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Better: Waking Up to Who We Could Be
What if we could actually change the world by telling better stories? What if the world we have-with its racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, religious hatred, ecological disregard-is exactly the world we have spun into existence through the stories we have told? Melvin Bray insists that a better world is possible if the stories around which we organize our lives begin to match the beauty we imagine is possible. Bray puts forth his own daring yet faithful reimaginings of classic faith stories that inspire more beautiful, more just, more virtue-filled ways of being in the world. Better offers a spiritual path on which people-for whom life has called into question many of their assumptions about God and the world-can continue to hold onto their faith, while joining others of goodwill in seeking sustainable, cooperative, and courageous answers to the seemingly intractable problems of our time. A Best Book of 2017 (the Cornwall List)
- GenresSelf HelpSocial Justice
208 pages, Paperback
Published November 15, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 31, 2017
Christians, and people of faith in general, live by our stories. These include the biblical story, but we also have other stories. Some are good and some are not. The we tell and retell the stories have implications for our lives and for our wold. What if we chose to tell better stories? What would that involve? It might involve deconstructing stories that have been told, but we can't stop with deconstruction. There has to be reconstruction so that we can move toward transformation of our lives and of our world.
"Better" is one person's attempt to create a process by which better stories can be told. The author is Melvin Bray, an African American man who grew up in the church, is married, has children, has served in para-church organizations, and as a teacher -- just to name a few elements of his life, all of which contribute to his ability to tell and retell important stories. Sometimes the way he retells stories can make us uncomfortable (at least if you are a white heterosexual male, who is used to have the power to tell the stories of the faith). Bray writes of his project: "What I am arguing for is reimagining the way we tell our faith stories---which for me, a follower of Jesus, is the biblical narrative---so that they point to beloved community and beyond." He tells us that he uses the word reimagine to signal that his purpose is not the rejection of stories previously told, but his intention of improving the telling of the stories so that one might envision the Beloved Community. (p. 2). He writes out of a concern for the Beloved Community, but also in recognition that the way we have been telling the story has proven off-putting to many. Thus, we need to find new ways of passing on the stories, especially to the children. As a pastor I understand the challenges and the importance of the task, which is why I was disappointed, but perhaps surprised, at Bray's confession that he and his wife, both of whom grew up in the church, have chosen not to expose their children to much of church life. That they have chosen this path is a reminder that we need to figure out how to better to tell the stories, not so that the church will survive, but so the church can become an expression of the Beloved Community.
The ten chapters that form this book, which I found compelling and challenging and provocative share a process of story telling that Bray refers to as "COMPOST." By that he means that in telling the story of faith, we take that which is dead and broken (the way we may have told the biblical story that are dehumanizing of others) and taking them down to their "constituent parts and used as nutrient for the next generative organism emerging." He takes stories, like that of Jesus' encounter with the Syro-Phoenician woman and shows how it might speak of those who serve as champions for human dignity. He tackles the Ezra-Nehemiah stories in order to help us recognize the importance of letting others tell their own story. The Esther story helps us recognize the importance of context. The Ruth and Hagar stories speak of shared ownership of the Beloved Community, for both are outsiders. The Zacchaeus story speaks to the possibility of leveraging privilege on behalf of others. The woman who washes Jesus' feet speaks to the need to move beyond reform to transformation and liberation. Moses' story can help us honor the past, even as we improve upon it. Heritage and tradition are not bad or evil, but sometimes we honor it, Bray suggests, by improving upon what has taken place in the past. We're not prisoners to the past, even as we carry it with us.
His goal here is helping us tell stories that lead toward the creation of the Beloved Community. He speaks from his own experience and that of others who have been marginalized by those in power (and in the United States that has generally been white males). He retells stories to help us find ways of retelling stories ourselves that lead in that direction. Thus, hearing anew the Zacchaeus story reminds us that leveraging privilege serves as a blessing to others, but it also reminds us that this is not an instantaneous reality. There is challenge here, but also grace. That is important.
The design of the book helps us move along in this composting process. It is filled with pictures and quotes in sidebars. The notes are in the side bars. The form helps remind us that we're doing something different. Taking a clue from Ecclesiastes, the COMPOST process involves weaving together three ideas in a way that will not be easily broken. The first strand focuses on the "significance of story." He writes that "faith stories have the power to change the way we see and choose to be in the world" (p. 163). The second strand speaks to the "right to reimagine," He reminds us that not only do stories change over time, but they must change with time. Our stories evolve as we move through life and beyond. Finally, the third strand is "the ends matter." That is, thee is a desired end, and for him it is the Beloved Community.
There is a theme of justice running through the book. The stories chosen illustrate the importance of social justice. What has been and what is are not sufficient. There is something better. He notes that Martin Luther King declared that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." He agrees with that conclusion, but he also notes that this bending doesn't happen on its own. He writes: God made humanity the catalyst toward this moral end. Unless people of good will act in good faith toward a just end, justice will not be found" (p. 168). Toward that end, we make use of stories that envision a different and better reality, one that Jesus spoke of and lived into. For that reason, this is a book that really needs to be read and savored, so that stories can be reimagined and retold.
"Better" is one person's attempt to create a process by which better stories can be told. The author is Melvin Bray, an African American man who grew up in the church, is married, has children, has served in para-church organizations, and as a teacher -- just to name a few elements of his life, all of which contribute to his ability to tell and retell important stories. Sometimes the way he retells stories can make us uncomfortable (at least if you are a white heterosexual male, who is used to have the power to tell the stories of the faith). Bray writes of his project: "What I am arguing for is reimagining the way we tell our faith stories---which for me, a follower of Jesus, is the biblical narrative---so that they point to beloved community and beyond." He tells us that he uses the word reimagine to signal that his purpose is not the rejection of stories previously told, but his intention of improving the telling of the stories so that one might envision the Beloved Community. (p. 2). He writes out of a concern for the Beloved Community, but also in recognition that the way we have been telling the story has proven off-putting to many. Thus, we need to find new ways of passing on the stories, especially to the children. As a pastor I understand the challenges and the importance of the task, which is why I was disappointed, but perhaps surprised, at Bray's confession that he and his wife, both of whom grew up in the church, have chosen not to expose their children to much of church life. That they have chosen this path is a reminder that we need to figure out how to better to tell the stories, not so that the church will survive, but so the church can become an expression of the Beloved Community.
The ten chapters that form this book, which I found compelling and challenging and provocative share a process of story telling that Bray refers to as "COMPOST." By that he means that in telling the story of faith, we take that which is dead and broken (the way we may have told the biblical story that are dehumanizing of others) and taking them down to their "constituent parts and used as nutrient for the next generative organism emerging." He takes stories, like that of Jesus' encounter with the Syro-Phoenician woman and shows how it might speak of those who serve as champions for human dignity. He tackles the Ezra-Nehemiah stories in order to help us recognize the importance of letting others tell their own story. The Esther story helps us recognize the importance of context. The Ruth and Hagar stories speak of shared ownership of the Beloved Community, for both are outsiders. The Zacchaeus story speaks to the possibility of leveraging privilege on behalf of others. The woman who washes Jesus' feet speaks to the need to move beyond reform to transformation and liberation. Moses' story can help us honor the past, even as we improve upon it. Heritage and tradition are not bad or evil, but sometimes we honor it, Bray suggests, by improving upon what has taken place in the past. We're not prisoners to the past, even as we carry it with us.
His goal here is helping us tell stories that lead toward the creation of the Beloved Community. He speaks from his own experience and that of others who have been marginalized by those in power (and in the United States that has generally been white males). He retells stories to help us find ways of retelling stories ourselves that lead in that direction. Thus, hearing anew the Zacchaeus story reminds us that leveraging privilege serves as a blessing to others, but it also reminds us that this is not an instantaneous reality. There is challenge here, but also grace. That is important.
The design of the book helps us move along in this composting process. It is filled with pictures and quotes in sidebars. The notes are in the side bars. The form helps remind us that we're doing something different. Taking a clue from Ecclesiastes, the COMPOST process involves weaving together three ideas in a way that will not be easily broken. The first strand focuses on the "significance of story." He writes that "faith stories have the power to change the way we see and choose to be in the world" (p. 163). The second strand speaks to the "right to reimagine," He reminds us that not only do stories change over time, but they must change with time. Our stories evolve as we move through life and beyond. Finally, the third strand is "the ends matter." That is, thee is a desired end, and for him it is the Beloved Community.
There is a theme of justice running through the book. The stories chosen illustrate the importance of social justice. What has been and what is are not sufficient. There is something better. He notes that Martin Luther King declared that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." He agrees with that conclusion, but he also notes that this bending doesn't happen on its own. He writes: God made humanity the catalyst toward this moral end. Unless people of good will act in good faith toward a just end, justice will not be found" (p. 168). Toward that end, we make use of stories that envision a different and better reality, one that Jesus spoke of and lived into. For that reason, this is a book that really needs to be read and savored, so that stories can be reimagined and retold.
March 25, 2017
Melvin Bray is spot on, in believing that we can be better storytellers, better people who honor each other and religion, better human beings on this earth. Read and learn.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews