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~ (Author) "Dear Dan, It;s terrible after you havent heard from me for so long for me to finzlly email you asking a favr..." (more)
Key Phrases: land iguanas, saving love, Puerto Ayora, Holy Spirit, Potomac Community Church (more...)
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The Story We Find Ourselves In: Further Adventures of a New Kind of Christian + The Last Word and the Word after That: A Tale of Faith, Doubt, and a New Kind of Christianity (J-B Leadership Network Series) + A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey (J-B Leadership Network Series)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McLaren's A New Kind of Christian set the evangelical community abuzz in 2001 by exploring weighty ideas about faith through the vehicle of fiction. In his gentler follow-up, which intentionally reads more like an extended conversation than a gripping novel, McLaren brings back as protagonists pastor Dan Poole and spiritual guru (and now certified naturalist and tour guide) "Neo" (Neil Oliver). "Sometimes, I think the Bible is more of a question book than answer book; it raises questions that bring people together for conversation about life's most important issues," muses Neo. Using the device of Neo conversing with spiritual seekers, including an Australian woman who is battling cancer, McLaren tackles age-old questions about Christianity, including, "Before the beginning, what was God doing?" The conversations discuss the relevance of other religions, the authenticity of miracles and the work of Christ on the cross. The backdrop of the Gal pagos Islands provides Neo the opportunity to discourse on creation, evolution and a Christian's responsibility to care for the planet. McLaren's characters' awe of Neo can be wearing at times, as when Dan reflects, "What Neo explained next was so fascinating that I could hardly sit still." McLaren tends to overuse parentheses-there are seven sets on a single page-and some portions of text feel inserted, rather than well-integrated. However, like the first volume, this book offers an excellent opportunity for Christians to rethink why they believe what they believe.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review

"…this is a book you’ll want to read at least twice." (UK Christian Bookshops, July 2005)

Written as a piece of fiction, this second in a series by McLaren explores the places where many interested in the newer forms of Christianity now find themselves—uncomfortable in the traditional and evangelical churches, and evaluating what the mission of the Christian community should be. Anyone interested in what is the next phase of Christianity in America should read this book. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 7, 2003)

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (February 21, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0787963879
  • ISBN-13: 978-0787963873
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #115,729 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Brian D. McLaren
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
Dear Dan, It;s terrible after you havent heard from me for so long for me to finzlly email you asking a favr. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
land iguanas, saving love
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Puerto Ayora, Holy Spirit, Potomac Community Church, Santa Cruz, God's Spirit, Lonesome George, Jesus Christ, Alice Springs, Interpretive Center, Charles Darwin Research Center, Reverend Dan, Middle Eastern, Neil Edward Oliver, Star Trek, Tower of Babel
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Customer Reviews

38 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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40 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars I loved the first book, but was dissapointed with this one, May 27, 2005
I was surprised to be so dissapointed in this book. The previous book "A New Kind of Christian" was great! The previous book asked questions that need to be asked of the church, questions that often lead to shocking answers (and revelations), but the author left them as questions. This was very wise of Mr. McLaren; it leaves the reader to pursue God to find the Truth. Especially in the 'postmodern' world that Mr. McLaren posits, there will not be simple and 'cookie cutter' answers. One-size-fits-all church is a thing of the past, and I wholeheartedly agree with him.
Unfortunately, in this second book we find out that Mr. McLaren's answer to all of the dogma of the past is to create a new dogma for the future. I was especially dissapointed that he hinges his story on evolution- a theory rooted more as a faith than science. C.S. Lewis once said that to anchor any faith in the findings of science is a mistake. All science will be disproven, and your faith will go with it. When our faith and science agree- it should be no more than a curious fact to us, because our faith is based on Truth, and science (by the modern definition) is rooted in materialism.

I suppose what disturbed me most was that I was halfway through "the story we find ourselves in" before there was any mention of the enemy, and then only as a 'metaphor to put a personality on evil." The next mention of the enemy was similary vague, and it was in the very end of the book. I suppose if you remove the enemy from our story, what you're left with is.... evolution to explain evil and suffering.

From the movie "The Usual Suspects: The greatest lie the devil ever perpetrated on humanity was to convince the world that he doesn't exist."

I agree with Mr. McLaren that the conveyance of the Gospel is changing as society changes, but I disagree the we need to change it into some form of unitarian cosmo-love to communicate the love of Christ. There is an enemy, and removing references to him doesn't do anyone any favors except, of course, the enemy.

Jon
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Bold Brushstrokes from a Humble Artist of Faith, March 28, 2003
By Ken Archer (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
It's interesting that the tone of some reviews of McLaren's work stands in bold relief compared to humility brought by McLaren to his works, and the humility that he insists upon from people who agree with him. There is alot in this book to engage as a reader, and thoughtful readers will refrain, as McLaren does, from wholesale endorsements or rejections of complex works such as this. In fact, the only basis for wholesale rejection is the rejection of storytelling, which McLaren clearly stands behind. So allow me to defend McLaren's craft of creative nonfiction below.

Many writers in the postmodern Christian "tradition" call for a turn from abstract theology to theology as story, from the apologetics of argument to the apologetics of storytelling. Few, chief among them McLaren in this book and John Eldredge in Sacred Romance, are actually telling stories. Stories are by there very nature disarming. Perhaps that's why Plato wrote in stories, to be able to say exactly what Socrates was saying, but without being persecuted for it. Stories also enable the storyteller to experiment with ideas without offering endless caveats and "quotation marks" to properly distance himself from his proposal. Finally, stories reflect our day-to-day interior worlds, our thought lives, and are thus much better able to engage us than abstract claims of the Kantian or Schleiermachian ilk.

The most intriguing episodes in The Story We Find Ourselves in are, to me, the creation account given by McLaren and the break that occurs with the medieval synthesis of Christianity with Greek philosophy. It is indeed difficult to think of the creation story without the extraBiblical dualism of material vs. spiritual.

Finally, I think an interesting result of this book, or of the 3rd in the series, would be for others to continue the story that McLaren has begun. I think many would love to work through their questions via the medium of Neo, Dan and the rest.

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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Story Continues, March 28, 2003
By Charles R. Wear (Moreno Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I enjoyed meeting Pastor Dan Poole and his friend, Neo in the pages of A New Kind of Christian, and highly recommend it as a starting point for those interested in exploring the new cultural paradigm facing Christianity in the 21st century.

Brian McLaren's second book, in what is likely to be a multi-book series, spends less time talking about the modern-postmodern shift and spends more time unpacking the new theology that flows from it. Once again, a fictional setting is used to provide the stage. In the preface to The Story We Find Ourselves In McLaren writes: "The more I have written about postmodernity (and so on), the more I have wanted to get to the point where it no longer needed to be written about so much. I wanted to start writing about the Christian gospel itself, from a vantage point within the emerging culture, without always having to defend the vantage point." In this work, McLaren begins the process of describing the "new" ideas, theological frameworks and viewpoints that paint the backdrop for the unfolding drama we are living.

The Galapagos Islands provide the setting for a discussion of creation and evolution and the origins of the universe. Once again, Neo is the prime expositor of the "new" ideas. In this case, his conversations with Kerry Ellison, a biologist working on the islands to study and preserve wildlife, allow Neo to unpack ideas about a Christian's concern and care for the planet.

Other areas of discussion are the authenticity of miracles and Christ's work on the cross. Neo's leadership of a weekly gathering on the yacht, La Ventura, sounds like the kind of church that I would like to join. The unfolding relationship between Neo and Kerry mirrors Kerry's unfolding relationship with God.

I liked the storytelling in Story a little better than the first volume. In New Kind of Christian I sometimes felt that the essay overpowered the story. In Story I think McLaren's skills as an author have given us a book that is as interesting for its plot as it is for its information.

I have a big appetite for stories that tell of the beauty and mystery that moves people toward faith. And for that reason, I recommend The Story We Find Ourselves In. Be prepared to expand your ideas about the Story that God has written for each of our lives.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The Gospel for the 21st century
The ongoing conversation begun between Neo and Dan continues in this second installment with the additional character of a young lady battling cancer adding fuel to the mix. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Robert C. Johnson

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and thought proviking
I read this on the recommendation of a good friend a little while back, and decided to give this as a gift this Christmas. Read more
Published 23 months ago by ecodan

5.0 out of 5 stars The story we find ourselves in
Again I loved this series. If you are open to new presentations of Christianity but are not ready to question parts yet then read this book first. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Kimberley J. Morrison

5.0 out of 5 stars And what a story!
In the most unlikely of settings with the most unlikely people, NEO (see book 1) tells his imagined story of the universe and life, ending with a a very interesting preview of... Read more
Published on June 30, 2007 by Joseph Palen

3.0 out of 5 stars Messing With Creation...
...but in a good way, I think. McLaren's ideas in this installment of the trilogy are excellent, shying away from any kind of doctrinal statement but instead placing ideas and... Read more
Published on March 25, 2007 by L. Davis

5.0 out of 5 stars The Story I found myself a part of . . .
In part 2 of the this series we find the characters coming to the realization of no boundaries, unexpected discoveries, and love for all of creation (not just the human... Read more
Published on March 8, 2007 by John Little Hampton

5.0 out of 5 stars It really gets you thinking!
Wow, what a great way to continue "A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends On A Spritual Journey". Read more
Published on January 9, 2007 by Gary M. Ramsey

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding myself in this story
This book, of which this is the second in a trilogy, comes as a huge relief to many of us who thought we were the only ones asking these questions. Read more
Published on January 9, 2007 by Michael Gibbs

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible
This series has changed my life! McLaren gives voice to many who long for a vibrant faith, and a bigger story.
Published on January 3, 2007 by Jeremy Copeland

1.0 out of 5 stars Truth has no expiration date. I don't need what you're selling.
Read 2 Timothy 4:3-5.

Read Mclaren's book.

Read 2 Timothy 4:3-5 again.

The Word of God is eternal. All else is deception.
Published on December 2, 2006 by B. Cox

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