1. I started dating Anne Marie when I was just short of my 15th birthday
2. I married Anne Marie when I was just short of my 20th birthday
3. In between those two dates, I didn’t always treat Anne Marie as well as could have. I hope I do a lot better now.
4. I get annoyed with people’s idiosyncrasies, and my own as well
5. I sometimes exclaim: “Man, I am SUCH a freak!”
6. I don’t think Johnny Cash really made that great a contribution
7. I demand too much of my little girls sometimes… but much was demanded of me when I was little and I’m now thankful for it
8. I haven’t written many new songs in the last few years and I sometimes worry that the gift is gone. If it is gone, it found it’s way to Shane. Shane writes good songs.
9. I can sleep anywhere… and it doesn’t have to be quiet either
10. I have wasted many years at my current job. I plan to fix that problem in the next couple of months
11. I once took too many free balloons from the grocery store. My mom made me take them back. I was frightened and humiliated and that day I learned a valuable lesson
12. Some things that I think are funny are actually mean (peace out Shane)
13. I sometimes shamelessly promote my blog
14. I cry almost every time I hear Counting Crows “Miami”
15. I cry when I watch that cheesy “You… complete me” scene in Jerry Maguire
16. I cried for about 10 minutes – actually I wept – after watching Charlize Theron in “Monster” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0340855/
17. I can’t find or imagine finding another family as knit together or unique as the Krahns.
18. I have three daughters and no desire to have a son
19. I don’t fear aging, in fact I’m looking fwd to it
20. A few years ago, I almost converted to Roman Catholicism. I still consider Thomas Merton a mentor.
21. I like books
22. Sleep is a necessary evil
23. Jack Layton makes me nauseous
24. I have a lot of hope for Barack Obama, although I wish he’d change his views on abortion
25. If anything goes wrong in the USA, Jack Bauer can fix it with threats of violence… and violence.
I was asked the following question by a friend this morning: “In your experience do Christians believe in global warming?”
Rob Bell – “Jesus Wants to Save Christians”
To be honest, I have tried to like Rob Bell’s work many times without much luck. That’s probably a bad way to start a review.
I’m not a Bell-basher, but I’m not a fan either; I understand his appeal, but it doesn’t appeal to me; I have been to his church, I know some people there, and I like them and have enjoyed worshiping at Mars Hill.
Many who haven’t read Rob Bell’s books are at least familiar with the phenomenally successful series of short films called Nooma (which are quite good). Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile is the third of his provocatively titled books – the previous two being Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith (my review) and Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality.
If you’ve ever heard Bell speak, it’s easy to hear his voice when you read his books – his pacing, pauses, and emphases are communicated well by the format of the text. The size and outside cover designs are clever and appealing, making them nice books to be seen with.
In Jesus Wants to Save Christians Bell uses the motif of exile to illustrate the condition of God’s people at present and in times past, drawing parallels between the two. Exile, by Bell’s definition, is “when you fail to convert your blessings into blessings for others… [and] when you find yourself a stranger to the purposes of God.”
Bell wisely recommends that, “a Christian should get very nervous when the flag and the Bible start holding hands. This is not a romance we want to encourage.” And adds: “For a growing number of people in our world, it appears that many Christians support some of the very things Jesus came to set people free from.”
He does excel at delivering a concise synopsis of Old Testament Biblical events, but beyond that and into his interpretation of the events, I found little of value. The book does not deliver on it’s promise.
In describing the new covenant Bell says: “No more fear, no more terror, no more thunder. That was the old way, the former thing, the first covenant.” In this new covenant, “the truth will be so deeply etched into people’s consciousness that they will naturally do the right thing.” There is a common thread in Bell’s work, one that is the cause of some accusations that he favors Universalism. There are certainly overtones of that soteriological view and it would be nice to hear Bell explain his thinking on the matter a bit more.
By challenging Bell’s allusions to Universalism, one is put into the position of having to answer questions like “Are you saying you DON’T want everyone to be saved?” That is not the point here. Of course everyone (except the most extreme hyper-Calvinist) DOES hope that all will be saved, but the likelihood of this goes against numerous passages of scripture. Some will spend eternity separated from God; Bell would do well to mention this more often in his teaching – not as a gleeful condemnation, but as a plea for repentance.
The text on the back cover says the following:
That claim is not substantiated in the pages of JWTSC; it would have been a much better book if it had.
The tone and scope of JWTSC reminds me of two other titles I read. Neither one sold me completely on its thesis and both are secular in orientation, but they challenged my preconceptions more effectively. So if a vibrant screed against the culture of excessive consumption and affluence is what you’re after, you’re more likely to be inspired by reading Naomi Klein’s No Logo or Kalle Lasn’s Culture Jam: How to Reverse America’s Suicidal Consumer Binge–And Why We Must.