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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
I actually didn't finish the whole book. While I found it very challenging and thought provoking, at times the tone and language seemed a bit "holier than thou." I felt that by about 3/4 of the way through, I had heard all the author had to say.
Powerful book challenging Christians to live their life in simplicity and to 'truly' follow Jesus.
Might lead you into a faith crisis of discomfort, but it is probably a faith crisis that is needed.
Might lead you into a faith crisis of discomfort, but it is probably a faith crisis that is needed.
Wow. I'm speechless. I'll warn you up front. This is going to be the worst review you may ever read. Why? Because I'm speechless. As I read I was forming many parts of a review in my head - and heart - and as I finished the book a lot of what I thought during my read of it flew out of my brain. There's no guarantee of those thoughts ever returning.
Whew.
What a tough read. And this book is a timing issue for almost everyone. If you aren't ready to be challenged to your core, if you aren't okay with being called out of your comfort zone, if you aren't feeling real prepared to be challenged on your lifestyle, oh and if you really truly believe that Jesus was an American and a Republican and all that goes with that stereotype then you should not read this book. It will piss you off. You will squirm and get irate and probably either throw the book against a wall or drive a tractor over it or flush it down the toilet (don't do that - big bucks to clean up that plumbers nightmare).
Regardless of whether you agree with Claiborne 100%, disagree with him 100%, or are split you have to respect a guy who says, "This is what I believe and why" and then lives out those convictions by diving deep into the waters and not just toeing the shoreline testing the water temperature. Without condemnation or even a guilt trip Shane's thoughts and his story will make you re-evaluate on the spot what you do, what you believe, and the why of it all.
A year younger than me this guy has interacted with some admirable people (Mother Teresa, Rich Mullins to name a couple) and he has sought Truth with not just his heart but his very life. I feel like a waste of time. :) And yet that is exactly how Claiborne wouldn't want me, or anyone, to feel. He is very gracious and lacks self-righteousness.
As I read the book I kept returning to the thought that he is this generation's St Francis of Assisi, Rich Mullins, and others who have come before him. In fact, it seems to me that he kind of took up where Mullins left off when he passed on. And it wasn't a purposeful passing of the torch, it just happened because God was stirring Shane in similar ways as he did Mullins.
Claiborne is not only filled with knowledge but with wisdom as well (yeah, those two aren't the same thing). He is courageous because he dreams of God's Creation in ways that most of us have never considered. After careful study of scriptures he came to firm beliefs about the way God desires for us to live in this world. And like I said above, you may not agree with his conclusions but you have to respect him for not just talking about them but living them. Shane is very little talk and a whole lot of action. And isn't that the best way to proclaim God?
I keep trying to figure out the best way to review this book and there just isn't a good way when it leaves one so speechless. I gleaned a lot from this book and I also took a lot away from it to chew on. I think along with other things I've been reading lately I'm going to be cud chewing for a season.
I think Claiborne's ideas of revolution lie behind, in part, this statement from Chapter 1 regarding an affliction in the Church - spiritual bulimia: "I had gorged myself on all the products of the Christian industrial complex but was spiritually starving to death. I was marked by an overconsumptive bu malnourished spirituality, suffocated by Christianity but thirsty for God." I read that and fortunately had already recognized that in myself months and months and months ago so the ouch I received was more that reminder kind of ouch. But for someone who doesn't know that about themselves yet that statement stings pretty good. So his ideas of revolution stem from this affliction in the Church that has led to disenchantment, disobedience, disgust. There's more but I cannot possibly relay it all. Kudos to Zondervan for publishing this book. Well done. It's certainly not a popular topic - telling the Church to get a grip. So kudos to them.
If you think you are ready to read this book and be challenged to your core, uncomfortable in your Christian skin, and asked to consider making radical changes to your lifestyle think again. You aren't ready but the fact that you considered it encourages me to say one last thing. Read the book. Read it and don't throw it against the wall, run over it with a tractor or incur large plumbing bills. Read it. Let it challenge you, see what God might have for you because you allowed challenge in your life. Just read it.
Whew.
What a tough read. And this book is a timing issue for almost everyone. If you aren't ready to be challenged to your core, if you aren't okay with being called out of your comfort zone, if you aren't feeling real prepared to be challenged on your lifestyle, oh and if you really truly believe that Jesus was an American and a Republican and all that goes with that stereotype then you should not read this book. It will piss you off. You will squirm and get irate and probably either throw the book against a wall or drive a tractor over it or flush it down the toilet (don't do that - big bucks to clean up that plumbers nightmare).
Regardless of whether you agree with Claiborne 100%, disagree with him 100%, or are split you have to respect a guy who says, "This is what I believe and why" and then lives out those convictions by diving deep into the waters and not just toeing the shoreline testing the water temperature. Without condemnation or even a guilt trip Shane's thoughts and his story will make you re-evaluate on the spot what you do, what you believe, and the why of it all.
A year younger than me this guy has interacted with some admirable people (Mother Teresa, Rich Mullins to name a couple) and he has sought Truth with not just his heart but his very life. I feel like a waste of time. :) And yet that is exactly how Claiborne wouldn't want me, or anyone, to feel. He is very gracious and lacks self-righteousness.
As I read the book I kept returning to the thought that he is this generation's St Francis of Assisi, Rich Mullins, and others who have come before him. In fact, it seems to me that he kind of took up where Mullins left off when he passed on. And it wasn't a purposeful passing of the torch, it just happened because God was stirring Shane in similar ways as he did Mullins.
Claiborne is not only filled with knowledge but with wisdom as well (yeah, those two aren't the same thing). He is courageous because he dreams of God's Creation in ways that most of us have never considered. After careful study of scriptures he came to firm beliefs about the way God desires for us to live in this world. And like I said above, you may not agree with his conclusions but you have to respect him for not just talking about them but living them. Shane is very little talk and a whole lot of action. And isn't that the best way to proclaim God?
I keep trying to figure out the best way to review this book and there just isn't a good way when it leaves one so speechless. I gleaned a lot from this book and I also took a lot away from it to chew on. I think along with other things I've been reading lately I'm going to be cud chewing for a season.
I think Claiborne's ideas of revolution lie behind, in part, this statement from Chapter 1 regarding an affliction in the Church - spiritual bulimia: "I had gorged myself on all the products of the Christian industrial complex but was spiritually starving to death. I was marked by an overconsumptive bu malnourished spirituality, suffocated by Christianity but thirsty for God." I read that and fortunately had already recognized that in myself months and months and months ago so the ouch I received was more that reminder kind of ouch. But for someone who doesn't know that about themselves yet that statement stings pretty good. So his ideas of revolution stem from this affliction in the Church that has led to disenchantment, disobedience, disgust. There's more but I cannot possibly relay it all. Kudos to Zondervan for publishing this book. Well done. It's certainly not a popular topic - telling the Church to get a grip. So kudos to them.
If you think you are ready to read this book and be challenged to your core, uncomfortable in your Christian skin, and asked to consider making radical changes to your lifestyle think again. You aren't ready but the fact that you considered it encourages me to say one last thing. Read the book. Read it and don't throw it against the wall, run over it with a tractor or incur large plumbing bills. Read it. Let it challenge you, see what God might have for you because you allowed challenge in your life. Just read it.
So this book has been on my "to read" list for a long time-- ever since I saw him speak at Duke Chapel back in my North Carolina days. Now THIS is the kind of Christianity I'm talking about. I must admit that sometimes I didn't WANT to read the book-- I was overwhelmed with this beautiful, radical way of life, feeling like this IS the way to live. And that I'm nowhere near that. But then I loved this at the end:
"There are so many signs of hope, dear friends, and not just within the Christian underground. The crazy thing is that we are beginning to make sense; ordinary radicals are all around us. So we mustn't allow ourselves to detach from the church in a self-righteous cynicism. That's too easy and too empty. To those communities that have severed themselves from the established church, please build a bridge, for the church needs your prophetic voice. We can do more together than we can do alone.
"If you have the gift of frustration and the deep sense that the world is a mess, thank God for that; not everyone has that gift of vision. It also means that you have a responsibility to lead us in new ways. Recognizing that something is wrong is the first step toward changing the world. So for those of us who have nearly given up on the church, may we take comfort in the words of St. Augustine: 'The Church is a whore, but she's my mother.' She is a mess and has many illegitimate children. But she is also our momma and managed to give birth to us and to give us enough of the truth that we have been able to ask the questions that we have in this book.
"... We are the church. If she were perfect, we'd mess her up as soon as we joined. So may we have some grace, even with those Christians and pastors who make us nauseated and put us to sleep. After all, they have given us enough of the story that we have been able to stumble into God and community."
I so want to be more like Shane Claiborne. But really, I think I want to be more like Jesus. Maybe it's about time to read those Gospels.
"There are so many signs of hope, dear friends, and not just within the Christian underground. The crazy thing is that we are beginning to make sense; ordinary radicals are all around us. So we mustn't allow ourselves to detach from the church in a self-righteous cynicism. That's too easy and too empty. To those communities that have severed themselves from the established church, please build a bridge, for the church needs your prophetic voice. We can do more together than we can do alone.
"If you have the gift of frustration and the deep sense that the world is a mess, thank God for that; not everyone has that gift of vision. It also means that you have a responsibility to lead us in new ways. Recognizing that something is wrong is the first step toward changing the world. So for those of us who have nearly given up on the church, may we take comfort in the words of St. Augustine: 'The Church is a whore, but she's my mother.' She is a mess and has many illegitimate children. But she is also our momma and managed to give birth to us and to give us enough of the truth that we have been able to ask the questions that we have in this book.
"... We are the church. If she were perfect, we'd mess her up as soon as we joined. So may we have some grace, even with those Christians and pastors who make us nauseated and put us to sleep. After all, they have given us enough of the story that we have been able to stumble into God and community."
I so want to be more like Shane Claiborne. But really, I think I want to be more like Jesus. Maybe it's about time to read those Gospels.
A challenging read and a good one for thinking through how we live. Not the best writing and I wasn't always in agreement, but there was enough value to make it worth the read.
This book is snippets from Shane Claiborne's life/ministry as much as its a commentary on Christianity...and it gave me A LOT to think about. Once again, things I thought I knew about Christianity and the Bible have been turned on their head, but in a good way. An eye-opening way. A "I could get behind this" kind of way.
The writing is accessible. The stories are powerful examples of love, mercy, grace, compassion, peace. The criticisms are constructive and valid. It's clear that the message comes from a place of wanting the world to be better and of starting conversations (and movements) toward that goal.
If you're wrestling with faith, trying to deconstruct it, or are just curious about Christianity, I think it's worth a read. But I also would encourage those who think their faith, beliefs, and actions are rock solid to give this book a shot. It'll shake things up and give you some things to reflect on and explore.
The writing is accessible. The stories are powerful examples of love, mercy, grace, compassion, peace. The criticisms are constructive and valid. It's clear that the message comes from a place of wanting the world to be better and of starting conversations (and movements) toward that goal.
If you're wrestling with faith, trying to deconstruct it, or are just curious about Christianity, I think it's worth a read. But I also would encourage those who think their faith, beliefs, and actions are rock solid to give this book a shot. It'll shake things up and give you some things to reflect on and explore.
took me awhile to get past the pastor-y voice of his writing, but once i did there was some good stuff in there.
This latest book in my reading adventures on the topic of what authentic faith looks like when it is lived out was not my favorite. But it was worth a read. Shane Claiborne lives in an intentional community in the heart of inner-city Philadelphia. And that's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what he has done--worked alongside Mother Theresa in Calcutta, traveled to Iraq in the midst of heavy U.S. bombing, camped out with the homeless in city parks, to name a few.
I'm not sure he had enough to say to warrant a 350-page book, but I did appreciate his commitment to living and serving in places and among people whom others would prefer to forget or ignore. And he does a good job of uncoupling Christianity from patriotism and capitalism.
The footnotes were annoying, his "voice" can be grating, but in the midst of all of that, there is plenty to inspire the reader to imagine a different way of living, whether it looks like Claiborne's life or not.
I'm not sure he had enough to say to warrant a 350-page book, but I did appreciate his commitment to living and serving in places and among people whom others would prefer to forget or ignore. And he does a good job of uncoupling Christianity from patriotism and capitalism.
The footnotes were annoying, his "voice" can be grating, but in the midst of all of that, there is plenty to inspire the reader to imagine a different way of living, whether it looks like Claiborne's life or not.