Integrating Missional Thinking, Living, and Culture
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
Scot McKnight interviewed Brian McLaren at Q Chicago, discussing issues such as McLaren’s “provocative ambiguity,” consistency (or lack thereof) in his writings, whether he is a universalist, and his paradigm shift in understanding the biblical narrative.
Some have noted that McClaren was a bit condescending to McKnight. What are your thoughts on this conversation?
You can watch the entire interview, below.
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Len Sweet, in his classic, imagery-intensive writing style provides the church the best understanding of evangelism as discipleship I have ever read. Indeed, Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who’s Already There may be the most important book on evangelism you will ever read. Without question.
I’ve read a lot of Len’s books; some I loved, some I liked, and there may be one or two I didn’t care for. His new book, however, may just be the most important book he has written to date.
Nudge is a mixture of evangelism and semiotics. What is semiotics? “Semiotics is the art of making connections, linking disparate dots, seeing the relationships between apparently trifling matters, and turning them into metonymic moments.”
The Greek word for signs is semeia (from which we get semiotics). The world is ruled by signs. And we all do semiotics, whether we know it or not. Waiting on tables is semiotics, with every interaction an exchange of visual and verbal markers. For instance, the crumpled up napkin in the plate? A sign that we are finished with our meal.
Semiotics is a Jesus word. In fact, Jesus told us to learn and do semiotics. He said in Matthew 16:1-4:
Some Pharisees and Sadducees were on him again, pressing him to prove himself to them. He told them, “You have a saying that goes, ‘Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.’ You find it easy enough to forecast the weather—why can’t you read the signs of the times? An evil and wanton generation is always wanting signs and wonders. The only sign you’ll get is the Jonah sign.” Then he turned on his heel and walked away.
We are directed to learn to read the signs of the times and the handwriting on the wall. God’s hand is still writing on walls today and evangelists are people with red-sky-at-morning sensitivities.
The “signs of the times,” Sweet says, are “the signs of the Spirit’s activity in the world. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because it could not read the signs: ‘You did not recognize the time of your visitation.’” Nudgers are those who can connect signs and their significance.
Nudge is the “invitation to move beyond church-centric Christianity to a holistic, omnipresent theology of the signified reign of God.” If God can speak through a burning bush, through plagues of locust, through Balaam’s ass, through Babylon, through blood on doorposts, through Peter, through Judas, through Pilate’s jesting sign hung over the head of our Lord, and through the cross itself, then God can and will speak through art deco architecture, abstract expressionism, classic literature like Virgil’s Aeneid, mass media, disease, Disney, hunger, Twitter, etc. The question is never, “Is God using this?” Rather, the question is, “What is my/our invitation upon hearing?”
The prophets were semioticians. In fact, the prophets were often signs themselves as God used them to demonstrate his love (Hosea marrying Gomer), his displeasure, and his judgment. They also interpreted God’s activity through the signs (Daniel’s handwriting on the wall).
Nudge is not an attempt to build a theology of semiotics. It is to remind Christians that Christianity is a symbol system; a semiotic network of stories and images, rituals and concepts, embodiments and enactments. The key to any symbol system is the semiotic ability to read signs.
By nudging, evangelists are constantly scanning the environment (religious, cultural, economic) for evidences of divine activity. Nudge is helping other people see the activity of God in their own life, manifesting Christ in a moment of mutual knowing. Nudging is the natural consequence of being with someone in a moment and wishing them to join you in recognizing a God-moment. Sometimes that recognition results in “bringing in the sheaves.” But nudging is primarily about planting seeds.
Evangelists nudge the Jesus in people to sit up and take notice. Everyone is created in the image of God, and in nudging, we help people divine activity of God in their life.
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Last night, in one of the small groups I lead, we began the book of the Revelation. I have been called crazy by some for doing this and I realize this as I tread with fear and trembling into the journey.
As I was preparing for the introduction to our study, I came across a fascinating term used in Rev. 1:1. The English (NASB) says:
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,
The term in question is translated by the NAS “communicated it”. The Greek uses sémainó, the verb form of a word that means sign. The root of this work is the same root word from which the term semiotics is derived, semeiotikos, which means an interpreter of signs. Semiotics, as a refresher, is the study of sign processes (semiosis), or signification and communication, signs and symbols.
In speaking of this term in Revelation 1:1, Robert Mounce in The Book of Revelation (New International Commentary on the New Testament) notes the following:
The revelation is said to be signified to John. The Greek verb carries the idea of figurative representation. Strictly speaking it means to make known by some sort of sign. Thus it is admirably suited to the symbolic character of the book. This should ward the reader not to expect a literal presentation of future history, but a symbolic portrayal of that which must yet come to pass. (65)
So the book of the Revelation is a “sign”-ified book. It requires a semiotician to understand it.
In Acts 11:28, a prophecy of Agabus is introduced in a similar way, with “he indicated through the Spirit.” The word “indicated” is the same word, sémainó. Agabus was an astute semiotician, as he understood the sign-ified message of the Spirit.
The verb sémainó occurs three times in John, all in the context of Jesus “indicating” by what death he would die (John 12:33; 18:32; 21:19); i.e., Jesus predicted his dead by using the phrase “lifted up” as a description of his impending crucifixion. Jesus was sign-ifying how he would die and people needed to be able to read the sign(s) he was giving them so that they would be able to understand what was happening. Jesus was looking for semioticians.
Finally, in Matthew 16:3, Jesus tells the religious leaders “Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?” . The word for signs here is sémeion, the same root word used in the other passages. Jesus is chastising them for their inability to read the signs, in effect deriding them for not being semioticians.
Just after the event with the religious leaders, Jesus seems frustrated with his own disciples for being semioticians themselves. In verse 6, he says to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They thought he was talking about bread. Then he says in verse 11, “How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” It was then that they understood the sign. Verse 12 states, “Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
And then there is the confession of Peter in Matthew !6:13-20. Jesus asked the disciples:
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Based on the context, particularly because it is a context of signs, that God the Father finally allowed Peter to interpret the signs and he came to the conclusion that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Signs require interpretation. The interpreter for the disciples in Matthew 16 was Jesus. The interpreter in Acts 11 was the Spirit. The interpreter in John was Jesus himself. And in Matthew 16:13-20, the interpreter was God the Father.
As a result, what conclusions would you draw from the New Testament?
In this encouraging study of spiritual whole-making, the key to a whole-souled life is to be wholly souled in biblical truth and integrity.
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