Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crisis, and a Revolution of Hope
This book in many ways is a sequel to The Secret Message of Jesus, although people can begin with either book. It asks two essential questions: What are the world’s top crises, and what do the life and message of Jesus say to those global crises? I spent a few years researching the global crisis literature and tried to synthesize the best thinking on the subject. I developed a metaphor to help people understand global crises – a machine with four moving parts, corresponding to the four critical crises that create so much human suffering. Meanwhile, I was studying the gospels in a concentrated way, seeking to understand how Jesus’ original hearers would have heard and understood his message of the kingdom of God. The two pursuits enriched each other in ways that I will probably never fully be able to communicate. This book is by far my most ambitious project yet, and I can’t imagine ever writing anything that is more important and urgent.
Everything Must Change hardcover released on October 2nd, 2007 may be purchased at: barnes and noble and christianbook.com. You can read the release note about the book, which also includes a reader’s guide and a list of suggested readings.
The new softcover edition is available for purchase at: amazon.com, barnes and noble, and christianbooks.com. This edition will be more affordable for small groups and classes, and I’ve heard from so many groups now that have told me this book really works at stimulating both energetic dialogue and action. For about $40 (sometimes less), you can get a beautifully-produced DVD guide to the book. In the DVD I give a short introduction to each of the eight sections of the book that your group can watch leading into each discussion. You can purchase the DVD at: amazon.com and christianbooks.com.
There will be a website that will allow people to contribute ideas on putting the message of Everything Must Change into action. You can download preview of the starter content – to which we hope you will contribute when the interactive site is up.
You can also download an unpublished appendix to the book, called President Bush’s Ungiven Speech.
Acclaimed author and Emergent church leader Brian McLaren states, “More and more Christian leaders are beginning to realize that for the millions of young adults who have recently dropped out of church, Christianity is a failed religion. Why? Because it has specialized in dealing with ‘spiritual needs’ to the exclusion of physical and social needs. It has focused on ‘me’ and ‘my eternal destiny,’ but it has failed to address the dominant societal and global realities of their lifetime: systemic injustice, poverty, and dysfunction.”
McLaren asks, “Shouldn’t a message purporting to be the best news in the world be doing better than this?” What he sets forth in this provocative, unsettling work is a “form of Christian faith that is holistic, integral, balanced, that offers good news for both the living and the dying, that speaks of God’s grace at work both in this life and the life to come, both to individuals and to societies and the planet as a whole.”
On Pain, Gain, and the Human Response to Crisis. By Darren King, Precipice Magazine, June 2008.
Interview with ChristianBooks.com December 2007.
Why Everything Must Change: A Conversation with Brian McLaren by Jon Stanley, The Other Journal, October 15th, 2007.
Emerging Star: RBL Talks with Brian McLaren. by Jana Riess, Religion Book Line Publisher’s Weekly, July 2007.
The Wittenburg Door Interview with Brian McLaren, by Becky Garrison. May/June 2007.
Precipice Magazine, Thoughts on Eschatology, Diversity, Criticism and More by Darren King
Bob Carlton at The Corner, has written several posts on EMC, including reviews of the three systems discussed in the book: the prosperity system, the equity system, and the security system. He also posted a reflection before the book was released.
Missional Methodist Movement Blog, book review part 1
Hackman’s Musings Blog book review part 1
Nicholas Fielder’s Blog – Book Review
Brian discusses the questions that guide the book
Brian explains where the title of the book came from
You can also watch a reading from Chapter 1 of the book.
Or watch this reading from a chapter entitled Quick Bliss Through Footwear, Palate Grease, and Skin Paint.
Brian asks A New Kind of Question in Chapter 29.
If you’re interested in preaching or speaking about issues in this book, Brian has created sermon ideas based around the chapters.
Thomas Nelson antcipates that Everything Must Change will be available in eight languages: English, Dutch, German, Indonesian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.
