Dan Kimball's latest book They Like Jesus But Not The Church is a book, which I feel every Christian should be reading or listening to. Although the title has gained some criticism, a friend of mine thought Kimball was implying that Christians could love Christ but not his bride (the church), I have found in it's pages words of truth regarding the spiritual state of my generation, and how the American church has responded. Maybe this all is starting to sound presumptuous, but let me say that Kimball is very sensitive to the church and does not criticize just to criticize. I will also say that in the conversations I have every week with people who are not Christians the words in this book are proven true again and again, and I have become increasingly aware of the post-Christian world in which we are all now engaged. While this may seem horrible to say, I think the fact that the world has rejected the traditional American/Christian ideals is a very good thing, and in fact more helpful to young evangelicals such as myself who see ourselves not in the midst of a culture war, but in the midst of life with friends and relatives who are seeking something real, authentic, and overtly spiritual to believe in.
I think the part that really sticks out to me is how many of the people who are not Christians, in the book, view the Church as being just flat out ignorant and very uninformed regarding other religions and faiths. I have to confess, until this point I had a very basic knowledge of other faiths, but I had never taken the time to really study, and put myself into the human aspect of another religion's practice. I had never really read the Qur’an (I am at this moment) and tried to picture myself in a Muslim's shoes, searching for the answer to the great emptiness that is separation from God, and finding this different explanation. I think that the man in Kimball's book is right to a certain extent. We speak of other faiths as almost petty, low, and in some cases just stupid, when in fact we should be engaging them, viewing them not with contempt or condescending tones, but as another people's best explanation of life, answers to life's biggest questions, and an attempted fulfillment of the infinite longing for God. It is only when we come down and meet people with respect, that we as followers of the triune God can begin sharing the story of The father, the Son, and the holy Spirit, which holds all truth and mystery and life for all people.
my frustration that I knew the Bible was the word of God but not in the way it had been presented to me. The problem was in how I was approaching the Bible. My approach had been tainted by a definitional allegiance to the answer book model. I did not hold that model but since it was the only solid picture I had ever been presented with it was hard to disassociate from certain terms in that tradition. I was so rigid and rooted in my own modern method of reading and understanding books that although I knew when and where the Bible came from, my process of seeking answers was from a completely different method of understanding. My mental picture (if one was even possible) needed to change, and as it changed I began to see my perspective shift from the Instruction book model into something much more useful, mysterious, and in a way more certain (paradox?). It is this new perspective on scripture (which I know is not really new at all) that will be addressed in my next post. Until then!
y (ETS) in San Diego, CA. This meeting was full of presentations from some of the most well known theologians and scholars of the western world. As I ventured from lecture to lecture I was both amazed at the intelligence of those who were presenting, and at the same time, dismayed. I could not help but feel, as I listened to each lecture, there was something missing from this conference. I mean, here we were in one of the most vibrant and exciting cities in the United States, coming together as fellow believers in Christ, and what should have felt like an exciting gathering of spiritual leaders and family felt more like a business seminar with the wonders of God and the scriptures being spoken of as mere figures and facts. I am no way attempting to judge or else cut down anybody at ETS, and the whole experience was not all dry, especially when John Piper took the main stage and delivered an amazing message about Justification, but coming away from ETS I was left with a sort of depressing feeling. Where was excitement and where was the passion?