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McManus draws upon various personal experiences and events or stories involving others to illustrate the danger of the tame, safe, accommodating life of organized religion.  As an alternative, he poses Jesus Christ.

I read this book in February 2009, after finding it among those in a furnished home prepared for us as a temporary residence while we were looking for a home to purchase, after moving back to the United States after many years living overseas.  I picked it up out of casual curiosity.  I was pleasantly surprised at what I found.

Barbarian Faith
McManus explores the role of Jesus, his followers as portrayed in the New Testament texts and in through the ages, as now in our time.  The way of Christ is contrasted with "Christianity" as the barbarian (anti-establishment) way of life.

McManus, though of Irish descent, was born in El Salvador.  His family came to the US when McManus was young.  Since 1994 he has served as the lead pastor of the "experimental" church Mosaic, formerly the Church on Brady, in Los Angeles.  In this volume he lays out what he feels is the gospel approach to life, living out the call the follow God, to live under God's rule, even in defiance of the expectations of the culture around us.

McManus explores the role of Jesus, his followers as portrayed in the New Testament texts and examples through the ages, as well as in our time.  The way of Christ is contrasted with "Christianity" as the barbarian (anti-establishment) way of life.

Barbarian Freedom
He contrasts "religion," as found in most of the established churches of the United States, with the barbarian call of God's Good News in Jesus, to dare to be different and follow that call wherever it leads.  To live on the edge, to discover release and freedom, rather than being domesticated to religion and conformed to established protocols.

He challenges his followers and readers of this book to rise above and go beyond the limiting expectations of religion and follow Jesus to life.  He points out that religion condemns and judges, imposes requirements and expectations, and requires conformity.  On the other hand, faith in Christ, in response to the Good News of God, requires us to live by Love, not tame accommodation.

Dangerous Reward
The Good News, says McManus, calls us to be barbarians destroying the numbing civilization of formal observance, like Jesus did.  But while thrilling and rewarding, this kind life is dangerous.  It got Jesus killed.  McManus warns that people often pull back into safety and miss the power of real life, because they accept the common cultural concept that "God wants to keep you safe."

McManus challenges us to actually look into the Gospels and see where that is possible, and finds this is not a gospel expectation.  Jesus promised abundant life, full life, valuable life, life from above - not safe life protected from reality.  As practical examples, he reveals how they do things at Mosaic, in contrast to the traditional church.

Refreshing
The more I read, the more impressed I became with McManus, with whom I was not very familiar.  His writing style is really oral, engaging us in a conversation during which he shares his story, and aspects of the stories of others, illustrating the rewards of the refreshing barbarian approach to faith.

I recommend this book to established believers, especially if they are dissatisfied with the incomplete experience in established religions.  Likewise, this book will encourage seekers and skeptics, because an authentic option and alternative is clearly resented here.

Many "Christians" won't even recognize this as the same message Jesus himself presented about the Rule of God on earth.  There is Good News here.

See related reviews and articles on this site:
Christianity and Society
Dialogue on Emergence
Faith as Hilarious Adventure
Experiencing the Future of Faith
Faith Discovery Quest
Faith as Hilarious Adventure
Graduation to Reality:  The Church Emerging
Jesus' Openly Secret Teachings
More Oral than We Knew:  The Oral Nature of the Gospels
Postmodernism:  The Church's Challenge and Opportunity
Postmodernism and the Emerging Church:  Some Thoughts
Regaining Credibility for Christianity
The Shack:  a Realization of Relationship and Revelation
Uncovering the Hidden Kingdom

For more on Mosaic Church:
Awaken Website
Erwin McManus Website
Mosaic Church – Wikipedia
Mosaic Alliance Website
Mosaic Church Website

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OBJ

Written and posted on Thoughts and Resources 26 February 2009
Last edited 13 June 2009

Orville Boyd Jenkins, EdD, PhD
Copyright © 2009 Orville Boyd Jenkins
Permission granted for free download and transmission for personal or educational use.  Other rights reserved.

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