Books with "secret" in the title--Brian McLaren

Recently I've dropped out of a Christian book group that has chosen to read Brian McLaren's The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything . I just didn't do my homework when I agreed to buy the book (fortunately I have not enriched this author's errors by buying it). If someone tells you who he is, believe him--to paraphrase Maya Angelou. Here's the starter:

"What if Jesus' secret message reveals a secret plan?" asks Brian McLaren in his new book, The Secret Message of Jesus. "What if he didn't come to start a new religion--but rather came to start a political, social, religious, artistic, economic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution that would give birth to a new world?"[1-page 4]

Was Jesus so stupid and such a manipulator of people that he could have kept it quiet if he were leading a political movement? Why would you follow a liar, and why would you read McLaren, one of the leaders of the Emergent Church movement, a movement that says, Y'all come, no boundaries here, no repentence necessary, sin is a figment of your imagination if it's personal and it's all out there in government, cultural and social structures.

No thanks. I went through all that in the early 1970s when I was a member of a liberal, open door church, and I have no intention of going back.

But enough about Jesus and the cross

"Let's talk about you and your needs and hopes."

The emergent, velvet, purpose driven church

402

Tony Campolo

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to hear a sermon by Tony Campolo, professor emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University and an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church, at Lakeside Sunday service at Hoover Auditorium (I'd already attended worship on the lakefront). He was the "Chaplain of the Week." Regardless of what you think of his theology or the larger umbrella of "the emergent church" you'll never hear a more entertaining Christian. He even jokes about being a bald guy with a son named Bart and a daughter named Lisa. He's a member of a predominantly African American congregation, and can preach it with patois better than anyone I know. If you were to hear it on a recording, you'd never guess he's an Italian American.


I always listen carefully for the gospel--not the social, feel-good, do-gooder peace and justice gospel, but the real Jesus-died-on-the-cross-for-your-sins, because without that you're just kiddin' around, giving people false hope that they can get into the kingdom with good works. Jesus didn't set aside any of the ethical and moral codes of the Jews developed over hundreds of years--the good news was about him. And Tony did mention it--at the end of the sermon. If you're in a liturgical church that sings traditional hymns and has a lesson from the NT and OT, you can fill in what the preacher misses. But why should you need to?

Thirty some years ago I had the impression that Prof. Campolo and I were on the same page. Of course, I'd been a works-Christian most of my life before 1974, so maybe it was just that with the fresh blush and bloom of the Gospel, I didn't notice that some people who called themselves Evangelicals had become bored with the Good News of Jesus and wanted to "move on." Or maybe he came to the conclusion that there were no unbelievers in the pew. Wrong. If the folks aren't saved, Tony, there's not much point to a stunning sermon about the spirit.

Cross posted from Collecting My Thoughts