I always wanted to belong to a Book Club, so I created one. Really, there were several people in the church that love to read and as we talked about the books that we were reading it dawned on me that we could have some fun with this.
We formed a group that meets once a month and we discuss the book title for that month. This month the book is “The Secret Message of Jesus” by Brain McLaren. It doesn’t have to be a book written by a Christian Author, however it has been with the exception of “The Know It All” by A.J. Jacobs. The Know it All was my pick because I have always had this desire to read the Encyclopedia from cover to cover and this guy did that. Most of the folks in the group didn’t like the book near as well as I did.
Anyway, this month we are inviting people who would like to join us. You do not have to be a certain age and you do not have to be a member of FUMC or any church for that matter. We are very informal in our meetings and we take turns meeting at each others houses. The fellowship as well as the snacks are great.
Let me know if you would like to join us.
Ronnie
The Book Club does not endorse these books in any way. We come together and learn from each other and share insights that each of us have learned. I am sharing a book description here from Amazon.com.
When Brian McLaren began offering an alternative vision of Christian faith and life in books such as A New Kind of Christian and A Generous Orthodoxy, he ignited a firestorm of praise and condemnation that continues to spread across the religious landscape. To some religious conservatives, McLaren is a dangerous rebel without a doctrinally-correct cause. Some fundamentalist websites have even claimed he’s in league with the devil and have consigned him to flames.
To others though, Brian is a fresh voice, a welcome antidote to the staleness, superficiality, and negativity of the religious status quo. A wide array of people from Evangelical, Catholic, and Mainline Protestant backgrounds claim that through his books they have begun to rediscover the faith they’d lost or rejected. And around the world, many readers say that he has helped them find-for the first time in their lives-a faith that makes sense and rings true. For many, he articulates the promise of what is being called “emerging Christianity.”
In The Secret Message of Jesus you’ll find what’s at the center of Brian’s critique of conventional Christianity, and what’s at the heart of his expanding vision. In the process, you’ll meet a Jesus who may be altogether new to you, a Jesus who is
- Not the crusading conqueror of religious broadcasting;
- Not the religious mascot of partisan religion;
- Not heaven’s ticket-checker, whose words have been commandeered by the church to include and exclude, judge and stigmatize, pacify and domesticate.
McLaren invites you to discover afresh the transforming message of Jesus-an open invitation to radical change, an enlightening revelation that exposes sham and ignites hope, an epic story that is good news for everyone, whatever their gender, race, class, politics, or religion.
“Pastor and best-selling author McLaren revisits the gospel material from a fresh-and at times radical-perspective . . . He does an excellent job of capturing Jesus’ quiet, revolutionary style.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Here McLaren shares his own ferocious journey in pondering the teachings and actions of Jesus. It is McLaren’s lack of salesmanship or agenda that creates a refreshing picture of the man from Galilee who changed history.”
–Donald Miller, Author of Blue Like Jazz
“In this critical book, Brian challenges us to ask what it would mean to truly live the message of Jesus today, and thus to risk turning everything upside down.”
–Jim Wallis, Author of God’s Politics and editor of Sojourners
“Compelling, crucial and liberating: a book for those who seek to experience the blessed heat of Christianity at its source.”
–Anne Rice, Author of Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt