Dear Holly,
What you tell me about your older brother doesn't surprise me, but I agree with you that it is really sad. It's not very often that things like this are so clear -- your brother is working in an evangelical church, he has some emerging leanings because he's a youth pastor, he and some friends decide to have a group study comparing Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis and Brian McLaren's Generous Orthodoxy ...
... and then they compose a notebook of all their observations, a few elders get nervous and the pastor and elders make a decision to ban all study of Bell's and McLaren's books. (By the way, Holly, did you ever observe that there are about 220 reviews of Bell's book at Amazon? and 113 of McLaren's book.)
You ask me the big one: "What should I tell my brother?" Here are my suggestions:
First, pray for him and for his church. Pray for yourself.
Second, your brother "accepts" (you said you thought it was really "capitulating to") his pastor's authority and the decision of the elders, but you think he'll be miserable. When a group study had done what you say they did -- compare key doctrines and show differences between these two thinkers and then chart out all the things everyone liked and disliked -- you know they've vested serious interest in one of the most important things Christians can do: think critically together about current trends in light of biblical theology. For the life of me ... I wonder if the elders might have been better off participating with that study group.
Pastoral authority is a double-edged sword, sometimes used to help and other times improperly to divide the body. But I don't like that pastors or elders would put some books on a ban when at least (you didn't mention others) one of them (your brother) was a pastoral leader in the church -- and the group was thinking critically and not naively about the books. And the minute you ban a book you've got yourself a problem -- you increase interest in the book and you drive some folks away. (Which you say the pastor thinks is a "sign of election," or non-election -- which I'm guessing is what you meant.)
I think the way to deal with Rob Bell and Brian McLaren is to read them, look them in the eye, assess their eyes against the Bible, and render evaluation. Tell me, Holly, if you could "ban" one thing for Christians what would it be? Would it be Rob Bell or Brian McLaren or something or someone else? (I'll be interested in your answer if you take this on as a serious question -- and if you do I know you'll have lots of interesting things to say.)
What I'm saying is this: the pastor and the elders, probably for pastoral reasons, have overstepped their limits. Leaders pastor and guide. The only way for lay folks to grow into their gifts with responsibility is to learn to think biblically for themselves -- and banning doesn't allow it.
Third, now here's what I suggest you do: I suggest you ask your brother to spend some time in prayer and then meet with a mentor (outside that church) and then figure out how to raise the issue of banning books with the pastor and the elder board in a non-threatening (if firm) way. It could be a weekend retreat where he shares with them what they learned, where they differed, and how he thinks this is actually training Christians for critical engagement in our world.
And I suggest this: that you ask your brother to figure out a way to get the pastor and elders to think about this question: Why in the world is Rob Bell so attractive to so many young Christians? (In other words, get them to think critically about Rob Bell.) And then get them to do the same with McLaren. It has probably occurred to you that, if they do read Bell and McLaren, they just might come up with the same observations your brother's group came up with. Now I'm getting mischievous: if that happens, you might get your brother to suggest to the pastor that he is doing a good job teaching the lay folks if they are coming to such similar results.
I've got to leave; Kris and I are about to go to the airport.
You know what I know: my suggestions are ideal. There is a real chance that this could lead to a breakdown in relationships. I hope they can pursue working together, getting beyond differences, but sometimes these things don't work out. New wine often bursts the old wineskins. It should. Empowering lay folk through good teaching and critical thinking skills is a good thing.
Blessings,
Scot
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Joseph said, "I have been following this discussion about what one might allow your high schoolers to read, and what one might discourage. I have a question:
How many of you are keeping your high school kids in your churches after they get into college and beyond? My perception is that most churches, including evangelical churches, lose about 80 or 90% of their high school kids anyway once they become independent.
Wouldn’t it be worth the risk to try a little independent or critical thinking with them? After all, you are probably going to lose them anyway, unless you turn them into ideologues of a different sort. "
_____________________________________________
Hi guys, I'm new to this blog. I'm the other former church planter/pastor (25 years and a series of churches later) that hangs out with Joseph trying to figure out the next reformation and who convinced him to go get his Ph.D. :D
I realize I may be jumping into a few areas that I may have missed. Excuse my misunderstandings.
Besides working in my private practice and with a group of doctors as a psychotherapist, I also teach just about all the kinds of psychology classes at the local college. I usually teach about 150 students per semester. My experience is that they are incredibly hungry for truth but most do not go to church. Each class I have is an amazing journey of discovery where I constantly see the eyes light up with delight of discovering truth. These are secular folks. It is very common for me to have 4-6 students walking me out of the classes wanting to ask me tons of questions. Lives do get changed.
Based on my experience, I feel that the way that reach these minds/hearts is to show them that TRUTH works and exists. First by modeling it to them. Second by showing them how it can be practical in their daily lives (home, girlfriends, boyfriends, sadness, losses, healing, work, sex, etc.). I think that problem that many times we Christian leaders fall into is that we try to reach the mind/cognition (linear constructs such as "reason" and "logic") when the path is through the heart (non-linear such as "love" and "connecting"). I personally believe (Joseph and I have talked about this area) that truth cannot be proven. It can only be experienced. You KNOW (as in "epignosis") TRUTH... which ultimately is a PERSON. Just as the Word became flesh. I must do the same metaphorically with those I am "touching with truth."
I also think that some of us may try to bring unbelievers into our constructs. We must enter their world (yet not sin) and incarnate metaphorically. That may mean we throw out all the traditional verbage and props that carry so much baggage.
So to go back to Joseph's comment on young peoples leaving the church. I agree. I see it all around me. But that is OK because it is a wonderful opportunity to flesh out TRUTH in our lives in front of them and start with a clean slate. The potential for spawning new/non-infected disciples (with baggage of traditional constraints) is great.
I humbly submit these thoughts to my fellow wizards of THE TRUTH.
SAMUEL (Gandalf :D )
I could be wrong, but it seems like most of those arguing whether or not high schoolers ought to be reading McLaren seem to have an underlying assumption that Brian is mostly wrong, or at least asking dangerous questions. Frankly, I have the complete opposite assumption. Brian's books (especially ones like Finding Faith or More Ready Than You Realize) are some of the few that I would have no qualms about giving my teens because I know I can trust Brian's perspectives. I'd have a lot harder time justifying giving my teens books by any of the other typical evangelical authors (e.g. Piper, McDowell, Dobson, Harris, etc.) - but I guess that's just because these days I tend to be suspicious of evangelical theology and have found it to be harmful and destructive to the faith of young people.
I guess it's all about your presuppositions. If you assume that evangelicalism is the orthodox norm that teens must be held to, then it's no wonder that you'd want to keep your kids away from McLaren. But if you tend to view contemporary evangelicalism as the distortion, then you probably wouldn't mind exposing your kids to viewpoints that challenge those assumptions.
I am in complete agreement with you Mike. I did give my son Mclaren to read, along with C.S. Lewis, Watchman Nee, Dallas Willard and a few others. I still have a copy of Plato's works that I am trying to get him to read. He is now 21 and is still purusing God, although with ups and downs like all of us.
Mike,
I like your perspective here, even though I can't claim to have ever read any McClaren or much of the evangelical authors you list. Though raised in conventional evangelicalism, I have always found that the Christian authors who have spoken to me the most deeply and affected my thinking the most profoundly are those outside the evangelical mainstream (even when their published by evangelical presses). I think you are dead right about the way that so many evangelicals assume that orthodoxy equals evangelical. Your observation that much of evangelical theology is destructive of the faith of young people resonates with me as well.
Gordon
Skip all the "emerging" stuff for a moment, what is wrong about reading a book? It takes up time, especially if you want to treat it fairly. So if you have something better to study than that these people’s book, then get to it. On the other hand, any threat to the gospel (if that is what these are) should be defended against honestly, and provides an opportunity to know a little better what you believe.
I think sometimes though, certainly in my own life, it is possible to try to assimilate too many lines of thought: Taking all that is of value and making it subservient to Christ takes a while! We are not here to be Athenians, always discussing the latest ideas, we are here to serve God and do what he wants.
Banning is rubbish, and it seems to me that the common thread is submit to God, on his terms and not on ours, and honestly look at various theologies and find where they are right and wrong, not just where you like them! A big part here is studying the bible just as much, so you learn Gods perspective; the vague rule I have on this is to study the bible itself about as much as I study other books, although its vague because I rarely do it!
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