{"id":17124,"date":"2018-03-15T19:39:02","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T02:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=17124"},"modified":"2018-03-15T19:40:40","modified_gmt":"2018-03-16T02:40:40","slug":"how-did-jonah-get-ninevah-to-change-anyway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/how-did-jonah-get-ninevah-to-change-anyway\/","title":{"rendered":"How did Jonah Get Ninevah to Change, Anyway?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nope. Not much. I did not enjoy the first part of this book! And here\u2019s why\u2026every argument I had for lasting social transformation was shot down, one by one, by our author. It\u2019s as though he was reading my mind ahead of my every proposal.<\/p>\n

I started out by supporting real change by holding to a Christian worldview like Chuck Colson argued. [1] Hunter deep sixed that one (so has Dr. Jason in our Zooms). Then I thought about individuals changing society one heart and one mind at a time, like with Focus on the Family\u2019s Truth Project<\/em>.[2] Hunter begged to differ. Me oh my, he eventually threw shade on Pope John Paul II, Billy Graham, and the Bible<\/em> itself [3], for crying out loud! If Lincoln, Churchill, MLK, Mandela and Mother Teresa [4], were mistaken in their approaches, maybe I should just jump in the Yellowstone River and get it over with.<\/p>\n

I thought I had the final answer without having to read the rest of the book\u2014REVIVAL. Certainly, that is the answer for true alteration! Much to my chagrin, Hunter poked holes in that idea, too. [5] Made me want to give up. If a holy freaking revival doesn\u2019t work for real change, through repentance and prayer, what will?<\/p>\n

So how does Hunter think the world is permanently changed? Would the 3% total of gay marriages have been a focus if heterosexual marriages were wildly successful, instead of the supposed 50% failure rate? Would abortion have been legalized if societies valued human life in all its forms, instead of practicing slavery for monetary gain of entire races based simply on the color of their skin? Evidently not, once again, per our author. These \u201cculture wars\u201d are unwinnable because of unqualified idealism. [6] Now I am getting really frustrated!<\/p>\n

I somewhat understand why various reviewers like John Coleman stated this book was, \u201cTroubling, inadequate.\u201d [7] Even Hunter himself states, \u201c\u2026infinitely complex. Any attempt to provide a neat summary, therefore, will inevitably fail to grasp the intricacy and subtlety of the reality it seeks to describe.\u201d [8]<\/p>\n

Made me wonder with my critical thinking skills, if the only constant in true lasting change was difficult ADVERSITY. Makes a little sense to me. Perhaps, we only change through crisis, because we certainly don\u2019t change through comfortableness. For example, Christianity exploded dramatically throughout history through the adversity of persecution.<\/p>\n

Also, makes me wonder what effect LEADERSHIP has on lasting change. Obviously, it matters. But if others have failed before us, why would our leadership matter?\u00a0 The only constant I can find in effective leadership for lasting change is the HOLY SPIRIT. Thankfully, after doing a word search through my Kindle for this book, the Holy Spirit comes up often in Hunter\u2019s thinking.<\/p>\n

To be honest, I did not dwell on the politics section of this book. Here\u2019s why, I am flat out exhausted by the games politicians play on BOTH sides of the aisle. Besides, I do not believe government is our answer.\u00a0 Although I support the Scriptural mandate to respect those in governmental authority, I am not placing my hope in them!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Alas, Hunter grabs my attention to suggesting the answer to lasting change may lie in a theology called \u201cfaithful presence\u201d where we bear witness to and be the embodiment of the coming Kingdom of God. [9] Breaking down the intention of this ideology, I appreciated the author explaining what is meant by \u201cFaithfulness\u201d and to be faithful in our own generation. [10] Taken a step further, not only faithful presence, but \u201cfaithful presence within<\/em>\u201d [11] fully marked by place, pursuing others like God pursues us, identifying directly with others, and loving sacrificially\u2026 [12]<\/p>\n

In closing, the simplest way for me to apply what I think I am learning from this book, is to share about a family from our church. Heartbreakingly, they had to bury their 13-day old baby. Not a single person could truly help this family work thru crushing grief with simple words or even kind actions. To put it mildly, they were suffering in the deepest fog humanly possible. I will never forget the mom fully draped over the coffin of their child as the funeral home tried to lower the casket into the ground. Nothing in our training had ever prepared our church for such a crisis. All of us struggled for lasting help for the searing mourning that was taking place.<\/p>\n

Now, three years removed from that experience, I asked the family to teach me how to help others in the same situation.\u00a0 I will never forget the mom simply saying, \u201cAll people can do is be there. Don\u2019t say anything, don\u2019t have to do anything, can\u2019t explain it, but the people who helped the most ministered to us by their PRESENCE.\u201d<\/p>\n

Makes more sense to me now after reading this book\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] Hunter, James Davison.\u00a0To Change the World the Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of <\/em><\/p>\n

Christianity in the Late Modern World<\/em>. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. p. 6.<\/p>\n

[2] Ibid., p. 24.<\/p>\n

[3] Ibid., p. 13.<\/p>\n

[4] Ibid., p. 17<\/p>\n

[5] Ibid., p. 46.<\/p>\n

[6] Ibid., p. 25.<\/p>\n

[7] Coleman, John A.\u00a0Book Review: To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility <\/em><\/p>\n

of Christianity in the Late Modern World<\/em>. Vol 72, Issue 1, 2011. Los Angeles: Sage<\/p>\n

Journals from Sage Publishing. p. 219.<\/p>\n

[8] Hunter, James Davison.\u00a0To Change the World the Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of <\/em><\/p>\n

Christianity in the Late Modern World<\/em>. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. p. 76.<\/p>\n

[9] Ibid., p. 95.<\/p>\n

[10] Ibid., p. 197.<\/p>\n

[11] Ibid., p. 237.<\/p>\n

[12] Ibid., p. 242.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nope. Not much. I did not enjoy the first part of this book! And here\u2019s why\u2026every argument I had for lasting social transformation was shot down, one by one, by our author. It\u2019s as though he was reading my mind ahead of my every proposal. I started out by supporting real change by holding to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-17124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-hunter","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17124"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17127,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17124\/revisions\/17127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}