William H. WillimonRezensionen

Ideal for use with The Wesley Study Bible

Given to Matthew Hayes - 05/10/2023

Given to Matthew Hayes - 05/10/2023

Given to Matthew Hayes -05/03/2023

Donated by Mary Berner

Brilliant title and premise. Too bad the text didn't live up to these.

Although fairly dense in their writing style, Willimon and Hauerwas provide an important and insightful critique of church in America today.

"The challenge facing today's Christian is... to form a community, a colony of resident aliens" that knows and embodies the love of our trinitarian God (171). "The biggest problem facing Christian theology is not translation but enactment. (172)" In short, they argue that the church embodies more of the values of contemporary culture than the values of Jesus and God's kingdom. We must form counter-cultural alien colonies wherever the church is located.

A gripping look at the lessons behind Christ's last phrases from the cross.

Mostly a 3.5 star book, but bumped to four, because I'll return to it the next time I preach on the Lord's Prayer.

A strong, brief, and practical gloss on Miroslav Volf's work, great (and uncomfortable) for a church study. I do think I'd still recommend Keller's Generous Justice before this, though.

"We clergy ought not to flatter ourselves, as if our clerical vocation somehow placed a greater burden upon our backs than the challenge that taking up the cross and following Jesus holds for any disciple" (9)/

These words, from the first paragraph of the introduction, indicate the unconventional wisdom of William H. Willimon. He turns many of the common perspectives about the life of the pastor on their head. For another example, consider his thoughts on burnout:

"The great ethical danger for clergy is not that we might "burn out," to use a metaphor that is popular in our time, not that we might lose the energy required to do ministry. Our danger is that we might "black out," that is lose consciousness of why we are here and who we are called to be for Christ and his church" (21).

In every page of Calling and Character, Willimon reminds clergy of "why we are here and who we are called to be" (21). The call to ministry is a high calling. Rather than waste time lamenting the "pedestal" we're sometimes placed upon, clergy should buck up and wear the mantle. To nuance that metaphor, it is incumbent upon clergy to develop a virtuous character so the mantle actually fits.

Richard B. Hays used three biblical images to frame his ethics: community, cross, and new creation. Willimon uses this threefold framework to develop his ministerial ethics. Clergy are those people "who embody Christian community, cross, and new creation in their lives" (59).

You may agree wholeheartedly with everything Willimon has to say—or not. Regardless of your position on the various issues, Willimon will challenge you to examine your life and practice in light of a high clerical vision.

To my mind there are two major voices that shape pastoral ministry in the protestant tradition: William Willimon (author of this volume) and Eugene Peterson. Peterson is someone I have read a lot; I have read with appreciate Willimon articles and sermons (I did read both Resident Alien books that he co-authored with Stanley Hauerwas). This was a real treat, to delve into some of his pastoral literature.

This book explores the various dimensions and roles that pastor are to perform if they are to serve the church well and fulfill their calling. Willimon has lived in the literature and distills wisdom from various sources. This is going to be a major resource of pastoral theology that I shall keep returning back to.

As a licensed non-denominational minister, I really wanted to read this text. And I was not disappointed. I read it once straight through. Then I re-read it, making sure I fully understood the writer's intent and purpose.

Willie Earle was a black man, who in 1947 sat locked in a jail cell in Pickens, South Carolina. He had been accused of knifing a Greenville cab driver.

A mob of righteous, Christian, white men confronted the jailer, who literally turned the keys over to them. Willie Earle was dragged from his cell. He was beaten so badly that he was not recognizable. He was dragged behind a car. And he was hung. The mob choose to be the judge, jury and prosecutor all rolled into one.

Willie Earle was dead. His family so torn apart and mad with grief and rage, yet, feeling that they could not express themselves in the southern, white-ruled town, kept silent.

In steps a minister. So emotionally charged by the lynching, and the fact that so-called Christian men could do such a thing to any man, no matter the color, decided he had to do something. He tried a town meeting. Which got him nowhere.

Two weeks after the event, and many hours spent in prayer for the right words to use, and how to deliver them, Hawley Lynn delivered a sermon to his congregation that is as needed today as it was back in 1947. It has become such a sermon that ministers still study it today. But as most will recognize, it is the kind of sermon that is rarely delivered.

Was it Christ-like (the word Christian literally means "Christ-like") to lynch Willie Earle? And although racism is deeply rooted in the south, is it not nearly as prevalent in the north as it is the south? If you answer no, you would be wrong. It is there. Lurking behind the eyes of the man who states "I have black friends!", and is insistent he is not racist. It is there behind the eyes of the woman who tells her daughter "It's okay to have black friends, but you're not going to date one". It is there in the individual who says "Black Americans are lazy", or "They get all the free government hand outs, why don't they just get a job!" Or, "They are all gangsters". I know you can come up with more.

So, are all white Americans guilty of racism? I can't answer that. But Hawley pointed out the need for Christians to be "Christ-like". He pointed out that God has no color preference. In His eyes, we are all simply people.

Bishop Willimon brings out the point that we have now graduated into calling black individuals "African-Americans" just to be politically correct. As an example, I come from English, French, Irish and Scot ancestry. So would I be called an "Anglo-American"? Or some variety of "English-French-Irish-Scot-American"? Of course not. We don't ever hear someone say something like that. Why do we not simply say an American? Or a person? Or a man? Or a woman? Instead of qualifying that they are in some way black?

I give this book five stars, (I would give it 10 if I could!)

I give a BIG thumbs up,

and I HIGHLY recommend it for reading and study.

You can find this book on Amazon.com. It is available in paperback for $11.96 or in Kindle version for $9.99, plus shipping and handling for the paperback.

****DISCLAIMER: This book was provided by Amazon Vine in exchange for a fair and impartial review.

A good book on any aspect of Christian theology is one that brings clarity and new insights into what is believed. An even better Christian book is one that challenges long-held assumptions and forces the reader to rethink concepts and values taken for granted.

This is an even better book.

Quite a disappointing book given the level of fanfare it produced.

It's unfortunate that the arbitrary assumptions Hauerwas and Willimon make about secular Western culture are based such a weak interpretation of our context. They are right about the changing role of the church through the last century and the need for the church to present a real politic for our culture. But instead of theological or scriptural roots for that polis, and while ignoring the Christian development of ideas they don't like, they allow their antipathy for liberal democracy and capitalism to suffice in its stead, meaning they rather unquestioningly do little more than repeat the tired old secular leftist complaints about Western culture which have drifted about for two centuries. For example, their articulation of individualism in the West presents a mere caricature of the philosophical and historical reality of the nuanced ideas in question: ideas clearly rooted in Christian faith and history; ideas which have lead to relative relief from poverty, tyranny and war in the West. Their call for church and clergy to regain their rightful task in truth telling, in a similar fashion, sounds so noble and invigorating until one discovers that the political truth they expect to be told is just nonsense.

Christian communities are indeed aliens in the West, but not for the reasons Hauerwas and Willimon would like us to believe.

A good line by line look at the Lord's Prayer - readable with solid theology. Exactly what I would expect from these two authors.

This book was all over the place. But in a good way. whether talking about if our church was true followers of Jesus and how they would act, to if we were true followers of Jesus how we would vote.

The book discusses how you don't teach language by teaching the rules first. You teach language by example. So why does the church want to teach people how to be Christians by teaching them the rules first.

This book also had great examples of what true Christian community should look like. Are we serving each other and looking to build each other up, or are we satisfying our own needs and using the community.

This book was all over the place. But in a good way. whether talking about if our church was true followers of Jesus and how they would act, to if we were true followers of Jesus how we would vote.

The book discusses how you don't teach language by teaching the rules first. You teach language by example. So why does the church want to teach people how to be Christians by teaching them the rules first.

This book also had great examples of what true Christian community should look like. Are we serving each other and looking to build each other up, or are we satisfying our own needs and using the community.

A good primary and simple discussion what UMC principles and beliefs entail. A nice beginners guide to Methodism.

Self-righteous, self-congratulatory, pompous, and unambitious: This book is a clear example of what is wrong with Seminarians. There are good ideas here (Christianity shouldn't be a slave to tradition or society), but the good ideas are underdeveloped, unsupported, and drowned in a sea of hyperbole.

The authors say things like, "God demands that we sacrifice the lives of our children and those we love to our interpretation of His will!", "Democracy and individual rights are idols!" "Biblical
authority is more important than compassion or kindness!"

I don't buy any of that and I won't endorse it.

Severely disappointed. I had heard great things about this book. I really tried getting into it, but I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. I found it rather boring and it seemed as if the authors were rambling on to me. Even though I ascribe to many of the beliefs of the Anabaptist tradition, there didn't seem to be any new fresh insight gained from this book. Nor, did it seem there was anything new or different than what the Bible already speaks to in regards to living as aliens of this world. However, I am a fan of Hauerwas' progressive views and will likely read some of his other works sometime within the near future.

My previous review was a book with the same title: “Why Jesus.” That one was Ravi Zacharias; this is by William H. Willimon. I thought I would compare the two, but as it turns out, the two books are so different it’s a pointless exercise. I’ll give four stars to Willimon, simply for doing what he says he’ll do.

I confess, it took me a while to get into this one. The style doesn’t fit me; too hip, too informal. Too cute. An example will give you a feel for the book’s flavor: Jesus attends a “soiree” and a “woman of the city” shows up and makes a scene, caressing his feet, letting down her hair, and in general putting the party into an uproar. A Pharisee sneers that if Jesus were a real prophet, he would know what sort of woman she is. As Willimon tells the story,

Jesus replies to the Pharisee, “Simon, do you see this woman? I show up here expecting a good time, and you didn’t kiss me or give me a foot massage. She knows how to get down and party.”

Jesus then puts it in a parable: “A man was owed ten dollars by one debtor, ten thousand dollars by another. He forgave both debtors. Now, think hard, Mr. Religious Expert—which man was the most grateful?”

“Er, uh, I guess the one who was forgiven more,” answers the Pharisee.

Yeah, it took some getting used to, even though Willimon stayed true to his promise to present Jesus “as the gospels do”: a “wild, weird, and improbable character.” In time, however, I began to appreciate Willimon for his devotion to Jesus. I began to see why Jesus means so much to him. I began to see how many Christians, very different than me, can be inspired by this same Jesus—who seems to meet the needs of just about everyone one way or another. Jesus wears a dozen hats the way Willimon tells it. You’ve met Jesus the Party Person already, so I’ll just list the rest:

Vagabond
Peacemaker
Storyteller
Preacher
Magician
Home Wrecker
Savior
Sovereign
Lover
Delegator
Body

Whatever you’re looking for in a Savior, it’ll be in there somewhere!

Someone on one of the threads here on LT (I can't remember who/where) commented, in regard to not liking a particular piece of Christian fiction, "My God is more compicated than that." The comment resonated with me. I often find myself feeling something like that in response to much that I hear from other Christians in our society.

I like Willimon because he talks about God as more complex, not a God of easy answers. The one Bible story he analyzed in this volume, the book of Job, is a prime example under Willimon's analysis. The rest of the stories he looks at are not from the Bible -- he looks at what ten writers ranging from Homer to Flannery O'Connor (and many other diverse writers) have to say about the human condition and how that relates to Christian belief.

For those who are very interested in literature, and in the paradoxes of the Christian faith, this is a worthwhile book. (And it made me want to read some of the literature he analyzed . . . surprise. . .)½

Marriage demands a commitment that the current generation would rather not make.

Modern apologists for objective truth are making a tactical error.