The Briarpatch Gospel: Fearlessly Following Jesus into the
Thorny Places by Shayne Wheeler
Have you ever felt what it’s like to fall down a steep
ravine into a patch of briars, a collection of thorns and thistles that rub
against your skin? With the concept of
the briarpatch, Pastor Shayne Wheeler of All Souls Fellowship in Decatur
Georgia, weaves together the notion that Jesus is both found in the context of
corporate worship and in the briarpatch (the world which we live in). Shayne writes, “our lives matter - to the homeless man on the corner begging
for a quarter, the bald lady at church going through chemo for the second time,
or the gay man who loves Jesus but has been rejected by Christians so many
times that he finally given up trying.
This is life in the briarpatch” (10).
Too often believers in the church segregate themselves from the concerns
and difficulties in their own backyards, not desiring to be stained by the
concerns of the common man. Yet, as
Shayne points out, the desire for healing is not some fanciful notion about
heaven, but rooted in the work of Jesus.
Shayne writes, “Christ’s resurrection shows us that his life, hope,
healing, and renewal are happening today, in this place, in our world” (20). Revealing the healing presence of Jesus means
following him into the ‘thorny thickets of our world,’ and knowing that he will
be us through turmoil, doubts and suffering.
One of the powerful testimonies of this book was its
insistence that making room for people in our congregations goes a long way in helping
them identify with Christ. Shayne tells
a moving story about a musician named Brian, who began to use his talent in the
worship band at church while remaining a skeptic of all things religious. As time went on, Brian went from a casual
onlooker to a man seeking to destroy the pastor’s arguments to a person who got
swept into the story of the Scriptures (31-33).
Shayne makes a unique point in saying, “We had made room for him – not just
in the pew, but in our lives” (33).
Brian caught a vision of the way Jesus Christ shapes the story of the lives
of his children, and in turn, he wanted to be a part of that believing
community. Wheeler goes onto to bear
witness that we will always have people who don’t believe in God in our midst,
it’s how we welcome them and all their questions that makes the difference. Shayne continues on in this second chapter
to make a bold statement that relates to making room for people by writing, “..the
reason most people avoid our communities of faith….is because of our own
corporate self-protection and judgmental attitudes toward anyone who does not
look, act, or believe like us” (35). Even
using biblical language in our services without careful elucidation can provide
a protective self-covering keeping others out. Instead of providing road blocks
for people, we should desire to meet people where they are, displaying the
power of the gospel through the trusting relationships.
Combining a gospel focus in the midst of discussion on pain
and suffering was another highlight in the book. Shayne writes, “Through suffering and
adversity we develop a hunger for change” (72).
Living in constant fear of being found out leads to alienation and
enslavement to our fear. Shayne reminds
us, “The death and resurrection of Jesus was precisely for frauds, sinners, and
failures like you and me. We simply need
to apply the truth of Christ’s resurrection to the deep places of our lives,
the briarpatch in our hearts” (73). As
you follow Jesus into pain and suffering, there is freedom because you are no
longer tied to the power of sin and death, but find your freedom in what Jesus
has done for you. Therefore, the
feelings of despair and hopelessness do not have to be your guide through life’s
valleys. Time and time again Shayne
brings out the movements of grace in his writing, giving the reader a clear
glimpse of the way God acts in the world he has made.
The rest of the book is an exploration in the briarpatch of
life with an eye towards loving your neighbor, bringing the gospel to bear in
painful situations and God’s grace toward gays.
In chapter 10, Shayne explores the way the Christian community has
responded toward gays and how we should.
Communicating in mercy, Shayne writes, “To deny God’s mercy to our gay
and lesbian family, friends, and neighbors is to deny the sufficiency of the
blood of Jesus for ourselves. In our
judgment, we place ourselves under the judgment of God” (189). We are all in the same boat together,
profaning God in our sinful attitudes and actions, deserving the full brunt of
God’s judgment. How can we be judgmental
and hateful toward gays when we all have fallen short of God’s glory, yet, God has saved us by his own work. Shayne reiterates that the homosexual
lifestyle is not consistent with Christian discipleship but does not deserve
the title ‘unpardonable sin’ either (188).
While not agreeing with everything written in this chapter, I was
confronted with my own prejudices and sinful attitudes as I read about the
mercy he extends every day to gays in his community.
Overall, I high recommend this book to those wanting to
deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ and his church. Briarpatch Gospel is a rather challenging
read because it calls its readers to take stock of their own lives, their own
sin, and seek to follow Jesus into the midst of thorns and thistles. Taking his cues from N.T. W right, James Davison
Hunter and others, Shayne points his readers to the grand story that God has
been weaving from the beginning which falls squarely upon the person of Jesus
Christ. For all of those desiring to
take their place in the story, this book will be of great encouragement.
Thanks to Tyndale Momentum and Tyndale House Publishers for
the copy of this book in exchange for review.
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