This morning I finished reading Consuming Jesus: Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church by Paul Louis Metzger. This is one of the best books I’ve read this year (along with Surprised by Hope and The Gospel and a Pluralist Society). Because I may be reviewing the book elsewhere, I’ll hold off from saying much more… but check out this quote from the last chapter.

The church must re-envision its understanding of communal identity in view of its communal and co-missional God as involving solidarity with society at large. Christ himself was all about solidarity. Though he new no sin, he became sin on our behalf to reconcile us with God (2 Corinthians5:21). This will entail a radical break from the dominant American individualistic mindset that keeps us separate from others. It will require that we lay down our lives and die for our enemies rather than try to take back America from them.

My lovely wife has probably gown weary of how much I’ve talked about American individualism over the past couple of years and I’m afraid this book will only make it worse.  Metzger is devestating in his critique of a church which, rather than exhibiting true community, often resembles nothing more than a collection of consumption-minded individuals.  To tweak a favorite Homer Simpson quote, “It hurts because it’s true.”

My friend Michael and I are now reading Then the Whisper Put on Flesh: New Testament Ethics in an African American Context by Brian K Blount. I hope to interact with this book on the blog as we read and discuss our way through it.