SBCOutpost

Transistor radios intrigued me. How could a small box capture sound waves and convert them in a way I could listen miles from the station from which they emanated? Raised the son of an engineer drove a certain curiosity that led me on more than one occasion to take one of these boxes apart. Transistors, capacitors, diodes and other “parts” comprised these little “sound boxes.” Taking them apart did not answer the questions for me. My context and background were inadequate resources.

Marty Duren, the original Outpost blogger, and Todd Wright illustrate the often inadequate resources shape the framing narrative many a young preacher/pastor learns. Since our understandings of pastoral leadership, especially in Southern Baptist life, find formulation in the churches we attend, the sub-culture in which we spend a great deal of time, or even the seminaries propagating a “way” of doing church as “the way,” there is little doubt crisis of leadership, burnout, even moral failure lie just around the corner. Stresses too great when we consider the accompanying ruler of success proffered and celebrated.

In Journeys: Transitioning Churches to Relevance Wright and Duren take us on an odyssey of self-discovery. Certainly the context is the challenge of transitioning churches, but at heart these pages are more about personal transformation. Each author writes with their ecclesial contexts in mind and assert this to be a call for a “missional ecclesiology,” a call to which I would heartily join the chorus. Yet, I find a deeper resonance. The entry point for most who dabble with things “missional” or “emerging” may well be ecclesiology. Once there the matters considered trend well below the surface and force theological considerations. When Marty notes his discovery that mission lies really in the heart of God, this matter transcends ecclesiastical structures and moves compellingly to a thorough Trinitarian understanding of the “sending God.”

I confess to reading Journeys and feeling as though Marty and Todd had been “reading my mail.” Eerily I read of books and conferences outside our tribe and, though those I read and conferences I attended were different, found comrades on my own journey even though it would be some time later before Marty and I crossed paths in an exchange on the very first Young Leader message board set up through Lifeway.

Posting this review here at the Outpost serves several purposes. First, I believe you should read Marty and Todd’s book. The recent call to abandon traditional churches because they cannot or will not change spurs some of us to say, “Wait a minute, I love these people!” Ed Stetzer recently acknowledged the church is to be a “model” but looks more like Schreck but it is still the Bride of Christ - in all its forms. Second, cathartic writing helps others who often feel no one shares their struggles. The obvious painful experiences will likely resonate widely. You will be encouraged and often think, “I know that experience.” Finally, for those who still struggle with the motive for some of we who contribute at the Outpost, in many ways Journeys describes the systemic issues we face as a denomination when it comes to leadership and the church. Few of us don’t struggle with a form that tends to celebrate the hollow and minimize the transformational. One is often accompanied with very visible results, the other accompanied by deep change.

In the end Paul’s words to the Christ-followers in Colossae that he works with all the power of God to present the church (people) mature in Christ moves us to find the farce behind the “quick fix” patches offered at many a conference. His words challenge us to think more deeply than the triteness of simply praying more and doing more. Journeys illustrates the passion of a couple of pastors to love God and people in ways that challenge the status quo. And, everyone knows we at the Outpost sure do not mind that.

Published by the good folks at Missional Press

Since the comment thread was hijacked by conversations about football and then devolved into some unrelated tit for tat I have closed comments hoping that one day we can stay on topic.

Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard and Foucault To Church (The Church and Postmodern Culture)
Baker
April 2006

Reviewed by Paul Littleton

I grew up when bumper sticker Christianity was popular. Capture some aspect of the Christian faith in a catchy phrase, stick it to the back of your car and there you have it. Except that walking with Jesus is never quite that simplistic. It’s really a reflection of the extent we’ll go to avoid deep thinking about life and faith. Our culture, and especially the popular aspects of it, thrives on selling overly simplified pictures of life. Just listen to a little Top 40 radio sometime. Brittney Spears? Jessica Simpson? Fergie? Pu-leeze.

In this little book of 146 pages James K. A. Smith hopes to get us to re-examine some of what he calls a “bumper sticker” understanding of postmodernism from a philosophical vantage point so that we truly understand what three of the most recognized postmodern philosophers are really saying. He then hopes to show us how we can take those three, Derrida, Lyotard and Foucault, to church with us – or better, how the substance of their thought can actually help a church which typically views postmodernism in an entirely negative light. Read the rest of this entry »