Reimagining Church

As someone who writes, I read a great deal. I have a library of around 5,000 books (I think). Some of the shelves are earmarked for my favorite authors. There aren’t many of those, as my taste in writing is pretty narrow.

It’s hard to come across a contemporary author who can write in a way that mixes ease-of-reading with depth and unusual insight into Jesus Christ and His church. So it seems to me anyway.

Every now and then, however, I’ll stumble across an author who has been writing books for a long time, but I’ve never read their work. And when I read them, I’m pleasantly shocked.

Leonard Sweet is one of those people. For many years, I heard his name — reading it in many periodicals and journals. But I never tackled one of his books until a few years ago. And in them I found a gold mine. I now have a Len Sweet bookshelf.

For many years I read the name “Mark Galli.” Probably because I’ve been a subscriber of Christianity Today for many years. I’ve also seen his name in history journals.

Not too long ago, one of the articles in CT caught my attention; it was an excerpt from a new book of Mark’s. It talked about the right hand and the left hand of God. I enjoyed the metaphor (the “left hand of God” was new to me).

Well, I just read his new book where that article was hewn from, and the volume that released previous to it.

Mark is a clear and easy-to-follow writer. But the thought that ran through my head while reading was, “Why haven’t I read this guy before?”

Both books are superb.

The first one is called JESUS MEAN AND WILD. http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Mean-Wild-Unexpected-Untamable/dp/0801071577/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

The second one (which was the basis for the article I mentioned above), with matching cover and page format, is called A GREAT AND TERRIBLE LOVE. http://www.amazon.com/Great-Terrible-Love-Spiritual-Attributes/dp/0801012953/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249131502&sr=1-1

In both books, Mark draws from some of my favorite writers: Bonheoffer, Chesterton, Tozer, Kierkegaard, Ladd, Wright, Augustine, and many others.

In A GREAT AND TERRIBLE LOVE, Mark examines God’s attributes. I don’t know about you, but for me, every time I’ve read through one of those “Divine Attributes” lists, I find myself yawning.

Mark’s book is different. It brings each of God’s attributes to life. It also adds texture and insight to them.

My two favorite chapters were “The Everlasting Now” (Eternity) and “Life That Bubbles Over” (Trinity). “The Elusive Lover” (Mystery)  is excellent too.

These three aspects of God’s nature are very dear to my own heart. For that reason, I’ve written extensively on them myself. I’ve often said that the Trinity is the model for the ekklesia (John 17, etc.). God’s timeless purpose, conceived in eternity past, was to expand the fellowship of the Godhead, and that’s what the church is, in effect. And the love affair that we can have with the Lord is one that is both glorious and mysterious at the same time, and He in fact is an elusive Lover.

In JESUS MEAN AND WILD, Mark brings out the confrontational, bold side of Jesus Christ over/against the “warm, cuddly, passive” Jesus that some Christians have in mind. Yes, Jesus is the Lamb of God, but He’s also the Lion of Judah.

I appreciated many of the insights in the book, especially Mark’s take on “success” and “size” when it comes to local churches. MEAN AND WILD is a clarion call to get to know the real Christ in all of His multisplendored attributes. Especially those that may not sit comfortable with us.

All told: I commend Mark Galli’s two books to you. And I will be on the look-out for his next work.