Soul Renovatus

Review: Don't Stop Believing...

This post is part of the "Don't Stop Believing" blog tour.

    My journey for years has been filled with legitimate questions about theology, the church, and beyond. Many of the churches I served didn’t receive these questions well.  I had no vindictiveness, no animosity, just honesty.  These were questions I was encountering in talking with everyday friends in and outside of the church. They might not have expressed these questions verbatim, but it was rooted in the very questions I was wrestling with.

    My journey was encouraged by Brian McLaren’s book, A New Kind of Christian.  It was here, for the first time, that I had not felt alone in my thoughts and questions, and furthered a quest to discover who I am.  Not only that, but to honestly dialogue with others asking the same questions.

    What I was pursuing was what I heard Brian saying as a “third way;” somewhere in the middle (or beyond) the two polarities of conservatism and liberalism. Lately, I’ve felt that much of Emergent Village (and maybe the emerging church movement in general) has been floating toward liberalism.  While there is some good postures liberalism promotes, there are some that don’t. 

    So what now?  Will it forever be this way?  Is there any hope?  Michael Wittmer’s, Don’t Stop Believing: Why Living Like Jesus is Not Enough is the “third way” that Brian McLaren is looking for. 

    Wittmer addresses critical questions postmodern innovators (his term for those in the emerging church movement with a liberal bend) raise; questions such as the relationships of belief and practice, salvation, atonement, hell, and the inerrancy of Scripture.  What will surprise many is that while Wittmer proclaims to be conservative, his conclusions will invite conservative and liberal firing squads. They will be challenged at the questions he raises.

    Even more, Wittmer proposes a third way in each of these questions. For example, with the atonement, Wittmer combines Christus Victor, Penal Substitution, Moral Influence, and Example theories in a way that makes sense.  This is not as ambiguous as Scot McKnight’s A Community Called Atonement; it is an explanation that reveals the beautiful purpose of Christ’s death and resurrection.

    Another strength of the book is it’s meticulous use of Scripture, tradition, and research.  One would expect nothing less from Wittmer; he is a professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary.  The book gives enough footnotes for further research and study, delving into the process of Wittmer’s conclusions. 

    Finally, I have had the privilege of sitting under Dr. Wittmer in two of his theology courses.  He is known as the “both/and” guy.  Not only does he articulate a third way to express these questions, he truly lives it.  Wittmer has been integral in addressing my questions, vocation, and postures.  He is man who truly lives what he preaches.

    Therefore, I wholeheartedly recommend Don’t Stop Believing.  Wittmer is a theologian with the talent of communicating deep truths to the everyday person.  This, along with his other book Heaven Is A Place on Earth, is on my top 10 must read books of all time. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t read each of these books.  Even more, there is an opportunity to further the discussion on Wittmer’s blog and the Koinonia website.

    My hope is that these texts will bring some clarity, and continue to push the church to be Christ to this broken world that so desperately needs Him.

   

A final note: you can buy DSB relatively cheap (under $11) in the GRTS seminary bookstore if you live in the Grand Rapids area. Check our site for hours of operation, and hopefully I'll see you there!

A book I can't wait to read...

It's not coming out until the beginning of December, but I think everybody in the emerging church conversation should read Michael Wittmer's book, "Don't Stop Believing: Why Living Like Jesus Isn't Enough."  It looks like a fabulous book cautioning on some doctrine that could be serious problems (and even more so, labeled heresy historically in orthodoxy) that currently is discussed in recent books.

I like a lot of things Emergent Village (and those in the emerging church) have to say, but there are things that have been said (in books) recently that really are rubbing up against historical heresies. I think Wittmer does a great job of finding the balance.  His book, Heaven Is a Place on Earth, was one of the most influential books I've ever read and one of the major reasons I'm going to the seminary he teaches at (I'm currently taking 2 classes with him).

Sure, there are some points I disagree with him on (I'm not a Calvinist), but I think Dr. Wittmer does a great job of truly finding the "third way" I keep hearing McClaren talk about.  I think Dr. Wittmer actually says what that is in this upcoming book.

Living this life is reflective of your theology, but there are certain doctrines held historically by the church that we don't ere from.  Some conversations are walking down that road. Wittmer provides thoughtful and humble commentary in his new book.

I read the chapter on "Inerrancy" that we received in class and it really does a great job of describing all the perspectives, and challenging the criticisms thrust upon it (esp. by post-moderns).  I think many people misunderstand inerrancy.  Wittmer's chapter in the new book clearly describes this and explains a great posture toward it.

Mike Wittmer is also blogging now.  You can go check it out at http://mikewittmer.wordpress.com.

He also has a "Don't Stop Believing" Facebook group as well.

And no, he didn't put me up to promoting him.  This is totally of my own volition.

Rob Bell, Doug Pagitt, Todd Hunter podcast...

Here's a link to the podcast from the night after the Seeds of Compassion event. Rob talks about the new book him and Don Golden are going to release in October, Jesus Wants to Save Christians. I also believe he talks about the issue of women in ministry (I will update once I have a listen).
 

By the way, If you haven't listened, you can listen to the series of sermons by the same title on ITunes.  It was series when the podcast first went up.  It also is a combination with "The New Exodus," (you can download it from www.marshill.org.) which talks about the framework in which we at Mars Hill reads the Bible.

I've listened to part of it.  So go check it out.

(HT: Vineyard Community Church and Off the Map)

Quotes from Jewish Spirituality [008]

"In Jewish spirituality, perhaps the most important task in life is to find what is broken in our world and repair it."

"The stories in Torah tell not only of what happened long ago but also of what happens in each generation. The stories happen over and over again in the life of each person. They are true, not because they HAPPENED but because they HAPPEN."

"Jewish spirituality is eminently practical, even behaviorist: When you see something that is lost, return it. When you see something that needs to be done, do it. In that way, you will take care of your world and repair creation. If all the people in the world were to do so, our world would truly be a Garden of Eden, the way God meant it to be."

Central to the Jews is the view that God has not given up on the world, and that He is in the business of repairing what is broken.  How do we orient our way of life everyday to reflect this truth?  Do we have a view of allowing God to use us to repair the world (as opposed to thinking we're just going to leave it)?  How would this change the perspective on how we live?

Quotes from Jewish Spirituality [007]

Finally, back to some more quotes.  This next chapter deals with doing and understanding. Brilliant stuff here.

"When Rabbi Menahem Mendl Morgenstern of Kotzk read in Exodus, 'We will do and we will hear,' he explained that some actions simply cannot be understood (or heard) until they are performed (or done). By doing, we understand."

"When Jews perform a mitzvah (divine commandment or sacred deed), we make it ours. We understand it; we "hear" it. It becomes part of us. In this way, performing a mitzvah changes us and brings us closer to God. These holy deeds are Judaism's way of realizing the holiness hidden everywhere and repairing creation."

So central to the understanding of the Jewish people is that sometimes belief comes through doing.  On a practical level, this can make a lot of sense.  I remember the countless times students have went on trips outside of their context and gained a perspective on viewing the world that changes them forever, in a good way.  I remember even some students who didn't have a desire to do certain mitzvot, but when they did they were transformed; their lives were never the same. 

Isn't this so true?  If this is the case, then why do we always feel like we have to have the right "beliefs" in order to do something?  There is a posture that even if we don't understand certain commands in Scripture, what if we were to just do them?  What would happen?  I have crippled myself too many times from this type of thinking, and I can testify to the many times that but just walking in it I have learned much more than if I didn't.

Quotes from Jewish Spirituality [006]

Some of these next few quotes will be from Kushner's views of the Torah, but have some tremendous insight.  I wish I could read the amazing stories in here, including this one in chapter 7, but I'll just have to go with the quotes for now.

"Because we each hear the words of Torah in a unique way, Jews routinely argue about their meaning. Such argument should not be misconstrued as fighting. When Jews disagree or argue about the meaning of Torah, they are actually helping one another to become better Jews."

"In Hebrew such an argument is called l'shaym shamayim: an argument for God's sake (Talmud Avot 5.17). Trying to understand the Torah is an endless search. No matter how many times we reread it, or how many times we are sure we understand it, a new interpretation will arise to challenge our understanding"

"Every generation finds new meaning in the Torah. In trying to understand its teachings, we make ourselves better people. Jews have never found a better way of learning about God and of coming close to God. Everything we learn and everything we are as Jews comes from Torah."

The first time I read this was monumental in my view of the Scriptures.  For so long, I was afraid of those who had different takes than me.  I campaigned for certain interpretations of Scripture.  I was always told that "there is only one interpretation, and that is God's."  My question is, is there more than one?  If the Jewish people have this view of the Torah (and this ancestry is our roots, my friends), then what does that say about our current discussions as American Christians in regards to Scripture.  Look, I'm not saying that we shouldn't argue about our interpretations, the Jews sure do (there's a good quote I heard about that, "When 2 rabbis get together, there are always 3 opinions."), but do we look at it as actually making us more committed followers of Jesus?  Jesus proclaimed himself to be a living Torah, what it looks like for one to walk in light of what the Torah means.  He brought deeper understanding to the Torah when he was here (Matt. 5-7 is a great example, the phrase, "You have heard that it was said...but I say to you," was a classic phrase a special kind of rabbi would use to give a deeper meaning to the Torah), so what does that do to our current views of Scripture? 

I know I can be trodding on some shady ground here, and please don't misunderstand me, but I was in such a defensive posture that I looked at argument of the Scriptures as a bad thing.  That I was not making myself nor them a better Christian because of it.

I guess the question I ask myself regarding this is, "Am I helping this person become more exemplary of the fruit of the Spirit?"  Granted, the other person must make a choice to respond, but am I arguing with the fruit of the Spirit in my mind?

On another note, on the new generations bringing new meanings to the text, do we look at this as a bad thing?  The Jews look at the Torah as this endless well of meaning, not something fixed in a vacuum, because God is much bigger than our interpretations, and He can bring out endless meanings.  So if I feel threatened by a different take on the text, do I immediately dismiss it, or do I examine it, digest it, and ask more questions? 

I value tradition, trust me. I value the historic, "orthodox," Christian faith, but at the same time, I don't think we should be threatened when someone brings something different to the text than what I thought.  I should examine it and ask how this helps me become more like Jesus. 

It's a lot of thinking out loud, but this little snippet has been a revelation in my journey.

Quotes from Jewish Spirituality [005]

"Each generation is linked to the next by its actions. We depend on those came before us, just as someday our children will depend on us. For this reason, all the generations are connected to one another."

"When two individuals realize, for even just a moment, that they depend on each other, that they are fully present for one another, that they are connected to one another, then they have come closer to God."

"Upon waking in the morning and upon retiring each night, Jews recite the passage from Deut. 6:4 known as the Shema...in so doing, they not only proclaim that God is One; they remind themselves that everything and everyone is connected--that it's all One."

I am amazed as Americans that most don't think about the effect our actions will have on future generations.  The fact is, whether we admit or not, we are helping create the next generation's future.  Ponder how the way you live will have an affect on those in future generations.  Your children, your grandchildren. What about five generations from now?

Quotes from Jewish Spirituality [004]

From Rabbi Menahem Nahum: "There is nothing besides the presence of God...and the presence of the Creator remains in each created thing." 

"If you handwrite a letter for a friend, you are in the letter. If you design and build a house, your presence is in that house. We are in what we make. And, because God made the whole universe, God can be found everywhere in it."

I think at this point I had a less significant posture toward creation and creativity.  We leave a part of ourselves in what we make.  I think that's what we like about great music, you can sense the author and performer's soul in it's lyrics and delivery. 

I also think the same of our words.  When you say anything, it has much more power than we give it credit for. Most of the time, especially if it's something negative, we realize how powerful they are after the fact.  The creative act is part of the Imago Dei in us, and should be respected, celebrated, and used responsibly.  God wants us to create, because it is His very nature.

Quotes from Jewish Spirituality [003]

"Perhaps the burning bush wasn't a miracle, but a test...Moses had to watch the flames long enough to realize that the branches were not being consumed and that something awesome was happening."

"Often people are physically in a place, but because they are not paying attention they might as well be somewhere else."

"Each time Jews recite a blessing, they are effectively saying, 'Pay attention. Something awesome is happening all around us."

I am becoming more convinced that God speaks much louder it the small, everyday moments than the huge ones.  The question is, "Are you paying attention?"

God, help us to see where you are moving now, in every moment, in those that seem insignificant to us.  May we see the bush not being consumed and stand in awe. Amen.

Quotes from Jewish Spirituality [002]

"People see only what they're looking for and what they understand, not necessarily what lies in front of them...How sad when something is right before your eyes, but you are asleep to it."

"Jewish spirituality invites us to wake up and open our eyes to the myriad beautiful, mysterious, and holy things happening all around us every day."

I think this gives some insight also into "praying without ceasing." (1 The. 5:17)  Do we have a posture of being aware of how God is moving all around us? Many times it is the many small things going on right now where God is screaming, or even whispering.