The Secret Message of Jesus

Hey all, here's my review of Brian McLaren’s latest book, The Secret Message of Jesus, that I promised:

This book should finally lay to rest any complaints that Brian is too often vague and evasive in stating what exactly he does believe about the gospel. In this book he is crystal clear. Bottom line: it’s about the kingdom of God.

Of course, that’s not to say that Brian purports to answer every question or spell out a detailed systematic theology. Instead, rather true to form, he paints us a picture with broad strokes, giving us a new way to look at what Jesus and his gospel were all about. And he does it with a remarkable clarity and simplicity.

Indeed, the most surprising thing about this book is that it seems to have been written as much for non-Christian seekers as for fellow Christians. This is a book you could give to your “spiritual but not religious” friends who might be interested in learning more about Jesus. In fact, when I saw the cover art along with the title touting a secret message of Jesus I couldn’t help but wonder if Brian and/or the publishers were hoping to tap into all the buzz about the DaVinci Code. People these days seem to be really fascinated with “lost gospels” and suppressed (“secret”?) truths within Christianity; so one can imagine a seeker picking up Brian’s book in hopes of finding more in this vein. (Not that I think this is a bad thing. One of my good friends came to Christ in part because his interest in apocryphal gospels led him to bring his questions to my youth group.)

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