Jesus Brand Spirituality: He Wants His Religion Back
Jesus Brand Spirituality: He Wants His Religion Back
“Jesus wants his religion back so it can be for the world again”
So begins this expertly written book by Ken Wilson, a pastor, practitioner and pilgrim to engage those drawn to the fascinating figure buried in the messy field of religion. Jesus Brand Spirituality is for those disillusioned by the current swirl of cultural conflict, moralism, and religious meanness that amounts to a form of trademark infringement on the movement that bears his name.
Combining candor, curiosity and rare insight, the author explores four dimensions of the spirituality Jesus left in his wake–active, contemplative, biblical, and communal. Practical, engaging and compelling, this fresh illumination of an ancient path is both moving and thought provoking. Phyllis Tickle, founding editor of the Religion Department at Publisher’s weekly calls Wilson “one of America’s most gifted evangelicals, a thoughtful, unflinching pastor for thinking Christians; but he has outdone even his own reputation here. Candid, confessional, and full of stories, these conversational chapters from a man enthralled with Jesus are shot through with the passion and the realism of an eternally-vital romance.”
Customer Review: Jesus Brand Spirituality—refreshing & helpful.
It seems like just 15 or so years ago, the term “Christian Spirituality” would have been met with some raised eyebrows and perhaps an incredulous stare or two. That Wilson uses three often culturally confusing words in his title: Jesus, Spirituality, & Religion— is a hint toward the kind of unpacking and clarifying that he does in the pages between the covers of this refreshing and helpful book. Refreshing, because it feels like a breath of fresh air to read a book that takes the corruption of the Jesus brand to task, yet offers gracious understanding for the messiness that it has been these past 2000 or so years since Jesus launched a movement. He says that “Jesus is a presence distinct from the religion that represents him. We are drawn to him (or not) for reasons that deny easy explanation. But being drawn to Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean buying the package of faith as defined by those with the biggest bullhorn…”
Wilson writes from the perspective of a self professed non-recovering Jesus Freak from the late 1960’s which makes me think that when Ken Wilson says that “Jesus brand spirituality” is the path a pilgrim might take that is earthy, mystical, and curious—I believe him. The believability of his storied life and the storied life of “brand Jesus” as they mingle together with the cultural shifts of the past 30 or so years is refreshing too. In short, it is refreshing to hear a baby boomer admit the difficulties of the American church while at the same time not willing to draw a fresh new bath of water and get a new baby, if I may stretch the metaphor a bit.
Jesus Brand Spirituality is helpful on so many levels but foremost is the helpfulness it will be to my own mother-in-law in sorting out why her postmodern son-in-law wants to pray the daily offices and work for social justice issues while still considering himself (on most days) to be in the evangelical camp. Wilson does a fine job providing an overview of the landscape, noting that American Christianity has formed in the context of four quadrants: liturgical, social justice, evangelical, & renewal. The tug toward the center, where there is a blending and a shaping of us all, is where Wilson sees the movement of God’s spirit and the kind of spirituality that Jesus modeled and “branded.” Wilson draws from his own experience, the life of his friends and foes, the four quadrants of the spiritual landscape, and the life of Jesus to provide a full picture of what the “identity package” for the Jesus brand really is, humbly noting that this center place where traditions get blended is the place where Jesus gets his religion back, it is “a place we cannot find but is finding us.”
Lastly, It seems as though Ken Wilson has been very careful to season his words with the salt of postmodernity—which has brought out the flavor of his thesis ever more so. Ken writes with an understanding of the changes to the epistemological and sociological milleu since he came into the Jesus Movement. And, unlike many who perhaps waded through the same four decades, Wilson has emerged not fighting on the battle-ground for things like “certainty” and “absolutes,” but humbled and encouraged that we do in fact see through a glass dimly, in part, and not in full. His friendship with Phyllis Tickle (who writes the foreward) and his pastoral passion are not easy to miss. Not only is this book an explanation of where things are and where they’re headed—it’s an invitation to jump into the swirling center and get dirty a bit, healing, and getting healed, praying and being prayed for, going some place to find that God is there— and is there to transform us all.
Customer Review: Bringing clarity, not rigidity
Conservative or liberal, nondenominational or mainline, I think most of us have a sense that the church in North America is in a bit of an identity crisis. And it this point, the jury’s still out as to how it will emerge from this time of transition.
