Must Everything Change?: Series Introduction

Must everything change? Last year Brian McLaren published a book entitled Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope. McLaren is traveling about the country on an "Everything Must Change" tour. I read his book last fall. I've debated ever since whether or not to respond and, if so, how.

I've read most of McLaren's books. I particularly appreciated his "New Kind of Christian" trilogy. He had some important things to say in "Generous Orthodoxy." I've seen him speak on a few occasions. I've listened to or read a variety of interviews. I've seen him in action in some small group discussions at the Emergent Village gathering in Glorieta, NM. I even chatted briefly with him several times (for probably a total of less than two minutes.) I've also been around Emergent stuff going back to 1998. While McLaren does not speak for Emergent or the emerging church in any formal sense, he is unmistakably a significant informal leader who shapes the direction of dialog.

Everything I've seen suggests to me that Brian McLaren is a nice guy with a big heart and an active mind seeking to follow Jesus. When I cracked the cover of "Everything Must Change, " I knew there would be parts of the book where I would have significant disagreements. However, based on experience, I expected to read an informed and "generous" presentation of views. Frankly, I was disappointed. I found the book to be uncharacteristically polemic. His reflection on problems was thoroughly ahistorical, distorting present circumstances' context and trajectory. As to economic matters, I found the analysis to be a neo-Malthusian politically progressive retread of Niebuhrian Chrisitan-socialist thinking so ubiquitous in Mainline Protestant academic circles.

Some are critical of the book because they perceive McLaren has abandoned substitutionary atonement or distorted some other doctrinal point. For the record, I embrace the New Perspective on Paul. I think opposing/transforming the empire are valid characterizations of key aspects of the church's mission. I think looking at things in terms of a "framing story" is a useful lens. I believe McLaren overreaches with some of his biblical analysis, but these are not my primary concerns. My primary concern is his characterization of the state of world affairs, especially as it relates to what he calls the "prosperity wheel" in his presentation of the issues.

Against my better judgment, I've decided to make a lengthy response to this book in the form of a series of posts. I will be honest in letting you know up front that there are statements in this book that I find downright exasperating. I promise to do my best at being irenic in tone, but I can't promise I'll be entirely successful. (The Kronicler has a Karnal sarcastic streak a mile wide.) The spirit is willing, but ....We will see. :)

What I propose to do is to give you some of my context. Then I will devote a few posts to my understanding of the world situation. After that, I will engage McLaren's book. I'm not going to do a chapter-by-chapter review, but rather I will lay out his basic thesis and then focus primarily (but not exclusively) on his handling of the prosperity issue. I can't promise this will be done in an uninterrupted stream, but I expect the posts to come on a fairly steady schedule.

Anyway, that is what you can expect for the next several posts at Kruse Kronicle, along with the usual news aggregation. Discussion is welcome. Flaming (me or others who comment), not so much. :)

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Comments

[grace]

I've been looking forward to your response.

[Michael W. Kruse]

Thanks Grace. I hope it will have been worth the wait.