More Ready Than You Realize

Rating:
Summary: What the Pharisees Don't Want You to Know
Review: This book says so much that we have needed to hear for so long, and I think it is extremely relevant to christianity today. As Brian points out, when we force someone into a dance against his/her will, it's called assault, yet we are so ready to fire off our views and our dogma when we see an opportunity for "evangelism." If you've found, like me, that your friends are asking different questions than the ones you find in books like Lee Strobel's THE CASE FOR FAITH or THE CASE FOR CHRIST, then this book will help you with those questions and help in your process of learning to dance WITH instead of drag ALONG.

Rating:
Summary: Preaching to the Converted
Review:      I need to stop buying books with the word "Postmodern" in the title. Don't get me wrong, I don't subscribe to the views of the honorable Chuck Colson, poster boy for modernism, who believes that postmodernism is pulling civilization apart, or that it's going to be the end of the church as we know it. Quite the opposite. As a innate postmodern Christian (This as opposed to a Christian who is 'into' postmodernity), books like "More Ready Than You Realize" have the same effect on me that attending a course on Postmodernism by Stan Grenz had. It's that whole "preaching to the converted" syndrome
    My rating of 3 stars for this book is a bit on the unfair side then, because I had to force myself to finish it, which would have meant a rating of 1 star but if I'd read it ten years ago I'd have called it a life changer and given it 5 stars, so I compromised. The bottom line is, if you're interested in doing postmodern evangelism and are under the age of 30, there's a good chance you've already come to many of McLaren's conclusions and this book will simply serve as either an affirmation in the case of those who are free to actually share their faith in a journey, not an event, or frustration for those who are serving in a ministry where evangelism still means tracts, step by step "how-to" programs and soapboxes.
    Still, even for those who are already doing what McLaren encourages us to do through his book, it's worth a read, if for no other reason than McLaren has a knack for putting thoughts many Christians have into tight sentences that sum up what many are unable to express, either due to lack of eloquence or fear of rebuttal. Much of McLaren's writing serves to say to me, "you aren't crazy, and you aren't alone." Many postmodern Christians come to assume both these things. Our churches brand us heretics, and we assume we're the only ones. Or maybe it's just me...
    Knowing however, that there are still many Christian communities subscribing to modernist approaches to church in general, I'd recommend this book to anyone who's thought the following but never been able to gather all their cerebral wool on the subject: If you've ever thought that conversion was a process, not simply an event, but keep struggling with "when you became a Christian" then read this book. If you're walking alonside a person who doesn't go to Church but is interested in Jesus and likes playing Scrabble with you, but you've been doing this for over four years and feel like an abject failure, read this book. If you have discussions about Life the Universe and Everything with people of other faiths and don't constantly sit there thinking about how you can argue them into a corner, read this book. And finally, if you can't read Evidence that Demands a Verdict, and gave your verdict as "whatever" then you should read this book.
    Oh, and one more. If you're a youth pastor working in a traditional church and want to reach the next generation for Christ, don't read this book because you'll want to try things talked about in the book and it will just get you in trouble, or maybe even fired. Trust me, I know.