is against the LOST code of viewer ethics. LOST gives the viewer the opportunity to not only observe, but interact and respond. TGATL serves to show how interactivity with the show might be approached. For a Pastor, it’s natural to watch the story lines develop and connect them to the Biblical story that they preach every week. That is precisely how the author interacts with it. Pay attention to Seay’s connection the story and its characters, his passion for the series and its creators. This is not just a book about his interactivity, it’s a teaching tool meant to unleash ours as well. ** If you are looking non-churchy interaction, see the epilogue.

TGATL is a useful field manual for Christian communicators who would like to present aspects, themes, plots and characters from the show in their classes and sermons. In the dialogue between the series and the author’s imagination, Seay makes as many connections to Biblical story arcs and theology as there are chapters. This book would make an excellent class for teens and adults who are as trapped on the island as the characters are. Let’s face it, it’s the 21st century. The church simply has to be using the media that people consume regularly and create imaginative inroads to communicating the Gospel. If you think that your congregation isn’t watching Lost because they are too busy reading their Bibles…wake up a smell the Jacob! In a world where Lost-ness is not just a metaphor for a TV show, this book provides critical opportunity for connection and discussion.

Lastly, TGATL is a study in character archetypes and the plots that they inhabit. Good stories work because of characters. We could really care less where they are, but when we care about the people we are hooked. This is true of all literature (as it is life). When I think of how many DVDs I’ve turned off because I just don’t like anyone in the film, it’s staggering. Good characters are good characters because they are, well, like us. They have strengths and weaknesses, desires and dreams, successes and failures, but most importantly, they have something to lose. Their existence balances somewhere in the tension between risk and security. Good characters grow and change. They make choices, better ones than they did the last time. Seay pays particular attention to character types. That’s what allows him to connect LOST to the Gospel so successfully. The characters on screen are alive in the pages of Scripture. The challenges of being lost on an island are similar to those of being lost in the plains of Judah. The real strength of LOST is not the magical, unpredictable power of the island, it’s in the delicate, familiar people who inhabit it. TGATL takes a close look at those people in all three dimensions. People that only Jesus could love…and does love. People like me.

The idea to take on LOST and provide the Church with a tool for teaching was genius, Chris! Perhaps I should start working on my own project: The Book of Firefly. I haven’t watched those in while ; ).

If you haven’t been caught up on the show in a while, maybe this will help: