There are many books written and a few of them become popular. But popularity is not necessarily a good measure of the biblical faithfulness of a given piece of literature, even in Christian circles. Brian McLaren’s book A New Kind of Christianity is a book that has begun to catch a significant amount of attention, positive and negative. In his book he asks for Christians to engage with him in a conversation about their faith.
Bob Kellemen engaged in this converation through his blog. He states his purpose in doing so:
My focus has been on pastoral theology or practical theology response. As a pastor, counselor, and professor who equips the church for biblical counseling and spiritual formation, I was asking: “What difference does our response to each question make for how we care like Christ (biblical counseling) and for how we live like Christ (spiritual formation)?”
Over the course of 13 blog posts (see below), Dr Kellemen examines the implications of Brian McLaren’s self-attested redefinition of the Christian faith for pastoral ministry, and for counseling ministry in particular.
- Brian McLaren, I Accept Your Invitation
- A Biblical Counseling Response to Brian McLaren
- The Narrative Question
- The Authority Question — The Bible
- The God Question
- The Jesus Question
- The Gospel Question
- The Church Question
- The Sex Question
- The Future Question
- The Pluralism Question
- The What Now Question
- The Final Word: And the Word After That
I hope the readers of my blog get three things from these links. First, and most obviously, I hope you get a thorough assessment of a book with rising popularity and influence. Second, I hope you grow in your ability to read Christian literature critically (not “negatively” or “suspiciously” but considering the assumptions behind and implications of what an author says). Third, I hope you hear a tone of Christian engagement that seeks to balance both grace and truth. Our disagreements should always clearly reveal a desire to edify the church more than to disparage the one with whom we disagree. I found that to be the heart and intention of Dr. Kellemen and pray you benefit from his reflections.