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Paperback
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Remember when I sent you out with no money, no pack, not even sandals? Did you lack anything?
(Luke 22:35) From the same writing team of The Dust Off Their Feet comes a fresh exploration of the life of Jesus with retelling of the timeless narrative found in The Gospel of Luke. Not Even Sandals recovers the passion, grit, humor, and beauty have been lost in our translations of Luke. This stands alone among narratives as a supernatural action-adventure. Brian McLaren recaptures what was lost as he retells this spiritual adventure with power and grace to read like a screenplay. Brian, as only he can do, provides an overlay of historical and theological observations to enrich the story. McLaren and Seay are two of the driving forces in the reinvigorate worship found in the newer churches.
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| A scriptural retelling of the Gospel of Luke that should appeal to a new generation of young Christians |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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In THE VOICE OF LUKE, the fourth book in the multi-author The Voice series, emergent church author Brian McLaren tries his hand at retelling the Gospel of Luke while offering background commentary throughout, with interesting results.
The Voice series is a scripture project touted by the publisher as "designed for the emerging church culture and those seeking new ways of exploring Scripture." For those not familiar with the term "emerging church," it's often used to describe young Christians dissatisfied with traditional Christianity and looking for alternative ways to pursue community and faith with Christ still at the center. The Voice is an ambitious project, planned to span all books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. In the series, authors work to present the scriptural text as narrative story --- including emotion, meaning, experience and more holistic communication --- rather than direct translation or paraphrase.
The formatting may take readers a while to get used to, with so many things happening on the pages. In McLaren's Gospel of Luke, dialogue is set off and highlighted (avoiding the use of quotation marks) to intentionally give the reading the feel of a screenplay. McLaren uses present tense narration, which he believes helps the reader enter the story imaginatively. This, with McLaren's commentary (or "devotional notes" as the book calls it), gives the book the feel of a contemporary Sunday morning service that features a long skit paired with pastoral teaching.
The italic typeface, often used in other books to give emphasis, is used here to indicate words not directly tied to a dynamic translation of the original translation. This creates the biggest hindrance in smooth story flow; I had a hard time not emphasizing those words as I read, and it made the narrative a little choppy. The frequent use of exclamation points also may seem a little overdone (one page alone had eight). But who can fault McLaren for letting the characters be so enthusiastic? (Shepherds: Let's rush down to Bethlehem right now! Let's see what's happening! Let's experience what the Lord has told us about!) Chapters are sometimes referred to as "episodes" within the narrative, and a chapter might open with "As our story continues..." This adds to the screenplay effect.
What may work best about THE VOICE OF LUKE is McLaren's short "devotional notes" or personal commentary, given in shadow boxes on the pages. McLaren points out developing themes, looks at gaps in the narrative (such as Jesus's life between birth and age 30) and draws the reader into the text by making relatable comparisons ("Jesus' family was a lot like our own --- full of mishaps and misunderstandings.") McLaren is in full pastoral swing in these sections: warm, engaging and educational. One of my favorites: McLaren explains in Luke 3 how, while genealogies may seem tedious to us (all those names!), they were crucial for the culture of Luke's time. "Luke places Jesus in the mainstream of biblical history, connected to King David, Abraham, Noah, and Adam. Since all humanity is seen as Adam's descendants, Luke shows how Jesus is connected to and relevant for all people." Another interesting note tells of the symbolic nature of the rending of the temple curtain during the crucifixion. While a biblical scholar might find these sections basic, a young Christian engaging with the text for the first time will find the commentary helpful in navigating the story.
McLaren also speaks to readers directly in the commentary/devotional notes, inviting them to engage and apply the text: "In the coming chapters, as you encounter these signs and wonders, try to feel the wonder that the original eyewitnesses would have felt, and then ponder their significance as signs of the kingdom of God."
I found myself nostalgically comparing this series to THE GOOD NEWS BIBLE, which in the early '70s was my youth group's New Testament of choice. It was considered radical by our parents, which was key to its attraction. It also tried (in its own way) for a "meaning" version of the Bible as opposed to a translation. Although The Voice project is very different, it continues the tradition of recasting scripture for new generations.
--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby
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| A Christian viewpoint |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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Written by popular clergyman who is addressing the social action writings of the Gospel of Luke in a manner that will deepen understanding of the paths that Jesus followed as opposed to the rules and regulations of his day. The same is true for modern readers of this book.
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| Brings a Different Perspective |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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This is the first book, I've read, in the Voice "series" of presenting books from the Old and New Testaments in a new way:
picking an writer to create a more modern text with the help of scholars, and even poets. Some parts of Luke are transformed into a drama with speakers, dialogue and even "stage directions".
Personally, I felt that I was reading the Gospel of Luke anew --- seeing things and realizing things that I had not experienced before.
Very well done. Worth reading.
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| A Great Resource |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I really can't recommend enough the Voice project. The material that continues to come out is amazing and from what I hear of what is to come out soon will just add to the great resources already available.
This continuing of excellent material continues with Brian McLaren's The Voice of Luke: Not Even Sandals. McLaren explores a narrative retelling of the Gospel story according to Luke. This book really gives the feel, emotion, meaning, and the "experiential" way of communicating the story of Jesus.
This project is more then a translation or a paraphrase but more a retelling and the structure and feel is more of a screenplay, which makes for interesting and sometimes more engaging way of reading. The devotional thoughts or basically McLaren's commentary throughout the whole book really is a highlight of the reading and helps with the retelling of the story. McLaren is get with bringing the reader in and really engaging the reader. McLaren ties in the themes going on and even consistently brings you back to the idea of "not even sandals" and develops that as the book goes on (I'll leave it to you to read the book to learn more about what McLaren is talking about).
Again, I can't speak enough about the effectiveness of this resource and its ability for retelling the story and engaging a new kind of reader to Scripture. This is a great resource for youth ministry, personal reading, devotional reading, bible studies, and even used in periods of worship.
matt wilson
www.mattwilson.wordpress.com
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| Already have a Bible... |
| Customer Rating: 2 out of 5 |
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Nothing is wrong (that I know of) with this book...it just bores and frustrates me that I paid for it.
Basically its the book of Luke, yes thats right, Luke in the Bible...BUT as told and embellished by Brian McLaren and in play/script form. It has notes and devotionals that may help a new Christian understand some content but it will have the 'flavor' of the authors involved.
Spends a lot of pages and introduction time telling you how they 'rewrote' the book of Luke for you...I personally would enjoy the 'message' better for reading a present day understanding of Luke from a book not explicitly the Bible.
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