Wednesday, June 16, 2010

ViralHope

Great read. For what it's worth, highly recommended.

JR Woodward, who I think it would be appropriate to label a missional thinker gathered a number of blog responses to his request for a summary of the Good News as if the contributor's local newspaper were to publish the summary. The result is this text of 50 responses. Those responses are neatly wrapped with a foreword by Scot McKnight and a conclusion by Chris Backert.

On one level it is quite possible to begin to feel a level of despair as the 50 entries all seem to indicate the world is in poor condition (and not getting all that much better). But the aim and strength of the text is how it contrasts that potential despair with the hope of the Good News for that community.

However ViralHope does not merely proclaim the Good News, or proclaim that the Kingdom is emerging here and now. Rather, the 50 snapshots show that this Kingdom is indeed here, something real, taking root and spreading. Despite unevenness due to the 50 independent entries, there is a powerful consistency in emphasis on not merely doing church - the faithful community led by Jesus - but being the church by a very real and physical presence in embodying the Good News for each of the local communities seeking to meet the needs of those particular communities. Fascinating as the book is really a compliation of blog responses to a question - a new medium of contact and communication? The variety of responses displays both the importance of engaging in conversation and active listening for creation of a rich dialogue that begs to be continued.

2010 publication by Ecclesia Press (the link will take you to the web site and more information about the text).

1 comment:

  1. Bill,

    Thanks for your post on the book. Glad you found it helpful and recommend it. Peace.

    ReplyDelete