Book Review: Becoming Whole and Holy (Brown, Dahl, and Corbin Reuschling)

Even though my day-job is being a “New Testament” professor, I am deeply interested in Christian formation and theological interpretation (and what good Methodist is not!). Thus, I took an immediate interest in the recent Baker book, Becoming Whole and Holy: An Integrative Conversation about Christian Formation by Jeannine K. Brown, Carla Dahl, and Wyndy Corbin Reuschling.

These three ladies are friends who wished to engage in conversation for mutual benefit, and they are also experts in their respective fields: Brown is a New Testament scholar, Dahl teaches in marriage and family therapy (and social sciences), and Corbin Reuschling works in theology and ethics. There are ten chapters on the subject of identity, holiness, formation, and community from a theological perspective. Basically, one author presents an essay – then, the other two offer reflections, constructive criticism, and praise or encouragement. As I was reading this book, it struck me that the respect, generosity, appreciation, and a willingness to learn and grow together is what scholarly interaction should be like at conferences, but rarely ever is. I caught a glimpse of this at the NT Wright conference at Wheaton – Tom was not sweetly praised, as there were some very demanding statements, accusations, critiques, and concerns. However, at the end of the day, everyone called each other “friend” and there was a mood and spirit of hope for the future as work continued in light of cooperation.

It is probably not surprising that my interest in the book immediately turned to Brown’s chapters on Scripture. In chapter five, “Being and Becoming: The Scriptural Story of Formation,” Brown looks at wholeness and holiness from a Biblical-theological perspective – especially recovering the image of God in humanity. How do Christians respond to the work of God in restoring humanity? Brown suggests two rubrics: dependence and discernment. Spot on! The first is a “relational conviction,” setting God as lord over your life. The second, discernment, is like “a compass, setting our course in a God-ward direction” (p. 81).

Brown has another chapter on the subject of “wholeness and holiness.” Her final thoughts in this chapter sum up well the perspective of all the authors and gives you a sense of what the book is about:

According to Scripture, the believing community is on a journey of becoming. Journeying or becoming is inherently part of the human experience because God created humanity as finite and wired for growth. Becoming is also a given because of humanity’s fall and subsequent propensity toward sin and idolatry. In this light human becoming is best conceived as responsiveness to God’s initiating and ongoing covenantal and redemptive work that culminates with Messiah Jesus, so that faith and faithfulness form the pattern of Christian becoming. (p. 96)

I think seminary faculties as a whole would benefit from coming together and reading this book together – demonstrating community and friendship, a common-cause as professors of formation (all of us!), and a spirit of collegiality in trying to learn from each other’s disciplines. If there is one context in which inter-disciplinary interaction is fundamental, it is the theological seminary. Eat this book! (wash it first).