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Letters To A Future Church
Exiled on the island of Patmos, the apostle John found himself one day in the presence of the Son of God. As he fell down to worship, the apostle was commanded to write what he saw and heard, and to record and send messages to seven churches, encouraging them and challenging them in the way of the Lord.
That was then; this is now. What might the Spirit say to our churches today? What might the Spirit be saying to you?
Chris Lewis and the Epiphaneia Network put that question to their friends. This book includes some of the responses they got. With contributions from such significant voices as
and others, paints a portrait of the world as we have it and the mission we have in it. You may find your calling in this book; you may even find your own voice.
That was then; this is now. What might the Spirit say to our churches today? What might the Spirit be saying to you?
Chris Lewis and the Epiphaneia Network put that question to their friends. This book includes some of the responses they got. With contributions from such significant voices as
and others, paints a portrait of the world as we have it and the mission we have in it. You may find your calling in this book; you may even find your own voice.
176 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2012
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May 22, 2013
This book arose from of study of Christ's letters to the seven churches in Revelation. If Christ were speaking to the church in North America today, what might he say? They solicited letters from respected older figures like Ron Sider and Walter Bruggeman and from younger church leaders like Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Shane Claiborne, and many others.
In one respect, these are about what one might expect in calling the church out of cultural captivity, to care for those on the margins, to incarnate the life of Christ, to dispossess ourselves of the entrapments of materialism and more. Yet what was refreshing was that these letters evidenced not only a deep passion for a lost and hurting world but also for the church as Christ's bride.
I found myself reflecting what I might have written 30 years ago in the early 80s as a young church leader. I was struck by how so many of the aspirations of my generation were the same. How did we in so many ways go so badly off track? Fundamentally, I think many of us were seduced and this would be my caution to these fresh young leaders who I so deeply respect. We were seduced by success--as we developed megachurches and ministries that seemed to be changing the world. We were then seduced by the illusion of exercising political power to change our world. We thought we could influence the political process, little realizing how much the political process used us. We were seduced by an American dream that is in fact an American nightmare--homes in the 'burbs with gas guzzling SUVs in the garage and kids on whom we obsessively focused--providing experiences and education to help them succeed but only marginally witnessing to the life of the kingdom.
I would say beware of the seduction that comes clothed in your aspirations to change the world. Ultimately, all these are seductions to pursue "Jesus and" when the only thing that can truly guard our hearts is "Jesus only". That is my longing for the rising generation and what I might write in my own letter to the future church.
In one respect, these are about what one might expect in calling the church out of cultural captivity, to care for those on the margins, to incarnate the life of Christ, to dispossess ourselves of the entrapments of materialism and more. Yet what was refreshing was that these letters evidenced not only a deep passion for a lost and hurting world but also for the church as Christ's bride.
I found myself reflecting what I might have written 30 years ago in the early 80s as a young church leader. I was struck by how so many of the aspirations of my generation were the same. How did we in so many ways go so badly off track? Fundamentally, I think many of us were seduced and this would be my caution to these fresh young leaders who I so deeply respect. We were seduced by success--as we developed megachurches and ministries that seemed to be changing the world. We were then seduced by the illusion of exercising political power to change our world. We thought we could influence the political process, little realizing how much the political process used us. We were seduced by an American dream that is in fact an American nightmare--homes in the 'burbs with gas guzzling SUVs in the garage and kids on whom we obsessively focused--providing experiences and education to help them succeed but only marginally witnessing to the life of the kingdom.
I would say beware of the seduction that comes clothed in your aspirations to change the world. Ultimately, all these are seductions to pursue "Jesus and" when the only thing that can truly guard our hearts is "Jesus only". That is my longing for the rising generation and what I might write in my own letter to the future church.
October 15, 2012
The concept of this book is a simple and potentially profound one. Based upon the seven letters from Christ to the Church in Revelation, the authors invited a range of people to write an 'eighth letter', what they prayerfully though God might be saying to the church today.
There is something very intimate about letter, especially a hand-written letter as opposed to a hastily typed email. The act of writing with a pen, personally, to someone you know and care about, is an act of self-giving, and the very existence of the letter communicates to the recipient that you communication with them was important enough for you to take the time to do it in this way. There is a level of vulnerability in writing a letter. In this age of electronic expression, it is rare to reveal our own handwriting to others.
I wanted to love this book. The idea behind it was one that intrigued me - in fact I've tried to encourage folk in our church to give it a go, aware that if a number of letters are received, it may be possible with care to discern trends in them through which God may be saying something to us. Of course all letters are written with a specific recipient in mind. What they have to say addresses them, speaks into their situation and into your relationship with them, whatever that might be. This is their power. It is also possibly for me the weakness of this book. These letters are addressed to the Church of North America. Whilst there are many similarities between England and the USA, both in general and in the church, there are also many differences. Inevitably these differences will lead to a different level of engagement between me and this letter and a North American Christian. On the whole, although I found many of the letters interesting, I didn't find that they spoke directly to me or grabbed my imagination. I would love to know how my North American sisters and brothers find it.
This is not to say that there weren't images and ideas here that challenged me. We have recently started a Foodbank and are providing those in crisis with food from our church. Peter Rollins' letter ('The Sin of Abstraction') challenged me to not provide food for the hungry but to think about what I can do to change the situation so that people aren't hungry in the first place. A number of letters, Shane Claiborne's springs to mind ('A Dozen (or So) Flags and Seven Piles of Poop'), reinforced the growing conviction that I have about the importance of developing relationships with the poor and needy, not just having a theology concerning their plight. Both Jesus' teaching and lifestyle radically related to those in need and those who are rejected. It is very easy for us to acknowledge this from the pulpit, but another thing entirely to actually live it out. There were a few letters concerning the importance of embracing art and artists in the church. Too often we have preferred clear cut teaching to open ended imagination; a bizarre start of affairs when our founder spoke so playfully in parable, the prophets challenged in poetry and the heart of the Bible is a book of songs! I was reminded of a desire I have to allow creativity and art to be freed to express God and his Kingdom within and even without our church.
One final letter I want to mention, that by Nathan Colquhoun titled 'On Self-Justification'. Like many other letters in this book, he talks about the gap between the life Jesus modelled and taught and the life that we lead and teach. He points out how we often attempt to close this gap through justifying the difference, explaining it away and finding approaches that can make us feel more at ease with it. He uses the example of Jesus instructing the Rich, Young, Ruler to go away and sell everything he has and give the money to the poor, and how we so frequently devise ways of working around this so that his instruction is not our command. Such self-justification enables us to live a lie without feeling guilty. Rather than using so much energy attempting to find peace through justifying our actions, Colquhoun suggests we would be far better off simply admitting and living with the difference between our beliefs and our actions. At first this sounds like an enormous cop out, but the truth is that we will never be able. Sure we should seek to, striving to be open to the Spirit's guidance and enabling as we take on Jesus' yoke (as in Aileen Van Ginkel's letter 'Real Rest'), but we will never be able to achieve this fully, just as we were unable to live out the Law of the Old Testament. That's why Jesus had to come, as he and he alone could fulfil that Law, live out that life. The act of admitting that we are unable to, that we live a lie, leads in fact to liberation and a greater chance of being obedient, as being humble and admitting our frailty frees us to be open to the Spirit's transforming power. In many way's this letter is one of the most important in the book. Without it, such a collection could leave us feeling impotent and guilty. With it we are able to listen to the challenges contained within and aspire to them, without the worry of having to count our successes.
I've given this book 3 Stars ('I liked it' rating). I didn't find it an unputdownable book (does such a word exist - it should do as such books certainly exist!) possibly as it doesn't directly speak into my culture, both in general and in the church. That said, it was certainly worth reading and as my unusually long review demonstrates, it has provoked thought, helped and crystallised through writing this.
There is something very intimate about letter, especially a hand-written letter as opposed to a hastily typed email. The act of writing with a pen, personally, to someone you know and care about, is an act of self-giving, and the very existence of the letter communicates to the recipient that you communication with them was important enough for you to take the time to do it in this way. There is a level of vulnerability in writing a letter. In this age of electronic expression, it is rare to reveal our own handwriting to others.
I wanted to love this book. The idea behind it was one that intrigued me - in fact I've tried to encourage folk in our church to give it a go, aware that if a number of letters are received, it may be possible with care to discern trends in them through which God may be saying something to us. Of course all letters are written with a specific recipient in mind. What they have to say addresses them, speaks into their situation and into your relationship with them, whatever that might be. This is their power. It is also possibly for me the weakness of this book. These letters are addressed to the Church of North America. Whilst there are many similarities between England and the USA, both in general and in the church, there are also many differences. Inevitably these differences will lead to a different level of engagement between me and this letter and a North American Christian. On the whole, although I found many of the letters interesting, I didn't find that they spoke directly to me or grabbed my imagination. I would love to know how my North American sisters and brothers find it.
This is not to say that there weren't images and ideas here that challenged me. We have recently started a Foodbank and are providing those in crisis with food from our church. Peter Rollins' letter ('The Sin of Abstraction') challenged me to not provide food for the hungry but to think about what I can do to change the situation so that people aren't hungry in the first place. A number of letters, Shane Claiborne's springs to mind ('A Dozen (or So) Flags and Seven Piles of Poop'), reinforced the growing conviction that I have about the importance of developing relationships with the poor and needy, not just having a theology concerning their plight. Both Jesus' teaching and lifestyle radically related to those in need and those who are rejected. It is very easy for us to acknowledge this from the pulpit, but another thing entirely to actually live it out. There were a few letters concerning the importance of embracing art and artists in the church. Too often we have preferred clear cut teaching to open ended imagination; a bizarre start of affairs when our founder spoke so playfully in parable, the prophets challenged in poetry and the heart of the Bible is a book of songs! I was reminded of a desire I have to allow creativity and art to be freed to express God and his Kingdom within and even without our church.
One final letter I want to mention, that by Nathan Colquhoun titled 'On Self-Justification'. Like many other letters in this book, he talks about the gap between the life Jesus modelled and taught and the life that we lead and teach. He points out how we often attempt to close this gap through justifying the difference, explaining it away and finding approaches that can make us feel more at ease with it. He uses the example of Jesus instructing the Rich, Young, Ruler to go away and sell everything he has and give the money to the poor, and how we so frequently devise ways of working around this so that his instruction is not our command. Such self-justification enables us to live a lie without feeling guilty. Rather than using so much energy attempting to find peace through justifying our actions, Colquhoun suggests we would be far better off simply admitting and living with the difference between our beliefs and our actions. At first this sounds like an enormous cop out, but the truth is that we will never be able. Sure we should seek to, striving to be open to the Spirit's guidance and enabling as we take on Jesus' yoke (as in Aileen Van Ginkel's letter 'Real Rest'), but we will never be able to achieve this fully, just as we were unable to live out the Law of the Old Testament. That's why Jesus had to come, as he and he alone could fulfil that Law, live out that life. The act of admitting that we are unable to, that we live a lie, leads in fact to liberation and a greater chance of being obedient, as being humble and admitting our frailty frees us to be open to the Spirit's transforming power. In many way's this letter is one of the most important in the book. Without it, such a collection could leave us feeling impotent and guilty. With it we are able to listen to the challenges contained within and aspire to them, without the worry of having to count our successes.
I've given this book 3 Stars ('I liked it' rating). I didn't find it an unputdownable book (does such a word exist - it should do as such books certainly exist!) possibly as it doesn't directly speak into my culture, both in general and in the church. That said, it was certainly worth reading and as my unusually long review demonstrates, it has provoked thought, helped and crystallised through writing this.
March 31, 2012
Sometime at the end of the first century, a Christian prophet named John, who lived in the Roman province of Asia (modern-day Turkey) was exiled to a nasty little rock of an island called Patmos. Despite his exile, John continued to worship with his larger Church community on the Lord's Day (Sunday). One of these Sundays, John received a series of visions that became our book of Revelation. John's Revelation begins with Jesus dictating messages to the seven churches in Asia.
John's experience begs an interesting question: What might an eighth letter to the Church of North America say?
This is the question a group of Canadian believers posed to Christians all over North America. The responses they received became first the "Eighth Letter" conference and now this book, Letters to a Future Church. This is a collection of love letters written to the North American Church from a spectrum of North American Christians.
As you might expect from such a variety of worshippers, the letters range in style, content and quality. Some short, clear and poignant, like Rachel Held Evans' plea for bigger banquet tables. Some demand to be read a few times through and digested slowly, like Walter Brueggemann and Shane Claiborne's contributions.
The topics range, though a few themes emerge over and over: a call for unity instead of fighting, true community instead of paternalistic aid, and a vision for the Church to return to the forefront of culture.
Not all of the letters are excellent. But this only lends credibility to the project - the book embraces an actually diverse cultural and theological church.
I found some of the letters pretentious. Some I don't want to read again because they were too challenging. One in particular, by Tim Challis, I found enraging - a typical reductionist presentation of the Gospel filled with the usual theological pitfalls that tend to arise from the New Calvinist camp of which Challis is a part.
But by the end of the book, it's clear this is a good, accurate picture of the North American Church. And while daring to walk in the shoes of John the Revelator is a daunting task - one most of the authors approached with appropriate humility and self-awareness, if we listen closely, what the Spirit is saying to the Church in North America comes through loud and clear.
Like all true love letters, these letters not only encourage, they admonish and exhort.
Consider some of these personal favorites from various letters in the book:
You must abandon your pursuit of paradise if you are ever to see the kingdom of heaven… For your Savior was never a Puritan. Abandon your purified, sterile churches. Nothing can live in a sterilized environment. Come join God in the dirt. -- Kester Brewin
In the last century the American Dream has been transposed into an unbridled pursuit of power as empire and into an insatiable hunger for more commodities in pursuit of an extravagant "good life" …The outcome is a projection of hubris, arrogance and self-serving power that is, on the face of it, contradictory to a gospel way of life. -- Walter Brueggemann
The sin of abstraction refers to the act of blaming of an individual part without taking into consideration the wider context they were immersed in. -- Peter Rollins
Artists have insight into the invisible qualities of reality, but you have forced them to serve only the visible, the utilitarian and the pragmatic. -- Makoto Fujimura
Jesus used all this delicious imagery because he knew that there is a difference between feeding people and dining with people. -- Rachel Held Evans
We complain we aren't being fed when we get solid biblical teaching in many ways each week. The problem isn't so much that we aren't being fed; it's that we're not working off those calories! We're not actually exercising our faith ... just running our mouths. -- Cyril Guerette
Never set limits on where God is at work. Yes, the church is God's primary instrument for the kingdom, but this doesn't mean God is not at work in others. We should be the best collaborators in the world. -- Shane Claiborne
Bottom Line: A short, easy read that will challenge and inspire you. Let all with ears hear what the Spirit says to the Church!
John's experience begs an interesting question: What might an eighth letter to the Church of North America say?
This is the question a group of Canadian believers posed to Christians all over North America. The responses they received became first the "Eighth Letter" conference and now this book, Letters to a Future Church. This is a collection of love letters written to the North American Church from a spectrum of North American Christians.
As you might expect from such a variety of worshippers, the letters range in style, content and quality. Some short, clear and poignant, like Rachel Held Evans' plea for bigger banquet tables. Some demand to be read a few times through and digested slowly, like Walter Brueggemann and Shane Claiborne's contributions.
The topics range, though a few themes emerge over and over: a call for unity instead of fighting, true community instead of paternalistic aid, and a vision for the Church to return to the forefront of culture.
Not all of the letters are excellent. But this only lends credibility to the project - the book embraces an actually diverse cultural and theological church.
I found some of the letters pretentious. Some I don't want to read again because they were too challenging. One in particular, by Tim Challis, I found enraging - a typical reductionist presentation of the Gospel filled with the usual theological pitfalls that tend to arise from the New Calvinist camp of which Challis is a part.
But by the end of the book, it's clear this is a good, accurate picture of the North American Church. And while daring to walk in the shoes of John the Revelator is a daunting task - one most of the authors approached with appropriate humility and self-awareness, if we listen closely, what the Spirit is saying to the Church in North America comes through loud and clear.
Like all true love letters, these letters not only encourage, they admonish and exhort.
Consider some of these personal favorites from various letters in the book:
You must abandon your pursuit of paradise if you are ever to see the kingdom of heaven… For your Savior was never a Puritan. Abandon your purified, sterile churches. Nothing can live in a sterilized environment. Come join God in the dirt. -- Kester Brewin
In the last century the American Dream has been transposed into an unbridled pursuit of power as empire and into an insatiable hunger for more commodities in pursuit of an extravagant "good life" …The outcome is a projection of hubris, arrogance and self-serving power that is, on the face of it, contradictory to a gospel way of life. -- Walter Brueggemann
The sin of abstraction refers to the act of blaming of an individual part without taking into consideration the wider context they were immersed in. -- Peter Rollins
Artists have insight into the invisible qualities of reality, but you have forced them to serve only the visible, the utilitarian and the pragmatic. -- Makoto Fujimura
Jesus used all this delicious imagery because he knew that there is a difference between feeding people and dining with people. -- Rachel Held Evans
We complain we aren't being fed when we get solid biblical teaching in many ways each week. The problem isn't so much that we aren't being fed; it's that we're not working off those calories! We're not actually exercising our faith ... just running our mouths. -- Cyril Guerette
Never set limits on where God is at work. Yes, the church is God's primary instrument for the kingdom, but this doesn't mean God is not at work in others. We should be the best collaborators in the world. -- Shane Claiborne
Bottom Line: A short, easy read that will challenge and inspire you. Let all with ears hear what the Spirit says to the Church!
July 23, 2012
I liked this book, but after reading halfway through I started to get a little burned-out on reading so many blog-posts-disguised-as-letters. Don't get me wrong -- some of the letters are very good. I particularly enjoyed the letters by Kathy Escobar, Makoto Fujimura, Rachel Held Evans, and Shane Claiborne. There is a lot of thought-provoking stuff in here.
I guess what I'm saying is that -- like the North American church -- there is something for everyone in this book, but everything is not for everyone. Do I think you will find a letter that you like, that challenges you, that speaks to you, in this book? Yes. Do I think all of them will be that profound for you? No. But that's life for you. =)
I guess what I'm saying is that -- like the North American church -- there is something for everyone in this book, but everything is not for everyone. Do I think you will find a letter that you like, that challenges you, that speaks to you, in this book? Yes. Do I think all of them will be that profound for you? No. But that's life for you. =)
February 15, 2013
I wrote a Chapter in this book called “On Self-Justification”
Merged review:
I wrote a chapter in this book.
Merged review:
I wrote a chapter in this book.
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