Book Review: A New Kind of Christianity by Brian McLaren
Publisher: HarperOne, 2010

In past reviews of Brian McLaren’s books I have always attempted to hold my criticism back a little. This is due in large part to not wanting to harshly judge a fellow Christian in a public forum. After reading A New Kind Christianity I am no longer concerned with holding back. I suppose this is because McLaren is also no longer concerned with holding back. In the past, McLaren has always been hard to pin down.  His opinions are vague because he will never make a claim of truth in what he writes. He has said that what he writes is merely a contribution to the ongoing “conversation” we humans are invited to engage in about God and seems to think that the moment someone claims an actual truth regarding God the conversation is muffled. The problem is that McLaren seems to apply his relativist outlook to the rock solid truths of the Bible leaving us all swimming around in a sea of uncertainty.

In A New Kind of Christianity McLaren comes as close as he ever has to showing his cards. In this book he denies hell, the fall of man, human depravity, and seems to think the greatest Christian minds throughout history have all been reading the Bible in the wrong way. McLaren submits that for millennia Christians have been reading the Bible through a faulty Greco-Roman world view. He claims that this worldview has led us all to come to fundamentally wrong conclusions concerning Jesus’ role in our lives. Thank goodness McLaren has come along to save us from the false teachings of the greatest minds the world has ever known. While McLaren doesn’t explicitly state it, if he is correct concerning the things he writes, than the likes of the apostle Paul, Saint Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and C.S. Lewis have all been wrong. McLaren’s claims reek of arrogance.

Rather than reading the Bible through our faulty Greco-Roman reading glasses (according to the author, these glasses lead us to read the Bible as a constitution that reveals too much truth), McLaren suggest we should read it as an ongoing conversation. The most attracting aspect of this “conversation” is no doubt that it will never lead us to a certain or definite conclusion. What McClaren has done is invent a new way to read Scripture due to his inability to juxtapose the God of the Old Testament with the Savior of the New Testament. McLaren submits that the Bible is evidence of the evolution of mankind’s thought processes. In the Old Testament, when man’s thoughts were the most primitive, God was painted as a violent and cruel God that no savvy Christian such as McLaren could ever worship. After a few thousand years, Jesus was portrayed in a much different light because thought had evolved to the point that mankind could imagine a God that was closer to the truth. McLaren takes this theory far enough to imagine a future where Christians will imagine a God that is even more perfect than Christ. In his future, Christians (and God) are vegetarian, earth worshiping pacifists who throw up in their mouth a little when they remember those barbaric Christians who laid the foundation of the church. It seemed to me that McLaren’s God of the future is very much like McLaren himself. McLaren’s book is one of the grossest forms of idolatry I have ever witnessed another Christian commit. Because he is unable (or unwilling) to accept God as He is revealed to us in Scripture, McLaren resorts to recreating Him in his own image. It is the ultimate form of humanism and arrogance.

Personally, I’ll join the early church fathers and fundamental Christians over the last two millennia who wished to understand the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as revealed by God Himself in the Holy Scriptures. McLaren’s teaching in this book are so far removed from traditional fundamental Christianity that it is virtually indistinguishable from atheism.

Christ taught that the world would hate us because of Him. This was evidenced in the church fathers who gave their lives to promote the Gospel. It is witnessed to today in various parts of the world where Christians are persecuted and killed for their beliefs.

In this book, McLaren spits on the memories and sacrifices of those Christians and sides with the world. He disregards the revelation of God Almighty and creates a disgusting idol.

Should Women be Pastors or Teachers in the Church?

Introduction

Please allow me to begin by reassuring the reader that I understand this is a controversial subject. I have a wife and three daughters and am fully aware of how this issue affects them. I understand that this subject has been used and abused at times in an effort to subject women. I apologize for those moments. I also understand that the Bible’s teaching concerning this subject has often been misunderstood. Because of the potential pot-holes, I will do my best to present a Biblical view on this subject in as sensitive a manner as possible.

Last Sunday I watched my pastor step up and defend the Scriptures as they relate to the subject of women pastors. The church I attend is Southern Baptist whose view is that women should not preach, teach, or hold authority over any man within the church. I myself had remained neutral on the subject for several years. My neutrality was due in part to a fear of insulting the females in my life whom I love dearly. I knew what the Bible said but I wasn’t sure how to fit the pieces of the puzzle together in a way that wouldn’t hurt feelings. In retrospect, I believe I lacked a wide enough point of view. You see, when put in the context of the Bible as a whole, there is nothing hurtful about the Southern Baptist position on the subject.

On the way home from church Sunday I had a bit of an “ah ha” moment as my thoughts began to crystallize on this issue. My line of reasoning began as I watched my pastor preach and thought to myself, “I would never want my wife to face the kind of pressure he is facing today.”

This subject is difficult because we inherently understand that all men and women are created equal. It is understood that in this day and age women can be anything they want to be. The contradiction seems evident – if women are equal to men, why can’t they aspire to preach? Is the Bible somehow outdated or irrelevant to the lives of the modern woman? For a moment, let’s dismiss our preconceived notions and study the Scriptures to see what they have to say.

I pray that my readers read what I have written here with an open heart and receive it in manner in which it is intended. I would recommend that as you read this post you get out your Bible and study along with me.

Are men and women really created equal?

• Genesis 1:27 – Both men and women are created in God’s image.
• Galatians 3:28 – There is no male or female – all are one (equal) in Christ.

According to Scripture, women are equal to men and are created in the image of God. If this is true, it seems to contradict Paul’s teaching in the following verses.

• 1 Timothy 2:11-12 – A woman should learn in silence and not have authority over or teach a man.
• 1 Corinthians 14:34 – A woman should be silent.
• 1 Corinthians 11:3 – Christ is the head of every man and man is the head every of women. God is the head of Christ.

These verses seem to stand in stark contrast to each other. The Bible clearly teaches that men and women are equal, however, women should not preach to, teach, or hold authority over a man in the church. Despite their equality, men and women have different roles. Consider the following verses:

• Ephesians 5:22-23 – Wives are to submit to their husbands as to the Lord. The husbands are the head of the wives as Christ is the head of the church.
• Ephesians 5:25 – Husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church.
• Ephesians 5:32 – Men are to love their wives and wives are to respect their husbands.

Obviously, women are special to God and hold a special place and role within the Kingdom. Consider that it was to a woman that Christ first revealed that He was God (John 4:26). It was to women that Christ first presented Himself to after the resurrection (Matthew 28:9-10). There are examples of woman prophets throughout the Old and New Testaments (Exodus 15:20, Judges 4:4, 2 Kings 22:14, Isaiah 8:13). These instances clearly show that if God chooses to use a woman to speak His Word, she had better heed His call. However, these examples all seem to be outside of a church setting. It is worth noting that there are no Scriptural examples of a woman acting as pastor within the ministry that is an ongoing church.

It seems to me that Ephesians 5:25 has huge implications on our topic. If a man is to love his wife as Christ loved the church, what does that mean? How did Christ love the church? Did he instruct each one of us to be crucified? Did he tell us to die for Him? No. He died for us willingly on the cross! He loved us that much! This means that a man should follow Christ’s example and be willing to die for his wife. I named this study ‘In the Line of Fire’ because I am reminded of the Secret Service agents who willingly protect the President with their lives. They are willing to take a bullet not because they are more equipped to do so than the President, but because they view his life as more important than their own. Keep this attitude in mind as we move forward in our study. According to Ephesians 5:25, a husband must view his wife’s life as more important than his own (just as the Secret Service agent views the President). He must be willing to take a bullet for her! Furthermore, he should be willing to follow Christ’s example and position himself between her and the gates of hell! If he is unwilling to do this, he is not fulfilling his Biblical role as husband.

Within the Church it is the Pastors who are in the Line of Fire

• Luke 12:48 – Much is required of everyone who is given much. Even more will be expected of those who have been entrusted with more.

Pastors have been entrusted with shepherding a flock made up of people that Christ loves. They have been given the duty to teach the Word of God to people made in His image. It is a great responsibility! Pastors will be expected to maintain a higher standard by both God and man!

• James 3:1 – Teachers (of the Word) will receive a stricter judgment than others. As such, not many should do it!

James is actually trying to talk people out of becoming teachers of the Word because of the target that is on their backs. Preachers are held to a higher standard and will receive a stricter judgment than anyone else. They are in the line of fire! As such, any man who takes his God given responsibility as a husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church should be willing to step into the line of fire and live by a higher standard and take on the stricter judgment rather than expecting his wife to do it! Allowing his wife to fill the role of pastor is akin to Christ asking us to die on the cross.

In Paul’s day the leaders of the church faced certain death for their beliefs. This is true in parts of the world even today. Stand up and pastor a church in China or Iran and you can expect nothing but hardship and probable death. We have been spoiled in our western culture to the point that we have forgotten how dangerous it can be to preach to Word! Christ Himself said that they will hate us because of Him!

It isn’t that women aren’t capable of being pastors or teaching the word. They aren’t somehow inferior to men. Rather, it is that men should love their wives enough not to allow them to withstand the scrutiny, expectations, retaliation, and judgment associated with the position. The role of pastor is a tough, stressful and dangerous. It should be the man taking the heat and positioning himself between his wife and the gates of hell. Why? Because women are simply that special! They should be placed on a pedestal rather than in a pulpit dodging bullets!

How do we respond to men who reject this teaching?

If you are a man who would rather his wife takes the heat associated with leadership in the church I would strongly suggest that you man-up! God has clearly told you in His Word that your instinct should be to love your wife like Christ loved the church. If you are content to watch her take the heat in the pulpit as pastor or deacon how can she be sure you will take a literal bullet for her? How would you react if the enemy was about to kill her for preaching the Word? How is she supposed to feel loved if you aren’t willing to step up to the plate and assume your role as the head of the church?

What about women who reject this teaching?

I understand there will be women who stand up and say they don’t need any man to open a door, take a bullet, or preach a sermon for them. They are right. They don’t need a man to do these things. They are more than capable of taking a bullet. I would strongly suspect however that a woman who is unwilling or not ready to accept a man’s protection and sacrifice is not fully prepared to accept Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. I would humbly suggest she re-evaluate her position on this issue. If a woman still can’t accept what the Bible says on this matter, there are denominations and churches out there that will accommodate. I’m not suggesting that a woman pastor is going to hell because of their opinion on this issue. I am suggesting, however, that their husbands should prayerfully examine the issue with some attention to the details.

God Bless!

Hope as it turns out is a cheap slut, or so my current situation would lead me to believe.  Allow me to explain…  I awoke this morning to find a situation that looked very promising in my email.  A company that I submitted a resume to for a completely different job, (for which I was absolutely unqualified), had done something very interesting.  Rather than toss my resume, they compared it to their other openings, and contacted me regarding a possible match.  In the preliminary discussions everything looked hopeful.  I dared to believe that this was THE ONE, that this was a providential opportunity that was going to lead to gainful employment.  I dared to hope.  I dared to believe.

It seemed like everything was going well.  I updated my resume as requested by the human resources staff at the company.  I asked for prayer from the people closest to me.  And everything looked like it was going to work out.  Until all hope was extinguished when the person I had been dealing with asked for more detailed revisions to my resume, and included the resumes of the other candidates in the process to show me what he was looking for.  It was at this point that hope fled like the virtue of a prom queen after the prom is over.  And I was left with an unbelievable situation and I was surely stunned.  The other candidates completely blew me out of the water in terms of qualifications, experience, training, and job knowledge.  They had advanced degrees, and decades of experience I could only wish to have.  One was even on the development team for the most current release of the product this job entails supporting.

And so I gave in to the dark despair that lurks in the recesses of my spirit.  I was left with a number of questions regarding the quality and nature of my faith.  The Bible says in many places that God cares for all of his creation.   Jesus himself repeats this theme in his ministry also.  I believe this to be true, and yet I wonder about God’s provision in my immediate context.  I am fearful about the future.  I accept the Bible at face value that God has a plan for my life, and yet I am frightened about its timing and implementation.

I wonder if I am a liar when I say that I believe in God’s word on this subject, yet reside in such a dark and despairing place.  I wonder if it is sinful to be fearful that God won’t fulfill his promises.  Am I a hypocrite when I exhort others to believe in God, when my faith seems to be so shallow?  Am I the wrong man for anything God may have planned for the future, when I am compelled to ask these questions?  Should I just accept the counsel of Job’s wife and ‘curse God and die’?

And yet in my darkest times I was reminded that God is sovereign.  I was reminded that despite my circumstances, God still sits on the throne.  I was uplifted to know that in spite of all the wind and rain that is buffeting my situation the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent being that created the universe by the simple spoken declaration of his will still exists.  The power to confirm all that he has promised still resides in his spirit. 

If I do nothing more than retain the belief in those things, I will have succeeded in surviving the test of this moment, for surely it must have been a test.  I was compelled to remember always, that my timing isn’t his timing.  I was encouraged to remain steadfast in accepting that God pays for what he orders in our lives.  He protects all that creates with the same power that said, ‘let there be light’.  Those that God has entrusted into the care of my life, matter to almighty God.  I matter to him at the same time.

This moment might seem to some to have been trivial.  It might seem like much ado about nothing.  I assure you that it wasn’t.  The substance of my very soul was tested this morning.  I was weighed on the scales.  I can only pray that I didn’t come to the place of remembrance too late.  I can only wish that my despair wasn’t as costly to me in the long term as I fear it might be.  The path out of despair this morning was painful and difficult, but I came out of the place.  And I know I didn’t reside there or walk out of there alone.  The spirit of God was there trying to comfort the whole time.  It was this same spirit that provided timely remembrances of God’s word and promises.  And it was this same spirit that carried me out of the land of despair when it was time, my feelings regarding hope notwithstanding.

As I grow older thoughts of prayer seem to dominate my attention. I would like to think that spiritual maturity has developed my prayer life, but I believe I owe it more to practical experience. Over and over, I have witnessed the power of prayer. There have been countless times in my Christian life that prayer has helped me or one that I love.  

Recently, I witnessed the power of prayer up close when my wife was undergoing some scary medical tests. This wasn’t the first time prayer has played a critical role in my life, but it is certainly one of the more recent.

This event concerning my wife, coupled with a growing desire to pray for my friends, has caused me to ponder prayer extensively over the last few days. What is it about prayer that God likes? What types of prayer does He prefer? What does the Bible mean when it instructs us to pray without ceasing? (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

I’m reminded of Dallas Willard’s book, The Divine Conspiracy, where he teaches that prayer is basically a request of things we want from God (see 1 Kings 8:22-56). Willard suggests that many of us have been taught that we are only to pray about big things like world peace or hunger (Willard calls this ‘heroic prayer’ but I prefer the term ‘Bono prayer’ coined by a friend of mine). Willard has the following to say about ‘Bono prayers’:

“Prayer simply dies from efforts to pray about “good things” that honestly do not matter to us. The way to get to meaningful prayer for those good things is to start praying for what we are truly interested in. The circle of our interests will inevitably grow in the largeness of God’s love.” (Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, p. 242)

It’s not that we shouldn’t pray for the big necessities of this world. However, if we are praying for the big things because we think God prefers them, we are mistaken. God wants us to pray for the things that really matter to us. Consider the Lord’s Prayer for a moment ( Matthew 6:9-13). The prayer opens by acknowledging the “bigness” of God ( Matthew 6:9-11). It is quickly broken down into things that really matter to us … daily food, forgiveness, temptation, and protection ( Matthew 6:12-13). Not many of us are in a position to cause world peace or end hunger, but we all have a small sphere of influence where we can help advance God’s Kingdom. If we all pray for God to put the little things of our lives in order, it will go a long way towards addressing the big things. God desires us to be honest and to pray about what really matters to us. If I may borrow from Willard once more:

” … [T]he most adequate description of prayer is simply, ‘Talking to God about what we are doing together.’ ” (Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, p.243)

What are you in the midst of doing with God? For me, I immediately think of my marriage and our children. I have a vested interest in praying for my wife and kids. They matter to me. I pray for my friends and their families – those people who mean something to me. I pray for my schooling. I pray that someday God will be able to use what I’m learning for His glory in some small way. I am learning that as I consistently pray for the most immediate issues in my life it is inevitable the Spirit will lead me into some of those “Bono prayers.”

If you find your prayer life is growing stagnant, I highly recommend that you take a personal inventory in an attempt to discover what matters the most in your life. Once that discovery is made, dedicate yourself to a daily pattern of prayer. Keep your focus on those specific issues that you are most passionate for and stick with it. Eventually, you’ll find yourself praying for multiple issues in a variety of situations.

The more I stick to this routine, I am continually shocked by the blessings I have received. God is good!

(This post originally appeared on the now defunct centurybound.com blog on December 22, 2005. It appears here with some major rewrites from the author.)

While surfing the internet, I happened upon the blog of an atheist who was asking the following question of her readers:

 “How many people would believe in a god if there were no rewards promised to the self for doing so?”

This rather loaded question is a complicated one. It is actually not meant to be a question, but rather an attack on the principles of Christianity. The atheist is suggesting that the Christian faith is a selfish one and insinuating that if there were no promise of Heaven, there would be few, if any, Christians. There is no chance I could ever answer the question to this particular atheist’s satisfaction because I suspect she believes she already knows the answer. Furthermore, I’m not sure there is a way to know the answer. Since there is a promise of Heaven, I have no idea how many Christians there would be if that promise was ripped out from under us. I suspect, rather sadly, there would be less. Possibly much less, but that is just a guess. I know that in my own experience, Heaven did not enter the equation. I chose to believe in God because I had an encounter with Him that began to make sense to me intellectually. I then chose to believe in Jesus Christ (and the Christian faith) specifically for an abundance of reasons – none of which were Heaven. I sort of see Heaven as the icing on the cake. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad the promise is there; but my faith doesn’t hinge on it.

I believe we can examine this question introspectively in a way that can help us examine our faith. What if today, we pondered the following question?

Would you still follow Jesus Christ if there were suddenly no promise of Heaven?

If our answer to this question is ‘no’, I would suggest that we may be on shaky ground spiritually. I spent the majority of life before Christ creating a particular version of God in my mind and then imposing those values on the real God. For instance, the God I created was all knowing and all powerful. He had created this world and then stepped back to see what would happen. He was a fair God who would allow pretty much let anyone into Heaven provided they tried to live a good life (you know … paid their taxes, supported their children, didn’t kill anyone … that sort of thing). It was only when I humbled myself that I realized I had no right to impose my beliefs on God. If God were real, I had to allow Him to teach me about Himself and accept even what I didn’t understand. I had no business trying to invent God in my image. I had to understand and apply the old Axum that “Father Knows Best.” In other words, if God, in all His wisdom, suddenly decided there should be no Heaven, I would have to accept it – even if I didn’t understand it. I can’t worship God because of what He promises me, rather, I must worship God because He deserves it.

I am so thankful that my God has promised me Heaven. I also believe there is a hell. Hell, in my opinion, is proof that God loves us. How’s that you might ask? Well, if what we really want is a place that is free from the presence and influence of God, he will provide it for us even though it breaks His heart to do so. That place is hell. It’s not God that makes hell such a terrible place … it is the complete absence of God’s influence that makes hell so bad.

Even though I have a concrete belief in Heaven and hell, I can’t make that the focal point of my faith. Why? Well, if all I do is think about the future … someday far in the future … I am ignoring one of Jesus’ most powerful lessons. Jesus taught that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. What did He mean by that? I think He meant that we can experience Heaven right now in our mortal life. If hell is the total absence of God, then Heaven is living in God’s presence. In fact, Heaven is more than just the presence of God – it is a place where God’s Will is done. We can experience God’s presence and live in His will right now. If we spend all of our time looking towards the future, we will miss out on the beauty that is Heaven on Earth.

Think about it … we all know the bitter and depressed Christian who lives a miserable life and constantly talks about Heaven in the future tense. My heart goes out to these people. Thank God they have the promise of eternal life from the One True God to keep them going. I am not suggesting that it would be healthy to totally forget about our promise of Heaven; I just pray that someday we can all experience a shadow of Heaven right now!