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| Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope | 
 enlarge | Author: Brian D. Mclaren
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Category: Book
List Price: $21.99
Buy New: $4.85
You Save: $17.14 (78%)
New (47) Used (26) from $4.64
Avg. Customer Rating:  42 reviews
Sales Rank: 6587
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0849901839
Dewey Decimal Number: 261
EAN: 9780849901836
ASIN: 0849901839
Publication Date: October 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Publisher's Return MULTIPLE COPIES AVAILABLE. PLEASE READ AMAZON'S SHIPPING RATES AND ESTIMATED DELIVERY TIMES BEFORE ORDERING.
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| Customer Reviews:
 If You ever.. October 30, 2007
6 out of 13 found this review helpful
If you ever...have wondered why you are having trouble fitting in, if you ever wondered why you feel the church is outdated, if you ever wondered why you feel so helpless in this rat race, if you have ever wondered what you could do to help, if you ever wondered where to find hope, if you ever wondered what Jesus really would do...then this is a must read! If you ever wanted more clarity in life, here is where to find it.
Rethinking Jesus October 24, 2007
16 out of 24 found this review helpful
The late world-renowned Bible scholar F.F. Bruce once
said "For some people thinking is a difficult and uncomfortable exercise,
especially when it involves the critical reappraisal of firmly held prejudices and convictions, or the challenging of the current consensus of opinion. "
Castigated early on for challenging our favorite prevailing theologies or
the Christian framing stories we grew up with, Brian continues his good
work and does not disappoint with Everything Must Change.
300 pages divided into 8 parts, this easy to read book takes us back
to the 1st Century and challenges us to rethink Jesus, to see him
inside his own history, his own world. A world with several prevailing
stories, or framing stories, let it be the imperial one or the religious
ones, not very different from today's versions on our own world. And
then he guides readers to rethink their world today.
If you enjoy N.T.Wright especially, I can't recommend the book highly
enough. Before, the biblical narrative seemed truncated (how come
hardly anyone mentioned the Fall of Jerusalem in AD70?) but now the words and warnings of Jesus explode with significance. Before, the
Bible was like a circle, now it's a straight line, each stop along the
way deep with significance and challenges.
Chapter 11 alone is worth your time and money. Quotes:
" ... when Jesus proclaimed his central message of the kingdom of God, he was proclaiming not an esoteric religious concept but an alternative to empire: "Don't let your lives be framed by the narratives and counter narratives of the Roman empire," he was saying, "but situate yourselves in another story ... the good news that God is king, and we can live in relation to God and God's love rather than Caesar and Caesar's power. "
" Like most churchgoing people, I grew up with the conventional view of Jesus, not this emerging view. Frankly, he never completely made sense to me in that framework, but I was hesitant to admit it for fear that such an admission would be taken as heresy. You may have had a similar experience. "
" The kingdom of God then is to resist the present occupation, imperial or religious, liberate the planet, and retrain and restore humanity to its original vocation and potential. This renewed humanity can return to its role as caretakers of creation and one another so the planet and all it contains can be restored to the healthy and fruitful harmony that God desires. "
Brian's new work gives us impetus to push forward, to imagine a better world, to participate in the unfolding of God's will, the Kingdom of God here and now.
For those who continue to see Brian's words as a threat to their preferred
theologians with their favorite theories articulated throughout history, I can only go back to the bishop of Durham once again:
" I claim the higher ground:
my aim is to be faithful to what Saint Paul [or Jesus]
actually said, as opposed to what any and
every tradition, whether catholic, protestant
reformed, charismatic or whatever, tells me he said.
I continue to find Paul [or Jesus] totally stimulating,
exciting and fascinating, which is more than I can say
for any creed or confessional formula. "
 Changing Framing Stories: The Relevance of Jesus For Today October 24, 2007
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
In Brian McLaren's new book, Everything Must Change, he brings many different resources together, both religious and secular, to offer a theo-political critique of our current society and its global crises. He then offers an alternative vision in the form of a new 'framing story' that he argues can transform the way we life. McLaren argues that 'our societies are unified, integrated, motivated, and driven by the framing stories we tell ourselves as groups' (66). He then contrasts the Christian 'framing story' (i.e. Kingdom of God) with the theocapitalist 'framing story' (i.e. suicidal machine).
The 'Suicide machine' is the metaphor McLaren says 'captures the way the world's most serious problems are linked in a vicious, self-reinforcing circle' (52). These suicidal systems are the following: dysfunctional prosperity system (culture of affluenza), dysfunctional security system (invisible hand of the market requires the visible fist of the military), and the dysfunctional equity system (sharing the cost and story of prosperity and equity) (55-56).
The 'Kingdom of God' is the metaphor McLaren uses to describe the alternative, transforming framing story that has the potential to bring life instead of death. The Kingdom of God is the divine vision of justice and peace communicated in Hebrew and Christian scripture. For McLaren, the Kingdom of God offers the best framing story: 'a story in which God provides through creation's natural systems, a story in which we acknowledge our creaturely dignity and limits within those systems, a story in which we celebrate our kinship with birds and flowers, with season and toil' (139). This story is a story where peace is achieved through collaborative efforts at 'justice, generosity, and mutual concern' (159).
McLaren believes that Jesus' message and ministry challenged the dysfunctional, destructive status quo of the Roman Empire in his life. McLaren writes: 'Jesus' creative and transforming framing story invited people to change the world by disobeying old framing stories and believing a new one: a story about a loving God who, like a benevolent [leader], calls all people to live in a new way, the way of love' (274). McLaren also believes Jesus' challenge to the old story and offering of a new story is just as relevant for our lives today.
For McLaren, Jesus' message is relevant because it invites us to live a new and better life right now. Not something we must wait for, but something God invites us into in our daily lives. And this better life we can live now is 'live a life dedicated to replacing the suicide machine with a sacred ecosystem, a beautiful community, an insurgency of healing and peace, a creative global family, an unterror movement of faith, hope, and love' (227).
Ultimately, McLaren's book is about how Jesus' message of the Kingdom of God can offer us a way to discover hope and 'abundant life' in the midst of a world in crises.
Also recommended: For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy Toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future (John Cobb and Herman Daly).
A New Kind of Revolution October 22, 2007
35 out of 47 found this review helpful
Passion and compassion. These are the two words that I would use to describe this book and its author. The passion is communicated in the main title-- everything must change. The compassion is communicated in the subtitle-- global crises, hope. McLaren continues building on his previous works, especially Secret Message of Jesus. Those looking for McLaren's theological underpinnings will find it there. This book is about exploring what such a theology will look like on the ground, in real life. With grace in his words, McLaren lets us in on his own journey of discovering that Christianity often does not do much, and the things it has done have often been very negative. Then exploring the theology discussed in Secret Message of Jesus, McLaren talks at length about his experiences with people and communities from around the globe-- his experiences of finding much pain, hurt, and suffering-- and the systems that exist in that world. In the spirit of Jesus himself, McLaren paints a way forward for the church (especially those of us who find ourselves in its northern and western expressions) to truly bring Jesus into the global crisis and challenge these global systems and their central narratives. McLaren challenges the church to have "glad tidings" gospel that rivals the "gospels" of our systems/empires. He implores Christians to address the problems in our day just as Jesus did in his. Christians today are often serving idols and emperors rather than Jesus Christ. Jesus inaugarated the kingdom of God on Earth, the will of God being done on Earth as it is in heaven. Truly McLaren is right-- everything must change. It is time for us to acknowledge Jesus as Lord rather than Caesar as Lord.
 The Wrong Jesus October 18, 2007
58 out of 98 found this review helpful
McLaren in this work completely redefines the Christian faith. Gone is Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for our sins. In its place is the idea that Jesus died to show the brutality and cruelty of the Imperial System. Gone is the hope that Jesus will come in glory to judge the living and the dead. In its place is a man-made 'eutopia' that is supposed to signify the Kingdom on God on Earth.
For all his sensitivities to the poor and those who've been oppressed by the unfair systems of the top western nations. McLaren is dangerous because he mocks and attacks the Historic Christian faith and attempts to refashion Christianity as merely a religion of social activism.
McLaren doesn't believe that men are sinful by nature, therefore he suggests that the solution to all of mankind's problems is a mere defection from imperial framing stories to the embracing of Jesus framing story of peace, non-violence and an economy of love. In other words, all we have to do is adopt the right philosophy or framing story and this will lead us to take the right actions that will ultimately end social injustice and poverty around the world.
This is not Biblical Christianity. It is a radical and dangerous departure from sound doctrine. As the popular saying goes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".
McLaren's intentions, although VERY good and VERY noble, will ultimately send people to hell because he's changed Jesus into a mere philosopher or social activist. McLaren's Jesus didn't die for the sins of the world. McLaren's Jesus instead is a mix between Ghandi, St. Francis and the Rev. Martin Luther King. McLaren's Jesus is not the Jesus of the Holy Scriptures and is therefore powerless and false.
Since McLaren is not telling us the truth about the Biblical Jesus, we cannot trust him to give us the right solutions to the vexing and terrible problems that this book seeks to address. For all of its grand ideas, this book is nothing more than a beautiful house built on sand.
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