It's taken me a little longer than I hoped to get around to writing about this, but it's finally here. A Generous Orthodoxy was an exciting book for me to read. Here are some of my thoughts after having recently read the book.
While McLaren does introduce some of the substance behind the thoughts held by many in the emerging church, I don't think that was his intention in sharing what he does in the book. Rather than attempting to write some mission statement or code for a particular organization, McLaren sheds light on how he understands the call of God on people's lives and what it means to faithfully follow Jesus, helping everyone to take their next steps forward, others as well as himself.
He dances within the tension of orthodox faith (of truly holding to the teachings of Jesus and God's revelation of himself) and the need to express that faith in a manner that is true to the heart of that faith (namely, in ways that are open, loving, inviting, caring, compassionate...). I can see where some of what he says is controversial.
Ultimately, however, what McLaren is presenting truly comes down to following Jesus. No one has that all nailed down, but there are many who have much we can learn from. He discusses a number of topics that I thought were tremendously helpful. I'll just sort of list some of them here. If you want more of my thoughts, I'll be glad to write more (or you can pick up the book).
The primary importance of the missiology of the church.
The healthy tension found in the open unity among those in the Jesus movement.
The growing revelation of God to His church.
Our response to God in God's world and in God's people.
His chapter on emergence was particularly interesting.
That each of us in some ways are unfinished and in need of further growth in reclaiming our divine image and likeness.
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