Tom Brokaw explains Canada to Americans during an NBC Vancouver 2010 Olympic broadcast with Al Michaels. HT: Jeff Smyth
Which also brings back memories of the Molson Canadian beer commercial
btw, after much hype of how Canada was going to spank the USA in the winter olympic preliminary hockey game, I’m not sure what’s more sad – Canada losing, or the United States winning and not caring all that much.
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I recently finished Brian Mclaren’s latest “A new kind of Christianity“.
I recall Mclaren’s earlier book that became a trilogy – a new kind of christian – being banned in many churches. I get the sense that a lot of concepts or challenges presented in that book have since shaped many churches, even if indirectly.
A new kind of Christianity will undoubtedly cause at least just as much of a stir, if not more.
Here’s a few of my quick thoughts.
People are going to love it or hate it. It’s hard not to be provoked and challenged by the questions he brings up.
McLaren’s often known for offering great questions and little in the way of answers. I got the feeling this was a bit of a ‘coming out’ book (though I think McLaren honestly puts where he’s at every time he writes, he’s just a bit further down that path now).
Hardcore/New Calvinists will hate much of the answers he provides.
The premise of most of his arguments is based on the framework in which we see things. Change the framework and everything within it changes. The new kind of christian focused more on the modernist mindset, he goes further back with this book showing how much of our theology is based on a Greco-Roman platonic worldview obsessed with either/or states and perfection.
Process theology and the general arc of the biblical storyline also shapes how we continue to evolve in our faith and humanity
I think many churches will have a hard time matching up what McLaren proposes and their current statement of faith (ie. his views presented on Scripture, the second coming, etc.) At the same time I think most statements of faith are profoundly lacking, incomplete, and rarely represent the actual practice of the church anyways.
McLaren usually does an impressive job with ignoring critics and smothering those who differ with kindness, so I was surprised when he took an unnamed swipe at Mark Driscoll (he’s going to have a field day with this one). There’s definitely some extra edge in this book (but none more than the fury his critics have heaped upon him)
I wonder if there will ever be healing between the different ‘camps’ in the future?
Overall, I’m glad McLaren does what he does, even if I don’t agree with all of his ideas and approaches. My guess is critics will continue to hate him, because he isn’t what they want him to be. He’s not a defender of the faith (as it is). He’s not someone who’s just proposing new methodologies to timeless truth (as we know it).
I find it odd that many of us will allow ourselves to consume and be shaped by music, media, technology, etc. that may have a radically different theological concepts from us, but vehemently not want someone like McLaren to be heard.
Our planet is in enough of a jam as it is, can’t we just let the guy feel his way forward and share what he’s learning with the rest of us?
There’s some extra chapters available on his website that people should also dig into.
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Continuing the last few posts on “God’s bias for the city”, “why cities matter” and “why Toronto matters“; much of what makes cities great is also what makes cities dark and depressing.
Cities amplify the best, but also the very worst, of humanity.
City centers are fueled by individual self-interest. Everybody goes to the city to ‘get’ something – career, education, entertainment, money, power, sex, etc.
Population density in cities with limited resources and limited opportunities creates a competitive and tension filled culture.
The pace of the city makes people less compassionate even when they may want to be, ie. “I can’t stop to help that person because I’ve got to get somewhere to get something.”
Cities are deceptive. In the words of Jay Z and Alicia Keys Empire state of mind – “These streets will make you feel brand new, The lights will inspire you”. The problem is that while the city may be alive, that doesn’t mean you are.
The busyness of cities prevents us from stopping, reflecting, and asking questions like ‘why’ until we’re completely broken and miserable.
Cities are dense with living beings that refuses to connect with one another. ie. I can be nose-to-nose with another human being crammed in a gloriously life-filled subway and we can completely ignore each other. This chips away at our humanity daily because we know something’s not right.
The diversity in cities naturally brings with it conflicting interests and cultural clashes. Not only does the fringes of culture collide, but those who are already oppressed, are condensed into tight spaces which creates an even more volatile environment. People can be ticking time bombs.
Cities thrive on anonymity. Relationships become transactions and we further dehumanize one another.
Cities export evil. Cities inherently create, magnify, and propagate culture. When it’s bad, it’s bad for everyone. ie. how cities of the west have led the cycle of work-to-excessively-consume lifestyle now seen as the pinnacle of living for those in rural, village, suburban communities.Cities often displace wildlife and native cultures (we name our neighborhoods and streets after what we’ve destroyed ie. shady oaks, parkway forest, etc.)
Whether it’s for more affordable housing or an easier lifestyle – cities build up towards high-rise apartments. The living-in-a-box-in-the-sky infrastructure (that I currently live in) disconnects our relationship to the land and creation.
Cities can become empires. Empires oppress neighboring cultures, serve only the privileged few, and have an insatiable need to always expand and conquer.
And the list goes on. While murder rates are actually dropping in many cities compared to rural areas, cities can cause a death you’re not even aware of because it’s so broadly accepted.
With all that being said, cities are crucial and strategic to our global future. We need people in the city, especially those who want to seek the good of the city.
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Continuing my last couple posts on “God’s bias for the city” and “why cities matter” some thoughts on why the City of Toronto matters.
Toronto is the most ethnically and culturally diverse urban area on planet earth. Half of its citizens are visible minorities.
You can find glimpses of the entire world in one city. Over a 140 languages and dialects are spoken.
Toronto is formed and shaped by the people of the globe – half of the population is foreign born.
Toronto is a model mosaic city. Ethnic enclaves are everywhere. Every city on the planet has a china-town, Toronto has at least six and counting.
Approaching 6 million people in the Greater Toronto Area it is the fifth largest metropolitan area in North America.
Toronto is geographically a hub to America. Within a 100-mile radius of Toronto a quarter of Canada’s population resides here, as well as 125 million Americans or roughly 40% of the U.S. population.
Richard Florida who wrote “Rise of the Creative Class” describes Toronto as being one of the most creative cities and is on set to be “a world leader in innovation and prosperity”
Yet 550,000 people live below the poverty line and it’s getting worse.
Toronto’s leading sectors include finance, business services, telecommunications, aerospace, transportation, media, arts, film, television production, publishing, software production, medical research, education, sports, sustainability, and tourism industries.
Toronto is undergoing massive renewal and gentrification – creating a city in flux with new needs and opportunities
Toronto hosts over a thousand various festivals a year, with some of the largest in the world including Caribana, Nuite Blanche, Pride week, and the international film festival
Toronto is a city of the future. The world is increasingly becoming more diverse and more urban as Toronto already is. If you can make something work in Toronto you have the potential for modeling and leading it for the rest of the world.
Your thoughts? I’d love to hear why your city matters to you.
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As a follow up to the previous post God’s bias for the city, here’s some thoughts on why the cities are strategic to anyone who wants to make a global impact.
Cities are both magnets and magnifiers. People from surrounding areas are drawn in and everything they do is amplified and ripples back out.
Increased density means there’s people like you there. People you can connect with and people you compete with.
Increased diversity means there’s people completely unlike you there that you’ll need to learn to work with and from.
Density and diversity cultivates, if not forces, innovation and change
Cities are where the fringes of culture converge – the poor and the rich, the skater and the geek, etc.
Cities are where people are at. As of 2007 the world reached a demographic tipping point where more people live in urban environments than rural. Nearly all population growth going forward will be in cities.
Cities are educational hubs where new ideas and creativity are highly valued.
Cities are media hubs that broadcast the human story.
Cities shape and create culture for the masses downstream. Where the city goes, the culture goes.
Your thoughts?
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Photo by Diez
Just as God has a clear bias towards the poor, the scriptures also reveal that God’s heart leans towards the city.
From Genesis God calls for humanity to be fruitful and multiply. Not simply to reproduce (otherwise Jesus would’ve done a terrible job with this mandate), but to cultivate life in the widest sense – to create culture, to steward over creation, to develop civilizations, and ultimately cities.
Even the ‘garden of eden’ carries with it the idea of a lush park by a palace. A place dense with life near a kingly residence. Seeds of a future city.
God doesn’t allow his people to remain agrarian, and calls for ‘cities of refuge‘ to be made. Cities with leadership, government, jurisdiction, so that people might find safety and progress could continue without ongoing tribal warfare.
In Jeremiah 29 God calls for his people to seek the good of the city. Not to necessarily conform to the city, or to leech off the city, but to be rooted in the city. We are to be city builders.
The Apostle Paul planted churches from city to city because he knew that if he captured the heart of the city, the gospel would flow out from the city centers into the surrounding regions. It’s interesting to note that it seems the smallest unit of the church was referred to as an entire city – ie. the church of Ephesus, Philipi, etc.
God reveals his ultimate vision for humanity in Revelation as ‘a holy city’ descending from heaven. Pieces of Eden like the tree of life and rivers are still there, but it’s wrapped up in a city filled with life. Heaven’s like an urban jungle.
I’ve always loved this quote by Ray Bakke – “If you don’t like the city, you won’t like heaven”
These are just a few snapshot thoughts that could be unpacked a lot more.
Your thoughts?
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Just to follow up on my last post “Stop donating to Haiti?” which received quite a number of hits – my very general take is to go ahead and exercise your god given wisdom, but don’t let any amount of theorizing stop you from giving when it’s in your heart to do so.
I wanted to dedicate this post to the many Christian organizations that have helped pave the way for the church on issues of justice.
You can argue all you want about administrative costs, or selling-out-to-the-man, or whatever else; but organizations like World Vision, Christian Aid, Compassion, and World Relief have been serving and giving for decades. While much of the church believed that the mandates of these agencies were secondary to the preaching of the gospel, these organizations forged ahead not because it was cool, but because it was right.
Although I’ve never been a huge fan of the ‘Salvation Army‘ name, they’ve managed to transcend the name by their works of charity all over the world. They’ve built a global infrastructure making the gospel tangible to those who are poor and destitute – and now that the rest of the church is beginning to catch on, I think it’s their time to shine.
We owe all of these organizations a great deal. They’ve made it possible for us to mobilize much more rapidly in Haiti today. More importantly, they’ve been in the business of loving and serving people long before heart-wrenching photos were sent out or global emergencies were declared.
Say a prayer of thanks for the work that’s already been done today.
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Exploring the intersections of Leadership, Creativity, Church, and Culture
