Jesus and the Powers

The new book by N. T. Wright and Michael Bird is so good and comes at the right time as we head into an election season. Dive in and enjoy!

Here’s an overview via the publisher:

An urgent call for Christians everywhere to explore the nature of the kingdom amid the political upheaval of our day.

Should Christians be politically withdrawn, avoiding participation in politics to maintain their prophetic voice and to keep from being used as political pawns? Or should Christians be actively involved, seeking to utilize political systems to control the levers of power?

In Jesus and the Powers, N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird call Christians everywhere to discern the nature of Christian witness in fractured political environments. In an age of ascending autocracies, in a time of fear and fragmentation, amid carnage and crises, Jesus is king, and Jesus’s kingdom remains the object of the church’s witness and work.

Part political theology, part biblical overview, and part church history, this book argues that building for Jesus’s kingdom requires confronting empire in all its forms. This approach should orient Christians toward a form of political engagement that contributes to free democratic societies and vigorously opposes political schemes based on autocracy and nationalism. Throughout, Wright and Bird reflect on the relevance of this kingdom-oriented approach to current events, including the Russian-Ukraine conflict, the China-Taiwan tension, political turmoil in the USA, UK, and Australia, and the problem of Christian nationalism.

Table of Contents

1. The kingdom of Jesus in the shadow of empire
2. The Church between Jesus and Caesar
3. Power and the ‘powers’ in early Christianity: John, Paul and the paradox of biblical politics
4. The kingdom of God as vision and vocation
5. The Church between submission and subversion
6. The Church resisting the powers of today
7. Liberalism and love in a time of fear and fragmentation
8. Conclusion

Three Books Focusing on Developing Next Generation Leaders

Developing leaders doesn’t just happen; you must be intentional. Here are 3 books focusing on how to develop next generation leaders:

• Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future by Andy Stanley

“The Next Generation Leader has been challenging young Christians eager to learn, grow, and lead in ministry or in the marketplace since its original release in 2003. Now with an all-new look, this repackaged version continues to advance the mission of the first release. Mentoring young leaders as they face the unique issues of a changing world has been pastor and bestselling author Andy Stanley’s passion for more than a decade. Here he shares material from his leadership training sessions, developed to address essential leadership qualities such as character, clarity, courage, and competency. This is the perfect guide for any new leader—or for the mentor of a future leader!”

Erich’s note: this is one of Andy’s best books; you’ll find it helpful for personal development and developing other leaders.

• Protégé: Developing the Next Generation of Church Leaders by Steve Saccone

“Have you as a leader ever wished for more hands-on development and mentoring from a ministry veteran? Wouldn’t that kind of investment accelerate, deepen and intensify your leadership skills and impact? God is raising up a generation of young ministry leaders—protégés—who need guidance in their calling to serve and lead people in the pursuit of God. These protégés need our help. Steve Saccone has a history of being part of this calling to help the called. With over a decade of leadership development experience, he has, through God’s help, catalyzed the growth and character of protégés around the globe. In this book Saccone shows how you can raise up leaders from within your own community and develop them into passionate, faithful servants of God. You will be personally challenged to grow as you discover how to cultivate a culture of leadership development in your ministry. In a sense we are all protégés who have much to learn and much to teach—and we can either help those who are behind us or seek help from those who are ahead of us. Along the way, we’ll watch the kingdom grow in our midst.”

Erich’s note: you can also download a brief summary called Protégé: A Visual Experience.

• Mentor Like Jesus by Regi Campbell

“More time, spent with fewer people, equals greater kingdom impact. Desiring to see God widely embraced as more than a remote concept, entrepreneur Regi Campbell began a deeply successful mentoring program years ago that has become one of his greatest joys. Though it seemed radical at first—spending more time with less people to further an all important message—he soon realized this is the discipleship model Jesus set out during his ministry; today two billion people worldwide embrace the wisdom He entrusted to a small band of disciples two thousand years ago. Mentor Like Jesus is Campbell’s revelation of what he now calls “next generation mentoring,” an exponentially rewarding process that is resulting in “lives changed, marriages saved, children dealt with in a more loving way.” Readers of any age and in any situation will clearly understand how the return on a meaningful investment in another person is truly immeasurable.”

Erich’s note: for more great resources from Regi Campbell check out his website Radical Mentoring (including a program you can use to mentor people). You can also download his free ebook, The Mentoring Manifesto: A Radical Plan to Change the World a Few Men at a Time for a quick overview of the power of mentoring.

Your turn… What are your thoughts on these resources?

Three Blog Posts You Should Read

Here are 3 posts I came across recently that I thought you would enjoy:

• Overcoming the Fat Baby Syndrome by Dan Bouchelle
• Orthodoxy: So Good Things Can Run Wild by Jonathan Storment
• 15 Quick Leadership Reminders by Brad Lomenick

Your turn: What are some other blog posts worth checking out?

Three Articles Via @Relevant Magazine

Here are 3 articles from Relevant Magazine I thought you would enjoy taking a look at:

• 5 Really Bad Reasons to Leave Your Church by Aaron Loy
• You Know You Were a 90’s Church Kid If… by Sammy Rhodes
• Gossip Is a Spiritual Issue By Callie Glorioso-Mays

Your turn… Share some articles you’ve read recently.

Three Posts Responding to Donald Miller

Earlier today I shared links to Three Recent Articles by Donald Miller. I thought you might also be interested in these 3 posts that respond to Donald Miller (not in a critical way but in a way that lifts up the importance of  church):

• A Young Pastor Responds to Donald Miller — Jonathan Storment via Scot McKnight
• The Church as Sacrament, another young pastor responds — Josh Graves via Scot McKnight
• Christian Identity and the Church as Family — Sara Barton via Scot McKnight

Your turn… What are some of your thoughts on these posts? Share some other posts you’ve seen on this topic.

Three Recent Articles by Donald Miller

I’ve been a big fan of Donald Miller since I first read Blue Like Jazz several years ago (most of his recent work focuses on helping people live a better story with their life — see StoryLine for more details). I’ve read the rest of his books too and have learned a lot and been convicted, challenged, and encouraged by his writings — you can learn more about all of his books here (I’ll do another blog later highlighting his books but for now let me say that Searching For God Knows What and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years are two of my favorites).

The reason for today’s post is to point you to 3 of his recent posts that have generated lots of conversations and follow up posts in the past week or so (maybe you’ve read some of those). I thought you might enjoy taking a look at those 3 (in order):

• I Don’t Worship God by Singing. I Connect With Him Elsewhere. — February 3, 2014
• Why I Don’t Go to Church Very Often, a Follow Up Blog — February 5, 2014
• Church Anywhere and Everywhere? — February 13, 2014

Your turn… What are some of your thoughts on these articles? What are some other posts you’ve read as part of this conversation?

Three FRAMES You Should Read First

Last week I mentioned the new series of books produced by the Barna Group called FRAMES. I’m loving them (very well done). In my opinion, here are the 3 you should read first:

• The Hyperlinked Life by Jun Young and David Kinnaman
  A Theology of Information in the Screen Age

“We live in an age of accelerated information and information overload. The rate at which we receive information—and the way we receive it—have changed dramatically: from newspapers and radio and a few nightly news programs to constant news online. And when we try to stop consuming the vast amounts of info coming at us, we wrestle against a paranoia of missing important information or being out of the loop. We are making our lives available to the world through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. But while we have more “friends” than ever, we feel that we’re lacking real connections. Our devices can either help relationships grow or get in the way of honest relationships. We need to become better stewards of technology and information, regularly taking rests and a Sabbath from them. It’s time to become “factivists,” using data and knowledge with effectiveness and purpose.”

• Multi-Careering by Bob Goff
  Finding Work that Matters

“Job moves. Restructures. A waning passion. Boredom. A need to create. Retirement. A new ‘norm’ for length at any job. All of these, and more, lead us to wonder about the legacy we are leaving this world. Are we leaving it better than we found it? Do we feel stuck in a passionless career? At every stage of your journey, you can find work that matters. Whether you have a handful of careers in your lifetime or a handful of careers this month, this ‘new normal’ of multiple careers frees us to go where God calls us to go and to do what God calls us to do.”

• Sacred Roots by Jon Tyson
  Why Church Still Matters

“‘Why should I invest myself in something I’m not sure does any good?’ Many people today are asking this question about the church. Maybe you’re asking it, too. Of course, this isn’t where it all started. The early church was a powerhouse of communal love, self-giving, and service. So how do we rediscover these sacred roots? How do we recover the purpose of the church in all its beauty? And how do we understand that purpose for our time and place? Sacred Roots offers four personal and communal shifts critical to being the kind of church that transforms people—and renews the world.”

Your turn… Have you read any of the FRAMES yet? If so, which ones are your favorites? What thoughts do you have about them?

Three Articles Focusing on Why Millennials Are Leaving the Church

A lot has been written in the past week about why the generation of millennials are leaving the church and what needs to happen to reverse that trend. Here are 3 articles that speak into this topic:

• Why Millennials Are Leaving the Church by Rachel Held Evans

Rachel’s article appeared on CNN’s Belief Blog last week and drew lots of attention and reactions. You can learn more about Rachel via her website (I think you’ll enjoy reading her blog, books, and following her on Twitter).

• How to Keep Millennials in the Church? Let’s Keep Church Un-cool by Brett McCracken

Brett’s article was written to respond to and counter some of what Rachel shared. It appeared on The Washington Post website. You can learn more about Brett here.

• Rachel and Brett, You’re Both Wrong by Jonathan D. Fitzgerald

Jonthan’s article is a clever piece written to show how the first two are both wrong (sort of ). I think you’ll enjoy it too. You can find out more about Jonathan and his work here.

Related article from a friend: here is one more article written a few months ago from a millennial who is a member at the church I work for (she shares why she still believes in the church): Here’s the Thing About Church by Sarah Brooks.

Your turn… What are some resources you’ve seen on this topic and what are your thoughts about these 3?