I went running last night while listening to this amazing podcast from speaking of faith by Krista Tippett. She probes three formative evangelicals: Chuck Colson, Greg Boyd, and Shane Claiborne. Damn. People it's quite the conversation.
I defiantly am (like most of my generation) most attuned to Shane Claiborne, but ever since I read that book "God of the possible" I've also liked Greg Boyd. I don't "get" Colson much at all which is sad, since I think he is similar to my parents. And he is probably the most "gettable" of his contemporaries.
It was really amazing to have three people talk from three different evangelical generations and realize that they are so very different. So different, AND yet all evangelical. It makes me wonder if the evangelical church will split. Krista tried to get them to talk about commonalities and any tools they have for future conversation together about how they are different. They all seemed to say christian things about love and confession and humility, but it didn't feel very practical at all.
At one point in the conversation Shane said, I think referring to previous generations of christians, "No one likes you if you are mean". People have run from the church because the church is mean (one example, was christians fighting gay marriage in government) while the church yells at their backs "We love you". It's a mixed message. Shane also said something like (go listen to it) tax collectors, prostitutes... were drawn to Jesus. They sprint from the American church just like they did the pharisee's.
I kept wanting people to listen to this podcast. I thought, "They would get me, get the church..." so much better if they heard these three strains of evangelical conversation. At least for me hearing this podcast helped me to contextualize the history of christians in the last 30 years.
O and to be TOTALLY random. This is a funny video. I am amused.
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