Waving or Drowning?

The Rich Young Ruler: Aftershock

Mike — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:15:34 -0800

(See the back story here.)

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I walked away, disoriented and staggering under the weight of what had just happened.

"Go sell everything you have, then give the proceeds to the poor."

What? How could I be expected to do this? Why would I be expected to do it? How could this Jesus be serious?

The day started off with such promise. I began the morning meeting with my bookkeeper. Together we went over the accounts, and things looked very good. The harvest this year had been exceptional, and with my extensive land holdings my financial position is very, very strong.

Leaving that meeting, I stopped to speak with some friends in the marketplace. We all agreed that the harvest had been a good one, and our conversation was animated and lighthearted, full of laughter. I did note, silently, that one or two of my friends had been a little too happy. Money can do strange things to people, and I silently thanked God that my wealth had not gone to my head.

For my entire life I have kept the Law meticulously, and I still read Torah regularly. And despite my ever-expanding business interests I have refused to cut corners on my observance of the Sabbath. How could I? I work hard, I keep the Law, and clearly God has rewarded me for my faithfulness.

Or so I thought.

And why shouldn't I have thought this way? It is not as if I am greedy. I am generous, and I always give when I am asked. Despite my growing success and wealth, I have tried my best to be humble. I have noticed with discomfort that as my fortune grew, people started to make more of a fuss over me at Temple. Still, I refuse to take the places of prominence they offer me when I attend.

And then I heard about this Jesus character. Clearly this man has been sent from God, a prophet you might say. Some even suggest that he could be the messiah we have waited so long for. I first heard him speak a few weeks ago, teaching the people, and he was intriguing. He seems to have no formal education, yet he knows the Scriptures better than any Pharisee. He speaks with such authority. His teaching is hard though, and many have dismissed him out of hand, or have abandoned him after a short while.

I was not deterred. I knew this man brought great wisdom and I wanted more. Despite all my success, all my wealth, I am not content. There has to be more to life than this. I have felt this for some time, but when I heard Jesus speak, that yearning welled up in my soul and I just could not take it any longer.

Imagine then how thrilled I was when I saw Jesus in the street this morning. It seemed like we were meant to speak together, because there were none of the usual crowds around him, just a few close friends. Here was my chance, and I could hardy contain myself as I approached this simple, extraordinary man.

And then...

That encounter had only been a few, short minutes ago, and now I don't think life will ever be the same.

Everything is in ruins.

Sell everything? All I have is a gift from God, isn't it?

Isn't it?

The Rich Young Christian

Mike — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:16:56 -0800

I was already planning to do some more thinking and writing on the Rich Young Guy this morning, so it's a little ironic that I ran across this article first:

Did Christianity Cause the Crash?
by Hanna Rosin
The Atlantic, December 2009

America’s mainstream religious denominations used to teach the faithful that they would be rewarded in the afterlife. But over the past generation, a different strain of Christian faith has proliferated—one that promises to make believers rich in the here and now. Known as the prosperity gospel, and claiming tens of millions of adherents, it fosters risk-taking and intense material optimism. It pumped air into the housing bubble. And one year into the worst downturn since the Depression, it’s still going strong.

Sell everything you own and give it to the poor, and apparently you'll get back ten times as much. I must have a bad translation. I felt a little sick as I read through the piece this morning. And as Anne Lamott likes to say, I have a feeling this is the kind of thing that makes Jesus want to drink gin out of the cat dish.

God help us.

Apples Everywhere

Mike — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:44:35 -0800

Wes & Judy Roberts have stopped in at Delta House for a very quick visit, and we remarked this morning that with them in the house there are currently 5 Macbooks (and 2 of the other kind of computer) in the house.

Sign of the times.

Count Your Blessings?

Mike — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:17:08 -0800

(Mike's Note: I wrote this a couple of days ago, and at the time I had no intention of posting it. Well, I've changed my mind. It was a unedited, free-form, stream-of-consciousness thing, so please take it in that spirit. And as always I'd appreciate your reactions.)

Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your blessings
See what God has done
Count your blessings
Name them one by one
And it will surprise you
What the Lord has done

Like me, you may have sung this chorus in Sunday School. Well, I've been thinking about it again lately. It's sugary, and it's theology-lite, but I think in some ways it's worse than that. Much worse. It promotes the blasphemy of the western gospel that positions God as a holy Santa Claus, giving gifts to all God's children--those on the list, anyway--and perhaps leaving a lump of coal, or worse, in the stockings of everyone else.

If you look at the words of the chorus again you'll see that this is not really what it says. But it's what we often think it says.

Yes, I do believe that God does bless us, but not necessarily in the ways we think. And I call this the western gospel because the developed world is the only place where this "works".

These are broad statements I'm making, but if you ask a group of western Christians how God has blessed them, I have no doubt that in the various answers you will find all of the following:

Good health
Good family
Good job
Material needs

I have many Jesus-following friends in other parts of the world--I'm thinking of Africa at the moment--who could not answer the same question the same way.

Good health? I have friends who live with HIV and AIDS. Yes, they are learning to "live positively", and yes, anti retro-viral drugs are more readily available to many of them so AIDS is no longer a death sentence. But they are not in good health and they never will be.

Good family? I have friends who have lost children, siblings, parents, or all of the above. I've met elderly women raising six, eight, ten children themselves. I've met children raising other children, the responsibilities of parenting thrust upon them by circumstances at an age when they should be playing and going to school themselves.

Good job? I have friends who cannot find work, who would travel for hours or even days just for the hope of work. I know people who have been ripped off by unscrupulous employers and have had to return home to hungry families with nothing to show for their absence.

Material needs? Now, I don't really need to go there, do I?

The thing is, these friends of mine also consider themselves to be blessed, but their lists would very likely not line up with ours at all.

I know what some of you are thinking: God blesses different people in different ways. While I agree with that statement, I do not believe that God chooses to bless people, a country, a part of the world, with material needs, and ignores the plight of so many in the rest of the world.

And yes, I know that your cousin knows a guy whose sister is married to a very wealthy man who is doing great things for God. We all know people like that, and thank God for them. God uses people with wealth just as God uses the poor, but that does not mean that wealth is a "blessing". It does not mean wealth is something we should strive for.

Look at my biblical friend, the Rich Young Guy, a wealthy man. A man who knew what the religious rules were, and followed them, well... religiously. Using our western yardsticks we probably would have considered him "blessed". He probably did to, right up until Jesus told him to sell it all and give the dough to the poor.

Jesus never said, "Blessed are the rich." He did, however, say, "Blessed are the poor."

Jesus never said be proud of the number of wealthy people on your church membership roll. However James--reportedly the brother of Jesus--said that we should show no favoritism, and furthermore that God has chosen those who the world deems as poor to actually inherit the Kingdom.

Then again, Jesus did say, "Whatever you do for the greatest of these, you do to me."

Wait a minute... I think I've got that last one wrong.

Charter for Compassion

Mike — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:14:23 -0800

I've affirmed the Charter for Compassion. Have you?

Joel Salatin

Mike — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:00:28 -0800

If you've seen Food Inc. you'll remember organic farmer Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms as one of the most articulate, thoughtful people in the film. Sojourners has posted an interview with this fascinating guy online in both audio and text.

On the audio portion Salatin was asked about the driving principle behind Polyface Farms, and he said, "Healing." I laughed when I heard that, as to me healing is just another word for redemption. I laughed harder when I turned to the web site and read this line:

We are in the redemption business: healing the land, healing the food, healing the economy, and healing the culture.

There's a little overlap, but check them both formats to hear Salatin talk about how his faith informs his actions.

Church Authority

Mike — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:30:48 -0800

Where does authority in the church come from? Real authority? Father Richard Rohr gives what I believe is the correct answer, although it would probably get you an 'F' on any seminary exam...

Why is it that Mother Teresa could stand up before crowds of thousands and simply repeat simple New Testament phrases, and blow people away?!

She didn’t say anything new: “Jesus loves you,” she assured us. “We’re sons and daughters of God and we have to love Jesus’ poor.” Yet people walked out renewed, transformed and converted.

She wasn’t a priest. She wasn’t well-educated. Her authority came from her life-style and her pure goodness.

Servanthood with basic holiness is the true basis of authority in the Church, much more than title, vestment, office, or ordination. It has the authority of Jesus himself.

Adapted from Radical Grace: Daily Meditations, pp. 384-385
(Source: The Spiritual Family and the Natural Family)

Oh Can't You See What Love Has Done

Mike — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:45:22 -0800

I've been thinking a lot about love lately, which brought me back to this song, and the memory when I heard it this past summer for the first time in a long while.

It was another one of Those Moments When You Know You're Alive. Sitting in the terminal in Johannesburg, waiting for a flight out after a very profound three weeks in South Africa. I was reflecting on my time there, time with Tom Smith and his family and friends, the Amahoro Gathering, and a week hanging out with new friends in Cosmo City.

I was just about to burst with the joy and sorrow of it all, when these words came over the sound system:

The shackles are undone
The bullets quit the gun
The heat that's in the sun
Will keep us when there's none
The rule has been disproved
The stone it has been moved
The grave is now a groove
All debts are removed, ooh

Oh can't you see what love has done
Oh can't you see what love has done
Oh can't you see what love has done
What it's doing to me

Love makes strange enemies
Makes love when love may please
Soul in a strip tease
Hate brought to its knees
The sky over our head
You can reach it from our bed
If you let me in your heart
And out of my head

Oh can't you see what love has done
Oh can't you see what love has done
Oh can't you see what love has done
What it's doing to me

Please don't ever let me out of here

I've got no shame

Oh can't you see what love has done
Oh can't you see
Oh can't you see what love has done
What it's doing to me

Oh I know I hurt you and I made you cry
Did everything but murder you and I
But love left a window in the skies
And to love I rhapsodize

Oh can't you see what love has done to every broken heart
Oh can't you see what love has done for every heart that cries
Love left a window in the skies
And to love I rhapsodize

Oh can't you see

Still More Thoughts on The Rich Young Ruler, Again...

Mike — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:33:02 -0800

It's no secret that the Rich Young Ruler (an outdated identifier, but nonetheless...) is one of my favorite Biblical characters. (Actually, 'favorite' is the wrong term. The fact is this guy scares me to death. But regardless, he is someone we simply cannot ignore. There is far too much going on in this interaction between Jesus and the man.)

You probably know the story. (I particularly love the way Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message.) This guy has done it all right. He knows the Law, and he has kept it meticulously his whole life, or so he believes. By that yardstick he already has the answer to his question, but there is more. Scripture tells us that Jesus looked at him and loved him. Such a curious statement! We're left to speculate, but I imagine that Jesus saw his heart, his sincerity, and perhaps his desire for more than just rules and regulations. Something deeper. And again, the specifics are not lined out for us, but I'd suggest that Jesus knew that the man's wealth was a trap, an anchor that would lock him in place and keep him from transforming into the life of "more" that he desired.

Sell everything you have and give the money to the poor. Then, come follow me.

Like it or not, here in the west we are all rich young rulers, and that is the lens we view this passage through. And that stands to reason; that is who the story is about, and he is in fact the only character in it. "The poor" in this exchange is some nameless, faceless entity. This entity simply serves the greater purpose of separating this man from his wealth, or so we believe.

Let me point out the obvious and suggest this is only half of the story.

This thought occurred to me yesterday. I had written about Mercy and Bill, and this got me thinking again about the incredible work that my friend Edward and his church community are doing in Kenya, hampered, of course, by a chronic shortage of funds. I thought about friends in Burundi, suffering with the same monetary affliction. I thought about the friend I will write about soon, a man with an incredible story, a pastor's heart, a vision for the youth of Burundi, and the constant worry of simply keeping a roof over his wife's head.

The lyrics of the Bare Naked Ladies hit If I Had A Million Dollars kept running through my head as I thought about these friends. If ten thousand, one hundred thousand, even one million dollars were to fall into my lap tomorrow I know exactly how I would spend it.

And then it occurred to me: These friends of mine--and the people they work with and for--they are the nameless, faceless poor in this passage. Except that they are anything but nameless and faceless. I know their names, I see their faces, and I ache for who they are and what they want to do.

Because we see this passage through our wealthy western eyes, the story is all about the the rich guy. His money, should he have chosen to obey Jesus, would have simply disappeared. But when I look at the other side of the story through the eyes of my friends, things look very different. Imagine how things would have improved for the poor who would have received the proceeds of the rich guy's giant garage sale.

We sometimes view this challenge of Jesus to the man as simply that; a test, a final hoop that he must jump through in order to get eternal life. But what if we have that all wrong?

What if it would have been through the very act itself, the transfer of wealth from the one who has more than enough to the many who lack, that the man would have been transformed, and the Kingdom of God would have been expanded and strengthened? What if it was as much about the poor receiving the funds as it was about the wealthy man giving them?

Too Much Stuff (The Double Entendre)

Mike — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:48:49 -0800

I try not to collect too much because having stuff takes more time than you think. But then again sometimes it's good to stay busy.

Brian Andreas, StoryPeople.com

What Do You See?

Mike — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:00:22 -0800

Erin pointed me to this yesterday, from John Isaacs. Seems like an appropriate follow-up to my previous post.

Africa Revisited - Mercy & Bill

Mike — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:38:49 -0800

(Where I share some of my African experiences with you from my two trips/five weeks/South Africa, Burundi and Kenya visits this past year.)

The air is thick and musty, and I think I might cry.

This holy moment starts as Daniel, Pete, Edward and I walk from our guest house to the outskirts of Kibera, in Nairobi, Kenya. As we pass through the local market my senses are overloaded with the sights, sounds and smells. Colourful fruits and vegetables are everywhere. Clothing of every description and quality. Spices. Muzungos (white people) are not common here, so the three of us get a lot of looks. Mostly smiles, but a few frowns. One enterprising brother does his best to sell me some Marlboros.

Just like our own Downtown Eastside here in Vancouver, the simple act of crossing a street marks our entry into Kibera. A huge crowd is gathered on on the field that passes for a soccer pitch, watching a dj and dancers up on an elaborate stage. Edward tells us that it's Nestle, here flogging their instant hot chocolate, or instant coffee, or some other damn crap they've produced to sell to the world's poor. (I don't like Nestle.)

Somehow Edward spots Bill in the crowd and he greets us, polite but reserved. Bill and his wife Mercy attend Edward's church, but Mercy has been very sick for some time. Bill has met us here to walk us in for a visit. Edward knows Kibera very well, and even he doesn't trust his ability to find their home in this maze of humanity. Approximately a million and a half people living within a couple of square kilometers.

We walk quickly, plotting our course through the dirt and mud, stepping or jumping over the little streams of putrid liquid that cross our path at regular intervals. We're passing through a "commercial" section of Kibera, and most of the shacks we pass are small businesses. Food, clothing, shoes and services. Need something welded? You can get it done here. Edward estimates that perhaps half of the residents are employed elsewhere in the city, so they leave to work, but everything else happens right here.

The children become animated when they see us. Muzungos are not often seen this deep into Kibera, and Daniel's blond hair is causing quite a stir. Two greetings from the kids are standard: First, the relatively common "Muzungo", usually accompanied by pointing and laughing, and the phrase, "How are you", with a particular rolling of the "r". It's delivered as a statement, not a question. It's just what you say to muzungos. (I learned early in my Africa experience not to tell them how I was, but instead to respond, "How are you" back, which often reduces the kids to fits of laughter.)

We continue to follow Bill, turning corners and passing through gates until I am convinced that I would never find my way out of here. I smile at Edward and I sense he knows exactly what I'm thinking. "This is why I had Bill meet us," and he laughs.

Finally, one last little "yard" with a few stalks of maize growing out of dirt that is more garbage than soil, one last gate, and we are at Bill's door. He welcomes us to his home and we stoop to walk through the door.

The structure is made of mud bricks, which create a dark environment. Two or three clear light bulbs hang from wires and fight to bring light to the space. The room is divided by sheets hung from the tin ceiling, and there are photos and prints hanging on the walls. This is their home, and despite the sparseness we can tell there is a lot of love here. A couple of younger children and three teenage girls, one carrying a baby, come out from behind the sheets and greet us as Bill invites us to sit on two small couches. The girls align themselves on a bench against one of the walls. Bill disappears for a moment then reappears again, helping Mercy into an arm chair.

She looks very sick. Her eyes are watery, and she is coughing a lot. I take her extended hand as she welcomes us into her home, and I feel like I could crush her frail hand if I'm not careful.

Edward asks Mercy about her health, and she responds at length in Swahili. As she answers I hear two English words clearly and repeatedly: Malaria, and typhoid. As she talks I can see what little energy she has literally drain from her face. When she stops talking she stares off at nothing.

Edward translates for us. Six months ago Mercy contracted malaria, which is a frequent occurrence for our friends here. When she didn't respond to the usual treatment they worried that she had typhoid, and had her tested.

Tuberculosis.

For a brief instant, to my shame, I think about the handshake. And the coughing. And a million others things. Then, as I gaze around the room and then look into Mercy's eyes, I feel incredible peace. This moment isn't about me, and I have the strange sense that even if I leave with a TB bug lodged in a lung somewhere, it will be a small price to pay for the privilege of sitting in this place, with these people, at this moment.

I'm not romanticizing poverty, trust me. No doubt Bill and Mercy would jump at the chance to raise their children in a better environment, and I want the same for them. It is just such a sacred moment for reasons that I know I will never understand.

Mercy is spent from our visit, and as we prepare to leave Edward asks me to pray. I've been praying and "saying a word" all over Nairobi so I'm not surprised, but this is different. Even as I stumble through some words, I know that what I say doesn't really matter. I pray for this family, for this home, and for health. Mostly I just hold this precious family in the light. God knows what they need better than I do, and my praying is simply an act of agreement with God's desires for them. As I finish, Mercy looks me in the eye and squeezes my hand, silently thanking me.

It's time to go. Back through the maze, back to our guesthouse, ultimately back home.

I think about Mercy and Bill often. As I write this I'm sitting by the gas fireplace in my local Starbucks, sipping on a tea misto (with vanilla), scribbling in my Moleskine journal, earbuds in place. Mercy and Bill live in the real world, while I am back in the Matrix. I hope to see Bill and Mercy again in 2010, to be present with friends once again, and to die a little more to myself, God willing.

Fireflies - Owl City

Mike — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:24:47 -0800

We've been under a bit of stress here at Delta House for a while now, and we've discovered that jigsaw puzzles are great therapy. Minimum 1000 pieces, of course. Stress in your community? Call a meeting, and bring a puzzle.

Anyway, we usually do our puzzling to tunes, and this little ditty has become a favorite here. Introduced to us by Sarah, it's now unanimous. We love it. I can't explain it folks, I just report it.

The embedding has been disabled on YouTube, but no bother, you can watch a higher res version at Last FM anyway. Click on the image below and get to humming.

Metanoia

Mike — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:13:06 -0800

The Greek word metanoia, usually translated “repent,” quite literally means to “change your mind,” to turn around and operate differently. Given that, it is rather amazing that Christian history has largely become a protection of the status quo—through its complicity with war, the upper classes in most of its history, and with people who do not like change at all. You would have thought Jesus had said “stay the same” instead of “change”!

(Fr. Richard Rohr, Fall 2009)

Advent Conspiracy 2.0

Mike — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:40:25 -0800

The good people at Advent Conspiracy, which I talked briefly about here, have got a new video out:

Non-Violence and The Middle East

Mike — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:57:50 -0800

In January I'll be spending some time in Israel and Palestine, so a couple of items in the latest Sojourners email caught my eye as I finally got around to reading it this morning.

First was the header quote:

Nonviolence is our most powerful weapon. If they cannot accuse us of terrorism, they cannot stop us. The world will support us.
- Mohammed Khatib, secretary of the Bilin, West Bank, village council, referred to as "a modern-day Gandhi" whose nonviolent resistance, in cooperation with Israeli peace activists, has earned him arrests, beatings, and death threats by Israeli forces -- as well as modest legal victories, which have yet to be enforced, to change the Israeli separation barrier's route through his village's lands. (Source: Los Angeles Times)

And then there was this story:

Video: Jon Stewart Interviews Jewish American and Palestinian Nonviolence Advocates
by Brian McLaren 10-30-2009

Jon Stewart courageously hosted an American Jewish woman (Anna Baltzer) and a Palestinian political leader (Mustafa Barghouti) who are working across lines of conflict for peace, through nonviolent means. There’s a “Joe Wilson” moment when a heckler shouts out … Here’s the extended/uncut version in two parts.

Canadians are relegated to what looks like the edited version of the interview here.

I'm looking forward to educating myself more on the subject prior to my trip in a couple months.

Jesus' Love Commands Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Mike — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:59:53 -0800

In my last couple of talks I've been working through some thoughts on love, so I figured I'd throw them out here and benefit from your thoughts on the subject.

First there's the obvious.

Jesus said the two commands "love God and love your neighbour" tied together everything the Jews had been living for and under for thousands of years. (Matthew 22:34-40, etc.) He then raised the ante. Love your neighbours? Ha! I'm telling you that you should love your enemies! (Matthew 5:43,44, etc.)

It seems to me there's a location, or a positioning element to this:

Love your neighbour --- Love those closest to you.
Love your enemies --- Love those furthest from you.

I don't think it's a stretch to tie these two together, and arrive at the conclusion that we are simply to love everybody. That certainly makes it simple--in theory--and relieves us of the awesome task of figuring out who we should love and who we shouldn't. Love everybody.

[Obviously we could stop right there and spend time contemplating how so many 'Bible-believing Christians' could be pro-war, pro-violence, etc., when that very same Bible records the words of Jesus, who admonishes us to bless those who persecute us, but I digress...]

Next, lets build on this idea of love and look at what must be one of the most commonly ignored teachings of Jesus. He said the greatest demonstration of this love is to give your life for another. (John 15:13) Of course, we know this intuitively. Aren't we moved by the hero on the big screen who takes a bullet for his buddy? It turns out this is biblical.

That verse is heavy enough, but it's actually sandwiched between two others that make it impossible for us to rationalize it away.

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.' (15:12)

Commandment. Not suggestion, but commandment. In other words, this is what is expected of us. Then, we must ask the question, "How did Jesus love us?" That one is easy. He loved us to death. This wasn't just loose talk from Jesus, he practiced what he preached and walked the walk all the way to the cross.

'You are my friends if you do what I command you.' (15:14)

Well that's fairly clear. This is what it means to follow Jesus. Those of us from the evangelical side of the street tend to avoid these if/then kinds of statements, even when they come from Jesus, as they tend to conflict with our sense of entitlement vis-a-vis unmerited grace.

Another thought strikes me as I think about this passage. Sure, love everybody, but there's no need to get carried away, right Jesus? How much love is good enough? I mean, when is enough, enough?

Apparently the answer to that question is, "When you die trying. That's enough."

To Jesus, love is potentially life-threatening.

Potentially life-threatening love. That's a phrase I'm going to use a lot.

Of course, I'm listening to the Black Eyed Peas lament Where Is The Love? as I write this.

People killing, people dying
Children hurt and you hear them crying
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek
Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questioning
Where is the love?

Thoughts, friends?

Entertainment vs. Worship

Mike — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:21:43 -0800

More outstanding Stanley Hauerwas goodness from The Work Of The People. Travis and Steve just keep putting out fantastic material.

Advent Conspiracy

Mike — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:39:13 -0800

Here's the brief review I just put up on Amazon for Advent Conspiracy: Can Christmas Still Change the World? In short, it's an outstanding book.

You must admit, it’s a pretty interesting way to celebrate the birth of Jesus. God chose to enter the world through the poor, to be poor, and we mark this earth-shattering event by spending billions on stuff that we generally don’t need.

The good people at Advent Conspiracy ask the question, “Are you tired of how consumerism has stolen the soul of Christmas?” I am. I’m also tired of how it steals the soul of God’s Church, and how it threatens to steal my own soul. Joining the Advent Conspiracy is a good way to fight back. In simple but piercing and powerful language this book looks at the need to Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, and Love All. One could be forgiven for thinking that perhaps this is not just about Christmas, but about the Gospel of Jesus itself. But, let’s start with Christmas.

Starting with a brief history of how the Advent Conspiracy started, and excellent real-life examples of how others are living this out, this book will change your life if you let it.

Here's the fantastic video promo:

If I could buy a case of these, I would, and it just might turn out to be the only gift I give this Christmas.

Link to the Advent Conspiracy site.

Is Christianity Too Political: Postscript

Mike — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:58:53 -0800

A few folks who obviously have too much time on their hands have asked me about my talk from a few weeks back, Is Christianity Too Political? It's based, very loosely, on the chapter Too Political? from unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity... and Why It Matters.

If you're curious as to how I deal with the question, you can find the video of the talk here. As always, feedback appreciated.

(Thanks again to Santosh for letting me mess with his community.)