“… [W]hen you let go of the Bible as God’s answer book, you get it back as something so much better,” Neo says in Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christian. (p. 52)

I suspect this may be the biggest key to evangelical Christians becoming the type of people God created us to be. I will speak for myself. It is hard to jettison the answer book habit.

More McLaren: “When we let it go as a modern answer book, we get to rediscover it for what it really is: an ancient book of incredible spiritual value for us. …” (p. 52) And more, “It’s a book that calls together and helps create a community, a community that is a catalyst for God’s work in the world.” (p. 53)

The difficult thing is that to move beyond the Bible as answer book means that some people in the Answer Book Community will banish you. I think that’s why the broad Missional Community that is developing is so important. I can say that because I’m just now discovering it. Prior to reading on this topic and blogging, I thought I was alone. Boy, was I wrong.