Fall/Winter 2006 Update
Greetings, friends!
Thanks for your interest in my work. I hope that you have found some encouragement and help in my books, and I hope this website will also be of value to you.
I had an unforgettable summer - I spent 5 weeks travelling Latin America, teaching and dialoguing in seven countries, from Mexico to Chile and Argentina. For most of the trip, I travelled with Dr. Rene Padilla, a theologian and leader from whom I have learned so much. I met so many wonderful people - you can read a rather lengthy report here. (Also see Orientacion Cristiana.)
I've been in 20 different countries this year, and everywhere I've gone, I've heard leaders lamenting the fact that the church in the USA doesn't seem to listen to their sisters and brothers in the rest of the world. I invited a number of friends to send me short messages that they'd like the Christian community in the US to hear, and I'll be posting their messages here soon.
You'll also find some big news about my plans for 2008. You might want to be involved!
This fall, I'll be in Kansas, Minnesota, Indiana, New Brunswick, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Washington State, Tennessee, California, Virginia, Florida, Arkansas, and Illinois ... maybe we'll get to meet in person in one of these places. (See the schedule for details.) It's clear that I won't be bored!
Meanwhile, I'll be finishing up "Jesus and the Suicide Machine" between now and the end of the yar. I finished the first draft while in Argentina ... I'm so excited about this book. Be prepared for something quite different from anything I've written before.
I've been getting some wonderful reports of people using "The Secret Message of Jesus" for sermon series, small groups, classes, and even retreats. Just as I'd hoped, the book connects with people who are "spiritual but not religious," skeptics, and otherwise unconnected from Christian commitment - along with committed Christians too. The book has had a stronger start than any of my previous books.
Other news - I begin my term as board chair for Sojourners (sojo.net) this fall. I've also been working closely with Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, Adam Taylor, Diana Butler Bass, Amy Sullivan, and others in a new venture called "Red-Letter Christians." Many of us have been trying to find ways to stop the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. I hope you'll do what you can to help as well.
And as always, I'm thrilled to see what's happening with emergentvillage.com. Good things are happening!
I thank God for the privilege of serving you in some small way. Thanks for your encouragement and interest. Let's keep on ... plotting goodness!
Brian
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Favorite Books from 2005
Some Great Reads from 2005
I can't believe how many tremendous books are being published. Add to
them the great books from the past that I've only recently discovered,
and sometimes I hope I can live to be 125 just so I won't miss too
much. But even then, I would still miss so much, because there are
more excellent books waiting for us than one person could ever digest.
So - here are ten top recommendations from my little corner of the world.
First, I read several books on faith and social justice this year.
Among them, four stood out.
1. Jim Wallis, God's Politics.
2. Jimmy Carter, Our Endangered Values
3. Rabbi Michael Lerner, The Left Hand of God (to be released in 06)
All three of these books seek to begin a dialogue after many years of
monologue by the Religious Right. I found each of them alarming and
inspiring at the same time.
4. C. K. Prahalad, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. While
this book is not religious, it makes one point very well - and I think
it maps out a plan for helping the poor that could bring together
caring Christians from the left and right.
I always try to keep some good fiction and poetry on my reading list.
Of special pleasure this year were two books:
5. Wendell Berry, The Memory of Old Jack. Tender, humane, insightful,
heart-breaking, and beautiful ... I feel like a better human being
after I read Berry's work.
6. Garrison Keillor, ed., Good Poems. Put this one beside your bed
and read a few each night. You'll feel afresh what an amazing thing
language is.
Three works of theology were most stimulating to me this year. Both
of them came to me in manuscript form in 2005; they'll be released in
2006.
7. Andrew Perriman, The Coming of the Son of Man. This book is the
best introduction I'm aware of to a fresh perspective on eschatology.
Many of us know that we desperately need an alternative to the "left
behind" eschatology that is so popular (and unhelpful) these days.
Here it is. Andrew takes some ideas that N. T. Wright has been
proposing for several years, ideas that Tim King's
"transmillennialism" also engages (but not yet in a popular book), and
grapples with them in Paul as well as Jesus.
8. Pete Rollins, How (Not) to Speak of God. I expect that some of my
friends will not like this book, but I loved it. As an old English
major whose studies took him into the epistemological deep end of the
postmodern pool, I find in Pete Rollins someone who has learned to
swim without being able to touch bottom.
9. Walter Wink, The Powers That Be. This book helped me a great deal
in my work on The Secret Message of Jesus. It takes ideas from
several of Wink's books and makes them easily - and provocatively -
accessible.
On the Bible, I especially enjoyed ...
10. Judith Kunst, The Burning Word: A Christian Encounter with Jewish
Midrash. This manusript (to be released in 06) brought together most
or all of what I've learned about helping people approach the Bible,
and much more. A special bonus - Kunst writes beautiful prose, and
she also includes some of her poetry in this book. I hope we'll see
much more from her in the years to come.
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The Secret Message of Jesus
In many ways, all of my previous books are a preparation for this one. It is aimed at a broad audience - including "spiritual but not religious" seekers, members of nonChristian religions, and Christian leaders and thoughtful Christians. It is an exploration of the real "passion of Christ," which is the message of the kingdom of God.
The Secret Message of Jesus hardcover version may be purchased online at: amazon.com, barnes and noble, and christianbook.com. The new softcover version is also available at: amazon.com, barnes and noble, and christianbook.com - it includes a new chapter plus group dialogue questions.
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