Jesus Brand Spirituality.

Book Review

Wilson, Ken. Jesus Brand Spirituality. He wants his religion back. Thomas Nelson. 2008
K.W.- Senior pastor of Vineyard Church of Ann Harbor, Michigan. (www.annarborvineyard.org)

Comment. Henry
Beginning with the Jesus Movement of the 60s and now the senior pastor of Ann Harbor Vineyard, Ken’s spiritual journey is reflected in this book. It is certainly an interesting journey. His honesty and openness about how he sees his own life and the culture he is a part of is refreshing He declares that he is not a part of the academic community however, his observations are in my opinion profound. A helpful resource for church leaders and those who have a commitment to spiritual growth and a desire to understand their spiritual community.

“Jesus brand spirituality is a way of living that Jesus modeled as a fellow pilgrim.” (6) Religion is made up of “corporeality, morality, and spirituality”. (9) There are four dimensions to Jesus brand spirituality; “active, contemplative, biblical, and communal”. (11) These dimensions can be observed in the life of Jesus.

Christianity is divided into four quadrants, “liturgical, social justice, evangelical, and renewalist,” (25) and churches are identified as being of a particular quadrant. Our perspective of Christianity will be limited to the quadrant that we find ourselves in, i.e. church upbringing. In the present Christian culture these quadrants are increasingly becoming blended. Those who hold strictly to their quadrant are called “corner dwellers”. (33) In Jesus brand of spirituality we see all quadrants as moving toward the centre and a sharing of the above mentioned spiritual dimensions.

Jesus used his authority “to the end of helping people, empowering the disenfranchised, healing the sick, bringing relief to the tormented, feeding the hungry, to the end of showing Israel a different and better way to be Israel”. (45) Since the poor are the most affected by environmental problems we must respond to the need of “repairing the world”. (57)

When it comes to healing, we should do what we can to heal people. Reference is made to AA which developed outside of Christianity but with a Jesus brand of spirituality. (Interesting call.)

“When it comes to mystical experience, we are just coming out of the Age of Polite Science”. (87) In his prayers and ministry Jesus demonstrated mysticism. Prayer is going somewhere, connecting with God, i.e. going on line and entering the internet. It is recommended that we have regular times (a.m., noon, p.m. etc.) of prayer and consider using other people’s prayers, e.g. Psalms and prayer books. Mystical experience is very much a biblical thing.

“Fundamentally, the Bible is the love story of God in search for humanity.” (125) Central to this story is the person of Jesus. There are “five acts” (127) to this story. They take place either in a garden or a temple. (An interesting presentation.)

Some interesting insights are presented regarding the way the Bible is ‘understood’ by different persuasions. We must keep in mind the context of story when engaged in the discipline of interpretation. With our evangelical bias for doctrine we may well miss some profound truths found in the ‘story’ of the Bible, e.g. “Suffering is one of the unsolved mysteries of life.” (156) We don’t understand Jesus in his sufferings however we follow him in suffering. “Like it or not, we are in the process of leaving behind a certain form of certainty.” (161) Having understanding of the sacred is foundational to knowledge, e.g. sacred scripture, community, Spirit, etc. Each of us comes at this with views determined by our unique lenses.

“Everything about God and everything that comes from God is relational.” (170)Social connections are an important part of our relationship but our culture is becoming increasingly void of social connections. Forgiveness is necessary for healthy communal relationships.

“God is love, properly understood.” (187) “Love is all you need.” (194) In our travel with fellow-travelers (connectedness) we are trying to figure things out. “Love is our only hope.” (202)