Ep. 145 Best of 2023

a rating and review. Just go to the Show page on the app that you're using right now and hit five stars and then leave a review. Here is a review from Apple podcasts. Lindy Lady 22 says thanks for this podcast. I have enjoyed listening and learning new things from the experts you have on your work is building up the church, which is part of your aim. Well done. And

thanks. Well, thank you Lindy Lady 22. And you listener if you want to leave a review, go to the bottom of the Show page on Apple podcasts and click the link that says write a review. Or you can email me, let me know what you think about the show, you can email your feedback to Jay Johnson at all nations.us We have a great show for you today is the best of 2023. We're going to count down the most listened to episodes of the past year, and I am going to count down my

favorite books of the year. But before we dive in, I just have to say thank you. Thank you to you, the listener, I've so enjoyed making this podcast and having the conversations that I'm having. But without you there wouldn't be a podcast. So keep listening. Keep spreading the word, tell your friends, your family, even your enemies to listen to shifting culture. Also, this podcast is not free to make. So if you would like to give to help me produce more episodes, I would greatly

appreciate it. There is a link at the bottom of the episode description that says support the show. Just click on that and donate. Thank you so much. So let's dive in. To get started. I want to share my picks for my favorite books of the year. I have a list of 20 So here are the numbers 2211 Before we get to the top 10 I had number 20 is ordinary discipleship. How God wires us for the adventure of transformation by Jesse

Cruickshank. And number 19 is I didn't survive the emerging hole after deception, persecution and hidden abuse by Nakama pinaki. Number 18 is pivot the priorities practices and powers that can transform your church into a Tov culture by Scot McKnight and Laura Behringer, and number 17 is metanoia how God radically transforms people, churches and organizations from the inside out by Alan Hirsch

with Rob Kelley. And number 16 Is fear not a Christian appreciation of horror movies by Josh Larson and number 15 is wake up to wonder 22 invitations to amazement in the ever day by Karen Wright Marsh. Number 14 The ballot and the Bible how scripture has been used and abused in American politics, and where we go from here by Caitlin chests. Number 13. What if Jesus was serious about heaven, a visual guide to experiencing God's Kingdom among us by sky chottani and number 12 is

orphaned believers. Our generation of Christian exiles can find the way home by Sarah Billups number 11 is stumbling toward eternity losing and finding ourselves in the cross of Jesus by Josh White. So check out these books and the episodes that accompany them. So let's get into the top 10. My number 10 Book of the Year is the scandal of leadership unmasking the powers of domination in the

church by JR Woodward. Even though you could tell that this book is written from a dissertation and it could use a bit more editing to make it more accessible. The themes and ideas in this book are crucial for any leader to understand and to implement. The idea that we are imitators and that if we imitate anyone or anything other than Christ, we will have problems is something that really needs to get into the soul of people as

quickly as possible. The research scholarship and examples in this book make for something that will be a reference and a go to for years to come. Now, let's hear from our most listened to episodes of the year. And number 10 is episode 136 Alan Hirsch and Rob Kelly metanoia how God radically transforms people, churches and organizations from the inside

out. In this episode, Alan Hirsch and Rob Kelly join us to talk about their book metanoia we have a great conversation On repentance movements, organizational change, unlearning and relearning vision, future thinking and more. This metanoia process that they have taken us through is really important. How do we have our minds renewed? How do we shift paradigms and have our minds blown? Here? They are talking about the importance of

metanoia. Listen, as we hear from Alan Hirsch and Rob Kelly, there

understanding. And so, there, you know, everything's Michelle, nothing's Michelle. And so that's what happened. And the way it was co opted to and became disinherit technique work, classic, you know, trying to jump the chasm without having to do any paradigm shifting. And that was hugely problematic, why I tend to use the word movement. Now, I also got the potential for making Sega stick, but it's, I've tried to try and use a

concrete expression mission. And when you talk about a very concrete expression on it, movements are made to move they're moving in, so there must miss your expression of the ecclesia. And because they move it, and and, and they're adaptable, and they're on frontiers, you know, and so there's natural, you know, dynamic to them, which you don't

get in all static version. So I tend to use that because it actually gives us a kind of, I said, a concrete image a one to one admission or looks like if you want no additional click, movements are the best expression, not the elderly. There will be other ways of expressing the mission of God in the womb, but movements over embodiment mission. So that's what

book. The number nine most listened to episode of the year is episode 124. James Martin, the promise of Jesus's greatest miracle. In this episode, father, James Martin, and I have a great conversation around the story of Lazarus, and the implications of it for our life. We talked through disappointments, how Jesus weeps with us through our sorrows brings to life and invites us into a participatory life of helping free other people. Here is Father Martin. Interestingly,

Okay, as I said before, a grudge or resentment, a disappointment and often for people with the disappointment that we have to really unburden ourselves up or ward in an unhealthy pattern of living we might be mean or sarcastic or something. And the invitation is always to new life. So for me, I think that the the sort of imagine it's a way of thinking about this is, what is God calling me to leave behind? What is God calling me

to let die? Because we are always every day are being invited into new life by Jesus right? He wants us to let go of things right. Now in in the Gospels. We see this in different ways like the rich young man, what is he supposed to let go off he's supposed to let go of his wealth. He can't do it. He goes away sad. There.

So Jesus always puts his finger on the thing that people need to leave behind, like Peter leaving behind his net, or the woman at the well leaving her job behind you go and proclaim the good news. So there is a leaving behind, but it's also kind of the Pascall mystery once you die to self. You are able to experience new life in Christ and this is I think this is an invitation everyday for all of us.

growth. The number eight most listened to episode of the year is episode 135 Scot McKnight the pivotal priorities, practices and powers to transform into a Tov culture. In this episode, Scot McKnight talks about one of his new books pivot. This book is a follow up to a church called tov. A church called to have really hit a nerve when it debuted. In that book, they wrote about toxic church culture and contrast it to Tov culture, or goodness, culture, pivot is

the book of implementation. What are the steps to get to a Tov church? What are the things that we need to implement? We talked about Holy Spirit, Christ's likeness models, long patients giving ownership over to the church body, and more, it is a great conversation. Here, you can listen to a little bit of Scot McKnight, let's

say that's where it is. Well, the solution to that is to flip into a culture that knows one another's names on another stories, so that the church becomes a fellowship of people who know one another, you won't, you won't have an institution creep in a church where everybody loves one another. You don't have that. I mean, the institution creepers that were a loving fellowship. And so you have to start working on that topic. And then it's not going

to work. The solution is not going to work by a series of sermons, it's going to work by and this is a very important point in our book is that we have to start focusing on character rather than number and character as much. Sometimes I think character is much harder to measure than numbers. And I think sometimes we gravitate toward numbers, because it's easy to measure. But numbers can

be so false. So let's just say you have 300 people in your church 175 of which come to church twice a month, maybe once a half. So how many do you really have, you know, so that, so numbers don't really tell the story. Some of those 175, who are, who are barely engaged might be given a lot of money too. And that, that starts contaminating everything. So start working on character, focus on on individual leaders in the church being examples that are worthy of being

followed. And I think that you will begin to see, let's say you transform from an institution creep to a storytelling fellowship. And the leaders tell their story. And their story reveals their character. And then they become sort of models of who to follow, and other people begin to follow that. And I think, I think you can, you can really start making an impact. On

again. The number seven most listened to episode of the year is episode 97. Pete Gregg, shadows and light. In this episode, Pete Greg talks about the paradox of the kingdom, serving the Good Shepherd and the bleeding lamb, finding diverse perspectives in the church, the importance of prayer, and hope for what could come out of Waverly Abbey. So let's hear from Pete Greg.

they teach you something. And I feel like kicking them and saying, learn something from that, because what is a God can teach me through this season that he couldn't teach me or my wife through the previous 300? You know, so I'm depressed. I'm down. I'm not I'm not naturally good question. I found out years ago, I was, I was terrible. Eight years, I was really I kept backsliding talking to the god, I didn't believe them. It was

just dreadful. And so I resigned myself to being a Christian, because I was less bad at it than atheism. And so you know, I'm a Thomas, my wife got saved when she was 17, has the most unbelievable unshakeable faith. So I'm there in the hospital with her and I'm saying, babe, maybe God, just as God isn't there, this is how bad my pastoral manners, okay, maybe. And she turned me set thanks for proposing that particular

worldview. To me at this moment in time, what you're saying is my suffering has no consequence. And that I am, you know, the weakest link that I need to be according to Darwin flushed out of the genetic pool, that there's no hope. So, you know, she reminded me that if you're an atheist or secular humanist, you still go through all this stuff. It's just you don't have any hope for this life or next. So I, I cling on to that bleeding land, and I cling on to the hem of the garment of that

good shepherd. Because life is too precarious is too wonderful and too terrifying without and

Reading it as a book of discipleship that raises up dissident disciples in the shadow of Babylon is a take that is applicable across time and geography. This is one that I highly, highly recommend. So the number six most listened to episode of the year is episode 95. Beth paws a God who identifies with us in our grief, and suffering. In this episode, Beth Paz talks about incarnational work her journey with Jesus and moments of

changing her mind. She shares her journey through the valley of grief and desolation during her divorce and finding that Jesus, the one who suffered was with her through it all. Here is Beth Potts.

deeply wounding. I want to be a person who can say, men do believe and the hope of Christ, I do believe that God is good. And I do believe and I wait for the fullness of Shalom to be unveiled. And I look throughout Scripture and I sit in those passages that say it one day, all things will be made right and tears will be wiped away from eyes and death will happen no more place neither morning. It is the thing that sometimes makes me tick and keep going is the beauty of restoration and

redemption. In the meantime, I have so much more room for mystery. I can hold space for mystery, and my faith. And as my good friend shared this weekend with me, in the holding mystery, we actually create more room for all you get, you can't have one without the other. And so, in the mystery of saying not all of my questions are answered, and the mystery of not knowing why some people's prayers are answered, and other people's are not in the way that they want

them to. I found that I can hold space for saying, I don't know. And I may not know. But I also have more space for the all of things that are beautiful. And we don't have an answer for why they're so beautiful. Yeah. It's just like if we try to numb our you can't selectively numb feelings and emotion. If I try to numb out my pain or my disappointment. I'm going to numb out my joy, and my laughter. Isn't

The scholarship and elimination of the role of women in the early church is extremely helpful. I really love books like this. They take something that is familiar and makes us look again and realize that something was there all along, but we missed it. I have given this book away more than any other this year. The number five most listened to episode of the year is episode 104 HUGH HALTER

family on mission. And this episode HUGH HALTER talks about family on mission raising Kingdom Ling's NOT CHURCH kids the importance of being less individualistic, materialistic and consumeristic. releasing our kids to the Lord discipleship in the family. And more. Here is a bit of HUGH HALTER.

of our three children. And, and I remember walking out on the field and I had an hour with the Lord, I'm like you got one of them, you don't get to. And there I am being tested at chapter three of the book I wrote again, it's like some point, we have to give all of our kids back to the Lord. And hopefully it's on week one, when you get them you can take the baby and you go, Oh, I have this God's given me this beautiful baby. But the sooner you can give him back and literally mean

it. And I got there around day 10. I told the Lord, hey, sorry about the attitude, if you need to take the second one. You know, I said I'm not okay. But I'm okay. Like, whatever, whatever your will is. But when you when you say that, then you don't you're not just a protector of your child, you're actually a developer. And that's why I tell people don't buy this book. If you're just looking for cool little parenting tips. This book is about raising kids that maybe someday would give their

life for the story of Jesus. And that does not preach row. Well. It lives really well if you do that. And you know where that gets played out. I remember my daughters come in to me in high school after one of their friends had been killed in an alcohol related accident at a party. And they were angry and they were spitting mad, and they were in tears. And they said, We're gonna go to every party from here on out. As a parent, you don't really want to hear that your daughter's going to go

to every party. But we talked about it and I said if you'll take a couple more kids with you, you'll go is four of you will always go together. Because I knew what their mission was. Their mission was to make sure nobody ever drove drunk again. And so yeah, when you settle that issue, I'm gonna let Jesus take my kids. Let's what's funny is like the Bible that we read is all those crazy stories. And those are the disciples dying. Most of those cats were 22 to 25 years of age a lot when they

started to follow Jesus. They were in their late teens probably. So it's not that weird to see your 17 year old go, hey, I want to go on mission and We have to be willing to trust them to the Lord on that. Now you don't do that when they're for, like, we still need to protect and provide. But there's a point where all of our kids, sometimes they get the ones when they're 12, sometimes 1819, sometimes 24. But at some point, they're

going to get to the point. Where are they have to run their own show, and you got to give them the car keys. Even if they're going to wrap the car around a pole at some point, you have to trust your kids with the Lord as much as you would trust your own life to Lord.

prior. This is a stunning cultural analysis, which is incredibly written prior takes Charles Taylor's social imaginary concept and runs with it. Our collective imagination has led us to this moment of crisis in the American Evangelical Church and our collective imagination can move us into a brighter future. This is the type of book that I get excited for. The number four most listened to episode of the year is episode 122. Karen swallow prior the evangelical imagination that has shaped a

culture in crisis. Look at that. We have synergy. Karen swallow prior and I have a fantastic conversation around evangelical culture and true Christian faith. We dig into the history of evangelical faith, what myths, stories and narratives have contributed to the underlying assumptions we have on how the world works. And we talked about how to be faithful to Jesus in the midst of unexamined culture. Now, here is a bit of Karen swallow prior.

And just as the printing press, allowed people to read and communicate with one another, new ideas, more biblical ideas, and also false teachings and heresies that needs to be exposed or, or unorthodox practices or abusive practices. The digital age is allowing a similar thing today. So people are talking, they're communicating, they're seeing abuses that have been covered up

are being uncovered. And so I think we're in a moment that the crisis of the subtitle, where we're faced with, with these things, and I think history will tell that there was sorted about Sure, some sort of turning point in this moment, maybe another reformation, I talk about that in the book. But, you know, for whatever reason, in His sovereignty and Providence, God has allowed us in this historical moment, to be the one to see this, to base it to

grapple with it. And we must wait just Our call is to be faithful, we have to be faithful, we have to choose whether we will adhere to the culture, or the institution or the Empire, or playing to Jesus, to eternal truth, to the things that are not of the culture. And again, we can't escape culture entirely. We're all you know, God, God put us in these human cultures. But at this moment, he's allowing us to see what is a human corruption and what is up God. And it feels very hard.

I've talked to so many people It feels like we're going through a very hard time that that is unprecedented in our our

lifetimes. But if we are faithful and we choose truth, rather than power, and we choose love, rather than you know, advantage, and we choose Jesus over all of them long that humans empires are made up that I think yeah, the bride of Christ might come out a little bit more polish she had their, their Christ and a little bit more of what Jesus wants it to be more future generations for us at this moment.

book, it's just beautiful. The number three most listened to episode of the year is episode 130. Michael frost returns mission is the shape of water. In this episode, Michael frost and I have a great conversation around his book. Mission is the shape of water. We hear how mission has taken different shapes throughout the centuries. But the principles of mission

remain the same. We hear stories about the Missionaries of the first few centuries after Christ Boniface and the Celtic movement Zinzendorf in the Moravians, Mary Slessor, and Alice Seeley Harris, we then move into how all of this history impacts our world today. What we can learn take from and move on from as we join God in his mission to draw all peoples to himself. So let's listen to Mike frost, having

But in what ways? Are we on the doorstep about genocide in the Belgian Congo? To what degree? are we engaging with the issue of slavery? or to what degree? Are we actually responding to an agrarian society in southern Africa, which is big attacked by the bowlers of the Zulu brothers, like, like, Let's observe the context, and then watch our job we be called into.

And I think that there are lots of interesting trends and themes I outlined the toward the end of the book, where I feel like there's an incredible movement toward the democratization of

leadership. What we're seeing now is this cold emergence of, of very young people leaving leading global movements like Malala, say, like Greta tunberg, people like that, whether you like you know, everything they say or do is not the point, the point is, actually what we're seeing is grassroots movements bubbling up, often led by very young, passionate people. And this is offering us a shake. This is asking us, this the gospel have something to say to this. And I definitely think it

does that. In fact, what we've discovered throughout history is this is the way the gospel moves, not from the top down more from the powerful, not from those with, with lots of autonomy of access, but actually from listening to the voices of the Bacho, or the poor or the young, and for recognizing actually movements emerged this way, and really significant way.

So I think that church is a method that Christians ought to see that mission ought to have something to say about creation care, and about issues to do with climate change, or to have concerns about the role of women or the protection of women. And I know that this is a triggering kind of phrase for a lot of people, but a toxic kind of masculinity, which does orient mean toward control a commodity,

and even violence. And I feel like I'm not saying all men are violent, I am saying that actually, here, listen to things like The Matrix, we will have black lives matter. These weights, you don't have to join the whole movement or agree with everything that these movements are about. They are shaping our world. And if we lost guesses, does the gospel have been decided about racial reconciliation and justice? Of course it does. Is that a sign about the valuing of women as

equal to bet? Of course, it does anything to say about care for the environment? Of course it does. It's about us being willing to listen to the context as its dump body, a new world and a better world. There are lots of very positive things to say that our burgee code, leaderless movements are happening all around the world. I mean, we saw it as brie with the recent to ASPI revival it was Sir if it's a revival awakening, or whatever we call

it. I mean, when people ask the street and so as for you, like you know who's in charge, it looks like what this organization here, you're wheeling in whiteboards, and you're writing prayer requests on their bad, the bad of the worship band is being replenished by new people. And it's loving his organization he so he's in charge and the answer was no luck. Like, this is how movements occur these days. There isn't a big kahuna in charge of bass. It's that's done a band, who's running this

thing. It is like, oh, Gallic, it's like water bubbling up. And so again, we need to look at this shape. There's something really interesting going on here, which is asking us to reconsider what Nishan might look like. There are a lot of command and control made who are used to the old days back in the late 20th century where men started organizations with top down leadership, they had objectives of goals, and they proceeded forward to to facilitate them. Well, that was

the shape back then. But I don't think that's what the shape will look like. In our current day or moving forward. I think a rediscovery of the power of, of prayer at of the color, chaotic organic movements that we see happening would emerge out of those types of things, a rediscovery of the fullness of the gospel, as I said, the beginning of this conversation, is not just good news about how Jesus died for your sins, not to minimize that as part of the

good news. But it is also about the right of God, which is about joy and justice and healing and peacemaking and the renewed sense of family or community at the very presence of God, to discover the fullness of that, and all the ethics related to that. I think our world is dub ma de imperfectly, no question. But to Mandy, a world of equality and justice, creation care, respect for the barrage of lost respect for other cultures, multi generational, multi ethnic community there, they're not

getting it, right. They're getting it wrong in all sorts of ways. But that yearning there is actually a yearning for the very feats that the kingdom is all about. And we need to take that seriously. And shape mission accordingly.

movement, as created. And then he draws a line from the past to our current moment and propels us into the future with a vision of the reign and rule of God's kingdom that is inspiring. And holistic. Of the number two you must listen to episode of the year is episode 113. Andrew root returns when church stops working, in this episode, enter route talks about his latest book when church stops working. And he answers the question Why

isn't innovation the answer? He talks through waiting for the spirits leading, paying attention to our stories, being witnesses to the acts of God and sitting with the sorrows of our neighbors? Let's hear a bit from Andy root,

embrace. But there we do forget that in Acts one, the first command that Jesus gives to the church is to go to Jerusalem and not do anything, but just to wait and wait for the Spirit to come. And yeah, we do play with attitude, I guess it's an exegetical, contested point, but are kind of playing with it, as you know, that they get they get

antsy. And so they what do you do when you're antsy at a church and you feel like you're trying to do something against not knowing what to do as you start calling meetings and getting people on committees? You know, I want to directly address your

question. I mean, I think there's something inherent what it means to be a human being who that we're always kind of valuating our lives and the sense of we're always trying to aim our lives towards something good, that leads the compels us to want to do something and we do know ourselves and find ourselves deep in communities as we do things as as we actually

take on actions. But there is a deep sense here that what's at stake in that is if you're aiming towards the wrong action, if if you end up having a kind of misconstrued understanding of what is good, you can get things really messed up. And you know

Jesus command here too. Wait, is really not to create a queue, it absolutely is not to create a community that doesn't do anything in the world, or it doesn't make a difference in the world or is so self internally kind of constituted that it just wants to sit around and think about itself or something. That's the last thing Jesus wants. But But I think Jesus wants to create a community that is dependent on the spirit and

the spirits leading. And that does take a spiritual discipline, I mean, it's a discipline of learning how to wait. And what we're waiting for, really is not to like our bank accounts, to accrue or even for our energy to go up and be able to do something, what we're waiting for is the leading of the Spirit, the Spirit to lead us. So you know, Pentecost happens after the casting of the

lots for the 12th disciple. And at least some theologians have interpreted this, that, you know, like, we don't hear anything again, after after this selection is made, but we hear a lot in the rest of Acts about Paul, you know, so so so the spirit selects, Paul, whether you want to call Paul the 12, Apostle, or not, but Paul thinks that about himself like he thinks his gospel is not mediated from anyone, just like Peter, and James, and John, it

comes directly from Jesus. I mean, he's very clear about that in Galatians. Now, like, you don't have to be circumcised, because my gospel two came directly from from Jesus. So he has this deep sense that he, he is an apostle, on the same kind of immediacy that, that any of the 12 or Levin had encountered and walked with walked with

Jesus. And I do think that to hear the spirit, we have to take on this ability to wait in, especially in a late modern time where it just feels like I guess it's back to our building thing again, like do something, even if it's the wrong thing, do something. I don't know. I mean, that's a good, probably capitalist principle. I'm not sure it's a Christian principle. You know, that, like just, even if it's the wrong thing, just do

it. I don't, I don't know. I think in the, in the wisdom of Christianity, there's a sense of like, wait, and be with your neighbor, hear their stories, go out spaces to break bread together and share in each other's lives. And particularly, there's a kind of dynamic of what does it mean, to share in the sorrow of the world and to share in the sorrow of that neighbor, and in the midst of that God's going to call you to something profound, but there is a kind of passiveness to that.

And I know that's even a really bad word for for us late modern, middle class, upwardly mobile people like to be passive is like the worst thing you could be on at the core. Even though the Reformation Luther really thinks that the call of justification or the implications of justification is that we are rendered passive, to have God's act and that there's freedom in that passivity that there's the learning to receive a gift. And so I think that's

the ultimate thing. And maybe it is that oscillate modern people, especially Americans who lived in consumer capitalist societies, we don't really believe in gifts, you know, we don't really receive in, in waiting to receive to receive a gift we think you earn what you get, and in hard work is what achieves that and so how dare we weighed in yet, I think if we don't wait, we just end up having this deep temptation of turning God into a product into a pet into our mascot, that we

forget that God is not God. And we think that maybe we even think the church is more important than God, which I think is something to be aware of. And

And when church stops working, which is a fantastic read, I would highly recommend when church stops working as a brilliant distillation of the first five books of the secular Age series and then read this one the church in an age of secular mysticisms. Man, this book, awaken new synapses in my mind, it made sense of the world in which we live in a way that is stunning and profound. There are a few books that make you see the world differently. This

one is a prime example. You know, the whole secular Age series that Andy has written is incredible. And the number one must listen to episode of the year. Here it is. We have synergy episode 128 Andrew root the church in an age of secular mysticisms. So Andy and I have a great discussion around his new book, because we live with an utter buffet of spirits. realities and we have our choice of what we use to transform us.

And because we live in the age of the self in which everything has to go through the self, we are caught intention and we have become guilt saturated. This is not because we live under the should of God's commands, but because we could have been better, we have let ourselves down. This leads to more depression. This leads to more anxiety. So, what do we do? We

try and fix ourselves. But Andy, are us a couple of things here that we get into that memoirists are the new mistakes, and they point to a way of transformation. And all of our conflicts are not polarized in two directions, but they are triangulated. There are three points of conflict. What are they? Well, you have to listen to the whole episode to find out. But yet, once again, here is a little bit of Andy root, as he talks about the church in an age of secular mysticisms. What

But there were also these memoirs that also had a deep sense of the self, which was this kind of sense of your inner genius, you know, you find your inner genius, and those had came around a romance for like, people founded spirituality around falling in love, but they ultimately kind of came down to you find your inner your inner artist kind of, in this inner artist is who you most are, and you get you win affirmation for

that. But in both of those sides, that kind of inner genius, or the heroic action, it really is about the self winning

ground for itself. But then there are these other memoirs, and they were not just Memoirs of kind of what we could call disparagingly, like religious leftovers, you know, like, people like you and me, who still are, like, deeply involved in the church and still try to make a case for certain Christian visions of the world, like, these were people who didn't grow up in a church who didn't, you know, were worried to get out in a youth group or

something. But they all had a very different kind of perspective of what changed them. And what changed them was not that they found their inner genius, or they found themselves heroic impulses, what they discovered is that their action could not save them. What they discovered is that the more that they tried to do the things that that would, that would get them that would help them perform, the more they lost themselves, the more they lost kind of grip on what it meant to be human.

And can these really were at their core narratives of addiction, like the addict really thinks that their actions can can set them right or justify them in some way. And the move of AAA which is so beautiful to say you have to surrender, you have to surrender to the fact that you are an alcoholic, and you have to have a some kind of sense of a higher power that you now are surrendering to. And it's not very dogmatic, necessarily, but

it's a profound. And this is one of the reasons I think a is so profound is up against the performative self of late modernity. It's a starkly different kind of theological anthropology. It says your actions cannot save you and look

what your actions have done. And one of the memoirs that really illustrates this was this memoir called the recovering by an author named Jamison and she ends up like just she's been drinking, she's a writer, she's at the Iowa writers, writers workshop in one of the great writing centers in in America. And she just like, You just drank when you're, when you're like a ma student can't let you just drink in. That's what all the great 20th century writers did, you know, like Hemingway's

just drunk all the time. So if you want to be a good writer, you have to drink because that's what supposedly gets your words out. But it also gives you these crazy experiences you write about, and she ends up in AAA. And she kind of thinks to herself, but she's not really honest herself. She's kind of thinks like, Oh, good, now I'll be able to harvest all sorts of stories. So it's her job to you know, like everyone has to she has to give up and tell her

story. She has to make a confession, as we would say, in the Christian tradition, that she's an alcoholic. And so you have to you have to narrate that confession. So she starts telling her story. And she's very aware that she's performing that she's giving a performance. And one of these guys in the back one of these recovering alcoholics yells at the top of his lungs, in the middle of her presenting the story, he just blurts out, this is boring. You just yelled at the top of his

lungs. This is boring. And it it it shook her and it and it led to this realization that she was that he was absolutely right. Like you can't be SMBs or you know what I mean? Like he, he he knew that she was in that she was not making a confession. She was performing herself. And it did take her down this road where she realized it's really quite fascinating. And these attic, attic memoir stuff that she realized she needed to start praying. And she didn't, she

didn't believe any of it. She didn't feel like she could believe it. But she, and she told these, these AAA leaders, like I don't believe in this, and I'm like, Well, you know, chain smoking at the time, like, who cares? You just do it. And there's a sense where you

surrender to prayer itself. And she finds this deep sense of restoration and healing, through the confession that the self is not magnificent, that the self needs something from outside, as Luther would say, in the kind of opposition to the turned in so that you need a foreign righteousness to meet you that your righteousness is not buried within you, that the righteousness still is a free gift of grace that is outside of you that can come and meet you, if you'll surrender, that you

need to be ministered to by the Spirit, that you need something from outside you, to claim you to come near to you. And I think this is the kind of crux of where we're at in our cultural contexts that we often say to young people, which is why they're so depressed and anxious that you need to perform yourself that you need to be your magnificent self, you need to find it, you need to find

your energy in words. But I think there's something incredibly profound about at least the kind of Protestant Christian confession That's to say, you need to confess and surrender to something outside of you. And search it and see what happens here in that you, you are not magnificent, you are beautifully and wonderfully made. But you unifly and wonderfully made to be in relationship with others to be encountered and ministered to by others to be cared for by others. It's not what you do

that matters. It's to who comes to you and who leads to you. And so there there's a really profound sense of transformation that happens in those stories.

more in 2024. Find us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or acts as people call it, threads and YouTube and send me an email. Let me know your favorite episodes and some of your favorite books. Thanks everyone. Have a Happy New Year.