roose’s time at liberty university

 Kevin Roose recently published a book called The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University, in which he describes how he transferred for one semester from Brown University to Liberty University — the college in Virginia that Jerry Falwell founded in 1971.  

I read an article from the Associated Press about how Roose decided that in order to be a better well-rounded student, he needed to study all perspectives, including the Conservative Evangelical one.  So, he decided to become a student and “infiltrate” one of the most conservative Evangelical schools in the country.  

You can read the entire article here.   I much appreciated this last portion of the article:  ”Roose said his Liberty experience transformed him in surprising ways…Once ambivalent about faith, Roose now prays to God regularly – for his own well-being and on behalf of others. He said he owns several translations of the Bible and has recently been rereading meditations from the letters of John on using love and compassion to solve cultural conflicts.  He’s even considering joining a church.”

I’m grateful for students like Kevin who go into settings like this with a willingness to learn and be challenged.  I wonder if we might be able to learn something about ourselves and others from this situation.

I think I’m going to get Kevin’s book and read it.

jesus wants to save christians

 I recently finished the book Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell.  Thought it was a great read, and I wanted to share some quotes that hit me the most…

“Jesus is God’s good gift for the healing of the world.  The church is Jesus’ body, a good gift for the healing of the world.  It’s for the benefit of others.  For the good of those who look different from us.  A church is an organization that exists for the benefit of nonmembers.  This blessing extends even to our enemies…If our church was taken away – from our city, our neighborhood, our region – who would protest?”

“The church says no to the animating spirit of religious empire, the one which leads Christians to look no different than the world around them.  Churches can easily become centers for assimilation, where the seats in the sanctuary are eerily similar to the seats in a cinema, the website offers all of the programs to meet your specific religious needs, and the coffee in the hallway is just as good as in the shops across the street.”

“(The Church) is not a building because no building can ever be big enough for that kind of grace.”

“The measure of a sermon is not whether it affirms what you already believe.  A sermon is not a product to be consumed and then evaluated according to how good it was or whether it was pleasing or enjoyable…The sermon is about starting the discussion.  The sermon is about having the first word.  The sermon is the catalyst that inspires people into whole new ways of seeing their lives.”

“When the goal of a church is to get people into church services and then teach them how to invite people to come to church services, so that they in turn will bring others to more church services–that’s attendance at church services.  And church is not ultimately about attending large gatherings.  Church is people.  People who live a certain way in the world.”

“…it is very dangerous when a church becomes known for being hip, cool, and trendy.  The new humanity is not a trend…A church is where the two people groups with blue hair-young men and older women-sit together  and somehow it all fits together in a Eucharistic sort of way.  Try marketing that.  Try branding that.  The new humanity defies trends and demographics and the latest market research.  The Eucharist is not a product.  Glossy brochures have he potential to do great harm to the body and the blood.  Church is people.  The Eucharist is people.  To to brand that is to risk commodifying something intimate, sacred, and holy.”

“A church is not a center for religious goods and services, where people pay a fee and receive a product in return.  A church is not an organization that survey its demographic to find out what the market is demanding at this particular moment and the adjusts its strategy to meet that consumer niche.  The way of Jesus is the path of descent.  It’s about our death.  It’s our willingness to join the world in its suffering.  It’s our participation in the new humanity, it’s our weakness calling out to others in their weakness.”

all things new

 Since this is the season and all, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Ash Wednesday-Good Friday-Easter Sunday tradition a lot.  

 I have to admit that more often than not, it’s all about Good Friday and the Cross for me.  But one thing I’m really realizing this year is that Good Friday without Easter Sunday is like watching a great movie and then shutting it off right before the climax of it hits my eyes; putting the movie away, and saying, “now wasn’t that a great story?!”

 I know many people that give things up for Lent.  This is a good tradition, I think; giving something up to prepare your heart…to remember His sacrifice.  But that’s not the climax of the story.  At the height of the story we have Jesus who is alive, walking out of the tomb.  And in the end he says, “Look, I am making all things new!”  

If Lent and Good Friday are about giving up and sacrifice, being broken and poured out…Easter is about everything being made new and fixed and reconciled and repaired.  

Which got me thinking (with help from NT Wright on this one), if I’m giving something up for Lent, shouldn’t I do something new for Easter?  Something new that’s about the good and about healing?

Suggestions?