report card on the proposed US budget …
From one.org
I'd love to see similar report cards from folks concerned about nuclear proliferation, militarization (especially the growing mercenary military sector), environment, etc. As the good people at sojo.net say, budgets are moral documents. That's true from many angles.
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Have you started reading the new book?
If you sign up for my facebook page, you can give me feedback as you read NKoC. That's the site I'll be checking for reader response. Looking forward to hearing from many of you ...
A suggestion: If you hate the book, explain why - but then, perhaps you could point to one specific question or issue that you think is worth addressing, or one positive insight that you want to be sure to take away from the time you invested reading a book you didn't like. And if you like the book, explain why - and then perhaps you could pick the question of the ten that you think is most important, and the one you think is least important. Or not - just a suggestion.
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A sermon for “discernment website” folks … and for me too
This intelligent and helpful sermon from Joel Hunter provides some great communication ground rules for the folks who think I'm lost in the weeds when they read my new book ... and for me when I try to respond. Maybe it will make the rounds in "discernment website" circles?
Conflict Resolution from Northland Church on Vimeo.
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Reviews and Interviews …
David Crumm is one of the best interviewers anywhere. You can read our recent interview about A New Kind of Christianity at Read the Spirit - here
People have started posting reviews at amazon.com. In addition to some enthusiastic five-star reviews, the first one-star review has been posted. This review is much more "Christian" than many of the negative reviews I've received in the past. The reviewer, Darryl, gives his honest evaluation without name-calling, gross misrepresentation, demonization, etc. You have to appreciate that. And in spite of the fact that he found the book highly frustrating, he was able to find some value in it. His conclusion will be shared by many, I'm sure:
I believe that our biggest need is not for a new Christianity, but instead to rediscover some of the contours of the gospel we may have forgotten. We don't need a new contract; we need to "guard the good deposit" that's been entrusted to us (2 Timothy 1:14). We really don't need a new kind of Christianity. We need to do a better job of rediscovering, and living in light of, the one we already have.
If my book helps stimulate honest and good-hearted readers like this one to pursue that kind of rediscovery a little more vigorously, I'll be happy. Because a better version of "the old kind of Christianity" is a great step in the right direction!
In contrast to this critical but civil response, when my last couple of books have been released, some conservative bloggers have posted their critical reviews and then urged their readers to go to my site and vote early and often to keep negative reviews at the top and positive reviews on the bottom. I don't know if this is ethical or not, but my guess is this will happen again with this book. I hope I'll be pleasantly surprised, and that critical reviewers will take the high road as Darryl has done.
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