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A Note From Pastor Randy
How is your summer reading going? I hope you found an interesting book for some quiet time of meditation or relaxation. I like to take a book with me when I go on vacation. On August 21, I will start a two-week vacation, so in thinking ahead I purchased Brian McLaren’s new book, “Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart” (2024).
I mentioned one of Brian McLaren’s earlier books in a recent sermon because I liked how he summarized the activity of the missional church. He said we are to make disciples in authentic community for the good of the world. In his new book, he is clear that the world, for which the church seeks to do good, is falling apart.
I peeked into the book’s early chapters just to learn what McClaren means by the word “doom” and the phrase “a world falling apart.”
He defines doom as the “unpeaceful, uneasy, unwanted feeling” that “we humans have made a mess of our civilization and our planet, and not enough of us seem to care enough to change deeply enough and quickly enough to save it” (1-2). Interestingly, he sees it as a kind of pre-traumatic stress disorder. Doom “is the emotional and intellectual experience shared by all who realize the dangerous future into which we are presently plunging ourselves, our descendants, and our fellow creatures” (6).
McClaren believes there is life after doom, but first we must face doom. He does this in chapter 2, which he titles “Welcome to Reality.” In this chapter, McClaren summarizes the views of scientists and other experts about the current situation confronting us. This includes climate change, ecological exploitation, economic inequality, racial injustice, and religious corruption. Taken together, these realities contribute to a process of civilizational collapse.
Only what is faced can be changed. McClaren suggests that the changes needed will require great strength of spirit in individuals, local communities, and nations. I look forward to reading how he believes wisdom and courage can rescue our world and lead to life after doom. Here is an opportunity for the missional church to play a vital role for the good of the world.
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