The Underground Church: Reclaiming the Subversive Way of Jesus Hardcover - 2012 - 1st Edition

From the jacket flap

Dear reader, I hope that you do not find the word crazy to be offensive when used to describe Jesus of Nazareth. It is not meant to be irreverent, or dismissive, or even shocking in the service of selling a book. It is meant to be true--as in real.
--from Chapter One

The Underground Church is a radical book that proposes a radical idea: we need to recapture the spirit of the early church with its emphasis on what Christians do rather than what they believe. Written by the prominent minister, teacher, speaker, and writer, Robin Meyers, The Underground Church posits that the best way to recapture the spirit of The Way is to recognize that Jesus-following was--and must be again--subversive in the best sense of the word. Instead of endless theological and political arguments, the church must be more concerned with being loving than with being right.

Meyers offers a potent antidote for organized-religion-as-usual--suggesting that until being a follower of Jesus is dangerous again we will continue to bless the status quo instead of transforming it. We must return to our culturally and socially subversive roots and live by the two most powerful words in the gospel Fear not. No matter how the church may organize itself or worship, the defining characteristic of the Beloved Community should be its love of justice and its countercultural compassion for all people.

It is time to stop arguing about who is saved and who is lost, who is the elect and who is the damned, who is chosen and who is Left Behind. Are we in it for ourselves or for others? Are we willing to be transformed by God, or will we continue to play god? Is going to church about looking decent or about being undone by a radical gospel? Can we do mission work across our differences, or will our differences define us?

The Underground Church will provide healthy, inclusive, dignified options for living in a world saturated with sickness, separation, and indignity. In short, we will not try to get people up into heaven. We will try to get heaven to come down to earth.

It is time to stop arguing about who is saved and who is lost, who is the elect and who is the damned, who is chosen and who is Left Behind. Are we in it for ourselves or for others? Are we willing to be transformed by God, or will we continue to play god? Is going to church about looking decent or about being undone by a radical gospel? Can we do mission work across our differences, or will our differences define us?

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Citations

• Christian Century, 02/20/2013, Page 46
• Publishers Weekly, 01/09/2012, Page 50