Tall Monastic Guy

Access Books

Once in awhile I'm asked what books have most shaped my life or which ones I'd most recommend. While so many come to mind I'm going to go with 8 for now that seem to be having a significant impact on the shaping of Access...

The Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr

Reaching Out by Henri Nouwen

Other: Loving Self, God and Neighbor in a World of Fractures by Kester Brewin

A New Kind of Christianity by Brian McLaren

2 types of community

"One thing we have learned from conservative Christian believers and from progressive social activists is that community can be built around a common self-righteousness or around a common brokenness. Both are magnetic and contagious. People are drawn toward folks who have it all together  (or have figured out how to look like they do.) People are also drawn toward folks who know they don't have it all together and are not willing to fake it. Christianity can be built around isolating ourselves from evil doers and sinners, creating a community of religious super-piety. Christianity can also be built around joining with broken sinners and evildoers of our world crying out to God, groaning for grace. That's the Christianity we have fallen in love with."

from Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove's "Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, p 47

Notes from 5/15 presentation by author, Wm. Paul Young

Last night I slipped in to Abiding Hope Lutheran Church to listen to a presentation by author of The Shack, W. Paul Young. In short, I really enjoyed him. The following is what I jotted down from the Q & A session (which was the majority of his presentation). Much of my notes are my closest interpretation of his responses with his exact words in quotes. 

Q: “Why are relationships so hard?” 

Religion is a lot easier than relationship. All you need in order to keep religion going is a bunch of rules, but when you enter relationship you’ve entered mystery and you’ve given up control. For most Christians God has been more like Santa (You better watch out you better not cry he’s gonna find out who’s been naughty or nice…) and it’s been about our performance, our trying to please God... essentially a self-centered religion.

The other version centers on God and trusting in God’s character. We are so geared toward hierarchy within relationships and we assume that hierarchy exists within the Trinity. Hierarchical relationships let you know who’s in charge, who’s in control which is why we so quickly gravitate toward hierarchy.

God is fundamentally in relationship. He’s never done anything alone. Independence is such a foreign thing to God.

"Smashable" Brands

“To sum up, our research showed that the emotions we experience when we are exposed to iPods, Guiness, and Ferrari sports cars are similar to the emotions generated by religious symbols such as crosses, rosary beads, Mother Teresa, the Virgin Mary, and the Bible. In fact, the reactions in our volunteers to the brands and religious icons were not just similar, they were almost identical.” (p125)

Author and branding expert (and only 38 yr old!) Martin Lindstrom spent three years and $7 million to examine what parts of the brain are stimulated when exposed to various brands, products, and logos. The brands listed above, iPod, Guiness, and Ferrari are what marketers term, “smashable brands”, meaning if you threw an iPod against the wall and it broke into a hundred pieces you’d still know that it was an iPod. In the same way, if you poured just a drop of Guiness out of the tap, because of the distinguished foam and dark color, you’d likely know it was a Guiness. The idea came from the Coke bottle still being recognized as a coke bottle if you saw it smashed to bits on the street. “Smashable brands” are head and shoulders above weaker brands in terms of recognition and consumer response and as the study showed those brands illicit nearly an identical emotional response as spiritual images like the cross.

The book has been a fascinating read as I’ve been thinking a lot about the branding craze of our culture. After reading the chapter about religion last night, this morning I woke up wondering if I’m a smashable brand. If we are images of God according to the creation story, his representations, perhaps we could say we are products, logos, brands, of the triune God.

But, am I a smashable brand? If life for me ended today, could you associate me as a poured out, sold out follower of the one true God? Or am I just another brand?

Think about it. Are you a smashable brand? Does the life you live reveal the design and qualities... the power of your maker? 

(thanks to CRM's branding expert, Andrew Taylor for the recommended reading!)

Summer Reads

Last night I was able to read one chapter in three of these books (which is kinda remarkable with a newborn in the house). 3 of these are re-reads and the Claiborne and Peterson books are first timers. The funny thing about this photo is that to the left of the stack is a breast pump, signifying that the reality that any of these get read and processed well by the end of this summer is probably a joke.

Here's the stack from the bottom up:
Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard (a re-read from my first year in seminary)
A Theology as Big as The City by Ray Bakke (another re-read from seminary)
Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw (have been meaning to get to this for months)
Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman (Thurman was a significant leader in the Civil Rights movement)
Eat this Book by Eugene Peterson (referenced in previous post, great for getting back into the top priority)
Holy Bible by lots of inspired people

What's on your list?

Eat This Book

I'm about half way through a provoking book by Eugene Peterson called Eat This Book: A conversation in the art of spiritual reading. It's provoking in the sense that it is a catalyst for getting me back into and deeper into the sacred text of Holy Scripture. Good stuff.

It is a matter of urgency that interest in our souls be matched by an interest in our Scriptures-- and for the same reason: they, Scripture and souls, are the primary fields of operation of the Holy Spirit. An interest in souls divorced from an interest in Scriptures leaves us without a text that shapes these souls. In the same way, an interest in Scriptures divorced from an interest in souls leaves us without any material for the text to work on. (17)

Holy Scripture nurtures the holy community as food nurtures the human body. Christians don't simply learn or study or use Scripture; we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love, cups of cold water, missions into all the world, healing and evangelism and justice in Jesus' name, hands raised in adoration of the Father, feet washed in company with the Son. (18)

prayer for the journey...

A Celtic prayer of pilgrimage from Calvin Miller's The Path of Celtic Prayer

Father of all humankind, who keeps my journey and marks the horizon of my destiny, love me through my journey toward tomorrow.

Son of God, leader and keeper of the maps, show me not the whole road at once, but give me the distance to be gained in single steps.

Spirit of God, who holds my inner compass, may your presence on the journey awaken trust within me when I don't know what lies around the bend.

God bless to me this day, then I shall make my journey by sunlight and know the way.

Christ, bless to me this uncertain step, then I shall find the step more certain.

Spirit, bless to me this lonely moment, then I shall not be alone.

O Three-in-One, do guard my steps.

Travel with me God,
and I shall travel with the darkness at my back and the Sunlight on my face.

Travel with me Christ.
then I shall mute the thunder,
and walk through lightning unafraid.

Travel with me Holy Spirit,
and my solo anthem shall have accompaniment throughout the journey.

I am coming to you Three-in-One.
One day at a time,
one hour at a time,
one step at a time.
Amen.

Book Review: "This Beautiful Mess" by Rick McKinley

"Practicing the presence of the kingdom changes how we see the world, our neighbors, and ourselves." (p.86)

But what does the presence of the kingdom look like? How does Jesus' ancient languange and teaching about the kingdom relate to my life and my world, my neighborhood, my job... today?

I'll just say right off the bat and save you the time of reading this post that this is a book well worth reading. This Beautiful Mess did nothing but stoke my ability to wonder about the kingdom and pursue life within it.
Rick breaks his thoughts down into 3 parts: Discovering the Kingdom, Re-visioning life in the kingdom, and practicing the presence of the kingdom.

Throughout the book each of Rick's chapters are guided by Jesus' words which provoke the reader of the scriptures to envision an alternative kingdom led by God. In part one, Rick points out how modern systematic theologies have tended to confine the kingdom's mystery and grandeur into something we can package and easily explain. He said theologians have typically chosen one of these three approaches:
"they reduce the gospel of the kingdom (it's just the church); they spiritualize the gospel of the kingdom (it's completely realized now); or, they postpone the gospel of the kingdom (it will only be realized in heaven)." (p38)
Not until the last 5 years or so have I, personally, moved outside of navigating within those three traditional perspectives.

In part two, Rick writes about how un-natural it is for us to simply "be" in God's kingdom. Our default is to busy ourselves with "doing" God's work. In regards to this he writes about the idea of "levels spirituality" (this might be my favorite idea of the book). If you are like me, grew up in the church, involved in college ministry, etc. you know we have typically sought to achieve a higher level of righteouness. Unconsciencly, good ministries, have encouraged a sense of power and control through seeking to make it the next spiritual level. This thinking like much of American culture deifies the individual and removes us from relationhsips. The more Christian stuff I involve myself with, the higher level I acheive. Rick calls this out as something Jesus hates. "All it does is reinforce the lie that started way back in the beginning--the one that says I can be like God." (p58)
In simply "being" we seek to participate in what God is already doing rather than making things happen ourselves.
In chapter six, he addresses the reality of the "already but not yet" idea that the kingdom on earth will always be characterized by tension. We can experience the joy of gut-busting laughter one day and be confused and hurt by the loss of a loved one the next. Tension is an important term to remember when describing and pointing out the beauty amidst all the mess. The kingdom is "beauty in tension." (p73)

Part three explains how to practice a life seen through the lenses of the kingdom. Jesus explained his plan for living in this new kingdom by one command: Go. Rick points to the sending (latin: Missio) nature of God: Father sent the Son; the Son sends the Spirit; and the Father, Son, and Spirit send us, the church. We are a sent people, signpost of the kingdom, the salt and light of our neighborhoods.
As signposts, God's thumbprint will be upon every aspect of our lives. For all of us, especially consumer driven Americans, kingdom living will need to work it's way into the manner in which we use money. Rick challenges the reader to look at our checkbook as an indicator of what kingdom we truly proclaim.

Toward the conclusion, in chapter eleven, Rick addresses the reality of hardships in entering the kingdom of heaven. It's an obvious reality for our brothers and sisters in the 3rd world but not so obvious for us here in comfort. Living in the kingdom moves us to be advocates and to suffer with those who are hurting in the model of Christ-the suffering servant. Rick says, "The American church doesn't produce martyrs; we produce celebrities." Ouch-too true.

Rick's book simply reminds me that our lives preach about the one we follow. And in following Christ I seek to see the world in the way he did.
"Every day under our feet, creation groans and trembles with its approach. And we have a kingdom to embrace and a King to worship."

This is a much richer read than I can adaquately explain in just a few words, so go take it in for yourself!

Thanks Rick!

Prayer of Examen

Often, this time of year, I've noticed myself struggle with thoughts and emotions that feel fragmented and disordered like scattered puzzle pieces after the box got flipped upside down. It could be old anxieties associated with school starting or a new basketball season on the horizon but really, who knows?
With this in mind, I read something about prayer last week in a book called The God of Intimacy and Action that I thought I'd give a whirl. The particular type of prayer I was reading about is called the Prayer of Examen. (Richard Foster in his book titled, Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home, also has a good chapter devoted to this type of prayer). This particular prayer is a simple discipline that seeks to take detailed inventory of all thoughts that were processed throughout the course of one's day.
I stayed faithful to the practice for 2 whole days, struggled the third, and only considered doing it the fourth and fifth days of this week. But looking back, it has been a good practice for me and I've crossed paths with at least a couple others who I've recommended the prayer to.
In light of all the discussion surrounding cultural captivity, consumerism, etc. the Prayer of Examen has encouraged me to sift through and keep what is good and what lasts and toss out the unnecesary garbage. Reminding me of Proverbs 4:4...
"Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the silversmith;"

For anyone interested, I'll list what the prayer entails (based on p.97 of The God of Intimacy and Action by Tony Compolo and Mary Albert Darling),

Step 1. Prepare yourself by quietly focusing your attention on God.
"In him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28)

Step 2. Review your day with thankfulness and a spirit of reconciliation.
"When the Spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all truth. (John 16:13)

When did you live out of love and freedom in Christ?
"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence or if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

When did you not live out of love and freedom in Christ?
"Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord. (Lamentations 3:40)

Step 3. Thank God for what is happening through this exercise, and ask for guidance and grace for tomorrow.
"Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20)

"Through the years saints have taught that the "things" that distract us from living a holistic gospel are anything we value or desire that takes us away from more fully loving and serving Jesus, from possessions to pleasure to prestige to power."

                                        -Mary Albert Darling (p.107)

Review of "Justice In The Burbs"

Today I finished Justice In The Burbs by Will & Lisa Samson. This is an important book and a great follow up for someone like me who recently read The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. I loved Claiborne and was deeply inspired but there were times I wanted to ask more specifically how this super activist would translate his work for "the rest of us" who may not end up making our own shoes or fueling our cars with left over cooking oil.  I felt like Will and Lisa's characters, Matt and Christine, represents the rest of us quite well.

In similar fashion to McLaren's, A New Kind of Christian, the Samson's communicate their heart and soul for social justice issues through the allegorical tale of a suburban family who begin sensing the call of Christ to intentionally and holistically fight for social justice. I thought it to be a very well written book but thats not why I believe it to be an important read. This book provides a gentle yet clear introduction to the importance of fighting for social justice amidst a culture held captive to consumerism. As Will states on page 43,

"...the stuff of this normal life so dominates our time and attention that we fail to see issues greater that ourselves. If we are never interrupted, and if we do not intentionally strive to raise people to value the stranger and the needy in the ways God does, everyday activities will crowd out God's call on our lives."

While reading this book, I began sensing a holy annoyance asking me to take a closer look at where I buy my clothes and even my groceries. How might those purchases effect individuals or the environment involved in the production process? And do I sincerely value my relationships over my stuff?

"How is it that the disciples of a great caregiver came to care so little for those in need? If we are to be making disciples in the model of Jesus, those disciples should want to care for those at the margins, just the way Jesus did." (p173)

Will and Lisa direct the reader back to the powerful words of Micah 6:8 which is what you see on my banner, to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

"When we focus too much on thinking right, we can forget to do right in ways that follow after God's heart. This can manifest itself in busyness of conversation, multiple Bible studies a week, and feeling so secure in our rightness that we don't naturally seek areas where we might be lacking." (p79)

The book does a wonderful job of communicating the reality that submerging in issues of social justice runs contrary to most church growth/seeker sensitive marketing strategies. Investing in social justice which can be done in one's own neighborhood is typically inconvenient and potentially frustrating but it is the calling of a church who seeks to follow Jesus.

I am thankful for Justice In The Burbs and again for Irresistible Revolution, two of my powerful summer reads that have been shaking, haunting, and calling me back to reading, studying, and most importantly doing the life of Christ.