Dallas Willard + Shane Claiborne = Mark Scandrette

Likewise author Mark Scandrette has taken a Dallas Willard-informed emphasis on spiritual formation and skillfully mixed it with a Shane Claiborne-informed emphasis on justice and community. The result? A new approach to Christian formation that will challenge you to experiment with spiritual practices in a supportive environment where you can learn to take risks for Jesus in every aspect of life.

Mark and his community at ReImagine have embarked on a bunch of spiritual experiments together, like selling half their possessions and giving the proceeds to the poor, or committing to tangibly bless an enemy. Sound interesting? Wondering if your peeps might want to try this out? His book Practicing the Way of Jesus (coming in July from Likewise) offers an introduction to why it's important to pursue spiritual formation in community, and then provides concrete ideas and invitations for your group to learn to practice the way of Jesus together. Check out this video for more from Mark:

A Shout-Out To All The Cynic-Saints

Maybe you'd never be caught in public wearing that "heartfelt" Christian T-shirt you got at that conference you went to back in youth group. Maybe you quit your small group when you finally got sick of smiling and nodding every time someone asked for prayer for their great aunt's cockapoo. Or maybe the way Christianity was explained to you just doesn't ring true given all you've seen and heard. If so, you might be a Christian cynic.

In his new book, Faith Without Illusions, Andrew Byers highlights how the pitfalls of pop Christianity have led many in the church to cynicism as a path of least resistance. It's understandable, but left unchecked cynicism can become an unhealthy trait that begins to undermine the body of Christ. Could there be a form of cynicism that is actually beneficial, perhaps even biblical?

Maybe, says Andy. If we could prevent the disenfranchised from plunging into cynicism alone and actively draw them back into the community, then maybe we could secure an army of voices with brilliant insights. And maybe if those insights were tempered with love, they could lead to the reformation and renewal that the Western church so desperately needs.

So come on, all you self-proclaimed cynics. Read Andy's book and consider the path to cynic-sainthood. No lame T-shirts required. And you could be a part of changing the church for good.

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The Book Extracted

The Girl in the Orange Dress

"Our parents said all the right words. They didn?t trouble us with adult matters, like my father?s alcoholism. They assured us that we were loved. The news of their divorce, though, was simply not emotional information I could process. I didn?t cry. I didn?t feel it. I was numb when they first told me, and I stayed numb for sixteen more years. During that time, when I would tell people that I didn?t have feelings about my parents? divorce, they would invariably assure me that I did, in fact, have feelings and that I just didn?t feel them.
That was the dumbest thing I ever heard."