The Wisdom of Mr McLaren – Part One

Got home this evening to see that my first ever Amazon purchase had arrived: “A Generous Orthodoxy” by Brian McLaren (AKA “Why I am a missional + evangelical + post/protestant + liberal/conservative + mystical/poetic + biblical + charismatic/contemplative + fundamentalist/calvanist + anabaptist/anglican + methodist + catholic + green + incarnational + depressed-yet-hopeful + emergent + unfinished christian” for the uninitiated). Now, I’ve only read the introduction, and already there are some blog-worthy thoughts.

“The subtitle of this book creates a term so awkward and confusion that it’s certain not to catch on. Which is a good thing, because what we need now is not new sectarian terminology or new jargon or a new elitist clique, but rather a humble rediscovery of the simple, mysterious way of Jesus that can be embraced across the whole Christian horizon (and beyond)”

It’s not hard to see in my own life my natural tendency to do this. I want to be part of the club, be one of those on the leading edge. And then it’s all about me. To be brutally honest, it’s that sort of fruit that I’ve already seen leave people who are unsure about this emerging church deal with a nasty aftertaste. If the emerging church is going to be a revolution, it will be a Jesus revolution – any other motivations are always going to be doomed.

“there are places here where I have gone out of my way to be provocative, mischevious and unclear, reflecting my belief that clarity is sometimes overrated and that shock, obscurity, playfulness and intrigue (carefully articulated) often stimulate more thought than clarity.”

This was one of the things I knew before getting this book that Brian McLaren is about. And there certainly is something about the way that Jesus taught that this sort of thinking reflects.

So I’m sure there’ll be more in this, and probably even quite a chunk of stuff that I disagree with. Stay Tuned – the fun is just beginning…