For someone who struggles with reading (in fact, I had to go to reading development all throughout grade school) and honestly has only read books when I was told, I am so thankful that I was given A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLauren to read. My mentor and pastor for the past 3 years gave me this book about two years ago. It sat on a shelf for one of those years, then I did some organizing and it sat on another shelf, then finally about 3 months ago, I picked the book up. I can honestly say that it was the perfect book for my season of developing a vision for what Branching Roads could be like.
Brian describes his experience in the church of seeing different traditions and finding something to grow from in each of them. I was raised Lutheran, went engineering school at a Marianist (Catholic) University, switched to a Wesleyan University for Biblical Studies, and ended up at a Methodist Church, all while dipping my toes into Charismatic, Fundamental, and Non-denominational Paraministry. I definitely resonate with where he is coming from. In each of those traditions/experiences, I’ve found something I was uncomfortable with – a challenging thing, causing me to grow personally and in my concern, urging me to keep my distance.
Similarly, I found myself challenged by Brian through every chapter. Some pushed me to be like the little girl from the Old El Paso commercial/meme to say, “Why not both?” Some caused me to pause and take a week or so to contemplate how I might need to provide grace and broaden my generous orthodoxy to those who have caused a lot of hurt to me, my family, my friends, and people I haven’t met personally, although I’ve sure heard their stories. Some chapters had me wanting to just yell from a mountain top! Brian made points so important for where the American Church is at the moment, even though he wrote about it 14 years ago. More than a decade later, this book has done more for me than just remain relevant. I think it is crucial for people in every corner of the Christian Faith to read this book to be able to move forward and beyond.
Although easy to read in structure and style, it was hard for me to get through it because I wanted to take my time and actually wrestle with what Brian was trying to communicate. I haven’t been so provoked to thoughtfulness from a book in a long time… if ever. And that’s why I love this book and why I will be displaying it on a prominent spot on my shelf; why this is one I will reference often in the future; and why this is one that I will lend it out freely (of course, with the expectation of it being returned). I know this post was a bit all over the place; my intent was to, hopefully, express my love for a book that helped change and shape my perspective so much. For the better! To wrap it up, I’ll explain that I didn’t go into detail about the specific content of the book because I want to try and reshape it to be more applicable to Youth Ministry; I want to express how the core ideas of this book can help Youth Leaders grow into a more generous orthodoxy. So, if you’re interested in that – stay tuned!
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