Friday, April 18, 2008

Practical Justice, Blue

A very helpful book that gives a clear & realistic model for how to bring the issues of justice & community into the day-to-day practice of a person following Jesus Christ.

The concepts are radical yet simple. The model is accomplishable weather the reader works on Wall St, Capitol Hill or the local fast food restaurant down the street.

Blue proposes a 3 step plan that at least one step can be accomplished by anyone who wants to integrate Justice issues into the normal Christian life.

The model starts with the old adage: "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime." Giving a fish involves actually providing what a person needs to survive. Teaching a man involves training and help allowing for growth & knowledge to provide for himself. The third component is "Fixing the Pond," this involves working with the policy & governmental perspectives to make improvements to the system.

unchristian, Lyons & Kinnaman

subtitled: "What a new generation really thinks about Christianity... and why it matters."
The purpose of this book is that based on analysis by the Barna group much of the contemporary culture and young generation no longer regard Christianity as a primary group. We have moved beyond a Christian worldview to a relativistic worldview. And even much of the traditional views of Christianity has harmed it's perspective. And even deeper, some of these "traditional" views are incorrect according to scripture.

There are perceptions about what Christians believe and things that have affected the culture today that are probably based on some actual things that have been done, or could be inaccurately seen or read in the media. There is a huge chance that these do not follow the plan that Jesus Christ Himself laid out for
His followers. The book offers some helpful & healthy ways to correct these patterns.

The 8 areas that the authors say (to start the discussion) we have "lost" the culture are: hypocrisy, jargon, anti-homosexual, sheltered from the world, too political, judgementalism, old-fashioned & boring.

Lyons & Kinnaman want us to be aware of the ways Christians are perceived and without compromising our beliefs to understand what changes we can make to effectively speak the Gospel into this crooked & perverse generation.