Chandler’s quoting Eugene Peterson, he who created the much vilified paraphrase “The Message” and who most recently endorsed The Shack with a glowing comparison to Pilgrim’s Progress. Suffice it to say you won’t read a lot of Peterson quotes at 9 Marks or hear his name dropped at Together for the Gospel. Classic mainline liberal, fiery prophet of learning from Dickinson and poets no one can pronounce, renegade translator of the original languages into even more original language, a curmudgeon who lives in Montana and doesn’t answer the phone, unapologetic advocate of “spiritual direction” and “contemplation,” and without question the most passionate advocate of the role of the classic Protestant pastor and the most fearsome critic of whatever it is that passes for a pastor today.

Chandler was reading from page 5 of the most underlined book in my library, Peterson’s nuclear attack on the contemporary re-invention of the pastor, Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity. If you think you are a pastor or might want to be, this book cannot be avoided.

I’ve read every word of Peterson that I can beg, buy, borrow or steal. I discovered him in the original IVP Long Obedience In The Same Direction, and then couldn’t stop. I’ve read Five Smooth Stones. If you have read that one, you can drink coffee with me anywhere.

In 1987, I was a young church staff member with a burning desire to preach, convinced that once people heard me they would melt like butter. Peterson took pastoral ambition and its contemporary manifestations in entrepreneurial and therapeutic garb to the bombing range, tied them down and proceeded to drop explosives for 130 pages. When he was finished, I never- never, never, ever- looked at a pastor the same way again.

You can complain that Peterson’s model of the pastorate is too Catholic, isn’t evangelistic, turns the pastor into a spiritual director, doesn’t match up with the pace of modern life, won’t work in the megachurch (oh my….you have to keep reading Peterson till you get there) and is just a reflection of his personality. I’ll tell you that Peterson is one of the few writers with the courage to keep his eye on the ball and tell the team exactly why they can’t play the game, even if they can point to a big score.

Peterson is closing his writing career with a series of books on Spirituality, The Bible and Discipleship. All are worthwhile. Whoever finds Peterson has found one of the true spiritual masters of our age. He’s PCUSA. His views on the controversial issues of the day probably wouldn’t be popular. He’s a contrarian with a massive burden for Jesus shaped people and pastors. But he speaks to everyone who’s teachable about what it means to be a pastor. Acquire his books and be torn down and built up.

A few words on Matt Chandler. I’ve listened to Chandler for several years and I notice a few things.

This is not one of those guys who shows any plans to join anyone’s club. He says he’s a Calvinist and he quickly says he doesn’t want to be known as one.

He is not anyone’s drooling fanboy, though he’s obviously appreciative of others.

He does not tolerate a cult of personality by looking like he doesn’t notice, all the while liking it. I’ve rarely heard anyone as severe on that aspect of the current evangelical scene.

He isn’t educated and he doesn’t play his church growth and preaching success as proving education doesn’t matter. (I do believe he can be a much better preacher with some academic study of the Bible, but neither God nor Matt asked for my opinion.)

His focus on the Gospel isn’t shorthand for a focus on Calvinism or Reformed theology. There is no reformed winking or nodding.

He genuinely struggles with the issues of multi-site success and a growing mega-church.

He understands the dynamics of hero-worship and ministerial celebrity that are flooding into evangelicalism today. He understands the dark side of technology. He convinces me he fears the potential damage and corruption.

He unashamedly built a large part of his church’s ministry on a Rick Warren program, Celebrate Recovery (lately evolved to their own version.)

In preaching, he cuts it to fit, not to entertain.

He may not be all about Peterson, but he gets Peterson’s critique of the contemporary minister and it is burning inside him.

I don’t think he will have a bobblehead anytime soon.

I don’t think he reads these kinds of posts.

His preaching style can be odd, even uncomfortably revivalistic, but you know there will be the real deal at the core of it all.

If there is someone out there who seems to defy most of the stereotypes, it’s Chandler.

I won’t ruin his life by saying I like him, but you ought to.

You don’t have to live in this kind of humiliation. IVP has published the Pocket Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship by Brett Scott Provance, a wonderfully comprehensive resource that won’t cost you a semester’s tuition and will provide you with all the liturgical information you need to actually know what your Anglican and Lutheran friends are talking about when they say “rubric.”

Just this morning I brought the book with me to breakfast, where my friend Joe asked me what the Ave Maria actually was. Right there in the Pocket Dictionary was a fine article with the lyrics and a complete explanation. Perfect. And that is the case with over 600 terms, persons and pieces of liturgical history.

The Dictionary is balanced between Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Orthodox and Protestant/Evangelical traditions. Some of the articles are quite substantial. It’s a superb resource for the IM audience and I highly recommend it for you or as a gift for that person you know who is seeking to get out of their own liturgical box into the broader, deeper, more ancient church.

I’m glad IVP gave me this book to review, because now I’m one of three Baptists who can identify a baldachino.

Let me begin by saying that I did not receive a review copy of The Lutheran Study Bible, though I probably could have. Like the ESV Study Bible, I bought my own copy from the publisher. I’m open to bribes, kickbacks and rental, but in this instance, it didn’t happen.

Concordia Publishing has now completed what I think is a rather extraordinary collection of books for those interested in historic, orthodox Lutheran spirituality: The Reader’s Edition of the Lutheran Confessions, The Treasury of Daily Prayer, The Lutheran Service Book (I’d love to have someone donate ten of these to our ministry) and now The Lutheran Study Bible. I know of no other tradition that has accomplished anything remotely like this in such a usable form and in a way that can introduce anyone- clergy or layperson- to the riches of the Lutheran version of the Reformation and the Lutheran approach to spirituality.

It is ironic then, that I have to say at the outset that outside of existing Lutheranism, it’s doubtful that large numbers of evangelicals will ever seen these resources without asking for them on special order. I am sure that large bookstores will have the occasional volume here and there, but unless one is within Lutheranism, on a Lutheran campus, visits a Concordia store, listens to Lutheran radio or friendly confessional internet programming, these resources will never be known.

It would be interesting if any non-Lutherans on the web will even be given the opportunity to review these resources by receiving review copies? Will Concordia buy advertising on any non-Lutheran blogs? How about larger Christian media like Relevant magazine, Modern Reformation or even the White Horse Inn?

Which goes to the heart of a growing frustration I have Lutheranism: With the dominance of the reformed camp in the Christian blogosphere and much of conservative evangelicalism public voice, there has never been a time the Gospel-centric, church-formed-around-the-Gospel/Sacraments, focused, classical, catholic, reformational, law and Gospel voice of Lutheranism was needed more.

The imbalances of the current versions of resurgent Calvinism are more and more obvious all the time. The beating heart of our life and message is Jesus and justification, not sovereignty and election. It is the free offer to all, not the efficient offer to the elect, that needs to be clearly heard now. It is all of scripture as law and Gospel that needs to be filling the church. Reformed Baptists are ascending at just the time that Lutheranism’s view of the Christian life is most needed. If you do not know the difference, then make that a project.

How many Calvinists cite Bondage of the Will as virtually a Calvinist text, having no idea that Luther rejected the rest of the TULIP?

Lutheranism is attracting more and more evangelical converts who do not struggle with issues of Lutheran ethnic identity or denominational purity. (If I hear one more prideful Lutheran denominationalist say they alone have “the pure Gospel,” I’m going to break things.) When an evangelical hears Rod Rosenbladt or Craig Parton or the God Whisperers they realize they are hearing something substantial, but those same evangelicals are by and large convinced that the “Lutheran” label means an insurmountable accumulation of the very things most evangelicals want to avoid or leave behind.

I am not talking about evangelicals who want Lutherans to go ablaze with megachurch tactics. No, I am talking evangelicals who…

1) Need and want to be taught the significance of liturgy.
2) Are not attracted to denominationalism as a primary label. (Secondary is another matter.) Show me your Nicene Creed first please.
3) Want their attraction to the eucharist to be met with an affirmation of their own Christian profession, not a denouncement of their evangelical journey and ignorance. In other words, while someone is on the way, be kind.
4) Want to have worship with intentional depth and seriousness in worship, not just something old and familiar to the regular residents. They like what they see, maybe more than some Lutherans (and Anglicans, etc) like it themselves.
5) Want leaders committed to missional outreach and evangelical, Gospel-centered ecumenism. Evangelicals aren’t attracted to your tradition to become less interested in evangelism and missions.

So whether you are talking about incredibly useful books or the entire tradition, there is a point at which Lutherans have to say, “We want to get this out to evangelicals. We want to build the bridge. We want to say we have something worthy reading and looking into…and we are willing to go the extra mile to get it to you.”

So what about The Lutheran Study Bible?

It’s not your ESV Study Bible and I can say that if you own both, there’s little overlap past the text, maps, concordance and very basic materials.

The LSB is full of things that aren’t in the ESVSB. Fewer essays and articles. More material scattered throughout the text, but not the “usual” study Bible kinds of “helps.” Trust me, they are quite unique.

Most impressive? The notes contain extensive theological reflections on Law and Gospel, the sacraments, the church and the Trinity. These are much more devotional and less purely technical. There are extensive quotes and references from the Church Fathers, Luther, Lutheran reformers, classic works of church history and contemporary Lutheran works, including excellent recent commentaries. It’s a wealth in information and a much greater variety in intention and kind than any other study Bible.

This is a preacher’s Bible at more levels than the exegetical. It’s theological, practical, devotional and historical, as well as exegetical.

The helps are sometimes similar to the ESVSB, but others, like the essay on Law and Gospel, are quite unique. The maps and illustrations are not done as well as the ESVSB.

The hardback I have is similar in size to the Treasury of Daily Prayer. IOWs, it’s more of a square book. Very solid 2,000 pages.

The ESV text seems to be in slightly larger, more readable print than my other study Bibles. Those awful red letters are there, of course. The references are extensive, but not overwhelming. The introductions are….Lutheran, and very well done. Again, not duplicating other study Bibles. They are keyed to Lutheran and reformation interest in the Bible, especially thematically. There’s a constant focus on how all of scripture stresses Justification, Law/Gospel and salvation of God’s people by grace.

I’m enjoying getting to know my LSB a great deal, but why does it have “Lutheran” Study Bible on the cover? Why not “The Holy Scriptures: Lutheran Study edition” or something that doesn’t imply “For Lutherans only?” (Oh I know, but tell it to the people seeing it on the shelf who aren’t Lutheran. Why would they pick it up? Do you pick up “The Charismatic Study Bible?”

I’m sure I’ve made everyone mad, but this study Bible is a fine achievement alongside the other amazing pieces of the “Lutheran Spirituality and Worship Toolbox.”

Thanks to New Reformation Press, Pirate Christian Radio, Issues, Etc and others who are doing a great job changing the Lutheran presence in the wider evangelical culture. May they have every success. If NRP get the LSB in soon, buy it from them.

Anyone listening?

Deep Church seeks to examine a third way between the traditional and emerging camps, a way Belcher has discovered in his own journey from early years as an emerging church advocate to more recent experience as a PCA church planter. The narrative- and this book is just as more narrative as teaching- is a fascinating one, as Belcher doesn’t hesitiate to name names and to characterize positions bluntly and honestly. If anyone can be said to attempt an impartial moderation of the emerging/traditional divide in evangelicalism, it is Belcher.

It is, however, my opinion that Belcher’s book, despite a valiant attempt to be impartial, amounts to a thorough revelation of the failure of the emerging church to offer an answer for evangelicalism, and a clarion call to the position this web site has taken for most of its history: the post-evangelical appropriation of the the great tradition; the wisdom of the broader, deeper more ancient church, in meeting the evangelical challenge today. A chastened, invigorated traditionalism, re-rooted in deeper, better soil and paying attention to the younger voices and cultural changes, is the better evangelical future.

Over and over, Belcher returns to Nicene level confessionalism and ecclesiology as the practical answer for the issues raised by the emergers and the failures of recent evangelicalism. He affirms the centered nature of the church over the attempt to nail down a bounded identity, and he rejects the “belief before belonging” model that has forced contemporary conservative evangelicals into a position of defensiveness and exclusion. Belcher sees congregtionalism at its best facilitating the movement that Jesus himself initiates and sustains, a movement that allows vulnerability and inclusion within lowered boundaries of theological affirmation while working toward committed congregationalism and meaningful confessionalism for disciples involved in ministry.

Belcher’s version of the church takes the agitation and questions of the emerging movement and combines them with the ancient wisdom, pragmatic realism and more culture-savvy approach of the ancient church. Within the respect for structures and boundaries of the traditional church, Belcher suggests and illustrates how to build a church worthy of the concept of “Mere Christianity/Deep Church” that Lewis talked about.

Belcher is not a polemicist, and his measured responses to some of what he discovers in the emerging quarter and among the truly reformed underplays the seriousness of what is discovered. But Belcher has grasped what many of us have been hoping for: this is not an either/or discussion any more. It is a matter of evangelicalism’s future.

I was especially interested in how Belcher discovered, by way of church conflict, the good aspects of having a denomination: Not to tell you what to do or believe as much as to provide a team to help and provide back-up when times are difficult. Denominations in evangelicalism might be surprised how their image can change when they are coming to the rescue and not providing reasons for embarrassment or abandonment.

There are jewels galore in this book. It’s careful, wise, well-written and I believe essential for this stage in the evangelical journey. What’s it’s not is the last word in the battle between Tony Jones and John Macarthur. It is, thankfully, a book everyone who resonates with post-evangelicalism needs to read. Belcher’s refusal to join a team and commitment to learn from others provides a remarkable backdrop where Nicene “Mere” Christianity never looked better or more practical.

This is a “must-read” on the bookshelf of any church planter or missional-minded evangelical.

One note: If you are an RSS reader of this blog and you haven’t resubscribed to the feed since we redid the front page, that’s why you only get the short version in Google reader. Re-subscribe and you’ll be a happier person.

Someone wrote me and said they’d heard of a book I might like. I said can you get me a copy. They said it wasn’t published. They contacted the author, who had the publisher send me a pdf, which I’ve been reading on my ipod Touch for a couple of weeks. The book arrived today.

It’s Jesus Girls: True Tales of Growing Up Female and Evangelical, edited by Hannah Faith Notess. It is part of a series called Experiences in Evangelicalism and is published by Cascade Books, an imprint of Wipf and Stock. Mars Hill Graduate School (not associated with Driscoll, etc) is involved somehow.

There are 22 authors, 22 essays in the broad categories of community, worship, education, sex and identity. Actually, the essays are more precise than those categories, covering topics like testimonies, ordination, end of the world fever, church splits, dating, abortion, feminism, quiet times, Christian music and many other aspects of the recent evangelical experience.

The writing is a bit uneven, and several of the essays should have been longer, but the overall product is excellent. I was captivated by many of them. This is one of those books that is so full of truth and the way reality actually feels and happens that many in the IM audience will find it a great read.

Of course, the main benefit of the book is that it is women doing the talking for a change, and not just talking about the three approved topics of submission, parenting and being a good pastor’s wife. No, these are women telling us all what it feels like to have male teachers in Christian schools say it’s your fault boys are looking at your chest. (Oh yeah, I’ve heard that one plenty of times.) These are women talking about the dark side of evangelical dating and the pure weirdness of the Stepford-esque seminars on marriage many evangelical young people are put through. (”Always let the man pick out what you will be eating….”) These are women talking about the quiet time Olympics (a phenomenon that has impacted my family deeply) and the experience of making up a fictitious testimony for the applause of youth group audiences. (Ahem. I’ve been complaining about this for years, and now I have proof!!)

I have to tell you this is fresh stuff, and it’s provocative. You’ll wish there were 50 essays in this book and that all of them were longer. The experience of the evangelical family is there is all its good and not so good, as is the common experiences of church going during the post Jesus-movement era. This is our world and it’s our stories. But it’s not men saying what should be. It is women saying what is.

This is the kind of book that all the right people will dislike and ignore. I highly recommend it for every man out there, and I hope it gets major exposure in Christian publishing. It deserves a very wide hearing, simply because it’s true. Complex, sad, bittersweet, funny, painful and true.

If you are an evangelical woman thinking “Am I the only one who ever feels this way or ever has this experience?” then this book will be an unforgettable experience.

Amazon doesn’t have it yet, but it is available from the publisher.

We’re all dying and we’re all going to care for the dying. Do you notice? Some people are going through a world of death, one day at a time, and all alone.
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Richard Dawkins vs Karen Armstrong. Anyone want to tell Dawkins that God doesn’t exist in the universe? This is why CS Lewis said Pantheism is so attractive. See Michael Dowd, Thank God For Evolution, for that option.
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Almost done with revisions of the book. One more go through and a bit more writing, but I’m seeing the finish line. It’s possible I’ll be done before I go to South Carolina the end of the month. If you don’t listen to the podcast, I will be at DaySpring Community Mennonite Church in Sally, South Carolina Sept 26-27, teaching the Gospel of Mark. Then vacation in Charleston for a few days.
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I’m on a mad crusade to eat tuna salad. I can’t get enough. Good recipes, sources, seasoning etc are welcome. Current version: Mayo, shot of Dijon mustard, bit of onion, sweet pickle. Black olives if I have them.
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Met a fellow who reads the web site. First question was did I know Tim Challies. I wonder if Challies gets the reverse question? I guess it’s logical that bloggers know each other, which many of us do, but not in a normal way. Hard to explain.
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My book has lost its title. Yes, “Jesus shaped spirituality” will be all over the book, but it won’t be the title. The people who know more about this than I do want a title that’s more representative of what I’m all about as a writer. I have to agree that JSS sounded like something from parts of the bookstore I wouldn’t visit. So we’re going to get more “bite;” more edge. I have submitted a new one. We’ll see how it goes. “Southern Cooking” will be fine with me. I just want it to do well. Maybe so well that I can think about being able to do more writing, along with part time ministry, as a career. But that’s a ways off, at least for now.
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Thanks to an IM friend who sent me almost every book written by C.J. Sansom. Very gracious of you.
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It is frightening to realize to what an extent twitter and facebook change your concept of reality. Suddenly, HERE is what other people are thinking and doing. I’m considering dropping a number of twitter feeds that are making me feel my life is a worthless failure. I’m not joking. It’s not bragging, exactly, but the selected aspects of life that are featured- all the good stuff, none of the struggles, doubts- is messing with me.
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Just finished reading Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley. One of the best reading experiences this year. Couldn’t put it down. You can find reviews everywhere. (This one at the NYT has many nice features, like an audio slideshow.) If you are a person who has lost both parents- as Buckley did in one year- then you’ll find this book a true friend. And that’s what it is: true. True to the human journey. True to the comi-tragic difficulties. True to our feelings. And truly humane. It’s funny, sad, wise, sweet, rich, thoughtful and spiritual. Buckley is an atheist, but his father was a devout Catholic. I wish I could point to Christian writers who can write this sort of thing with the light, poignant touch of Buckley, but I can’t. And that is part of why we don’t seem to be really human. When we talk about human experience, we have all the required Christian rhetoric that must be used. We sound artificial. Many of us probably are. We don’t want to entertain much reality because we’d wind up entertaining our doubts. Our faith is propped up and we don’t want too strong a wind to blow. So we excuse ourselves from the human conversation and keep to ourselves.

And then we say people don’t want to know Jesus because they love their sin and hate God. Maybe we should consider what we have done to show what it means to love God and live with Jesus. If we could stand the honesty.

Get the book. It’s a wonder and a quick read.

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Andrew Marin left me with several take-aways through his book, Love is an Orientation. The most important was helping me see GLBT people as real people with real struggles, rather than as the enemy. As I read Andrew’s description of the account of John, who at avery young age realized he was attracted to other boys and asked God repeatedly to take the attraction away, I was able to actually imagine myself in John’s shoes. I remember what it was like to come of age and deal with confusing opposite-gender sexual feelings that I had never experienced before. To add the complication of same gender attraction on top of that already confusing time would have been too much to bear. Compassion has to be the foundation of any evangelical’s discussions with the GLBT community. This realization hit home to me in a very personal way. I had a gay roomate during my freshman year at a conservative evangelical university. When I discovered his sexual orientation, my attitude towards him changed and I was far from compassionate compassionate towards him. Even after I learned the facts about childhood sexual abuse he experienced, I isolated myself from him and basically cut off the relationship. I wish I could go back and re-do the way I treated him.  I wish I could have seen him as a broken creation of God, just like me, who desired to be in a right relationship with his creator (I happen to know he did desire this).
 
The second major takeaway is simply the concept of seeking to build bridges rather than de-homosexualize people. We have to realize that, regardless of whether same-sex attraction is genetic or environmental, the attraction is not a choice. So it is counter productive to start our discussions with the GLBT community with our arguments about why they should not be the way they are, even if we believe very strongly in our reasons. Our starting point with the GLBT community should be the same starting point that it would be with any other person or group: that God loves them and wants to have a relationship with them, and therefore we love them and want to have a relationship with them. Andrew makes the point throughout the book that our job is to love GLBT people and to help them see how they can have a relationship with Christ, and that we should leave any changing that needs to take place up to God. I found myself throughout the book wanting to jump ahead and say “but how does fellowship work with openly gay people who become christians…or what about standing up for biblical truth…or what about…”. But I think Andrew makes a valid point in saying that GLBT people, and christians in particular, are on a spiritual journey, just as we straight christians are. They can’t be expected to change overnight just as I can’t be expected to changed from my sinful nature overnight. Ultimately, I agree with Andrew that evangelicals need to have the faith that Christ will accomplish the work that he intends to accomplish in each of our lives, and that our job is not to try to force the change we expect in the timeframe we expect.
 
I am extremely thankful to have read this book. It has opened my eyes to the damage done by evangelicals over the last 30 or so years in mishandling the conversation with the GLBT. As Christ’s followers, we must engage with the people who Christ would engage with if he were physically present in our culture. No doubt this would include the GLBT community, and I believe his approach would be much closer to what Andrew Marin is advocating that the status-quo evangelical response to homosexuality in recent years. We have much damage to undo.

by Clay
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Many Jesus followers are clueless to the depth of pain and rejection the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bi-sexual & transgender) community has received (I place myself in this camp!), often at the hands of those who are called Christian.  Much of the militant anger spewed out by some in the GLBT community is a response to this pain.
 
It is great to see a follower of Jesus reach out in love, acceptance, personal vulnerability and hope to these hurting children of our Creator.  Andrew Marin states: “all the GLBT community wants from God is (a) to have the same intimate relationship with God that evangelicals claim to have; and (b) to safely enter into a journey toward an inner reconciliation of who they are sexually, spiritually and socially.”  The key here is the word “safely”.  In order for them to enter into a journey, they need to feel safe.  As Andrew Marin tells us; our responsibility is to be bridge builders between evangelical Christianity and the GLBT community.
 
One final comment by the author I would like to mention.  He makes the statement that he found himself out Jesused by gays and lesbians when they turned out to be more compassionate and selfless than most Christians he knew.  It is important that we get to know “the other” in order to break down our own prejudices and misperceptions.
 
Love them.  Accept them where they are at in the journey – even if that journey leads them to the conclusion that they are gay and Christian.  Where this gets difficult is involvement in a local congregation and church membership.  Andrew challenged me.  Yesterday I invited a former teen in our church youth group who I heard is gay to become my friend on Facebook.  I am praying that he responds.

by Joe

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Ever since the prospect of Gay Marriage became a reality in our country, it’s safe to say that the Evangelical Church at large has been in full panic mode. In the last few elections “Gay Marriage” appears to become a litmus test issue for all involved, taking its place next to the time-tested Evangelical litmus test of abortion. As television, movies, and society in general have become more comfortable with characters and situations involved gay people, the panic seems to get louder. If it was difficult for gays and conservative Christians to talk about their beliefs before, in 2009 things seem to be as difficult as ever. I pray that this book and Marin’s ministry will continue to be a starting point for many fearful Evangelicals and distrusting gay people. We all have cliches about the other side. Evangelicals can point to parades of nearly-naked people kissing on the news, while gay people can point to protesters screaming judgment upon attenders of a gay person’s funeral. Both probably make us feel justified in our hatred, but the cliches can change when presented with real-life situations. That’s what happened to Andrew Marin after three of his friends came out to him.

I expected Marin’s book Love is an Orientation to either be a defense of someone staying in a homosexual lifestyle or the story of a man who ministered mostly to people with the hope that they’d go straight. The book was neither, and it is richer for avoiding this. Marin talks about his experiences in the Boystown neighborhoods in Chicago and the triumphs and setbacks he’s had when ministering to gay people. The constant theme in his stories seems to be demolishing stereotypes: on one hand helping Christians see the damaging things they believe homosexuals, the other helping gays see the Cross and Jesus without the wagging finger of the church. Also helping out this book are the subjects he refuses to address. If you’re wondering just what percentage of people are gay, if people are born that way, or if gay marriage should be allowed you won’t read about it here. As Marin rightfully points out, these are issues that deal little with the heart condition and a person’s relationship with God — they’re used to score points for one side or another.

Marin’s heart is on his sleeve in much of this, you can tell that this is a book by someone immersed in the world and people he writes about. Marin is not one who showed up just long enough to pray the prayer and bring home some cool pictures – Boystown and his ministry to gay people are his life. Years of ministering have gone into this, and it’s clear by the number of anecdotes he tells. A common theme he brings up is the hunger of gay people to know God, something that both stuck with him and even myself to an extent. Then I remembered his stories about young people who prayed for years a variation of the same prayer: Make me straight. I couldn’t imagine the years of begging God to take away a temptation the church told me would send me to hell if I entertained it once. It’s not that hard to think of the gay community as a place filled with people feeling rejected by God until a man with patience and Love agreed to hear them out. Marin reminds Christians to die to themselves, die to their personal fright and concerns, and to listen and love gay people. The point is that we’re not praying that they become straight, the point is that we’re praying they become followers of Christ.

The past few years of watching accusations fly between factions has been wearying enough for me as a bystander, I’m sure it’s a lot more draining to those who either are gay or work closely with gay people. For awhile I’ve started to wonder what all of our Marriage Amendment rallies and “Marriage = Man + Woman” bumper stickers would look like to a gay man who wanted to know Christ. For Christians to reach the gay populace to show them love, we’re going to have to do what Jesus told us to do: Die to ourselves (not our beliefs, but rather our comfort, our fears, and our desires to prove ourselves right), and follow him. I’m grateful for Andrew Marin’s book and his ministry so that they can better see Jesus in the midst of a lot of culture war rhetoric. This book is going to be passed around a lot in the upcoming months.

by Justin

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Thanks for the opportunity to read this book. It allows us to understand what the GLBT community experiences at the hand of the Evangelical church. We have done great damage and created a gulf between Christians and the GLBT community. This is not a book to teach us how to evangelize among them, though that comes in time. It teaches us how to build bridges toward them, to live among them. Andrew states that “God is the one to judge, the Holy Spirit is to convict, we are called to love.” Many gay Christians came from churches that judged them or removed them from the church. How can we expect the GLBT community to seek Christ when the church which is the body of Christ rejects them or treats them as “lepers”?
 
This book changed my ideas about the GLBT lifestyle, as it will anyone who reads it. He discusses the five Biblical texts that reference homosexuality and how it is interpreted. Many gay churches believe a monogamous relationship is OK in a biblical reference. Genesis 19 is the Sodom & Gomorrah story with the men at Lot’s door demanding the visitors come out for them; but Ezekiel 16 shows the destruction was due to Sodom’s injustice. The verses in Leviticus discusses all the rules in the Holiness Code and how Israel was to be separate from their neighbors. Romans 1:26-27 says how God gave them over because they “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and did not acknowledge God.” He gave them over to their desires because they rejected Him, not because of any same-sex attraction (or any envy, murder, gossip, disobedient to parents, etc.). In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 we need to understand the city of Corinth at the time and the Greek definition of “male prostitute and homosexual offender. Here is where gay Christians try to prove Paul was talking about pederasty (sex with boys) and not committed monogamous same sex relationships. 1 Timothy 1:9-11 is often mentioned in homosexual discussions; but the Greek translation here is for “perverts” and not “homosexual offender”. These verses are the heart of the book, and we need to study scripture and not just pick out one verse to base our life mission on. I do not know Greek, and will study these verses better myself. I disagree with Marin on his translation of some of these verses. Or does he use the translation of the gay church?

Marin lived on the streets of Boystown for two years making relationships before being known as an Evangelical Christian. Sometimes it can take that long to be accepted. If he started “preaching” right away, he would have been rejected and forced to leave. I cannot imagine living and raising my family in that type of community. God chose Marin for this ministry, He prepared him and walked with him during the hardest times. The stories of many GLBT people who have been rejected by the church tore at my heart. I am thankful I had the chance to read this book, and writing this report helped me understand the GLBT community better.

by Gale
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Andrew Marin has done the Evangelical community a tremendous service in his
book, Love is an Orientation.   Homosexuality is a truly polarizing topic.
The loudest voices are either hateful toward gay people or uncritically
affirming of the lifestyle.  Marin bridges the gap between these two
extremes in a new and fresh way.  More than that, the lessons in his book go
beyond the topic of the book.  It really has more to do with how we interact
with others who may be living life outside the mainstream. It involves
turning the microscope inward and relieving ourselves of the need to be
hypercritical of others.

What should the attitude of Christians be toward those outside the
mainstream?  The answer is love and acceptance.  Marin has helped us
understand that the real issue is not whether homosexuality is a sin, but on
what basis does God accept us?  Based on the premise that all of humanity is
tainted with sin, including Evangelicals, the resulting good news of the
gospel is love and acceptance.  God, in Christ, has loved and accepted me.
I should imitate this love and acceptance by generously offering it to
others.  Having a thorough understanding of this truly good news will remove
the need to hurry along someone’s sanctification; gay or otherwise.  In
other words, we don’t need to quickly move from Jesus loves you to….you
need to change your orientation.  Instead, we are free to build
relationships, love people where they are, share Christ, and let the chips
fall where they may.  It’s not my responsibility to change a person.  A
cautionary note-we may not like where the chips fall, but our liking it is
not necessary.  Our role is to love and accept.  Let God do the rest.  At
the end of the day, I have to answer to God for how I’ve lived, not for how
my neighbor, homosexual or otherwise, lives.

I’m hesitant to offer any criticism for a number of reasons primarily
because I don’t review books often (who am I anyways?) and I think the
merits far outweigh anything negative.  As with anyone who is passionate
about what they believe and is immersed in their ministry, I think it is
important for Marin to remember that not everyone lives in “Boy’s Town” as
he does.  He gives the impression that all of us encounter gay people
everyday like he does.  Most of us in ministry have to balance our time and
energy toward a multitude of diverse people and function more as
“generalists” rather than “specialists.”  I’m not gearing up or preparing to
launch a “gay outreach” like Marin.  Nevertheless, this is one more tool in
my toolbox that will greatly assist me in my ministry.

by Mike

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When I first began this book I was rather dubious. What did this author have to say about such a tried-and-true topic that hadn’t already been said a hundred times? My reluctance was unfounded, however, and I’m happy to report that I enjoyed the book immensely.

Father Haase seasons his prose with stories from his own and others’ experiences to illustrate his points. Each chapter ends with “Reflection Questions” and “Gospel Passages for Meditation and Prayer.” This makes Living the Lord’s Prayer a book that could easily be featured in a study group as well as read by individuals.

Living the Lord’s Prayer breaks down the prayer into short sections and tackles each one in chronological order. It does go where you probably think it will, but Haase then takes the reader down less-worn paths. For example, in “Lead Us Not Into Temptation” we begin by reading about the common experience of temptation and a look at Satan. But then Father Haase launches into a detailed examination of John Cassian’s “Eight Thoughts” the devil uses to tempt us, as well as the corresponding eight virtues that can help us fight evil in our minds and hearts. I found this section to be especially fascinating.

Oh, I should probably note: If you’re not Roman Catholic, don’t let “Father” Haase scare you. This book is decidedly ecumenical. Protestants can enjoy it every bit as much as Catholics–I promise!

Living the Lord’s Prayer is aptly subtitled “The Way of the Disciple.” Father Haase gives ample suggestions for putting The Lord’s Prayer into practice in our daily lives. His approach makes this book both wonderful devotional reading and a call to action.

Don’t simply recite The Lord’s Prayer. Live it–just as Jesus intended for you to.

You can purchase the book and find helpful excerpts at the IVP web site.

This is the practical follow up to all of Viola’s other books. It’s also a stand alone book exploring the subject of organic church planting in great detail. Here’s an early review:

The author of “Pagan Christianity?” (with George Barna), “Reimagining Church,” and the bestselling “From Eternity to Here” has written a detailed manual on how to start and sustain an organic church. Everything from what to do with the children, to the developmental stages of church growth, to the diseases of an organic church and their cures are all covered in this comprehensive volume. Church planting principles for organic styled churches are packed together with the author’s practical experience of living in and starting such churches. Each chapter is full of advice, outlining the unique problems that such churches will face and their solutions. Church planters of all types will benefit from this book as well as those wishing to explore an alternative way of church gathering. — Christian Book Reviews, 2009

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You’ll see a Theology Program ad in the “Endorsed” section under this post. I know that Michael Patton’s Theology Program has received many students from this website and I hope that it will receive many more. And here’s why: As a new theology program affiliate, I will receive a nice affiliate fee for everyone who enrolls in the program or buys the entire DVD/workbook set from Renewing the Mind using that icon. So click, enroll and help me buy new tires.
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You will also see a new ad from Modern Reformation magazine. I have an article on discipleship in the current issue and they have a nice introductory offer for IM readers who click through from the ad. This is a great time to subscribe to the magazine. Liturgical gangsta Eric Landry is editor and I appreciate his support of IM and of the opportunity to contribute to a journal that is way above my pay grade.