Session 1

A Better Way to Be Christian

Summary

Introduction: Coke and the Can

In the introduction to The Great Spiritual Migration, Brian McLaren makes a bold claim: Christianity is in need of change. It needs a migration, he says, from a system of beliefs to a way of life based on love. I'm sure some of you are asking, Isn't Christianity already a way of life based on love? According to McLaren, the way of life set forth by Jesus in the Gospels has been redefined as a system of beliefs, a system that has sometimes supported harmful actions and ideologies. He goes on to identify three migrations needed to transform Christianity: spiritual, theological, and missional. The first migration moves Christianity from a system of beliefs to a way of life of love. Rather than an expression of faith in action, McLaren says, Christianity has become a list of beliefs or tenets that define what it means to be Christian. He argues that Christianity needs to stop holding on so tightly to its beliefs and start focusing on the faith, the truth, and the way of life that Jesus embodied so many centuries ago.

This return to a way of life of love set out by Jesus comes with a second migration, a theological shift. Just as Christianity has been defined as a system of beliefs, God has grown large as a Supreme Being who blesses and punishes in equal measure. According to McLaren, Christians must migrate to a new vision of God, one that reigns over the way of life of love and demonstrates the kind of loving, healing, and reconciling spirit that Jesus proclaimed. A God who is punishing and dominating does not match up with the God of Jesus, who eats with sinners, welcomes outsiders, takes the role of a servant, and forgives without bound. This is the God we need, and this is the God of Jesus: the God of the way of life of love.

Christianity defined as a way of life with a God who is loving and reconciling needs just one more migration. This missional migration involves a new understanding of communities and institutions that are flexible and transformative. What Christianity needs, says McLaren, is a mature openness to change and adaptation. We need a Christianity that is willing to transform itself, over and over. We should challenge our institutions to learn and grow, ever moving toward a new vision of God and a way of life of love.

With these three migrations as spiritual — moving away from a system of beliefs and toward Christianity as a way of life, theological — thinking anew about Scripture and rediscovering a vision of a loving God, and missional, or practical — going from an organized religion to a religion organizing itself for the common good, McLaren sounds the call for a new way of thinking about Christian identity.

The introduction begins with this parable about a can of Coke: You call customer service and report that your Coke tastes terrible. The customer service agent asks about the appearance of the can, and you say that it looks shiny and red and normal. The customer service agent says that's the most important thing and then asks about the cardboard box that held the cans. You reply that it was also perfectly normal, with all the logos in the right place. The customer service agent says that everything sounds fine and thanks you for calling! In this parable, we see someone completely miss the point — it's what's inside the can that matters, not the can or the packaging. What if we applied the same principle to Christianity? What are the qualities of Christianity that really matter, aside from all the institutions and structures and systems of belief?

Scripture Reflection

Dear friends, I wanted very much to write to you concerning the salvation we share. Instead, I must write to urge you to fight for the faith delivered once and for all to God's holy people.

Jude 1:3

Compete in the good fight of faith. Grab hold of eternal life — you were called to it, and you made a good confession of it in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:12

"How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and plate, but inside they are full of violence and pleasure seeking. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup so that the outside of the cup will be clean too.

"How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs. They look beautiful on the outside. But inside they are full of dead bones and all kinds of filth. In the same way you look righteous to people. But inside you are full of pretense and rebellion.

Matthew 23:25-28

Have you ever competed in a fierce athletic contest? Maybe contended against some of the best runners in a 10K, or fought down to the last point in a championship basketball game? This is the kind of fighting that Jude is getting at when he counsels his readers to fight for the faith. In fact, the Greek word he uses is most often used when talking about intense effort in the context of athletics. Christianity is worth fighting for.

The metaphor of an athletic challenge used to describe the fight for faith is not unique to Jude. Paul uses the same language in 1 Timothy: "Compete in the good fight of faith. Grab hold of eternal life." "Compete," "fight," and "grab hold" are all physical images that demonstrate the kind of strength and determination it takes to fight for one's faith. Both Paul and Jude use the same Greek word for "compete" and "fight": agonizomai. Look closely: this is also the root of the English word "agony." It's a powerful and meaningful and gut-wrenching task to fight for one's faith.

In The Great Spiritual Migration, Brian McLaren lays out a modern-day concern much like Paul and Jude's — Christianity has suffered at the hands of Christians, has become a rigid system of beliefs, and no longer reflects the way of life of love taught by Jesus. Note that Jude and Paul urge believers to fight for faith, not for systems of beliefs. Christianity is in danger of being lost, but this way of life of love is worth fighting for. It's a race worth winning, and we as Christians should put our most intense effort forward, agonizing as it may be. Think back to that all-important race or championship game. Fighting for the faith means fighting with that kind of strength and determination.

In the passage from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus offers fighting words to his listeners. The verses here take the form of woe oracles, which were often used by the Old Testament prophets to castigate and accuse. The audience is not necessarily just the Pharisees, but anyone listening to Jesus' pronouncements, and further, anyone reading Matthew's Gospel. The warnings concern the mismatch of inner and outer characteristics, much like the short parable of the Coke and the can offered by McLaren. It...