Posted 746 days ago
What Jon Hallewell from the United Kingdom has to say about The New Conspirators
The book is in many ways a follow on from MSvMW (Mustard Seed vs. McWorld). It accounts for the changes in the world and for the changes in the way many people are being and doing church. The New Conspirators is an invitation. There are no blue prints or models to follow, but stories that invite you to creative imagination and to bold experimentation. These are seasoned with some simple suggestions to help you begin or continue your journey.
Tom’s research and analysis is excellent. His findings are disturbing however, especially when examining the challenges we are facing now, challenges which will only increase whilst the world continues on it current trajectory. Whilst surprising and sometimes alarming, we will all recognise the economic and environmental picture of the world that Tom paints.
In the midst of our present reality Tom calls us back to the future, to the hope of the homecoming of God’s Kingdom. In one very personal and moving section Tom refashions and paraphrases ancient biblical images of the coming of God’s kingdom. Tom reminds us and calls followers of Jesus back to the mission of planting the seeds from which this Kingdom will come to fruition. Whilst we need to be able to critique the world in which we live, we are called to be a living prophetic demonstration of the alternative way of life, a community that inspires hope.
Eternal life is not merely about living forever, but about cultivating that future reality here and now. Tom calls us to a creative faith that fills every aspect of our being, flowing out from our every activity: be it family life, or decisions about our spending, housing, vocation, giving or our use of time. I wonder, how many of us really meant it when we sang: “I surrender all” on a Sunday morning? This book subtly asks that question.
The remainder of the book is full of plentiful practical ideas of how we live this way of life. These are not theoretical sound bites, but true and living examples that are grounded in the pioneering practices of those who are already taking up the mustard seed challenge. These examples give me hope and fill me with excitement for the future.
Whilst this book is titled: the new conspirators, it is an advertisement for co-conspirators. For Lyn and I, as we hopefully head for New Brunswick in the fall, co-conspirators are exactly what we are on the lookout for.
Jon Hallewell, United Kingdom
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