Tag Archives: N.T. Wright

Experience vs. Theology: A False Dichotomy

Imagine that I never talked to my wife of 16-years. No sharing of dreams, passions, likes or dislikes. Nothing.

Knowing that talking could lead to miscommunication, I, instead, choose to  experience her presence through snuggling up next to her or simply by being in the same room. After all, I reason, experiencing her presence is more life changing than any conversation could be.

Or so goes the common thought when it comes to God. Over and over again well-intention people pit experience against theology with a bias towards one or the other. To do this is to reduce the fullness of God, placing him inside a self-defined box where he ceases to be who he really is.

Theology, contrary to popular culture, isn’t having information about God or holding to the right doctrine. Simply put, theology is the study of God – meaning that we are dong theology every time we think about Jesus, talk about Jesus, read the Scriptures, ponder the deep meanings of life, etc.  Stanley Grenz & John Franke defined theology in their book Beyond Foundationalism as the “ongoing conversation among those whom the God of the Bible has encountered in Jesus Christ.” Accordingly I love theology as it brings me closer to Jesus while also giving me a glimpse into the different facets of him.

Experience, similar to theology, is another way of knowing God. Which is to say that it is a way for us to emotionally encounter the living God who actively seeks us out. Experience in this way is more than simply having a charismatic phenomena happen in, through or around you. Sadly, though, I would have to say that charismatic phenomena is what most people think about just like folks tend to reduce “theology” into “doctrine.”

In returning to our analogy, reducing God to an experience would be akin to  snuggling up with your spouse while never talking to them. While snuggling up with them is great, it doesn’t capture the fullness of who that person is as you would never hear their dreams, passions, hearts, or concerns. Similarly if you just talked to your spouse while never snuggling with them, you would lose a portion of who they were as skin to skin contact brings an intimacy that can never be replaced by conversation.

This is why I am a HUGE proponent of embracing both experience and theology. I want to know Jesus in all his glory – meaning that I want to both experience his presence as well as hear his thoughts.

To think back over my life is to note that I have been dramatically changed by encounters with God through both physical experiences and theology.  For every charismatic phenomena I’ve experienced or every sweet time of just being in his presences, there is an equally powerful encounter with God through a theological chat with a friend or via an amazing book.

The way I live my life – the way I see the world – the way I talk to my children – the manner in which I treat my wife – the way I approach my work – everything I do is influenced by the memorial stones of experience and theology. I cannot and will not separate experience and theology. They are two wings of a plane that work together to give flight to that which should never fly.

The fact that we are even having this conversation about experience and theology is amazing thing. The ancient world, as noted by N.T. Wright in Paul and the Faithfulness of God, did not separate action (experience) and belief (theology) as they saw the two explicitly intertwined.  The idea that we fallible humans can somehow can stand above the fray of life and come up with the “correct” view of God is a modernist bound-set reductionary concept.

We can no more separate our experiences from our theology or our theology from our experience than we can  turn lead into gold. The ancient world was correct in that the two concepts are intertwined to the point that they almost become one.

As such, I would say a better way forward would be to embrace the mystery of the entanglement between experience and theology. Let us do both with an eye towards walking with Jesus into the unknown of the future.

“A true seeking after God results from an experience of God which one falls in love with for no reason other than finding God irresistibly lovable. In this way the lovers of God are the ones who are the most passionately in search of God” -Peter Rollins, How (Not) to Speak of God

Is There a Theodicy Built into Kingdom Theology?

The above question was recently posed to me by a friend and it made me stop and think for a bit. Is there something inherent in Kingdom Theology that accounts for the problem of evil (i.e. theodicy)? And if so, what is it? It was – and is – a very good question.

(For those unfamiliar with the term ‘theodicy,’ I’ve included a brief overview at the bottom of this post)

If we are talking about generic kingdom of God theology (i.e. inaugurated eschatology), then I would have to say that there isn’t any one theodicy inherit to that theological system. This is because inaugurated eschatology is primary focused on answering the question of when the end-time promises of God will be fulfilled (i.e. is God’s rule and reign here today? Is it delayed? When is it coming, etc.?).

Accordingly, it is possible to add inaugurated eschatology onto whatever theological and/or theodicy worldview you might already have. This is how you get people as diverse as N.T. Wright, Wayne Grudem, Scott McKnight, Derek Morphew, Bill Johnson, Greg Boyd, and R. Alan Street all promoting different views on inaugurated eschatology while using kingdom language.

The definition of Kingdom Theology promoted by myself and others within the Vineyard worldwide movement (e.g. John Wimber, Derek Morphew, Don Williams, Bill Jackson, etc.) is one of ‘enacted inaugurated eschatology.’ This is a theological worldview that starts with the life and ministry of historical Jesus before building out other theological concepts. Meaning that everything is seen through a lens of the here and not yet of the ages. Being ‘enacted’, it is a worldview that requiring one to live out the inaugurated eschatology of the kingdom in every area of life rather than intellectual belief.

Under this definition of Kingdom Theology, I would say that there is a cosmic conflict (or warfare) theodicy presupposition that sees the age to come breaking into this evil age through Jesus’ defeat of sin, evil and death at the cross. As such, the followers of Jesus living in-between the ages are engaged in a war between God and Satan with suffering happening as a result of sin, death, and evil.

With that said, it is possible to layer theodicies on top of one another. For example, one could say that the cosmic conflict seen throughout the ages is part of God’s perfect plan or is exacerbated by free will. Greg Boyd, one of the top openness of God (i.e. Open Theism) proponents, combines the cosmic conflict with the openness of the future to the point they seem inseparable. The Vineyard being the Vineyard, you can find folks within the movement who hold to any of these theodicies along with a few others.

On a personal level, I combine the cosmic conflict theodicy with the consent and participation (i.e. God consents to free will and natural laws while staying personally involved in the world), suffering of God (i.e. Jesus suffers and weeps with us), and faith and trust (i.e. it’s a mystery so just trust Jesus) theodicies.

 


Theodicy Overview

For those who are unfamiliar with the term ‘theodicy’, here is a quick primer of some of the more famous answers to the problem of evil. Note that are lots of others theodicies and a TON of philosophical presuppositions behind the question of evil that I cannot get into here. Some of these overlap each other with folks (like myself) holding to a new of different theodicies at the same time.

 

  • Perfect Plan – Suffering and evil is all part of God’s perfect plan though he is not directly causing any of it. This theodicy is largely held by Calvinist which places a huge emphasis on the complete sovereignty of God (i.e. every action in the world was determined by God before the beginning of the world). However some branches of Arminianism will hold to this theodicy as they see suffering as part as a bigger, larger plan that only God can see.
  • Free Will – This view sees suffering as the result of the free will of humanity though God is still in control of the future. Largely held by Arminian believers who places an emphasis on the free choices of humanity.
  • Cosmic Conflict – There is a war happening in the cosmic realm that affects the physical world in which we live. Also called the “Warfare Theodicy”, this view sees suffering and evil as the result of the battle between Satan and God. As in, bad things happen because of Satan and his demons actively seeking to hurt people.
  • Soul Making – Suffering is seen as a way to grow one’s soul. As in, God allows suffering so that humanity overcome obstacles and improve our souls (e.g. endurance, courage, compassion, etc.). Some version will include the purging of sin from our lives within this theodicy.
  • Openness of God – The future is open with God allowing things to develop according to the actions of created beings. Since the future is open, suffering and evil is the result of free agents interacting with the world. Open Theists would be the primary proponents of this view.
  • Consent and Participation – God consents to free will and natural laws while staying personally involved in the world. I don’t know if “consent and participation” is the scholarly term for this view…but it is the one I’m using. =) The core of this theodicy comes from the Eastern Orthodox Church which has a different view of the fall, original sin, free will and divine omnipotence.
  • Suffering of God – The view that God suffers and weeps with us rather than standing above pain and suffering.
  • Faith and Trust – Suffering in the world is a mystery with no real answer so we are just to trust Jesus. I see the book of Job as a backdrop to this view in that at the very end of the book, God tells Job to trust in him and not to all the other theodicies proposed by his friends. (Granted, the book of Job can also be used to support other theodicies like the cosmic conflict view).

Why I call myself a Christian Mystic

I know it is risking as the term “mystic” is seen in a negative light by a lot of folks within the American Christian culture. Yet when I wrote the biography for my upcoming book, I called myself a “Christian mystic.”

Why did I do that?

I did it because I think we need more mystics with their embracement of the mystery of life in the American Christian culture. The last few hundred years have been spend trying to define everything. And why this desire to know gave us a lot of cool technology, it also cost us something (NT Wright touches on this in chapter three his book Surprised by Scripture).

The Oxford American College Dictionary defines “mystic” as “a person who…believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect.” In a similar manner the Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “mystical” as “having a spiritual meaning or reality that is neither apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence.”

So in a lot of ways, the term “Christian Mystic” is an oxymoron in that Christianity begin with an understanding that people would have a spiritual experience that is beyond our understanding. Yet in reality most of what passes as “Christianity” these days denies any spiritual experience as it is all about rules, logic, behavior, etc.  This is true even in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles where folks are taught how to get God to do something (i.e. having enough faith, pray long enough, fast long enough, etc.)

If one looks back towards history we see Christian mystics who promoted a deeper understanding of God and an embracement of the mystery of life. I’m thinking about Desert Fathers, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila among others. In more modern times, A.W. Tozer noted that “a mystic is a believer who practices the presence of God.” C.S. Lewis once defined Christian Mysticism as “the direct experience of God, immediate as a taste or color.”

I think David Benner said it best in his book Spirituality and the Awakening Self:

“A mystic is simply a person who seeks, above all else, to know God in love. Mystics are, therefore, much more defined by their longing than by their experience. They long to know God’s love and thereby be filled with the very fullness of God…Christian mysticism is participation in this transformational journey toward union with God in love.” (emphasis added)

So when I call myself a Christian Mystic, I’m referring to the desire to pursue an intimate relationship God rather than knowing about God. It also speaks to the desire to live in the mystery of not knowing rather than seeking to know everything. This doesn’t mean you are anti-intellectual; rather it means that you recognize human intellectual pursuits will never explain God. As Peter Rollins said, “That which we cannot speak of is the one thing about whom and to whom we must never stop speaking.”

Rollins also repeats an old anecdote that captures the concept of a Christian Mystic in his book How (Not) to Speak of God. I’ve posted it below for your enjoyment.

“There is an old anecdote in which a mystic, an evangelical pastor and a fundamentalist preacher die on the same day and awake to find themselves by the pearly gates. Upon reaching the gates they are promptly greeted by Peter, who informs them that before entering heaven they must be interviewed by Jesus concerning the state of their doctrine. The first to be called forward is the mystic, who is quietly ushered into a room. Five hours later the mystic reappears with a smile, saying, ‘I thought I had got it all wrong.’ Then Peter signals to the evangelical pastor, who stands up and enters the room. After a full day has passed the pastor reappears with a frown and says to himself, ‘How could I have been so foolish!’ Finally Peter asks the fundamentalist to follow him. The fundamentalist picks up his well-worn Bible and walks into the room. A few days pass with no sign of the preacher, then finally the door swings open and Jesus himself appears, exclaiming, ‘How could I have got it all so wrong!”

 

(Source note: I’m grateful for Dr. Brad Strait who wrote a similar article on being a Christian Mystic. Some of the quotes above was pulled from his article hence my desire to source his site.)

A More Christlike God: Thoughts on Brad Jersak’s book

a more christlike god brad jersakI read it twice. Within three months.

This, I might add, is a VERY rare thing for me as I typically only read a book once. And those books which I do re-read, I usually re-read them after a few years. So to say that I read Brad Jersak’s book “A More Christlike God: A More Beautiful Gospel” twice within three months is saying a lot.

Granted if I’m being completed honest, I must admit that it was the prospect of meeting Brad in person that prompted me to re-read the book. Brad was scheduled to be my one of my professors at St. Stephen’s University this past October and I wanted to be able to ask him some questions about his book. And yes, the books was required reading by Brad along with N.T. Wright’s “Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters.” (You HAVE to love classes that require you to read the books you would read on your on! No more self-justifications of the cost – instead it is all wrapped up in the “education” bucket of the budget!!) 😀

Before talking about the book itself, it is helpful to know a bit more about Dr. Brad Jersak. As mentioned already, Brad is an adjunct faculty member at St. Stephen’s University in Canada. He also teaches New Testament and Patristics classes at Westminster Theological Centre in the United Kingdom in addition to serving as the senior editor of Plain Truth Ministries. His faith journey includes growing up within the Baptist General Conference before becoming a church planter/pastor within the Conference of Mennonites in BC, Canada. After years hanging out with the Mennonites, Brad shifted gears and joined the Eastern Orthodox Church where he has been chrismated and ordained as a Reader in the Orthodox Church (OCA) for the All Saints Monastery in Dewdney (Canada).

Brad’s Eastern Orthodox connections are very important as his book “A More Christlike God” is packed full of concepts gleaned from our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters. The book was also, as I found out talking to him this past October, was reviewed and approved by several Eastern Orthodox theologians. The book also received endorsements from a surprising wide range of Protestant and Roman Catholic Church authors, ministers, and priests including Father Richard Rohr, Eugene Peterson, Brian McLaren, William Paul Young, Frank Schaeffer, and Brian Zahnd.

The primary focus of the book is fairly simple – mainly that the best picture we have of God is Jesus and, as such, we should allow Jesus to influence the way in which we see God and read the Bible. While this premise sounds simple, the sad reality is that a lot of us have based our view of God on things other than Jesus. Whereas St. Paul says that Jesus is the “the image of the invisible God” [Co 1:15], we tend to split the Triune God up into three parts with a different image for each part. We have the punishing judge Father God, the nice Son (Jesus) and the crazy unknown Spirit…or we have the deadbeat dad God or perhaps the genie in the bottle God who we can influence through doing or praying the right things.

Writing from an Eastern Orthodox viewpoint, Brad challenges these different misconceptions of God while offering a picture of a loving God based upon the person of Jesus. This focus on the cruciform God (i.e. God on the cross) effectually challenges the a lot of the common theological concepts we in the Protestant world take for granted. For example, whereas the Protestant world is focused on the Calvinism/Arminianism debate of sovereignty of God and human participation, Brad offers a uniquely Eastern Orthodox viewpoint in which God consents to freedom but also engages in participation within creation.

Reading – and later talking to Brad – about this alternative to the dualism of the Protestant world was a breath of fresh air for me. A few years ago I came to the conclusion that the Calvinism/Arminianism debate had outlived its usefulness and was no longer helpful. However I was having troubles coming up with a theological alternative that I could fully embrace. And why I’m fine with living in the mystery of not knowing, I knew that my position as a pastor/teacher would require a deeper understanding of the issue so that I could help others walk the path. While I was able to find an alternative in the writings of Greg Boyd (i.e. open theism), I was having a hard time finding anything on the topic from the Eastern Orthodox side of the family (a group with which I have had a longtime love affair). The book “A More Christlike God” filled that vacuum for me – and taught me that I had in fact already been exposed to the Eastern Orthodox view on the matter, I just didn’t recognize the argument as it was buried under implicit language typical of those from the East. 😕

celtic cross sunsetConnected with the sovereignty of God and human participation topic are the issues of the atonement (i.e. what happened on the cross?) and the wrath of God. While anyone of these topics could have been a book within itself, Brad seamlessly weaves all three issues into his book while keeping the focus on Jesus and the cruciform God. I especially liked his selection on the atonement as breaks down the weakness with the penal substitutionary atonement view of most Protestants while highlighting the value of the victory of God over satan, evil, sin and death. But then again I’ve been a proponent of the Christus Victor atonement view for quite some time. 🙂

The part of the book that I have the hardest time with is when Brad seeks to un-wrath God in the both the Old and New Testament. For those who have read the Scriptures know that there are some parts of the Bible (mostly in the Old Testament) that are extremely hard to understand. Why and how could a God who claims to be love (1 John 4:8) command the total genocide of various people groups? It doesn’t make sense… which is why one of the first heresies in the church was the view that the God of the OT is different than Jesus and the God of the NT. However the early church mothers and fathers were quite clear that the God of the OT is the same God of the NT – and this God is seen the most clear in the person of Jesus. Brad puts it this way in his book:

“[T]he Bible itself takes us on a progressive, cruciform pilgrimage from primitive literal understandings of wrath, where God appears to burn with anger and react violently, to a metaphorical reading of wrath, in which God consents – gives us over – to the self-destructive consequences of our own willful defiance. The cruciform God will not and cannot, by love’s nature, coerce us to obey. God grants us the dignity (and discomfort) of ‘finding our own bottom’ (to use 12-step recovery terminology), the end of which is willing surrender to the arms of grace. In the Bible, the shorthand for this process is ‘wrath.’” [page 185]

I must admit I’m still pondering about the full ramification of this definition of wrath as the concept has some very powerful consequences in how we read the Scriptures, see God and live life. Yet I think it is an issue we need to think about as we live in an age of war, fear and revenge. Regardless of the consequences, the one thing I do know is that if we are going to error in how we see God, let us let us error on the side of Jesus and love.

“I [Jesus] say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” –Luke 6:27-31

A Cruciform View of Solomon’s Kingdom

Artist's depiction of Solomon's court (Ingobertus, c. 880)
Artist’s depiction of Solomon’s court (Ingobertus, c. 880)

The golden age of Israel is widely considered to have taken place during the reign of King Solomon. As the human representative of God, Solomon’s rule was said to describe “the various facets of the kingdom of God manifest in his time” [Morphew 2006, 28]. Years later while under the rule of Rome, the people of Israel would use Solomon’s kingdom as a model for what they hopped God’s future kingdom would look like. Jesus, however, challenged the typical view of God’s kingdom and “quite deliberately remodeled first-century Jewish expectations around himself” [Wright 2011, 117]. And since Jesus is the “one true and living avatar of the transcendent God” [Jersak 2015, 83] it is worth paying attention to how Jesus’ view of God’s kingdom contrasts with the view revealed through Solomon reign.

The zenith of Solomon’s kingdom is best recorded in 1 Kings 4. It was during this time that the people of Israel become as “numerous as the sand on the seashore” [verse 20, NIV] in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham [Ge 22:17]. King Solomon defeated Israel’s enemies and ruled over all the people from Tiphash to Gaza with foreign dignitaries and ambassadors flocking to his banquet table. Each day “85 bushels of fine flour, 375 bushels of meal, 10 grain-fed cattle, 20 range cattle, 100 sheep, and miscellaneous deer, gazelles, roebucks, and choice fowl” [verses 22-23, Message] was served. In addition to physical wealth, Solomon had great wisdom and insight given to him by God [verse 29-31]. He wrote 3,000 proverbs, 1,005 songs and knew the ways of the birds, plants, mammals, fish, and reptiles. There was “no aspect of creation” that Solomon could not understand, becoming an “epitome of the Hebrew understanding of the wholeness of life that flows from the rule of God” [Morphew 2006, 30].

In contrast to the riches and glamour of Solomon’s court, Jesus was born and lived among the common people of the land. The angels who announced his birth did so not in the palace of King Herod, but in the fields to simple shepherds [Lk 2:8-15]. The humility of Jesus continued throughout his life with his followers being called friends rather than servants [Jn 15:15]. This is a marked difference from Solomon who conscripted the people of Israel into building his palaces [1 Ki 9:15]. Solomon also enslaved people from neighboring nations [1 Ki 9:21] whereas Jesus brought freedom to the prisoner [Lk 4:18].

In Genesis 12 when God calls Abraham, he tells him that he will be a blessing to the nations [Ge 12:2-3]. This promise was thought to have been fulfilled by King Solomon in that the nations of world came to him seeking wisdom. Jesus, however, transformed the hegemonic kingdom of Solomon into a kenarchy with the people of God commanded to “go and make disciples of all nations” [Mt 28:19, NIV]. No longer were the children of Abraham to be defined by genetics, but the faith of Abraham would spread to all nations with everyone who follows Jesus being called children of Abraham [Rm 9:8].

By expanding the people of God to include the Gentiles, Jesus challenged the identity those who were called enemies of God. Under Solomon and those who followed him, the enemies of the people of God were the Gentile nations around them. Jesus removed the blinders from the eyes of his people to show that it was the devil, evil, sin and death who were their true enemy [1 Co 15:24-26, 1 Jn 3:8]. Through the cross, Jesus defeated the evil one and crushed the head of the serpent that deceived humanity [Jn 12:31-33, Ge 1:15].

celtic cross sunsetJesus’ banquet table also shows a marked contrast to the picture of God’s rule under Solomon. Rather than limiting the table to foreign dignitaries and members of the royal household, Jesus opened up God’s table to the weak, sick, outcast and the common people [Lk 13:29, 14:15-24, Mt 8:11]. Gone also was the Kosher meal restrictions that forbid the people of God from eating with the Gentiles [Ac 10:15]. Jesus himself was to be the bread on God’s banquet table which would bring life to all who partook of his flesh and blood [Jn 6:25-59]. Whereas Solomon’s table reflected the daily bounty of God’s kingdom, God’s table under Jesus transformed into a radically inclusive table from which no one will ever go hungry. The Eucharist feast celebrated by Jesus followers around the world testifies to the power of this new cruciform banquet table.

If there is one thing that history remembers about King Solomon, it is that he was a very wise man. 1 Kings 4:29-34 tells us that he was the wisest man on earth during this lifetime with a “breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore” [verse 29, NIV]. This wisdom, though a gift from God, was still human wisdom. The crucified Jesus, on the other hand, is the “wisdom of God” [1 Co 1:24, NIV] that puts to shame all other wisdom. St. James even goes further, saying that the “wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” [Ja 3:17, NIV]. Jesus, through the cross, shows us that the wisdom of God goes beyond knowing how to govern a country or settle disputes.

The temple is the other thing that history has remembered about King Solomon. This temple was huge, beautiful and considered to be one of the wonders of the ancient world. It was the symbol of God’s presence in Israel and a drawing card for the nations as declared by Solomon in its dedication [1 Ki 8]. Jesus transforms this symbol of God’s kingdom just like he did with all the other facets of God’s rule through Solomon. Through the cross, Jesus declared that the temple was no longer needed. The religious, political and cultural life of the people of God was now to be found in and through Jesus and not through a building. Furthermore the people themselves became the living temple of God, sealed with the Holy Spirit who dwells inside each follower of Jesus [1 Co 3:16].

The last remaining transformation that Jesus completes in our model of God’s kingdom has to do with creation itself. Under King Solomon, all the plants and animals of the land, sea and air were seen as being subject to the rule of humanity. Jesus transforms this view in that he not only was the one who created the heavens and earth, but he also is the one who continues to uphold it [Co 1:16-17]. Jesus is the one true King of the universe, having everything that was, is and is to come under his feet [Ep 1:18-23].

In conclusion, Jesus of Nazareth, “the image of the invisible God” [Co 1:15, NIV], transforms the model of God’s kingdom seen under King Solomon. Rather than being an exclusive hegemonic kingdom for a select few, Jesus transforms it into an inclusive kenarchic kingdom that actively seeks out the lonely, weak, outcast and poor. Gone is the controlling, power-over view of God; instead it was replaced by a consenting, participating, and loving model of a king – a king who died upon the cross for each one of us.

 

Bibliography

Jersak, Bradley. 2015. A More Christlike God: A More Beautiful Gospel. Pasadena, California: CWRpress.

Morphew, Derek. 2006. Breakthrough: Discovering the Kingdom. Cape Town, South Africa: Vineyard International Publishing.

Wright, N.T. 2011. Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, And Why He Matters. New York: HaperOne.

Kingdom Theology Resources (Updated)

kogbooksA year ago I posted a list of Kingdom Theology resources for those wanting to know more about the Kingdom of God. This post is an updated version of that original post with even more resources for those wanting to know about the Kingdom.

The resources listed in the first section are dealing with the theological foundation of Kingdom Theology while the second section contain books whose focus in the practical application of Kingdom Theology.

Have fun digging into these books and wrestling with the concepts found between their covers.

 

Section One: Theological Foundation of Kingdom Theology

 

Kingdom Theology Proper

Breakthrough: Discovering the Kingdom by Derek Morphew – If you were to just read one other book on Kingdom Theology, this would be the book I would recommend. Derek Morphew is a South African Vineyard pastor, scholar and theologian who has been studying, living and teaching Kingdom Theology for decades. This volume beautifully captures his view of Jesus’ message of the enacted inaugurated eschatology.  Morphew also has published numerous other books on Kingdom Theology through Vineyard International Publishing.

Kingdom Come: How Jesus Wants to Change the World by Allen Mitsuo Wakabayashi – This is a good starter book on Kingdom Theology and what it means to join God in His Mission to redeem all of creation to Himself. Sadly however, Allen fails to take Kingdom Theology outside of the parameters of conservative evangelism (i.e. no signs and wonders or healing prayers in this book, just a focus on Bible studies and living a life devoted to Jesus).

Heaven on Earth: Experiencing the Kingdom of God in the Here and Now by R. Alan Streett – Written from a Pentecostal viewpoint, this book does a good job at explaining the kingdom message of Jesus as seen throughout the Bible. My main issue with the book is Alan Streett’s view on healing as he leans heavily towards the victory side of the tension with an emphasis on the faith of a person.

Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did and Why He Matters by N.T. Wright – N.T. Wright is one of the top theological historians of our times. Over the past few decades he has helped remind people of the first century historical context in which Jesus was born, raised, taught and died. Simply Jesus summarizes his more scholar works in a manner that the average person can understand. With that said, it must be noted that in this book N.T. Wright stops short of bring the inaugurated eschatology message of Jesus into the practical life of a believer. He touches on it a bit, but overall his main focus in Simply Jesus is to provide a historical context for the message of Jesus.

The Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God by George E. Ladd – Kingdom Theology is deeply indebted to George Ladd and his scholarly work on the kingdom of God. This book is based upon lectures by Ladd given during his time at Fuller Theological Seminary. While a bit scholarly at times, it goes a great overview of the ‘here and not yet.’ However similar to Wakabayashi’s book, Ladd stops short of fully exploring the practical ramifications of Kingdom Theology’s inaugurated eschatology. (Those who want a more scholarly version of Ladd’s works can check out The Presence of the Future: The Eschatology of Biblical Realism.)

The Genesis Café: Conversations on the Kingdom by Robby McAlpine – Written as a fictional conversation between three friends, The Genesis Café does a wonderful job of breaking down George Ladd’s writings on the Kingdom of God into a manner that the average church goer can understand. I would highly recommend starting with this book before reading Ladd’s Gospel of the Kingdom or The Presence of the Future as it will help establish a baseline understand of Ladd’s works.

“Start Here: Kingdom Essentials for Christians” by Don Williams – Written for folks who have just started following Jesus, this is a GREAT book for ALL Jesus followers as it summarizes the basic principles of being a Christian. While it is a bit of a topic book, I went ahead and listed it here as Don does a wonderful job of highlighting the value of Kingdom Theology within a very easy to read framework. Don, by the way, is one of the top Vineyard scholars/pastors out there. He was the one, for example, who crafted the Vineyard Statement of Faith.

Online Articles on the Kingdom

“What Is Kingdom Theology?” by Derek Morphew – A short article outlining the basics of Kingdom Theology

“Understanding Vineyard Theology: Introduction & Challenges” , “Kingdom Theology in the Vineyard: Upside Down & Now Not Yet” and “Vineyard Theology Doesn’t Mix with Dispensationalism” are some GREAT posts by Vineyard pastor Luke Geraty on the importance of Kingdom Theology.

“Defining ‘Kingdom of God’: Part 1, 2 and 3 – a three part blog article defining the central message of Jesus by yours truly (i.e. Joshua S. Hopping.

“A Vineyard Kingdom Hermeneutic: Pneumatic, Communal, Transformative, and Missional” by Luke Geraty – A paper written by Luke while at the University of Birmingham on how the Vineyard’s focus on the Kingdom effects how we read the Bible. While it contains a bunch of $5 words, it is a good read for those interested in Kingdom Theology.

Audio Files

“The Kingdom of God” – A five part sermon by Derek Morphew given at the Vineyard USA Southwest Regional Pastors and Leaders conference held in New Orleans from 5-8 June 2006.

“The Kingdom of God: Not just in theory but living a life of practice” – An 8 CD set produced by Robby Dawkins on that Kingdom of God means, how it works and how we are suppose to operate in it.

Metanarrative of the Scriptures

God’s EPIC Adventure by Winn Griffin – A great book which challenges the fragmentation of the biblical story in modern society by teaching the church to understand what “her story is and how to become the people of God living as his recreated humanity.” Griffin does a GREAT job at showing how each of the books of the Bible fit within the grand story of the Bible

The Biblical Metanarrative: One God, One Plan, One Story by Bill Jackson – Written from a Kingdom Theology viewpoint, Jackson traces the main themes of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The material in the book has been taught around the world as a seven hour seminar called NothinsGonnaStopIt!

Drama of Scripture, The: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen – Written by two Redeemer University College professors, this book summarizes the grand story of the Bible in an easy to read narrative prose. Some folks will find this book easier to read than Griffins or Jackson’s book as it is both physical smaller and shorter in page length.

 

Section Two: Practical Application of Kingdom Theology

 

Physical Healing/Signs and Wonders

Do What Jesus Did: A Real-Life Field Guide to Healing the Sick, Routing Demons and Changing Lives Forever by Robby Dawkins – Robby Dawkins is a Vineyard pastor with a passion for modeling the ministry of Jesus on the streets. Filled with first hand stories of success and failure, this is a must read book for anyone wanting to do the stuff that Jesus did.

GodSpeak: How to Hear God’s Voice Without Getting Weird by Rick Evans and Jessica Fischer – Embracing the tension of the Kingdom and practicing the gifts of the Spirit can be scary, especially if you haven’t had very many good models. Evans and Fischer do a great job at walking the reader through the ins and outs of hearing God’s voice, prophecy, healing and what not.

Healing Ministry by Jack Moraine – There are a lot of books out there about healing the sick. Of them, I like Moraine’s book the best as he embraces the tension of the here and not yet. He also does a great job at talking about the dangers of breaking the tension and failing into a victory or suffering view of healing.

Empowered Evangelicals: Bringing Together the Best of the Evangelical and Charismatic Worlds by Rich Nathan and Ken Wilson – This is a classic book about embracing the tension of the Kingdom and living with the best parts of the Evangelical and Charismatic worlds within the United States of America. It is a must read for anyone recently exposed to the concept of the here and not yet.

Inner Healing

12 Steps with Jesus: How Filling the Spiritual Emptiness in Your Life Can Help Your Break Free from Addiction by Don Williams – This is a powerful book about the Spirit of God coming inside us and breaking us free from all forms of addiction (chemical, relational, etc.). Williams has also created 13 week recovery course called “Freedom for Life” based upon this book.

Experiencing Healing Prayer: How God Turns Our Hurts Into Wholeness  by Rick Richardson – While some of the books in this list deal more with physical healing, this volume deals with the inner healing of addictive behaviors and broken relationship.

Doing Healing: How to Minister God’s Kingdom in the Power of the Spirit by Alexander Venter – Written by a South African Vineyard pastor, this book contains a lot of practical advice those engaged in praying for both physical and inner healing. Venter also does a great job looking at the Kingdom Theological aspect of healing, although I do disagree with him on some minor points.

Environmental Stewardship

Saving God’s Green Earth: Rediscovering the Church’s Responsibility to Environmental Stewardship by Tri Robinson – Filled with lots of real-life stories, this book does a great job of laying out the biblical command for taking care of God’s creation.

Green Revolution: Coming Together to Care for Creation by Ben Lowe – Unlike some environmental books – Christian or not – Ben does not “preach” at you through the pages. There no lists of shoulds or should nots – nor were there any chapters condemning one group or another. Instead, Ben told the stories of regular people serving God through their personal lives, church, university and/or non-profit organization. These stories were held together by the greater theme of God’s work in the land.

Tending to Eden: Environmental Stewardship for God’s People by Scott C. Sabin –  This book isn’t just about being good stewards of God’s creation – it is a book geared towards getting past the symptoms of rural poverty and focusing on the root causes. It is a fantastic book showing the holistic nature of poverty and all the factors attributing to it.

Social Justice/Human Rights

God of the Empty-Handed: Poverty, Power and the Kingdom of God by Jayakumar Christian – Written by the Associate Director of World Vision India, this is a powerful book that is split into three parts. The first part provides the background to how different groups have defined poverty throughout history. The second part is a challenge to the reader to look at reality through the eyes of the poor. The last part is Christian’s proposal for tackling the issue of poverty across the world.

Kingdom Theology and Human Rights by Derek Morphew – Part of Morphew’s “Kingdom Theology Series,” this book looks at the Scriptural text for human rights before diving into the biblical theology thereof. After that, he looks at the history of human rights throughout the ages as well as the different theological viewpoints of human rights by the major branches of Christianity (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Liberation, etc.).

Doing Reconciliation: Racism, Reconciliation and Transformation in Church and World by Alexander Venter – Written out of the pain of the South Africa apartheid, this book is about the theology and praxis of reconciliation and transformation through the lens of Kingdom Theology. This was one of the hardest and most challenging books I have ever read due to the real world application of the materials.

Missional Living

Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism by Carl Medearis – It may sound odd, but in our 21st century world there is a difference between Jesus and the Christian culture that surrounds a lot of the churches in the world. In this book, Medearis does a wonderful job of helping the reader come back to a love of talking about Jesus rather than talking about the Christian culture in which they live. I highly recommend everyone reading this book!

The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside Your Door by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon – Written by two pastors in Colorado, this book challenges the reader to think about what God is doing in their neighborhood. It also gives the readers a lot of practical examples and ideas on how to be a good neighbor.

Small Footprint, Big Handprint: How to Live Simply and Love Extravagantly by Tri Robinson – In today’s hyper-consumer culture it is easy to get caught up in buying stuff. Tri Robinson fights back against this consumption mentally with a mandate to live simply so that Jesus followers can have the time and money to love people extravagantly.

Top 14 Books For Every Pastor or Church Leader

My friends over at Think Theology have started listing out their top books every pastor should either own or have read. After reading over Able Baker, Robby McAlpine, and Kenny Burchard lists, I just had to respond as I think they missed the mark on some must have books!! 😀

breakthrough1) “Breakthrough: Discovering the Kingdom” by Derek Morphew

The Scriptures tell us that central message of Jesus and the 12 was the Kingdom of God. Sadly the original meaning behind these words have been shifted and changed as the years march by. Building upon the works of George Ladd, Albert Schweitzer, John Wimber and others, Derek Morphew lays out the historical and biblical foundation for the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God in human history. If you are at all interested in Enacted Inaugurated Eschatology of Kingdom Theology, you simply MUST read this book.

the pastor2) “The Pastor: A Memoir” by Eugene Peterson

I first read this book a few months after I became a senior pastor, and I have to say that it did more to shape my view of pastoring than any other book I have ever read. Drawing from 30 years of experience as the pastor of a small 300 member church in Maryland, Peterson shares the tough times and the good times, the happy times and the not-so-happy times. And in doing so he lays out an amazing pastoral model built on empowering the people to be the people of God. A model that can, and should be adapted to the modern setting through the use of modern Church Software. Due to technological and software advance pastors can now effectively manage and monitor their flocks mental and spiritual well-being, and empower people to be people of God.

Gods epic adventure3) God’s EPIC Adventureby Winn Griffin

A lot of Christians know the different Bible stories, but very few actually know how they are connected. Winn Griffin connects all the dots with an amazing book that outlines the grant meta-narrative of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. An added bonus is that the book gives detailed information about each book of the Bible: author, date written, theme, purchase, audient, and outline. This is truly a great resource that I constantly refer too when preaching/teaching.

start here4) “Start Here: Kingdom Essentials for Christians” by Don Williams

The book’s subtitle says it all. Don did a great job listing out and talking about the kingdom essentials for all Jesus followers. Things like spiritual warfare, prayer, allowing God to change your desires and actions… it is all here. Not only does it make a good reference book, it is one of those books that should be read every few years as it reminds you about the basics of Christianity and what we should be focused on.

doing church5) “Doing Church: Building from the Bottom Up” by Alexander Venter

This is a more practical book on the philosophy of ministry along with various tips and points on how to do church. For many years, this was the premier church planting book for the Vineyard as it was written out of Venter’s work with John Wimber in the early 1980s. While I highly recommend this book, I do have to say that I disagree with Venter’s view on women leaders (he’s more complementarian while I’m egalitarian; or at least he was in the first edition of this book, I don’t know if he has changed his view or not in the later editions).

The Biblical Metanarrative6) “The Biblical Metanarrative: One God, One Plan, One Story” by Bill Jackson

This volume is similar to Winn’s book in that it tells the grand story of the Scriptures. Only instead of outlining each book of the Bible, Bill stays focused on the main themes of the Bible: kingdom, covenant and the great rescue mission of the Creator King. Bill also brings in some cool historical and cultural facts that breathes life into the story of the Bible.

12 steps with Jesus7) “12 Steps with Jesus” by Don Williams

Every living human being is an addict. The only difference is what we are addicted too – chemicals, relationship, work, actions, etc. In this book, Don talks about finding freedom from addictions by embracing the abundant life that God has promised to each person who follows Him. This is a powerful book that will challenge you to your core.

speaking of Jesus8) Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism by Carl Medearis

The church at large has embraced a lot of different things over the past two thousand years since Jesus walked this earth, some good and some not so good. In this book, Carl walks you through a process of separating the culture trappings of Christianity as a religion and the person of Jesus. For some this can be a hard journey as it is easy to confuse the way we do something with being in relationship with Jesus. Definitely a book to read for any Jesus follower – let along a pastor or leader.

working the angles9) “Working The Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity” by Eugene Peterson

Every pastor has a TON of pressure placed on them by the culture at large, the folks in their church, those in authority above them as well as by themselves. As such it is easy to drift away from the essentials of what it means to be a pastor and start doing everything else. In an effort to call pastors back to their calling, Peterson outlines the three essentials jobs of a pastor: praying, reading Scripture, and giving spiritual direction. Everything else is icing on the cake; no matter how “good” or “profitable” those tacks are, if you aren’t doing these three things, you are not pastoring.

the orthodox way10) The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware

Most Christian books that I have read over the years are written with the view that humanity can understand God if only we study hard and apply the right theology mindset. This book offers a different route. Written by an Eastern Orthodox bishop, this book lays out a way to embrace the mystery of God without having to understand everything. It is truly a spring of fresh water in the middle of a dry desert of sureties and I-know-everythings. The book also gives us Protestants a chance to learn from our brothers and sisters in the East.

a theology of the NT11) “A Theology of the New Testament” by George Ladd

George Ladd was one of the pioneers in the re-discovering the message of the Kingdom within the Scriptures. His “Theology of the New Testament” is a gold mine of information about the Kingdom of God. Definitely a must have.

celtic daily prayer12) “Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and Readings from the Northumbria Community”

It may sound odd to place a daily prayer book on a list of books for pastors…but the fact remains that if your soul is dry then nothing you do matters. This book has some beautiful and ancient prayers that will refresh your soul and draw you deeply into the love and grace of the Creator King. It also has some great situational and seasonal prayers that make excellent congregational prayers. An added bonus is that the book is written from a very strong Trinitarian theology viewpoint.

hope13) “Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church” by N.T. Wright

One of the awesome things about following Jesus is that He told us about the end – that He will defeat sin, evil and death and restore the earth and heaven while giving us new physical bodies. Sadly enough very few church going people really know about or understand the blessed hope of the second coming. Instead they rely on popular culture for their view of heaven and life after death. In this book, N.T. Wright lays out the end game of Bible in a matter that will change the way you live your life in the here and now.

church history14) “Church History in Plain Language” by Bruce Shelly

King Solomon once said that there is nothing new under the sun. Sadly however, the church today seems to think that the struggles we face are brand new instead of just a variation of what happened before. As such, I think all pastors and church leaders should be a student of history. Bruce Shelly’s “Church History in Plain Language” is a great place to start as tells the story of the church in an engaging manner that should keep the attention of pretty everyone.

N.T. Wright on Women Bishops, “Progress”, and the Bible

N. T. Wright

In the wake of the Church of England’s vote not to allow women bishops, N.T. Wright recently wrote a great article pointing out that the issue is about what the Bible says and not about any ideas of progress. After all, as Wright points out, what did ‘progress’ brings us?

“’Progress’ gave us modern medicine, liberal democracy, the internet. It also gave us the guillotine, the Gulag and the gas chambers. Western intelligentsia assumed in the 1920s that “history” was moving away from the muddle and mess of democracy towards the brave new world of Russian communism. Many in 1930s Germany regarded Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his friends as on the wrong side of history. The strong point of postmodernity is that the big stories have let us down. And the biggest of all was the modernist myth of ‘progress’.”

So what is the real issue?

It is the lie that to people who believe in the Bible will oppose women’s ordination. Folks normally point to 1 Timothy chapter two, which is the worse place to start as the Greek words used in that passage occur nowhere else and are very hard to translate…

No, the place to start talking about this issue (well, really ANY issue in following Jesus), as Wright beautifully points out, is with the announcement that Jesus has been raised from the dead:

“And Jesus entrusted that task, first of all, not to Peter, James, or John, but to Mary Magdalene. Part of the point of the new creation launched at Easter was the transformation of roles and vocations: from Jews-only to worldwide, from monoglot to multilingual (think of Pentecost), and from male-only leadership to male and female together.

“Within a few decades, Paul was sending greetings to friends including an ‘apostle’ called Junia (Romans xvi, 7). He entrusted that letter to a ‘deacon’ called Phoebe whose work was taking her to Rome. The letter-bearer would normally be the one to read it out to the recipients and explain its contents. The first expositor of Paul’s greatest letter was an ordained travelling businesswoman.

“The resurrection of Jesus is the only Christian guide to the question of where history is going. Unlike the ambiguous “progress” of the Enlightenment, it is full of promise — especially the promise of transformed gender roles.

“The promise of new creation, symbolised by the role of Mary Magdalene in the Easter stories, is the reality. Modern ideas of ‘progress’ are simply a parody. Next time this one comes round, it would be good to forget ‘progress’ — and ministerial ‘programmes’ — and stick with the promise.”

Amen and amen!!

Introducing The New Archbishop of Canterbury

(Photo: Keith Blundy / Aegies Associates)

It has been a busy past couple of weeks for the global Church – first there was the election of a new Coptic Orthodox Pope and now there is naming of Rowan Williams’ successor as the Archbishop of Canterbury. While Protestants in the USA may not think much of these two events, they are actually very, very, very HUGE events as they affect the lives of millions Jesus followers around the world.

Take the Archbishop of Canterbury, for example, whoever sits in that chair affects the direction of the entire Anglican Communion, which has around 85 million members worldwide. The Coptic Orthodox Church is a tad smaller at 18 million members – bring the total number of people affected by the two leadership changes to 103 million believers. That, my friends, is a lot of people!

But, alas, we have digressed from the main focus of this post which was to introduce you all to the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop Justin Welby.

Currently Justin Welby is the bishop of Durham, having succeeded Bishop N.T. Wright in that position last year. Which brings up the interesting point that Webly has only been a bishop in the Anglican Church for a year – hardly the resume one would expect for the new Archbishop…

However, it must be pointed out that Welby has quite the track record that more than over shadows this lack of experience. For example, he has worked as an arbitrator during religious conflicts around the world with the Coventry Centre for Reconciliation and he has 11 years of experience as an oil executive, which shows that he has leadership skills.

Theologically speaking, Bishop Welby is said to be within the evangelical tradition of the Anglican Church – a position that, I’m guessing, places him closer to more conservative churches in the Global South than the more liberal Episcopal churches in the USA. What we do know is that Welby has historically been outspoken against same-sex marriage while supportive of women bishops (two of the biggest controversies facing the Anglican Communion)…so it may be that his selection as Archbishop of Canterbury is a message to the Anglican Communion as to what direction the church is wanting to go….  I don’t know, but may the Lord guide them as they figure things out.

Vision for 21st Century Evangelicalism

For those not on Facebook, I have recently posted a series of links to David Flowers blog as he has started a series on the top five books American Evangelicals should read as they contextualize the New Testament into their lives and culture. Though I don’t know David personally, I have been following his blog for a year or so now and have found him to be a thoughtful and thorough author whose articles are worth reading – hence this post. 🙂

The first book that David Flowers lists as crucial for American Evangelicals is N.T. Wright’s “Surprised by Hope.Having read this book, I would to agree with David that this is a game charger for American Evangelicals (assuming that they actually read it and ponder the practical implications). You can also read my review of this book here.

The second crucial book in David Flowers’ series is Scot McKnight’s “The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited”. This is a book that I have not read (yet) but I have been following Scot’s blog for quite a while and he is pretty dang solid when it comes to Jesus and the Kingdom. From what I can tell (both from David’s review and for reading Scot’s blog) the premise of the book is that there has been a “misunderstanding of the gospel” with the focus being on the act of salvation and not “radical discipleship” as outlined in the New Testament. This is definitely a concept that I agree with; hence why this book in on my too read list. 🙂

David has yet to publish his review of the other three books…so jump over to his site and catch up while you can. 😀