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W. Davd Phillips

Integrating Missional Thinking, Living, and Culture

Posts Tagged ‘Books’

What Hinders Christians from Changing the World?

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

I am continuing to work through the book To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World by James Davidson Hunter.

To share the Gospel is to share the gift of life; the making of disciples is foundational to the Christian faith. And peoples’ lives do change profoundly when they receive the gift of grace – their attitudes and behaviors are transformed and, in turn, they can and often do have a positive effect on those around them. In a similar vein, no one would deny that law, public policy, and politics are worthy vocations for Christians to pursue. The pursuit of justice and righteousness in these vocations can give glory to God and provide great service to many. Finally, social movements oriented toward moral reform have done enormous good in the past and still do in the present. But do they change the world? The answer is both yes and no; but mostly no. Cultures simply do not change in these ways, or at least no in the way people think they do.

In a previous post, I described how getting people to have the right the heart and mind, the right values and worldview, was the prevailing way to change culture. However, if culture were simply about hearts and minds, then the influence of various minorities – gays and Jews, for example – would be relatively insignificant. And Christians would have enormous influence in shaping law, public policy and social strategy. But this is not the case.

The advocates of the dominant strategies of cultural change all tend to agree, in effect, that the reason Christians do not have more influence in shaping the culture is that Christians are just not trying hard enough, acting decisively enough, or believing thoroughly or Christianly enough. The issue for them is that Christians need to be more committed. They need to embrace more fully the Christian worldview. The burden of responsibility and action resides with the individual Christian and it is up to them to be better and do more to change the world.

The problem is twofold. First, Christians just aren’t Christian enough. Christians don’t think with an adequate enough Christian worldview. They are fuzzy-minded. They do not pray enough, and they are lazy in their duties as believers. In the same way, there are not enough people who do fully embrace God’s call on their lives, praying, understanding, and working to change the world.

But is this it? (more…)

New Features and Opportunities

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

If you have visited the site recently, you noticed a new look. If you visit the site now, you will also notice a mailing list sign-up form on the left side of the site. I am going to create a member’s only area with some posts available only to those who sign up for the monthly newsletter. But I’m not merely trying to get your email address. Nope, I am not doing that at all. I’m not sure what I would do with your email address anyway. What I’m actually going to do is give you something for signing up.

I am going to start offering posts only available to people who have a password. That password will only be found in the monthly newsletter. I will also be offering, from time to time, a free book. Instructions on obtaining that book will be detailed in the newsletter.

The first book will be 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam. I have recently completed an interview with her and that will be a member’s only post. I also have an interview lined up with Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, and who recently spoke at the Willow Creek Leadership Conference. That might be a free book give away. I’m thinking that a free copy of Len Sweet’s new book Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who’s Already There may be a free book give away.

To gain access to these posts and giveaways, simply signup for the newsletter.

Note: you will only be able to get one free giveaway per year.

A Powerful Nudge in the God Direction

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.