Customer Reviews

Adventures in Missing the Point (Emergent Ys)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Co-authored books, where either the authors alternate chapters or the authors write a chapter and the other responds, are among the most enlightening books to read, especially in the area of theology. Dialog between two authors who have different viewpoints allows the reader to arrive at his or her own conclusions, sort of like "Point-Counterpoint". While McLaren and Campolo are sometimes in agreement, they often disagree on some fundamental issues. McLaren is becoming (along with Leonard Sweet) the poster-boy for postmodern Christianity, while Campolo camps out on the left edge of evangelicalism. When McLaren takes his flights of fancy into his new kind of Christianity, Campolo is there to keep the subject grounded in a slightly more traditional interpretation (excluding a few areas, such as homosexuality, in which his views would be rather troubling to the more conservative reader).

This book brought to my mind the fact that, although the world and parts of the church seem to be moving towards postmodernism, the transition is far from complete, and, in fact, may take a few hundred years! McLaren's final essay on postmodernism, while probably the most difficult passage in the book, gives a great overview of epochs of history and how different eras and transitions have played out. All in all, I find myself having more of a kinship with Campolo than I do McLaren (McLaren's view of absolute truth being relatively unimportant is totally wrongheaded, in my view, but once again, Campolo brings some sanity to the issue with his reply), but, whichever author strikes one's fancy, this is still a terrific read.

If you find it hard to believe that one could actually call oneself a Christian and vote Democrat, you might find this book shocking. Otherwise, most of this ground is pretty covered. That doesn't make this bad reading, far from it, because Campolo and McLaren cover their ground pretty well, summing up clearly what can be complex and confusing issues. But if you've been keeping up at all with the ongoing debates in the church and culture surrounding the issues here (homosexuality, seminary, the environment, etc.) don't expect to have your mind changed by this book.

That said, there are a few chapters that stand out:

--The one on the Bible, which offers alternative approaches to scripture (beyond analysis.) I want to make copies of this and give it to everyone in my small group.

--The second half of the chapter on worship, in which McLaren condemns chasing "the Feeling" and leaving God behind.

--The last chapter, on Postmodernism. How refreshing to hear the pomo church guru himself admit that he's growing sick of the term and its myriad meanings and mis-usages. (oy, what a thoroughly "modern" use of alliteration that was!)

It's a pretty quick and light read, and might be one to keep on the bookshelf for the sake of lending to those who are just stepping out of the hyper-religious conservative mindset.

PS - the title is a bit misleading. The authors never actually deal with "how the culture" has done anything. They just address where they think mainstream middle class churchianity has missed the point.

A profitable read for anyone who is mildly discontent with popular doctrines/positions or is just plain curious about some current Christian thought concerning topics such as sin, doubt, evangelism, environmental stewardship, post modernity, worship, and salvation (these chapters were the most interesting to me). Even if you are not a Christian you maybe interested in reading this book because it opens a window into some major issues in Christian Theology, while showing that Christians are not quite so dogmatic as people may think.

A brief overview for those who would like a little more info.

Responsibility for the writing of the various chapters fell on one author affording the second author an opportunity to add, elaborate, counter, or all three at the end of the chapter. For the most part I consider this format a benefit but at times it became annoying. The mild annoyance was caused by some of Campolo's responses. It wasn't the fact that Campolo ocassionaly disagreed with McLaren, but fact that he seemed to expect McLaren in one chapter explain every last little detail and facet of the item being discussed, or he just plain missed McLaren's point altogether. This was my only complaint. You will also become familiar with post modernity if your not already, do to the fact that McLaren talks about it in nearly every chapter that he wrote. Which could be a possible annoyance for some,it didn't bother me though.

Campolo best chapters were eschatology and environmental stewardship. In the chapter on eschatology Campolo challenges dispensationlism saying that it eliminates the motivation for working to further the Kingdom of God, in that dispensationlism attempts to rescue those jumping ship instead of recruiting laborers to make the best repairs possible until the ship reaches the harbor and can be fully restored. Environmental stewardship is pretty self explanatory, but commonly overlooked. I'm glad someone finally took the time rebuke our current policy on the environment.

McLaren shines in doubt, salvation, and worship. He also takes time to explain that often fuzzy term called post modernity. Mclaren purposes that we need to stop judging people when they have questions and realize that doubt can be good a lot of the time because it encourages growth. Salvation starting line or finish line? Worship, who have we made the audience to be, God or ourselves?

There is a lot in this book that is worth reading. You may not agree with everything but the benefit is that encourages you to think the issues through for yourself. If you found your self interested with any of these topics and want to read more on these issues, I would recommend a few other books by Brian McLaren in addition to this one, A New Kind Of Christian, The Story We Find Ourselves In, and More Ready Than You Realize.

The title of this volume drew me in initially, because I thought the book would address how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ has become a cultural/traditional variant of the Gospel. Did it deliver? YES, but a message as important as this could have been given a bit more depth. The discussion on the heaven-centered Salvation Gospel of most Evangelicals was useful (for example, foregiveness is the beginning, not the goal of redemption). Needful as well were the chapters on DOUBT (honest doubt can be therapeutic), and the BIBLE which urge the reader to give up the fundamentalist prejudice that rigorous thinking is not God's will.

The section on Salvation is a needed and fair challenge to old assumptions, but overlooks the deeper, eternal purpose of God, which preceded even the covenant people. The authors' biblical arguments all begin with Abraham instead of Adam.

The BIBLE chapter is good, but thin. The points made are dealt with more powerfully in books like "Biblical Dyslexia." McLaren seems to be "missing the point" when he reminds us that Jesus never preached against homosexuality. In 1st-century Judea, there was consensus on such things, no in-your-face "Gay Pride" marches or Christopher Street parades. McLaren points out the difference between homosexual "orientation" and homosexual practice fair enough, but it would also have been fair to mention that homosexual lifestyles are--biblically speaking--one clear sign of God's abandonment (Rom 1).

Bottom lines: Definitely worthwhile! Convincing writing style. The authors leave the reader with some useful nuggets for new thinking about our faith. If you ALREADY ARE a thinking pilgrim, this book may seem a bit "lightweight." The book is broad rather than deep, which is OK. The authors' intention is probably to provoke some unthought thoughts rather than provide a dissertation and their book serves the purpose well.

This book is a great read. Mclaren's A New Kind of Christian was the first book of his which I read and opened my mind up for this deeper look at the individual issues. I am normally quite a quick reader, however with this I had to spend a lot of time. I found myself only really ever being able to read a chapter a night so that I could have the entire next day a school and work to formulate my thoughts and process what I had read. I found that I tend to agree with Mclaren more than Campolo however Campolos points were interesting because he brought a more fundamentalist point of view to the table, which made the book feel like you were attending a debate.---Incredably mind flexing---definately worth the money.

...This is a pretty good, concise compilation of issues and subjects about theology and God and life and everything in between.

Many of Brian's perspectives were encouraging and great, but most of the time, I felt like Tony was missing the point on many of the issues. Perhaps more when he rebuttled...I don't know....but that was until I got to the environmentalism chapter and the homosexuality chapter which were both very interesting, offering insight that's often never spoken of in today's Christian circles.

When all is said and done though, rarely was I enthralled or "wowed" while reading. Much of the stuff they were stating was good and it was a little-too-close to "preaching to the choir" in some areas, but nonetheless, it was a helpful exploration of these issues that sort-of-scratched the surface of theology, which is good.

I only wish they had just written more on each subject....and perhaps covered less issues....then it would've been a much deeper read.

"Adventures in Missing the Point" is one of my favorite books.

I'm not saying that I agree with all that it asserts.
But the very fact that I don't is the reason I liked it so much.
It was challenging and thought-provoking. It offered new and fresh perspectives on traditional Christian thoughts.

It seems increasing rare to find a contemporary Christian title that challenges and spurs its readers in such a way.
However this book does both. It is the best of McLaren and Campolo wrapped into one.

Reading the other reviews for this book, I'm reminded how WIDE is the space we inhabit under the banner of Christianity. And I am glad it is so.

Moreso, I am thankful that individuals like McLaren, Campolo, Leonard Sweet and Dave Tomlinson ("The Post Evangelical") are comfortable with conversational approaches to these difficult issues of transitional cultures, worldviews and religious environments. They seem more than willing to dialogue and face pushback without becoming overly defensive or retaliatory. It is their behavior in THIS regard that I believe will mark a "Postmodern Church" (whatever that really means) as distinctly different from a church entrenched in modernism, which sees all disagreements and pluralist viewpoints as threats to be vanquished.

The greatest praise I have for "Adventures in Missing the Point" is how TEACHABLE it is. I regularly bring this book into the Wednesday night Bible Study I lead for high school students, and use the questions raised in the book to generate discussion. The kids don't always agree with it, which is fine, but it certainly sparks discussion, and is clear and simple enough for them to grasp.

One of my favorite pieces is the analogy of "The Race" where all of the runners stop running and begin celebrating the moment they cross the STARTING Line. Very poignant.

Peter J. Walker
www.EssenceProject.blogspot.com

We need more books like this -- that challenge how much of church is truth and how much is culture. It's nice that the authors even disagree with each other. I thought there were a few opinions that were still not reasonable, especially the section on homosexuality. However, most of the book made excellant points, and more importantly, the book will hopefully promote healthy questioning of traditions.

I read McLaren's "A Generous Orthodoxy" not long ago and was glad I did, even if I found it to be a bit too generous here and there. So when I found this book on a clearance table I thought I'd give it a try. The set-up has a lot of potential, as the authors take turns writing essays on various topics and then responding to and challenging the ideas of the other.

Occasionally there are some good insights from both authors, but there's also entirely too much personal opinion put forth as scriptural mandate. Even before asking whether or not many of these stances are biblical (little is offered that would persuade that they are), any informed person could pretty easily question their accuracy. Campolo tosses several whoppers out there over the course of the book.

If you're looking to get stretched on these topics it's not likely going to happen here, but you'll learn a little about these authors if you're interested. A couple of the book's strengths are the transparent way in which they share about various personal experiences, and some of the points McLaren makes in his essay on "Truth".

McLaren in particular comes across as affectedly contrary, often for no good reason that I can discern. While I definitely agree with some of his criticisms of church culture, and I share some of his preferences, I wonder if he realizes that there are LOTS of people who simply do not like what he likes. I don't understand why people buy things at truck stop gift stores and then display them in their homes, and I don't understand (to save my life) why people buy Celine Dion albums. I personally can't believe people buy purple cars. But they do, and they want churches and music that speak to their tastes, not mine or Brian McLaren's.