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As Christianity became coopted by the Roman Empire, it got stuck in the tragically hegemonic ruts of institutionalization and establishment with imperial power, and so became more domesticated. The kind of Christianity that emerged has been called "Christendom." As it took the throne, it took many vital parts of the Way hostage. Among them: radical discipleship to Jesus Christ, nonviolence, wariness of worldly power, the doctrine of grace, and the church's sense of mission.

Martin Luther, himself a part of Christendom, sought to free grace from its 1000+ captivity. In doing so, he nailed the need for true grace so firmly to the church doors that it nailed the door shut to the ability for his contemporaries or future Christians to free any of the above hostages of Christendom. Reformed theology's death grip on grace has been so exclusive that it has held back the way of any future reform. Mission, nonviolence, radical discipleship, the whole lot -- they're still held bound and gagged, and the freed hostage of grace seems to be guarding the door.

Just as Luther was fed up with a millennium of a Christianity strangled by imperial Christendom, the time has come for another God-seeking revolt: this time, against Luther and the Reformers themselves.

Continue reading "Lament for the Reformation (or: Bring it, John Piper)" »

Posted by Brandon Rhodes at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBacks (0)

[This is a continuation and conclusion to my last entry, "Toward Missional Ethics". You might want to breeze over that before going through this one. -- BDR]

As stated in my last post, missional ethics is a hybrid of several competing systems of ethics, but which insists that each system is a mixed bag of good and bad, and each needs correction from the others. Missional ethics is therefore teleologically oriented, deontologically honed, narratively embodied, and birthed out of renewed hearts.

More of this heady nonsense under the fold...

Continue reading "Missional Ethics in dialogue with other ethical systems" »

Posted by Brandon Rhodes at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

[This is a minimally updated excerpt from an ethics paper I wrote last year. I'll follow up soon with a comparison to other ethical systems. I share it here because I think that the ethical framework with which I engage and anticipate the Age of Less is both illustrative for my other articles here, and could be an important contribution to the broader "missional" conversation. -- BDR]

This article will attempt to charter a system of missional ethics by hybridizing several other ethical systems together with the emerging theological themes of the missio dei, narrative and narrative truth, and the centrality of the Kingdom or Reign of God. It is very similar in form to narrative ethics, affective faith ethics, and kingdom ethics, but differs by painting it with gentle hues of inaugurated eschatology, and by its central incorporation of the missio dei in its interpretive schema. Missional ethics is teleologically oriented toward the inbreaking eschatological Reign of God, deontologically honed by following the model and teachings of Jesus Christ, narratively lived out in a particularly faith community partaking in the broader missio dei, and birthed out an affective response to the delivering God of the biblical accounts.

Continue reading "Toward Missional Ethics" »

Posted by Brandon Rhodes at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For better or for worse, I've discovered that I tend to write far more boldly online than I will speak in person.  Because of this, it's not uncommon for others to read my words and click away with an image of me as oppositional, unreasonable, and perhaps militant.  In many ways, the form of my words has not fit its content.

So, my project:  disarm.

One of the most productive avenues I've discovered is cooperative service.  Several of my friends have strong roots in fundamentalist evangelical circles.  We love each other and have largely reached an understanding.  But when we find a space to publicly express our thoughts without reservation (think blogs), our words can breed division.

I spent six hours at a friend's house tonight eating, watching Monty Python, laughing, worshipping, and cooking for a group that serves lunch to homeless members of our community called Renovo.  Some of us have had our differences in the past.  But when you're standing together with rolling pins and covered in flour, it's infinitely easier to recognize each other's humanity and commitment to the mission of God.  Our cooperation broke down any divisions caused by hasty words, leaving instead a beautiful understanding of each others' life, work, mission, and calling.

The moment we stop talking to one another is the moment we've given up on God's dream for us.  Sometimes it just takes a little olive oil to get the productive words flowing. [*]


[*]  Feel free to substitute a beverage of your choice.

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Posted by Scott Andreas at 1:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've begun reading N.T. Wright's "Christian Origins and the Question of God" series, a three-volume behemoth weighing in at something like 1200 pages.  I don't expect to finish any time soon, but my project of reading it is far less ambitious than his work in writing it!

The first 144 pages of "The New Testament and the People of God" is about how to study the New Testament, how to read it, authorial intent, and narrative.  I considered skipping past it in order to get to the "real stuff," but my patience has been rewarded.

His treatment of story and narrative as a significant component of early/proto- Jewish -- and indeed human -- knowing is beautiful.  Wright suggests that narrative has an inherent transformative (even subversive) quality in that by entering into a conversation with someone whose life is deeply embedded in a story, we tend to walk away transformed by the encounter.  And what more true or more powerful story is there than that of the dynamic relationship between the Trinity, humanity, and creation?  Our story is one of paradise lost, community, new creation, and perfection through resurrection. 

Wright sums up his brief treatment of narrative with a simple cliché:  "the proof of the pudding is in the eating."  Perhaps this could be true of life among the people of God as well.

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Posted by Scott Andreas at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hey everyone. We're back and blogging here at OJ. Sorry for our hiatus.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the options before me as the consequences of peak oil approach my own life and community. As is evident in my previous posts, I have felt strongly about staying in the city as long as possible during petrocollapse. But since November I've been seeing a woman who has a considerably more nomadic heart than I do, and it's caused me to rethink what strategy I'd like to take for being part of God's counter-cultural insurgency amid so trying of times as peak oil seems to present. Should things go well between this gal and I, I'm wondering what path we should take.

To be sure, there are a few options on the table. I'd categorize them as "the Shire," "Solidarity in the City", "National Flight", and "Nomadic Wandering". Could some of these be more biblical than others. Are some outright wrong? Are some more viable than others.More on these options under the fold.

Continue reading "To flee, or not to flee? That is the question!" »

Posted by Brandon Rhodes at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Last Thursday in Washington D.C., I had a chance to read the following letter to the press, addressed to America's political leaders.

President Bush, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Reid,

Young Christians are concerned about climate change. We have seen pictures of its effects from all over the world: disappearing glaciers, deadly heat waves every summer, melting permafrost in Alaska and Siberia, warmer oceans, and storm-swept levies in New Orleans. All over the world, lives and livelihoods are destroyed daily by this escalating crisis. As the next generation of evangelical Christians, we are waking up to our kingdom responsibilities as members of a global community with regard to climate change.

And the verdict is in: humans are responsible for most of it. Shamefully, we Christians have been slow to come around to this tragic reality. For this we are solemn, and we are sorry.

We mourn for the global “last”, who will be the first to be devastated and displaced by climate change. If we don’t act, millions of the world’s poorest persons will be threatened by rising sea levels and more intense weather events. These are the folks Jesus had in mind when he said that as we do unto the world’s “least of these,” we do also unto Him (Matthew 25:40). We take those words pretty seriously. Hopefully, all of you do, too.

We are saddened to hear that climate change will devastate God’s creation. In Genesis 1:26-28 God commanded humanity to tend His great garden, and in Romans we read that it’s now groaning under us in anticipation of a better future. God made a good Earth, and we want to do a good job of protecting it. To us young Christians, this means getting serious, and seriously active, about climate change.

Therefore, our allegiance to Jesus Christ demands that the threat of climate change no longer be ignored. There’s plenty we can do to combat it. As ambassadors of the real King, we implore you to swift and compassionate action.

But we’ll only get to meaningful climate solutions together. We implore you to collaboratively pass and sign strong laws to combat climate change – soon. We challenge Congress to draft such laws and President Bush to promise specific actions on climate change in the State of the Union Address. Resume America’s leadership on this.

We confess that all of us, including our nation’s elected leaders, will be held accountable for what we did or did not do to combat climate change by the true President of Presidents, Speaker of Speakers, and Leader of Leaders: our King Jesus. We pray that you will act wisely in such light.

Sincerely and respectfully,

The leaders of the Evangelical Youth Climate Initiative

Posted by Brandon Rhodes at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

God, of course, has seen Peak Oil and all its consequents coming for a very long time. He has a plan for His children through all this, and has had plenty of time to begin preparing His church for it. There appears to have been a stirring of the Holy Spirit among those who listen, and it has sparked a couple trends in Christianity which seem to anticipate petrocollapse. God’s purposes are, as St. Paul wrote, being fulfilled “in the fullness of time.”

Continue reading "Age of Less IV -- The End of All Things" »

Posted by Brandon Rhodes at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

This is the second part of an earlier article responding to Christianity Today's "What's Next" series. Read it here.

Toward a Christian response to Peak Oil

Church history is a messy business, and generalizing statements inevitably oversimplify. There are many, many black spots which we must not deny. But at many points in history, God has moved individuals in His Church to cry out, "speaking truth to power."

Continue reading "What's Next: Christianity Today & the Post-Carbon Church (2)" »

Posted by Scott Andreas at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

If you enjoy discussions about the relationship of the church with creation, check out this article over at Open Source Theology: "How should the emerging church respond to the prospect of 'large-scale ecosystem collapse'?"

Andrew's central idea: "The theological basis of a constructive response to the environmental crisis lies in the understanding of the ‘church’ as an expression of authentic humanity."

The article asks a lot of good questions and offers a few thoughts. I've shared mine - feel free to do the same.

Posted by Scott Andreas at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)