The following post is an article that was on the ECC blog recently and was rated the most read article; its fascinating. Any thoughts on McLaren, or his suggested paradigm shifting?  

McLaren: Stymied? Try Asking Different Questions, by Stan Friedman

CHICAGO, IL (April 14, 2008) – Brian McLaren is like that pestering kid in the classroom who keeps asking questions and won’t let the teacher move on to the next lesson.

But McLaren says his penchant for asking questions actually shares a connection with his days as an English teacher. “When a student would get stuck, I would tell them to step back and look at the big picture and ask different questions,” he said during a recent interview with Covenant News Service.

In his latest book, Everything Must Change, McLaren steps back to get a macro view of the world and focus on two “big picture” questions: What are the biggest problems in the world? What does Jesus have to say about these global problems?

McLaren, who is one of the leading thinkers in what he likes to refer to as the “emergent conversation,” believes that when people confront problems by asking different questions, they may find better solutions.

Asking different questions requires different approaches and language if Christians are to influence a culture that is increasingly skeptical and less knowledgeable of religious tradition, McLaren said. “I’m raising questions about a lot of standard definitions.”

For example, McLaren suggests in his book that in place of kingdom of God, Jesus today might use images such as “a divine peace insurgency,” “God’s un-terror movement,” “new global love economy,” or “God’s sacred ecosystem.”

He also is questioning and suggesting alternatives to the conventional “framing stories” by which we make sense of the world and our lives. For example, he says the gospel is more than telling people they are sinners who are going to burn eternally in hell unless they repent and believe in Jesus before they die or he returns.

Some critics have accused McLaren of soft-selling the gospel, but he claims to be doing the exact opposite, calling for a life of radical commitment to Jesus that extends to all of life and not just an individual’s salvation. Part of the problem, McLaren suggests, is that Christianity has been presented as something that doesn’t require discipleship.

“The kingdom of God is not simply a new belief or doctrine that can be patched into an old way of life; it is, rather, a new way of life that changes everything,” McLaren writes.

Scot McKnight, the Karl A. Olsson professor in religious studies at North Park University and a leading commentator on the emerging movement, wrote on his Jesus Creed blog that Everything Must Change is “Brian’s most important book,” noting that “this book needs to be seen as a definitive book for emergent and from now on no one can speak responsibly about emergent without knowing this book.”

McKnight is sometimes a friendly critic of McLaren and takes issues with some of his conclusions, but states that “Brian is facing big, big issues. This book is a proposal for Christians to take up the challenge of Jesus and turn toward those issues. There are no books quite like this and for that reason alone it deserves to be read by all of us.”

McLaren wants the book to be more than read.

Authors routinely travel the country on book tours, but McLaren has eschewed the traditional approach, choosing instead to hold several training and worship events that run from Friday nights through Saturday afternoons. “I really wanted to be with people who wanted to go deeper with it,” he said. “I thought it would be rewarding for me as well as them.”

Although McLaren speaks several times, the worship times incorporate new music and the creative use of art in liturgy. “A key element to mobilizing people in our churches is liturgy,” he explains.

McLaren is surprised at the number of non-Christians who have attended the events. “I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘I’m not a Christian, but I’m really searching,” he said. A former Baptist pastor who had turned from his faith told McLaren, “This is another step in finding my way back.”

He praised the Evangelical Covenant Church for being out front in asking questions while maintaining its strong commitment to scripture and making disciples. “I think the Evangelical Covenant Church has a lot of pastors and teachers who are a lot further along than many other evangelicals.”

McLaren sees himself within the evangelical tradition, but some have said he has been unduly harsh to those in the tradition. “I don’t think I mention evangelicals very much,” he says.

McLaren explains he is concerned about fundamentalists of all persuasions who deny the opportunity for conversation. “Some people in the mainline churches act like they have the justice thing all wrapped up,” he said.

“Atheists can be just as vitriolic as anyone else,” he added. Some of the invectives have been hurled in a spate of recent best-selling books promoting atheism and denigrating religious faith.

The success of such books has been driven partially by people’s reaction to seeing religious violence and hearing the harsh words of different religious groups’ proponents.  “I think it’s very relevant for what I am talking about,” McLaren maintained. “I’m talking about a way of dealing with differences.”

McLaren differs with critics who say he believes the world’s ills can be solved through an economics that redistributes wealth and then trusts in an ever-evolving growth of humanity’s goodness. Rather, he said, “I think that is where people are not paying enough attention to the reality of sin. We have to have a very sober estimation of human evil.”

“That is one advantage that we have in the church – we can talk about sin,” McLaren says. The church is also the place from which to call for discipleship rooted in the power, love and grace of God. And to keep asking questions.

One of my friends loves to use the term “both-and” to help overcome the difficulties that extremes or black and white language can portray. Instead of ”either-or” talking/thinking, she often uses (and encourages me to use), both-and language, so that emotional tensions and realities are held together and so that the full range of feelings and experiences are all validated insead of cancelling each other out. So when feelings exist that seem to contradict each other, when irrational fears or frustrations seem silly in the light of well-reasoned answers from another part of my brain, I often find vocalizing the both-and aspects very helpful.    

Yesterday was definitely a both-and kinda day. I BOTH loved hanging out with my five-week-old daughter and spending hours with thoughts like “wow, her cheeks are getting chubby” - AND - I wanted desperately to have back my old (pre-baby) life where I could check email and sleep and leave the house and make plans and just ‘be’ whenever/whatever I wanted to.  I BOTH felt isolated and sick of being in our apartment with just a baby to talk to all day - AND - I felt relieved to have the space and time to nest away from others and not have to shower or have to perform in any sort of ‘public’ role. I BOTH relished that I could savor the small moments of my day, like laughing at Eva as she made sleep grins and blew milk bubbles and squirmed into funny contortions in her crib, and having her fall asleep on me and clutch my finger - AND - I wished that I could hook my thoughts onto larger patterns that were once actively part of my days, like writing my dissertation, finishing work projects, consulting on new ministries (heck, just making plans for the weekend would qualify as a larger thought right now!) I felt BOTH frustrated and tired out and unsure if I entirely like the role I have to be in right now - AND - I was very aware that these ups and downs are pretty normal feelings for the stage I am in right now and that many of my hopes and needs will naturally come together and be met with a bit more time.  I am BOTH itching to fast forward this stage, to have more sleep, to have more time with Peter again, to know what Eva will be like as a person and not just a totally dependant sleeper/screamer/eater - AND - I don’t want to lose a second of this time that is purely focused on getting to know her and getting used to all the newness that being a family of three brings with it. 

So - here is to embracing tensions, trying to live into all of life, and living into the questions - not just waiting for the answers and the resolutions.         

I decided to advertise a few great businesses that you might consider patronizing for Mother’s Day gifts this year.  As part of our endeavor to spend our finances more intentionally this year, I try to spend a bit more time thinking of how/what/where to purchase gifts and thought I’d share some of my finds.  Enjoy!    

Mimi B Jewelry - creative, handcrafted and affordable pieces feature semi-precious stones, metals, and natural materials. You can also special-order specific pieces and specify the order to come with a signature gift box/ribbon. Check out photos of these gorgeous and unique gift ideas online - and support a good friend of mine’s new small business! Her creations would make unique and fun gifts for the mom in your life and prices start around $15.00.

The Enterprising Kitchen Mother’s Day Specials - this is a local Chicago business that employs low-income, jobless women to make homeade and all natural skin care and body products. I’ve purchased items from the EK before and they are great quality AND I know I’m supporting a great organization. You can buy products (like soap, candles and body scrub) online and have it shipped anywhere - learn more at their site - or if you’re in the Chicago area, they are having a Mother’s Day open house anad sale on items like a “spring spa bucket” and “body and soul gift basket” on May 3rd, 9am-1pm (check their website for location and other info).  You can buy small items for under $10.00 and/or baskets, buckets, and collections of products for anywhere from $20.00-$75.00.    

Water 1st - this Seattle-based nonprofit works in the poorest regions of the world to help set up sustainable, communithy-driven clean water sources/latrines/related education programs in order to provide the most basic and foundational need of the poor. I know the folks running this organization and can say that it is one of the most professional, effective and ’full of heart’ groups that I’ve ever seen. They do really good work, in the right way, for the right reasons. Check out their site for some amazing stories and to learn about how to support their work in many ways. For an upscale (meaning slightly pricey, starting at $100.00 a piece), and really cool Mother’s Day gift idea, check out their sterling silver bracelets . The bracelet can be personalized with children’s/mother’s names, or sport the org’s logo, “Give Water, Give Life.” Proceeds from this handcrafted jewelry go to Water 1st.  Water 1st was also selected as a recipient of Tonic’s t-shirt sales - check out their site for their t-shirt (sells for $45.00) or check out Water 1st’s site for more info on how they got this gig! 

On Tuesday morning, March 25, 2008, our daughter Eva Margaret VerHage came into this world. (Yeah, I probably won’t be blogging a lot right now…) My husband and I are spending our days at home cuddling, feeding, wrapping, sleeping, smiling, bathing, resting, eating, drinking, reading and playing with our brand new baby. So far we like her - a lot.

The one constant thought that pregnancy - and now birth - has brought to my life is the profoundness of receiving a new little person into the world. Not planning, analyzing, or deciding exactly how things will or should go - as my role often is in other parts of my life - but being a more passive receiver of a new life being formed by something outside of my control and awareness. I received Eva Tuesday morning, saw her being held up, realized that this was my new baby’s face, these are her limbs and her cry - I who had carried her in my womb for many months had to be introduced to her for the first time. I don’t know her that well yet - I don’t know what her health might hold, how big her heart is, what inspires her mind, or what her sense of humor will be like. I don’t really even know what she will look like yet - which, by the way, I am dying to know! I can’t control most of these things as they develop - can’t climb inside the forming parts of her little body, can’t insert my will into her formation of “personhood” at the fundamental level, can’t really even have a say into what preferences or traits she will develop all on her own. But I get to learn how to be her mom, I get to walk with her into whatever her life will hold, and I get to try to learn how to receive and then steward this overwhelmingly good gift from God. Sometimes wondering what her life will hold, both the good and bad that it will hold, feels so vast and unknown and uncontrollable; sometimes that vastness gives me a glimpse of why God doesn’t let us control things like developing a new person, as it truly does seem like a God-sized job. But mostly this week, as we lounge around together, introduce our girl to friends and family, and watch her develop in front of our eyes, I only know for sure that I get to receive Eva, and that is enough. And of course, smell her sweet baby head scent in the meantime. :)     

JESUS

Lets people

Come close

To God, and does

Not get in

The way

JESUS

Lets God

Come close

To people, and does

Not get in

The way

- Jean Lambert

When I taught Intro to Bible at NPU this fall, I kept referring to a couple of over-arching themes that I wanted the class to have seared in their heads about the message of the Bible (since we read portions of most of the whole thing in ONE semester and a teacher needs priorities!) One theme that we kept returning to was the holiness of God - especially as seen in the OT construction of the tabernacle and then the temple that ‘housed God’ in the inner, closed-off, sacred room - the ’holy of holies.’ This keeping of God away from the people was done out of obedience, out of reverence for a God so different, so set apart, so ‘other’ when compared to humans - that it had to be literally embodied for many generations. Learning that God is not a more powerful version of a person (a bigger stronger version of us), or a God that can be ordered around or subdued (or ‘tamed,’ as C.S. Lewis would say) - was a major lesson for the chosen Jewish nation to understand. God wanted to show them what holiness was, and what sin was, through this separation of God - a separation that meant only one person, once a year, could enter the inner holy of holies after laborious rituals and cleansings. The rest of the people of God had specific, measured approximations for how close they could get to this room where God was kept - other holy Jewish priests would get sort of close to this room, then other faithful Jewish men would get to the room outside of that, then certain trained Jewish men, then some Jewish women, and on and on - everyone knowing his/her level of cleanliness/sinfulness in relation to a purely holy and clean God.

On Good Friday, the THICK curtain that guarded God’s set apart presence in that holy of holies was torn. The curtain ripped from the top to the bottom, letting God spill out of that cloistered inner sanctum. God jumped over the ropes, ran through all the levels of those outer rooms to touch men, women, and children; running over dirty heads of tax collectors and street hustlers, welcoming Gentiles and God fearers; cleaning the hearts of rabbis and the pious, scaring the faithful with its abandon and universality. God was here – God was not set apart in the same way – God escaped – because of Jesus. Jesus’s life, His death on the cross that Friday, and his resurrection that we celebrate this weekend is what ripped that separation down forever – but not because God isn’t still holy, or different or set apart from humanity. But God bridged the gap between God and the world in an amazing, earth-shattering way – God decided to bring more of God to the world, and reveal who God was in the flesh, and then invite all of us to be part of that movement of God spilling out into the world. Now all God’s people, all of the earth, is invited to relate to that holiness through the sometimes messy, always miraculous person of Christ as it keeps spilling and swelling, uncontained, throughout history. Catch the wave, I say. Amen!