Must Everything Change?

I’ve just finished reading Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope by Brian McLaren. On balance, I reckon this is worth reading, but to be honest, if you have other books in your ‘must read’ pile, I wouldn’t push this one to the top.

McLaren examines how the message and person of Jesus address the global issues of our age such as security and economic inequality. He makes a very strong case that the individualised model of salvation that has been the hallmark of much evangelicalism does not reflect the Biblical pattern and does not seem capable of addressing the big issues that face us.

All in all, he makes a number of important points that we do need to hear, but I find his ‘big picture’ enthusiasm gets a little wearing after a while and I would like to see more rigour and balance in some areas. Two other books which I’ve read recently actually cover similar territory but coming from different angles and I would strongly recommend that you read those before getting into Everything Must Change. They are Surprised by Hope by Tom Wright and The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time by Tom Sine. If you’ve already read both of these, then give McLaren a go, but if not…