Presenting… my “baby”!

For the past five years I have dreamed about today… the day my first novel is finally seeing the light of day! In many ways it feels like giving birth (without the excruciating pain, thank you very much!) – the moment I’ve been dreading and anticipating at the same time…

Yes, you feel exhausted and happy and proud and want to show your baby off to everybody (Pictures can be found on my website under the book section😉, where you can also find out about the content and how to get a copy if I sparked your interest). But you also want to make sure your baby gets a good start into this world, and that’s what this post is about.

When Brian Zahnd is asked about his denominational affiliation, he often makes one of two statements that have stuck with me. The first is a quote from Søren Kierkegaard: “if you label me, you negate me.” As soon as I am labeled and put in a box by others or even by myself, my potential for growth is stunted and eventually halted.

The second one goes deeper. Because it’s not that hard to say “I don’t fit into any box” and to just stay outside and judge all boxes. What’s a lot harder is to create doors into the various boxes and invite people to go and explore each other’s box. Maybe you’ll even go so far as to take the doors off their hinges.

In his second statement, Brian uses the picture of the menorah. This Jewish symbol of a candlestick with seven branches, growing out of the same tree, lends itself beautifully as a picture for Christian diversity, because Christianity can be categorized into seven branches as well: Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Anabaptist, Evangelical, and Pentecostal.

While we, depending on our culture and personality, will always feel closer to some that to others, we should still remember that they all flow out of the same tree. And the art of being a mature Christian is to see them all with their individual strengths, and to appreciate what they each bring to God’s Kingdom.  As Brian says, “Each branch has a unique appreciation for specific aspects of our faith.” They are:

The Orthodox appreciation for the Mystery

The Catholic appreciation for Beauty

The Anglican appreciation for Liturgy

The Protestant Audacity

The Anabaptist Nonconformity

The Evangelical Energy

And the Pentecostal Reality

This is beautiful. It’s an invitation to visit these other branches, learn and be touched by aspects we might have hardly known to be aspects of faith, and grow into a more mature faith.

So then why talk about the negative aspects of certain groups at all? Why not focus only on what connects us? Why the criticism in my book toward dogmas put forth by certain followers of certain denominations?

It is first of all because I care. I care about the communities I’ve been a part of for many years and whose followers I have come to love.  And it is because much of the book has happened to me and people I care about. Unfortunately, the Body of Christ can sometimes be its own worst enemy.

I understand that the group I’m talking about is not the only one with shortcomings – it’s just the one I have the most experience with. I am well aware that I could have written a similar book about the doctrines of any other group of Christians, because doctrines are made by people, and people are in desperate need of God’s forgiveness and correction, no matter which branch they are a part of.

I love the evangelical community. I love their passion and energy, their sincerity, and the sense of family among its people. Most of all, I respect and love so many individuals who are part of the evangelical group. It’s because of this that I chose to speak about some of the cancers that eat away at this beautiful community of followers of Jesus.

So, my baby is taking its first breath today. I’m going to show it off to the world, hoping it will create doors, and maybe even heal some wounds the cancers of loveless doctrines have created. I’m praying it will be seen by people from all kinds of walks with God; that it may stir up the courage in people to ask questions, and to question the answers they’ve always gotten. I hope that my own horizon will be broadened by the interaction with people who are going to read the book. But most of all it is my hope that “A Broken Hallelujah” invites every reader to seek anew a God whose compassion and love transcends all doctrine.