Andrew Jones has quite an extensive list of books and other documents related to the emerging church. Check out his post here.

There are some new books and links posted on each page now. I’ll be updating them as they become available. I’d like to also have a section with articles from the ooze, next wave, and other news stories about the emerging church.

Most of them are hanging out in my del.icio.us account.

The latest book that I have been reading about ministry in the postmodern/emerging context is Organic Church by Neil Cole. I’ll be reviewing it as soon as I wrap it up.  So far it has been incredible.

In discussing John 3 and the topic of "being born again," Wright makes some helpful observations. Just as no one ever frames a birth certificate and talks at length about the details of his/her own birth at great length, so it is a bit odd to make the moment of our conversion the focus of our discourse when sharing the Gospel. What truly matters is our relationship with God in the here and now. Wright comments,

"What matters for most purposes is not that once upon a time you were born – though of course sometimes it matters that you can prove when and where you were born. What matters is that you are alive now, and that your present life, day by day and moment by moment, is showing evidence of health and strength and purpose. Physical birth is often painful and difficult, for the baby as well as for the mother. But you don’t spend your life talking about what a difficult birth you had, unless for some tragic reason it has left you with medical problems. You get on with being the person you now are" (Wright, John for Everyone 29)

God is moving here and now today. Who wouldn’t want to share what God has done today, yesterday, or in the past month rather than a conversion experience that occurred long in the past. The conversion is important and it may be appropriate to share it at times, but if all we have is a conversion, then our lives are spiritually bankrupt.

Christianity has become, in many ways, a cultural change, but not an internal, spriitual change.

I hit a used book sale at the library in Manchester, VT last Friday and struck gold. While I got my hands on a biography of Harry Truman by his daughter Margaret that I’ve been on the look-out for, my real find was Tom Wright’s commentary on the Gospel of John, chapters 1-10. It’s part of Wright’s NT commentary series for everyone, complete with his own translation and discussion of each passage.

I have heard good things about this series and have been waiting for an opportune time to grab a copy. So far I have not been able to put it down. First of all, Wright’s translation strikes me as a nice blend of the Message and the ESV. The words are still familiar to readers of the NIV, NASB, etc. and seem to capture the essence of what was happening, but there is a fresh, new sense that is not odd and corny as the Message can occasionally be. No slang, no over-use-of-hyphens, no cheesy phrases, but also no stilted, antiquated words and expressions that somehow stick around because of the KJV’s influence. All in all, it’s a very good translation that is enjoyable to read.

Another area where Wright succeeds is in providing just enough information in his commentary. The ban of commentaries is the feast or famine of information. Short commentaries are like a leaf of lettuce for a hungry man and exhaustive, scholarly commentaries are like a 12 oz steak for a new born. It’s quite hard to find a commentary that provides ample background, contextual, and linguistic information to be helpful without losing the reader in grammatical, theological debates that need not be mapped out in extensive detail for the average reader. Wright toes the line down the middle, erring on the side of giving less, but always putting a solid meal on the table.

My recommendation? If you’re looking for an accessible commentary that will help you dig a little deeper into the text without having to buy a massive library of enormous commentaries, check out Wright’s series. He’s "the man" on Paul, so you may want to check out his commentaries on Paul. But in any case, I trust no one else like I trust Wright. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: wright, gospel of john

Scot McKnight has begun posting a summary and some reviews of Brian McLaren’s latest book, The Secret Message of Jesus. McKnight notes that, so far, the reviews and comments are positive. Apparently McLaren is less controversial when dealing with exposition of scripture.

The thrust of the book concerns the significance of Jesus’ teachings on the Kingdom of God. McKnight comments:

This is, so it seems to me, the leitmotif of the whole book, but asked
in a question (which he essentially answers in a positive way): “What
if Jesus’ secret message reveals a secret plan? What if he didn’t come
to start a new religion — but rather came to start a political, social,
religious, artistic, economic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution
that would give birth to a new world?” (4).

While McLaren may not be saying a whole lot of new things for him, it’s certainly all put together in one place and is presented in a fairly compelling manner. More than anything, McLaren is poised to capitalize on the release of the Da Vinci Code movie. From a Christian standpoint, this is excellent. I pray that many who are gripped by the spell of the Da Vinci Code will stumble accross this book.

Of course it’s also good business for the publishers, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do!

Technorati Tags: da vinci code, mclaren, Jesus

One of the latest books I’ve picked up is Island at the Center of the World. It’s the story of Manhatten Island and the founding of New York City from 1600 to roughly 1664 when the English took it over. Many modern histories mention the Dutch only briefly and quickly move on to the English period that followed, treating the story of Manhatten as if the Dutch had just swindled the Indians into selling them the land and then quickly losing it to the English. That, at least, is what I was taught in school.

Author Russell Shorto has a different perspective on this. After working documents that have recently been translated from the Dutch colonial period, the influence of the Dutch settlers on what was to become New York city was fairly substantial. In many ways, the English simply let the Dutch system continue to flourish, and this is what Shorto credits with creating the remarkable city of New York.

Why has this period of Dutch influence of America been overlooked for so long? Shorto asserts that English historians have drowned out any alternative histories. The English, who were at war with the Dutch off and on in the 1600’s often depicted the Dutch colony on Manhatten as bumbling, inefficient, and comical. While some accusations were true, the Dutch also had a lot going for them. It is the latter that Shorto hopes to highlight.

Though I am not sure if I will take the time to wade through all of the material in this book, it has once again brought up the importance of multiple voices and perspectives. Who knows what other parts of our history have been suppressed because diversity was not embraced. In addition, who knows what blind spots exist in Christian theology since it has been dominated by the West for so long.

While at the Northshire Bookstore yesterday I picked up Bart Ehrman’s book, Misquoting Jesus. If anything, this book is a monumental achievement. Ehrman has boldly gone where no theologian thought possible to traverse: he has written a popular level book on textual criticism. Textual criticism is not for the faint of heart. It’s a painstaking discipline that involves analysis of ancient documents, some of which are falling apart or torn, ancient cultures, geography, and who knows what else. You could say that textual criticism is like playing “he said, she said” with ancient documents. The scholar must study conflicting sources and then decide which one is most valid or closer to the original.

A quick glance at a Hebrew Bible (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartentsia) or Greek Bible (Nestle Alland or UBS 4) will reveal a host of foot notes revealing the disputed sources for particular passages. You almost cannot find a page without such footers. The Bible quite simply was not passed down to us in its completed form. There are disagreements and discrepancies amidst the various manuscripts we possess. The sooner we get used to that, the better.

It’s not surprising then to read the Ehrman was a conservative evangelical Christian, but this was shattered by his study of the Biblical manuscripts. Though my reading of his introduction in Misquoting Jesus cannot do justice to his views, it seems that his discovery of errors and mistakes in the passing down of the Bible throughout the centuries has deeply wounded his view of scripture. At one point he commented that if God cannot preserve his words while being passed through the church, then the words must not have come from him in the first place. He does make some vague statements about God being involved in the process, but it’s not enough to figure where he still stands. Nevertheless, he makes no attempt to hide his assertion that the Bible is a very human document, downplaying the divine role in it.

Without having read further, it’s hard to say what I think of Ehrmann at this point. I agree that the Bible is a very human book, but I would simultaneously uphold a significant divine role in the inspiration of the documents. I certainly am enticed to read on and find out what he has to say about the Bible. It would seem to me that his faith has been shipwrecked by our overreliance on the Bible as the foundation for our faith and inerrancy as the end all, be all of scripture.

The Bible is important in that it points us toward the Father, Son, and Spirit. Too often it seems that our faith is in the Bible itself, as if our Christian faith rested on the Bible itself. We cannot forget that while the Bible is essential in teaching us about God, Christianity existed for centuries in populations who were generally illiterate and who did not have access to books anyway. And if Christianity has the Bible, not Jesus himself, as its foundation, then you could say that inerrancy is the gate keeper, protecting the “faith.”

Taking the Bible as an essential source and gujide to God does not demand perfection in every element, only trustworthiness and truthfulness. Differing accounts, inaccurate numbers, etc. can be permitted so long as the story of salvation recorded is reliable. In this sense the Bible can be a human book with a heavy divine influence. Of course God is behind the writing of the Bible, but even God does not require exact perfection of human authors. Nevertheless, if the Bible is the source of our faith, then it’s accuracy becomes far more essential. Any blows to this conception will shatter the faith of any honest believer. This is the trap that I believe Ehrmann fell into. When the Bible itself becomes more important than God, our faith cannot endure any doubts cast on the book itself. But if Jesus himself is the author, finisher, and foundation of our faith, nothing can shake us.

Technorati Tags: inerrancy, misquoting jesus

My way of reading books is probably not the most efficient, but at least I have fun. While I just finished What Saint Paul Really Said, I have a number of other books waiting in the wings to be picked up. I’m about half way through the Last Word by Wright and have stalled on Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Peterson. I hope to finish them by the end of the month. Yesterday I mentioned that I have just picked up Ministry in the Image of God, which I hope to pick up by May. But for fun, I think I will try to dabble in Frank Viola’s classic: Rethinking the Wine Skin.

Frank writes a ton of stuff on Next WaveNext Wave and other house church sites, as well as publishing more than his fair share of books. This book sets out his thoughts on what some refer to as a reconstructionist view of the emerging church. In other words, not only is Frank sensitive to context/culture, he is also interested in changing the structure of the church to meet to meet the challenges of today. But even more than this, I believe he is hearing from God. God is at work in many established churches, but he is very much involved outside the church planting new house churches and alternative worship gatherings. Frank’s voice is very much needed in the church today.

As a member of the IVP Book Club, I get little notes in the mail about their latest offerings. I just picked up a used copy of Ministry in the Image of God by Stephen Seamands. It was an impulse buy of sorts, but I could not pass up a chance to check out this book. Based on the back cover, it seems to be a very promising book.

If we hold to a trinitarian theology, then it should have implications for how we do ministry. The Holy Spirit typically gets the short end of the stick in Evangelical circles. We’re just not sure what to do with this third member of the trinity who kind of hovers around and helps us. The Spirit must be given a place in our ministries as part of the trinity.  Here’s a review from Amazon:

As of my last visit to Borders I noticed that Eugene Peterson has released the latest in his series on spiritual theology, Eat This Book. It follows up on Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places and is an important exploration of how we read the Bible in a way that we can live it. I read the introduction and was hooked, though I have to admit that I find Peterson’s style of writing a bit hard to follow at times. He is very poetic and seems to take the long way in making his points. Regardless, I look forward to "snacking" on his latest offering.

From Publishers Weekly
Peterson is a retired pastor and
popular author best known for The Message, a paraphrasing of the Bible
into modern idiom. In this slender book, he invites Christian readers
to encounter the Bible anew. Drawing on language in Ezekiel and
Revelation, Peterson says that we ought not read the Bible the same way
we read a cookbook, a textbook, or even a great novel. Rather,
Christians are to absorb, imbibe, feed on and digest Scripture.
Peterson recommends a type of Bible-based prayer called lectio divina,
in which the person praying meditates on a short passage of Scripture
and listens for God to speak through the text. Peterson’s exposition of
lectio divina is one of the fullest to appear in recent years.
Throughout, he cautions that lectio is not a systematic way of reading,
but a "developed habit of living the text in Jesus’ name." The last
chapter, in which Peterson ruminates on his own experience translating
the Bible, will be fascinating to Peterson’s devotees, but is more
myopic than the rest of the book. However, this is a worthy sequel to
Peterson’s 2004 hit Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places.