Q & R: Next book?
Here’s the Q:
A few months ago Brian tweeted that he is writting a new book for study by small groups with a focus on small groups I think. Is there any news on when that is likely to be published sounded really interesting.
Here’s the R:
Here’s the latest on my next project.
1. It’s due to be published June 2014.
2. The tentative title is Catechesis. Catechesis means a thoughtful, intentional orientation to the faith. (We’re still working on the subtitle.)
[UPDATE: The title will be A Table, a Bible, Some Food, Some Friends: 52 Experiments in Spiritual (Re)Formation.]
3. My goal in the book is to help people learn to live as followers of Christ – and to do so from a fresh perspective (post-conservative, post-liberal perspective, emphasizing the relevance of the gospel to contemporary life – especially a world facing the crises of the planet, poverty, and peace).
4. The book is written for three groups of people: a) Christians whose inherited understandings of the faith have stopped making sense or working, b) spiritual seekers who are interested in a fresh approach to the way of Christ, and c) parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors, youth workers, campus workers, and others who want to get a coherent, comprehensive understanding of “a new kind of Christianity” so they can pass it on to others.
5. It will consist of 52+ short chapters which can be read in typical book fashion, but also can be read aloud in 12-15 minutes in a variety of settings: as sermons for churches, small groups, and experimental faith communities, as a curriculum for classes, online groups, and retreats, etc.
6. The book will include a lectionary (comprehensive Bible reading program) and a simple liturgy to facilitate use for worshiping communities, along with response questions.
7. It’s organized according to a simplified church year (along the lines I explored in the liturgy section of Cross the Road…).
8. In the fall season, we go through an overview of the Hebrew Scriptures. In the winter season, Advent transitions to Jesus, and Christmas and Epiphany focus on the birth and life of Jesus. For the Spring season, Lent is devoted to the Sermon on the Mount, followed by Holy Week, and the Easter season explores life in the community of faith. Summer (beginning with Pentecost) focuses on life in the Spirit in the world today.
9. I am writing the book with a global audience in mind, so the tone is simple, direct, and pastoral. I’m avoiding local cultural references, etc., and hope the book will have a long shelf-life. Really, it’s a book to be read aloud – I hope with a storyteller’s and poet’s feel.
10. This may be the most important book I’ve written, and I’m grateful for prayers that I follow the Spirit’s lead on every page.