I have read about one-third of the book,"Everything Must Change", by Brian McLaren. I am reading an advance copy the book will be released on October 1, 2007. It would be an understatement to say the book is challenging me. In his usual candor, McLaren is turning my world upside down. He did it to me in "A New Kind of Christian" and now in this book.

In this 300 plus page volume, McLaren, tries to answer two questions:

1. What are the biggest problems in the world?

2. What does Jesus have to say about these global problems? (11-12)

As problems are listed---environmental breakdown, gap between ultra-rich and the extremely poor, cataclysmic war, the failure of the world's religion---McLaren says that the message of the Christian faith is,"a message purporting to be the best news in the world should be doing better than this".(34) He argues that Christianity has "focused on the afterlife but has failed to address significant social injustices in this life".(33) "Christianity should be about God's will being done on this troubled earth as it is in heaven."(4)

McLaren suggests, “that when we align ourselves with God’s wisdom, character and dreams for us…then our society will take a radically different direction and our world we(sic) become a very different place” (I am reading an uncorrected proof, I am sure he meant would).(69) In order for this to happen we would have to reframe our stories. In some circles the story is that the world will get progressively worse until Jesus returns to destroy it. Other stories such as theocapitalistic stories say the rich are blessed by God and the economy moves mysteriously to solve all the world's problems and meet needs. If we reframe our story into the Jesus story, Jesus confronted the framing stories of his time and sought to turn them on end. Instead of a downward arc of self-destruction, we are introduced to the story of the Kingdom of God which brings transformation and hope. (70-75)

While I still have quite a bit more to read, I am challenged by this book on different levels. As an individual I wonder what I can do about Global Poverty. I do work with the impoverished in our city, who would be considered wealthy in developing countries. I know the story I grew up in would suggest that Jesus is my personal Savior, while McLaren says there is nothing is wrong with that, however, the question becomes---what next? On another level, I wonder what we as group of Christians would be able to do if worked with God for the transformation of the whole world. As I continue to read the book, I will be asking myself that question---What Next?

In Presence-Centered Youth Ministry, King argues that if we are going to have long-term impact on youth, we need to change our approach to youth ministry. This change includes focusing on ancient Christian practices rather than wrapping our ministries around current cultural values and behavior modification techniques.

Perhaps the driving purpose behind the book is when King writes, "Youth ministry must move away from behavioral modification techniques and focus on creating environments for genuine spiritual transformation. We must guide young people into the presence of God (11)." Throughout the book King comments on current youth ministry practices noting that they are not producing the transformation needed if youth are going to become disciples of Jesus. He then discusses how youth leaders can cultivate an environment where spiritual transformation can take place.

Through the teaching and use of ancient Christian practices such as acts of prayer, creating sacred spaces, and symbols, King argues that youth are ushered into the presence of God which creates true spiritual transformation.

Even though I am not a youth pastor, I found a lot of connection points with adult ministries. Even for adults we tend to use behavior modification techniques believing they will lead to true transformation, but time and time again we end up wondering why people remain untransformed. Perhaps it is time that we cultivate an environment, through the use of Christian disciplines, that brings people into the presence of God.

Review of Am I Living a Spiritual Life by Dr. Susan Muto

Not everything that calls itself "spiritual" really is. Some books on spirituality are little more than pop counseling and self-help books with scripture sprinkled through like window dressings. This is not the case with Dr. Susan Muto's book Am I Living a Spiritual Life. Muto is grounded in the foundational practices of the Christian life, church history, and Christ-centered living.

The book is divided into three parts; Developing a Spiritual Life, Integrating Prayer and Participation and Living Christian Community. The section on developing a spiritual life is by far the largest section offering the reader help in cultivating a deeper relationship with God and also understanding what it means to live a spiritual life.

In thirty-three short and to the point chapters, Muto covers various aspects of living a spiritual life. Each chapter begins with a question about the spiritual life. The rest of the chapter addresses the question and tries to answer them. Muto addresses diverse topics on the spiritual life such as, prayer, silence, solitude, one's life call, listening to Scripture, spiritual listlessness, community, fear of death, inner peace, spiritual reading, play and the spiritual life.

I recommend this book to anyone who prays and desires to grow in deeper relationship with God.