by Eric Rauch
It is something of a surprise to me just how many Christians are unfamiliar with Brian McLaren. Although by no means a household name, Brian McLaren is probably one of the top five most influential writers/thinkers within (and to some degree outside of) evangelicalism. While you or your family may not be reading his books or his website, I can almost guarantee that one or more of the leaders at your church are. Initially, McLaren was nearly synonymous with the "emerging" church movement, but lately he has become more independent of this association; not because he has made a deliberate break with them, but mainly because he has outgrown them. And even though he is saying many of the same things as the emerging church, McLaren has a much bigger platform from which to say it.
Due to the strong influence that he has as a "pastor to pastors," any time McLaren releases a new book it is a pretty big deal within the walls of the church. And because he is giving voice to concerns that many pastors and church leaders have expressed and thought about themselves, his writings indirectly resonate from American pulpits nearly every Sunday morning. His newest book, A New Kind of Christianity, claims to describe what Christianity might look like if it were "not afraid of questions." Questions are a really big part of McLaren's ministry. In fact, the subtitle of the book is: "Ten Questions that are Transforming the Faith." Now I am certainly in favor of questions; I think that far too many people are far too easily satisfied with conventional ways of thinking and doing things. I agree with McLaren that questions can effect change; but I disagree with him and his book's subtitle because it's not the questions that cause the progress, it's the answers. And unfortunately, this is where McLaren is his weakest.
The word "new" is one of McLaren's favorite words. It not only appears in the title of the book, it also appears on nearly every page (at least once). McLaren has become disillusioned with the "old" ways, he is convinced that Christianity is on the verge of a "new" thing that will revolutionize the faith. Before the reader even gets to the first of the "ten questions" promised in the subtitle, he has heard McLaren talk about: new possibilities, new generation, new way of believing, new quest, new dynamic direction, new questions, new friendships, new understandings, new territory, new path, new life, new inner ecology, new spirituality, new way of seeing, new horizons, and my personal favorite, perpetual fountain of youthful newness. I could have found more but I think you get the picture; Brian McLaren is obsessed with "new." He is thoroughly convinced that the answers to his ten questions lie in some new and undiscovered (or at least unattempted) way of doing things. He has been frustrated and unfulfilled by the "old ways" and he believes that his (and Christianity's as a whole) fulfillment lies dormant somewhere, waiting to be found...
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