Bridging the Great Divide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some of you, perhaps, have heard of Brian McLaren, an author, former pastor, activist, and leader in what\u2019s been called the \u201cemergent church.\u201d I had the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holyrover\/2011\/03\/07\/bridging-the-great-divide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bridging the Great Divide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some of you, perhaps, have heard of Brian McLaren, an author, former pastor, activist, and leader in what\u2019s been called the \u201cemergent church.\u201d I had the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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{"id":6025,"date":"2011-03-07T11:19:02","date_gmt":"2011-03-07T17:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holyrover\/?p=6025"},"modified":"2011-03-07T11:19:02","modified_gmt":"2011-03-07T17:19:02","slug":"bridging-the-great-divide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holyrover\/2011\/03\/07\/bridging-the-great-divide\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging the Great Divide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ Some of you, perhaps, have heard of Brian McLaren, an author, former pastor, activist, and leader in what\u2019s been called the \u201cemergent church.\u201d I had the good fortune to be at a workshop over the weekend with McLaren, who had some fascinating things to say about the past, present, and possible future of Christianity.<\/p>\n

One never knows how such church workshops are going to go. I\u2019ve been to ones that brought new meaning to the word \u201ctedious,\u201d workshops where I was certain that my watch had stopped working because time could not possibly move so slowly.<\/p>\n

McLaren\u2019s workshop was just the opposite. I\u2019d read some of his books, but in person he was even better:\u00a0 insightful, funny, thoughtful, and approachable. He was in town to promote his new book, Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words<\/a> $\"\"$ <\/p>\n

(love that title!), but he covered a wide range of topics in his workshop. \u00a0<\/p>\n

I was most taken by the generous spirit behind his approach to religion. So much of our religious and political discourse today is fiercely partisan, and it was refreshing to hear a leader who is trying to bridge those divides. He showed a graphic that I found thought-provoking, an image of the great cultural divide that came with modernism. From that divide, two arrows diverged, one representing liberal and the other conservative trends in both the political and religious realms. As the arrows progress, their trajectory takes them farther and farther apart. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Our current age of great transformation and equally great risks requires that these divergent trajectories be altered, said McLaren. We need people with generous hearts and open minds who can find ways of worshipping, debating, learning, and wrestling with difference, so that we can \u00a0bend those arrows toward a new vision. Polarization and demonization are the enemies of true religion and true community.<\/p>\n

McLaren had one comment in particular that I appreciated: \u201cThe Church often grows most,\u201d he said, \u201cthrough the questions it chooses to ask.\u201d For example, evangelical pastor Rick Warren struck a deep cultural nerve when he formed the question as \u201cWhat is my purpose in life?\u201d That\u2019s a valid question, certainly, but so are these alternatives: \u201cWhat is our purpose?\u201d \u201cWhat is the purpose of creation?\u201d \u201cWhat is God\u2019s purpose?\u201d<\/p>\n

Interesting stuff,\u00a0I think.\u00a0I bought McLaren\u2019s book and am only 30 pages into it but I like what he has to say very much. Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words<\/a> $\"\"$ <\/p>\n

(the title comes in part from St. Francis of Assisi\u2019s appearing naked in a church at the start of his ministry) is about 12 practices\u00a0that can deepen our spiritual lives.\u00a0It\u2019s a good book to be chewing on as Lent starts this week.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"