I'm Excited!

I just ordered McLaren's newest book! I discovered it in Jim Wallis' blog post from yesterday. He says it is like another book that pricked me deeply when I listened to it as an Audible download, Dallas Willard's Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. Wallis says, McLaren reclaims ancient Christian spiritual practices -- fixed-hour prayer, fasting, observing the Sabbath -- for use today. Dallas Willard has been playing with this same idea in his call to move the Christian church away from "sin management" and toward "discipleship."

I also recommend that time be spent with the recently released Evangelical Manifesto: A Declaration of Evangelical Identity and Public Commitment.

Read the six page Executive Summary if you are pressed for time. The full statement is 20 pages and deserves all of the time and consideration you can give. The money paragraph for me was this:

Evangelicalism must be defined theologically and not politically; confessionally and not culturally. Above all else, it is a commitment and devotion to the person and work of Jesus Christ, his teaching and way of life, and an enduring dedication to his lordship above all other earthly powers, allegiances and loyalties. As such, it should not be limited to tribal or national boundaries, or be confused with, or reduced to political categories such as "conservative" and "liberal," or to psychological categories such as "reactionary" or "progressive."