What do you think?
Rate this book
The Story We Find Ourselves In: Further Adventures of a New Kind of Christian
After many years as a successful pastor, Brian McLaren has found, as more and more Christians are finding, that none of the current strains of Christianity fully describes his own faith. In The Story We Find Ourselves In -- the much anticipated sequel to his award-winning book A New Kind of Christian-- McLaren captures a new spirit of a relevant Christianity, where traditional divisions and doctrinal differences give way to a focus on God and the story of God's love for this world. If you are searching for a deeper life with God-- one that moves beyond the rhetoric of denominational and theological categories-- this delightful and inspiring fictional tale will provide a picture of what it could mean to recapture a joyful spiritual life.
336 pages, Paperback
Published April 18, 2008
About the author
Brian D. McLaren
129 books555 followersBrian D. McLaren is an internationally known speaker and the author of over ten highly acclaimed books on contemporary Christianity, including A New Kind of Christian, A Generous Orthodoxy, and The Secret Message of Jesus.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 8, 2025
THE FOLLOW UP TO HIS ‘NEW KIND OF CHRISTIAN’ BOOK
Brian McLaren was the founding pastor in 1982 of the nondenominational Cedar Ridge Community Church in Maryland (he left that position in 2006); and he currently serves with the Centre for Action and Contemplation.
He states in the Preface to this 2003 book, “I started getting nervous when ‘A New Kind of Christian’ was released… I don’t like arguments, especially religious ones… I hoped that the book would quietly find its way... where its main effect would be to inspire hope rather than stir contentions… Discouraging words… have been heard far less often than encouraging ones. I receive a steady stream of affirming e-mails about the book… Along with their thanks, people have responded by asking for MORE---more information, more dialogue, more exploration… [This book] seeks to fulfill that request for the conversation to continue.” (Pg. ix)
The book opens with Dan Poole receiving an e-mail from Dr. Neil Oliver (‘Neo’), explaining that a good friend of his (‘Kerry Ellison’) who has a rare form of cancer is moving to their area, and would Dan and his family visit her.
Neo and Kerry have a conversation, and he tells her, “I don’t think we can imagine nothing…. Maybe nothing is impossible Because even if you suck the universe of time and space into a singularity and blink the singularity away… you still don’t have nothing exactly. You have a something… that would be better referred to as a Someone… God, a being, a life, a mind, a heart, an intelligence, a creative personality, an essential goodness, an inexpressible beauty… a pure consciousness---pure in every sense of the word.” (Pg. 28)
Later, Neo tells her, “I believe in the story of Genesis. But I think I believe in it more in the way that the ancient Semitic nomads huddled in their blankets around a winter fire would have believed it... as a story that gives us something so much more important than… so called objective facts… For me, it is a story that gives us IN-formation… a story that FORMS US inwardly with truth and meaning… the more I interact with the story, the less I want to carve it down to fit in any modern categories.” (Pg. 33) He continues, “Man would live in a network of relationships, with the soil, the trees, the sun and seasons, the animals, and his own kind, male and female….’ She replies, “That’s a beautiful picture, Neo. Way better than painting women as the origin of all evil.” (Pg. 35-36)
Neo goes on, “This is the story we find ourselves in, isn’t it? Caught between two dangers: a hyper-spiritual danger that says, ‘It is good enough for human beings to be alone, and all they need is God,’ and a hypersecular danger that says, ‘It is good enough for human beings to be with the other created beings; forget about the Supreme Being from whom all being and blessings flow.’ Neither of those options is good enough. The only viable option is for us human beings to enjoy the company both of our Creator and of our fellow creatures… in whom we find a lost part of ourselves restored to us again.” (Pg. 37-38)
Neo says to her, “it’s perhaps the most profound way in which we humans bear the Creator’s image. We’re capable of giving being to new things… ideas… poems, songs… even religions.. So we’re given this most amazing gift… the gift of creating, of helping add things-that-be---ideas, poems, homes, religions, and so on---to the universe.” (Pg. 40-41) He goes on, “the ancient Middle Eastern story also acknowledges the ancient Eastern assertion that this universe … depends on the Creator so it can come into existence and stay in existence… because of our common connection to the Creator, all that exists is interconnected… It celebrates a different kind of enlightenment---not scientific, but mystical---that comes from seeing the universe as an expression of the mind and heart of God.” (Pg. 43)
Later, Neo argues, “I think that in the modern era, religious people bought into that mechanistic model of the universe right along with the scientists… My point is that the universe didn’t come equipped with these categories of ‘natural’ and ‘supernatural.’ They’re human constructions… it would good to try to dislodge those categories, and try to see the universe from a different perspective, not just the narrow little perspective of modern Western Ph.D.’s.” (Pg. 48-49)
Kerry says to Neo, “I guess I always thought that the Bible explained all the mysteries and tried to make simple sense of things… But for you, the Bible seems to explore mystery, not clarify it.” Neo replies, “[T]hat’s another false impression that preachers and pastors often give: that the Bible is God’s answer book to remove all mysteries and make everything simple and clear. The fact is, the Bible deals with life’s absurdities and craziness with pretty amazing honesty… Sometimes, I think the Bible is more of a question book than answer book; it raises questions that bring people together for conversation about life’s most important issues.” (Pg. 82)
Neo asserts, “if God wants to make a universe that’s real, I think we would expect it to happen just as evolution says: the universe would develop, over time, writing its own story. It’s a story of becoming, of unfolding… And best of all, it’s not finished yet. We’re … still moving ahead toward what we’re going to be when we’re all ‘grown up.’ And each of us… plays a part in cooperating with God or by withholding our cooperation.” (Pg. 98)
Kerry has a discussion with Dan and Carol (Dan’s wife). Kerry states, “if God wants to forgive us, why doesn’t he just do it? How does punishing an innocent person make things better? That sounds just like one more injustice in the cosmic equation.” Dan eventually replies, “all of these atonement theories assume that our alienation from God is a tragic predicament we can’t solve ourselves. The only way we can be rescued is by God’s grace… So each theory is an attempt to explain the role that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection play in the drama of our reconciliation with God.” (Pg. 102)
Dan says to Kerry, “So first, the Spirit percolates a really strong brew of Christ inside you. And second, I think that the Spirit motivates you and guides you and empowers you to be part of the mission. I think that each person experiences this in a different way. In one person, the Holy Spirit energizes the desire to teach, and in another… an ability to care for the poor or to raise and give away money for good causes. Another person finds the Spirit motivating him to try super-difficult things…” (Pg. 139)
Neo said to Kerry, “all our wrongs are identified. There is … no denial. No pretending that our misdeeds didn’t happen… But what if all the guilt and regret and shame of that judgment are absorbed into God’s pain… so God forgives us… what if God, by judging our wrongs as evil and therefore worthless, actually forgets our wrongs forever because they’re worthless?” (Pg. 153)
Neo tells Dan, “I think every Christian hopes for what God hopes for: that all will come to repentance… and realign their lives with God’s hopes and dreams for us sooner or later… But at the same time, there’s no shortage of hatred and greed and lust and laziness at work in all of us, and we need to be realistic about... the danger of that.” (Pg. 170)
Dan asks Neo, “What about the people… who never hear about Jesus or any part of the story?” Neo replies, “I don’t think that’s any of my business… God will do what’s right and just and compassionate in the end. The last thing we need is for folks like you and me to make premature pronouncements on others’ eternal destiny… condemning or condoning… What we need to do is … what Jesus showed us… to identify those human actions and attitudes that … turn God’s dream into a nightmare, that … profane God’s sacred creation… We need to speak the truth about those human behaviors … even if they occur in the heart of Jerusalem---if you know what I mean.” (Pg. 171)
Whether you call him ‘postmodern’ or ‘Emergent,’ McLaren’s books will be of great interest to Christians considering new alternatives.
Brian McLaren was the founding pastor in 1982 of the nondenominational Cedar Ridge Community Church in Maryland (he left that position in 2006); and he currently serves with the Centre for Action and Contemplation.
He states in the Preface to this 2003 book, “I started getting nervous when ‘A New Kind of Christian’ was released… I don’t like arguments, especially religious ones… I hoped that the book would quietly find its way... where its main effect would be to inspire hope rather than stir contentions… Discouraging words… have been heard far less often than encouraging ones. I receive a steady stream of affirming e-mails about the book… Along with their thanks, people have responded by asking for MORE---more information, more dialogue, more exploration… [This book] seeks to fulfill that request for the conversation to continue.” (Pg. ix)
The book opens with Dan Poole receiving an e-mail from Dr. Neil Oliver (‘Neo’), explaining that a good friend of his (‘Kerry Ellison’) who has a rare form of cancer is moving to their area, and would Dan and his family visit her.
Neo and Kerry have a conversation, and he tells her, “I don’t think we can imagine nothing…. Maybe nothing is impossible Because even if you suck the universe of time and space into a singularity and blink the singularity away… you still don’t have nothing exactly. You have a something… that would be better referred to as a Someone… God, a being, a life, a mind, a heart, an intelligence, a creative personality, an essential goodness, an inexpressible beauty… a pure consciousness---pure in every sense of the word.” (Pg. 28)
Later, Neo tells her, “I believe in the story of Genesis. But I think I believe in it more in the way that the ancient Semitic nomads huddled in their blankets around a winter fire would have believed it... as a story that gives us something so much more important than… so called objective facts… For me, it is a story that gives us IN-formation… a story that FORMS US inwardly with truth and meaning… the more I interact with the story, the less I want to carve it down to fit in any modern categories.” (Pg. 33) He continues, “Man would live in a network of relationships, with the soil, the trees, the sun and seasons, the animals, and his own kind, male and female….’ She replies, “That’s a beautiful picture, Neo. Way better than painting women as the origin of all evil.” (Pg. 35-36)
Neo goes on, “This is the story we find ourselves in, isn’t it? Caught between two dangers: a hyper-spiritual danger that says, ‘It is good enough for human beings to be alone, and all they need is God,’ and a hypersecular danger that says, ‘It is good enough for human beings to be with the other created beings; forget about the Supreme Being from whom all being and blessings flow.’ Neither of those options is good enough. The only viable option is for us human beings to enjoy the company both of our Creator and of our fellow creatures… in whom we find a lost part of ourselves restored to us again.” (Pg. 37-38)
Neo says to her, “it’s perhaps the most profound way in which we humans bear the Creator’s image. We’re capable of giving being to new things… ideas… poems, songs… even religions.. So we’re given this most amazing gift… the gift of creating, of helping add things-that-be---ideas, poems, homes, religions, and so on---to the universe.” (Pg. 40-41) He goes on, “the ancient Middle Eastern story also acknowledges the ancient Eastern assertion that this universe … depends on the Creator so it can come into existence and stay in existence… because of our common connection to the Creator, all that exists is interconnected… It celebrates a different kind of enlightenment---not scientific, but mystical---that comes from seeing the universe as an expression of the mind and heart of God.” (Pg. 43)
Later, Neo argues, “I think that in the modern era, religious people bought into that mechanistic model of the universe right along with the scientists… My point is that the universe didn’t come equipped with these categories of ‘natural’ and ‘supernatural.’ They’re human constructions… it would good to try to dislodge those categories, and try to see the universe from a different perspective, not just the narrow little perspective of modern Western Ph.D.’s.” (Pg. 48-49)
Kerry says to Neo, “I guess I always thought that the Bible explained all the mysteries and tried to make simple sense of things… But for you, the Bible seems to explore mystery, not clarify it.” Neo replies, “[T]hat’s another false impression that preachers and pastors often give: that the Bible is God’s answer book to remove all mysteries and make everything simple and clear. The fact is, the Bible deals with life’s absurdities and craziness with pretty amazing honesty… Sometimes, I think the Bible is more of a question book than answer book; it raises questions that bring people together for conversation about life’s most important issues.” (Pg. 82)
Neo asserts, “if God wants to make a universe that’s real, I think we would expect it to happen just as evolution says: the universe would develop, over time, writing its own story. It’s a story of becoming, of unfolding… And best of all, it’s not finished yet. We’re … still moving ahead toward what we’re going to be when we’re all ‘grown up.’ And each of us… plays a part in cooperating with God or by withholding our cooperation.” (Pg. 98)
Kerry has a discussion with Dan and Carol (Dan’s wife). Kerry states, “if God wants to forgive us, why doesn’t he just do it? How does punishing an innocent person make things better? That sounds just like one more injustice in the cosmic equation.” Dan eventually replies, “all of these atonement theories assume that our alienation from God is a tragic predicament we can’t solve ourselves. The only way we can be rescued is by God’s grace… So each theory is an attempt to explain the role that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection play in the drama of our reconciliation with God.” (Pg. 102)
Dan says to Kerry, “So first, the Spirit percolates a really strong brew of Christ inside you. And second, I think that the Spirit motivates you and guides you and empowers you to be part of the mission. I think that each person experiences this in a different way. In one person, the Holy Spirit energizes the desire to teach, and in another… an ability to care for the poor or to raise and give away money for good causes. Another person finds the Spirit motivating him to try super-difficult things…” (Pg. 139)
Neo said to Kerry, “all our wrongs are identified. There is … no denial. No pretending that our misdeeds didn’t happen… But what if all the guilt and regret and shame of that judgment are absorbed into God’s pain… so God forgives us… what if God, by judging our wrongs as evil and therefore worthless, actually forgets our wrongs forever because they’re worthless?” (Pg. 153)
Neo tells Dan, “I think every Christian hopes for what God hopes for: that all will come to repentance… and realign their lives with God’s hopes and dreams for us sooner or later… But at the same time, there’s no shortage of hatred and greed and lust and laziness at work in all of us, and we need to be realistic about... the danger of that.” (Pg. 170)
Dan asks Neo, “What about the people… who never hear about Jesus or any part of the story?” Neo replies, “I don’t think that’s any of my business… God will do what’s right and just and compassionate in the end. The last thing we need is for folks like you and me to make premature pronouncements on others’ eternal destiny… condemning or condoning… What we need to do is … what Jesus showed us… to identify those human actions and attitudes that … turn God’s dream into a nightmare, that … profane God’s sacred creation… We need to speak the truth about those human behaviors … even if they occur in the heart of Jerusalem---if you know what I mean.” (Pg. 171)
Whether you call him ‘postmodern’ or ‘Emergent,’ McLaren’s books will be of great interest to Christians considering new alternatives.
Displaying 1 of 1 review